PHOEBE ZHANG

Last Thursday, the Lan-

guage Academy organized an

attractive and entertaining ac-

tivity for students to watch the

basketball game at the Galen

Center, USC Trojans against

the Washington Huskies. Al-

though it was a pity that the

Trojans eventually failed by a

score of 58-80, we all had a

great night to cheer on the

Trojan team.

We met at JEF to set out

for the Galen Center at 7 p.m. The game

began at 7:30 on time. Over 2,000 peo-

ple gathered in the indoor basketball

arena. People who supported Trojans

wore red clothes and USC accessories.

On the other hand, people wore purple

clothes to support the Huskies. Because

we were the home team, our supporters

were many more than the opponents'.

The whole field was filled with our

shouting. We sat next to the band. The See Basketball on p. 3

Spring Break (March 12—16, 2012) Hope you all have the chance to relax, experience something new and enjoy your week-long vacation. There will be NO Language Academy classes during USC’s Spring Break from March 12-16, 2012 and the office will be closed from Wed to Friday.

Spring Forward March 11, 2012 Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour at 2am on Sunday, March 11, 2012. This means that at 2am, you should change your clocks so that it is 3am. You don’t necessarily have to stay up until 2am to change your clocks, but don’t forget to do so before going to bed!

Basketball at Galen Center

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Language

Labs

2

Announce-

ments

3

Ronaldo or

Messi

4

Miami Heat 6

Active

Applicants

6

The Amazing

Parrot

7

Upcoming

Stories

8

UP C O M I N G AC T I V I T I E S

The Academy News M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 5 3 , I S S U E 8 Who is the best

soccer player-

Ronaldo or Messi?

Howard gives us

the facts, pp. 4-5.

Still thinking about

your plans for

Spring Break?

Yara recommends

Miami, p. 6

What are all these

food trucks around

campus? Sara

explains, p. 7

Language Academy students show their Trojan colors.

P A G E 2

Tuesday, March 20th

Time Location Description Facilitator Levels

12:00—1:00 VKC 101 IELTS Test Preparation James Hutzell All Levels

12:00—1:00 VKC 160 Writing Skills Jimenah Espinoza Levels 3, 4, 5, & 6

12:00—1:00 VKC 111 Life Skills : Apartment Hunting

Jemal Williams Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4

12:00—1:00 VKC 209 American Culture : American Cuisine

Natalie Reyes Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4

11:00—12:00

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1 Bella Narvaez Level 1

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2 & 3 Justin Chang Levels 2 & 3

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 4 Dorothy Chang Level 4

12:00—1:00 JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 5, 6 & 7 Hannah Yoo Levels 5, 6, & 7

Please remember to sign up for Language Labs starting TODAY at

NOON until MONDAY, March 19th at 8:00am. Don’t forget over Spring

Break! If you have questions or problems signing up, please email Sky at

schuyles@usc.edu.

Remember, you will need to create an account on the Language Lab

website to sign up for University Day, which will take place on March

27th. Instructions on how to create an account and sign up are

available online—Go to: bit.ly/mzYTQm to find instructions.

Thursday, March 22nd

Time Location Description Facilitator Levels

11:00—12:00 THH 113 Statement of Purpose Prep Heather Robertson

Levels 3, 4, 5, & 6

12:00—1:00 VKC 101 GRE/GMAT Test Prep James Hutzell All Levels

12:00—1:00 VKC 111 Life Skills : Apartment Hunting

Jemal Williams Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4

12:00—1:00 VKC 209 American Culture : American Cuisine

Natalie Reyes Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4

11:00—12:00

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1 Bella Narvaez Level 1

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2 & 3 Justin Chang Levels 2 & 3

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 4 Dorothy Chang Level 4

12:00—1:00 JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 5, 6 & 7 Hannah Yoo Levels 5, 6, & 7

For this week, Life Skills AND American Culture will be on Tuesday and Thursday. Each lab will have the same topic on Thursday as on Tuesday, so everyone can get a

chance to attend. Check out Jemal in Life Skills and Natalie in American Culture!

P A G E 3

UNIVERSITY DAY On Tuesday, March 27th, your regu-

larly scheduled classes will be replaced with one USC class which you will choose and sign up for online (JUST LIKE LANGUAGE LABS). You will get the opportunity to attend a real uni-versity class with real USC students on this day! On Friday, March 23rd, you will be able to sign up online for ONE class that you find interesting.

