UPDATING THE BLOG

I must apologize for not being able to update this blog last wednesday: I felt sick . It is nothing but a cold ,but I´m not used to being ill,hence that bursting head and crying eyes.
Your homework was checked : statements with vocabulary related to banks and money (a handout you were given on Monday) and workbook ,page 15, numbers 5,6,and 7. Then, some volunteers offered to speak about a topic they had previously chosen and, after that we had an overall review on conditional sentences.To do so, I followed your grammar (pages 126, 127 and 130) and presented it by means of a slide and the overhead projector.
The oral activity (book, page 30, exercise 4) left you speechless when there´s so much to say :what would you do if you were the president of the country?. As not many ideas came up , the topic was left for oral homework next Monday.
We went on to do a listening activity in your books,page 32,about valuable possessions and only had time to do half of it.
Homework for Thursday: workbook, page 17, vocabulary exercises numbers 1,2,3 and 4.
And on Thursday we checked this assignment and carried on with the unfinished listening. Three more students (mainly the 16,00 ,4ªA group) did a very good job with their conversdation topics . I must say that although some of you are really improving , there are some others who have to take it more seriously and work more at home.
The topic of treasured possessions, book, page 32, was dealt with quite enthusiastically because nearly everyone has something of a sentimental value.
Linking words and connertors were seen in the following activity (book, page 33): A day in my very wealthy life. Done in groups, it was fun mainly because of the foolish idea of behaving like a millionaire.
You started to write a story with your partner using more connectors .
For Monday ,do exercises from 1 to 12 in your grammars (pages 127,128 and 129 , conditionals) and finish the story ,so you´ll see different ends for the same plot.
You can see beautiful polyps, that look very much like flowers, but are animals ,not plants. They are open to catch plankton. If you happen to know the kind of polyp of the picture, let me know. I´m an amateur , not a biologist.

SPEECHES

I´d like to make some remarks about the speeches you made yesterday:

• List all your ideas.
  


• Think about the content of the speech, that is, the main ideas you´re going to talk about.



• Check if the information is relevant , interesting and attractive to the audience.



• Express them in a logical , coherent way setting first the idea and illustrating it with a clear development and examples.
  


• Give a conclusion to the topic .



• You can have your basic ideas noted down , but not the whole speech. Just a few words to remind you of the idea you´re going to mention.

Remember you should use vocabulary and structures and length of the speech according to the level . Above all: bear in mind that the more you practice in the class the more possibilities you´ll get to succeeed. Don´t wait till the third term to make "the big effort" , it´ll be too late.

We first worked with a handout about banks, buying, selling and paying : everyday words and expressions related to this topic. Although it may seem though and boring , it´s extremely useful when it comes to travelling or living in an English speaking country. Then we had a listening activity: two couples arguing about wasting money in useless gadgets.

For those who didn´t come to class last Thursday ,we checked again the story telling writing. This time it was focussed on your workbooks, pages 18 and 19 .The aim is to write a composition telling the story about the businessman´s daughter.

For Wednesday ,write sentences with the new vocabulary and in your workbooks , page 15,do exercises 5, 6 and 7 .

The green coral of the picture, is commonly named salad coral ,Turbinaria mesenterina. I was ashonished the firt time I saw it because it really looked like lettuce. Like most corals, it lives in shallow waters because it needs a lot of ligh. Lots of tiny organisms live within its polyps.The giant clam usually lives built-in .

A feeling of disappointment came over me when I marked yesterday´s papers : some of you didn´t even have a glimpse of the glossary of units 1 and 2 that it took me so long to write. You fail to understand that once you´ve passed these short tests , you won´t have to do them again . I don´t want your life to be a misery with loads of words and expressions to learn, so take good note of these words and don´t moan when it´s too late. Answers were checked and doubts were solved. Those of you who didn´t come on Thursday will have the opportunity to see them on Monday when the class is over.

I was so involved with the listening activity that I simply forgot about the speeches three volunteers had to make. We´ll leave it for next Monday. The listening that drew my attention so much was a very interesting one where we had to make out some noises , note them down and retell a story. It was long but worth your while since the aim of the activity was going to be easily reached: a guided composition with linking words to express time sequences. Be very careful and do it very well because it´s one of the most important aims for this year: to be able to write a story in a logical, coherent way.
Homework: Grammar book, page 65, numbers 12,13,14 and 15 and the compositions to be handed next Thursday.
You can see a giant clam or Tridacna maxima .In spite of its size, it´s a peaceful , harmless animal that needs a lot of light since symbiotic zooxanhellae are hosted within . It can be kept in aquariums. What wraps the clam is the salad coral Turbinaria mesenterina.

