1) Do you like school? Why or why not?
2) What do you like best about school? What do you like the least?
3) Why do we have to study English?
4) Why do we learn math?
5) Why do we do music or art in school?
6) Which subject is your favourite and why?
7) Who is your favourite teacher? Why?
8) Who is the most unpopular teacher at your school? Why?
9) Would you like to be a teacher someday? Why or why not?
10) If you could choose between going to school all year long but only five days a week, or going to school on Saturday and Sundays (full days), but getting two very long vacations a year, which would you prefer? Why?
11) Are you interested in studying hard?
12) Do you want to go to college? If so, what do you want to major in?
13) What college in Mongolia would you like to study at? Or, if you want to leave the country for college, where would you like to study?
14) What do your parents think about your going to college?
15) Do you think a college degree is necessary for success?
16) You know a college education costs a lot of money. Do you think it is a good investment? Why or why not?
17) Would you go to college if you had to pay for it yourself?
18) What do you think would happen to you in the future if you did not ever go to college?
19) Do you think that parents have a right to insist that their children go to college, even if the kids do not want to go?
20) Imagine that you don't want to go to college. How would you persuade your parents not to send you?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Vocabulary
Here are twelve more vocabulary words (from the SAT book) for you to learn if you're interested. Remember that these are words that a normal American student your age is expected to know.
real McCoy (N) An authentic thing or quality; something that is not an imitation or a substitute.
The classic 1964 Ford Mustang was the real McCoy; not only had it not had any body work done on it, but it had never been repainted.
tangible (Adj. N--> tangibility, Adv--> tangibly) Possible to touch; possible to be treated as fact; real or concrete.
Carlos's fantasy became tangible when Angie, the girl of his dream, agreed to go out with him.
tenable (Adj. Adv--> tenably) Capable of being maintained; able to be maintained because of genuineness.
The team's successful season was barely tenable because of the girls' growing apathy toward attending practice.
truism (N) Self-evident truth, actuality, and reality.
The rumour about a possible scandal became a truism once the facts were released to the public.
unassailable (Adj. N--> unassailability, Adv--> unassailably) Undeniable, actual, and authentic.
The unassailable truth came out when Marla's little brother realised that their parents were really the Tooth Fairy.
valid (Adj. N--> validity, Adv--> validly) Real, authentic, correct; sound and well-grounded.
Benny Lee was able to draw a valid conclusion only after he had discovered all the facts.
veracity (N) Adherance to truth, reality, accuracy, and precision.
The teacher confirmed the veracity of the student's late pass by checking with the teacher who supposedly wrote the pass.
veritable (Adj. Adv--> veritably) Being truly so-called; real or genuine.
A veritable stranger was kind enough to give Suzanne enough money to use the phone so she could call home.
aberration (N. Adj--> aberrant) A defect or departure from the normal; deviation or imperfection.
My mother was not sure whether her occasionally seeing her dead great grandmother was real or an aberration.
artifice (N. Adj--> artifical, Adv--> artificially) Pretense, deception, or ruse.
The young woman was about 90 percent artifice and only 10 percent authentic.
chimera (N) (1) A fanciful mental illusion or fabrication; (2) An organism, organ, or part consisting of two or more tissues of different genetic composition.
(1) The new history teacher seemed to be a chimera-- one-half despot and one-half concerned mentor.
(2) The chimera of Greek mythology was a fire-breathing she-monster who had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a snake's tail.
deceptive (Adj. Adv--> deceptively, N--> deception) Tending to deceive, betray or fool; unauthentic and untrue.
The burglar was deceptive because he left the front door unlocked, even though he entered and left the house from the rear.
real McCoy (N) An authentic thing or quality; something that is not an imitation or a substitute.
The classic 1964 Ford Mustang was the real McCoy; not only had it not had any body work done on it, but it had never been repainted.
tangible (Adj. N--> tangibility, Adv--> tangibly) Possible to touch; possible to be treated as fact; real or concrete.
Carlos's fantasy became tangible when Angie, the girl of his dream, agreed to go out with him.
tenable (Adj. Adv--> tenably) Capable of being maintained; able to be maintained because of genuineness.
The team's successful season was barely tenable because of the girls' growing apathy toward attending practice.
truism (N) Self-evident truth, actuality, and reality.
The rumour about a possible scandal became a truism once the facts were released to the public.
unassailable (Adj. N--> unassailability, Adv--> unassailably) Undeniable, actual, and authentic.
The unassailable truth came out when Marla's little brother realised that their parents were really the Tooth Fairy.
valid (Adj. N--> validity, Adv--> validly) Real, authentic, correct; sound and well-grounded.
Benny Lee was able to draw a valid conclusion only after he had discovered all the facts.
veracity (N) Adherance to truth, reality, accuracy, and precision.
The teacher confirmed the veracity of the student's late pass by checking with the teacher who supposedly wrote the pass.
veritable (Adj. Adv--> veritably) Being truly so-called; real or genuine.
A veritable stranger was kind enough to give Suzanne enough money to use the phone so she could call home.
aberration (N. Adj--> aberrant) A defect or departure from the normal; deviation or imperfection.
My mother was not sure whether her occasionally seeing her dead great grandmother was real or an aberration.
artifice (N. Adj--> artifical, Adv--> artificially) Pretense, deception, or ruse.
The young woman was about 90 percent artifice and only 10 percent authentic.
chimera (N) (1) A fanciful mental illusion or fabrication; (2) An organism, organ, or part consisting of two or more tissues of different genetic composition.
(1) The new history teacher seemed to be a chimera-- one-half despot and one-half concerned mentor.
(2) The chimera of Greek mythology was a fire-breathing she-monster who had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a snake's tail.
deceptive (Adj. Adv--> deceptively, N--> deception) Tending to deceive, betray or fool; unauthentic and untrue.
The burglar was deceptive because he left the front door unlocked, even though he entered and left the house from the rear.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
A3 Class: All About You
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.
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.
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?
Friday, October 1, 2010
Saturday 02 October, 2010: A1, A2, and A3 classes
A1 Class:
This was our first discussion class. We talked about the questions in the post "Discussion Topics: Who are you?". Some vocabulary that came up in this class was:
crush --> when you really like a boy or girl and think they are very good-looking and very wonderful
siblings --> your brothers and sisters
only child --> a person who has no siblings
baby brother/sister --> usually, we can say this about our youngest brother or sister no matter how old he or she is (my baby brother is 26!), but Anu has a baby sister that is literally a baby!
great-grandmother --> Your grandmother's mother
great-great-grandfather --> Your grandfather's grandfather (Beegii's great-great-grandfather is 116 years old-- amazing!)
get along with --> not fight with; be friendly with
see eye to eye --> get along with
faux-hawk --> like a mohawk, but you keep more of your hair and bring it up together in the middle of your head, like this:
Mohawk --> you shave the sides of your head and leave only one strip of hair in the middle (usually, this strip is held up with gel). Here is a picture of Mr T with his mohawk:
A2 Class:
In this class, we answered some questions about our routines and about how we spend our free time. Here is some of the vocabulary that came up in this lesson:
weekday --> Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday
weekend --> Saturday and Sunday
go to bed --> when you go to sleep for the night
breakfast --> your morning meal
dinner --> your evening meal
work out --> lift weights, do cardio (exercise, in general) at the gym
gym --> fitness centre; where you go to work out (exercise). Here are some pictures of the gym:
A3 Class:
In this class, we talked about countries, their capital cities, and words for nationalities:
Country --> Capital City --> Nationality
Britain/UK --> London --> British
Japan --> Tokyo --> Japanese
Turkey --> Ankara --> Turkish
Russia --> Moscow --> Russian
Poland --> Warsaw --> Polish
Greece --> Athens --> Greek
Mexico --> Mexico City --> Mexican
Egypt --> Cairo --> Egyptian
USA --> Washington, DC --> American
Mongolia --> Ulaanbaatar --> Mongolian
France --> Paris --> French
Canada --> Ottawa --> Canadian
We also practiced asking and answering the question "Where's [CITY]?" "It's in [COUNTRY]."
Eg., Where's Athens? It's in Greece.
Be careful, because the word "in" may be small, but it is VERY IMPORTANT! If you say "It's Greece." in answer to the question "Where's Athens?", you are saying that Athens = Greece, which does not make much (any) sense and will sound very strange to a native speaker of English.
