dilluns, 13 d’abril del 2009

CLASS 12 (28.ABR-5.MAI.09)

PHRASAL VERBS

Phrasal verbs are idiomatic expressions, combining verbs and prepositions to make new verbs whose meaning is often not obvious from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. They are widely used in both written and spoken English, and new ones are formed all the time as they are a flexible way of creating new terms.

Very often you'll have to look up in dictionaries the meaning of phrasal verbs. Here you have a list of pages where you can look them up:

Now it's time to take some exercises and quizzes to test your knowledge on phrasal verbs. Don't forget to look up their meaning in the previous pages and dictionaries. Phrasal verbs are very difficult! Don't become discouraged if you fail a lot, just try to do the exercises again.

WRITING A NARRATIVE (optional activities)

Writing a narrative is like telling a story. A narrative is a story about a series of events and they are usually written in the past. You can have a look at some Tips for Writing a Personal Narrative, if you want to improve your writing. A narrative essay must include:

  1. Opening: Presents the setting, the characters and the place where the story takes place.
  2. Body: Develops the plot explaining the events in the story.
  3. Closing: Explains the end of the story and how the plot is solved.

There are some useful language and expressions you can use in narrative essays:

  • TIME EXPRESSIONS: when, while, before, after, as soon as, by the time, until, during, yesterday, all night, a week later, last summer, it all began when…, before I knew it, suddenly
  • SEQUENCE EXPRESSIONS: first, at first, in the beginning, to begin with, next, later, meanwhile, finally, at last, in the end

By now you should be ready to write your own narrative composition, using all the information you have about writing narrative essays. I want you to write a short composition (100 words) about the earthquake in Italy this Easter. You'll find useful information and vocabulary about this topic in the following websites:

HOMEWORK (optional)

Send the composition to cristina.itaca@gmail.com with narrative in the subject of the message, before your next class in the computer room.
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CLASS 11 (14-21.ABR.09)

Let's start working with UNIT 5 AGAINST ALL ODDS. The contents of the unit are:

  • Vocabulary: survive in dangerous situations
  • Making inference to understand things that aren't written in texts (reading between the lines and paying attention to small details and hints in texts)
  • Phrasal verbs with multiple meanings
  • Defining and non-defining relative clauses
  • Speculate and predict consequences
  • Use of adjectives and adverbs
  • Write a narrative

RELATIVE CLAUSES

You are going to investigate about defining and non-defining relative clauses. This time you are going to make a summary or diagram explaining the rules and use of this type of clauses, adding examples if you find them useful. You can do this summary or diagram in English or Catalan. Once you are finished send the document to cristina.itaca@gmail.com with relative clauses in the subject of the message.

You'll find information to do this diagram in pages 58 and 122 in your books or in the following links:

Now you are ready to do some exercises on relative clauses. Do all the exercises and repeat them if you have a lot of mistakes:

HOMEWORK

Send a summary or diagram explaining the rules and use of relative clauses to cristina.itaca@gmail.com with relative clauses in the subject of the message, before your next class in the computer room.
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diumenge, 12 d’abril del 2009

MIND MAPS

Per fer la tasca de la CLASS 11 podeu fer servir programes que us ajudin a fer mind maps (mapes conceptuals). Hi ha diferents eines que podeu descarregar-vos, però jo us recomano el CmapTools. Si cliqueu a download podreu descarregar el programa als vostres ordinadors. Només heu d'anar seguint les instruccions que van sortint. Si teniu cap dubte poseu-vos en contacte amb mi per email o pregunteu a classe si no sabeu com fer-lo. Si hi ha molta gent interessada en el funcionament d'aquest programa podem fer una classe extra per explicar en detall com funciona.

