Happy New Year!!!!!

Now...here's your homework ;)

Exercise #3 - document Exercises for Grammar 1-1.

Please share the document with me :)

Thanks and welcome to 2013!  Have a super time celebrating!

Tomorrow's Exam :)

Hey everybody - sorry this is a bit late, but I'm sure you know what to study for ;)

Grammar - questions, questions, questions.... (subject, object, indirect, negative)
Vocabulary - material from...Reading 11-1 Career Games, Media 11-2, 11-1 Ted Talk, and In the News 11-1
Reading - The gaming market
Listening - The gaming market
Writing - what was discussed on Friday (please review your document and and choose your points)
Oral - you'll be asking questions !!!

If something is unclear, please email me - see you tomorrow!

Exam Monday December 10th

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

Grammar - post modals
Vocabulary - In the News 10-1 & 10-2, Ted Talk, 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!

Happy Sunday :)

Sorry I forgot to do this on Friday guys :(  But...here's the 411 for the exam tomorrow!


Grammar -

• Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Simple and Continuous

Vocabulary - 

• Unit 8 - Judge Cicconetti (blue ones), Unit 8 - Broken Windows Theory, Media 8-2:  ABC News - Facebook Fights Crime, Unit 8 - The Story of Rubin Carter

Reading - general reading comprehension (crime rate down in Canada)

Listening - general listening comprehension (crime rate down in Canada)

Writing - Why do people commit crime?

Oral - a mix of the grammar and issues dealing with crime

drunk driver story

Here's the link about the story we were talking about in class today.

http://www.globaltvbc.com/carol+berners+appeal+in+drunk-driving+death+dismissed/6442757160/story.html

Exam on Monday November 19

Here is the information about the exam on Monday:

Grammar: Noun clauses including

• indirect questions
• reported speech
• It + adjective + noun clause
• That + noun clause
• regular noun clauses

Vocabulary: from Media 7-1 and In the News 7-1
Reading: general reading comprehension
Listening: general listening comprehension
Writing: Reasons why people/you are learning English - see shared documents for ideas
Oral: talking about learning English + the use of noun clauses in conversation


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

Exam Tuesday November 13th, 2012

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
• Bigfoot

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 long weekend everybody :)

Monday morning exam - Unit 5 - November 5th

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" and "Media 5-3"  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 soggy weekend :)

Homework for Tuesday, October 30th

Just a reminder of tonight's homework

• Exercise 1 and 2 of Grammar 5-1

Thanks...see you all (?) tomorrow ;)

Academic Word List

As promised, here are the two links for the AWL

• General information about the list + the entire lists and sublists:  http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist/

• AWL highlighter where you can input any reading/writing and see which words appear on which sublist (great for checking your academic writing before handing it into your teacher!)  http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/awlhighlighter.htm

Homework for Tuesday October 23

For those of you who didn't attend class today the homework is below:

• Open the document that was shared with you this morning entitled "Unit 4 - Politics".  We've already completed the first few exercises in class.  The homework is to complete the 2 exercises under "Working with the Language" and the 2 exercises under "Working with Vocabulary".  Please share the document with me, but we'll discuss them tomorrow in class as well as do the Speaking exercise.

See you tomorrow????

Exam Info for Monday October 22nd

Here's the 411!

• Grammar - quantifiers
• Vocabulary - from In the News 3-1 and The History of April Fool's Day
• Reading - Canadian Holidays
• Listening - news report - holidays in France
• Writing - Describe a holiday in your country
• Oral -  celebrations + quantifiers

Any questions - please email me!

Enjoy the weekend - see you bright and early Monday morning!

P.S.  As soon as I hear anything about Halloween, I'll let you know ;)

I'm back :) - Information for tomorrow's exam

Hey everybody,

I'm back safe and sound from the conference and look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!  As promised, here is some information about the exam tomorrow, so you know what to review.

