Mohammed and Sayaka fire the Cannon

You can watch the YouTube video of Mohammed and Sayaka firing the cannon in Nanaimo on the last day of class, August 25, 2011 here.

Endnotes

We have come to the end of this one month English language and culture program.   Endings are always bittersweet.     I hope that the time you have spent in my class and in Canada has helped you and will continue to help you --  with your English  and with your life.   I hope that you have learned something(s).

You could probably 'get by'  with English for the rest of your life only using Google Translate or your dictionaries.    But machines and software are no replacement for the human brain and heart.   English is more than just language.  It is culture.   It shapes how you think.

I believe that to be happy in life a person needs five things:

          Wisdom
   

          Freedom


            Peace


                 Beauty


                     Love




One of my favorite writers/philosophers is Henry David Thoreau.   Everything you need to know about how to be happy and successful you can find in his writing.    My two favorite quotes are:

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."  and
"Oh, to have reached the point of death only to realize that you have never lived."

He wrote the famous book Walden (which you can read at this link).

Here is a great collection of his quotes.


Congratulations on completing this course and good luck in the rest of your life.   Be wise.  Be free. Be peaceful.  Have beauty in your life.   Be loving.  Be happy.


Les.

YouTube and TED as learning tools

With YouTube,  many videos have interactive transcripts, which are like subtitles.

Here is an example,  a Stanford University commencement speech by Steve Jobs.

Listen and read along.

In YouTube search "famous speeches"  and you will find some great material for listening.

TED is also a great resource with lots of interesting speeches on interesting topics by interesting people.
You can follow along with the subtitles in English (or even other languages).

You can practice shadowing or just listen to the rhythm and stress of the speech.

Our very first learning is by modelling.   We copy our parents.   We can use modelling effectively in language learning as well.

The Kerplunks as effective presenters

This local band are excellent presenters.  They present music and entertainment, but most importantly they involve their audience.



        The Kerplunks


Meet the Kerplunks  (YouTube video)

Watch more Kerplunk videos


I enourage you to emulate them even if you are presenting information, not entertainment.   Just adjust your message to adults or students rather than children (unless you are an elementary teacher).

Final Computer Lab (August 22, 2011)

This is your last computer lab for the language and culture program.   I hope you have enjoyed making a blog and using the class blog to improve your English.     Please continue to use these resources (in English) in the future.

Tasks for today


1.    Go the vocabulary page of this blog and try the online picture dictionary website.

2.    Go to the crossword puzzle post from this blog and try one or two crosswords.


3.    Try this   verb forms online practice and one activity from this page 



4.    Write a post for your blog about how you will continue to learn English  after this class.

        Think about the different tools and techniques you have learned this month.

5.    You can download and view the pronunciation chants from last week on 'w' drive.

6.    If you finish 1-5 and also have made your video podcast,  explore the other links and    

       posts on this blog.    I recommend the Nanaimo links from today's (this) post.

Some interesting links:


Another Good Online Picture Dictionary


Downtown Nanaimo Walking Tour


Downtown Nanaimo Virtual Walking Tour


A Photo Walking Tour of Nanaimo

Crossword Puzzles to practice reading and vocabulary

Crossword puzzles are a great way to improve your reading and vocabulary (including spelling).

Here are some good websites where you can do crosswords online.

Crossword Puzzles for ESL Students

Common Words Crosswords

More Difficult Crosswords

Make your own crossword puzzles

Sign up for this useful ESL newsletter

Sign up for this useful newsletter

Learning ESL Blog and Newsletter  Learning ESL Blog

Google Voice Search app for smartphones and computers

This is a great tool.    Although Google will prompt us when we enter an incorrect spelling of a word,  there are times when I have no idea how something is spelled, although I know how to say it.     For ESL learners with reasonably good pronunciation but terrible spelling, this is also helpful.   It will also inform you about the quality of your pronunciation.   If it understands you, then your pronunciation can't be all that bad.   Definitely a must have free app for smart phones and other mobile devices.  Read out it here.


                             




 

Act out a Japanese, Arabic or Chinese Folk Tale

     

This afternoon,  in groups of  3 you will act out a folk tale like you did on Tuesday.  But this folk tale should come from your own culture.  It can be one you already know, or one that you read about on the Internet.
You can do some research in computer lab today using Google.  (For example, search 'Chinese Folk Tales')

Here are some English links:

*  Japanese Folk Tales

*  Chinese Folk Tales

*  Arabic Folk Tales

*  Multi-Cultural  Folk Tales

Computer Lab #5 for August 18, 2011

Today's Computer Lab   

Task 1:  Please write 10 sentences  using adjectives.  You can use the adjectives from this blog's previous posted list.  A suggestion is to write about your family or friends or even yourself.   Do this on MS Word, then print and hand in.