This is your chance to test your listen-ing and note-taking skills, as well as to see what a U.S. university class is like. You will also have an assignment in Oral Skills class to complete after you have attended your USC class.

For more information, students should check The Academy News in the March 23rd edition. You will find the

different courses listed here.

Former student Jennifer Lee wrote in The Academy News, “Through this class, I could get confidence that I could un-derstand a regular class in the U.S.”

University Day Surprise Ryan Huang from Taiwan describes his experience of University Day in this arti-cle

International students had many surprises on University Day. This was my second time to join the special class. Before I came to America, I always imagined I could study in U.S.C.

I took the Linguistics class at 11:00. When I arrived there on time, many students were quietly waiting for the professor. They had a special visitor who was Genie Gertz Ph. D from Cali-

fornia State University in University Day. She was a deaf and dumb person. I was surprised because I had never attended such an unusual class.

“What kind of way did she teach in class?” This question emerged from my mind. She used sign language to a per-son who was translating from her. She was a really smart, lively and kindly professor. She prepared a lot of infor-mation in Powerpoint. Every student really enjoyed the class and eagerly asked questions.

After this class I can’t forget this class, it was really special to me. I hope I can go to her class again. This was a won-derful and surpris-ing class.

Attention Students! Do you have class at the Radisson Hotel? Please remember that you

should always park your bicycles in designated bike racks, and lock it to

something secure. We have had complaints that students are parking their bikes in front of Rosso’s Pizze-ria. If you park your bike and it isn’t

locked to a bike rack, it could get stolen, or DPS will impound it, which means to take it away because you

aren’t following the rules. Please don’t forget!

Basketball Continued from p. 1

members of the band

were dancing to their

own melody. They

used their passion and

enthusiasm to bring on

the cheers.

Our basketball game

gave expression to not

only the physical

strength of the compe-

tition, but the embodi-

ment of the team spirit.

Meanwhile, it con-

tained skills and wis-

dom.

The passion of the

players and audience

also came from the

cheering squads’ en-

couragement. The two

teams’ girls danced en-

ergetically. Their vital-

ity and youthfulness

brought us a visual

feast. Even though I

was not a basketball

fan, the exciting atmos-

phere and Trojan’s un-

yielding spirit made me

start to love this game.

I believe in every Tro-

jan’s heart, their team

will never give up, no

matter how strong the

opponents are. Fight

on, Trojans!

P A G E 4

HOWARD WEN

Nowadays, there is an unwritten rule in the soccer world that almost all the soccer fans and experts think that either C. Ronaldo or Messi is the best soccer player now. These two most talented soccer players are compared all the time.

C. Ronaldo repre-sents the confident and wild style of soccer player, but Messi repre-sents the diligent and modest style.

Another thing I have to mention is they play

for the greatest rival soc-cer clubs—Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga (First Division of Spanish Soccer League), Spain.

Soccer is an all-round game. The size of the player is not a deter-mining factor. C. Ronaldo is faster and

stronger than Messi, but agility is Messi’s asset.

Both of them have nearly perfect soccer techniques.

Let’s make a com-prehensive comparison about their soccer tech-niques to see who is bet-ter.

See Soccer on p. 5

Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi

Happy Birthday!

March

Andrea Coates 8

Maithili Kiran Mokashi 9

Bader Ibrahim Al Sabti 10 Abdullah Sulaiman Alomri 12

Sheena Vira 21

Barbara Holmes 23

Mazin Alahmadi 23

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominate the soccer leagues.

Language Academy students show their Trojan Spirit at Thurs-day’s basketball game at the Galen Center.

P A G E 5 Soccer: Ronaldo or Messi? Continued from p. 4

Soccer Techniques C. Ronaldo Messi

Dribbling 10 10

Shooting 10 10

Tactics Awareness 10 10

Header Ability 10 8

Teamwork 6 10

C. Ronaldo Messi

Total Score 93 93

Player C. Ronaldo Messi

Age 27 25

Height 185cm 170cm

Weight 78kg 64kg

Highest Honor 2008 FIFA (International Federation of Associa-tion Football) World Player of the Year

2009, 2010, 2011 FIFA World Player of the Year

Physical Ability C. Ronaldo Messi

Speed 10 9

Power 10 8

Agility 7 10

Stamina 10 9

Spring Ability 10 9

P A G E 6

Travel Heat it Up in Miami by Yara Hadi

Spring break is right

around the corner. So

why not go somewhere

hot? Why not go to Mi-

ami?

