April Fool's Fun

April 1st is coming up in a few days! In the United States, as well as around the world, this day is set aside for fun and tricks. Many people plan for weeks how they will trick their family, friends, roommates, and coworkers for fun on this day. Are you prepared for April Fool's Day?

Read this article about some of the tricks that Utah State University students pulled.

Click here for some fun April Fool's ideas!

Student Spotlight: Cristiano Gonzalez

Cristiano Gonzalez is from Chile. He is currently enrolled in the GMAT Preparation course at Nomen Global. He has been studying here for several weeks and plans to stay until he can get a score of 700 or better on the GMAT. 'GMAT' stands for the Graduate Management Admissions Test. It assesses math and English language skills that are required for admission into a graduate business program. Cristiano hopes to improve his English enough to be admitted into an MBA program.

Cristiano just completed a double major in finance and business management with a double minor in economics and organizational behavior at BYU-Hawaii in just four years! He hopes to earn an MBA or master's degree in finance.

Besides GMAT Preparation, Cristiano enjoys the diversity in culture and the fun environment at Nomen Global. Cristiano is quick to get to know other students in the school. He feels that it is important to always have an open mind and be non-judgmental. These skills allow him to understand and appreciate other cultures. In the future, Cristiano wants to visit every country in the world and learn many different languages.

Cristiano's other hobbies include playing guitar, surfing, long boarding, snowboarding, biking, and going out with friends. He loves Thai, Brazilian, Italian, and Japanese food.While Cristiano has a passion for rock, fast cars, parties, and motorcycles, he also has a passion for art, literature, finance, and politics.

Get to know Cristiano and other well-rounded students like him at Nomen Global! 'Like' us on Facebook for more information about our school and our students.

Spring Skiing

Beautiful 70-degree weather, fresh snow, new skis, good friends ... what more could you ask for on a new spring day? We thought we were finished with winter when we went tubing a couple of weeks ago, but we had to catch one last day of snow. 

We drove a few minutes up Provo Canyon to visit Sundance Ski Resort. We went night skiing at Sundance last year, and we decided to try something new this year: spring skiing. Spring skiing is popular at many of the Utah ski resorts because even though snow still sits on the mountains, the weather is not too cold. Nomen Global students enjoyed a warm and relaxing day in the mountains. Take a look at some of the pictures we took.

To learn more about the activities we offer, 'like' us on Facebook or visit our website.

Most Optimistic City

How much do you enjoy where you live? Do you feel like your area is improving as a place to live? People who live in Provo-Orem, Utah, are not only satisfied living in this area, but they are also optimistic about the future, a Gallup poll says. Not all metropolitan areas who had high optimism ratings also had high satisfaction ratings, but Provo-Orem is one of the few who has both.

Not only do Provo-Orem residents score in the top 10 for being optimistic about the place that they live, they are also in the top 10 towns with high well-being.

Provo has also been rated as one of the top 10 safest cities in the United States and one of the top 10 places to raise a family.

In addition to the overall morale of the city, Provo also boasts hundreds of cultural and historical sites, like the Covey Center for the Arts and the Provo City Library at Academy Square.

Provo is a popular destination for numerous outdoor recreational activities, available in both the summer and winter. Provo is also, however, a booming area for new businesses. Provo also enjoys a moderately warm climate in the summer and a refreshing, cool climate in the winter.

Come find out for yourself how much you will love Provo by studying English with us at Nomen Global. 'Like' us on Facebook to see more about the activities we participate in around the city.

Student Spotlight: Rose Carvalheiro

Rose Carvalheiro is originally from Brazil, but she has been living in Utah for several years. Rose began studying English at Nomen Global about 7 months ago and will continue to study until June. Because Rose lives in the United States permanently, she feels strongly that speaking and writing well in English is very important. 

At Nomen Global, Rose especially loves the teachers. She says that they are always patient and helpful. After Rose finishes studying English, she will expand her business. She makes 100% natural and organic soap. In July, she will also start to work as a volunteer to protect children against abuse.

Although Rose has accomplished a lot with her business, her greatest success is being an excellent wife, mother, and grandmother. Her family is one of the most important things to her, as well as being around positive people. Rose has a goal to never stop learning. She tries to experience something new all the time. 