This was our first discussion class. We talked about the questions in the post "Discussion Topics: Who are you?". Some vocabulary that came up in this class was:
crush --> when you really like a boy or girl and think they are very good-looking and very wonderful
siblings --> your brothers and sisters
only child --> a person who has no siblings
baby brother/sister --> usually, we can say this about our youngest brother or sister no matter how old he or she is (my baby brother is 26!), but Anu has a baby sister that is literally a baby!
great-grandmother --> Your grandmother's mother
great-great-grandfather --> Your grandfather's grandfather (Beegii's great-great-grandfather is 116 years old-- amazing!)
get along with --> not fight with; be friendly with
see eye to eye --> get along with
faux-hawk --> like a mohawk, but you keep more of your hair and bring it up together in the middle of your head, like this:
 |
| I pity da fool! |
A2 Class:
In this class, we answered some questions about our routines and about how we spend our free time. Here is some of the vocabulary that came up in this lesson:
weekday --> Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday
weekend --> Saturday and Sunday
go to bed --> when you go to sleep for the night
breakfast --> your morning meal
dinner --> your evening meal
work out --> lift weights, do cardio (exercise, in general) at the gym
gym --> fitness centre; where you go to work out (exercise). Here are some pictures of the gym:
A3 Class:
In this class, we talked about countries, their capital cities, and words for nationalities:
Country --> Capital City --> Nationality
Britain/UK --> London --> British
Japan --> Tokyo --> Japanese
Turkey --> Ankara --> Turkish
Russia --> Moscow --> Russian
Poland --> Warsaw --> Polish
Greece --> Athens --> Greek
Mexico --> Mexico City --> Mexican
Egypt --> Cairo --> Egyptian
USA --> Washington, DC --> American
Mongolia --> Ulaanbaatar --> Mongolian
France --> Paris --> French
Canada --> Ottawa --> Canadian
We also practiced asking and answering the question "Where's [CITY]?" "It's in [COUNTRY]."
Eg., Where's Athens? It's in Greece.
Be careful, because the word "in" may be small, but it is VERY IMPORTANT! If you say "It's Greece." in answer to the question "Where's Athens?", you are saying that Athens = Greece, which does not make much (any) sense and will sound very strange to a native speaker of English.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Vocabulary!
Let's learn twelve new words a week! That's just two new words each day! The following words are from McGraw Hill's "400 Essential SAT Words", which means that these are vocabulary words that typical American high school students are expected to know. See if you already know them; if you don't, try to learn each one. Try using it in a sentence, in conversation with your friends or with your English teachers.
actuality (N. Adj--> actual) The state of being actual or real; truly existing.
On Halloween, the children were so taken by the costumes that they had a difficult time distinguishing between actuality and pretend.
applicable (Adj. N--> applicability) Readily usable; practical.
Lorena was not sure that her ideas were applicable to the problem, but she offered them, nevertheless.
authenticity (N. Adj-->authentic Adv--> authentically) The quality or condition of being authentic, trustworthy, or genuine.
Before paying the high price for the Picasso painting, the art dealer had to check the authenticity of the work.
bona fide (Adj) (1) Authentic and genuine; (2) made and carried out in good faith
(1) Among the knockoffs in the shoe store, I found an inexpensive pair of bona fide Dr. Martens.
(2) The offer on the farmhouse was a bona fide agreement; the seller and buyer shook hands to secure the deal.
categorical (Adj) (1) Without exception; absolute and explicit; (2) of or relating to categories or arrangement or order
(1) Nobody in the room doubted that Samuel was the categorical winner of the Lincoln-Douglas debate.
(2) Sammy was so left-brained, logical, and sequential that no one was surprised when she put all her information in precise, categorical order.
defensible (Adj. N--> defensibility, defensibleness Adv--> defensibly) Justifiable for accuracy
Maria had a defensible position: There was no doubt that she would win the debate.
factual (Adj N--> factuality Adv--> factually) Of the nature of fact; real
Even though the book was a work of fiction, it was full of factual information about that historical era.
genuine (Adj. N--> genuineness Adv--> genuinely) Not counterfeit, but authentic; honest and real; free from hypocrisy or dishonesty; sincere.
My uncle gave me a genuine two-dollar bill for my birthday.
invulnerable (adj. Adv--> invulnerably N--> invulnerability) Impossible to damage or enter; not able to alter the reality
The front door seemed invulnerable; it was made of steel, and it sported seven strong locks as well.
legitimacy (N. Adv--> legitimately Adj--> legitimate) The quality of being legitimate-- authentic, genuine, and according to the law
The painting was suspect, so the legitimacy of its authenticity was questionable.
materiality (N. Adj--> material Adv--> materially) (1) The state of being material; (2) Being of real or substantive quality
(1) Esther was so intent on possessing thigns that her friends started questioning her focus on materiality.
(2) In Macbeth, Banquo's ghost appears to Macbeth with such materiality that he is overwhelmed by guil over Banquo's murder.
actuality (N. Adj--> actual) The state of being actual or real; truly existing.
On Halloween, the children were so taken by the costumes that they had a difficult time distinguishing between actuality and pretend.
applicable (Adj. N--> applicability) Readily usable; practical.
Lorena was not sure that her ideas were applicable to the problem, but she offered them, nevertheless.
authenticity (N. Adj-->authentic Adv--> authentically) The quality or condition of being authentic, trustworthy, or genuine.
Before paying the high price for the Picasso painting, the art dealer had to check the authenticity of the work.
bona fide (Adj) (1) Authentic and genuine; (2) made and carried out in good faith
(1) Among the knockoffs in the shoe store, I found an inexpensive pair of bona fide Dr. Martens.
(2) The offer on the farmhouse was a bona fide agreement; the seller and buyer shook hands to secure the deal.
categorical (Adj) (1) Without exception; absolute and explicit; (2) of or relating to categories or arrangement or order
(1) Nobody in the room doubted that Samuel was the categorical winner of the Lincoln-Douglas debate.
(2) Sammy was so left-brained, logical, and sequential that no one was surprised when she put all her information in precise, categorical order.
defensible (Adj. N--> defensibility, defensibleness Adv--> defensibly) Justifiable for accuracy
Maria had a defensible position: There was no doubt that she would win the debate.
factual (Adj N--> factuality Adv--> factually) Of the nature of fact; real
Even though the book was a work of fiction, it was full of factual information about that historical era.
genuine (Adj. N--> genuineness Adv--> genuinely) Not counterfeit, but authentic; honest and real; free from hypocrisy or dishonesty; sincere.
My uncle gave me a genuine two-dollar bill for my birthday.
invulnerable (adj. Adv--> invulnerably N--> invulnerability) Impossible to damage or enter; not able to alter the reality
The front door seemed invulnerable; it was made of steel, and it sported seven strong locks as well.
legitimacy (N. Adv--> legitimately Adj--> legitimate) The quality of being legitimate-- authentic, genuine, and according to the law
The painting was suspect, so the legitimacy of its authenticity was questionable.
materiality (N. Adj--> material Adv--> materially) (1) The state of being material; (2) Being of real or substantive quality
(1) Esther was so intent on possessing thigns that her friends started questioning her focus on materiality.
(2) In Macbeth, Banquo's ghost appears to Macbeth with such materiality that he is overwhelmed by guil over Banquo's murder.
pragmatic (Adj. Adv--> pragmatically N--> pragmatism) Dealing with facts, reality, and actual occurrences
Aarons insubstantial reasons were not pragmatic, so consequently no one believed him.
Friday 01 October, 2010: Grade 1, 2, 3, and C3 Class
Grade 1:
In this class, we used alphabet flashcards to learn the letters of the alphabet. We focused on the sounds of the letters /a/ and /b/. Some words with the letter /a/ are: apple and ant. Some words with the letter /b/ are: book, bear, banana, bread and butterfly. We also sang the alphabet song.
We also learned the words “yes” and “no”. We practiced saying “yes” while nodding our heads and “no” while shaking our heads. Then we read the story “I have to go” by Robert Munsch, and I had the children nod or shake their heads and say the words when they heard “yes” or “no” in the story.
Grades 2 and 3:
In this class, we reviewed the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that each letter makes. We then practiced sounding out some three letter words. The words we practiced reading were:
bat / bet / bit / bot / but / bag / beg / big / bog / bug
C3 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the vocabulary from last class (friend / school / teacher). We also learned the words parrot and bird. Remember:
A parrot is a bird that talks.
Then, we learned how to ask and answer the question “Who’s that?” We practiced with every child in the class. Eg.,
Who’s that? That’s Ideree!
In this class, we used alphabet flashcards to learn the letters of the alphabet. We focused on the sounds of the letters /a/ and /b/. Some words with the letter /a/ are: apple and ant. Some words with the letter /b/ are: book, bear, banana, bread and butterfly. We also sang the alphabet song.
We also learned the words “yes” and “no”. We practiced saying “yes” while nodding our heads and “no” while shaking our heads. Then we read the story “I have to go” by Robert Munsch, and I had the children nod or shake their heads and say the words when they heard “yes” or “no” in the story.
Grades 2 and 3:
In this class, we reviewed the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that each letter makes. We then practiced sounding out some three letter words. The words we practiced reading were:
bat / bet / bit / bot / but / bag / beg / big / bog / bug
C3 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the vocabulary from last class (friend / school / teacher). We also learned the words parrot and bird. Remember:
A parrot is a bird that talks.
