Prof 1 (Saturday) - Racism in Britain

Here's the story you were supposed to read for homework. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/15/racism-commuter-london-tube-train

And hot on the heels of that one, here comes another one.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/nov/25/ethnic-variations-jail-sentences-study

These stories are also on 'The Link' - you can comment on them there.

T7 Parent Meetings

Your parents will have a chance to meet me and talk about your progress on Friday December 16th, at our usual class time. I'll be taking bookings for appointments from this week, so ask your parents what time they'd like to come in, and we'll start writing names into times. Slots are 10 minutes long, any time between 1730 and 2020 (last appointment). More information this Friday!

T7 Test this week!

Don't forget you have your first progress test this Friday! You will be tested on the language of units 1-4 of the book. Make sure you look at the vocabulary and expressions in each unit. These might be obvious, like the purple 'headers' at the beginning of each unit, or in activities such as 'Work Idioms' on page 14, but don't miss vocab or expressions presented within other activities, for example the expressions in exercise 4 on page 10! You will also be tested on the grammar of the units, for example exercise 4 on page 24.

We've covered everything that's in the test, but there'll be a chance to ask questions about anything you're still not sure of or don't understand properly at the beginning of the class. As I said in class last week, do study, don't panic!

See you on Friday!

CAEX Homework

The homework for Wednesday's class was to write a contribution to an information leaflet about Glasgow (the name of our classroom). The difference is that we're doing this activity on a wiki. The address is here: http://snowfinch.pbworks.com . From that page, click on BCAEDEC-19W-2011 and then go to Glasgow Information Sheet Activity . You can choose any of the areas which are not already taken, or add your own if you prefer! To log in, use your username and password. I have emailed students who missed the class their username and password, but I still don't have email addresses for two students - can you email me and ask for yours if you haven't heard from me?

If you'd like to pair up with someone for oral practice (see details on the blog, below), I suggest you put a note on the caex noticeboard which also links from BCAEDEC-19W-2011. I don't advise you to put your email address there, but I can pass your email address to the others, if you'd like me to do that. Let me know, as I only pass on emails of students if specifically asked to do so!

CAEX - Oral Practice Reminder

A reminder about the extra speaking test practice you can sign up for if you would like to do a couple of extra run-throughs of the speaking exam.

Students preparing for the December exams will be offered up to 2 free 20-minute sessions over the next three weeks to run through a mock speaking test. The sessions will be on Wednesdays November 23, November 30 and December 7 in Breiner from 1600 - 1800, with the last slot starting at 1740.

To book a session or sessions, call British Council Customer Services on 222 073 060 from this Friday onwards (please don't call today, Thursday). You cannot just turn up on the day - you must book in advance! When you call, you need to give your name and class, and the time you would like to come. Finally, remember, you must book with a partner!

If you don't have each others' emails, don't forget you can communicate via our WIKI! I've put a noticeboard up there for messages.

Prof 1 (Saturday Classes): Law in Action Listening

Anyone who would like to listen to the programme about British Law and Human Rights again can do it here. Note that you only have 24 days left from today to download and/or listen to this programme!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/law

CAEX Homework

Here's this week's homework. Write one of the following articles in approximately 220-260 words.

1. An international student magazine is preparing a special edition about the challenges young people in different countries face today, especially challenges which are related to education, the environment, or work. Write an article about the most important aspects of one of these issues that young people in your country face today.

or

2. The British Council is planning a special issue magazine which will be published in 2012 to coincide with the London Olympics. Students are invited to contribute articles for publication in the magazine which talk about both of the following points:

- Which two sports do you most enjoy watching, and why?

- In what ways, if any, have sports in your country been influenced by sports from abroad?

or

3. The British Council is planning a special issue magazine which will be published in 2012 to coincide with the London Olympics. Students are invited to contribute articles for publication in the magazine which talk about both of the following points:

- Which two sports do you most enjoy doing, and why?

- What makes the Olympic games different from other sports competitions, and why are they still important today?

Prof 1 Saturday November 12

I plan to use both the course book and 'English Vocabulary in Use Advanced' in tomorrow's class, so if you see this post, could you please bring both along with you! We will also be discussing 'Refugee Boy', so you might like to bring your copy of that as well.

See you tomorrow!

HOMEWORK - ALL STUDENTS!

Will everyone who sends me homework by email PLEASE remember to put your name at the top or bottom of the document and give your attached document a name which includes your name and class! For example,' nununabo-prof1-article.doc'
Do NOT send me documents which are entitled 'composition.doc', 'british.doc', or even worse, 'documento do microsoft word.doc'. I have just opened 12 documents, none of which included any clue as to the author of the text - many of them did not even have the student's name in the document itself! The best (worst?) was one entitled 'can.doc'. It is time-consuming for me to have to rename documents and write in the name of the student who wrote it. Any more homework sent without the name of the student in the document title risks not being corrected - I will ask you to print it and hand it in in class, or write it by hand.

Thanks - Mark

T7 (Friday Class)

Justice on Trial

The video we watched in class is on this site:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/series/justice-on-trial

Do listen again, and see if you can hear the answers you missed during the class!

Prof 1 (Saturday Classes)

If you haven't already done it, this is your final chance to produce a post for the forum. Details below, on this blog. To be emailed to me or posted on the forum by Monday November 7!

Upcoming work

Over the next few weeks, you should work your way through one or other of the following Open University short courses:

ICTs in everyday life: http://bit.ly/usVOUp

Starting with Law: An Overview of the law: http://bit.ly/uYshhH

Justice on Trial

Also, you should watch another video or read about another case or cases from the Guardian's 'Justice on Trial' site:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/series/justice-on-trial

The video we watched in class is also on this site.

Kenney Richey

If you would like to learn more about the Kenny Richey case, you can watch a short video interview with him here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5p_gKFwc1I

and there is a BBC interview with him, just after he'd been released, here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/pm/2008/01/kenny_richey_1.shtml

Read about Kenny Richey here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Richey

T7 Homework (updated)

Here's a CAE-type writing task, based on the topic of the last couple of lessons. You should email this to me or hand it in to me in our next class, on Friday November 11th.

You and your friend Alexia are looking for a holiday job in an English-speaking country. Read the note from Alexia, and the two adverts, below. Then, using the information given, write a letter to Alexia, comparing the two jobs, saying which you think is more suitable, and giving reasons for your opinion.

Hi!
I found these two job ads for holiday work in the paper yesterday. I know we were thinking about London, but there are no good jobs there, and these two jobs look really interesting. Which do you think would be better for us?

- Alexia

The MacDuff and Lady Beth Pub

Staff needed for our busy pub

- Central Edinburgh

- Friendly international staff

- Basic pay plus tips

- Lots of cheap accommodation available nearby

Skiberdeen Campsite

Do you enjoy working with young people? Are you creative and organised? Would you like to explore the very south of Ireland?

We need people to help organise the summer activity programme on our campsite.

- Set in beautiful countryside

- Beautiful fishing town and beaches nearby

- Good rates of pay

- Accommodation provided

Prof 1 Test

Just a reminder that as promised, there will be a small progress test this Saturday. Make sure you've had a look at the work we've done, including Unit 7 of New Inside Out Advanced, extra materials we've done, and the units from Vocabulary in Use Advanced that I detailed on this blog on October 2: Unit 52 – Internet and email; Unit 60 – Technology and its impact; Unit 61 – Future visions.

Hopefully everyone will be up to date with Refugee Boy by then, too - I'm getting lots of positive feedback from people who've been reading (or even who have finished!) it.