Assessment and Christmas clean-up

Today we need to get things cleaned up before Christmas.

1. Cambridge (CAE) Reading test
Hopefully Martin and James can get it done today after the lesson

2. Classic book talk
Here is the document

Adrian B
Martin
Anders N
James
need to sign-up

2b. Writing workshop
I'm still missing loads of stuff.
All 4 assignments are COMPULSORY to COMPLETE THE COURSE!

3. Assessment
Here is a copy of the assessment for those who are missing in action!

Fill it in and send it to me. Those who are in class please do it on paper!

Spot the deliberate mistake! Ha! Ha!

4. One of the points raised in the assessment is the form of assessment or evaluation we do on this course.

I try to use Formative assessment.

For me it is very time consuming  (about 300 hours until now). That's ok as long as people are taking advantage of it and Learning.

The alternative is more summative exercises:

For example many students have problems witth using capital letters. Not even "I" is spelt with a capital
Here are some rules:

1. Capitalize the first word of every sentence.

This is the first time he used a snowboard.
Speech-recognition software is better than ever.

2. Capitalize the days of the week, names of months, and holidays.

He spoke on Monday and Tuesday.
During December and June he got his royalty checks.
At Christmas and Easter he took a break; during Thanksgiving andLabor Day, he relaxed.

3. Capitalize important words in a title (including the beginning and ending words).

For Whom the Bell Tolls
Fly Fishing for the Complete Idiot
A Day No Pigs Would Die

4. Capitalize proper nouns and proper adjectives such as nationalities, languages, geographic places, groups of people, and formal periods of time.

I studied history, French, math, and English in school.
The British and the Russians enjoyed studying about theRenaissance.
Three Japanese students took my class.
A boy from Arkansas got the lead.

5. Capitalize titles before a person’s name. Capitalize a title that takes the place of a person’s name unless the title is preceded by the wordmy (or another possessive pronoun like their, our, his, her, your).

	Capitalize	Do Not Capitalize
	President Clinton was here. Senator Miller walked in. Professor Rutter lectured. “Come, Mother, let’s go.” “Hey, Dad, let’s eat.”	The president was here. The senator walked in. The professor lectured. My mother is here. My dad is hungry.

6. Do not capitalize the seasons, and only capitalize directions (north, south, east, west) if they stand for a specific place.

I love winter and fall.
I don’t like spring and summer.
When I’m lost in the North Woods, I always go east.
The wind is blowing from the east.
I used to live in the East.

Here is an exercise

Now check your answers

Give yourself a score out of 18 ( ½ point off for 1 error in a sentence).

Which is better?

Decide and comment on the assessment!

Finally, I want to wish you a good holiday and blessed Christmas. Inbibe good things!!!!

See you in 2015!

P.S. Don't forget the Shakespeare assignment!

No lesson today

Please sign up for a slot for your book talk.

See you on Monday + the extra time for those who are concerned.

Shakespeare Act ! continued

Many students have not sent in the answers to their study questions for Act I. We will contine to analyse this today. By the end of today I hope everyone will have completed the assignment.

I am going to give you a piece of holiday work.  We are going to analyse about 30 lines of text each person our edition - going through the whole of Act II and Scene 1 of Act III.


The analysis will be based on the following document.
You will analyse as follows:
Victor B                             p. 57
Andrea B                           p. 58
Adrian B                            p. 59
Anton B                             p. 60
Axel B                               p. 61
Dennis                               p. 62
James                                 p. 63
Anton D                             p. 64
Johanna D                          p. 65
Eric G                                p.66
Jakob G                              p.67
Olle H                                p.68
Linn H                                p.69
Linnea H                             p.70
Naj                                      p.71
Joel                                     p.72
My                                      p.73
Emeli                                  p.74
Anders N                            p.75
Alma                                   p.76
Martin O                             p.77
Isabell                                 p.78
Linn R  (25lines)                p.79
Emma R           (2 l. p.79)+p. 80 
Nentan                                p.81
Jesper                                 p.82
Christoffer                         p.83
Lovisa                                p.84
Adrian V                            p.85
Josefine V                          p.86

You are going to give a short presentation of your analysis on the first Friday lesson after the holiday.