Then, we learned how to ask and answer the question “Who’s that?” We practiced with every child in the class. Eg.,
Who’s that? That’s Ideree!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday 29 September, 2010: C2, C1, A2, and A3 classes
C2 Class:
We reviewed some countries and nationalities today. The countries and nationalities we reviewed are in the following list:
COUNTRY - NATIONALITY
France - French
Mexico - Mexican
Spain - Spanish
Turkey - Turkish
Greece - Greek
Poland - Polish
USA - American
Britain - British
Mongolia - Mongolian
Russia - Russian
China - Chinese
Canada - Canadian
We also learned when to use the word for the country and when to use the word for the nationality.We use the word for the country after the word FROM:
Example:
I'm from Canada.
My cashmere sweater is from Mongolia.
We use the word for nationality when it comes after the verb BE (am/are/is):
Example:
I'm Canadian.
They are Chinese.
This cashmere is Mongolian.
We can also use the word for nationality when it is describing another word:
Example:
I like French perfume. ['French' is describing "perfume".]
Mongolian cashmere is very good quality. ['Mongolian' is describing "cashmere".]
Chinese food is delicious. ['Chinese' is describing "food".]
!!! Notice that whether we are saying the word for the country or the word for the nationality, they both start with a capital (big) letter. Eg., She is from Russia. I like Russian dancing.
C2 class, please make sure that when you are in my class, you are listening to me and doing work for my class, not for another teacher's class!
C1 Class:
In this class, we talked about some family vocabulary:
parents --> your mom and dad
grandparents --> your grandmother and grandfather
niece --> your brother's or sister's daughter
nephew --> your brother's or sister's son
first name --> this is also known as your given name. It is the name that your friends and family use to call you.
last name --> this is also known as your surname or your family name. It is the name that is used to link you to other people in the same family (your siblings and your father would have the same last name as you). It is also used to distinguish you from other people who have the same first name as you.
Then, we did some listening practice, and we finished up with some speaking practice. We role played the following conversation:
A: Hello, my name's [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME].
B: Oh, hi! I'm [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME]. Nice to meet you!
A2 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the following phrases, which are commonly used to describe jobs:
travel a lot --> travel to many different places for work
work part-time --> work less than 40 hours per week
work full-time -->work 40 hours or more per week
get good salaries --> get paid a lot of money
work outdoors --> work outside
work indoors -->work inside
use a computer --> do your work on a computer
work shifts --> work in blocks of time at various times of the day
work long hours --> work more than eight hours a day, usually ten to twelve hours per day
work 9 to 5 --> start work at 9:00am and finish at 5:00pm, like in Dolly Parton's song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqiwEafCJ74)
start early in the morning --> start work very early in the morning (usually around 6:00am or earlier)
wear a uniform --> everyone at work wears the same clothes to work (similar to a school uniform, but for work)
work with their hands --> use your hands to do some kind of skilled work (working with your hands usually requires the use of some kind of tool)
We also started to learn about the present simple. We use the present simple to talk about habits and routines (things that you always do) or permanent states (things that will never change, like being short, for example). I promised a more detailed lesson on the present simple in the next class.
A3 Class:
We reviewed "this" and "that". We say this for things that are near enough to touch, and we say that for things that are too far away from us for us to touch them easily (usually, we need to point).
Then we talked about the definite article a/an. We say a if it is before a word that starts with a consonant and we say an if it is before a word that starts with a vowel.
Remember that the vowels are AEIOU(Y) and a consonant is any of the following letters: BCDFGHJKLMNPQRSTVWX(Y)Z.
Two new vocabulary words we learned are "department store" (in Mongolian, ikh delguur-- don't ask me how I know that!) and "fiddle". A fiddle is exactly like a violin, except for we say "violin" when we are using it to play classical music (like Beethoven or Mozart), and we say "fiddle" when we are using it to play more folksy/country music. Here is a link to a youtube video of Canadian musician, Ashley MacIsaac having a stomping good time while playing his fiddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tIT8VuZ92c
Then, we talked about how you know more English than you think. We talked about some words that sound similar in Mongolian and English, and we discovered that French might sound even more similar to Mongolian than English does. Still, the English words sound pretty similar. Here is a list of similar-sounding English words that we came up with: cinema / theatre / museum / tea / centre / supermarket / internet / cafe / cafeteria / camp / french fry
We finished 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?
We reviewed some countries and nationalities today. The countries and nationalities we reviewed are in the following list:
COUNTRY - NATIONALITY
France - French
Mexico - Mexican
Spain - Spanish
Turkey - Turkish
Greece - Greek
Poland - Polish
USA - American
Britain - British
Mongolia - Mongolian
Russia - Russian
China - Chinese
Canada - Canadian
We also learned when to use the word for the country and when to use the word for the nationality.We use the word for the country after the word FROM:
Example:
I'm from Canada.
My cashmere sweater is from Mongolia.
We use the word for nationality when it comes after the verb BE (am/are/is):
Example:
I'm Canadian.
They are Chinese.
This cashmere is Mongolian.
We can also use the word for nationality when it is describing another word:
Example:
I like French perfume. ['French' is describing "perfume".]
Mongolian cashmere is very good quality. ['Mongolian' is describing "cashmere".]
Chinese food is delicious. ['Chinese' is describing "food".]
!!! Notice that whether we are saying the word for the country or the word for the nationality, they both start with a capital (big) letter. Eg., She is from Russia. I like Russian dancing.
C2 class, please make sure that when you are in my class, you are listening to me and doing work for my class, not for another teacher's class!
C1 Class:
In this class, we talked about some family vocabulary:
parents --> your mom and dad
grandparents --> your grandmother and grandfather
niece --> your brother's or sister's daughter
nephew --> your brother's or sister's son
first name --> this is also known as your given name. It is the name that your friends and family use to call you.
last name --> this is also known as your surname or your family name. It is the name that is used to link you to other people in the same family (your siblings and your father would have the same last name as you). It is also used to distinguish you from other people who have the same first name as you.
Then, we did some listening practice, and we finished up with some speaking practice. We role played the following conversation:
A: Hello, my name's [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME].
B: Oh, hi! I'm [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME]. Nice to meet you!
A2 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the following phrases, which are commonly used to describe jobs:
travel a lot --> travel to many different places for work
work part-time --> work less than 40 hours per week
work full-time -->work 40 hours or more per week
get good salaries --> get paid a lot of money
work outdoors --> work outside
work indoors -->work inside
use a computer --> do your work on a computer
work shifts --> work in blocks of time at various times of the day
work long hours --> work more than eight hours a day, usually ten to twelve hours per day
work 9 to 5 --> start work at 9:00am and finish at 5:00pm, like in Dolly Parton's song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqiwEafCJ74)
start early in the morning --> start work very early in the morning (usually around 6:00am or earlier)
wear a uniform --> everyone at work wears the same clothes to work (similar to a school uniform, but for work)
work with their hands --> use your hands to do some kind of skilled work (working with your hands usually requires the use of some kind of tool)
We also started to learn about the present simple. We use the present simple to talk about habits and routines (things that you always do) or permanent states (things that will never change, like being short, for example). I promised a more detailed lesson on the present simple in the next class.
A3 Class:
We reviewed "this" and "that". We say this for things that are near enough to touch, and we say that for things that are too far away from us for us to touch them easily (usually, we need to point).
Then we talked about the definite article a/an. We say a if it is before a word that starts with a consonant and we say an if it is before a word that starts with a vowel.
Remember that the vowels are AEIOU(Y) and a consonant is any of the following letters: BCDFGHJKLMNPQRSTVWX(Y)Z.
Two new vocabulary words we learned are "department store" (in Mongolian, ikh delguur-- don't ask me how I know that!) and "fiddle". A fiddle is exactly like a violin, except for we say "violin" when we are using it to play classical music (like Beethoven or Mozart), and we say "fiddle" when we are using it to play more folksy/country music. Here is a link to a youtube video of Canadian musician, Ashley MacIsaac having a stomping good time while playing his fiddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tIT8VuZ92c
Then, we talked about how you know more English than you think. We talked about some words that sound similar in Mongolian and English, and we discovered that French might sound even more similar to Mongolian than English does. Still, the English words sound pretty similar. Here is a list of similar-sounding English words that we came up with: cinema / theatre / museum / tea / centre / supermarket / internet / cafe / cafeteria / camp / french fry
We finished 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?
Thursday 30 September, 2010: A2, A1, C1, C2, B1, B2
A2 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the present simple in sentences and then we learned how to make questions from a sentence in the simple present.
I am
You are
He/She/It is
We are
You are
They are
I do
You do
He/She/It does
We do
You do
They do
I eat
You eat
He/She/It eats
We eat
You eat
They eat
I know
You know
He/She/It knows
We know
You know
They know
NB. Usually, the all the verbs in the simple present take the same form (the most basic form of the verb), except when the subject is he, she, or it. In that case, we usually add an -s to the end of the verb (some verbs add -es, like "does" and the verb BE changes completely to "is").
To make a question that has a BE verb, we simply change the order of the subject and the verb.
Example: It is exciting. --> Is it exciting?