Task 2:
Go to previous blogs that I have commented on (noting how many errors) and try to fix some of the mistakes.
Task 3:
Complete your video podcast.  You might want to combine this post with task 4.


Task 4:
Write a post about Nanaimo.  Use some photos from yesterday.   This could be combined with your video podcast from Task3.


Task 5:   Internet activities:   Try 3 activities from these pages.

Here is an excellent website to practice your spelling

http://www.esldesk.com/spelling/words

Here is a good website to practice your grammar

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/exercises

And here is a great website to improve your writing
Scrambled Sentences













If you finish all this,  explore some of the links on this class blog.

Some of my favorite television programs

These can be found quite easily online to watch in English, sometimes with subtitles.

You can practice listening and they will help you to better understand Canadian and Western culture as well as your own culture.

1.   Crayon Shin Chan 



YouTube Episode



         2.   Fawlty Towers       





YouTube Episode




3.  No Reservations





YouTube Episode  (Tony in Cambodia)



4.    Wallace and Gromit



IMDb info.

Script for A Close Shave


5.   Seinfeld





IMDb on Seinfeld

Seinfeld Scripts and more

Seinfeld Excerpt on YouTube (the top 10 funniest scenes)

Our Class -- Downtown Nanaimo Tour & Multicultural Society Class Mixer

Today our class had a vigorous walking tour of downtown Nanaimo's Old City Quarter and
meet with a class of immigrant students at the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society.

Here are some photos of our activities.

Our Class

Monkey Tree and some __________ s

In front of City Hall

A valuable cross-cultural communication experience.

The Monkey Tree again.

Learning English with Songs

Learning English with Songs

On your own, you can improve your listening comprehension (as well as vocabulary) by listening to songs you like in English and doing cloze (fill in the gap)  activities you create.

One warning:  try to choose songs that are not too difficult or complicated, and where the singer doesn't sing too quickly.   Preview the song on YouTube first.

The Procedure:   (Steps 1-6 can be completed in 5-10 minutes)

1. Choose a singer or a song.
2. Find the song in YouTube or elsewhere. (Preview it first)
3. Google the singer's name/or song  + "lyrics"
4. Find the lyrics, then select and copy
5. Open MSWord and paste the lyrics, then print the page
6. Go to online close generator  and paste the lyrics, then choose what to select.  Print
7. Listen and fill in the cloze sheet. Then check your answers.

You should listen 2-3 times.

When finished,  try to shadow the song.  (With or without reading the lyrics.)

Some good websites for finding song lyrics:

A-Z Lyrics Universe

Lyrics Freak

Lyrics you Love   (has lyrics + videos)

A Famous Canadian Pop Icon -- Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

We are going to learn about this musician and listen to one of his songs.

Bryan Adams Famous Canadian

18 till I Die (YouTube video)

Another good reason to use Google Chrome

I just learned today that the Google Chrome internet browser  has a built in spell checker.   Internet Explorer shamefully does not.    So,  if you are using Blogger,  best to use it with Google Chrome.

Computer Lab f#4 (August 15, 2011)

#1

Using the internet should be quick and easy.  Good websites are designed to facilitate this.
Your internet reading activity for today is to go to a website and find some information on it as fast as you can.  Remember to read a page like a clock -- Start at 12:00 and read from there to 11:00 -- from top to the right and in the middle last.


This is the website: www.cnn.com
Find this information from the website homepage.   Please keep track of how long it takes you to find the answers.  (Use a timer).  Note where on the blog you found the information, then note your answer.
1.   How many CNN blogs are there?  Where on the webpage did you find this?
2.   Where on the website can I log in or sign up?
3.   What is the title of the top story?  And where on the webpage is it.
4.   Where can I find hot topics?   What is the no. 1 hot topic?
5.   How many news sections are there?  (For example, technology.)  Where can you find this?
6.   Where can you search CNN?
7.   How many ads are there on the homepage?  Where are they?


#2


Today,  I want you to make sure your blog is up to date (see today's handout "Your Blog So Far")


Your writing  task (Post #5 ) is to  find a Far Side cartoon.   Google 'Far Side'  and browse images.  Find one cartoon you like and copy and paste it into your blog post.  Then  write a short story about the cartoon.
Remember to end the story with a lesson or moral (ex.  'Don't tell lies or no one will believe you when you tell the truth.')     Please fix the errors that blogger underlines in red.


#3 





Explore this blog (Learning English in Nanaimo August 2011) .  I've added a time telling game links,  some links for learning idioms,  and some websites about fables.  Please leave a comment on one of my posts.

Nursery Rhymes

Reading nursery rhymes aloud will help to develop your stress, rhythm and pace when you speak.

Here are some good websites to find the nursery rhymes.

With audio files to listen.

