Okay guys, this is your homework: you have to click in the box under "Post a Comment" and tell me about yourself, but to be fair, I figured I would tell you about me. Here it is:
My name is Marie and I'm 28 years old. I come from Canada and I speak English (very well) and French (not so well). I like ballet and Ukrainian dance, although I haven't danced for ten years. I also like muay thai and scuba diving, although it has been a long time since I've done either of those as well. I love cooking, but I try not to cook often or very fancy things because I am trying to lose weight. I also love traveling and have lived and traveled in more than 25 countries. I like pretty much all music, although I'd have to say that my favourite music is indie music. Here is a link to a video of one of my favourite bands at the moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWSz_PAfgNc
Alright, now it's your turn! Your post does not have to be as complicated or as long as mine, but please just write a few sentences to tell me about yourself.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Wednesday 06 October, 2010: A2, A3, C1, C2 Classes
A2 Class:
In this class, we talked about how we spend our free time using frequency words (never / rarely / sometimes / often / usually / always). We also learned some time words and used them to talk about our daily routines:
o'clock --> use this when the hour hand is pointing to 12
half past --> use this when the hour hand is pointing to 6. Also, this is not very North American. If you say "half past", you are using British English.
quarter after --> say this when the hour hand is pointing to 3. This is North American English. If you want to use British English, say "quarter past".
qaurter to --> say this when the hour hand is pointing to 9. This is the same, regardless of whether you are speaking North American English or British English.
Some vocabulary that came up in this class was:
hang out with --> spend time with your friends
loner --> someone who enjoys spending time alone
comedy --> funny movies
jogging --> running outside for exercise
A3 Class:
In this class, we talked about the website "efriends". We also talked about some vocabulary:
Drop me an email --> Write me an email.
almost 17 --> nearly 17, but not quite, as in the following: ____________now__17
I would like to... --> I want to...
all over the world --> everywhere in the world
We also talked about how to say email addresses out loud in English. Here are some of the key symbols in email addresses:
_ --> underscore
@ --> at
. --> dot
- --> hyphen or dash
So, if I had the following email address, marie-eaton_007@gmail.com, we would say it out loud as "marie hyphen eaton underscore zero zero seven at gmail dot com". But don't bother writing to me at this email address, because this is not really my email address!
Homework: Look at the post titled "A3 Class: All About You" and write a comment to tell me about yourself.
C1 Class:
In this class, we talked about some words for some jobs (engineer / scientist / vet / actor / reporter / hairdresser), and we talked about some things that each job might require (lab coat / test tube / costume / helmet / mic / hairdryer).
We also talked about some words that were difficult to pronounce:
scientist --> say it like "s-I-yun-tist"; the /c/ is silent and the /i/ is long
vet --> make sure you bite your bottom lip when you say this word. Otherwise, you sound like you're saying "wet", which is something completely different!
We then did a listening comprehension exercise and we talked about some family words. Then, I started to show the class my family tree, which is HUGE because my mom has five brothers and sisters, and my dad has six brothers and sisters. In total, I have 33 cousins, and that's not counting my second cousins (my cousins' children)!
We also learned that it's not cool (unacceptable) to send text messages to each other in class. It's not going to happen again, is it?
Homework: Draw your own family tree.
C2 Class:
In this class, we reviewed words for some countries and some nationalities. We also reviewed when to use each word. We use the word for the country after the word "from", as in "I am from Canada." We use the word for the nationality if the word "from" is not in our sentence, as in "I am Canadian." We also use the word for the nationality if we are using it to describe another word, as in "I really like Mongolian cashmere."
We also learned a few vocabulary words:
tall --> has a lot of height
short -->doe snot have much height
handsome --> very good-looking (for a man)
beautiful --> very good-looking (for a woman)
dark hair --> hair that is dark brown or black
fair hair --> fair means "light", so "fair hair" is light hair.
slim --> thin
fat --> a bigger person, but this is very impolite to call someone "fat". It is better to use the words "overweight" or "chubby".
We did a reading exercise, and we closed the class with some speaking practice in partners. The questions today were:
How old are you?
Where do you come from?
Can you describe your appearance?