To make a question that has other verbs, all we have to do is add the verb DO to the beginning of the sentence, but make sure that DO agrees with the subject (so if the subject is he, she, it, or any one person's name, we will start our question with does.)
Example1: You like Mongolia. --> Do you like Mongolia?
Example2: He eats buuz every day. --> Does he eat buuz every day?
Homework: Re-read the article "Sink your teeth into this" and make two more question and answer pairs about the article (like what we did at the end of class).
A1 Class:
In this class, we read two different advertisements (one for a film and one for a commercial), and then we talked about character adjectives:
cruel --> mean
greedy --> want to have everything for oneself
vain --> think excessively about your looks
selfish --> only think about oneself
optimistic --> always think positive thoughts
caring --> care about other people
sensitive --> care about how your actions might affect other people
honest --> tell the truth
friendly --> kind to all people
patient --> able to wait a long time
polite --> respectful; have good manners
generous --> give a lot (of time, things, money, etc)
easy-going --> do not get angry or upset; everything is always ok
impatient --> the opposite of patient
bossy --> always tell other people what to do
rude --> not polite; have bad manners
We also talked about the difference between a film and a commercial. Remember that a film is long and interesting and has a plot and commercials are usually trying to make you want to buy something or think a certain way. Here is a youtube video of one of my favourite commercials for Old Spice (a deodorant for men): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE
We also learned how to form the opposite of each of the character adjectives by adding dis-, im-/in-, or un-.
Homework: Please take a look at the questions in my post "Discussion Questions for A1: Who are you" and think about your own answers for the questions.
C1 Class:
In this class, we learned the present simple form of the verb, BE, and then we learned how to make questions with the verb BE. We also talked about countries and nationalities, and we finished by playing a nationality guessing game.
I am
You are
He is
She is
It is
A horse is
John is
We are
You are
They are
Blake and John are
Mom and I are
To make a question, we have to switch the order of the subject and the verb BE:
Ex. Am I?
Are you?
Is he?
etc.
Then, we practiced asking and answering BE questions, for example, "Is he from Poland? No, he isn't. He's from the UK. He's British." or "Are they from Italy? Yes, they are. They're Italian."
C2 Class:
In this class, we learned the present simple in its positive and negative forms, and we also learned the shortened forms. Then, we learned how to ask questions using the verb BE.
Positive --> Positive Shortened --> Negative --> Negative Shortened --> Question
I am --> I'm --> I am not --> I'm not --> Am I?
You are --> You're --> You are not --> You're not / You aren't --> Are you?
He is --> He's --> He is not --> He's not / He isn't --> Is he?
She is --> She's --> She is not --> She's not / She isn't --> Is she?
It is --> It's --> It is not --> It's not / It isn't --> Is it?
We are --> We're --> We are not --> We're not / We aren't --> Are we?
You are --> You're --> You are not --> You're not / You aren't --> Are you?
They are --> They're --> They are not --> They're not / They aren't --> Are they?
Note: Even though you can say "aren't" and "isn't", you can NOT say "I amn't". This is not allowed in English. It's one of those weird rules that you will just have to memorise.
After we learned all these forms of the verb BE, we practiced asking and answering questions about nationalities, for example "Is she Polish? No, she isn't. She's French."
B2 Class:
We started the class by reviewing the colours in English. Then we reviewed "this" and "that". We say this for things that are near enough to touch, and we say that for things that are too far away from us for us to touch them easily (usually, we need to point).
Then we talked about the definite article a/an. We say a if it is before a word that starts with a consonant and we say an if it is before a word that starts with a vowel.
Remember that the vowels are AEIOU(Y) and a consonant is any of the following letters: BCDFGHJKLMNPQRSTVWX(Y)Z.
Two new vocabulary words we learned are "department store" (in Mongolian, ikh delguur-- don't ask me how I know that!) and "fiddle". A fiddle is exactly like a violin, except for we say "violin" when we are using it to play classical music (like Beethoven or Mozart), and we say "fiddle" when we are using it to play more folksy/country music. Here is a link to a youtube video of Canadian musician, Ashley MacIsaac having a stomping good time while playing his fiddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tIT8VuZ92c
Then, we talked about how you know more English than you think. We talked about some words that sound similar in Mongolian and English, and we discovered that French might sound even more similar to Mongolian than English does. Still, the English words sound pretty similar. Here is a list of similar-sounding English words that we came up with: cinema / theatre / museum / tea / centre / supermarket / internet / cafe / cafeteria / camp / french fry
B1 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the adjectives we can use to describe the qualities that are necessary to do a job (intelligent, brave, physically fit, etc), and then we learned some phrases that are usually used to describe jobs:
travel a lot --> travel to many different places for work
work part-time --> work less than 40 hours per week
work full-time -->work 40 hours or more per week
get good salaries --> get paid a lot of money
work outdoors --> work outside
work indoors -->work inside
use a computer --> do your work on a computer
work shifts --> work in blocks of time at various times of the day
work long hours --> work more than eight hours a day, usually ten to twelve hours per day
work 9 to 5 --> start work at 9:00am and finish at 5:00pm, like in Dolly Parton's song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqiwEafCJ74)
start early in the morning --> start work very early in the morning (usually around 6:00am or earlier)
wear a uniform --> everyone at work wears the same clothes to work (similar to a school uniform, but for work)
work with their hands --> use your hands to do some kind of skilled work (working with your hands usually requires the use of some kind of tool)
In this class, we reviewed the present simple in sentences and then we learned how to make questions from a sentence in the simple present.
I am
You are
He/She/It is
We are
You are
They are
I do
You do
He/She/It does
We do
You do
They do
I eat
You eat
He/She/It eats
We eat
You eat
They eat
I know
You know
He/She/It knows
We know
You know
They know
NB. Usually, the all the verbs in the simple present take the same form (the most basic form of the verb), except when the subject is he, she, or it. In that case, we usually add an -s to the end of the verb (some verbs add -es, like "does" and the verb BE changes completely to "is").
To make a question that has a BE verb, we simply change the order of the subject and the verb.
Example: It is exciting. --> Is it exciting?
To make a question that has other verbs, all we have to do is add the verb DO to the beginning of the sentence, but make sure that DO agrees with the subject (so if the subject is he, she, it, or any one person's name, we will start our question with does.)
Example1: You like Mongolia. --> Do you like Mongolia?
Example2: He eats buuz every day. --> Does he eat buuz every day?
Homework: Re-read the article "Sink your teeth into this" and make two more question and answer pairs about the article (like what we did at the end of class).
A1 Class:
In this class, we read two different advertisements (one for a film and one for a commercial), and then we talked about character adjectives:
cruel --> mean
greedy --> want to have everything for oneself
vain --> think excessively about your looks
selfish --> only think about oneself
optimistic --> always think positive thoughts
caring --> care about other people
sensitive --> care about how your actions might affect other people
honest --> tell the truth
friendly --> kind to all people
patient --> able to wait a long time
polite --> respectful; have good manners
generous --> give a lot (of time, things, money, etc)
easy-going --> do not get angry or upset; everything is always ok
impatient --> the opposite of patient
bossy --> always tell other people what to do
rude --> not polite; have bad manners
We also talked about the difference between a film and a commercial. Remember that a film is long and interesting and has a plot and commercials are usually trying to make you want to buy something or think a certain way. Here is a youtube video of one of my favourite commercials for Old Spice (a deodorant for men): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE
We also learned how to form the opposite of each of the character adjectives by adding dis-, im-/in-, or un-.
Homework: Please take a look at the questions in my post "Discussion Questions for A1: Who are you" and think about your own answers for the questions.
C1 Class:
In this class, we learned the present simple form of the verb, BE, and then we learned how to make questions with the verb BE. We also talked about countries and nationalities, and we finished by playing a nationality guessing game.
I am
You are
He is
She is
It is
A horse is
John is
We are
You are
They are
Blake and John are
Mom and I are
To make a question, we have to switch the order of the subject and the verb BE:
Ex. Am I?
Are you?
Is he?
etc.
Then, we practiced asking and answering BE questions, for example, "Is he from Poland? No, he isn't. He's from the UK. He's British." or "Are they from Italy? Yes, they are. They're Italian."
C2 Class:
In this class, we learned the present simple in its positive and negative forms, and we also learned the shortened forms. Then, we learned how to ask questions using the verb BE.
Positive --> Positive Shortened --> Negative --> Negative Shortened --> Question
I am --> I'm --> I am not --> I'm not --> Am I?
You are --> You're --> You are not --> You're not / You aren't --> Are you?
He is --> He's --> He is not --> He's not / He isn't --> Is he?
She is --> She's --> She is not --> She's not / She isn't --> Is she?
It is --> It's --> It is not --> It's not / It isn't --> Is it?
We are --> We're --> We are not --> We're not / We aren't --> Are we?
You are --> You're --> You are not --> You're not / You aren't --> Are you?
They are --> They're --> They are not --> They're not / They aren't --> Are they?
