Tuesday 19 January 2016

Module 3 Consolidation

Dear students!

In Module 3, you have explored vocabulary on the following topics:


  1. Money Matters
  2. Media, News and Celebrity
  3. Travel, Tourism, Migration
  4. History, Peace and Conflict
  5. Environment


In order to check your understanding of the material of this module, you are to write a test.


For better results, remember to revise your wordlists, read through corresponding units in your coursebooks and do the exercises provided there.



Apart from the test, you have to create a video in which you will demonstrate your ability to apply the vocabulary learnt in this course in a number of situations. More information on the video project can be found in your Class Notes.




Good luck! 

Wednesday 13 January 2016

Going Green

Dear students!

In your blog post #15, you will take a closer look at the vocabulary related to the topic "Environment. Nature and Wildlife. Energy Conservation".


Image source: www.biography.com

As usual, explore the material of your wordlist  in more detail in your coursebooks:
  1. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate: Units 37, 39, 85
  2. English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-Intermediate and Advanced: Units 44, 46
  3. English Collocations in Use. Advanced: Unit 31
  4. Oxford Word Skills. Intermediate: Unit 13 (B)
  5. Oxford Word Skills. Advanced: Units 24, 28, 29
In order to see how the words and expressions on this topic are used in an article, check out this.

In your blog post, you have to accomplish two tasks:

Task 1. Watch the videos and sum up the main points of any two of them.






Task 2. Based on what you have learned from the videos, present your vision of green policies and practices that you would like to see implemented in our country by 2030. You may choose to present your vision of the country as a whole or that of your community or region. 

Use Piktochart or Easel.ly to design a poster/banner for your project. You can save it as an image and upload it in your blog.

The number of words for both tasks is 200-250 with 20-25 items of active vocabulary.

A rough example of a poster:




Good luck!

His Story, Her Story

Dear students!

In your blog post #14, you will have to focus on the vocabulary related to the topic "History. Peace and Conflict" as well as to study a number of phrases used to talk about cause and effect, success and failure.


Image source: personalexcellence.com


To begin with, explore the vocabulary from your wordlist in more detail using your coursebooks:


  1. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate: Unit 84
  2. English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-Intermediate and Advanced: Unit 65
  3. English Collocations in Use: Units 38, 52, 53
  4. English Collocations in Use. Advanced: Units 39 (B), 53
  5. Oxford Word Skills. Intermediate: Units 39, 40
  6. Oxford Word Skills. Advanced: Units 37, 43 (A)
  7. English Idioms in Use. Intermediate: Unit 6 
  8. English Phrasal Verbs in Use: Unit 68


For your blog post, think of an important event (conflict, discovery, victory etc.), a phenomenon (civil movement, suffrage, development in a certain sphere, e.g. Industrial revolution etc.) or a historic figure that is particularly interesting for you. 

In your blog post, in about 180-200 words describe why you are interested in the chosen event, phenomenon or person. Present important details (at least 6) in a timeline using this tool and paste it in your blog. In both, your post and timeline, make use of 20-25 items of active vocabulary.

A very rough example:




Good luck!

Tuesday 12 January 2016

On the Move

Dear students!

In your blog post #13, you will dive into the ocean of vocabulary related to the topic "Travel. Holidays and Tourism. Migration".



Before you get down to another creative task, take a look at some additional material in your coursebooks that will help you deal with your wordlist:


  1. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate: Units 86-89
  2. English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-Intermediate and Advanced: Units 49, 50, 69
  3. English Collocations in Use: Unit 14
  4. English Collocations in Use. Advanced: Unit 26 (A)
  5. Oxford Word Skills. Intermediate: Unit 22
  6. Oxford Word Skills. Advanced: Unit 21, 32
  7. English Phrasal Verbs in Use: Unit 62
  8. Oxford Word Skills: Idioms and PhrasalsUnit 41

For your blog post, you can choose one of two tasks:

TASK 1. Write an essay The Dark Side of Tourism (180-200 words, 20-25 active words and expressions), where you will describe negative impact that tourism may have on the local economy and communities as well as certain cases when it violates ethical norms. The video below provides some examples, but you can find yours and paste them in your post (pictures or short videos).

Dark Tourism

TASK 2. This task is based on the interactive activity about US immigrants by Tenement Museum. In order to complete your task for the blog, you will need to go an interactive adventure.
In this activity, you will get acquianted with the realities faced by immigrants in the USA around a century ago. As you enter the site, press "i" for instructions.



You will have to choose an immigrant character for yourself and follow further steps. A girl called Victoria will be your guide in this adventure. After you have completed all the stages of this game you will be offered to send Victoria a postcard. This is the base for your blogpost (you don't have to do the task on the game site; you should write this letter in your blog).