Remember the document Figurative language

You need to use those terms when doing your analysis.
Today we can look at p. 39 in Act I as an example.

Finally a video from Spark Notes providing an excellent summary of the play


For those who missed out on their book talk last Friday there will be a final chance this Wednesday at 2 p.m.

This Friday's lesson will be for those who have signed up for the classic talk. I have now "locked" the document. Please respect the times. Those who did their talk last Friday or will do it this Wednesday are free on Friday.

Our final lesson will be next Monday 8-9. Our visitor will hopefully be coming after Christmas.

We will be doing a course evaluation and talking about the holidays.





 

CAE/ Classic talk/Shakespeare

Today we meet at 8 am in the classroom.

1. Cambridge CAE reading for those who missed it


2. Classic book talk according to the timetable


3. Continue with Shakespeare. Send in 12 questions by Monday's lesson

Shakespeare Introduction

Before we start:

1. The writer's course is finished!

I should have 4 pieces of work.

Some people have not turned in ONE piece yet!

If I don't have  two pieces of work by Friday then I will give you an "F" warning!

2. The next two Fridays are for the Classic book talks. Sign up!
Please fill in the sheet which is here 

3. Those who missed the Cambridge Reading Test will do it on Friday


Today we finally get to start studying "Romeo and Juliet".

We will use a Shakespeare Survival Kit which should be completed by the time we finish the play.

We will start off by getting a copy of the play from Björn.
Then there will be a video about Shakespeare's life.

Fill in some information for each heading on the document (available on paper)

After that we will begin studying the language and looking at the compendium.
Here are some of the documents:

General 

Words  -Some basic information about Shakespeare's language

Common Shakespeare terms- more general language information 

Figurative language- some of the devices Shakespeare uses to enrichen his plays

What did he say? Test your own knowledge of Shakespeare's words having read through the information about his language

Punny guy! The classic Shakespeare device for providing verbal humour (N.B. This is a pdf file!)

Here ia an extra resource from about.com( http://specials.about.com/service/newsletters/shakespeare/3d5479d1d00001ad8c000fac.htm )which I can recommend

Romeo and Juliet
This list of links provides more information than you will ever need 

A taste of things to come- Act I Scene 1 (first part in original text and modern text).

Here are the study questions for Act I

1. What is the setting for the play?
2. What scene of conflict opens the action of the play?
3. Which character tries to stop the fighting among the servants?
4. Which character is aggressive and eager to fight?
5. What warning does the Prince give to anyone who breaks the peace again?
6. Who has asked for Juliet's hand in marriage?
7. How old is Juliet?
8. In what state of mind is Romeo when we first see him in the play? 
 9. Explain how Romeo finds out about the Capulet ball?
10. How does Benvolio try to remedy Romeo's love sickness? 

We shall go through Act I on Monday. By then you should know the answers!

If you're around then come around!

No official lesson today as most people are attending the Big Mess!

Book talks next week. Don't forget to sign up!

Remember no lesson this Friday. Here is the blog content for Monday

Ok people. So no class this Friday.

Monday's lesson I will still be away but at least you have some work to do!

(You can do it from home as long as it gets done!!)

This time it is a translation.

First some general info:-
Today we have reached the end of our writing course.

To recapitulate 

We have talked about the general characteristics of writing:

• How it stands "outside" time
• How it requires a structure
• How it is governed by many rules and constraints such as:

1.  Grammar
2.   Spelling
3.   Syntax
4.   Register 
5.   Paragraphing

We have looked at a five-paragraph-essay as a simple building block of writing.

Then we have tried our hand at formal and informal English.

Today we finish off with the skill of translation.

I will start off by distributing and going through a handout with you.
Here it is.