Note: Even though you can say "aren't" and "isn't", you can NOT say "I amn't". This is not allowed in English. It's one of those weird rules that you will just have to memorise.
After we learned all these forms of the verb BE, we practiced asking and answering questions about nationalities, for example "Is she Polish? No, she isn't. She's French."
B2 Class:
We started the class by reviewing the colours in English. Then we reviewed "this" and "that". We say this for things that are near enough to touch, and we say that for things that are too far away from us for us to touch them easily (usually, we need to point).
Then we talked about the definite article a/an. We say a if it is before a word that starts with a consonant and we say an if it is before a word that starts with a vowel.
Remember that the vowels are AEIOU(Y) and a consonant is any of the following letters: BCDFGHJKLMNPQRSTVWX(Y)Z.
Two new vocabulary words we learned are "department store" (in Mongolian, ikh delguur-- don't ask me how I know that!) and "fiddle". A fiddle is exactly like a violin, except for we say "violin" when we are using it to play classical music (like Beethoven or Mozart), and we say "fiddle" when we are using it to play more folksy/country music. Here is a link to a youtube video of Canadian musician, Ashley MacIsaac having a stomping good time while playing his fiddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tIT8VuZ92c
Then, we talked about how you know more English than you think. We talked about some words that sound similar in Mongolian and English, and we discovered that French might sound even more similar to Mongolian than English does. Still, the English words sound pretty similar. Here is a list of similar-sounding English words that we came up with: cinema / theatre / museum / tea / centre / supermarket / internet / cafe / cafeteria / camp / french fry
B1 Class:
In this class, we reviewed the adjectives we can use to describe the qualities that are necessary to do a job (intelligent, brave, physically fit, etc), and then we learned some phrases that are usually used to describe jobs:
travel a lot --> travel to many different places for work
work part-time --> work less than 40 hours per week
work full-time -->work 40 hours or more per week
get good salaries --> get paid a lot of money
work outdoors --> work outside
work indoors -->work inside
use a computer --> do your work on a computer
work shifts --> work in blocks of time at various times of the day
work long hours --> work more than eight hours a day, usually ten to twelve hours per day
work 9 to 5 --> start work at 9:00am and finish at 5:00pm, like in Dolly Parton's song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqiwEafCJ74)
start early in the morning --> start work very early in the morning (usually around 6:00am or earlier)
wear a uniform --> everyone at work wears the same clothes to work (similar to a school uniform, but for work)
work with their hands --> use your hands to do some kind of skilled work (working with your hands usually requires the use of some kind of tool)
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
a good website for meanings and sounds
I just thought I would share with you this website. I like it a lot and I use it pretty often as well. It's great for English definitions, and there is also an icon which you can click to hear the pronunciation of a word if you're unsure how to pronounce it. Also, if you don't have a dictionary handy, but you are near a computer, it works great!
www.dictionary.com
www.dictionary.com
Tuesday 28 September, 2010: B2, B1, C3, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b Classes
B2 Class:
In this class, we reviewed and practiced how to give phone numbers. Remember that it sounds more normal to say the first four numbers as single digits and the second four numbers as two bigger numbers, so if your phone number were 9378-6789, you might say "nine nine seven eight sixty-seven eighty-nine".
We also reviewed the difference between -teen numbers and -ty numbers. Remember that if the number ends in "-teen", we pronounce the /t/ as a /t/, but if the number ends in "-ty", we actually pronounce the /t/ as a /d/. So, the number "fifteen" sounds like "fifteen", while the number "fifty" sounds like "fifdy".
We finished by learning about the words “this” and “that”. We say “this” when we are talking about things that are very near or that we can touch. We say “that” when we are talking about things that are far from us or that are too far for us to touch easily.
B1 Class:
We learned about 18 different jobs and then we practiced pronunciation and stress (which syllable we say more loudly or with more force) for each job. Following is a list of the jobs we talked about. The syllable in bold is the stressed syllable.
bank clerk / waiter / lawyer / bus driver / security guard / shop assistant / writer / hairdresser / bodyguard / mechanic / nurse / journalist / pilot / secretary / receptionist / firefighter / graphic designer / teacher
Then, we learned some adjectives to describe these jobs and we practiced making sentences about the jobs using the adjectives.
interesting --> engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity
exciting --> producing excitement; stirring; thrilling
dangerous --> full of danger or risk; causing danger; perilous; risky; hazardous; unsafe; able or likely to cause physical injury
stressful --> full of stress or tension
boring --> dull, tedious, tiresome, not interesting
relaxing --> release from the effects of tension, anxiety
difficult --> not easy
demanding --> requiring or claiming more than is generally felt by others to be due; calling for intensive effort or attention; taxing
tiring --> to reduce or exhaust the strength of, as by exertion; make weary
rewarding --> affording satisfaction or valuable experience; worthwhile
C3 Class:
We practiced the dialogue:
A: Hello, I'm [NAME A]. What's your name?
B: My name is [NAME B].
A: How are you?
B: I'm fine, thanks!
A: Goodbye, [NAME B]!
B: Bye!
A: I'm fine, thanks!
We also learned some new vocabulary: friend / school / teacher / parrot, and we started to learn how to ask the question "Who's that?"
2a and 2b Classes:
We reviewed the second half of the alphabet (Kk-Zz)
Parents of grade 2: Please talk to your children and make sure that they understand the importance of behaving in English class. I want to have a good year teaching your children, and I want your children to have a good year learning English from me, but that is only going to be possible if the children understand that they need to listen while I am trying to teach them.
3a and 3b Classes:
First of all, thank you to all of the grade 3 students for behaving much better today! It was amazing how much better behaved the children were, and I think the classes went much smoother because of it. Let's work on making every class better than the last one! :)
In these classes, we reviewed the alphabet sounds, and we practiced matching uppercase letters (ABC) with lowercase letters (abc). 3b class also started to learn how to read three-letter words (such as cat, dog, bat, mom, etc). Both classes started reading the story, "I Have to go!" by Robert Munsch.
In this class, we reviewed and practiced how to give phone numbers. Remember that it sounds more normal to say the first four numbers as single digits and the second four numbers as two bigger numbers, so if your phone number were 9378-6789, you might say "nine nine seven eight sixty-seven eighty-nine".
We also reviewed the difference between -teen numbers and -ty numbers. Remember that if the number ends in "-teen", we pronounce the /t/ as a /t/, but if the number ends in "-ty", we actually pronounce the /t/ as a /d/. So, the number "fifteen" sounds like "fifteen", while the number "fifty" sounds like "fifdy".
We finished by learning about the words “this” and “that”. We say “this” when we are talking about things that are very near or that we can touch. We say “that” when we are talking about things that are far from us or that are too far for us to touch easily.
B1 Class:
We learned about 18 different jobs and then we practiced pronunciation and stress (which syllable we say more loudly or with more force) for each job. Following is a list of the jobs we talked about. The syllable in bold is the stressed syllable.
bank clerk / waiter / lawyer / bus driver / security guard / shop assistant / writer / hairdresser / bodyguard / mechanic / nurse / journalist / pilot / secretary / receptionist / firefighter / graphic designer / teacher
Then, we learned some adjectives to describe these jobs and we practiced making sentences about the jobs using the adjectives.
interesting --> engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity
exciting --> producing excitement; stirring; thrilling
dangerous --> full of danger or risk; causing danger; perilous; risky; hazardous; unsafe; able or likely to cause physical injury
stressful --> full of stress or tension
boring --> dull, tedious, tiresome, not interesting
relaxing --> release from the effects of tension, anxiety
difficult --> not easy
demanding --> requiring or claiming more than is generally felt by others to be due; calling for intensive effort or attention; taxing
tiring --> to reduce or exhaust the strength of, as by exertion; make weary
rewarding --> affording satisfaction or valuable experience; worthwhile
C3 Class:
We practiced the dialogue:
A: Hello, I'm [NAME A]. What's your name?
B: My name is [NAME B].
A: How are you?
B: I'm fine, thanks!
A: Goodbye, [NAME B]!
B: Bye!
A: I'm fine, thanks!
We also learned some new vocabulary: friend / school / teacher / parrot, and we started to learn how to ask the question "Who's that?"
2a and 2b Classes:
We reviewed the second half of the alphabet (Kk-Zz)
Parents of grade 2: Please talk to your children and make sure that they understand the importance of behaving in English class. I want to have a good year teaching your children, and I want your children to have a good year learning English from me, but that is only going to be possible if the children understand that they need to listen while I am trying to teach them.
3a and 3b Classes:
First of all, thank you to all of the grade 3 students for behaving much better today! It was amazing how much better behaved the children were, and I think the classes went much smoother because of it. Let's work on making every class better than the last one! :)
In these classes, we reviewed the alphabet sounds, and we practiced matching uppercase letters (ABC) with lowercase letters (abc). 3b class also started to learn how to read three-letter words (such as cat, dog, bat, mom, etc). Both classes started reading the story, "I Have to go!" by Robert Munsch.