In your blog postwrite a letter to Victoria 
(180-200 words, 20-25 active words and expressions) describing your imagined experience based on the choices you made throughout the game (mention as many details as possible) and your imagination. Make sure you include some facts from Victoria's stories too. Also, paste an image of your immigrant passport and any other pictures you consider relevant. 

Good luck!

News Travels Fast

Dear students!

In your blog post #12, you will have the opportunity to try on the role of a newsmaker using vocabulary o the topic "Media. News. Celebrity".

For better understanding of the material of your wordlist, explore new words and expressions used in context in your coursebooks:


  1. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate: Units 74, 75
  2. English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-Intermediate and Advanced: Unit 53
  3. English Collocations in Use: Units 36, 60
  4. English Collocations in Use. Advanced: Units 42
  5. Oxford Word Skills. Advanced: Unit 50 (B)
  6. English Idioms in Use. Intermediate: Units 25
  7. English Phrasal Verbs in Use: Units 45, 46
  8. Oxford Word Skills: Idioms and PhrasalsUnit 36

More collocations from news stories can be found in this quiz.

For your blog post, you will have to create a newspaper front page on the basis of template of any leading world newspapers using NewsJack.

Follow these steps to accomplish your task:

1) Open NewsJack


2) Enter the URL of the newspaper. You may want to choose out of these: New York Times, The Telegraph, The Washington Post etc.


Press "Remix"


3) Now, let the magic begin! You can edit any part of the newspaper by clicking it. You can even change pictures! Your task is to fill the front page with the news about our university using at least 20-25 items of active vocabulary. 

Change headlines and content of the news reports, articles and other entries. The main part of the task is to write one report based on a recent event (up to 150 words). TIP: Have your report typed in Word before pasting it onto the Newsjack site.


4) After you have made the changes and typed/pasted your report, press "Share Your Remix". You will see a link to your remix, which you have to copy and paste in your blog.


5) As you can see, there are quite many headlines and reports on the front page. You don't have to change everything, of course (however, you can do it if you wish). Make sure you have one extended report (up to 150 words) and change the content on the part of the newspaper that is available on your screen without scrolling down, i.e. this much:





Here are some tips:


How to replace text

1. Click on the text you want to replace.



2. Delete existing information.


3. Type or paste the text you want to add.


4. Save Changes.


5. Enjoy the result!



How to replace pictures

1. Click on the picture you want to replace.


2. Delete the URL of the picture.


3. Paste the URL of the picture you want to add.

4. Save the changes


5. Enjoy the result!

Good luck!

Money Matters

Dear students!

In your blog post #11, you will  be dealing with money related vocabulary.

To begin with, take a look at some words and expressions from your wordlist used in different contexts in your coursebooks:

  1. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate: Unit 53
  2. English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-Intermediate and Advanced: Unit 56
  3. English Collocations in Use: Unit 37
  4. Oxford Word Skills. Intermediate: Unit 18
  5. Oxford Word Skills. Advanced: Unit 25 (B), 48
  6. English Idioms in Use. Intermediate: Units 24
  7. English Phrasal Verbs in Use: Units 47, 48
  8. Oxford Word Skills: Idioms and PhrasalsUnit 38

For your blogpost, you have to take a challenge in the game SPENT and make notes of your choices, progress and a final result. 

Spent Game Screenshot

In your blog post, you have to describe your experience in 80-100 words.

Spent Game Screenshot


Apart from that, you will have to create a fake profile (using Fakebook) of an imaginary person who won a lottery and make several posts on his/her behalf about what he/she does about the money he/she has won (80-100 words in general).

Remember to use active vocabulary in both tasks (not less than 25 items of your wordlist).


As you have created your Fakebook profile, save it and press "share", then choose "embed code" and paste it in your blog. 
You can also paste its web address. 



Take a look at a sample:



Good luck!

Monday 11 January 2016

Module 2 Consolidation

Dear students!

In Module 2, you have explored vocabulary on the following topics:

  1. Feelings, Emotions, Body Language 
  2. Appearance, Character, Relationships
  3. Education 
  4. Work and Career 
  5. Healthy Lifestyle



In order to check your understanding of the material of this module you are to write a test.




For better results, remember to revise your wordlists, read through corresponding units in your coursebooks and do the exercises provided there.



Good luck! 

Sunday 10 January 2016

Healthy Lifestyle

Dear students!

In your blog post #10, you will deal with the vocabulary related to health and illness, healthy lifestyle, eating habits and food.

First off, take a look at some resources in your coursebooks to explore the vocabulary from your wordlist:


  1. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate: Units 54, 55, 58, 59
  2. English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-Intermediate and Advanced: Units 43, 48
  3. English Collocations in Use: Units 23, 27, 57
  4. Oxford Word Skills. Intermediate: Units 16, 17, 20, 24, 25
  5. Oxford Word Skills. Advanced: Units 13, 20
  6. English Phrasal Verbs in Use: Unit 56
  7. Oxford Word Skills: Idioms and PhrasalsUnit 34

Take a look at some of these words in the table with definitions and sample sentences: LINK

For better understanding and further practice, check out these exercises:
1. Quiz 1
2. Quiz 2
3. Quiz 3

Get the taste of cooking vocabulary HERE.