In this class, we talked about how we spend our free time using frequency words (never / rarely / sometimes / often / usually / always). We also learned some time words and used them to talk about our daily routines:
o'clock --> use this when the hour hand is pointing to 12
 |
| Five O'Clock = 5:00 |
half past --> use this when the hour hand is pointing to 6. Also, this is not very North American. If you say "half past", you are using British English.
 |
| Half past five = 5:30 |
 |
| Quarter after eight = 8:15 |
qaurter to --> say this when the hour hand is pointing to 9. This is the same, regardless of whether you are speaking North American English or British English.
 |
| Quarter to twelve = 11:45 |
Some vocabulary that came up in this class was:
hang out with --> spend time with your friends
loner --> someone who enjoys spending time alone
comedy --> funny movies
jogging --> running outside for exercise
A3 Class:
In this class, we talked about the website "efriends". We also talked about some vocabulary:
Drop me an email --> Write me an email.
almost 17 --> nearly 17, but not quite, as in the following: ____________now__17
I would like to... --> I want to...
all over the world --> everywhere in the world
We also talked about how to say email addresses out loud in English. Here are some of the key symbols in email addresses:
_ --> underscore
@ --> at
. --> dot
- --> hyphen or dash
So, if I had the following email address, marie-eaton_007@gmail.com, we would say it out loud as "marie hyphen eaton underscore zero zero seven at gmail dot com". But don't bother writing to me at this email address, because this is not really my email address!
Homework: Look at the post titled "A3 Class: All About You" and write a comment to tell me about yourself.
C1 Class:
In this class, we talked about some words for some jobs (engineer / scientist / vet / actor / reporter / hairdresser), and we talked about some things that each job might require (lab coat / test tube / costume / helmet / mic / hairdryer).
We also talked about some words that were difficult to pronounce:
scientist --> say it like "s-I-yun-tist"; the /c/ is silent and the /i/ is long
vet --> make sure you bite your bottom lip when you say this word. Otherwise, you sound like you're saying "wet", which is something completely different!
We then did a listening comprehension exercise and we talked about some family words. Then, I started to show the class my family tree, which is HUGE because my mom has five brothers and sisters, and my dad has six brothers and sisters. In total, I have 33 cousins, and that's not counting my second cousins (my cousins' children)!
We also learned that it's not cool (unacceptable) to send text messages to each other in class. It's not going to happen again, is it?
Homework: Draw your own family tree.
C2 Class:
In this class, we reviewed words for some countries and some nationalities. We also reviewed when to use each word. We use the word for the country after the word "from", as in "I am from Canada." We use the word for the nationality if the word "from" is not in our sentence, as in "I am Canadian." We also use the word for the nationality if we are using it to describe another word, as in "I really like Mongolian cashmere."
We also learned a few vocabulary words:
tall --> has a lot of height
short -->doe snot have much height
handsome --> very good-looking (for a man)
beautiful --> very good-looking (for a woman)
dark hair --> hair that is dark brown or black
fair hair --> fair means "light", so "fair hair" is light hair.
slim --> thin
fat --> a bigger person, but this is very impolite to call someone "fat". It is better to use the words "overweight" or "chubby".
We did a reading exercise, and we closed the class with some speaking practice in partners. The questions today were:
How old are you?
Where do you come from?
Can you describe your appearance?
Monday, October 4, 2010
Tuesday 05 October, 2010: B1, B2, C3, and Grades 2 and 3
B1 Class:
In this class, we did a listening exercise and then we asked and answered some questions about our routines. Some vocabulary that came up in this class was:
weekdays--> Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday
weekends --> Saturday and Sunday
breakfast --> the morning meal
work out --> exercise at the fitness centre
the gym --> the fitness centre
B1 Class Homework: Make ten (10) questions based on the article "Sink your teeth into this" (everyone has to do this except for Orgil and Tsambaa, because they were the only two who actually did the homework the first time!)
B2 Class:
In this class, we learned about a website, efriends.. We also reviewed how to ask and answer a few questions and we learned som vocabulary.
Question and answers:
Q: Where is London?
A: It's in Britain. (This question and answer pair is correct.)
Q: Where is Britain?
A: It's in London. (This question and answer pair is incorrect and does not make any sense at all.
Q: Where does he come from?
A: He comes from Mexico.
Q: Where exactly? (=What city in Mexico does he come from?)
A: He comes from Mexico City.
Vocabulary:
I hope to... --> I want to...
I would like to... --> I want to...
Want to...? --> Do you want to...?
Contact me. --> Send me and email or a letter, or call me.
Drop me an email. --> Send me an email.
all over the world --> everywhere; from many different countries
almost --> nearly, but not quite, as in the following: __________now__17
C3 Class:
In this class,I gave the students a new seating plan. Please do not forget where your new seats are, because I expect you to sit in these same seats from now on!