Monday 27 September, 2010: A3, A1, B1, and B2 classes
A3 Class:
In this class, we reviewed how to give phone numbers. If your phone number is something like 9917-5498, I think it sounds a little more normal to give four numbers before the dash (not two big numbers), and then just two numbers after the dash. For example, for 9917-5498, I would say "nine nine one seven fifty-four ninety-eight". If your phone number contains a zero (0), instead of saying the word "zero", English speakers often say "oh", since the number zero (0) looks a lot like the letter 'o'. So, for example, if my phone number is 8875-1408, I would give it as "eight eight seven five, fourteen oh eight".
We also reviewed the differences in pronunciation between -teen and -ty numbers. Remember that if the number ends in "-teen", we pronounce the /t/ as a /t/, but if the number ends in "-ty", we actually pronounce the /t/ as a /d/. So, the number "fifteen" sounds like "fifteen", while the number "fifty" sounds like "fifdy".
We also reviewed the colours: blue, red, orange, grey, brown, white, pink, yellow, black, purple, and green.
We practiced putting the colours in alphabetical order. Remember that "alphabetical order" means the order that letters come in in the alphabet (the ABCs). If we have two words that start with the letter 'b', we have to look at the word that comes after the 'b' to decide which goes first in alphabetical order, so, for example, "blue" comes before "brown" in alphabetical order. If we have two words that start with the same two letters (like 'bl'), then we have to look at the third letter to decide which word to put first, so "black" comes before "blue" in alphabetical order.
We finished the class by learning the words "this" and "that". We say "this" for things that are very near to us (if we can touch it, for example), and we say "that" for things that are very far from us (so it is necessary for us to point at it).
Vocabulary: We also learned the word "hoodie". A hoodie is a sweatshirt that has a hood on it, like this:
A1 Class:
In A1 class, we re-read the article "Larger than Life" and talked about the comprehension questions. on the following page. We also talked about how to pronounce the letter /v/ (remember to bite your bottom lip as you make this sound!) and I promised that I would post some tongue twisters for practice in making this sound. I have done this in a separate post, so please check it out!
We finished the class by reading the children's story "The Paper Bag Princess" by the Canadian author, Robert Munsch. The story is about a beautiful princess whose castle and clothes are destroyed by a dragon who also kidnaps her boyfriend, the prince. The pincess sets off to rescue the prince, and she does so by outsmarting the dragon. When she finally rescues her boyfriend, he is displeased because her hair is tangled, she is dirty, and she is just wearing a paper bag, and he tells her to come back another day. She decides that even though he is very handsome and he is a prince, that he is not a nice guy and she doesn't want to marry him, after all. I think this is a wonderful story for all girls of any age, from any culture. Oh yeah, and I think it would be a wonderful Halloween costume, if the weather were more agreeable! :)
B1 Class:
In this class, we re-read the article "Sink your Teeth into this" and then we talked about jobs that we wanted to have when we grow up. Then, we learned some adjectives to describe these jobs. The adjectives we learned were:
interesting --> engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity
exciting --> producing excitement; stirring; thrilling
dangerous --> full of danger or risk; causing danger; perilous; risky; hazardous; unsafe; able or likely to cause physical injury
stressful --> full of stress or tension
boring --> dull, tedious, tiresome, not interesting
relaxing --> release from the effects of tension, anxiety
difficult --> not easy
demanding --> requiring or claiming more than is generally felt by others to be due; calling for intensive effort or attention; taxing
tiring --> to reduce or exhaust the strength of, as by exertion; make weary
rewarding --> affording satisfaction or valuable experience; worthwhile
We spent the remainder of class using these adjectives to talk about our dream jobs.
B2 Class:
In this class we reviewed the aphabet and numbers. We practiced the difference in pronunciation between the -teen numbers and the -ty numbers. Remember that if the number ends in "-teen", we pronounce the /t/ as a /t/, but if the number ends in "-ty", we actually pronounce the /t/ as a /d/. So, the number "fifteen" sounds like "fifteen", while the number "fifty" sounds like "fifdy". We also started to practice giving out phone numbers.
In this class, we reviewed how to give phone numbers. If your phone number is something like 9917-5498, I think it sounds a little more normal to give four numbers before the dash (not two big numbers), and then just two numbers after the dash. For example, for 9917-5498, I would say "nine nine one seven fifty-four ninety-eight". If your phone number contains a zero (0), instead of saying the word "zero", English speakers often say "oh", since the number zero (0) looks a lot like the letter 'o'. So, for example, if my phone number is 8875-1408, I would give it as "eight eight seven five, fourteen oh eight".
We also reviewed the differences in pronunciation between -teen and -ty numbers. Remember that if the number ends in "-teen", we pronounce the /t/ as a /t/, but if the number ends in "-ty", we actually pronounce the /t/ as a /d/. So, the number "fifteen" sounds like "fifteen", while the number "fifty" sounds like "fifdy".
We also reviewed the colours: blue, red, orange, grey, brown, white, pink, yellow, black, purple, and green.
We practiced putting the colours in alphabetical order. Remember that "alphabetical order" means the order that letters come in in the alphabet (the ABCs). If we have two words that start with the letter 'b', we have to look at the word that comes after the 'b' to decide which goes first in alphabetical order, so, for example, "blue" comes before "brown" in alphabetical order. If we have two words that start with the same two letters (like 'bl'), then we have to look at the third letter to decide which word to put first, so "black" comes before "blue" in alphabetical order.
We finished the class by learning the words "this" and "that". We say "this" for things that are very near to us (if we can touch it, for example), and we say "that" for things that are very far from us (so it is necessary for us to point at it).
Vocabulary: We also learned the word "hoodie". A hoodie is a sweatshirt that has a hood on it, like this:
A1 Class:
In A1 class, we re-read the article "Larger than Life" and talked about the comprehension questions. on the following page. We also talked about how to pronounce the letter /v/ (remember to bite your bottom lip as you make this sound!) and I promised that I would post some tongue twisters for practice in making this sound. I have done this in a separate post, so please check it out!
We finished the class by reading the children's story "The Paper Bag Princess" by the Canadian author, Robert Munsch. The story is about a beautiful princess whose castle and clothes are destroyed by a dragon who also kidnaps her boyfriend, the prince. The pincess sets off to rescue the prince, and she does so by outsmarting the dragon. When she finally rescues her boyfriend, he is displeased because her hair is tangled, she is dirty, and she is just wearing a paper bag, and he tells her to come back another day. She decides that even though he is very handsome and he is a prince, that he is not a nice guy and she doesn't want to marry him, after all. I think this is a wonderful story for all girls of any age, from any culture. Oh yeah, and I think it would be a wonderful Halloween costume, if the weather were more agreeable! :)
B1 Class:
In this class, we re-read the article "Sink your Teeth into this" and then we talked about jobs that we wanted to have when we grow up. Then, we learned some adjectives to describe these jobs. The adjectives we learned were:
interesting --> engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity
exciting --> producing excitement; stirring; thrilling
dangerous --> full of danger or risk; causing danger; perilous; risky; hazardous; unsafe; able or likely to cause physical injury
stressful --> full of stress or tension
boring --> dull, tedious, tiresome, not interesting
relaxing --> release from the effects of tension, anxiety
difficult --> not easy
demanding --> requiring or claiming more than is generally felt by others to be due; calling for intensive effort or attention; taxing
tiring --> to reduce or exhaust the strength of, as by exertion; make weary
rewarding --> affording satisfaction or valuable experience; worthwhile
We spent the remainder of class using these adjectives to talk about our dream jobs.
B2 Class:
In this class we reviewed the aphabet and numbers. We practiced the difference in pronunciation between the -teen numbers and the -ty numbers. Remember that if the number ends in "-teen", we pronounce the /t/ as a /t/, but if the number ends in "-ty", we actually pronounce the /t/ as a /d/. So, the number "fifteen" sounds like "fifteen", while the number "fifty" sounds like "fifdy". We also started to practice giving out phone numbers.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
How to make the /v/ sound (and some tongue twisters for practice)
I hear many Mongolians pronounce /v/ as /w/, but in English, these are two different sounds. To make the v-sound, we have to bite our bottom lip as we breathe out. You might feel silly at first, but I promise you that this is the only way to make this sound and this is what English speakers do (whether they realise it or not). Next time you have class with me (or next time you have the chance to speak with another native speaker of English), watch my lips, and you will see that I often bite the bottom lip as I make the /v/ or /f/ sounds. Here are some tongue twisters to help you practice this sound (the last three are particularly good practice, as they contain both the /v/ and the /w/ sounds):
Vinny visits Vincent in his van.
Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.
Vincent the very vivacious vacuuming vampire visited Victor Von Viking the vegetarian veterinarian vacationing in Valentine Valley.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear,
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair,
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy,
Was he?
The very wary warrior veered violently where the violets wound very wickedly.
Wilma virtually wishes every weekend for very wild weather.
