AC2.2 - CPE2 Writing Task Two

As I mentioned in class, I would like all AC2.2 students to do the first writing task I set (see below) from the exam practice book.

Writing task two, which is an optional task, is either the composition on page 123 or the composition on page 124 of New Proficiency PassKey student's book.

Remember I will set at least two more compositions this session, so if you do not want to do this optional task, there will be at least two other choices.

Deadline for this task is Friday November 14.

Foz AC2.1 / CPE1 FAC2.1-19W

To remind you (if you were there last class) or to inform you (if you weren't) that our class on November 12th will take place at our centre in Rua do Breiner and not in Foz. The reason for this is we will be participating in a visit from Francesca Beard. This is really a wonderful opportunity for us to both enjoy a performance by Francesca and to work with her, and I'm extremely pleased that we've been invited to go along.
We will be doing some BritLit work anticipating Francesca's visit in our class (in Foz) on November 5th. Meanwhile, here are a couple of links if you'd like to find out a bit more about Francesca Beard.

http://www.francescabeard.com/

http://www.contemporarywriters.com/

AC2.2 - CPE2 Writing Task One

Writing task for AC2.2 students is Test One, Paper 2, Question One, page 18 of your exam practice book, Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English, Examination Papers 5. The deadline for this is Thursday November 6 for my Tuesday/Thursday class, and Friday November 7 for my Friday class. I will not accept compositions after this deadline. Normally the deadline would be around two weeks, but we have no classes from October 28 - November 1. However, do write your composition as soon as possible, as I will probably set the second task during these three weeks.

AC2.1 - CPE1 Writing Task One

Writing Task One for AC2.1 (CPE1) classes.

Anwer one of the following tasks. You should give your composition to me or email it to me by Wednesday November 5th (Wednesday Class) or Saturday November 8th (Saturday Class). I will not accept compositions after the deadline! Note the deadline would normally be around two weeks, but there are no classes from October 28-November 1 inclusive. However, do do your composition as soon as possible, as you will probably be set a second task during this three weeks! Hand it in next week if possible!

1. An international magazine, ‘Think +’ has been publishing a series of readers’ letters with the title, ‘An experience that changed my life for the better’. You decide to contribute with a letter about a positive experience that changed your life.

Write your letter in 300-350 words. Do not write any postal addresses.

OR

2. An international magazine has been publishing a series of readers’ letters for its regular column, ‘People and Change’ with the title, ‘A person that changed my life’. You decide to contribute with a letter about a person that changed your life.

Write your letter in 300-350 words. Do not write any postal addresses.

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything

A student asked about the use of 'sans', meaning 'without', in English. Perhaps the origin of this usage is in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Follow the link for the extract where Shakespeare coined this phrase. If you Google 'Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste' you'll find a lot of examples where this is used. Here's a recent one from this month's 'Telegraph'.
The word 'sans' outside this expression isn't common in English, and you don't need to use it except in technical terms (see below). However, running a search on Sara throws up some examples, often, it seems to me, with a slightly 'tongue-in-cheek' register. I particularly liked this one:
With John Cocks cursing the fact that he had not brought his tripod and frustrated by the lack of lighting equipment we had to content ourselves with lunch sans photography.
If you Google 'sans' and ask for pages only in English, results include Medecins sans Frontieres, Theatre sans Frontieres, and Mathematique sans Frontieres! It also occurs in technical terms, like type faces, such as Sans Serif. The latter is the only example of 'sans' I found in any of my dictionaries.

And now, sans any more time, I must abandon this soliloquy and plan some lessons!

Welcome and welcome back!

Hello, and welcome (or welcome back) to another academic year at the British Council!

First, the exciting news is there is a brand new forum for Advanced Learners of English at British Council centres, 'The Link'. This is your place for you to talk about whatever you're interested in. It needs your contributions and ideas to make it work. Have a look, apply to join, !and start posting! If you want to get involved as an administrator, let me know, and also, if you want specific categories adding, tell me or an administrator. The only rules about content are it must be in English, and it mustn't be outside the bounds of common decency!
The forum we piloted in June, 'The Hub' is to be discontinued for now, as it was blocked by the British Council's network security programme. A shame, but it's nice to have something completely new, and this forum has been set up with another Proficiency teacher from Coimbra, so it should lead to some inter-centre communication. Take a look at 'The Hub' forum if you want some ideas about new cagegories we might add to 'The Link'.

Secondly, I promised links about science and technology. Here are two. First of all the BBC's excellent programme, 'Click'. You can watch programmes here, and read about all the latest in technology. Second is the British Council's Science Pages. Well worth taking a look at. Do scroll down and follow the link to the e-zine 'Cubed' if you find this page interesting.

Don't forget to join Student Zone's sister blog, the British Council Hub, too, if you're not already a member. We'll keep it running for a while, aimed at longer posts and comment than the forum. Some students have suggested that 'The Link' forum might be enough; others felt that they were for different things, and 'The Hub' blog should still run. Let your thoughts be known!

Enough for one post. Look forward to seeing you on 'The Link' and 'The British Council Hub'. And check back here on StudentZone regularly for things of interest!

Mark