Friday, Sept. 2: Searching for Level VI and CAE practice

Dear Class,

The items on today's menu are...

1) CAE practice tests. (Proposed time: 20 minutes)

Remember you have a marked quiz mid-September--in just 2 weeks! Why do these here and now instead of at home? You can immediately ask me for an explanation of why an answer is incorrect shall you have a question.

2) Writing: What motivates you? (Proposed time: 15 minutes)

Please write responses to these questions in Word and print it. You'll need this on Monday!!! Do NOT write your name on the document.

a) Why do you come to class regularly?
b) Why do you pay your bus fare (use your "tarjeta Bip") when you take the bus?
c) Why do you want to be a teacher?
d) Why are you doing this assignment?

Note: Treat this like a journal entry rather than an academic paper. You should, however, use correct pronunciation and spelling. See the board in class for more details!

3) Searching for Level VI. (Proposed time: 20 minutes)
This is a 6-page text that can be found in the "Files" folder of virtual. This is a phenomenol text that came to my mind while listening to your presentations. It connects very well to our talk on goals and students' objectives and even makes a bridge to our next topic: Beliefs. I ask that you all read this short article and bring it to Monday's class (printed) so that we can work with it in class. (You do NOT need to bring your Innovations text book).

4) Review of commas. (Proposed time: 15 minutes)

See the last 2 posts on this blog.

Would you like to do some online quizzes?

Click here: Practice comma quiz
and here: Quiz on comma usage

To print: Comma explanations

Sorry, class: the document is too long for me to get copies for each of you. Still, I condensed it into a printable version of just 5 pages. Click here if you want it.

Your comma quiz!

So, this is the deal: as promised, I'm giving you a quiz on the use of commas. Nonetheless, this is going to be a very different format than what you have probably ever done. This is a class quiz--not an individual quiz. So you all get the same mark, and this mark will either be a "7" or a "0". Seriously. But, this is the catch: you get several tries to get a 100%. This is how it will work. I will project 15 sentences on the board. We will go around the room and each person, individually, will have 1 chance to fix his/her sentence. As soon as 1 student messes up, the quiz ends. The day we complete the circle (i.e. the day you each punctuate correctly the sentence given to you), you all get a 7. If the semester ends before this day happens, you all get an O-N-E. So, collaborate! Work together! Help those students out that need more guidance. If you are confused, ask for clarification.

I will make copies of the "comma rules" for you as posted on the website I sent you last week.

Best,
Sabrina

Study Guide: Key Expressions

Dear Students,

I'd like to clarify what expressions you will be held accountable for on your quiz. You need to study the following...

a) Expressions that I connected to "Voices of LVIII". These were given to you last week and follow the following format, in general: "Who speaks of not throwing in the towel?"

b) The expressions that I used in my last blog post that are in bold. I wanted to use these in a "real-life" context.

c) Expressions that express degrees of certainty. I suggest you review page 115, ex. 5 and the book's grammar explanation on page 169-170.

d) Last but not least, Felipe and I have agreed that these are the expressions that you are most likely to run across in your academic/professional lives. Many are repeated from what I already highlighted, but this list will also be of use, I expect:

to lack a certain self-belief

to be the weak link (of a chain)

to be on something (i.e. drugs!)

to have days off (= vacation)

to have drive (determination)

to be underrated

to fulfill your potential

to give up

to handle pressure

to throw in the towel

to pull punches

a mind numbing effect

(a subject) dominates the media + saturation coverage

a bid for something

to have your sights set firmly on sth

the ball is in their court

to keep your head above water

to touch base

to foster

to subsidise

I hope this offers you some guidance.

Sabrina

New expressions! Class news!

Dear Students,

Great class on Monday! I think we're on the right track to improve writing, boost the sophistication of our lexis, and up the class's self-esteem, in general. I appreciate the efforts you made to foster a comfortable environment so that everybody could present and/or offer feedback. You did a good job of shooting the ball back and forth, engaging in meaningful dialog. This certainly helped spark reflective and critical thinking.

Regarding tomorrow, there's a definite possibility that we will not have classes. In fact, I'd say that there's a very slim chance that we will meet because the odds are quite LOW that the university will be closed entirely. So, let’s plan on having class on Friday in our normal room so that we can continue with presentations.

Also, please note that your first workshop will be on Friday, at 13:30. I will try to post the room on this blog soon. You can also check Virtual to see Valeria's message. As I mentioned during the first week of class, I'd like you all to feel that this term you are NOT out of your depth, that you are doing much more than just keeping your head above water. I believe that each of you can fulfill your potential with regards to your English. This is why I encourage you to jump at the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom. Really, the ball is in your court: you either take advantage of opportunities to improve or you do not. But do remember that if you have your sights firmly on something in terms of personal goals (i.e. speak more fluently, make less mistakes, get a 5.0 on the CAE test, etc.), success depends on YOU, on YOUR plan of action--not mine. =) Don't underrate yourself. Have drive and dare to swim against the tide; do more than the minimum and look for new ways to set yourself apart from the rest!