Which very evil witch vowed to woo the very wonderful Prince VanWaverly?
Vinny visits Vincent in his van.
Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.
Vincent the very vivacious vacuuming vampire visited Victor Von Viking the vegetarian veterinarian vacationing in Valentine Valley.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear,
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair,
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy,
Was he?
The very wary warrior veered violently where the violets wound very wickedly.
Wilma virtually wishes every weekend for very wild weather.
Which very evil witch vowed to woo the very wonderful Prince VanWaverly?
Discussion Topics for A1, A2, and B1 class for Week 1: Who are you?
1) How would you describe your looks?
2) What do you like most about your appearance? What do you dislike the most?
3) Describe your parents.
4) How old are your siblings?
5) Do you get along with your brothers and/or sisters?
6) Who is your oldest living relative? How often do you see him or her?
7) Do you have a pet? What kind? What is its name?
8) What would you most like to do? (What is your dream?)
9) What job do you want to have when you grow up?
10) Do you have a best friend? What do you have in common? What do you do together?
11) What are your other friends like?
12) What is the ideal mate, in your opinion?
13) What do you look for in a friend? In a sweetheart?
14) Do you have any enemies? Why?
15) Have you ever been in love? What were the circumstances?
16) Have you ever been out on a date? What happened on your first date?
17) Is it important to have a boy/girlfriend? Now, or later on?
18) What do you think makes you "love" someone? Looks? Personality? Brains?
19) If you had three wishes, what would they be?
20) Do you have superstitions? What are they?
21) Do you have an idol? Who, and why do you idolise him or her?
22) What is your idea of God?
23) Do you think girls are different from boys? If so, in what ways?
24) Would you describe yourself as happy or unhappy? Why?
25) When you have a problem, is there someone you can talk to? Who?
26) If you had a lot of money, how would you spend it?
27) How would you describe your personality?
28) What values do you have?
29) Do you want to go to college or get a job or get married after you graduate?
30) What is your attitude toward life?
31) What do you think about people your age who smoke? Drink?
32) How will you contribute to your community? Do you? Should you?
2) What do you like most about your appearance? What do you dislike the most?
3) Describe your parents.
4) How old are your siblings?
5) Do you get along with your brothers and/or sisters?
6) Who is your oldest living relative? How often do you see him or her?
7) Do you have a pet? What kind? What is its name?
8) What would you most like to do? (What is your dream?)
9) What job do you want to have when you grow up?
10) Do you have a best friend? What do you have in common? What do you do together?
11) What are your other friends like?
12) What is the ideal mate, in your opinion?
13) What do you look for in a friend? In a sweetheart?
14) Do you have any enemies? Why?
15) Have you ever been in love? What were the circumstances?
16) Have you ever been out on a date? What happened on your first date?
17) Is it important to have a boy/girlfriend? Now, or later on?
18) What do you think makes you "love" someone? Looks? Personality? Brains?
19) If you had three wishes, what would they be?
20) Do you have superstitions? What are they?
21) Do you have an idol? Who, and why do you idolise him or her?
22) What is your idea of God?
23) Do you think girls are different from boys? If so, in what ways?
24) Would you describe yourself as happy or unhappy? Why?
25) When you have a problem, is there someone you can talk to? Who?
26) If you had a lot of money, how would you spend it?
27) How would you describe your personality?
28) What values do you have?
29) Do you want to go to college or get a job or get married after you graduate?
30) What is your attitude toward life?
31) What do you think about people your age who smoke? Drink?
32) How will you contribute to your community? Do you? Should you?
Friday, September 24, 2010
Saturday 25 September, 2010: A2 Class
In this lesson, we talked about jobs and qualities that people need to have to do certain jobs, and then we used phrases to talk about jobs.
Qualities:
intelligent --> smart
brave --> not afraid
physically fit --> strong
calm --> not excitable, very steady and even
reliable --> people can count on you; if you say you will do something, you actually do it
friendly --> kind, caring, interested in other people, makes many friends
patient --> able to wait a long time
polite --> respectful
creative --> create (make) new things (such as artists, musicians, dancers, writers, etc)
imaginative --> able to imagine (think about) something that is not really real (yet)
skilful --> very skilled (good) at something
caring --> interested in the welfare of other people
The jobs we discussed in this lesson were:
bank clerk, waiter, writer, hairdresser, bodyguard, mechanic, firefighter, graphic designer, teacher, doctor
The goal is to be able to make sentences like "A firefighter needs to be brave, physically fit, and caring."
The phrases we used in this lesson were:
travel a lot; work part-time; get good salaries; work outdoors; use a computer; work shifts; work indoors; work long hours; work 9-5; wear a uniform; start early in the morning; work with their hands
The goal is to be able to make sentences like "A doctor works long hours and gets a good salary".
Qualities:
intelligent --> smart
brave --> not afraid
physically fit --> strong
calm --> not excitable, very steady and even
reliable --> people can count on you; if you say you will do something, you actually do it
friendly --> kind, caring, interested in other people, makes many friends
patient --> able to wait a long time
polite --> respectful
creative --> create (make) new things (such as artists, musicians, dancers, writers, etc)
imaginative --> able to imagine (think about) something that is not really real (yet)
skilful --> very skilled (good) at something
caring --> interested in the welfare of other people
The jobs we discussed in this lesson were:
bank clerk, waiter, writer, hairdresser, bodyguard, mechanic, firefighter, graphic designer, teacher, doctor
The goal is to be able to make sentences like "A firefighter needs to be brave, physically fit, and caring."
The phrases we used in this lesson were:
travel a lot; work part-time; get good salaries; work outdoors; use a computer; work shifts; work indoors; work long hours; work 9-5; wear a uniform; start early in the morning; work with their hands
The goal is to be able to make sentences like "A doctor works long hours and gets a good salary".
Saturday 25 September, 2010: A1 Class
In this class, we talked a little more about K-pop and about the band, CN Blue, and their song "Loner". Then we talked about heroes and villains and about some physical characteristics of some popular heroes and villains (Frodo Baggins, Saruman, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Snow White, and the Wicked Queen). We talked about a movie in which we found ourselves cheering for the villains ("Ocean's 11") and about a movie in which the villain comes extremely close to winning ("Fracture"). Then, we read an article ("Characters Larger than Life") and talked about some vocabulary.
Vocabulary:
pirate --> a person who goes to sea on a ship, hijacks other ships, steals from other ships, kidnaps people, and sometimes kills people. Pirates are not a common occurrance anymore.
hijack --> to take forceful control of a an airplane, vehicle, or ship.
witch --> usually a woman, makes potions and says spells to perform some kind of magic
wizard --> usually a man, performs magic
robe --> a long dress-like piece of clothing (but it is not a dress-- both men and women can wear robes)
Frodo --> the name of the main character in the book/movie, "Lord of the Rings". In Old English, "frodo" means "wise".
greedy --> like selfish, the quality of a person who wants to have everything for him- or herself
capture --> trap, catch
dress up --> (1) to wear nicer clothes for a special occasion; (2) to put on a costume for Halloween or some other costume event
unique --> very different, not like anyone or anything else
band of _______ --> a group of ________; there is a popular TV show called "Band of Brothers". If you like movies or shows about war, then you should check out this TV show.
We also talked a little about Halloween costumes, and I told the class that next time, I would bring the children's story, "The Paperbag Princess", by Robert Munsch so I could show them my costume idea (which I'm not going to do in Mongolia because I think October in Mongolia will be too cold for this costume).
Vocabulary:
pirate --> a person who goes to sea on a ship, hijacks other ships, steals from other ships, kidnaps people, and sometimes kills people. Pirates are not a common occurrance anymore.
hijack --> to take forceful control of a an airplane, vehicle, or ship.
witch --> usually a woman, makes potions and says spells to perform some kind of magic
wizard --> usually a man, performs magic
robe --> a long dress-like piece of clothing (but it is not a dress-- both men and women can wear robes)
Frodo --> the name of the main character in the book/movie, "Lord of the Rings". In Old English, "frodo" means "wise".
greedy --> like selfish, the quality of a person who wants to have everything for him- or herself
capture --> trap, catch
dress up --> (1) to wear nicer clothes for a special occasion; (2) to put on a costume for Halloween or some other costume event
unique --> very different, not like anyone or anything else
band of _______ --> a group of ________; there is a popular TV show called "Band of Brothers". If you like movies or shows about war, then you should check out this TV show.
We also talked a little about Halloween costumes, and I told the class that next time, I would bring the children's story, "The Paperbag Princess", by Robert Munsch so I could show them my costume idea (which I'm not going to do in Mongolia because I think October in Mongolia will be too cold for this costume).
Saturday 25 September, 2010: A3 Class
In this class we reviewed the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. We also reviewed numbers 1-100, and practiced giving our phone numbers. We did partner work together practicing asking and answering the question "What is your (phone) number?".