• Grammar - grammar points from Grammar 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 (will/be going to/present continuous/present simple/future continuous/future perfect)
• Vocabulary - vocabulary from all three exercises from the Vocabulary section of 2-1 (Exercise 1, 2, and 3)
• Reading - general comprehension (you haven't seen it yet!)
• Listening - general comprehension (you haven't heard it yet!)
• Writing - I know you wrote in class (?) about where you see yourself in ten years time career-wise, so the topic for the exam will be...
• "What changes do you think will take place in the world in the next ten years?"
• remember to use the appropriate future tenses when speaking of predictions and/or arrangements/plans
• try to use vocabulary that you studied this week
• the writing will be in regular essay form (4-5 paragraphs - minimum 200 words)
• Speaking - using the future tenses to talk about your future at work

Any questions...as always...please email me!  orsolina.rabasco@canada-english.com

Enjoy the soggy Sunday :(

Information for the exam Tues. Oct. 9th

Here's some information on the exam for Tuesday.

Grammar - all tenses including active and passive voice

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

Reading - about families

Listening - about marriage

Writing - Compare and contrast families from the past, present and future

There will be no speaking test this Tuesday.


If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask - I can be reached by email.

Have a super week with Neil :)

Connectors

Here are two great websites to review connectors:

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/sample/ite/gs/gs_38.html

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

Extra grammar work

Please feel free to browse this website and work on any grammar you'd like, but you can specifically work on

• auxiliary verbs
• tense practice

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

Have fun :)

Homework for Tuesday October 2nd

Good evening everybody,

Just a reminder about the homework...

Please work on the 2 vocabulary exercise for the document entitled In the News 1-1: When to Tie the Knot.

• the first exercise is working on word families and checking definitions if you don't understand the words
• the second exercise is to fill the blanks in with the correct vocabulary words

Have a great evening and see you tomorrow :)

P.S.  Take a look at the link....

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765607736/Couples-who-share-the-housework-are-more-likely-to-divorce-study-finds.html

Do you agree????

Monday's Exam - September 24

Here's what's on the exam:

• Grammar: Verb Patterns (Infinitive, -Ing, Infinitive + Object, Infinitive or -Ing)
• Vocabulary is from the following documents:
• Media 12-1, In the News 12-1, Unit 12 - Hollywood North, Media 12-3, Media 12-2
• Reading Comprehension - Vancouver film industry
• Listening Comprehension - Vancouver film industry
• Writing  - please refer to Unit 12 Essay 
• Speaking - questions about the topic including the grammar

Have a super weekend!  If anything is unclear, please email me!

Homework for Wed. Sept.19th

Please do the preparation work for In the News 12-1 vocabulary - just the work on the word families.

Thanks and see you tomorrow :)

Monday September 17 - Exam

Hi everybody - just wanted to give you the lowdown (you can check this expression in an urban dictionary) for the exam.

• Grammar - question formation
• direct questions ("wh" and Y/N)
• indirect questions
• how come / what for?
• what...like / how...?
• Vocabulary
• vocabulary from Reading 11-1:  Career Games, In the News 11-1:  Computer Aids..., Ted Talk, Shigeru Miyamoto
• Reading - general comprehension (from the internet) - about mobile gaming
• Writing - essay about the the positive/negative aspects of gaming (please review the brainstorming we did in class)
• Listening - general comprehension (from the internet) - about the gaming industry
• Speaking - you will be given a situation in which you'll need to make questions (direct/indirect)

Again...please let me know if you need any clarification - please email me :)

Have a super weekend and enjoy the sun !!!

Tuesday Sept 11th - Homework

Here is the homework for tonight.

• Exercise 3 & 4 - Grammar 11-1 (shared document) - you do not need to share your copy with me as we'll check it in class tomorrow morning.
• Reading 11-1 - optional - found on the 125 website - if you choose to do this, please share the document with me (those students who already did it can share your document with me too)
• Please also finish off the questions regarding the Media 11-2 document that I shared with you. (this you do not need to share with me)

See you tomorrow!

Monday September 10th - Homework

The homework for tonight is on the 125 website:

- Reading 11-1: Career Games (Exercise - reading comprehension homework)

Thanks :)

The Happy Monday Morning Exam :)

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to give you a rundown of the exam for Monday Sept. 10th

• Grammar - past modals of probability and regret/criticism
• Vocabulary - you will be tested on vocabulary from the following documents
• In the News 10-1 - Global Zero
• In the News 10-2 - World Wonders Threatened
• The History of Greenpeace
• Ted Talk - Bjorn Lomborg
• Reading - not selected yet - but something about global issues
• Listening - a report on global issues
• Writing - Unfortunately, we didn't have time to prepare this in class, so please think about it over the weekend
• "What do you think is the world's biggest problem?  Write an essay describing the problem, why you think it's so important and possible solutions to the problem.  Remember to write in paragraphs and include an introduction and conclusion."
• Oral Exam - Discussing global issues using the past modals

Please feel free to email me should you have any questions!  Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday :)  Enjoy the sun!

