Documentary about learning languages

Here is the link for the documentary about children learning languages:

http://www.pbs.org/programs/speaking-in-tongues/

Monday December 23, 2013

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to let you know that you will be studying with Carrie in her room which is room 3-9.

Enjoy the week and have a very Merry Christmas!

We'll see you on Monday December 30th back in room 2-3.  There will be no exam on Monday as we won't have finished the unit yet!

Any questions, please email me!

Unit 3 Exam Monday December 23, 2013

Here is the info for the exam on Monday:

Grammar:  Quantifiers
Vocabulary:  from In the News 3-1:  Black Day, The History of April Fool's Day, Media 3-1: Super Bowl Sunday
Reading:  general reading comprehension about holidays
Listening:  general listening comprehension about holidays
Writing:  Describe a holiday from your country (shared document)
Speaking:  Holidays + Quantifiers

Have a super holiday season everyone - we'll see you on December 30th :)

Unit 2 Exam Monday December 16, 2013

Here is the information for the exam on Monday:

Grammar - Future Tenses - Will/Be Going to/Present Simple/Present Continuous/Future Perfect/Future Continuous

Vocabulary - from In the News 2-1, In the News 2-2, Media 2-2:  Bad Jobs

Reading - the future of jobs - general comprehension

Listening - the future of jobs - general comprehension

Writing - Where do you see yourself, career-wise, ten years from now? 

Speaking - (your) future jobs/careers

If you have any questions, please email me!  Have a super weekend :)

Unit 1 Exam - Monday December 9, 2013

Here is the information regarding the exam:

Grammar - Tense Review & Passive Voice

Vocabulary - vocabulary from:  In the News 1-1, In the News 1-2, Media 1-1, Unit 1 - Internet Helps Families Stay in Touch

Reading - general reading

Listening - general listening

Writing - refer to shared document

Speaking - weekly topic + weekly grammar

Any questions, please do not hesitate to email me!  Have a great weekend!

Remember that if you want to review your grammar, please refer to the links at the bottom of your grammar exercises.

Extra exercises to help prepare for the exam

Here are some practice exercises to help you prepare more for the final exam:

http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/

On this website, there are a variety of exercises, however, it's a good idea to focus on the FCE level and "Spotlight on Paper 3".  These exercises will help you with the writing and grammar sections of the exam.

Unit 11 Exam Monday November 25

Here is the information regarding the exam:

Grammar -

• question formation
• negative questions
• indirect questions

Vocabulary - from Reading 11-1, Media 11-2, Ted Talk 11-1, In the News 11-1

Reading - general reading comprehension (you've never seen the reading before)

Listening - general listening comprehension (you've never heard the listening before)

Writing - topic discussed in class on Friday (shared document - Unit 11 Essay)

Speaking - focuses on using the grammar in conversation (vocabulary, pronunciation will also be evaluated)

Any questions, please do not hesitate to email me - have a super weekend everyone :)

Xmas closure dates 2013

Please be aware of the following changes to the school calendar to accommodate the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Week of December 23-27th

• the school will be open on Monday December 23 and Tuesday December 24th
• the school will be closed on Wednesday December 25th, Thursday December 26th & Friday December 27th

Week of December 30 - January 3rd

• the school will be open Monday December 30, Tuesday December 31st, Thursday January 2nd & Friday January 3rd
• PLEASE NOTE...FRIDAY JANUARY 3RD WILL BE A FULL DAY OF CLASSES TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LOSS OF FRIDAY DECEMBER 27TH
• the school will be closed on Wednesday January 1st

Because of the Xmas break, the Unit 1-4 exam will not be held on Friday December 27th, but rather Friday January 3rd.

Unit 10 Exam November 18, 2013

Here's the information regarding the exam on Monday...

Grammar - past modals (probability/regret/criticism/needn't have do/didn't need to)
Vocabulary - In the News 10-1 & 10-2, The History of Greenpeace
Reading - Kyoto Protocol & Climate Change
Listening - United Nations speech by Ban Ki Moon about global issues
Writing - see document used in class
Oral - grammar + topic

Have fun reviewing ;)  Please email me if you have any questions!

