Wed May 20 - LAB

Objectives:

- Familiarization with past hypotheticals and oral interaction expressing regrets.

- Identification of "Time travel" rules

- Listening comprehension - Doctor Who - and making predictions

- Discussion post-listening

We began immediately with the section on tattoos, p. 120 - discussion, listening, familiarization with past hypotheticals, and practice. I am definitely getting faster at getting the computer and projector set up a lot faster, which helps a lot.

The sts then discussed in groups of 3-4 the question "If you could go back in time to when you were younger, what would you change of yourself?" They were expected to use "I would have", "I wouldn't have", "I wish I could have" or "if only ..." This went well, although it is one of those "negative humanistic activities" and in fact set a slightly pessimistic mood before the movie. I think I need to slightly change this activity for the future.

The next activity was more lighthearted - discussing the "rules" of time travel. This went well and I wrote them on the board for them to compare as we watched Doctor Who.

We then went to the movie. The only word I asked them to define pre-watching was "wound". I stopped the movie twice - once after Rose saved her father, and then again just after the baby was placed in Rose's arms - and asked them to make predictions. A lot were made and it was obvious they were enjoying the movie. I do need to be aware (and perhaps warn people beforehand) about the emotional load of the episode as it really was upsetting for at least two people. As a result, upon finishing the episode, even though there were still a good ten-fifteen minutes worth for discussion, I stopped the class and allowed people to go home slightly earlier. One st who had been sitting up the back asked me why I stopped the class so abruptly. He obviously hadn't seen the crying sts, and it was true that some were ready to talk after finishing the movie. But after I explained he was more understanding, although a little surprised by the emotional response.

Mon May 18

Objectives:

- Become familiar with vocabulary to do with "interfering with nature"

- Logical identification of numbers, amounts, years etc.

- Reading comprehension and discussion of plastic surgery

- Conceptualization of present and future hypotheticals

- Discussion and recollection of information on Doctor Who

We did a lot of things today! We started with journal writing on the question "Would you change anything about the way you look if you had the money to do so?" Again, my students surprised me. Normally many people say "No, I might have before, but now I'm happy with the way I am"; but this time a good number of people mentioned something they would like to change - or more than one thing.

We then went to p. 116 to begin Module 11 (Interfering with Nature). This has traditionally been an interesting and thought-provoking module. Much discussion ensued about which concepts were already happening, will happen one day or will never happen.

The next reading on Cindy Jackson was also enhanced by a recent photo I found of her which shows her looking even younger and sexier. During the following discussion I made an effort to ask people who generally don't volunteer information, to give their opinions, which they did, fairly satisfactorily.

We looked at the language analysis and then practiced hypotheticals. For "wishful thinking" I got them to do just questions 4, 5 and 6, which also produced a lot of interesting discussion. Hypotheticals is a fun topic as it is so NOT REAL!

Finally I left some time to discuss Doctor Who. I brought in some pictures which helped those who had done no investigation. I was pleased to see that a good percentage of the students had investigated and brought quite a lot of information. In fact almost all those who had done some research had gotten so interested that they read and therefore knew quite a lot of info. Dedicating this extra time before watching the TV episode on Wednesday I think has been a good investment in order for them to enjoy the programme more.

Wed May 13

Objectives:

- Identify formal/informal elements in written texts

- Identify and use specific features of informal writing

- Make an appointment using formal language and future tenses

- Organise verses in a song and become familiar with cultural vocabulary

There was no journal writing today as we were doing work with writing as the first activity anyway. So we began immediately with p. 113, the famous Writing Texts activity of identifying messages and the elements within the texts which make them formal/informal. We spent some time talking about internet/SMS abbreviations, which was quite new for some but familiar for others. In the blog, Karla wrote a message using abbreviations, which was great. They then wrote a post-it note to their partner, either asking them for a favour or making a complaint. This time, in contrast to the last class I did with this, I let them make them funny, and got them to give it to a specific person, rather than anyone. This worked so much better and created some fun messages. None of them had problems with writing "too much".

In different pairs, they then had to make a time to "meet with Adrian Fernández". This activity was taken from the Teacher's Book and slightly modified so that there were a few more opportunities for them to meet, and I made Adrian's schedule a little more "Mexican". The students needed to use polite language and a range of future tenses to complete the exercise. They did excellently and had many opportunities to use the future correctly.