In her free time, Rose enjoys taking Zumba classes, creating art, reading books, and painting. She also loves seafood, including shrimp and lobster. 

Meet Rose and other goal-oriented people like her at Nomen Global. 'Like' us on Facebook for more information about our school.

Hunting for Gold

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on the 17th of March each year. Popular traditions include images of rainbows and gold, leprechauns and 4-leaf clovers, and green and good luck. To celebrate this Irish holiday and to mimic searching for gold, Nomen Global students went on a scavenger hunt around town. We first split into groups of four. With our groups, we had to gather clues at different shops on Center Street in Provo. Each clue led us to a different shop. When we collected all the clues, we had to run to the final destination where the first team would find this pot of gold. Take a look at our pictures of our groups from this activity.

To learn more about Nomen Global, visit our website. To see more of the activities we offer, 'like' us on Facebook.

Grammar Guide: More Prepositions of Time

St. Patrick's Day, an Irish holiday, has been celebrated for over 1,000 years. St. Patrick died on March 17 in the fifth century. Each year on this anniversary, the Irish celebrate this day with a feast and other religious traditions. Today, countries all over the world recognize St. Patrick's Day with symbols of leprechauns, pots of gold, green colors, and four-leaf clovers.

More Prepositions of Time

Continuing with our series on prepositions, we will discuss other prepositions of time (see at, on, in). These prepositions are used commonly with perfect tenses to show how long something has happened/has been happening.

For

We use for with a length of time to answer the question how long.

• St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated for over 1,000 years.
• The uilleann pipes and the tin whistle have been used in Irish music for hundreds of years.
• St. Patrick was held in prison for six years before he escaped.

Since

We use since with a specific point in time to answer the question how long.

• St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated since the 9th or 10th century.
• The shamrock has been an Irish symbol since the 17th century.
• New York City has held parades every year since March 17, 1762.

To learn more about Nomen Global and what we teach, visit our website or our Facebook page.

Staff Spotlight: Trina Perry

Trina Perry is from Spanish Fork, Utah. She is our dedicated Office Manager who greets the students as they come through the door. Trina is a hard worker. She worked at the State Hospital for 23 years before she started working at Nomen Global 5 months ago. She graduated with a degree in nursing and early childhood development.

At Nomen Global, Trina loves meeting new students from different countries and learning about their cultures. Trina actually thrives under pressure and enjoys staying organized. In the future, Trina hopes to learn Spanish just as the students learn English.

Trina loves camping, riding horses, and riding 4-wheelers. She has 6 children (3 who are adopted) that love to play jokes on her! She has fun with her children as they try to figure out the best jokes for each other.

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-groomed body, but rather to skid in sideways, throughly used up, totally worn out, with a drink in one hand & winning lottery tickets in the other, loudly proclaiming 'Wow, what a ride!'" Her favorite quote is originally from Hunter Thompson, but she has made her own changes over time.

Meet Trina at other great staff members at Nomen Global. 'Like' us on Facebook to learn more about the school.

Soldier Hollow

Spring has finally arrived, and Nomen Global students are glad that they had one last chance to enjoy the snow. Last Friday, we drove to Midway, Utah, to Soldier Hollow Cross-Country Ski Resort. Soldier Hollow is famous for its back-country skiing and for the longest tubing lanes in Utah. We spent the afternoon sliding down a snow-covered hill on inflatable tubes. Take a look at the pictures we took from the activity.

Here is a video that we made of a few of the students tubing. Enjoy!

To learn more about Nomen Global, visit our website. 'Like' us on Facebook to meet more of our students and see our activities.

Grammar Guide: Prepositions of Movement

A weatherman in Salt Lake City predicts that spring is here! He says that temperatures will be warmer in the following weeks, and that if nature is in our favor, we will see no more snow. After a mild winter, we can start planning our summer gardens, visiting the park, and enjoying the new life around us.

Prepositions of Movement
So far, we have covered both prepositions of time and place. Prepositions of movement show a relationship between two points and movement in the direction of one of those points.


To and Toward
We use to to express a movement in a specific direction.

• I went to the store to buy seeds for my garden.
• I bought the seeds and headed to the check-out counter.

We use toward to express a movement in a general direction.