Translation involves transferring the meaning from one language to another as faithfully and accurately as possible.

It is not the same as paraphrasing or summarising in another language.
It is a very useful skill.

If we look just at Leksand and its municipality we can see many areas where translation is needed.

• Business (international companies)
• Twinning arrangements (Uganda-Leksand)
• Tourism
• Music/Song

It is claimed that on an average University course in Sweden 70% of course literature is written in English.
So the uses are endless.

Nowadays it is possible to use eletronic tools to assist in translation.

If you use google translate "It's raining cats and dogs" it no longer says:
"Det regnar hundar och katter" but if you put in
"How are you going to worm your way out of this?" the result is just as bizarre!
Try  "He turned up like the bad penny!" and see what you get!

The problem of producing a good translationis not only to be accurate but also to get the right "feel" conveyed by the original text.

Here is your translation task. Easy? Probably not!


This is one of the harder things to do well!

The handout takes you through the most important things

1. Accuracy- That does not mean "word for word"
otherwise you get
"Have it so good" (ha det så bra) and
"Shoot yourself" (sköt dig (själv))

2. Terminology
The translation is about skiing. What words (terms) specific to that area will you need?

3. Language and style
The original is somewhat informal. Your version needs to be the same"

4. Country standards
What do you do with the miles in the text?

5. Text formatting
We are more careful in English about paragraphing than in Swedish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck!!

FINALLY

Now let's turn to next week.
We have the classic book talks.
15 people will do their talks with me on Friday week 49 and15 on next Friday (week 50). 

Please fill in the sheet which is here 

• Your name
• Author's name
• Title of book
• Week 49 / 50

Informal writing today- Translation next Monday (on your own)

A quick word about the timetable.

Today you will be writing some informal English (see below)

Those who needed 10 minutes to complete the CAE Reading do it straight away!

If you missed it last Friday you will do the exercise on Friday week 49

This Friday's class is cancelled.

Next Monday is the translation (on your own on the blog)

Friday week 48- SACO exhibition. Class for those who are around (if you want to talk about your classic book that's great)

Next regular lesson Monday week 49

And today...
Today we are going to deal with the easiest part of our writing course- informal writing.


Some of the characteristics of informal writing are given in the "English C"text book on pages 95-98.

It is very important to remember that the same rules and constraints such as paragraphing, structure, spelling and correct grammar apply just as much in informal writing as in more formal forms.

Here are 3 assignments. Please choose one of them and write it NOW.


1. A letter or email to a pen-friend from another country who will be coming to spend the Christmas with you here in Dalecarlia.
You need to give the person some information about what they can expect, what to bring along and some general information about the celebration of Christmas in Sweden.


 
2. A diary entry for the week-end which has passed where you not only talk about events but also your feelings and expectations for the rest of 2014.

 
3. You write a lifestyle blog in English about being young in Sweden. Write a blog entry about Swedish youth culture and their attitudes to alcohol and partying.

Use the whole time you have in the lesson  to complete the assigment.

It should be in my digital mailbox on Friday morning by 8 a.m.

Next Monday we will deal with the final part of our writing course- translation.
(materials on the blog)

Change of plan for next Friday

Next Friday's lesson is cancelled. This will mean postponing the classic book talk to week 49/50.

Please view the updated course planner!

Today we start off by giving an opportunity for the groups for the UK and the Bahamas to do their presentations.

Then it will be a reading test from CAE just to give you an idea of the level required.

Monday's class (week 47) will be a short lesson and then a piece of informal/neutral writing.

Next Friday's lesson is cancelled.

Week 48 Monday's lesson will be on the blog (I am still away).
It will be a translation.

Week 48 Friday's lesson- Many of you will be attending the SACO exhibition. However, I will be here for those who are remaining.

We have plenty to work on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a good weekend!

Can someone explain the difference between a formal and informal register?

Thanks for all your 5 paragraph essays.