We also reviewed the vocabulary: friend / teacher / dog / elephant / parrot / car / school
We practiced writing a sentence: "This is my [mom / dad / teacher / dog / teddy bear / etc]." and we drew a picture about our sentence.
We finished the class by trying to say some tongue twisters quickly:
Tongue Twister 1: "My name's James and that's Pat."
Tongue Twister 2: "She sells seashells by the seashore."
Tongue Twister 3: "Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy, was he?"
Grades 2/3:
In this class, we continued to review the sounds of the alphabet and to practice reading three-letter words. Today, we focussed on words witht eh short /a/ sound, such as: can / tan / tag / bag / vat / bat / rat / hat / cap / fan / pan.
In this class, we did a listening exercise and then we asked and answered some questions about our routines. Some vocabulary that came up in this class was:
weekdays--> Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday
weekends --> Saturday and Sunday
breakfast --> the morning meal
work out --> exercise at the fitness centre
the gym --> the fitness centre
B2 Class:
In this class, we learned about a website, efriends.. We also reviewed how to ask and answer a few questions and we learned som vocabulary.
Question and answers:
Q: Where is London?
A: It's in Britain. (This question and answer pair is correct.)
Q: Where is Britain?
A: It's in London. (This question and answer pair is incorrect and does not make any sense at all.
Q: Where does he come from?
A: He comes from Mexico.
Q: Where exactly? (=What city in Mexico does he come from?)
A: He comes from Mexico City.
Vocabulary:
I hope to... --> I want to...
I would like to... --> I want to...
Want to...? --> Do you want to...?
Contact me. --> Send me and email or a letter, or call me.
Drop me an email. --> Send me an email.
all over the world --> everywhere; from many different countries
almost --> nearly, but not quite, as in the following: __________now__17
C3 Class:
In this class,I gave the students a new seating plan. Please do not forget where your new seats are, because I expect you to sit in these same seats from now on!
We also reviewed the vocabulary: friend / teacher / dog / elephant / parrot / car / school
We practiced writing a sentence: "This is my [mom / dad / teacher / dog / teddy bear / etc]." and we drew a picture about our sentence.
We finished the class by trying to say some tongue twisters quickly:
Tongue Twister 1: "My name's James and that's Pat."
Tongue Twister 2: "She sells seashells by the seashore."
Tongue Twister 3: "Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy, was he?"
Grades 2/3:
In this class, we continued to review the sounds of the alphabet and to practice reading three-letter words. Today, we focussed on words witht eh short /a/ sound, such as: can / tan / tag / bag / vat / bat / rat / hat / cap / fan / pan.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Monday 04 October, 2010: A1, A3, B1, B2
A1 Class:
In this class, we talked about personal descriptions and words to describe appearance. We also did a listening exercise and played a short game. We also talked about adjectives that pair with prepositions.
Preposistions:
good + at + skill --> I wish I were good at languages.
good + to+ person --> A doctor should be good to his patients.
friendly + with + person --> John is always friendly with everyone.
afraid + of + person/thing (you are scared because of that person/thing) --> I am afraid of the dark.
afraid + for + person/thing (you feel fear on the behalf of another person/thing) --> I'm afraid for you when you walk alone at night.
jealous + of + person --> I used to be jealous of my brother (but I'm not anymore).
kind + to + person --> I try to be kind to my parents.
patient + with + person --> A teacher should be patient with her students.
rude + to + person --> The girl was rude to the waiter.
Vocabulary:
beard--> the hair on a man's chin
moustache --> the hair above a man's lip
We also learned that Marie really does not like it when her students do not listen to her. Hopefully this was a one-time thing. Also, it has come to my attention that some of the girls think it was only the boys who misbehaved. In fact, it was only the boys who had the misfortune of talking when for me it was the last straw. Pretty much everyone was disregarding my requests to raise their hands, wait for permission to speak, and to not speak while I was speaking, not just the boys. In fact, I'd say that the boys were pretty well-behaved for most of the class, and it's just too bad that they happened to be the ones disregarding my rules when I had finally had enough.
A3 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the words for countries, nationalities, and capital cities. We also did a LISTENING exercise, which means that you have to listen to what I say and fill in the blanks (not try to find the information on your own from a different page in the book).
Then, we looked at a website called "e-friends" and we read about two different members on e-friends: Olga and Kim. We talked about difficult vocabulary. Some of the vocabulary we talked about was:
"I hope to..." --> I want to...
"contact someone" --> Send an email or letter, or call them on the phone
"Want to... ?" --> Means the same thing as "Do you want to...?"
"Drop me an email." --> A very casual way to say "Send me an email."