Unit 9 Exam - Tuesday November 12, 2013

Unit 9 Exam

Grammar - 0,1,2,3, mixed + unless/even if/provided that....etc.

Vocabulary - In the News 9-1 + 9-2 + TED Talk

Listening - new caffeine product

Reading - fast food + addiction/marketing

Oral - using the conditionals in conversation + health/food

Writing - Super Size Me summary

Unit 9 - video regarding animal treatment

Video links about animal treatment for meat production - new link....

Earthlings documentary

Please be aware that this video may be very graphic.

Speaking Exam

For the students who were absent today....

The speaking exam is now unlocked, so please do the exam either Wednesday or Thursday night.  The deadline for submission is 8:30am Friday November 1st.  It must be completed before the written exam.

When doing the speaking exam, please remember the following:

• do not prepare the questions ahead of time - we would like to hear you speaking naturally like you are having a conversation
• do not read the question, just answer the questions.  You can, however, read out the number of the question
• do not spend more than 5-7 minutes on the entire speaking exam.  Please give complete, focused answers
• please remember you can make your video "unlisted" and only share the link with your instructor
• when notifying your instructor that you have completed the exam, please send the youtube link in an email to your instructor.  She or he will test it and make sure it opens properly

Good luck everyone!  Looking forward to listening to them :)

Ylvis - Someone like me...

Here's the link for another song from the same group that sings "What does the fox say?"

Hilarious!  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaEnaoydUUo

How to make/send/post a youtube video

Here is link for how to make a youtube video

http://youtu.be/-OGAWrtN-sE

Unit 7 Exam Monday October 28, 2013

Here is the information regarding the exam on Monday

• All the grammar from Unit 7
• Vocabulary from - 
• In the News 7-1
• In the News 7-2
• TED Talk - English Mania
• Randall's cyber cafe....
• Reading - general reading comprehension
• Listening - general listening comprehension
• Writing - refer to shared document entitled "Unit 7 Essay"
• Oral - a mixture of the week's grammar & topic

That's it...if you have any questions....please ask (email) me!

Enjoy the weekend!  And get ready for Halloween!!!

Exam Monday October 21 - Unit 6

Exam Monday October 21 - Unit 6

Here is the information about the exam:

Grammar:

• defining/non-defining clauses
• clauses with prepositions
• reduced adjective clauses/adjectives

Vocabulary from:

• In the News 6-1
• In the News 6-2

Listening: general listening comprehension - Stranger than Fiction

Reading: general reading comprehension - Ogopogo

Writing:  Why do some people believe in the supernatural/paranormal?

Oral:  a mix of this week's theme + this week's grammar

• besides grammar, you will also be tested on your vocabulary & pronunciation.

Have a super weekend :)

Reading material for Friday October 18, 2013

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/

How to make/send/post a youtube video

How to make/send/post a youtube video

Here is link for how to make a youtube video

http://youtu.be/-OGAWrtN-sE

Optional homework Tuesday Sept. 10 - diagnostic exam for passive voice

Here is the link below for the diagnostic exam for passive voice, which we'll review tomorrow:

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/pasv-diagnostic.html

It's divided into 3 areas, so you can do just one or all three - see how much you remember about the passive voice ;)

Unit 10 Exam Monday August 26th

Here's the information regarding the exam on Monday...

Grammar - past modals (probability/regret/criticism/needn't have do/didn't need to)
Vocabulary - In the News 10-1 & 10-2, The History of Greenpeace, TED Talk 
Reading - Kyoto Protocol & Climate Change
Listening - United Nations speech by Ban Ki Moon about global issues
Writing - see document used in class
Oral - grammar + topic

Have fun reviewing ;)  Please email me if you have any questions!

Unit 9 Exam August 19, 2013

Unit 9 Exam

Grammar - 0,1,2,3, mixed + unless/even if/provided that....etc.

