Wednesday, June 19th

Good afternoon LINC 7,

HOORAY, it's summer vacation!!!
This afternoon, I'm going to let you choose what you would like to do.  I have posted a number of links for a variety of different skills.  Please choose the ones you would like to practice.

War of 1812 Documentary:
http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episode/the-war-of-1812-been-there-won-that.html

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episode/the-war-of-1812-been-there-won-that.html?subpage=novel

http://www.historica-dominion.ca/1812/


Canadian Heritage Minutes:
http://www.gotaminute.ca/

101 Things Canadians Should Know About Canada:
http://www.101things.ca/

Grammar:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/grammar_challenge/  (Various grammar topics)

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar (Various grammar topics)

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/grammar.htm (Various grammar topics)

http://www.towson.edu/ows/moduledangling.htm  (Dangling Modifiers)

http://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/bien-well/fra-eng/grammaire-grammar/evtmdfnt-avdngmdfr-eng.html  (more on Dangling Modifiers)

Pronunciation:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/activities/phonemic-chart

http://esol.britishcouncil.org/pronunciation/identify-stressed-syllables (Syllable Stress)

Listening:

http://www.cbc.ca/ottawa/esl/lessons.html  (Canadian context listening)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/  (6 Minute podcasts)

Have a happy and healthy summer!
Kim

Wednesday, June 12th

Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers in Writing

Here are some funny examples of misplaced modifiers.  
Hopefully, after all of our practice, you are able to find the mistakes in these pictures.

Today, I would like you to write a five paragraph essay on the following topic.  Please organize your ideas coherently and use specific reasons and examples to support your opinions.  Edit your work carefully for misplaced modifiers.

Topic: 

The federal government is under more pressure to demonstrate the economic benefits of immigration, as 2012 polling suggests attitudes towards immigration are cooling slightly. Internal briefing notes for Citizenship and Immigration Canada released under access to information law say there’s been a 10-percentage-point drop since 2010 – to 56 per cent – in the number of Canadians who feel that immigration has a positive impact on the economy.

On Wednesday, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney will announce that Canada plans to admit from 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents in 2013 – the same annual target range it’s set for immigration since 2007. (Source: Globe and Mail, Oct. 30, 2012)

How does immigration benefit Canada, Canadian people, and/or new permanent residents? Should the Canadian government increase or decrease the annual target number of new permanent residents?


Please hand in your writing at the end of the class.

Enjoy!
Kim

Wednesday, June 5th

Good afternoon LINC 7,

This afternoon, I'm going to let you choose what you would like to do.  I have posted a number of links for a variety of different skills.  Please choose the ones you would like to practice.

An interesting info-graphic on the history of English:

http://blog.3plearning.com/history-english-language/

Grammar:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/grammar_challenge/  (Various grammar topics)

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar (Various grammar topics)

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/grammar.htm (Various grammar topics)

http://www.towson.edu/ows/moduledangling.htm  (Dangling Modifiers)

http://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/bien-well/fra-eng/grammaire-grammar/evtmdfnt-avdngmdfr-eng.html  (more on Dangling Modifiers)

Pronunciation:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/activities/phonemic-chart

http://esol.britishcouncil.org/pronunciation/identify-stressed-syllables (Syllable Stress)

Listening:

http://www.cbc.ca/ottawa/esl/lessons.html  (Canadian context listening)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/  (6 Minute podcasts)

Enjoy!
Kim

Wednesday, May 29th

Good afternoon LINC 7,

This afternoon, we are going to do some more IELTS listening practice. I will give you an answer sheet, and you should take notes while you're listening.  Remember that if you pause the listening or listen more than once, you results ARE NOT accurate.  When you check you answers and turn in your answer sheet at the end of class, please note whether you listened more than once or paused for more than 2 minutes to complete the answer sheet before moving on to the next part.  Complete all four parts.

http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/free-sample-tests/listening-sample-test-1/listening-section-1

After you have completed the listening, go to the next link and watch some short videos about preparing for IELTS speaking.  Even if you don't take the IELTS or TOEFL test, there are still some useful strategies here for effective speaking. 

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/ielts-interview-skills

Enjoy,
Kim

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Good afternoon LINC 7,

This afternoon, we're going to complete a couple of tasks.  First, I would like you to listen to the audio recording that I have emailed to you with the IELTS speaking activity.  Listening to your speaking careful and self-evaluate your speaking using the rubric provided in class.  Once you've evaluated yourself, you will hand in the rubric, and I will add my evaluation of your speaking.  **Remember: this was only the first time we tried this, so your speaking will improve the next time, and even more after that. ;)

After you've listened to and evaluated your speaking, please complete the writing assignment from pg. 143 using adjective clauses and appositives to describe a word/custom/holiday from your culture.  Remember to use correct paragraph structure.

If you finish early, you can listen to another BBC: 6 Minute English podcast.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/


Enjoy,
Kim

Adjective Clauses: Defining (Necessary Information) & Non-Defining (Extra Information)

Here's a chart summarizing the subject and object relative pronouns for defining (necessary information) and non-defining (extra information) clauses.

Practice 5, pg. 136-137

A.  
1. People in Thailand have a festival that/which/X they call the festival of Loy Krathong, "Festival of the Floating Leaf Cups.

2. The Thais float little boats, which they have made out of banana leaves, lotus, or paper, down a river in the evening.

3. The boats, which they have decorated with lighted candles, incense, coins, and flowers, float down the river in the moonlight.


B.

1.  On the first day of Pongal, families gather in the kitchen and boil a pot of new rice that/which/X they cook in milk.

2. Then, they offer some of the sweet rice to the sun god, whom they thank for ripening the rice crop.

3. The second day of Pongal is for the rain, which they thank for helping the rice to grow.

4. A traditional Pongal gift is a clay horse, which they paint in bright colours.

5. On the third day of Pongal, the farmers honour their cattle, which they decorate with flowers and coins.

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

Good afternoon LINC 7,

This afternoon, we're going to practice some different types of listening.  The first tasks are 

IELTS listening tasks.  When you click on the link, you will notice that you have a choice for 

level of difficulty.  You should all be listening to the 'quick' version.  DO NOT use the 'slow' 

level of difficulty.


http://www.englishonline.org.cn/en/learners/ielts-preparation/listening


Try listening to some of these practice topics, and then, try the comprehension questions.

Next, go the following website, "BBC: 6 Minute English" and choose a podcast that interests 

you.  Once you've listened to it, write a brief summary of what you've heard.  Make sure to 

use your own words. Do not use direct quotes.  Also, don't forget to include the title of the 

podcast that you choose.  Your writing is due at the end of class.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/


Enjoy!
Kim