Numbers:
One --> 1 Six --> 6 Eleven --> 11 Sixteen --> 16
Two --> 2 Seven --> 7 Twelve --> 12 Seventeen --> 17
Three --> 3 Eight --> 8 Thirteen --> 13 Eighteen --> 18
Four --> 4 Nine --> 9 Fourteen --> 14 Nineteen --> 19
Five --> 5 Ten --> 10 Fifteen --> 15 Twenty --> 20
Thirty --> 30 Eighty --> 80
Forty --> 40 Ninety --> 90
Fifty --> 50 (one) Hundred --> 100
Sixty --> 60 Zero --> 0
Seventy --> 70
NB1. Because the -teen numbers sound so similar to the -ty numbers ("thirteen" sounds quite similar to "thirty"), native speakers of English (unconsciously) pronounce the endings of these numbers differently. For the numbers 13-19, we pronounce the /t/ as a /t/, so "thirteen" sounds like "thirteen", "fourteen" sounds like "fourteen", and so on. For the numbers, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90, we pronounce the /t/ like it's actually a /d/, so "thirty" sounds like "thirdy", "forty" sounds like "fordy", and so on.
NB2. Because the number zero looks a lot like the letter 'o', often when giving phone numbers, if the number contains a zero, we will say "oh" instead of "zero" and our interlocutor understands that by "oh", we mean "zero". So, for example, if my phone number were 875-1408, I would give my phone number as "eight seven five fourteen oh eight".
Asking and answering about phone numbers:
When we ask for a person's phone number, we do not need to put the word "phone" in the question, but when we hear someone ask, "what's your number?", we understand it to mean "What's your phone number?".
Example: What's your number? = What's your phone number?
Numbers:
One --> 1 Six --> 6 Eleven --> 11 Sixteen --> 16
Two --> 2 Seven --> 7 Twelve --> 12 Seventeen --> 17
Three --> 3 Eight --> 8 Thirteen --> 13 Eighteen --> 18
Four --> 4 Nine --> 9 Fourteen --> 14 Nineteen --> 19
Five --> 5 Ten --> 10 Fifteen --> 15 Twenty --> 20
Thirty --> 30 Eighty --> 80
Forty --> 40 Ninety --> 90
Fifty --> 50 (one) Hundred --> 100
Sixty --> 60 Zero --> 0
Seventy --> 70
NB1. Because the -teen numbers sound so similar to the -ty numbers ("thirteen" sounds quite similar to "thirty"), native speakers of English (unconsciously) pronounce the endings of these numbers differently. For the numbers 13-19, we pronounce the /t/ as a /t/, so "thirteen" sounds like "thirteen", "fourteen" sounds like "fourteen", and so on. For the numbers, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90, we pronounce the /t/ like it's actually a /d/, so "thirty" sounds like "thirdy", "forty" sounds like "fordy", and so on.
NB2. Because the number zero looks a lot like the letter 'o', often when giving phone numbers, if the number contains a zero, we will say "oh" instead of "zero" and our interlocutor understands that by "oh", we mean "zero". So, for example, if my phone number were 875-1408, I would give my phone number as "eight seven five fourteen oh eight".
Asking and answering about phone numbers:
When we ask for a person's phone number, we do not need to put the word "phone" in the question, but when we hear someone ask, "what's your number?", we understand it to mean "What's your phone number?".
Example: What's your number? = What's your phone number?
Friday 24 September, 2010: 3A and 3B Classes
In this class, we reviewed some typical greetings in English. We also learned how to ask and answer the questions "how are you?", "what's your name?", and "how do you spell it?".
Greetings:
Anytime: "Hello!" or "Hi!"
In the morning (until 12:00): "Good morning!"
In the afternoon (12:00-~5:00): "Good afternoon!"
In the evening (after 5:00) as a greeting: "Good evening!"
In the evening (when someone is going to bed: "Good night!"
When someone is leaving: "Goodbye!" or "Bye!"
Other Questions:
Q: How are you?
A: I'm fine, thank you.
Q: What's your name?
A: My name is [NAME]. --> My name is Marie.
A: I'm [NAME]. --> I'm Marie.
3B class also reviewed the letters of the alphabet from Aa-Jj.
Parents of the 3A and 3B classes, please encourage your child to behave, listen, and participate in class, as we had a few behaviour problems with these classes today. I hope that we can work together so that these behaviour problems do not get in the way of learning and so that we can all have a great year together. Thank you for your cooperation!
Greetings:
Anytime: "Hello!" or "Hi!"
In the morning (until 12:00): "Good morning!"
In the afternoon (12:00-~5:00): "Good afternoon!"
In the evening (after 5:00) as a greeting: "Good evening!"
In the evening (when someone is going to bed: "Good night!"
When someone is leaving: "Goodbye!" or "Bye!"
Other Questions:
Q: How are you?
A: I'm fine, thank you.
Q: What's your name?
A: My name is [NAME]. --> My name is Marie.
A: I'm [NAME]. --> I'm Marie.
3B class also reviewed the letters of the alphabet from Aa-Jj.
Parents of the 3A and 3B classes, please encourage your child to behave, listen, and participate in class, as we had a few behaviour problems with these classes today. I hope that we can work together so that these behaviour problems do not get in the way of learning and so that we can all have a great year together. Thank you for your cooperation!
Friday 24 September, 2010: 1A Class
In this class, we reviewed some typical greetings in English. We also learned how to ask and answer the questions "how are you?" and "what's your name?". We finished by reading the story, "I have to go", by Robert Munsch and by doing the hokey pokey.
Greetings:
Anytime: "Hello!" or "Hi!"
In the morning (until 12:00): "Good morning!"
In the afternoon (12:00-~5:00): "Good afternoon!"
In the evening (after 5:00) as a greeting: "Good evening!"
In the evening (when someone is going to bed: "Good night!"
When someone is leaving: "Goodbye!" or "Bye!"
Other Questions:
Q: How are you?
A: I'm fine, thank you.
Q: What's your name?
A: My name is [NAME]. --> My name is Marie.
A: I'm [NAME]. --> I'm Marie.
Greetings:
Anytime: "Hello!" or "Hi!"
In the morning (until 12:00): "Good morning!"
In the afternoon (12:00-~5:00): "Good afternoon!"
In the evening (after 5:00) as a greeting: "Good evening!"
In the evening (when someone is going to bed: "Good night!"
When someone is leaving: "Goodbye!" or "Bye!"
Other Questions:
Q: How are you?
A: I'm fine, thank you.
Q: What's your name?
A: My name is [NAME]. --> My name is Marie.
A: I'm [NAME]. --> I'm Marie.
Friday 24 September, 2010: 2A and 2B Classes
In our first lesson together, we reviewed the letters and sounds of the alphabet. 2A class reviewed the letters Aa-Jj and 2B class reviewed the letters Aa-Mm.
Aa, as in "apple"
Bb, as in "boy"
Cc, as in "cat"
Dd, as in "dog"
Ee, as in "egg"
Ff, as in "fly"
Gg, as in "girl"
Hh, as in "hand"
Ii, as in "igloo"
Jj, as in "jar"
Kk, as in "kiss"
Ll, as in "lemon"
Mm, as in "man"
Aa, as in "apple"
Bb, as in "boy"
Cc, as in "cat"
Dd, as in "dog"
Ee, as in "egg"
Ff, as in "fly"
Gg, as in "girl"
Hh, as in "hand"
Ii, as in "igloo"
Jj, as in "jar"
Kk, as in "kiss"
Ll, as in "lemon"
Mm, as in "man"
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friday 24 September, 2010: C3 Class
In this class, we reviewed some typical greetings in English. We also learned how to ask and answer the questions "how are you?", "what's your name?", and "how do you spell it?". We also reviewed the letters of the Latin alphabet.
Alphabet:
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Greetings:
Anytime: "Hello!" or "Hi!"
In the morning (until 12:00): "Good morning!"
In the afternoon (12:00-~5:00): "Good afternoon!"
In the evening (after 5:00) as a greeting: "Good evening!"
In the evening (when someone is going to bed: "Good night!"
When someone is leaving: "Goodbye!" or "Bye!"
Other Questions:
Q: How are you?
A: I'm fine, thank you.
Q: What's your name?
A: My name is [NAME]. --> My name is Marie.
A: I'm [NAME]. --> I'm Marie.
Q: How do you spell that?
[Give all the letters in your name.]
A: It's M-A-R-I-E.
Alphabet:
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Greetings:
Anytime: "Hello!" or "Hi!"
In the morning (until 12:00): "Good morning!"
In the afternoon (12:00-~5:00): "Good afternoon!"
In the evening (after 5:00) as a greeting: "Good evening!"
In the evening (when someone is going to bed: "Good night!"
When someone is leaving: "Goodbye!" or "Bye!"
Other Questions:
Q: How are you?
A: I'm fine, thank you.
Q: What's your name?
A: My name is [NAME]. --> My name is Marie.
A: I'm [NAME]. --> I'm Marie.
Q: How do you spell that?
[Give all the letters in your name.]
A: It's M-A-R-I-E.
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