Read this article and observe the usage of active vocabulary in context. If you come across collocations that you like or that seem interesting to you, add them to your wordlist.


For your blogpost, you have to create a brochure called Students' Healthy Lifestyle Guide (or any other relevant name you can think of) using the tool Printing Press. In the brochure, you have to present your views on the current situation regarding students' lifestyle (e.g. eating habits, physical activity, bad habits, diet and other health-related components), recommendations on how to enhance their physical and psychological well-being, and one recipe of a healthy meal

After you have created your brochure, you download it as a pdf file. In order to upload it onto your blog, convert it into jpg format (e.g. here).
 
Requirements to the text: 150-200 words, 20-25 items of active vocabulary.


A rough example:



Good luck!

Creating a Company

Dear students!

In your blog post #9, you have to demonstrate your creativity and skills to incorporate vocabulary related to work and career issues in quite an interesting task.

First of all, explore the vocabulary from your wordlist in more context in your coursebooks:


  1. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate: Units 63-66
  2. English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-Intermediate and Advanced: Units 40, 81
  3. English Collocations in Use: Units 30, 60
  4. English Collocations in Use. Advanced: Units 12, 13
  5. Oxford Word Skills. Intermediate: Unit 51-54
  6. Oxford Word Skills. Advanced: Unit 50 (B)
  7. English Idioms in Use. Intermediate: Units 25
  8. English Phrasal Verbs in Use: Units 45, 46
  9. Oxford Word Skills: Idioms and PhrasalsUnit 36

In addition, on this site you may find a number of definitions and extra practice of the job-related vocabulary.

In your blog post, you have to describe a company (or an organisation) you would like to set up as if you have already done it. Therefore, describe it in a promotional manner to attract new employees.
Your description should include:
  • general features (sphere of activity, aims, rules and a motto);
  • working conditions (pay, perks etc.);
  • descriptions of positions available (two or three);
  • qualities that employees should possess;
  • any other details that you find relevant.
Keep your description within 150-180 words and use 20-25 items of active vocabulary.
Apart from that, you will have to include a talking avatar in your description using Voki. Use your Voki avatar to provide additional information like a feedback of an employee or a client. Let your imagination lead you! The only requirement is not to repeat what has already been mentioned in your description. The avatar presentation should be around 50-70 words long and include active vocabulary as well.
To create your Voki avatar, follow these steps:

1. Start a new post and make sure you enable this option in your settings:


2. Go to http://voki.com/

3. Choose "Create"

3. Choose a character from many suggested categories (you may as well select a background, choose character's outfit etc.):

4. Give your character a voice! The site offers different options: by phone, text-to-speech or record with a microphone. You have to choose EITHER text-to-speech OR record option.

If you use text-to-speech option, you can either type or paste the text you wish. You also have the option to choose a male or female voice and an accent. Have fun trying out different options!

If you wish to record your voice, you can speak up to one minute.

5. After you have created your Voki avatar, embed it in your post. That is how you're going to do this:

- press "Publish" and name your avatar


- press "save" and close the window that will pop up:

- copy the code and paste it in your blog (the code is long, so make sure you cope the whole thing):

- if you've done everything properly, your code will turn into an avatar as soon as you publish your post. If you wish you may create more than one avatar!


Good luck!

Saturday 9 January 2016

Education

Dear students!

In your blog post #8, you will have to demonstrate your natural ability to deal with the education related vocabulary.

I subscribe to the theory that all diligent students need to crack a book and brush up on essential vocabulary before brainstorming any ideas for creative writing, i.e. their blog posts. Therefore, eager beavers, read through the following chapters in your coursebooks:

  1. English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate: Units 78, 79
  2. English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-Intermediate and Advanced: Unit 39
  3. English Collocations in Use: Unit 29
  4. English Collocations in Use. Advanced: Units 14 (A), 17
  5. English Phrasal Verbs in Use: Unit 42-44

For your blog post, you will have to watch these two videos.




In your blog post:

1. In 50-70 words, sum up the main ideas of the first video.

2. In 50-70 words, sum up the main ideas of the second video.

3. In 50-70 words, write about your own ideas on how to improve modern system of education.

As you sum up the main points and describe your ideas, remember to include 20-25 items of active vocabulary.

4. Present your ideas in a mindmap using Coggle.it or MindMapFree. Paste your mindmap in your blog post.

If you use Coggle, you will need to sign up using your Google account. Once you have created a mindmap, download it as an image and paste in your blog.
If you use MindMapFree, choose the option "Export as Image", save the image and paste it in your blogpost. 



Good luck!