There are many fun

things to do and exciting

places to visit in Miami.

Don’t forget about the

weather. The weather is

going to be pretty hot, so

you can hit the beach and

get tanned.

Miami is all about

beaches. Miami’s hot spot is South

Beach, which is located in the fa-

mous Miami Beach. South Beach

has everything from shopping to

restaurants to partying at night.

Miami Beach is the most fa-

mous beach in Miami because it has

seven miles of beaches and about 20

parks filled with culture.

Let’s not forget about nightlife.

Nightlife includes everything, such

as clubs, bars, and pubs.

If you are looking for something

more cultural, you should visit Little

Havana. Little Havana brings back

the history of the Cubans who came

to Florida. Little Havana offers Cu-

ban restaurants and shops, which are

great for all ages.

Every year little Havana holds a

festival called Calle Ocho,

which is one of the largest

festivals in the world with

over a million visitors. This

festival takes place from Feb-

ruary 19-March 11.

At this time, Miami’s

weather is the perfect get-

away for a little sun. The

highest temperature is about

80F (33C) and the lowest is

about 50F (11C). The plane

ride is around six hours.

I think visiting Miami is a

great way to spend your

spring break because they have

many festivals, beaches, and other

attractions that will satisfy many

ages.

Reference

www.about.com

www. Wikipedia.com

Miami has long beaches with white sand, a perfect getaway in March.

Be an

Active

Applicant

SISI LIN

March and April are

special months for many

Language Academy students.

Since many students have

already applied for under-

graduate schools or graduate

programs, it is the time for

schools to give students re-

sults.

Students become nervous

and anxious when they are

waiting for their results.

Many of them think they

can’t do anything else. How-

ever, although students have

already submitted applica-

tions, you can still do some-

thing before you get results.

Here are some tips for stu-

dents “in the last minute”.

Double check your email

addresses and mailing

address. Sometimes, the

delay of results is caused

by wrong contact infor-

mation. Update your con-

tact information immedi-

ate.

Keep in touch with the

programs that you ap-

plied. Some students

email or have conversa-

tion with the admission

officers before or when

they prepare the applica-

tion, which helps them

get the update informa-

tion about the program

and leave themselves a

positive impression on the

program. However, it is

also necessary to keep in

touch with the admission

officers after submitting

the application. This is a

good way to refresh the

impression and show your

enthusiasm of study.

Keep in touch with your

classmate to see if they

have any new information

about the application.

Don’t feel depressed if

you get the rejection.

Some other schools ac-

cept late application. Try

other schools or programs

that you are interested in.

Keep in touch with your

friends and classmates

will be the most effective

ways to get latest infor-

mation. You are not only

competitors, but also fel-

lows in the battle.

Don’t be depressed if

you don’t get any feed-

back about the program.

Some students don’t

hear anything from the

program in April or

May, but they get it in

June or even later. Some

programs are extremely

busy and popular, so

they need more time to

evaluate or compare the

applicants. Not receiving

the results in April or

May doesn’t mean you

are rejected. Be positive

and patient.

Hungry? Food Trucks are Here! By Sara AlShehri

Why wait for a reservation in a Chi-nese or Mediterranean restaurant, hoping to find a table when you can simply find the same food next to you!

Food trucks are catering trucks that serve many kinds of food. The main reason for creating food trucks is to make profits for many people who cannot afford to open their own res-taurants.

The idea of food trucks was founded a long time ago when sellers came to the town and tried to sell some of their homemade products, such as butter, cottage cheese, meats, and vegetables.

The variety of the food trucks is huge; American food, East Asian. Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican,

Mediterranean and for sure American chili burgers!

Additionally, let’s not for-get everyone’s favorite food which is dessert! There are trucks selling ice cream, chocolate crepes, cinnamon rolls, and muffins.

Big cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are usually full of food trucks everywhere. Moreover, food trucks are usually located around university campuses, companies in major streets, and in large parks.

Here’s a tip: when you want to order something from a food truck, usually they have small menu that shows you the most popular meal. Therefore, you should check out this menu before ordering something you won’t like.

