10/23/2014 0 Comments October Week FourThis week's topic was house and home. We mainly used real estate ads as a jumping off point to discuss what we usually look for in a house or apartment.
LISTENING To practice your listening skills, learners have several options: Home Improvement, Landscaping and Home Repairs at Randall's For original version listening, try the TED talk Less stuff, more happiness, or for something a bit longer, try House Rules or No Place Like Home. READING Learners could read an article about changes in Home Ownership or about one of the world's priciest homes. For original version reading, Building With Whole Trees, or read about a secret Treehouse in the Canadian woods. Or for something closer to home, read about Spain's own housing crisis. WRITING As usual, you've got plenty of writing options. First, you could try writing an ad to rent or sell your apartment. What amenities does it have? How would you describe it? Another possibility is to address the housing crisis in Spain. What happened? How has it affected you or people you know? Where do we go from here? Have a good week! Best, Kelly
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10/16/2014 0 Comments October Week ThreeThis week in honor of Columbus Day (celebrated on October 13th in the U.S.), we talked about Christopher Columbus, the discovery of America, and the so-called "Columbian Exchange."
LISTENING For listening practice this week, learners can try an overview from ESL Holidays about the holiday (mp3, transcript, and activities). For original version listening, watch one of the History channel's programs about the Columbian Controversy. READING Learners could read and explore the BBC website about Christopher Columbus' biography at Famous People. For original version reading, first check out the very interesting infographic suggesting we Change Columbus Day to Bartolomé Day. Also, try the TIME article 10 Things You Should Know about Columbus. For history buffs, I highly recommend books and articles by Charles Mann: 1491. WRITING There are a few options this week for writing. First, you could describe Columbus' voyage or the first meeting with indigenous people. Or you could explain your opinion of if we should celebrate this day and how. Next week's topic is house and home. You can review some vocabulary to get ready. Have a good week! Best, Kelly 10/13/2014 0 Comments October Week TwoThis week we based our conversation on the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
LISTENING For listening practice this week, learners can try listening to a conversation about being blind (mp3 and transcript), describing touch or try this audio concentration game. For original version listening, listen to the radio story Dining in the Dark or the Radiolab Segment Words that Change the World. READING Learners could read this explanation about the difference between the verbs listen and hear or for something a bit more difficult a story about a blind mountainclimber (check the right sidebar for mp3, too). For original version reading, check out some of the information about optical illusions or the article The Blind Man Who Taught Himself to See. WRITING This week you can write about any of the 5 senses. You could describe which sights, smells or sounds evoke memories for you and why. Or consider what Oscar Wilde famously said: "Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul." Do you agree?Don't forget that you can combine this week's work with any of the general resources from last week. Have a good week! Best, Kelly 10/1/2014 0 Comments October Week OneDo your Homework! Make your English teacher happy! Welcome back to the new school year and a big welcome to all the new students this year! This week we talked about how to study English. Your main task for this week is to familiarize yourself with the general resources that I include below and find some that you like. Bookmark them so that you can revisit them throughout the year! LISTENING
There are plenty of websites out there both for learners and in original version that you can use to practice listening. The ones that I recommend (by section) are: Online listening activities adapted for learners:
Podcasts for learners: Learning with music: Learning with movies: Original Version Resources:
READING Just as is the case of listening, there are many resources that you can revisit throughout the year. Try both the adapted reading sites as well as the ones in original version! Adapted reading for learners:
WRITING This week's writing assignment is to make a study plan for the year! What are your objectives? What resources will you use to achieve them? What skills do you need to improve on? If you are a new student, please write about your past experiences with English and what you would like to change and improve. GRAMMAR I do recommend that you study a bit of grammar at home. Even the most advanced students could use a review! So please take a look at some of these resources to study grammar: VOCABULARY This year I suggest you study vocabulary with theQuizlet sets that I have prepared, so take a look and consider downloading the app onto your phone or tablet, so if you are interested, please register online. Other resources are: PRONUNCIATION Last, but certainly not least, there are websites that you can use to practice pronunciation:
Have a good week! Best, Kelly |
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