2016.12.21 - Class 10

Happy Holidays

Today we reviewed your homework and then talked about the importance of maintaining contact with English over the holidays.

Films, videos and music are great ways to do this. Many of you have told me you've watched some episodes of The Walking Dead after the activity we did in class 8, for example, but anything you're interested in watching is going to be helpful. My favorite series as of late is Stranger Things - if you don't know what else to watch, check it out!

If you enjoyed the game we did in Class 8 (50 Ways to Be Killed by Zombies), then you could play that one and that would be great contact with English as well. Or see the list of Interactive fiction games I posted below for other games, many of which are a bit less gory.

We also played a few games before and after finishing The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Homework

• Maintain contact with English. Write three short texts about three different times you had contact with English (see example below), or, if you didn't have contact with English, just write three short texts where you explain to me something you did that day.

Example

I watched Captain Fantastic, a film about a father and his children who live in the wilderness. Years earlier, the father and his wife decided to take their kids to bring them up in the wilderness. The kids were educated with the books they had in their library, but they also learned how to live in the forest as well as lots of practical physical skills such as hunting, rock climbing, etc. After a short time, we learn that the children's mother, who has been in a hospital, has died, and they want to go to her funeral. The father is reluctant to go because he knows his wife's parents are going to make things difficult for them, but the kids insist and they go. The biggest part of the movie is about the adventures they have and what happens when these kids experience the 'normal' world that the rest of us live in. Will they stay with their grandparents? Will their father be arrested for child abuse? Can these kids adapt to the life that the rest of us lead? Watch the film and find out.

2016.12.14 - Class 9

Regrouping after the long weekend

I asked you about the kind of contact you had over the long weekend and you discussed this in small groups, also thinking ahead to the winter holidays, when you'll have another long break but should not let up on your contact with English.

Vocabulary/pronunciation, Use of English and more

Among other things, we reviewed some vocabulary from Unit 2 (pp.21-24) using letters and a phonemic chart.

We also did the Use of English exercises (on part 2) on p.28 and practice for Speaking part 2 on p.27.

Preparation for The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Over the next couple of classes, we are going to watch an American film from 2012 called The Perks of Being a Wallflower. To begin, I gave you a handout with:

• information about the film
• an introduction to the story
• an explanation of the title
• teasers about two scenes in the first half that help understand the story 

Homework

• Write a short text (approx 100 words, or more is OK) about the film. You can either 
• 1) write a reaction to the film, that is, describe what you thought about something you saw in it or 
• 2) write a summary of what happened in the part we saw in class today.
• p.32 in your book (Vocab and Grammar Review)

2016.12.06 - Reply from Michael Lewin

Today I got the following response from Michael Lewin. Thanks to all of you who wrote comments for him!

Hi Kirk,
Thank you for writing to me and telling me a bit about how The Hand That Feeds Me is being used. And special thanks to the five students who've posted their comments - in English! - on the blog. I'm delighted that they like the story and it's interesting that it seems to have worked in different ways for each of them.  Not much more to say, but thanks to you all.
Mike Lewin