Italians vs. Europeans

Watch the following video. Is Mexico more similar to Italy or Europe? Why? Be prepared to discuss each subject mentioned in the video.

REAL Listening

To be quite honest, as an English teacher I can't stand coursebook listenings. They make me cringe. They are also bad for your listening skills according to a recent experiment I did.

I have always disliked the watered-down, slowed-down and above all dreary coursebook listenings. For me they don't reflect real life listening situations. Ok, I know you can't have that kind of interaction in a classroom but you can listen to real English in class!

Here's the experiment: A group of advanced students listen to a recording from the coursebook then answer some dull true or false questions (because that's how you listen in real life, right?!?!). They get most of them correct. The students then listened to an improvised conversation between a group of native speakers talking about what they did on their vacation. Could they understand it? Hell, no. They really struggled. Why? A 10 year diet of coursebook listenings doesn't prepare you for... a real conversation!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/genre/learning/ (English)

http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/statiques/accueil_apprendre.asp# (French)

http://www.podcastsinenglish.com/index.htm (English) 

http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Languages/English-as-a-Second-Language 

Check out the above links and listen to some real English. Don't worry if you don't understand at first, it takes a little time for the ear to adjust. Meanwhile all you have to do is listen, just like you did when you learnt your mother tongue. More good news: you only need do this for 10 minutes or so a day, but make sure you do it every day.

The Great Gatsby - Exam Preparation

Here are some great resources to help you prepare for this part of the exam.

First, make sure you have read the book!

The 1920s - The Jazz Age



Try this quiz: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/quiz.html

Watch the class presentation again:

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/greatgatsby-109765-great-gatsby-presentation-jws-1-education-ppt-powerpoint/

Watch the beginning of the film version:



Online version of the book: http://www.slideshare.net/EnglishClassics/the-great-gatsby-by-f-scott-fitzgerald-1925

Improve your vocabulary with Gatsby!

http://www.slideshare.net/mumphrey/great-gatsby-vocabulary-chapters-12?src=related_normal&rel=1203168

http://www.slideshare.net/mumphrey/gatsby-vocabulary-chapter-3

Historical context

http://www.slideshare.net/thomsonro/the-great-gatsby-historical-context

Communication Problems

Watch the following video. What kind of communication problems does the Italian man have? In what kind of situations? What do you think causes his problems?

Finding someone to practice with

It's often difficult to find someone to practice your new language with. Use these sites to find someone. This will be an ongoing project this semester.

SharedTalk - language exchange community http://www.sharedtalk.com/

The Mixxer - an educational site hosted by Dickinson College for language learners and teachers to find a language partner for a language exchange via Skype. http://www.language-exchanges.org/

Polyglot - find a language exchange partner http://www.polyglot-learn-language.com/

Your language exchange community http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/

ObBio - The International Community for Conversational Languages http://www.obbio.com/

Language Buddy - helps you find language exchange partners or penpals http://www.languagebuddy.com/

The Penpal Network http://www.penpalnet.com/

Tandem Server Bochum - language learning exchange partnerships http://www.slf.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/

italki - online language exchange and resources for language learning http://www.italki.com/

Meetup.com - a way to meet people interested in learning languages, etc. http://www.meetup.com/

Speak Mania - find penpals for language exchange http://www.speakmania.com/

Huitalk - a community for people learning languages http://www.huitalk.com/

Etudiants du Monde / Students of the World http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/

AskLingo - the free language exchange site http://www.asklingo.com/

BePolyglot - an online community dedicated to creating multilingual speakers http://www.bepolyglot.com/

Livemocha - Learn Languages and Practice with Native Speakers http://www.livemocha.com/

国际人 International Person - 中外交流的平台 Platform for international communication http://internationalperson.com/

Language Exchange Project - a simple and intuitive website to find a language exchange partner, pen pal or friend http://www.language-exchange-project.com/

Palabea - the speaking world http://www.palabea.net/

Penpal-Gate - Language exchange, meet penpals http://www.penpal-gate.net/

Make your own flashcards

http://www.scholastic.com/kids/homework/flashcards.htm

Use this website to make flashcards for the vocabulary we are looking at in class.

100 verbs challenge! How long will it take you to learn 100 verbs this way? Chart your progress.

Why learn English?

http://beeoasis.com/joom/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112%3Awhy-learn-english&catid=38%3Alifestyles-&Itemid=57&lang=ja

Read and/or listen to the article then add your comments below. Which letters from ASPIRE are true for you?

25 tips for language learning

http://thelanguagelearningblog.com/25-tips-for-language-learning/

Which ones did you find most useful? Prepare to discuss it in class.

Why language classes don't work

http://aspiringpolyglotblog.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/why-language-classes-dont-work/

Read the following article and prepare your thoughts for today's class debate. Remember to prepare arguments for and against the title of the article.