CROWN-OF-THORNS STARFISH

Once you did the exam , which was rather short and easy, we had time to deal with sayings related to money (page 28, number 1) and money expressions on page 29, lexis number 1. We also did the oral activitity , and a listening and speaking activity where three people ,Patti, Eric and Lee, were interviewed about money matters.

For tomorrow three of you will make a speech and exercises from your workbook (page 14 ,numbers 1,2,3 and 4) and grammar (pages 62 and 64, exercises 8,9,10 and 11). We´ll check some of them and you´ll tell me your doubts about the others. The following activity will be a listening split in two parts : you´ll retell the story both orally and in written form. You should be able to tell a story with the suitable time connectors.

You can see the real Crown-of-thorns starfish , a serial coral killer. Its diameter can be up to 40 cm across and it can have form 12 to 19 arms. Don´t touch them ! Swelling and pain for sure. The one I edited yesterday , a granular starfish, Choriaster granulosus,isn´t as dangerous as this one and it doesn´t look as aggressive either.

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES

On Monday the class went according to plan : Your statments about vocabulary ,expressions and metaphors were checked . I pointed out some wrong uses . After that ,you were given your compositions and listenings already marked and I wrote on the blackboard the most common mistakes I found . You worked in groups and worked them out. Although it took time , it was useful since you became aware of lots of things learnt inappropriately. Chew it over and digest it , so next time you´ll handle them more effectively in your compositions. Later on, some grammar: uses of the articles. The book , page 27, was the starting point : two humorous exercises to be filled in and checked by means of a listening. We moved on to the grammar book , pages 62,63 and 64 and saw their formation and uses. I must admit it´s long , but not too dificult . It´s basically a matter of practice .

A test is going to be held on Wednesday: units 1 and 2 (grammar and vocabulary) . Don´t dream of spending the whole class with it. I want to see some sayings (page 28) related to money with weak forms and expressions (page 29) to do with the same topic.

For homework , three of you will gladly make a speech based on activity number 5, page 26. Just pick up one topic and develop it as you were told in previous classes. There will also be some exercises of your workbook : page 14, numbers 1,2,3, and 4 .

Today´s photograph is a beautiful one because of the striking contrast of the intense red of the starfish and the white coral. In spite of looking idyllic , the starfish is eating the coral. Don´t trust them!: they are voracious predators . In massive quantities they can become a plague as with the crown-of-thorns starfish , Acanthaster planci ,who has no natural enemies and it´s destroying corals in the Great Coral Reef in Australia.

PRACTICE AND PROGRESS

The results of your listenings weren´t as bad as you thought they would. I felt worried about a couple of them since I had expected a better performance.Speak up magazines are available in the English Department for those interested in these kind of activies.
As far as the compositions is concerned ,there´s a lot to say: some were genuine ,well structured ,good vocabulary and organised ideas following the stated pattern; however, I smelt a rat in others : may be some extra help of any kind. We´ll see next Monday.
We saw then vocabulary, expressions and metaphors relating movement of people to water and ideas to food. With a listening activity to practise it.
For Monday you have to write sentences about this vocabulary , unit 3 (pages 25 and 26).
We´ll start checking the sentences related to vocabulary . Then ,three of you will give a short speech about families ,as agreed. Later I´d like to deal with the most common mistakes I found in your compositions. I won´t be telling you how to sort them out , you´ll do it in groups. After that some grammar about the use of articles .
I´d like to point out that the development of communicative skills is the main aim of teaching a language. Some grammar knowledge is obviously necessary and for this purpose I´ll provide you with the basic resources to work on your own. You should work grammar at home this way:
- You already have your grammar and workbook, I hope.
- In the EOI website ,there´s a very useful section:
EOI Recursos Inglés
You´ll be able to read newspapers, do grammar exercises, listenings and a wide range of varied activities to develop your skills. I´ll be ready to help you whenever you need me.
Remember that practice leads to progress.
In the foreground of the picture you can see the Fire coral ,Millepora dichotoma, never touch it , as I said . I did once , not on purpose ,and I still regret it . Below there´s and ugly and also very dangerous fish, the Stone fish, Synanceia verrucosa. In addition to being ugly it is also very poisonous : It remains still,very quiet ,near plants, rocks or on the sand and when touched by a poor fish or an ignorant, fool diver , it injects a very lethal poison located in its back spines.It can cause severe pain and even death if not given medical attention within two hours.

