Wednesday, December 16th, 2015

Good afternoon CLB 7/8,

Well, we've made it to the end of term!!! Hooray!! I would like to thank you for all your hard work and dedication this term.  I will miss you all, but I wish you all the best as you take your next steps.  I have every confidence in each of you.  For those of you celebrating Christmas, a very Merry Christmas. And for all of you, all the very best in the new year! May all your dreams come true! 

Today, I would like you practice using the different tenses while talking about 'A Christmas Carol.' Please go to the Voicethread where I've placed some questions.

CLB 7/8 Voicethread

If you'd like more practice with the tenses, give these websites a try:

Verb Tense Tutorial

English Verb Tenses

Enjoy! 

Wednesday, December 9th, 2015

Good afternoon CLB 7/8,

This afternoon, you will completing your speaking tests one at a time.  While you're waiting or after you've finished, please have a look at the links below.  The links are divided up according to skill or topic.

I saw this picture on Facebook, and it made me think of Ruba and Afsaneh. ;)


Also, I will give each of you a copy of the 'Strategy Inventory for Language Learning' (SILL).  Please work on it today and make sure to complete it for class on Monday when we will discuss it.

Listening:

http://tigger.uic.edu/~onufrock/lecture_main.html

http://www.teachitelt.com/academic?T=1654

http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_dare_to_disagree

http://ed.ted.com/on/gTGfE82A#review

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/index.shtml

http://breakingnewsenglish.com/

Speaking:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/webcast/tae_betterspeaking_archive.shtml

http://m.busyteacher.org/18521-10-esl-speaking-mistakes-students-make.html

Grammar:

http://blog.ed.ted.com/2014/05/29/be-a-better-writer-in-15-minutes-4-ted-ed-lessons-on-grammar-and-word-choice/

http://www.englishpage.com/

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/word-games/verb-machine

http://blog.britishcouncil.org/tag/blog-awards/

http://efllecturer.blogspot.com.es/2014/06/gerund-or-infinitive.html?m=1

http://talk2meenglish.blogspot.co.il/2014/05/the-present-simple-1-back-to-basics.html?m=1

http://www.engames.eu/nouns-prepositions/

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/678/01/

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/grammar.htm

Pronunciation:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/quiz/quiz1/

http://evaeaston.com/

http://soundsofspeech.uiowa.edu/english/english.html (consonants)


http://soundsofspeech.uiowa.edu/english/english.html (vowels)

Vocabulary:

http://www.lextutor.ca/

http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/wordlist/english/academic/

http://www.englishvocabularyexercises.com/AWL/

Mohawk College Writing Centre:

http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/studentservices/writing-centre/esl-resources.html

http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/studentservices/writing-centre/helpful-fact-sheets.html

Online Language Tests:

http://clb-osa.ca/home  (The online CLB self-assessment tests listening & speaking and gives you a benchmark range.)

http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/researchenterprise/dialang/about (The DIALANG Test tests reading, writing, listening, grammar, & vocab and provides a score using the CEFR [European CLBs; CLB: 8 = approx. CEFR:C1.1/TOEFL: 85/IELTS 6.5) 

Test Preparation:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1143_exams/

http://www.ieltspractice.com/

http://ielts-simon.com/

http://www.dcielts.com/

http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/free-practice-tests

https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/prepare/test_questions

http://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/toefl_listening.htm


Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015

Good afternoon CLB 7/8,

This afternoon, I would like you to complete the self-reflection portion of the presentation rubric, so that I can fill in my feedback.  Also, please email your slides to me, so I can save them with the audio copy of your presentations.  

Next, I would like you to reflect on your learning this semester. Please revisit the goals you set for this term and think about your future goals.  Please review the items in your portfolio binder, organize them if necessary and update your inventory sheets.  Complete the 'Final Reflection' handout and submit it before you leave.  I'll add my feedback to your sheet which we can discuss together before you add it to your binder.




If you have any extra time, please work on past tense /-ed/ sounds. 

http://evaeaston.com/t-d-Id-pattern.html

http://evaeaston.com/t-d-Id-irreg-pattern.html


Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 25th, 2015

Good afternoon CLB 7/8,

Apparently, we're not the only ones reading 'Anne of Green Gables.' ;) 

'Lisa with an 's''

This afternoon, you will have the entire period to work on your presentations.  Please don't forget to keep track of the sources that you use.  Here's an example of how you can cite your sources in your slides: 

For a book:
Author's name. Date. Title. Place of Publication. Publisher.

Smith, J. (2015). References. Hamilton, ON: Mohawk College Press. 

For a website:

Author's name. Date. Title. URL.

Smith, J. (2015). Studying English. Retrieved from www.studyingenglish.co.ca. 

Don't worry too much about having perfect references.  What I'm really looking for is that you use a few sources and give credit the information that you use from these sources.  

Enjoy!

Which Everyday English Words Came from Arabic?

Wednesday, November 18th, 2015

Good afternoon CLB 7/8,

This morning, we talked about problems and solutions, and how we should use research to help us.  I would like you to each prepare a short presentation for Friday afternoon (3rd period).  This time will just to practice making short presentations (5-10 mins.) about problems and solutions.  We won't worry about doing lots of research for now.  

Here's a website with a variety of social issues to choose from:

Social Issues

Please choose one topic from the list and listen to it.  You will see that there are different levels, accents, and exercises available to help test your understanding.

Please choose the highest level available (this can vary from topic to topic).  Complete as many of the exercises as you wish, but please take careful notes on your topic, so that you can present it to the class on Friday.  

Consider these questions and use the chart that I gave you this morning to help you organize your ideas.

1. What is the problem?
2. Why is it a problem? (What are the causes and effects?)
3. What are the possible solutions to this problem?

You will present your problem and solutions on Friday during 3rd period.  

Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 11th, 2015

Good afternoon CLB 7/8,

This afternoon, I'd like you to finish the listening exercises that you started with Janice on Monday. You can use any notes that you have from Monday, but don't worry, you'll have the chance to listen again.  Follow this link to submit your answers via Google Forms.  (It's not a test. I'll share the results on Monday. ;) You will need to come back to the blog for the audio files.

"The Campaign to Humanize the Coffee Trade"

Here are the two audio files you will need:

Full Report audio file

Listening Skill audio file

When you've finished please go to the Voicethread to answer the discussion questions. 

CLB 7/8 Voicethread

On your speaking feedback from last week, I identified specific sounds for you to work on. This is another useful website:

Consonants

Vowels


Enjoy!