We ended with the song "Down Under" by Men at Work. This was on Alan's request (who happened not to have come that day). I had to explain a lot of the specific vocabulary although some people were familiar with Vegemite and the references to drugs. I began the activity by asking them to sort out the verses and choruses, in small groups. This took them some time. I'm not sure if many have done this activity in other classes but from feedback the students enjoyed the challenge of not only sorting out the verses, but then listening to see if they were correct.

For homework I asked the students to investigate Doctor Who for next Monday's class.

I must say I was just slightly disappointed that nobody wished me a Happy Teacher's Day for Friday. I've always had someone congratulate me, or a class give me a little party, on this day; so considering the feedback I've been getting from my students in this semester I was surprised that no-one did at all. I don't think I'm fishing for it and I feel fairly confident in myself these days with my teaching style and methods; but it was slightly strange for me.

Mon May 11

Objectives: 

- Prepare a list of arguments for and against a topic

- Oral interaction: discussing choices and coming to an agreement

The journal writing topic was not so much writing as making a list of arguments for or against one of these topics:

a. Working at home is better than working at an office.

b. Wearing a surgical mask should be compulsory.

c. Girls should not dress provocatively.

Surprisingly (for me) most students chose a) and only some girls chose c). I guess a) was perhaps the easiest of the three topics. I had expected at least one person to pick b) though, and I had thought more would choose c). All those who chose c) were against the statement, which was also surprising for me.

Perhaps the most difficult thing was to look at b) and c) from the other's point of view, whereas in a) there were advantages/disadvantages on both sides, more easily worked through and written down. Sts had to share their lists with a partner and then some read theirs out. I made it clear that it is important to work through both sides of an argument when writing a for/against essay.

We then went to p. 110 in the book and did the activity "Guess who's coming to dinner". Sts enjoyed this task a lot and participated equally in all the groups. I made sure the groups were mixed around the room and as it turned out, a number of groups were all-female/all-male except for one! But they were all able to come to an agreement about their guests and seating arrangements. 

I used the extra time in class to give indications about the "online" book report (due on May 27th), and also to talk more about the blog. I've decided that, because the blog hasn't achieved much in either direction (interesting comments, interaction, or feedback about the class and their learning in it) that I should ask 3 people to write in it after each class. I hope that this will produce more useful results.

Fri May 8

Objectives:

- Become familiar with vocabulary related to influenza in English.

- Review future forms and Blade Runner movie

Journal writing topic: "Do you agree with the measures the government took with regard to the influenza scare?" Opinion was fairly guarded on the whole; some said yes; others said no; but no-one was adamant either way. 

A lot of people had not read any information about A/H1N1 in English, so while the information given in the Power Point Presentation was mostly very familiar material, reading it in English was helpful for many.

We then went to revision of what we'd been doing since before the forced break. Most of the sts (who had been at class) were able to recall the future forms. We also took time to discuss the movie. Some people understood and offered a lot of information; others a few things that they remembered; and some none at all, even when called upon. I broke the class into small groups to get them discussing the "old" and "new" items they remembered seeing on the video or had written down. This went well and they then put on the board (breaking a number of newly-written hygienic laws by doing so) items onto the list. This went well.

Finally we used this list of items to discuss the future according to the movie. According to Blade Runner, by the year 2019 the world will (be ----ing) (have -------ed); people on Earth will (be ------ing) (have -------ed) etc. The sts made up a sentence or two each and this exercise worked very well. Here, even those who hadn't come to the movie were able to contribute because the information was on the board. Some even gave negative sentences (People will be smoking as much as now). This activity was a very useful consolidation and I think it was a good choice according to the timing and grammatical learning of the module.

FORCED BREAK DUE TO INFLUENZA

From the Wednesday movie on April 22nd till Friday May 8th, there were no classes.

The blog was used by a few people including myself, but apart from that there was no communication during this time.

Wed Apr 22

Objectives:

- Listening comprehension of Blade Runner

- Note taking on objects in the movie that are "old" or "old fashioned" and that are "new" or "futuristic"

The movie runs for almost two hours, so it needs to be started very punctually with all in order. Unfortunately many sts arrived late and quite a few arrived who hadn't attended Monday's class. I'm sure the movie was not as understandable to them. Perhaps working a few classes beforehand would help provide more exposure to the movie before watching.

After finishing I gave the sts two questions for homework and reflection: Why did the replicants risk coming back to Earth? and Do you think Deckard could be a replicant?

I'm concerned that some sts have not returned from after the Easter break, or are only just starting to return, or are having attendance problems. Their erratic attendance makes it difficult to provide continuity or information that is important for them.