Thank you and Merry Christmas

Dear students,

Thank you very much for my lovely Christmas cards! I especially like the one which contains messages in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and Farsi!! And thank you Iman for the ear-rings, yes I was naughty and opened the gift before Christmas day ... they are lovely, and exactly what I would have chosen myself. Thank you :)

I hope you have a good holiday, and get to relax - I also hope you won't forget your English during the 3-week period!

Requests for next term

Dear Students,

Since it is the end of term we thought it would be a good idea to find out if you have any special requests for next term. For example, more speaking activities, less grammar ....
Think about everything including reading, writing, computer lab sessions, pronunciation and so on.

Although the course plan is already mapped out, we are flexible and would appreciate your comments.

Heroes

Hello students,

Today I would like you to visit this website -http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/lcooper/wqresources.htm. Read about the various heroes, and answer the questions on a sheet which Caroline is going to give you.
If you finish early you many want to post comments below - are there any heroes who you particularly admire? Are there any who you feel should not be on the list?

Here is another link for heroes, it's BBC so the focus is more British:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2208671.stm
Again, comments appreciated ...............

Photos from Chatsworth House

On Sunday 25th November we went to the Peak District National Park which is located in the county of Derbyshire, south-west of Manchester. In the morning we went to Chatsworth House, and in the afternoon we visited the old-fashioned village of Bakewell.

Here are some photos from me and Nasser ......

Congratulations to Tomo

Well done Tomo for getting yourself a job in Oxfam. It will be a great way of improving your English, and doing something good for the world - also, it will look great on your cv! Well done!!

Trip to Peak District and Chatsworth House

Phillip and I are looking forward to seeing Bi'e, Iman, Salem, Ibrahem, Nasser, Fahad and Amjad outside the International Society at 8.20 on Sunday.

The Peak District is a very big very beautiful National Park, and as you can see from the photograph, Chatsworth House is like a beautiful fairy tale. Many films are made there (passive voice!).

Students who do not turn up on the day are reminded that they will not be permitted to go on future excursions.

Homework for Tuesday 27th November – “My Favourite Film”

Please try to include as much film vocabulary (page 154) as possible, and also some examples of the passive where appropriate.
You might like to include information about the type of film it was, where it was set, who directed the film, who acted in the film, the plot, why you liked it and so on …
No more than 250 words please.

Hello from Russia!

Dear Students,

It is very cold here - minus 10! I am sending you a picture of me in my warm clothes.

See you soon,

Caroline

Writing homework for week six

Write 100 - 150 words about a journey you have taken by plane, train, bus or coach.

Please post it on the blog before midday on Tuesday 20th, I will correct it and return it to you as soon as I get back.

Have a good week!

Job hunting

Hi there,

At least one student has expressed an interest in getting a part-time job. I think this is a great idea as in addition to earning extra money you can really improve your English! It's very common for British students to work part-time and study so there are plenty of possibilities. Ok so you won't find your dream job, but any kind of work, paid or un-paid, will look great on your cv.

Here are some ideas:-

• Go into your nearest Job Centre(http://www.192.com/directory.cfm/MANCHESTER/JOBCENTRE) and make an appointment to speak to someone (a good excuse to practise your communication skills?) about the various options open to you.

• Try recruitment agencies like Blue Arrow - http://www.yell.com/ucs/UcsSearchAction.do?scrambleSeed=2177207&keywords=&companyName=blue+arrow&location=Manchester&search=SEARCH&searchType=advance&M=0&atoz=on

• Or you can apply to shops, cafes, restaurants, hotels etc. directly, you just have to go in, smile and ask if they have any job vacancies at the moment. Allocate yourself a morning or an afternoon, and take plenty of copies of your cv with you.

With it coming up to Christmas there are plenty of opportunities for work .... round about now the Christmas market in Albert Square gets started, it would be a fun place to work so why not ask there?

• Finally, there is always the voluntary option. There is a volunatary bureau - Communi - right by the MMU Student Union http://www.communi.org.uk/, they are always happy to chat to you about the various options.

GOOD LUCK!!

Tatton Park

C O M M E N T S P L E A S E ! ! !

Any comments on the English file cd rom .... or any other comments? Use this blog as an opportunity to express yourself!!

Manchester International Society

Hi there,

Here is another way you can speak in English outside school - by joining the International Society! Here is the link - http://www.internationalsociety.org.uk/

They organise really good trips to various places of beauty and/or interest around the UK. There is a trip to Tatton Park (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-tattonpark/) on Sunday 4th November. I am going to go, if any of you would like to join me, please let me know, you don't have to pay anything, it's included in the price of your course fees. Please note, however, that MMU is unable to pay for other family members, but if they want to go they can book with the International Society at the usual rate, it's all on the website.

I will be taking a list of who wants to go on Tuesday 30th so please let me know by then.
This is a great chance to get out of the dirty industrial city and see a greener England!

Free Language Learning websites for grammar

Try these links for on-line help with your tenses. You can find explanations and exercises. If you found any of the links particularly helpful (or unhelpful!) please post comments so that you can help other students:-

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar_games_archive_frame.html

http://esl.about.com/blgrammar.htm

Altnerativley you can use your English File Workbook CD-Rom, there are plenty of additional exercises, including listening, on there!

Speak in English please!

Dear Students,

I would like to share a story with you ....

About two years ago I had an exam class, they were about the same level as you are now. Because the students were all highly motivated they were very strict with themselves and only spoke in English in class, and many of them even spoke in English outside the classroom. One evening we had a party to say goodbye to one of the students, and I noticed that two of the men who were both German, speaking to each other in English. I was very surprised and impressed, the atmposhere was very relaxed so it would have been easy for them to slip back into German, but they didn't.

One month later they took their exam ... all the students did well and the two German speakers I mentioned above got VERY good marks.

So, I ask you to consider this story and answer the following questions. Firstly - do you think the fact that these two students were so strict with themselves was helpful in terms of getting a high score in their exam? Secondly, do any of you have any ideas about what we can do to ensure that only English is spoken in our classroom?

I am looking forward to your comments ......

Caroline's email address

c.entwistle@mmu.ac.uk

Spelling

If you have problems with English spelling - you are not alone! It's very common for students to say that their biggest problem with learning English is spelling and pronunciation. Spelling is VERY important in IELTS (for the listening section, if a word is misspelt you get ZERO), therefore it's your responsibility to push yourself to improve your spelling.

But what can you do to improve your spelling? Here's one idea .... log onto this website - http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flash/wordmaster/

Today, I would like you to spend some time on the Wordmaster, and then post a comment on this blog about how useful you found it (remember to check your spelling before you submit your comment!). If you don't have a google blogger account, log on to www.blogspot.com and follow the instructions. Any problems I am here to help you!

Happy blogging and do not forget - YOU MUST WORK HARD ON YOUR SPELLING!!