I am hoping to get the marked versions back to you by this evening,

Fór those of you who are using word/open office I will try to make the correcting a bit easier by using some colour coding:

Corrected

spelling

grammar

tense= brown

^^= missing words

swenglish= purple

X = surplus to requirements!

I hope that will help. For those using google docs I will use the comment button. Don't forget when you share your document to give me the editing option (får redigera)!

As a follow-up to your 5 paragraph essay there is an excellent section on 

Paragraphing ( p. 89)

The opening sentence (p. 90) using different techniques to grab the reader's attention (grabbers)

 Sentence length and how to vary it (p.91)

Linking words and expressions (p. 92-93)

Structuring argumentative essays (p. 93-94) by expressing yourself using ready-to-go phrases

All of these strategies can help you become a more confident writer.

However, there is one key question which must always be addressed when writing- the question of "register"
On the "Yahoo answers" website  the question was asked which is the title of today's blog.
With regard to writing it is the most important question of all.

Here is how one of the people who answered the question expressed himself:

The difference between formal and informal English is not a difference between correct and incorrect, but a difference of what is known as register. A register is a variety of language related to a particular subject matter or area of activity, a set of words and expressions as well as syntactical features that may be said to characterise that specific area of language. There are many registers: technical, academic, mathematical, scientific, etc. Very broadly speaking, we can also speak of a “formal” and “informal” register in English. In writing academic reports and the like, it would be normal to draw most of the vocabulary and expressions from the formal register, and few, if any, from the informal. This entails avoiding colloquial (everyday) or slang expressions in your writing assignments. The question of register is far more complicated than indicated here; for example, there are many degrees of formality and informality 

This is reflected in the curriculum and grade guidelines for our course where it talks about:

Bearbetning av språk och struktur i egna och andras framställningar, i formella och komplexa sammanhang, och för att skapa anpassning till genre, stilnivå och syfte

and for the "E" grade it says:

I muntlig och skriftlig interaktion i olika, även formella och komplexa, sammanhang kan eleven uttrycka sig tydligt, relativt ledigt och med flyt samt med anpassning till syfte, mottagare och situation. 

 There is a clear distinction made between "formal" English and other registers.

I want you to start off today by discussing Section A on page 95 in the "English C" book.

What conclusions did you reach in the group?

 Look at the picture of the gardens- Formal or informal?

Now look together at Section B on page 95-96.


What characterises "Formal" and "Informal" writing?

Today we are going to concentrate on formal English..

In what circumstances do we use it and why?

The first hand-out today is about the use of formal English in science...

The guidelines which are presented are relevant even for non-scientific writing.

The same hand-out contains a definition of formal English and some of the areas of usage.

It also gives a comparison of levels of spoken and written English.

Your task today is to do a piece of formal writing.

You can choose Task D on page 98 in "English C" or one of the following:-

Examples of Formal English:

Report writing

Obituary

Academic essays (or parts thereof)

Minutes of a meeting

Business Letters

-Covering letter (job/course application)

-Enquiries

-Ordering

-Complaint

-Resignation

Serious Press article

  
Now you may begin writing!

Writing (continued) and working in the text book

Thank you for all of your essays. I will read through them this week-end and get them back to you with a grade and comments.


Today we are going to look at the five key words for writing which we talked about last time.

The words were:

organization  (planning)

structure  (paragraphing/ linking etc.)

style (narrative/descriptive/range)

clarity (accuracy)

register (formal/informal/ neutral)

A great resource to use for all of these points is 
www.engvid.com

Here is an example to do with the introduction to a piece of writing:
http://www.engvid.com/effective-essay-introduction/

After discussing these areas it will be your opportunity to work in the text book.

I would like you to choose a text from one of the following three sections:
The Brighter side of life (p. 63 and onwards)
Drugs (p. 103 and onwards)
Poetry (you might analyze a poem http://www.wikihow.com/Analyze-Poetry  or 
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/american-poets-of-the-20th-century/how-to-analyze-poetry  )

The text book contains a lot of exercises you can use to improve your English.