Una vegada tens el programa descarregat ja pots començar a treballar. Els mapes que facis es poden guardar al teu equip o compartir-los online. Al teu equip es guardaran en una carpeta ques es diu My Cmaps dintre de Els meus documents. Pots tornar a obrir els mapes i modificar-los tantes vegades com vulguis. Els mapes es guarden amb extensió que només es pot obrir amb ordinadors que tinguin el mateix programa. Si vols enviar-los a algú has de obrir el menú Archivo, clicar Exportar Cmap como i triar el format que li vulguis donar (imatge, pdf, pàgina web...).

Els mind maps són eines que permeten organitzar representar el coneixement de manera senzilla, pràctica i visual.
Grafo.png (13106 bytes)

El seu objectiu és representar les relacions entre els conceptes, que es troben en caixes o cercles. Aquestes relacions s'expliciten amb línies que uneixen les diferents caixes. Aquestes línies s'asocien a paraules o nexes que descriuen quina és la relació entre conceptes.

Si vols saber més sobre el tema pots mirar mapas conceptuales
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dilluns, 30 de març del 2009

THE BEATLES

Easter holidays are about to come and we are going to have a musical end of the term! We are going to investigate about The Beatles and to learn more about this band. First of all you are going to read a short text about The Beatles and answer some questions at The Beatles.

Now it's time to listen to some music. The Beatles have a lot of famous songs. I Saw Her Standing There , Yesterday and Let It Be are three of their most famous songs. Click in the title of the song, listen to it and fill in the gaps of the lyrics.

Let's finish the class singing. Here you have some video by The Beatles with the lyrics. Try to sing the songs while you're listening to them!



If you like The Beatles you have more information at ESL Beatles, with lots of information, videos...

Have a good Eater holidays!
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dilluns, 16 de març del 2009

CLASS 10 (16-27.MAR.09)

Writing an opinion essay is one of the topics of unit 4. In opinion essays you have to convince the reader that your point of view is correct. There are three parts in these essays:
  1. Opening - Presentation of the topic and your opinion.
  2. Body - Specific reasons anf facts to support your opinion.
  3. Conclusion - Summary and restatement of your opinion.

It is important to use connectors and expressions to express opinions, as for example,
  • I think that...
  • I believe that...
  • In my opinion...
  • As far as I'm concerned...
  • Personally,...
  • I love / can't stand / don't mind ...
  • As for...
  • For example...
  • In conclusion,...
  • To sum up,...
  • In short,...

Now you are going to read 3 versions of the story The sleeping beauty. You already know the story, so it won't be difficult to understand the content.

First of all you have to do the seven activities in The sleeping beauty. Do them carefully, because you'll have to write a composition with your opinion of the story and its versions.

Use the vocabulary and ideas from the glossary and the exercises to write an oipinion essay explaining your opinion about the story of the sleeping beauty and its different versions (100 words). When you are finished send it to cristina.itaca@gmail.com before your next class in the computer room, with the subject "the sleeping beauty". Remember what we have explained today in class and don't use a translator to write the essay. Try to use your own words.
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USE OF TRANSLATORS

Corregint els vostres treballs del segon trimestre (Juno...), m'he adonat que la majoria de redaccions i textos escrits els feu fent servir traductors online.

Aquests traductors MAI poden suplir la vostra feina de writing. És millor escriure fent servir allò que un sap i amb l'ajut d'un diccionari (imprés o online). D'ara en endavant, si detecto que heu fet servir un d'aquests traductors en les feines que heu de lliurar, no les corregiré.