Vocabulary - In the News 9-1 + 9-2 + TED Talk

Listening - new caffeine product

Reading - fast food + addiction/marketing

Oral - using the conditionals in conversation + health/food

Writing - Super Size Me summary

Unit 9 - video regarding animal treatment

Video links about animal treatment for meat production - new link....

Earthlings documentary

Please be aware that this video may be very graphic.

The Hurricane - Bob Dylan

Here is the link to grooveshark with the song:

http://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=bob+dylan+hurricane

Unit 7 mini-exam Tuesday August 6th

The exam will be much shorter because of the holiday....

• All the grammar from Unit 7
• Vocabulary from - 
• In the News 7-1
• In the News 7-2
• TED Talk - English Mania
• Randall's cyber cafe....

That's it...if you have any questions....please ask....

Enjoy the long weekend!  See you Tuesday!

Exam Monday July 29th - Unit 6

Here is the information about the exam:

Grammar:

• defining/non-defining clauses
• clauses with prepositions
• reduced adjective clauses/adjectives

Vocabulary from:

• In the News 6-1
• In the News 6-2

Listening: general listening comprehension - Stranger than Fiction

Reading: general reading comprehension - Ogopogo

Writing:  Why do some people believe in the supernatural/paranormal?

Oral:  a mix of this week's theme + this week's grammar

• besides grammar, you will also be tested on your vocabulary & pronunciation.

Have a super weekend :)

Reading Practice Unit 6

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/

Unit 5 Exam - Monday July 22nd

Here's all the information about the exam:

• Grammar - present perfect vs. past simple & present perfect simple vs. present perfect continuous
• Vocabulary - from "In the News 5-1-Internet Addiction", "In the News 5-2: Facebook Banned", "Media 5-1 - Net Neutrality"  Part A only, and "Media 5-3 - The Social Media Revolution"
• Reading - an article about internet security
• Listening - an interview (dialogue) about using English and the internet
• Writing - advantages and disadvantages of using the internet (document shared with you)
• Speaking - talking about the internet using the grammar studied in class

Any questions, please email me!

Have a super weekend :)

P.S.  Thanks for all your hard work this week - you were amazing :)

Extra listening!!!!

Here is the link for a great Canadian website that has listening practice:

http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/eal/lessons.html

Lots of lessons for you to choose from and practice.  Enjoy !!!

Tired of politicians? Vote for a cat!

Here is the link for what we talked about today:

http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2013/07/05/morris-el-candigato/

Unit 1 Exam Monday June 24, 2013

Here is the information regarding the exam:

Grammar - Tense Review & Passive Voice

Vocabulary - vocabulary from:  In the News 1-1, In the News 1-2, Media 1-1, Unit 1 - Internet Helps Families Stay in Touch

Reading - general reading

Listening - general listening

Writing - refer to shared document

Speaking - weekly topic + weekly grammar

Any questions, please do not hesitate to email me!  Have a great weekend!

If you want more practice for passive voice, please use this link:

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/passivesum.html

This website also offers practice for many other grammar points, so please use it :)

How to make/send/post a youtube video

Here is link for how to make a youtube video

http://youtu.be/-OGAWrtN-sE

Monday Exam - Unit 11 - June 10th 2013

Here is the information regarding the exam:

Grammar -

• question formation
• negative questions
• indirect questions

Vocabulary - from Reading 11-1, Media 11-2, Ted Talk 11-1, In the News 11-1

Reading - general reading comprehension (you've never seen the reading before)

Listening - general listening comprehension (you've never heard the listening before)

Writing - topic discussed in class on Friday (shared document - Unit 11 Essay)

Speaking - focuses on using the grammar in conversation (vocabulary, pronunciation will also be evaluated)

Any questions, please do not hesitate to email me - have a super weekend everyone :)

Would you do this????

Check out this video from Teera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhmzmOwkRuM

Doesn't it remind you of this???? ;)

http://bite-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/flying-squirrel-5.jpg


Enjoy :)

Exam Monday June 3rd, 2013 - Unit 10

Here's the information regarding the exam on Monday...