Please, in the future, if there is a word you do not understand, instead of keeping silent and not saying anything, please please please say that you do not understand. That way, I will be able to explain it to you, and you will actually learn, but if you pretend to understand when actually you don't, you're not going to learn anything at all and class will be frustrating for everyone.
B1 Class:
In this class, we learned about the present simple. Remember that the present simple is used for routines (the things that you do everyday in the same order), habits (something that you always do), and permanent states (something that will never change). We practiced the present simple with seven verbs: BE / DO / GET / KNOW / LET / EAT / LIKE. Then we practiced making yes/no question and answer pairs in the present simple.
I am / do / get / know / let / eat / like
You are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
He is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
She is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
It is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
Orgil is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
A horse is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
We are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
You are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
They are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
Tsambaa and Bayaraa are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
Horses are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
To make a question from a sentence that has the verb BE, we just have to switch the verb and the subject around. It works like this:
She is Russian. --> Is she Russian?
To make a question from a sentence that has any other verb, we have to add the verb DO at the beginning of the sentence. Make sure that your added verb DO agrees with the subject (so, if the subject is he / she / it / a name / or a singular noun, the form will be does). It works like this:
Tergel eats buuz. --> Does Tergel eat buuz?
Homework: Look at the article "Sink your teeth into this" and make one more question based on the text in the article, just like what we practiced doing in class.
B2 Class:
We started the class with a listening excercise in which we had to fill in some blanks. One important thing to remember (which is something that even many native speakers of English have problems with) is that the word "no" means the opposite of "yes"; the word "now" means "at this very moment (and it sounds different than the word "no" or "know"); and the word "know" refers to knowledge that you already have in your brain.
The listening exercise also turned out to be useful questions and phrases that any non-native speaker of English should know and should never feel ashamed to say. Here they are:
What's this in English?
How do you say ikh delguur in English?
What does fiddle mean?
I'm sorry, I don't know.
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Can you repeat that, please?
Can you speak more slowly, please?
After we talked about the useful phrases for non-native speakers of English, we talked about some countries and their capital cities. Here they are:
Britain --> London
Japan --> Tokyo
Turkey --> Ankara
Russia --> Moscow
Poland --> Warsaw
Greece --> Athens
Mexico --> Mexico City
Egypt --> Cairo
USA --> Washington, D.C.
Then, we learned how to ask and answer where a city is. The question and answer pair should look like this:
Where's [CITY]?
It's in [COUNTRY].
So, we can ask:
Where's Cairo?
And we can answer:
It's in Egypt.
Please be careful, though, because the word "in" may be small, but it is still important, and if you don't say it, it will sound strange to native speakers of English. If we say "It's Egypt" in answer to the question "Where's Cairo?", we are saying that Cairo = Egypt, not that Cairo can be found inside the large piece of land known as Egypt.
In this class, we talked about personal descriptions and words to describe appearance. We also did a listening exercise and played a short game. We also talked about adjectives that pair with prepositions.
Preposistions:
good + at + skill --> I wish I were good at languages.
good + to+ person --> A doctor should be good to his patients.
friendly + with + person --> John is always friendly with everyone.
afraid + of + person/thing (you are scared because of that person/thing) --> I am afraid of the dark.
afraid + for + person/thing (you feel fear on the behalf of another person/thing) --> I'm afraid for you when you walk alone at night.
jealous + of + person --> I used to be jealous of my brother (but I'm not anymore).
kind + to + person --> I try to be kind to my parents.
patient + with + person --> A teacher should be patient with her students.
rude + to + person --> The girl was rude to the waiter.
Vocabulary:
beard--> the hair on a man's chin
 |
| Different types of beards |
 |
| Different types of moustaches |
We also learned that Marie really does not like it when her students do not listen to her. Hopefully this was a one-time thing. Also, it has come to my attention that some of the girls think it was only the boys who misbehaved. In fact, it was only the boys who had the misfortune of talking when for me it was the last straw. Pretty much everyone was disregarding my requests to raise their hands, wait for permission to speak, and to not speak while I was speaking, not just the boys. In fact, I'd say that the boys were pretty well-behaved for most of the class, and it's just too bad that they happened to be the ones disregarding my rules when I had finally had enough.
A3 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the words for countries, nationalities, and capital cities. We also did a LISTENING exercise, which means that you have to listen to what I say and fill in the blanks (not try to find the information on your own from a different page in the book).
Then, we looked at a website called "e-friends" and we read about two different members on e-friends: Olga and Kim. We talked about difficult vocabulary. Some of the vocabulary we talked about was:
"I hope to..." --> I want to...