És molt fàcil detectar si un text ha estat traduit amb una d'aquestes eines: textos incomprensibles i llargs, paraules en castellà o incomprensibles, cultismes, frases desordenades... A continuació us poso alguns exemples de les redaccions de Juno, i veureu algunes de les "coses" que heu escrit (hi ha moltes més, i encara no he començat amb les cartes...):
  • This film likes me (Què bé! A la pel·lícula li agrades tu)
  • The movie I liked a lot (A qui li agrada què?)
  • Create that this film to be quite interesting (Ni idea de què vols dir)
  • In my opinion is a film that is worth much the education (Un altre que no s'entén)
  • I liked this movie because it speaks of a very interesting, who is pregnant and is very current, many young people are living today. (Més llarga, però tampoc s'entén res)
  • The girl has to enfrontar a pregnancy (S'ha colat una paraula en català, què era una traductor del castellà?)
  • She has probemas with her boyfriend (per que es traduiexi bé la paraula l'has d'escriure bé en castellà)
  • Ultimately this film is interesting that ja mature individuals (Aquesta ni s'entén ni està tota en anglès)
  • And finally the prominent figures are chosen expressely because they do his work to the perfection and it seems that they this one happening actually(indeed). (!!!!!)
  • I think this movie was interesting for us to see the fact as the personage of the film so you can get pregnant any of the girls at any age and so you realize that you can greatly damage in according to age and will change much the pace and style of life because of that. (Respira! 56 paraules sense punts, ni comes, ni res que s'entengui)
  • A my film because I like to clear this today (????)
  • In my film I like (de què parles?)
  • Something that can formally known as the penalty and an unborn child not want to and it was more like a young man to be the Juno mother. (No sé què vols dir, però sembla que hi ha un nen de penalty...)
Els traductors són una bona eina, però només si es saben fer servir bé i en el context adequat. Però no serveixen per aprendre a escriure en anglès. Si depeneu molt d'ells, quan no els pogueu fer servir (exàmens, selectivitat, entrevistes...) no sabreu què fer, i sovint aquests són els moments realment importants. Feu-los servir, per exemple, si no enteneu el enunciat d'un exercici o per revisar alguna frase que no esteu segurs de si està bé.

Si decidiu fer-los servir, aquí teniu uns quants consells:
  1. S'ha de triar un bon traductor, i aquests normalment no són gratuits.
  2. Cal escriure correctament en l'idioma d'origen; si fas faltes d'ortografia, gramaticals o d'estil el traductor no les detecta (accents, majúscules, oracions desordenades, frases molt llargues...).
  3. Cal revisar sempre el text una vegada traduit, i comprovar que sigui correcte. Convé fer una traducció inversa per veure si coincideixen. O provar més d'un traductor.
Com veieu fer servir un traductor implica una feinada, moltes vegades més que la que suposa redactar un text escrit.

RECORDEU QUE AL 3er TRIMESTRE NO CORREGIREM NI PUNTUAREM CAP FEINA QUE HAGI ESTAT FETA AMB UN TRADUCTOR.
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dilluns, 23 de febrer del 2009

CLASS 9 (2-13.MAR.09)

The contents of UNIT 4 - WHO WE ARE are the following:
  • Vocabulary: genetic and environmental factors
  • Understanding reference (pronouns and possessive adjectives)
  • Verb collocations
  • Adverbs of degree
  • Future
  • Express opinions and thoughts
  • Write an opinion essay
First of all let's have a look at the different ways of expressing the FUTURE (click on the image if you want a better picture or download the document here).

Now we are going to practice it in the following exercises:

Now we are going to practise our listening. Go to Medical Advice and listen to the conversation by pressing the "Play Audio" button, then answer the questions. Press the "Final Score" button to check your quiz. Listen to the conversation again as you read the Quiz Script.
You can do practice activities to review the vocabulary:

HOMEWORK

You have to answer the TWINS QUESTIONAIRE. Copy and paste the questions and answers and send it to cristina.itaca@gmail.com before your next class in the computer room. You'll find the information to answer the questions at the following links:

TWINS QUESTIONAIRE
  1. How many twins, triplets and quadruplets were there in the USA in 2004?
  2. What are identical twins?
  3. Who are the world’s oldest twins who ever lived?
  4. Who were the heaviest twins?
  5. Name 5 famous celebrity twins.
  6. Name 5 famous parents of multiples.
  7. Name 5 movies with twins.
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