Class: 5^th/6^th April 2013

Unit 5: Concepts of space (My space, your space, our space)

Can-Do Objectives: Describe spaces in cities

                              Describe how spaces are used

                              Describing places

                              Outline problems

                              Discuss and suggest solutions

Pages: 48, 49, 52, 54, 56 ex 2a and 57 ex 3, 4 and 6

Grammar: Passives

Vocabulary: pedestrian crossing, pedestrian promenade, to vacate, to evict, military headquarters, squats, canvas, allotment

Homework: Workbook – pg. 31, 32, 33 ex 5 & 6, and 37.

Composition: Describe your favourite urban space: the good, the bad and how it could be improved.

Remember: Send me an e-mail with the date and approximate length of your oral presentation.

A TED Talk: Edi Rama: Take back your city with paint

I strongly recommend you view this talk. It is extremely relevant after our last class.

http://www.ted.com/talks/edi_rama_take_back_your_city_with_paint.html

Class: 15^th/16^th March 2013

Unit 5: Concepts of space (My space, your space, our space)

Can-Do Objectives: Talk about crime

  Discuss and suggest solutions

  Discuss the meaning of privacy

Pages: 53 and 57

Grammar: Passives

Vocabulary: Collocations with solution, petty, petty cash, offenders, re-offend, prompted, stance, curfew, perpetrator, cigarette butt.

Homework: Work on your Oral Presentation; Workbook – pg. 33 ex 7, pg. 34 and 36.

Exam: I shall correct your exams over the holiday and hand them back on the first class we have (5^th/6^th April).

Polishing our English

I have to admit that you are all making a lot of progress and it is definitely not my doing. During our last class, I heard some great English. However, (and there is always a ‘however’), I feel that you could try to work on ridding yourselves of some ‘ugly’ habits that produce some sentences such as:

                                                                                                 The people is important.

When you have a minute, take a look at the links below.

Using the definite article the

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=71

Subject – verb agreement (Excellent if you click on HINT which is the grammatical explanation.)

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/we/ch6/subjverbag.htm?AnswerFile=..%2Fqpserver%2F21a&rad1=a&rad2=a&rad3=a&rad4=b&rad5=b&rad6=b&rad7=a&rad8=a&rad9=a&rad10=a&rad11=a&rad12=b&rad13=a&rad14=a&rad15=b&mark=100

Also: GO OUT is NOT equal to salir unless you are referring to having fun.

SO:

No salgo del trabajo hasta las 19:00.    is       I don’t leave work until 19:00.

Sal de clase!                                       is       Leave the room!

¿Cuando sale el tren?                         Is       When does the train leave?

Actually salir translates into many different verbs in English. Look at the following sentences and think of how they would translate into English.

¿Han salido las notas?

Nunca me salen bien las croquetas.

Sal de dudas.

Va a salir el sol.

La mancha ha vuelto a salir.

Salió a la venta el martes.

Another TED talk:

Because we have been discussing possible solutions to petty crimes, I thought it might be interesting to hear what this speaker has to say about sentencing and creative ways of administering justice.

http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_using_our_practical_wisdom.html 

Class: 8^th/9^th March 2013

Unit 5: Concepts of space (My space, your space, our space)

Can-Do Objectives: Talk about crime and surveillance

                              Comment on experiences

Pages: 50, 51 and 56

Grammar: Passives

Vocabulary: fumble, oblivious, allay, hone, rampaging, a smack of smtg., mugging, riots, busking, reckon, paltry

Homework: Review unit 1 – 4 for the exam.

Remember: Next class, 15^th/16^th March, you will be having an exam on Units 1-4. As it will not take up the whole class time, we will continue working on unit 5.

Also, below I’ve included the trailer to the movie 1984 which we talked about in class. I encourage you not only to watch the whole movie but to also read the book by George Orwell included on the list of Modern Library 100 Best Novels.