COMMITMENT

I was somehow frustrated when I checked yesterday´s attendance to both film and play. Look, you should bear in mind that these activities are aimed at you , in fact it´s a different and a lot more enjoyable way of learning. You should know that it also involves a great deal of organization and work from the teachers in charge of the events. Let´s put it this way : it´s your birthday and hardly anyone comes to your party.How would you feel? Well, next time , be more commited to your EOI .
As far as today´s class was concerned, I collected compositions you had to hand. 4ºC students must remember that although they aren´t compulsory, it´s very good practice for the future . You all know what I mean and you also know that hard work leads to success.
Then, we had an oral activity based on the main issue of unit 2: family relations. I enjoyed it because it has been the first step for future speeches. Those of you who are shy, PLEASE , MAKE A SERIOUS EFFORT to play an active role . It´s essential, it´s basically the main goal of learning a foreign language: the development of oral skills.
After that, we started Unit 3 : Money. As the reading was hard, I turned it into a note taking listening exercise . First in pairs and then in groups of four ,so the whole reading was rebuilt. I handed the glossary and we did vocabulary exercises, numbers 2 and 3 on page 25 and the lexis activity about collocations with the verbs:have, make, create and take.
For tomorrow,there´s going to be a listening exercise to be collected and some of you will delight the class with the speeches about families.
This picture is one of a coral reef , in shallow waters . You can see the variety , beauty and colours of corals . Beautiful as they may look, don´t touch them!: first we must protect them and secondly if you happen to touch the Fire coral , you´ll develop an awful rash that may last days. The half black and half white fish in the background are called Chromis dimidiata . They appear in large shoals, always near coral reefs. It´s about 7cm.long. I find them very cute

LEARNING

Yesterday´s class was a good one: some homework was checked (grammar, page 34 numbers 8,10 and 11), then a listening comprehension was carried out . It was about families , as the title of unit 2 suggests and the remaining time was devoted to oral activities: Family Values . I found this particular activity very useful, since it dealt with the procedures of organising a speech , the logical sequence of ideas, how to support them and how to present them to an audience. First groups of four were made, them they were split in pairs and finally each student had to talk about one of the topics , after all that previous practice.
As there´s going to be a film and later a play next Monday, for Wednesday let me remind you that I hope to collect an informal letter and also you should have your speech ready for that date.
Learning is a very personal, intimate process. If you are really motivated ,you´ll reach your goal; if you aren´t, however hard I can try to help you, nothing will be achieved, since all depends on you.
Remember that teachers are "information suppliers" , and that your job is to process that input in the most satisfactory way. Be responsible of your own learning.
The fish of the image is a Clown fish, Yes, the one that starred Nemo. Its scientic name is Amphiprion bicinctus . They usually live in couples in symbiosis with anemones and they are also very territorial.

HELLO EVERYBODY!

At last I know how this works! With the help and patience of both my son Juan , and my husband, I´ve finally managed to learn to work with this blog. I was too busy with my duties at Langreo EOI and also too lazy to cope with new technology ; however , I find it useful for those students who can´t come to class regularly . With a quick look at the blog you´ll be able to know what has been done in class and the homework for the following session, so there´s no excuse for you to come with your assigment undone.
So, to start with , there´s going to be a listening comprehension on 15th November and also a grammar and vocabulary test (units 1 and 2) on 21st November. For those who are already panicking because dates don´t match their schedules, talk to me and we´ll try and reach another date. I´ll let you know those that are compulsory , that is , everybody must do them since they are basic tests for each term.
Today we checked some grammar exercises on page 33 numbers 5,6,7 and 9.Then we dealt with formal and informal registers in letter writing (student´s book ,page 23 ) A letter to a penfriend with parallel structures .
You are to hand me in a composition about the same topic on 14th November.
After that ,there was a listening exercise about parents and children.
Homework for Thursday: Grammar ,page 34 numbers 8,10 and 11.
We won´t have class on Monday 12th November because of a very interesting play in La Casa de la Cultura in La Felguera at 19,00. It´s for all levels. Before, at 16,00 at the EOI , a film "The Queen" . so, you are all invited to both events.

As you know I love diving, the picture above was taken last July in the Red Sea.