Tips for right brain language learners

http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/languagelearning/otherresources/YorLrnngStylAndLnggLrnng/TipsForRightBrainLearners.htm

1. Take advantage of study programs organized around communicative techniques. You may be frustrated by traditional language programs based on a grammatical syllabus.
2. Look for help if you have to design and manage a personal language learning program because many of the skills required are left-brain.
3. Whenever possible, choose language learning activities that involve interaction with other people and that call for creativity and innovation.
4. Use the creativity of your right-brain dominance to have fun with language learning. Think up language learning activities and games for yourself and others, using colors, pictures, and whimsy.
5. Use your intuition to guess meanings from context, without necessarily working out all the details.
6. Use pictures and images to help you remember ideas and words.
7. Find creative ways to communicate when you cannot think of the words or structures you need.
8. Use music, poetry, or art to help you learn.

Tips for left brain language learners

http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/languagelearning/otherresources/YorLrnngStylAndLnggLrnng/TipsForLeftBrainLearners.htm

1. Take advantage of a formal language school program if possible. Your left-brain skills will help you do well and enjoy it.
2. Do not fear designing and carrying out a personal language learning program. Your left-brain skills are a strength for this.
3. Use your analytical skills to learn the language.
4. Break words into their parts and try to identify the rules for putting them together.
5. Look for similar rules and patterns in the way words go together to form sentences and other language units.
6. Do not be surprised by your frustration at the chaos, ambiguity, and uncontrolled nature of natural language situations. It will eventually make more sense.
7. Be careful about expecting too much of yourself. Language learning takes time and does not always yield to an organized and logical approach.
8. Use your analytical and organizational skills to figure out the important factors of the communication situation. This will help you learn how to respond appropriately.
9. Be careful you do not shut down and stop trying to understand when you cannot figure out all the parts. At those times, make a conscious effort to relax, to let the language flow over you, and to be content with getting the main ideas.
10. Take advantage of techniques such as grammatical analysis, drill activities, puzzles, and hypothesis testing.

Which brain do I use?

http://www.viewzone.com/bicam.html

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

10 Accelerated Learning Techniques

(The following tips come courtesy of the breakthrough audio course "Accelerated Learning Techniques")

1. Teach someone else what you are learning. Practice the accelerated learning system in short bursts of 30 minutes of study. Take frequent rests. To really soak up the knowledge, plan to teach what you are learning to someone else. Having to be accountable for someone else's learning will make you pay more attention and really learn the material.

2. Ask questions. Intelligence grows through curiosity. By formulating questions about the subjects you are studying, you become very focussed on getting the answers. You zero in on the information, sifting through it to pick up the important points that answer the questions you set.

3. What's in it for me? Motivate yourself to concentrate and absorb the info by asking, "What will I get out out of it? How will learning this information benefit me in the long run?" By focussing on all the ways it will benefit you, you give yourself more and more reasons to learn and studying becomes easier.

4. Describe aloud in your own words. Center yourself, focus on your program of learning and begin describing aloud the information that you have been researching. Paraphrasing aloud, particularly at speed, causes you to dredge up and make conscious what you have learnt, and exposes the gaps in your knowledge that you can re-cover until it is part of you.

5. Draw a picture and write in your own words. Speed learning involves 8 multiple intelligences, including visual and linguistic. You harness your right brain visual abilities by drawing pictures that help illuminate your notes and which stick in your mind. Mind-mapping is especially recommended. Also draw on your linguistic intelligence by re-writing the information you are studying in your own words. This all helps change the information from something that is alien and foreign to something that is familliar and comfortable and accessible.

6. Test the knowledge. Ask logical questions to test the authenticity of what you are studying. Is it true? You have to be like a renaissance man, and be willing to test established knowledge. Distance yourself from any emotional involvement with the knowledge, and systematically pull and tug on it, testing it from every angle. Critical thinking and examination of the knowledge will deepen your understanding and speed your absorbtion of the subject.

7. Involve other senses. You are multi-sensual, multi-intelligence being. Reading brings words in through the eyes and has limitations as a means of effective learning. Use pictures too. Record the information onto tape, and/or listen to audio tapes on the subject or watch videos about it. Stimulate your tactile senses with different fabrics, different chairs, by getting a foot massage etc. Eat something unusual whilst you are learning. The taste can become anchored to the info and will help you recall it. The same with smell. The memory of smells is the most immediate memory system. Rub some lavender oil on your wrists, as you start your study program, then when you want to recall the info at a later date simply get out the same aromatherapy oil and sniff. Stimulating your senses will help the info come flooding back to your conscious mind.

8. Move about. Sometimes we learn best by doing, so get into action. If your area of study involves physical skills, then get doing them. Otherwise, ride an exercise bike while reading; go for a walk whilst listening to your audio notes; have sex while playing the info in the background! Kinesethetic movement locks knowledge in.

9.Visualise the end result. See yourself practicing the skill you are learning or using the information you are studying as an expert. It's locked in to your brain and fully and easily accessible to you.

10. Peak state and PMA. Develop a positive mental attitude towards your learning program. The principle of positivity will flood your system with feel-good endorphins and just make the whole training so much easier and more pleasurable. Get into a peak state for studying, by using the techniques of NLP to create 'anchors' to peak emotional states. Basically when you begin a study session: stretch, sit up straight, put a smile on your face and approach your studies with positive expectations.