One website

Another website   

Just to read

One website

Another website   (this one has explanations)

nurseryrhymes.com

Aesop's Fables

Aesop's Fables & Korean Folktales

These short simple stories make for easy reading or listening.   Try to understand the moral of the story.

Aesop's Fables in MP3

Aesop's Fables   (655 stories plus morals)

Aesop's Fables with Flash animation

A great listening website -- BBC English

Good websites to practice listening

BBC Learning English -- 6 Minute English

Les PodcAST

Map Network Drive to access video files

I would like you to view (look at and listen) your videotaped role play from yesterday.
To do this you need headphones/earphones.  If you have a memory device (such as SD card + reader)
you can copy/download the files and watch at home.


To do this you need to map a drive:

Go to 'my computer'
Select 'tools'
Select 'map network drive'
Enter:  Drive:  W
          Folder:    \\discovery\watershed
Select 'finish'


Now you can view and or download the files.

Computer Lab (#3) for August 11, 2011

1.    Please do the Nanaimo History quiz from the previous blog post. Read the instructions.



2.    Download and/or view the video from yesterday’s role play. Please consider the
strengths and weaknesses of your speaking. (Use my blog post about mapping
a network drive.)



3.    Be sure to enable comments on your blog.  (See my previous post.)



4.  Find two YouTube videos you like and add them to your blog:
     1 as a link and 1 as an embedded video.  (Use ‘link’ for linking and
     ‘insert video’ for embedding.)



5.    Insert 3 photos you have taken in Canada or pictures you like of Canada.



6.    Write a post about your native Country (China, Saudi Arabia or Japan).
      What is special about it?  How is it different from Canada.  Please
      include at least one picture.



7.   Read two of your classmates’ blogs and leave comments for them.



8.   Explore other posts on this blog.  



9.   Homework for next Thursday is to create a video podcast.   See my
      previous post.

Nanaimo History Quiz

      Nanaimo History Quiz

Please copy this to MS Word,   complete it, then print and submit it to your teacher.


1.      How old is Nanaimo?


2.      Which country did the first non-native explorers to Nanaimo come from?


3.      What does Nanaimo mean?


4.     What were the two main activities of Nanaimo’s native people?



5.     What was Nanaimo’s first industry?


6.    When was the Bastion built?


7.     What was the original purpose of the Bastion?


8.     What material is the Bastion made from?

Making a Video Podcast

Making a video podcast

Today's Practice Podcast

How to make a video podcast.

It is very easy to make a video podcast and put it on your blog.

Using a PC

1.   Videotape yourself and download the file onto your computer.

      (Either e-mail the file -- if it is small -- or copy onto an SD card)

                                        or

     Videotape yourself and upload the file onto YouTube (English only)

     (You have to have a YouTube account to do this.  It's easy and free.)

2.   In blogger,   select 'insert a video'.   Choose upload (from your computer)  or YouTube 

      (link) and you're  done.  Don't forget to write something above and below the video image about the  
      video podcast.

    

3.   Try this on your own.  It's easy.

English Pronunciation and other Useful Podcasts

pod·cast/ˈpädˌkast/

Verb: Make (a multimedia digital file) available as a podcast.

Noun: A multimedia digital file made available on the Internet for downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc.

Podcasts are a great tool for learning English.   You can listen to the sound or video files online or download them (as MP3 files, for example) to your computer or other device.   They work very well with portable devices such as smartphones.

This  is a great podcast for learning English pronunciation.  You can download from iTunes or go directly
to their website here and listen to/download the podcasts as MP3 files.

Comparing Countries

It is interesting to compare countries based on certain variables.   You just Google the fact and add
'international comparison' to your search.   For example:
'family size international comparison' turned up this useful webpage:

family size comparison   (you can explore this website for more fascinating statistics)

I found it difficult to find much international cross comparison that was current, so typing in the specific country could be faster.   For example,  'family size saudi arabia' turned up this.

How to enable blog comments

To make it easy for others to leave comments on your blog,  you need to change the comments setting.

1.  Go to 'design'

2.  Then 'settings'

3.  Then 'comments'

4.  In comments "Who can comment"  select 'anyone'

5.  Save your changes.


This will make things easier to other people to leave comments.

Computer Lab for August 8, 2011

Computer Lab for August 8, 2011

Please read my comments on your blog.

Continue to work on your blog.

Don't forget to add some visuals to your blog,  plus task #7 from last Thursday's computer lab.

1.   Go into design in Blogger and add three gadgets to your blog.

2.    Write about what you did last Friday-Sunday.  Please include some pictures.

3.    Do 3 of the vocabulary activities from this website:

                               http://www.manythings.org/vocabulary/

            
            Then read and explore the other posts in this blog (vocabulary and grammar)

4.    Explore these pages.

Vancouver Island Official Tourist Guide

VancouverIsland.com