Maybe you can try some of the delicious food trucks around the cam-pus; it’s really an interesting experi-ence. I mean delicious and cheap food! You cannot ask for more!

Welcome Velkommen

Bienvenue Bienvenidos

Benvenuti Bem-vindo

환영

ようこそ

Қош келдіңіз!

Xush kelibsiz

Добро пожаловать

Courtesy of Google Translate

P A G E 7

The Love I Share with my Parrot by Lily Sabajan

I really like pets because they

form part of my family and particu-

larly of me. I have a big house with

enough space for my pets, including

three dogs, Scrappy, Sammy, and

Chuchie; my two turtles,Fasty, and

Swimmy; and last but not least, my

parrot named Chapis. I’d like to

share with all the students in Lan-

guage Academy my wonderful experi-

ence with my bird.

Chapis is a very nice parrot. He

has lived almost a year with us in the

house. He is green with a red crown

on top of the head; he is a Mexican red

crown. He came from San Luis Potosi

Mexico.

Having a parrot is incredible. You

need to be prepared for a very long

companionship for 30 or 60 years at

least.

Chapis likes to be adopted by

someone specific in the family. The

position of the cage is very important

because your bird is part of the fam-

ily. The cage has to be in an area

where your pet can observe household

activities. Chapis is placed next to us

in the living room. He likes to watch

us eating and talking about the day at

school and work.

Chapis is a very smart bird. In the

short year with us he has learned a lot

of words in English I am from Guate-

mala, and my native language is

Spanish. He also speaks Spanish. For

example, he says “Hello,” “For real,”

“Bye-bye,” “Arriba” (meaning up),

“Tengo frio” (I am cold), and “Hi,

papi.” He says that because my girls

call my husband “papi.” He really

makes me happy when he repeats eve-

rything I say. They are good imita-

tors.

In conclusion, I think having pets

in your life is very positive because

this gives you many opportunities to

share the love with them.

Top: There are a variety of food trucks around campus; Above: Food trucks have a long history in Los Angeles.

Chapis speaks both English and Spanish.

Student stories and lots of other in-

formation are available on our

blog—World of Mouth!

Here is the link: http://

www.uscrossier.org/langacad/

Sisi’s story is posted there: “Be An

Active Applicant.”

In the next issue of The Academy

News

Yara Hadi will write about an

organization that helps the in-

visible children of Uganda.

Sis Lin will explore the possibil-

ity of a second-hand exchange

on campus.

Sara Al Shehri will tell us about

St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.

Don’t forget to wear green, or

someone will pinch you!

Howard will report on the

Spring Break.

AND TELL US ABOUT YOUR

ADVENTURES OVER SPRING

BREAK!! HAVE A GREAT

TIME!!

St. Patrick’s Day

March 17

THE ARTS AND EVENTS

CALENDAR WILL BE BACK

ON MARCH 25!!

USC Language

Academy

Rossier School of

Education

Phone: 213-740-0080

Fax: 213-740-0088

Web: www.usc.edu/

langacad

ATTENTION

LANGUAGE

ACADEMY

STUDENTS

Do you have a story to tell?

Do you have an inspiration?

The TAN Staff invites all

students to write stories for

the newsletter. Send your

stories to Editor Sisi Lin at

sisilin044@gmail.com or

Assistant EditorYara Hadi at

yarahadi93@gmail.com

and we’ll publish them!

UPCOMING STORIES AND EVENTS

The Academy News is a weekly newsletter pro-duced by students in the Journalism Elective of the USC Language Academy. All students in the Lan-guage Academy Program are encouraged to send news stories and photos to Sonja Lovelace at slove-lac@usc.edu.

Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Informa-

tion” and then click on “The Academy News.”

P A G E 8 M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 2

WE HAVE A WINNER! Nedaa Al Hamadie is

the winner of last week’s quiz Disney Quiz!!

Enjoy your Starbuck’s Coffee Card!

Editor Sisi Lin

Assistant Editor Yara Hadi

Reporters Sara Alshehri

Tzekwan (Catherine)Cheung

Lilly Sabajan

Yining (Yvoon) Wei

Haoyang (Howard) Wen

Fengyi (Phoebe) Zhang

Advisor

Sonja Lovelace

THE TAN STAFF