Homework - Blurb

Hello everyone,

This weekend, your homework is to respond to this blog by writing a blurb (similar to the one in the textbook on page 14) and to watch an English television show or movie. I watched Jack Reacher last night. Tom Cruise is the star actor in the film. It was kind of slow but an okay movie. I think I'd give it 3.5 / 5 stars.

Blurb Instructions: Choose a country that you are knowledgable about. You can choose the country that you are from but you can choose any country you wish. Brainstorm a list of things that you can do in that country, places you can visit (sightseeing, parks, museums, restaurants, clubs etc.), events that you can attend, activities that you can participate in etc.

Start your blurb with a series of questions as the textbook does. Then discuss why people should visit the country you chose and not another country. Why is this country better?

Try to write between 10-15 sentences for your blurb. Aim to write 3 or 4 paragraphs.
Paragraphs 1 - Introduction (questions),
Paragraphs 2 / 3 - Body paragraphs (Why people should visit this country, why it is the best choice, what they can do, where they can visit, maybe some "hidden treasures" that most tourists don't know about.
Paragraph 4 - Conclusion. Restate why they should visit this country and not another country. Why is this country such a great place to go to?

Have a fun weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Airline to charge passengers by weight

Read the article then answer the question trying to use some of the Focus Language at the bottom of the post. Respond to the article by commenting at the bottom of the post.

What points do you agree with? What points       do you disagree with? Why?

Airline to charge passengers by weight (4th April, 2013)

Samoa Air has become the first airline in the world to base fares on a passenger's weight. The national carrier of the South Pacific island nation has discarded the traditional pricing model of asking fliers to pay for a seat and instead has moved to a price-per-kilogram structure. The airline flies domestically between the country's two main islands and has started international flights to American Samoa and Tonga. Travellers pay a price of around US$1 per kilogram on shorter routes, and over US$4 on longer flights. Samoa Air CEO Chris Langton said the new initiative would help promote health awareness in Samoa, which has one of the world's highest rates of obesity.

Reaction to the new pricing scheme has been mixed. A spokeswoman from the New Zealand-based campaign group Fight the Obesity Epidemic vehemently opposed the new fares. She said: "I think that's absolutely appalling. It's a stigmatisation of people, and really, just powerfully discriminating." A Samoan community leader said he appreciated that weight was key for airlines. He told the New Zealand Herald: "I weigh 200kg. I would be okay to pay the fare, provided it's reasonable, but I don't think it's a good excuse saying that they're trying to promote healthy living - that's a lame reason." Many industry analysts believe other airlines will follow suit in charging overweight passengers extra.

Article from: http://breakingnewsenglish.com/1304/130404-airline_passengers.html#ixzz2QHONnJXz

Focus language: 

Challenging an Argument                         Introducing a Counterargument
That's inaccurate                                          In fact... 
That's not logical                                          It hardly seems likely that... because...                                                   
I find that hard to believe.                            In reality
That doesn't make sense.                             The truth of the matter is... 

(Pg 132 of your text)

Making Formal Disagreements
Subject + appear(s) to claim that
I'm afraid I disagree
I think it is dangerous to say that... 
I would like to suggest that... 

(Pg 8 of "Writing to the Editor" Package)

Conclude               Contrast                    Addition     
All in all,              Although,                     Furthermore
To sum up,          On the other hand,    What's more,
At/In the end,      However,                  Added to this,
At last,                Nevertheless             Moreover,
Finally,

                                                    (Pg 10 of "Writing to the Editor" Package)

Homework for the Weekend

Hello everyone,

I wish you all the best in the upcoming week! I'm sure you will have a great time with your supply teacher :). Your homework for the weekend is 1) Page 62 of your workbook A and B (Unit 11 Vocabulary) and an FCE Practice Reading Test #3.

Later tonight, I will post an article that you can respond to and discuss with each other (this is additional and voluntary writing practice where you can apply new vocabulary and expressions you've learned. For example, expressions from the "Letter to the Editor" booklet.). If you e-mail me a blank e-mail and just put you name in the subject, I will e-mail you feedback about your blogposts (grammar, sentence structure, word choice etc.).

Later this weekend, I will post websites where you can do practice FCE tests to study and prepare yourself for Wednesday.

Enjoy your weekend!

April 11 Homework

Hello everyone,

Just a reminder that your homework tonight is to a) finish your letter to the editor to hand in (please bring it on a piece of paper that you can hand in) and b) Use of English practice test part 3.

Have a fabulous evening!

Homework April 10

Hey everybody,

Please remember to complete the Use of English for homework. Also, please bring in a newspaper article about a topic that you are interested in. Here are some websites you might like to look at:



http://www.speakoz.com/english-articles/ (This website organizes articles by topics that you can choose from)

Below are news websites. If you use these, you will have to search a bit harder to find an article that you're interested in.

http://breakingnewsenglish.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://www.simpleenglishnews.com/
http://www.pbs.org/
http://globeandmail.tumblr.com/
http://www.thestar.com/news.html

Please print / download the article and bring it to class. Since we don't have wifi, you will need to make sure you have a copy of it.

Unit 22 - Extra Practice with Articles (a / an / the / no article)

Here are the answers for the extra practice activity about articles. 

Vocabulary

Want to brush up on some vocabulary and donate rice to countries in need simultaneously?

Check out the website FreeRice.com For every question you answer correctly, rice is donated to countries that need it. You can choose to focus on English vocabulary or grammar, or if you want to study other subjects give them a try!

Definitions:

Brush up (on)
Simultaneously

Welcome to Pre-Advanced!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Pre-Advanced. For this class, you will need the Advanced World Pass textbook and workbook. They're sold as one package in Building 4. If you want to sell these books after you finish the class, try only using pencil or writing everything in your notebook. I look forward to meeting with all of you again tomorrow! Remember your homework is page 56 of your workbook. Exercises A and B. Also, try to remember to bring a newspaper to class tomorrow.

Best,

J