On Monday we will look more specifically at register and especially when to use more formal English.

Writing course stage 1

Welcome back after the autumn break.

Remember that the presentations which could not be done before the break  (on the Uk and the Bahamas)will be done at the beginning of this Friday's class.Good luck!

Today we start on our writing course. One of the positive things about the textbook is the section on writing. We will spend the first five minutes of the lesson looking at these points VERY BRIEFLY.

Here you will find a lot of the material we will discuss during our Monday lessons over the next few weeks.

We are now moving into an intensive period of writing where all of the assignments will be graded. The planner for the writing course is HERE

Now we will start off by discussing writing in groups of three to four students. Here is the handout. Today it will also be available on paper. I want you to take about 15 minutes to do the handout and give some feedback.

Now we move on to a building- block of writing-
namely the 5 paragraph essay.

Here is the first one and here is the other hand-out.

Your task BY Friday is to write a five-paragraph essay based on the title Mike will give you today.  Send it to Mike's mailbox.

If you miss today's lesson it is your responsibility to find out your subject and have it done by Friday. Failure to do the tasks on the writing course without an adequate excuse will result in an "F"- warning!!!!
(You have been warned!)

A word about this Friday's lesson...
After the presentations the planner says "Text book suggestions".
You need to have something prepared when you come to Friday's class- a text from the text book -and how you are planning to work with it.

Presentations and peer assessment

Today we are going to do the country presentations for as many of the groups as possible.
 The presentations will be filmed for reasons of assessment.

As the same time you will be doing a peer assessment.

Choose any presenting group and fill in the assessment where
1 is the lowest grade and 5 is the highest.

You MUST write a comment to  justify the grade you have given.





Those groups who were only one person on Monday need to get together and plan for their presentation on the Friday of week 45

A mini presentation of an English-speaking country

Thanks for your blogs. I hope you had fun doing them!

Today we will prepare for our first oral presentation.

Several groups mentioned this in their suggestions for the course.

You will be given an English-speaking country in groups of three.

I want you to give some very basic information about the country-

location, population, kind of government, head of state etc.

Then, according to the curriculum ( see below)

Kommunikationens innehåll
Samhällsfrågor, kulturella, historiska, politiska och sociala förhållanden
Eleven diskuterar översiktligt några företeelser i olika sammanhang och delar av världen där engelska används, och kan då också göra enkla jämförelser med egna erfarenheter och kunskaper

.......... choose one aspect of life and compare it with the way things are in Sweden

Some examples of possible areas of study are:-

 policing, school system (or aspect of it), national feast days, traditional dances, traditional food culture, political system (some aspect),  traditional music, "national" sport   etc.

You will have the whole of the lesson today, homework time this week plus 15 minutes on Friday.

The presentations should not be longer than 5 minutes each.

They will be filmed.

Each person will be graded for their individual part in the presentation and then the group will receive a grade for the entire content.

We will also be using peer grading

Use the document on the blog (I will give you paper copies)

Grade the presentation after yours... The last group grades the first!

Here are the groups:

Group 1    UK   ( 4 people- 2 aspects)  Victor, Andrea, Dennis, Linn H

Group 2 Ireland  (3 people) Adrian, Vendela, Eric G

Group 3 Canada (3 people) Anton B, Anton D, Joel L

Group 4 USA ( 3 people) Axel B, James, Olle

Group 5 Australia ( 3 people) Johanna D, Naj, Emma R

Group 6 New Zealand ( 3 people) Jakob G, Emeli, Isabell

Group 7 Bahamas ( 3 people) Linnea H, Anders N, Martin O

Group 8 Jamaica ( 3 people) My, Alma, Linn R

Group 9 South Africa ( 3 people) Nentan, Jesper, Christoffer

Group 10 India ( 3 people) Lovisa, Adrian, Josefine

We will begin the presentations at 8.15 sharp on Friday in group order.

The presentations on this course are compulsory  in order to receive a grade