Before next class (15^th/16^th), I encourage you to watch this video so that we might discuss it. It is a clip from a British game show about trivia called QI and hosted by Stephen Fry. The topic is about the American sentencing system and prison/jail.

Stephen Fry on American Prison Facts

And finally, here is the link to the page that I mentioned in class so that you can practice differentiating between Because of and due to.

http://web.ku.edu/~edit/because.html

Class: 1^st/2^nd March 2013

Unit 4: Maps (Changes)

Can-Do Objectives: Make comparisons and talk about changes

                              Talk about results

                              Talk about diet and nutrition

Pages: 40, 43, 45, 46

Grammar: Pronunciation /v/ vs. /b/; the future; comparisons involving verbs and times

Vocabulary: fizzy, pulses, stale, deafening, grimy, squat, pristine, snooze, hangout, fancy, stunted, is bound to, on the verge of, on the brink of

Homework: Workbook – Complete unit 4.

In preparation for next class: Please think of what you are going to do your Oral Project on. Also, take a look at this video. We’ll be discussing it in class.

Class: 22^nd/23^rd February 2013

Unit 4: Maps (Changes)

Can-Do Objectives: Make comparisons and talk about changes

                              Discuss changing trends

                                      Interpret maps and facts

Pages: 38, 39, 47

Grammar:   Verbs followed by ON and verbs followed by IN;

Pronunciation: /j/ and /dʒ/

Vocabulary: noun into adjective; difference between adjective and adverb forms; battleship, indicator, graph, grid, marginally,

Homework:

           Workbook – pg. 24 ex 1, pg. 26 ex 7 & 8, pg. 27 ex 9 & 10; pg. 30 ALL

Notes: Indium is the mineral I was referring to when I was talking about what touchscreens are made of. If you are interested in learning more about the subject, below is a link for an article about recent research into this area of technology.

http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2011/january/Touchscreen_Made_of_Carbon.html

By the way, money CAN buy happiness! Watch and read the transcript of this TED talk I found on www.ted.com about one of our topics of this last class. On this site you will find talks on many different subjects. However, what is even more interesting for you is the fact that you can see the transcript by clicking at the bottom of the image on Show transcript and selecting English.

Enjoy!

http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness.html

Finally, congratulations on your 1 minute country presentations.

Remember: Start thinking about your Oral Project. 

Jamie Oliver: This is the famous English chef whose photo is included in you textbook. I thought that you might enjoy watching a few brief videos.

The first one is about where some hamburger meat comes from in the U.S. He talks about the FDA which is the American government agency in charge of determining which foods and drugs are healthy and which are not.

The second one is about making salads and some of the recommendations and suggestions he makes were brought up during our last class.

The third video is for those of you who enjoy cooking and want to add a bit of variety to your diet.

I hope you enjoy them.

Jamie Oliver: Food Revolution

Jamie Oliver's principles for superb salads

Greek chicken, herby vegetable couscous & tzatziki

Class: 15^th/16^th February 2013

Unit 4: Maps (Changes)

Can-Do Objectives: Make comparisons and talk about changes

                              Discuss changing trends

                              Talk about results

Pages: 41, 42, 44, 47

Grammar: get and become; comparisons; verbs into nouns

Vocabulary: to nourish, to gather, thus, hence, ubiquitous, harvest, food for convenience

Homework:

- Write about how a town or country has changed (250-300 words). (Base it on pg 42 ex. 4a and pg. 47 ex 9a)

- Find facts about the country assigned in class to tell the rest of the class when we next meet. Make it interesting (1 minute speaking).

Remember: Rewrite your drafts as soon as possible. If you have any doubts about my corrections or comments, either write an e-mail or ask me the following class. As of next class (22^nd/23^rd February) we will be adding 15 minutes to each class to make up for the cancelled class dates in May (3^rd/4^th).

About the food industry

The following is a link to a rather long but extremely interesting video about the food industry in the United States. It’s in English but with subtitles in Spanish.

You don’t have to watch it in one sitting. Split it up into various sessions.

http://vimeo.com/30620523