ALL - Happy holidays...

It's been good working with you all this semester - so thank you all. Semester one has now finished (and really flew by!), so we're just about half way through the year already! I've posted up some important information over the last few days, so please look through the posts carefully. I have been adding some handouts to my files of teaching materials too and will continue to do so.

Remember to keep your English on top form over the next few months (regular practice with joy and enthusiasm!) so that we necessarily start semester two with even better levels than at the end of semester one. Don't forget that as well as finding time to study, you also need some time to relax - and remember that you can even relax while practising your English because the two ideas are not incompatible - honest!

At one of the final Culture Call sessions of the semester we spoke about cooking and baking, and a couple of highly talented ladies brought in two thoroughly exquisite chocolate cakes (see the photo, above). - Thank you ever so much! They shared their recipes, and here is one of them, so that you can all have a try if you so wish...

INGREDIENTS
75g butter
75g cane sugar
3 egg yellows
3 egg whites, beaten
200g dark chocolate (melted in a bain-marie)
self-raising flour - as necessary
100g walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS
Soften the butter with the sugar. Add the egg yellows, melted chocolate, walnuts and the beaten egg whites. Finally add a little flour at a time until a thick mixture is created. Cook at 150°C.

...it was spectacular! Why not try it?!

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you have a good holiday time, I wish you good luck with any exams you may have, happy studying, happy relaxing and see you in the new year!

ALL - corrected work at CLA

A quick message to let you know that I have now checked and corrected all written work handed in last week. I've left all work to be collected from the reception at CLA so that you can (and, if possible, should) collect it as soon as possible (and ideally before the next semester!). Remember that if you are going to CLA or the Faculty over the holiday period, check the opening times before you go in - their is a special holiday timetable at the moment.

Remember that earlier this week I also posted up some inter-semester work.

ALL - Office hours ('ricevimento')

Today's appointment (15.00 - 16.00) will be the final fixed session of semester one. You can still contact me via e-mail between the two semesters. There will be no set timetable for office hours between the two semesters, if you would like to come to speak with me in person then please send me an e-mail so that we can organise a suitable time.

Culture Call

Thank you to everyone who has participated in Culture Call this semester - it's been fun...and tasty too! Over the next few days I will try to upload the photos of your wonderful chocolate cakes, together with recipes (if my limited mobile-phone skills permit me to upload the photos!).

Thanks again, and I hope to see you, and many others, in semester two when Culture Call starts again.

Bye for now.

ALL - a quick reminder for ANY exams you may be doing in January/February

Please remember to check carefully which parts of which exams can (and can't) be taken and when. And please, please, please - whichever courses and exam subjects you have in January - do not forget to sign up in the correct way (and by the set dead-line) in order that you can do your exams.

Please do NOT try to do sections of exams that you cannot yet do - any such exams will not be valid.

For those of you who have any exams in January/February time - the best of luck!

B1a - inter-semester work

It’s been good working with you all this semester. We’ve done quite a lot, but there is still lots more to do in preparation for English I. Please remember that between semester one and semester two it is essential that you continue to practise and use your English. That means studying new things as well as revising what we’ve been doing so far, plus reading, listening, speaking, writing and doing practice exercises too.

Don’t stop practising or it will be harder to start again next semester, and your level will not remain the same. Remember – a language is something that needs cultivating with enthusiasm, attention, care and interest – like a sport, a musical instrument or a plant. Here are the main exercises which are to be done between the two semesters:

- Review what we’ve been doing so far this year (study and do related exercises).

- Review any other basic grammar that you should already know and which isn’t included in our grammar programme (e.g. comparatives/superlatives, a/an, etc.)

- Finish reading the grammar section on future tenses (Murphy – units 19.23) – we covered various points last week, but will be finishing this in January.

- Phrasal verbs in ‘English Grammar in Use’.

- Units 53, 54, 60, 64 & 99 in ‘English Grammar in Use’.

- Units 6, 7, 8, 26, 29, 30, 39-42 in ‘English Vocabulary in Use’.

- Do the past exam (reading and composition sections) ‘History of the Mystery’ (in ‘dispensa’).

- ‘The Word Dear Disappearing in E-Mails (exercises in ‘dispensa’) - and any other 'dispensa' activities.

- Continue reading the short stories – we’ve already looked at ‘The Landlady’ and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ – the next one we will look at together (semester 2, module 1) is Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Pedestrian’.

- Write about your plans for the future - 150-200 words (do this after reviewing future tenses).

- Write about one of your favourite sports or hobbies – 150-200 words.