Grammar - past modals (probability/regret/criticism/needn't have do/didn't need to)
Vocabulary - In the News 10-1 & 10-2, The History of Greenpeace (if the TED Talk is done in class on Friday, then the vocabulary will also be included...)
Reading - Kyoto Protocol & Climate Change
Listening - United Nations speech by Ban Ki Moon about global issues
Writing - see document used in class
Oral - grammar + topic

Have fun reviewing ;)  Please email me if you have any questions!

Video links about animal treatment for meat production - new link....

Earthlings documentary

Please be aware that this video may be very graphic.

Men giving birth ;)

Here's the link:

http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/story-videos/two-guys-find-out-what-its-like-to-give-birth.html

Link for making youtube videos

Here is link for how to make a youtube video

http://youtu.be/-OGAWrtN-sE

link for Michael Moore clip

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3JMSTPSsbU

Unit 7 Exam May 13th

Here is the information regarding the exam on Monday, so please review the following over the weekend:

Grammar - all points from Grammar 7-1-7-4 regarding noun clauses
Vocabulary - vocabulary from:

• In the News 7-1, In the New 7-2
• Media 7-2
• Unit 7 - TED Talk

Reading - (testing general reading comprehension - you've never seen the article before) The influence of English in Germany

Listening - (testing general listening comprehension - you've never heard the listening before) Issues with learning English as a Second Language

Writing - Describe your reasons for learning English and how you plan to use it in the future. (please refer to the document shared with you)

Speaking - a mix of the weekly grammar + the weekly topic

Have a super weekend and please feel free to email me if you have any questions :)

Exam Monday May 13th - Unit 6

Here is the information about the exam:

Grammar:

• defining/non-defining clauses
• clauses with prepositions
• reduced adjective clauses/adjectives

Vocabulary from:

• In the News 6-1
• In the News 6-2

Listening: general listening comprehension - Stranger than Fiction

Reading: general reading comprehension - Ogopogo

Writing:  Why do some people believe in the supernatural/paranormal?

Oral:  a mix of this week's theme + this week's grammar

• besides grammar, you will also be tested on your vocabulary & pronunciation.

Have a super weekend - enjoy the sun :)

Website for Friday May 3rd

• http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/
  
  

Unit 5 Exam Monday April 29

Here's the 411 for the exam!!

• Grammar - present perfect vs. past simple & present perfect simple vs. present perfect continuous
• Vocabulary - from "In the News 5-1-Internet Addiction",  "Media 5-1 - Net Neutrality"  Part A only, and "Media 5-3 - The Social Media Revolution" Part A only
• Reading - an article about internet security
• Listening - an interview (dialogue) about using English and the internet
• Writing - advantages and disadvantages of using the internet (document shared with you)
• Speaking - talking about the internet using the grammar studied in class

Any questions, please email me!

Have a super weekend :)

P.S.  Thanks for all your hard work this week - you were all amazing :)

grammar link

Link for extra practice with modals:

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/modalsum.html

Scroll down to where it says "Degrees of Certainty" - this is extra practice for what we studied today "modal verbs of probability"

Any questions, please ask :)

Exam Monday April 15 2013

Here is the info for the exam on Monday:

Grammar:  Quantifiers
Vocabulary:  from In the News 3-1:  Black Day, The History of April Fool's Day, Media 3-1: Super Bowl Sunday
Reading:  general reading comprehension about holidays
Listening:  general listening comprehension about holidays
Writing:  Describe a holiday from your country (shared document)
Speaking:  Holidays + Quantifiers

Have a super weekend everybody - any questions, please email me :)

Exam Monday April 8

Here is the information for the exam on Monday:

Grammar - Future Tenses - Will/Be Going to/Present Simple/Present Continuous/Future Perfect/Future Continuous
Vocabulary - from In the News 2-1, In the News 2-2, Media 2-2:  Bad Jobs
Reading - the future of jobs
Listening - the future of jobs
Writing - Where do you see yourself, career-wise, ten years from now?
Speaking - (your) future jobs/careers

