Learning English

Think about how you learn English and click on your favourite way. You can click more than one box.

Welcome back!

Did you see yesterday's beautiful rainbow?This photo was taken with my mobile phone from the car park.

Hi everybody and welcome to our new students, Lina and Desire, who will be getting their blogs started today. Say hello to them in their comments boxes.

Holiday email
Please reply to my email and/or send me your corrected version if you haven't done it yet.

Relative Clauses
We have been learning about relative clauses in class. During the holidays I gave you some links to do more practice. As we have some new students and some of you haven't got an Internet connection at home, you can do some of the work now. Do these exercises on relative clauses:

• Subject Pronouns or Object Pronouns? Level: lower intermediate
• Relative Pronouns – Necessary or not?
• Forming Relative Clauses - defining and non-defining

Blog Portfolio
Today I will let you complete work from last term. Remember you must write about at least 3 podcast from last term. Keep filling in your check list.

Giving it to someone
"Joe brought it home from the office. He gave it to Betty and one of his kids and to Betty’s mother. "
Go to this post and find out about it. Do the exercises as instructed. Marion's class can join in next Monday.

Twitter challenge
Read the previous post to find out about it. Every week we can learn new colloquial expressions and then you can use them for the challenge. This week you can look at expressions of health & illness. Write one or two sentences using one of the new expressions with your own words. You can then send it to English_Phrases starting your message with this: @English_Phrases.

Giving it to someone

Joe brought it home from the office. He gave it to Betty and one of his kids and to Betty’s mother. But Betty’s mother went back to California the next day. On her way to the airport, she gave it to a cab driver, a ticket agent and one of the charming stewardesses. At school, Joe’s kid gave it to some other kids and Mrs Meryl got it and gave it to her husband. In California, Betty’s mother gave it to her best friend Dotty. But Dotty had a heart condition and she died. But before she died, Dotty gave it her girlfriend, the mailman, the paper boy, and her vet when she went to pick up her Chihuahua.“…

What do you think Joe could have brought to the office?

Watch this 1976 TV advertisement and you'll know. You can read the script below, especially if you can't watch the video from TAFE!

Script
I don't need another flu shot. I had a flu shot last year!
A swine flu epidemic may be coming.
Swine flu shot? Well, I don't know. I've been thinking about it.
It could make you very sick.
Swine flu, man I'm too fast for it to catch me!
You want to be protected
I'm the healthiest 55 year old you've ever seen. Hey, I play golf every weekend!
Get a shot of protection. The Swine Flu shot.

2009 Press
In small groups/pairs choose one of the following articles and then write a summary in your own words. Publish it in our f2f wiki.

• Swine Flu latest
  
• Only 7 Swine Flu deaths...
  
• Some people are convinced they will die
• Governments across the worl must prepare for swine flu panic
• Child who could reveal the origin of outbreak
• Global race to find vaccine
• Mexico honeymoon ends in quarantine

Every group should also get news from your own countries in L1 (your first language)

Thanks to TEFL clips for the lesson plan idea and to twitter English_Phrases for publishing the link!(ditto to englishathome and kalinagoenglish)

Email-Holidays

I'm sending everyone an email about my holidays so far. You have to reply to it and tell me about yours. Remember it should have a recount structure & appropriate vocabulary , grammar, etc. Read the example below and do the exercises before sending me your reply.

WRITING A PERSONAL LETTER-recount

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Education-Early-Educ beginning books for

Twitter4English

Have you heard of twitter?
This plain English video explains it very clearly.

Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

The PM does it, Obama does it, Hugh Jackman too ....

Splendid Speaking (who produce fantastic podcasts for practising English) have set up a Twitter challenge in Peter Travis' twitter called English Phrases. Why dont you join and use idiomatic expressions learnt in calss or at Daily Colloquial Expressions in Splendid Speaking?

I also thougth it'd be a good idea to create a twitter address, twitter4English, for everyone to use your English. Write anything you want and ask each other and friends, family , teachers to join and correct each other. It's a fun way to learn. On the right handside bar you will find other twitters we can follow. They provide many ways of practising English (grammar, podasts, exercises...). Join twitter at home (it's blocked at TAFE!) and start twittering!

Color Illusion

Holiday photos

You can create slideshows of your holiday photos with bubbleshare (as you all know by know), smilebox (check previous posts) and also with flickr.

This is one from my trip to Spain January 2009. I created it in Flickr Album Maker.

You can also create albums with flickr, like this one

rosao's Album

Photos posted between 2009/4/1 and 2009/4/10.

Generated by Flickr Album Maker

News articles & Easter Show

1. We have read two articles form the local paper, the Leader, in class this week. One of them is about Bert Gardner, a man who has just graduated from university at 83, the other item is about teenagers binge drinking.

• Write your opinion about the 83 grand graduate in your blog.


• Write your opinion about teenage binge drinking in our forum.

2. Some of you didn't listen to the counsellor's podcast. Do it and write about it in your blog.

3. We managed to record your voices in Voicethread. Well done everyone! Listen to your classmates and everyone else in the three photos. You also gave your opinion about Traditional Gender roles in our forum. Check it again as Marion's students added their opinions. You can answer to what they wrote. Remember to write their name. For example: I agree with you, Rosa. It's very important that everyone does the lion's share of the housework.

Holiday Work

1. During the holidays you will have time to do different things. Why don't you take a ferry to Manly, go to one of the many museums in Sydney or visit the Easter show? You can do this Easter Show worksheet to practise your reading skills.


2. We have been doing a lot of work on relative clauses. Go to English Grammar4U and do the exercises & tests about relative clauses.


3. Don't forget to send me an e-mail on week two about your holidays. It should have a recount about some special outing or activity you have done during week 1.
4. Developing LIteracy through Technology ASSESSMENT. This is one of your subjects fro the semester. Check all the blog work from the past weeks. This checklist will help you check what work you have due.
   
5. You will have a writing assessment when we come back. Remember to revise all the worksheets we did on writing postcards. You will have plenty to write about after two weeks' holiday, so happy holiday, everyone!