Island President

Hello everybody,

I received an email today with the list of some films being shown at the Vancity Theatre (downtown) where I am a member.  The Vancity Theatre generally shows non-Hollywood movies and a lot of documentaries.  Ironically enough, this weekend they are showing "Island President" - the documentary about the Maldives, which may soon disappear due to global warming.  I know we mentioned another name in class today, but I think we are talking about the same country.

Here is the link if anybody is interested:

http://www.viff.org/theatre/programs/pg2324-island-president


Happy Viewing :)

Thursday September 6th, 2012

I just wanted to thank all of you for your hard work today.  I realize that what we were talking about is very challenging, but I wanted to thank you for opening your minds to becoming "global citizens".

In case you are interested, here are some of the websites mentioned in class today:

Water.org:  http://water.org/

Kiva.org:  http://www.kiva.org/

Peace Boat: http://www.peaceboat.org/english/

On the CGI document, you have all the links to the various areas on the website.

Thanks again everyone - can't wait to hear the presentations tomorrow!

Remember...."think globally, act locally" :)

Work for Friday August 31

In case it was all a bit too confusing in class today, here's what I would like you to do for homework...

• Grammar 9-2:  Exercise 1 & 2 (Exercise 4 & 5 optional)
• Grammar 9-3:  Exercise 2 (Exercise 4 optional)

Please keep in mind that you also have the summary to do and please remember that you can share any of the homework with me at any time - over the long weekend is fine too :)

Thursday August 30th

Happy Thursday everybody - please open the following pages so we're all ready to start at 8:30am :)

• Grammar 9-2: Mixed Conditionals: https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1OXl79WrC2OOCPvFODBV_uELPjMaNeBFkFrSEDUP-Y9o/edit
• Grammar 9-2 Exercises: https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1006KJF0krHhvedU2d0LnMobWbb927TRQ-gEUUwDC8_U/edit?hl=en&authkey=COqohKUM   or on the SMRT 125 website
• Grammar 9-3: Other Conditional Expressions: https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1mgVZIq8USy0FG586h6QAr8Rt-2q77fW4RQEDF5_LbaU/edit
• Grammar 9-3 Exercises: https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1qqCvlCVNFx7fDBd_UaQ0btaULbWAHi_BW6dnH5BBbjU/edit?hl=en&authkey=CKqD2lg   or on the SMRT 125 website
• In the News 9-2:  https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1a3_56YhmU14kB1uCaerjdIPAx9Dxj0imI2mFaB4qQzs/edit

We'll see you then :)

link for Super Size Me

Here is the link for the full documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-eRXuuH9AI

Enjoy!  And stop eating McDonald's ;)

Summarizing Super-Size Me

Here is a document that may help you keep your notes in order and help you focus on the different scenes.

https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1F6ZDQTZKuQ0S0J4Bp5Cf-uQEx5pDb_UT5tdcwPIE3Lg/edit

Wednesday August 29th

Good morning everybody!

Here are the documents that you'll need for today - please open them when you come to class:

• In the News 9-1 - Chasing the Caffeine High (we started yesterday)

• From the 125 website:  Media 9-2
• Summarizing Skills -  https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1P-pLbp_-Gdux0jFt7cVJCtJC7Tl625-qbfSSpPUrIUE/edit
• Grammar 9-2 -  https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1OXl79WrC2OOCPvFODBV_uELPjMaNeBFkFrSEDUP-Y9o/edit
• From the 125 website:  Grammar 9-2, Lesson Document, Exercise

See you soon..... :)

Here is the material for today...

