SECOND BOOK REPORT OF A NOVEL, FOR BOTH L.4 GROUPS!!

Hi Everyone,

This post is to tell all of you, first, that I hope your holidays are great and, second, to tell you about the next novel you must read.  The novel is to be identical to the type of novel you´ve read for the first one:  the book must have a minimum of 2000 words, with a maximum of 2500 words, or be classified as "Upper Intermediate."  You must find a book by the time of your tutorial in January, which will be between Jan. 20- Jan. 24.  Don´t be late in finding a book!

You have THE SAME TWO OPTIONS FOR THE BOOK REPORT as with the first novel, which are:

1.  Explain the THEME of the novel.  Use examples from the novel to support what you say the theme is, but summarize the examples in your own English.  Don´t just copy the examples.

2.  Make a CHARACTER STUDY of one of the novel´s characters.  Tell me why the author created him/her, why this person is important for the novel, etc.  Again, don´t copy; use your own words.

Your report must have a minimum of 300 words, and a maximum of 500 words.  Practice your writing ability here!  Look at your Errors Chart to help you.  Thanks.

Chuck

CONTINUAL ASSESSMENT FOR L/C AND GR & VO

Hi Everyone,

Please write down these dates for the Continual Assessment tests:
Jan. 15 for my Monday & Wednesday group
Jan. 14 for my Tuesday & Thursday group

On those days we´ll do the tests for listening and grammar-vocabulary.

Also:

If you want to practice your listening skills a little, go to TED.com and listen to some of these talks.  At the lower left of the homepage, you´ll find "View all tags", which is the table of contents, i.e., you can see all of the topics discussed.  Listen to a few of them, and you can use English subtitles, if you wish.

Have a great Christmas season!

Chuck

CONTINUAL ASSESSMENT: ORAL ONE. ALSO, AULA D´INFORMÁTICA

Hi Everyone,

Remember these dates:  Dec. 16th (Monday) for my Monday & Wednesday group
                                     Dec. 17th (Tuesday) for my Tuesday & Thursday group

On these days, in our aula (Aula 25) you will do an oral exercise.  This will be a conversation between two people about one of the following possibilities: 1) a person or persons (alive or dead), 2) a place (country, city, geographical area, etc.) or 3) an object (a building, machine, "tool", etc.).  YOU CANNOT TALK ABOUT ANYTHING RELATED TO SPAIN, CATALUÑA OR LATIN AMERICA!!  I do not want you to use Spanish or Catalan words.

Between the two of you, you must speak 6-8 minutes.  You may use notes, but you MAY NOT write out a text and read it.  If you do that, you will fail.

I will bring a sign-up sheet to class next week and you may put your names and topics on it.

Aula d´Informática:  On the day of the orals, we will meet in the Aula d´Informática first.  There, students will work on their individual grammatical and vocabulary problems using Linguassist.  After a pair of students does their oral, they will go back to the Aula d´Informática to continue their individual work. 

Thanks.

Chuck

WORKBOOKS UNITS 1 & 2!!!

Hi Everybody,

REMEMBER THESE DATES:  For my Monday-Wednesday group:  Dec. 16
                                                 For my Tuesday-Thursday group:  Dec 17

These are the dates when YOU MUST GIVE ME YOUR WORKBOOKS, UNITS 1 & 2.  Before you give them to me, make sure you check your answers in the answer key and mark the ones that are incorrect.  DON´T FORGET THESE DATES!!  Thanks.

Chuck

POLICY ON GIVING ME HOMEWORK

Hi Everyone,

I think it is useful to put in writing what I´ve told you in class about when to give me papers, exercises, etc.  Please try to follow this. 

You are allowed to turn in any homework either the day I request it or the very next day.  Not the next class, but the next day.  The reason is that I want to see ALL the papers at the same time to see if there is a general problem, which, if there is, we will discuss in class.  Please try to follow this rule.  Thanks.

Chuck

Thursday, Nov. 7th (Festa Major)

Hi Everyone,

The decision was made by the Servei Dirección that there will be class all day, including those classes which begin at 1 p.m. and later, this Thursday, which is the Festa Major of the UAB.  On Tuesday, I will talk about this with you.  See you tomorrow.

Chuck

Access for LINGUASSIST

Hi Everybody,

Remember that to access and use Linguassist you must use your DNI + LETTER for the User´s Code, and then the DAY AND MONTH (four digits) for the Password.  Try to access Linguassist immediately, and if you cannot enter, TELL ME IMMEDIATELY.  Send me an e-mail with your DNI and day and month of birth.  Thanks.

My best,

Chuck

Paper No. 1 An Injury or Illness You Have Had

Hi Everybody,

I want you all to write a paper about a time when you were injured while doing some type of activity OR a time when you were sick.  Use the vocabulary and grammar from the book and use any other you think necessary.  You must give me the paper on Monday, 04.11 (Mon. & Wed. group) and 05.11 (Tu. & Th. group).  Enjoy!

Chuck

1st BOOK REPORT!!

Hi Everyone,

This is to remind everyone that you must find a NOVEL and read it and do a composition of it for me.  THE LAST DAY TO GIVE ME THE PAPER IS:

Mon & Wed class--Dec. 11th
Tues & Th class--Dec. 12th.

I will not accept late papers!

The book is like those I brought to class, a specially adapted book called "an abridged reader".  It must have a minimum of 2000 words (more or less) and a maximum of 2500 words (more or less).

You have a choice.  CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TWO OPTIONS FOR THE PAPER:

1.  Describe a character of the novel.  Why did the author create this character?  What does the character represent, or why is the character important?
2.  What is the theme of the novel?  This means the message, lesson that the author is trying to communicate to/teach us.  DO NOT TELL ME THE STORY!!

Thanks,

Chuck

USEFUL LINKS, ETC.

Hi Everyone,

Please look carefully at our homepage.  Here, you will find different categories, ON THE RIGHT!  One of these categories is "Useful links".  These are links which give you the opportunity to work on your listening skill.  USE THESE LINKS!!  You can do this at home, school, on the bus or train.  Anywhere you have internet, you can do this.  I will put other categories on our blog as I have time, like, for instance, grammar, vocabulary, songs, etc.  Please use them!  Thanks.

Enjoy,

Chuck

Class Information and Purpose

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to English B2.1.  This course is to help you increase and improve your level of English BY USING WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY LEARNED, AND INCORPORATING NEW KNOWLEDGE YOU WILL GET HERE.  From the first day of class, to the last, I WANT EVERYONE TO PRACTICE HIS/HER SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ENGLISH AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!  The best way to improve is to try, make a mistake, be corrected, try again and use it correctly.  This is what I want you to do!

This is the book we´ll use this year:  NEW ENGLISH FILE (Upper-intermediate), both the student´s book and workbook.  Get this book as soon as possible!!

Welcome, and enjoy!

Chuck