If you have any questions, please email me!  Have a super, rainy weekend :)

Monday March 18 - Exam Information

Here is the information regarding the exam:

Grammar -

• question formation
• negative questions
• indirect questions

Vocabulary - from Reading 11-1, Media 11-2, Ted Talk 11-1, In the News 11-1

Reading - general reading comprehension (you've never seen the reading before)

Listening - general listening comprehension (you've never heard the listening before)

Writing - topic discussed in class on Friday (shared document - Unit 11 Essay)

Speaking - focuses on using the grammar in conversation (vocabulary, pronunciation will also be evaluated)

Any questions, please do not hesitate to email me - have a super weekend everyone :)

The Hurricane - song link...

Here is the link for the song:

http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/Bob+Dylan/138

Enjoy :)

Exam Monday February 18th, 2013

Here is the information regarding the exam on Monday, so please review the following over the weekend:

Grammar - all points from Grammar 7-1-7-4 regarding noun clauses
Vocabulary - vocabulary from:

• In the News 7-1
• Media 7-2
• Unit 7 - TED Talk

Reading - (testing general reading comprehension - you've never seen the article before) The influence of English in Germany

Listening - (testing general listening comprehension - you've never heard the listening before) Issues with learning English as a Second Language

Writing - Describe your reasons for learning English and how you plan to use it in the future. (please refer to the document shared with you)

Speaking - a mix of the weekly grammar + the weekly topic

Have a super weekend and please feel free to email me if you have any questions :)

Monday February 11th - Family Day - what's happening in Vancouver :)

http://blog.gov.bc.ca/bcfamilyday/

Check out this website for what's happening around Vancouver and come out and enjoy our "new" holiday :)

material for Friday Feb. 8th

Here is the link to the website we're going to use in class today:

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/


If you need more work on Adjective Clauses (or any other grammar) please feel free to use the following website - it's fantastic for grammar and writing.

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/

Here is the correct website for Bigfoot:

http://www.history.com/shows/monsterquest/videos/the-legend-of-bigfoot#the-legend-of-bigfoot

Monday Feb 4, 2013 - exam :(

Here's the 411 for the exam!!

• Grammar - present perfect vs. past simple & present perfect simple vs. present perfect continuous
• Vocabulary - from "In the News 5-1-Internet Addiction",  "Media 5-1 - Net Neutrality"  Part A only, and "Media 5-3 - The Social Media Revolution" Part A only
• Reading - an article about internet security
• Listening - an interview (dialogue) about using English and the internet
• Writing - advantages and disadvantages of using the internet
• Speaking - talking about the internet using the grammar studied in class

Any questions, please email me!

Have a super weekend :)

P.S.  Thanks for all your hard work this week - you were all amazing :)

Exam Monday January 14th + Links

Here is the 411 for the exam on Monday:

Grammar - Future Tenses - Will/Be Going to/Present Simple/Present Continuous/Future Perfect/Future Continuous
Vocabulary - from In the News 2-1, In the News 2-2, Media 2-2:  Bad Jobs
Reading - the future of jobs
Listening - the future of jobs
Writing - Where do you see yourself, career-wise, ten years from now?
Speaking - (your) future jobs/careers

Here are the links to the two TED Talks on success:

The 8 secrets of success:  http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_st_john_s_8_secrets_of_success.html

Success is a continuous journey:  http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_st_john_success_is_a_continuous_journey.html


Have a super weekend and please feel free to email me if you have any questions :)

Crazy Jobs!

Here's the link we looked at today in class in case anybody wanted to read the entire article.

Please remember you can also click on the slideshow to see the list of the least stressful jobs!

What makes you crazy about your job????

Exam Monday January 7 2013

Grammar: Auxiliary Verbs, Tense Review, Passive/Active Voice

Vocabulary:  Media 1-1 - Big Family, In the News 1-1

Reading: Families (new reading)

Listening: Modern Families (new listening)

Writing - Describing families in the past, present, future

Speaking - Weekly topic + Grammar