• Ted Talk - Graham Hill

https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1DGZDtY8P_ehmTNf3qrcvu1pkWSE9ioCSPQtHkplhLnQ/edit

• Reading - Chasing the Caffeine High

https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1vn01WIu2A_HWIHO9-MYRtGEE1FHAmWCgDP0b0n5wqJA/edit

Please remember the homework...

• Grammar 9-1 - Exercise 3 - please share the document with me!!!

Monday August 27th Exam

Here's what will be on the exam on Monday -

• Grammar - narrative tenses (past simple, past continuous, past perfect)
• Vocabulary - from "Broken Windows", "Facebook Fights Crime", "The Story of Rubin Carter", "Judge Cicconetti"
• word families
• usage
• Reading - ???? (sorry I haven't chosen one yet)
• Listening - about the changes in Singapore
• Writing - check brainstorming ideas (shared on your drive)
• Oral - topic (crime) + grammar (narrative tenses)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me over the weekend!

Have a great one guys :)

Monday morning Exam - August 20th

Hello everybody,

Sorry I couldn't be there with you today, but I wanted to give you a run down of what's on the Monday morning exam for next week.  Here it is:

• Grammar - completing sentences with noun clauses, indirect questions, reported speech
• Vocabulary - comes from In the News 7-1 & 7-2, "English Mania" Ted talk, and "Learning Languages" listening
• word families
• usage
• Reading - Influence of English on foreign languages
• Listening - Problems with learning English
• Writing - Topic "Why has learning English become so important?"
• please look at the following link for ideas for the essay - https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1TBwXbHNIbL9dk7g24Jw0V6jXPfQnm4Wy1OfipGvVowE/edit
• Oral - Questions using this weeks grammar and topic (I will be using for grammar usage, vocabulary and pronunciation)

Have a great weekend everybody - and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me!

:)

P.S.  Micaela....sorry I couldn't say goodbye in person - have a super trip back - we'll all miss you :(

You tube videos - accents

Here are the links for the two youtube videos we saw in class today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFRoYhTJQQ&feature=player_embedded  - the Scottish elevator

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m-y-qAbpL0&feature=player_embedded - the "Newfie" commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=dABo_DCIdpM - here is the one we didn't watch in class with the guy doing different English accents - PLEASE BE REMINDED THAT THIS CONTAINS A LOT OF BAD LANGUAGE

Again, if anyone would like to watch any video of the Canadian comedian we talked about in class, his name is Russell Peters.

Extra modal verb practice

Here's some extra grammar practice on modal verbs :)

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

Extra practice with quantifiers

Here are some links for extra practice, if you'd like:

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

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

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/cross/quantifiers2.htm

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/cross/quant_gap2.htm

Ted Talks Unit 2

Here are the links to the Ted talks we discussed today - have a great weekend in the sun :)

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/richard_st_john_s_8_secrets_of_success.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/richard_st_john_success_is_a_continuous_journey.html

Extra Practice - Will/Be Going to

Here is a website with some extra practice:

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/339.html

Optional listening homework Unit 1 - July 4, 2012

Hey everybody,

Here is the link for the optional listening homework:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVqiD5Mjqz4

Remember...the main idea of this is for you to explain what you've heard.  If you'd like to include lots of details, that's great, but the most important thing is to explain the main idea of the listening.

Any questions, please feel free to email me!

See you tomorrow :)

link to quiz

http://www.northwesternmutual.com/learning-center/the-longevity-game.aspx

June 1st - Connectors List + Exercises

Here is a great link for connectors and also other grammar points:

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/9-10.html

The first page has a list of connectors and then there are exercises you can do on the weekend if you'd like :)

Good morning everybody....

Here is a youtube video we are going to use in class today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFRoYhTJQQ

Tuesday May 8th

Homework for Wednesday...

• Grammar 6-1 - Exercise #2
• Reading 6-2 - In the News - please do the T/F questions and reading comprehension (Exercises D,E,F)

Enjoy!!! See you tomorrow!

Thursday May 3rd, 2012

Homework for Friday....

Grammar - 5-2 - Exercise  #1 and #2

Tuesday, May 1st

Vocabulary Exercise

Monday Exam - April 30th 2012


https://docs.google.com/a/canada-english.com/document/d/1HgGnaifwl9mGfwlncMPo9TcvFfGMepaHXK825omZWXA/edit