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3/21/2012 0 Comments

March Week 3

Greetings,

I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend.  Don't forget that if you missed class on Monday and would like to find a way to make it up, let me know!

This week in class we talked about advice and many of you had a lot to say about the different problems that came up in class.  So, in order to keep up your hard work at home, go ahead and start with listening.  Learners may enjoy giving a go at a Listen A Minute activity about Advice (MP3, transcript and quiz) or Randall's Listening Lab exercise about Medical Advice.  

For reading, the most obvious choice is to check out advice columns!  Some are specifically for English learners, like Dear Ai or What Would You Do?  Others are in "original version" like Dear Abby, Since You Asked, and Dear Prudence.  Or you may like reading Best Advice My Mother Gave Me or The Best Advice?

A great writing exercise would be to respond to some people's questions on the advice columns above.  Or try responding to some of the questions from class:
  • My son refuses to make an effort at school and is spending time with the "bad kids" at his high school. His behaviour gets worse and worse and I'm worried about him.  What can I do?
  • I caught a co-worker stealing from my desk at work.  I am afraid to tell my boss because they are good friends and I think he won't believe me.  Help!
Giving advice provided a good opportunity for you to practice different modal forms.  If you would like to review and practice this grammar point at home, check out the page on should or try the diagnostic test to see which you may need help with.  Another possibility is this past modals worksheet or past modals for advice quiz.

Have you filled in your preference for March's extra activity online? What are you waiting for?

Last but not least, there is original version cinema at the Cañas cinema.  They are showing Roman Polanski's Carnage, from the 19th to 25th of March at 20:00

Cheers,
Kelly

---When we are asking for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice. -- Saul Bellow
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3/14/2012 0 Comments

March - Week 2

Hey Everyone!

This week in our conversation groups we talked about the environment and its many related subtopics.  Conversations ranged from our environmental concerns to "greener" habits, global warming, endangered animals and carbon footprints and "handprints."  There is certainly a lot of homework you could do to keep working at home!

Let's start with listening.  Learners may enjoy listening about "Save the Earth"  or about "A Green World" whereas more advanced speakers should check out "Climate Crunch: Will Climate Change Release Geological Mayhem" or A Sustainable Future? (available with subtitles).

Don't forget to do some reading.  BBC English has an interesting article about environmental protest groups.  You can also calculate your carbon footprint, or read about the 10 most environmentally friendly nations.

What about writing? Check out this infographic about 10 Ways to Stop Wasting Water.  Do you do any of these things? What are other basic habits we can adopt to lead a greener lifestyle?  Creative writers could explore what life would be like after a major environmental disaster.

This week there is original version cinema -- Sofia Coppola's Somewhere is showing at the Moderno Theater on Thursday March 15th at 20:00 as part of a Women's Day Film Festival.

Also, even though it's still two weeks away, I'd like to start planning this month's extra activity which will take place sometime between March 29th and April 1st.  Please vote for your preferred activity using the online form.

Take note that Monday March 19th is a local holiday and the center will be closed, so enjoy your long weekend and Happy Father's Day! 

Best,
  Kelly




--

We won't have a society if we destroy the environment.  -- Margaret Mead




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3/7/2012 0 Comments

March Week 1

Hello Everybody!


This week's topic was memory: how our brain works (or doesn't!), what we remember from our childhood, and how to improve our memory.

Try doing some listening activities at home.  Learners may try this listening exercise about Memory (mp3, transcript and quiz).  Or you may enjoy these audio concentration games. For more advanced students, there are many fascinating things to listen to: TED talks (available with subtitles) about The riddle of experience vs. memory or A Stroke of Insight.  Or maybe you would like to watch a video called Endless Memory or listen to a Radiolab episode about Memory and Forgetting

For reading you may be interested in this BBC overview of questions about memory  or an article about research to create a "forgetting pill". Do you think this type of technology will ever really be possible?  Another possibility is to read this article about how the internet is changing our memory. Have you ever experienced this phenomenon?

Don't forget that writing is a great way to practice and realize what mistakes you have, and this week there are plenty of things to write about. You could describe a joyful, sad or hilarious memory. Or, if you could change one memory for the better, what would it be and why?  Creative writers may enjoy describing what the experience of amnesia would be like.

Some of you discussed the best way to remember new vocabulary in English and we talked a bit about flashcards.  Quizlet is a good program to use to memorize new vocabulary.

Have a good week!

Kelly

--
It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.  -- Lewis Carroll

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