Now, did you notice that the bold expressions connect to pages 112-115? Please continue to work autonomously on the phrases I have exposed you to.

Here’s a link that might be of interest to you:

High odds or low odds?

Last announcement: Your quiz on new phrases will be on Monday, August 29.

August 19: Preparing for oral presentation on Setting Goals

Thank you for your collaboration last week. With your help, we were able to identify the areas where you, as a class, can improve your writing.

Before we jump in to today's task, I encourage you to spend 10 minutes reviewing this link on the use of commas:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/02/

Now, today's lab class will be your opportunity to prepare for next week's oral presentations. I will explain everything you need to know here:

The topic of the presentation is "Goal setting", however, you may choose your subject from the following:

a) University students (in general)

b) LVIII students

c) School children

d) Teachers

e) Other ideas? Ask me.

To begin,

1) Explore some websites that talk about setting goals and the subject of your choice. For example, you might google "setting goals school" or "setting goals university", etc.

2) Of the sites you visit, choose 1 you really like to put in the Virtual "sites" folder for our class.

(NOTE: If somebody has already posted your link, you do NOT need to re-post it. Do not post another unless you consider it equally as good).

3) Once you have made this contribution, spend some time visiting the links your classmates posted. (Theoretically, you should only be visiting sites worth your time at this point).

4) Now, create (organize) a presentation that fulfills the following objectives:

*Discusses why you chose to concentrate on your subject (=needs analysis)

*A summary of concrete steps/plan of action that can be taken to help your subject establish and reach goals. This will likely be based on the content on some of the sites you visited.

*The expected outcome or result of your subject establishing and reaching goals

*Anything else (optional)

5) Now, the nitty-gritty:

*no power point presentation or visual.

*no reading from a previously prepared text, although notes are fine (and necessary)!

*make an effort to use new vocabulary/ expressions.

*content and use of English will be assessed.
*presentations should be 3-4 minutes. Be organized so you can say what you need to say without
excessive repetition or exceeding 4 minutes. (Time yourself!).

*Presentations will take place on Monday and Wednesday next week. Everybody should be ready to present on Monday, however.

Please remember that you can chat with me via sabdore@gmail.com if you have questions about English or this assignment.

I welcome your feedback or ideas! Drop me a line during class if you have a suggestion or comment to share.

Sabrina

Your success or mine?

Dear Students,

As you recall, during Monday’s class you were asked to reflect on your personal strengths and weaknesses as well as those of the class, in general. In this discussion we talked about strengths and weaknesses as they are tied to one’s own perspective and objectives or goals. Now, in this lab class, I will ask you to explore the topic of success to see if you can learn more about yourself as a learner or as a future teacher.

Task 1: Pre-listening activity. Proposed time: 3-4 minutes.

To get started, discuss with a partner the following questions:

What is success for you as a learner?

What is success for you as a teacher?

How can you ensure success (as either a learner or teacher?)

Task 2: While activity: TED video: Proposed time: 15 minutes

Watch the following video at least twice: the first time, focus on general content; the second time make note of keywords and/or new words, important vocabulary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgNx9Bgac1I

Task 3: Post activity: Write your reaction. Proposed time 30-35 minutes

To follow-up, prepare a short text (in Word) in which you share your reaction to this video. You might consider...

A) Connecting the talk to something you see at schools, in the classroom during your teaching practicum.

B) Explaining with support why you agree or disagree with Richard St. John.

C) Sharing a personal anecdote in which you shared an experience similar to St. John's.

D) Drawing conclusions between Monday’s discussion (we talked about personality traits (shyness), English (accuracy), group dynamics (good rapport), etc.) and Richard St. John’s viewpoint(s).

(Print when you finish)

Task 4: Post activity 1: Read your classmates’ reactions and revise use of English. Proposed time: 10-15 minutes

Task 5: Post activity 2: Language practice. Proposed time: 10-15 minutes

Answer the questions briefly in your head as they connect to Richard St. John or you; teaching and learning; and goals or success. If any of the underlined words are new to you, add them to your notebook!

1) What solution to unhappiness had a mind-numbing effect for Richard St. John?

2) Using the term figuratively, what can have a mind-numbing effect on kids?

3) Why is it important to heal rifts in any profession?

4) Is it good to foster a competitive edge among teachers or learners?

5) Have you ever had to pick yourself up after a defeat? If so, when?

6) What would you, as a teacher, do in the classroom to breed critical thinking so that students are able to enjoy success by pushing themselves, having ideas, and seeing how/when to improve, etc.?

7) Does success bring people together or drive them apart?

8) What sparks the creativity that can lead to success?