• After I came home, I walked toward the backyard.
• I dragged my tools toward an area of soil.

Into and Through
We use into to express a movement from the outside to the inside of an enclosed space.

• I pushed the seeds into the soil.
• I put my hands into my work gloves.

We use through to express a movement within an enclosed space.

• Since I needed a spade, I walked through the shed. 
• I tore through the packet that contained the seeds.

To learn more about Nomen Global and the classes we offer, visit our website. To meet our students and see our activities, 'like' us on Facebook.

Student Spotlight: Andy Kim

Andy Kim moved from Korea to the United States 6 months ago. He has been studying at Nomen Global for just 2 months, but his English has already improved! Andy realized that he needed to improve his English when he went on a business trip for his trading company of 5 years. He hopes that when he finishes studying English, he will be more efficient and useful at his company. While Andy was working for his company, he increased sales for the K-Mart/Sears team from $3 million a year to $15 million a year. He obviously knows what it means to be successful! We are sure he can be just as successful at improving his English.

So far, Andy enjoys the Monday Listening and Speaking Activities every other week. The Listening and Speaking Activities allow the entire school to come together to practice these important skills in different topics. Last week, for example, we recited and listened to poetry. Other weeks, we have made movies and shared international food.

Many people do not know that Andy actually plays many musical instruments. Among his favorite instruments are piano and guitar. Andy also enjoys playing soccer and watching movies. In addition, Andy's favorite food is spaghetti. Besides learning English, Andy has a goal to be rich; however, his family is also as important to him as money.

Meet Andy and other career-oriented students like him at Nomen Global. 'Like' us on Facebook to learn more about the Monday Activities that Andy loves.

Posy Poets

The Daffodils  

by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

   That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

   A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

   And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretched in never-ending line

   Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

   Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee:

A Poet could not but be gay,

   In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

   In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

   Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

As spring sprouts all around us, our thoughts are turned to new life, fresh starts, and colorful beauty. These aspects of spring have inspired poets for ages; they have inspired us! We examined different types of poems to celebrate the start of spring. After we learned about haikus, color poems, and acrostics, we wrote and recited our own poetry. Take a look at some of the wonderful poems our students wrote:

"Spring"

by Rose, Brazil

Spring inspires my soul!

Petals are so soft;

Roses mean love

In a woman's hands.

Nature is so wonderful!

Glowing garden is so attractive.

"Blue"

by Nariko, Japan

blue is the fresh sky

blue is a peaceful feeling

blue is a forget-me-not

blue is fresh, breezy sea

blue is the beginning of summer

blue is clean rain

"In Spring"

by Imene, France

In Spring, flowers bloom.

In Spring, the grass turns green.

In Spring, the birds sing.

In Spring, the weather turns warm.

Learn more about Nomen Global and the lessons we teach at our website. 'Like' us on Facebook to see our upcoming activities.

Grammar Guide: Prepositions of Place

Next week, Nomen Global is headed up the canyon to one of the last winter adventures available this season. We will spend the day at Soldier Hollow, a resort for cross-country skiing and tubing, in Midway, Utah. Snow tubing involves sitting on an oversized tube and sliding down a hill. Soldier Hollow is famous for having the longest tubing lanes in Utah.

Prepositions of Place
Just like the prepositions of time, in, on, and at cause confusion for many English language learners.

In
We use in for enclosed spaces and usually for cities, states, and countries.

• Soldier Hollow is located in Midway, Utah.
• Right now, I am sitting in class.
• My ticket for the tubing lanes is in my pocket.

Other expressions with in include

• We are playing in the snow.
• My friends are waiting in line to tube down the hill.

On
We use on for surfaces.

• Sarah sat on the tube.
• We are tubing on a hill.
• There is a warning about ice on the sign.

Other expressions with on include

• We are on our way (on the road) to Soldier Hollow.

At
We use at for points, stops on a journey, and events.

• Nomen Global is spending the day at Soldier Hollow.
• On our way to Soldier Hollow, we stopped at the grocery store for some snacks.
• We will wait for all the students to arrive at the ticket counter.
• The tubing hill starts at the top of the hill.
• Mario is not at the tubing activity.

For more information about Nomen Global, visit our website or 'like' us on Facebook.