"contact someone" --> Send an email or letter, or call them on the phone
"Want to... ?" --> Means the same thing as "Do you want to...?"
"Drop me an email." --> A very casual way to say "Send me an email."
Please, in the future, if there is a word you do not understand, instead of keeping silent and not saying anything, please please please say that you do not understand. That way, I will be able to explain it to you, and you will actually learn, but if you pretend to understand when actually you don't, you're not going to learn anything at all and class will be frustrating for everyone.
B1 Class:
In this class, we learned about the present simple. Remember that the present simple is used for routines (the things that you do everyday in the same order), habits (something that you always do), and permanent states (something that will never change). We practiced the present simple with seven verbs: BE / DO / GET / KNOW / LET / EAT / LIKE. Then we practiced making yes/no question and answer pairs in the present simple.
I am / do / get / know / let / eat / like
You are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
He is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
She is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
It is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
Orgil is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
A horse is / does / gets / knows / lets / eats / likes
We are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
You are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
They are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
Tsambaa and Bayaraa are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
Horses are / do / get / know / let / eat / like
To make a question from a sentence that has the verb BE, we just have to switch the verb and the subject around. It works like this:
She is Russian. --> Is she Russian?
To make a question from a sentence that has any other verb, we have to add the verb DO at the beginning of the sentence. Make sure that your added verb DO agrees with the subject (so, if the subject is he / she / it / a name / or a singular noun, the form will be does). It works like this:
Tergel eats buuz. --> Does Tergel eat buuz?
Homework: Look at the article "Sink your teeth into this" and make one more question based on the text in the article, just like what we practiced doing in class.
B2 Class:
We started the class with a listening excercise in which we had to fill in some blanks. One important thing to remember (which is something that even many native speakers of English have problems with) is that the word "no" means the opposite of "yes"; the word "now" means "at this very moment (and it sounds different than the word "no" or "know"); and the word "know" refers to knowledge that you already have in your brain.
The listening exercise also turned out to be useful questions and phrases that any non-native speaker of English should know and should never feel ashamed to say. Here they are:
What's this in English?
How do you say ikh delguur in English?
What does fiddle mean?
I'm sorry, I don't know.
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Can you repeat that, please?
Can you speak more slowly, please?
After we talked about the useful phrases for non-native speakers of English, we talked about some countries and their capital cities. Here they are:
Britain --> London
Japan --> Tokyo
Turkey --> Ankara
Russia --> Moscow
Poland --> Warsaw
Greece --> Athens
Mexico --> Mexico City
Egypt --> Cairo
USA --> Washington, D.C.
Then, we learned how to ask and answer where a city is. The question and answer pair should look like this:
Where's [CITY]?
It's in [COUNTRY].
So, we can ask:
Where's Cairo?
And we can answer:
It's in Egypt.
Please be careful, though, because the word "in" may be small, but it is still important, and if you don't say it, it will sound strange to native speakers of English. If we say "It's Egypt" in answer to the question "Where's Cairo?", we are saying that Cairo = Egypt, not that Cairo can be found inside the large piece of land known as Egypt.
Discussion Topics: My worries
1) Do you get nervous before a big exam? If you get nervous, how do your cope with it?
2) What do you do to prepare for tests?
3) What happens if your grades fall short of your expectations? Are you disappointed, or don't worry much about it? What about your parents?
4) What do you do when your exams are over?
5) How much pocket money do you get? What obligations do you have to get it?
6) How do you spend your pocket money?
7) Do you think money makes people happy?
8) How much money do you expect to make in the future?
9) How do you get a date?
10) What wpuld you wear on a date?
11) What would you talk about on a date?
12) Are you on a diet now? Why or why not?
13) Have you ever been on a diet? Was it easy? Was it successful?
14) If you were on a diet now, what would your plan be?
15) Do you think that you can stay fit by dieting?
2) What do you do to prepare for tests?
3) What happens if your grades fall short of your expectations? Are you disappointed, or don't worry much about it? What about your parents?
4) What do you do when your exams are over?
5) How much pocket money do you get? What obligations do you have to get it?
6) How do you spend your pocket money?
7) Do you think money makes people happy?
8) How much money do you expect to make in the future?
9) How do you get a date?
10) What wpuld you wear on a date?
11) What would you talk about on a date?
12) Are you on a diet now? Why or why not?
13) Have you ever been on a diet? Was it easy? Was it successful?
14) If you were on a diet now, what would your plan be?
15) Do you think that you can stay fit by dieting?
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