Have lots of fun – study lots, but relax too. Enjoy the holiday-time and good luck to those of you doing exams. Keep in touch (in English, of course – via e-mail or with comments on the blog) and please send me any work to be checked regularly - as you finish it, and not all in February.

Bye for now!

B2c - inter-semester work

It’s been good working with you all this semester - we’ve done quite a lot, but please remember (as I mentioned in class) that there is still definitely a lot of work to do to raise the level in preparation for being ready to do English II in May. By the time we start the second semester in February, there must be essential improvements both in language use in general (I really mustn’t be seeing so many ‘English I’-level grammar/spelling/syntax errors) and in dedication/regular study. We’ve done quite a lot this semester, but there is still lots more to do in preparation for English II – and we cannot do all of that in class, it needs to be done at home too.

Please remember, therefore, that between semester one and semester two it is essential that you continue to practise and use your English regularly and with dedication. That means studying new things as well as revising what we’ve been doing so far, plus reading, listening, speaking, writing and doing practice exercises too.

Don’t stop practising or it will be harder to start again next semester, and your level will deteriorate (rather than improve) in preparation for semester two. Remember – a language is something that needs constant cultivation with enthusiasm, attention, care and interest – like a sport, a musical instrument or a plant. Here are the main exercises which are to be done between the two semesters:

- Review what we’ve been doing so far this year (study and do related exercises).

- Review any other basic grammar that you should already know (see second year grammar programme in my file of teaching materials).

- Continue studying multi-word verbs (Unit 14 + see grammar programme / ‘dispensa’ for shorter list).

- Grammar book – units 12, 13, 18, 27.3, 30, 33

- Do the past exam reading and composition sections from January 2007 (see ‘dispensa’) and a past exam grammar test that you have not yet done.

- Continue reading the short stories – remember that you should read all the short stories and then prepare a certain number of them for the ‘accertamento orale’ (see course guide for further details).

- Write summaries of newspaper articles, also saying why you found them interesting (if you send them to me, please remember to send me the link to the original article too). Remember that this is also important exam preparation.

- Write about at least four of the eight themes (I’ve given you general topics rather than exam-style titles in order to give you a little more liberty, but please remember that academic writing guidelines apply):

- Sports

- A memory

- A topic/argument that you feel strongly about

- New technologies

- Society and television

- Multi-cultural society

- Transport

- Life in 2030

Have lots of fun – study, but relax too. Enjoy the holiday-time and good luck to those of you doing exams. Keep in touch (in English, of course – via e-mail or with comments on the blog) and please send me any work to be checked regularly - as you finish it, and not all in February.

Bye for now!

B2d - inter-semester tasks

It’s been good working with you all in the listening lab this semester. We’ve done quite a lot, but there is still lots more we can do in preparation for English II listening. Please remember that between semester one and semester two it is essential that you continue to practise and use your English. That means studying new things as well as revising what we’ve been doing so far, plus reading, listening, speaking, writing and doing practice exercises too.

Don’t stop practising or it will be harder to start again next semester, and your level will not remain the same. Remember – a language is something that needs cultivating with enthusiasm, attention, care and interest – like a sport, a musical instrument or a plant. Here are the main exercises which are to be done between the two semesters:

- Watch (and summarise) at least three more ‘Enjoy England – Hidden Gems’ videos on-line (see previous B2d posts for link).

- Listen to (and summarise) at least four news reports on the BBC World Service (free on the Internet – see link in side-bar).

- Do as many listening exercises as possible from ‘Breaking News English’ (see link in second year course guide – on-line teaching materials).

- Do any Cambridge FCE listening exams – books available at CLA.

- Try listening to/reading B2-level articles in the monthly magazine Speak Up (available at the newsagent’s). This is also a good possibility to practise your pronunciation by listening, repeating (and even recording yourself and then listening to your pronunciation).

- Practise listening through the links given in the second year course guide.

- Do any listening practice on the BBC Learning English website (see link in side-bar).

Have lots of fun – study lots, but relax too. Enjoy the holiday-time and good luck to those of you doing exams. Keep in touch (in English, of course – via e-mail or with comments on the blog) and please send me any work to be checked regularly - as you finish it, and not all in February.

Bye for now!

C1a - inter-semester work

It’s been good working with you all this semester. We’ve done quite a lot, but there is still lots more to do. Please remember that between semester one and semester two it is essential that you continue to practise and use your English. That means studying new things as well as revising what we’ve been doing so far, plus reading, listening, speaking, writing and doing practice exercises too.

Don’t stop practising or it will be harder to start again next semester, and it’s important that a good starting level remains strong. Remember – a language is something that needs cultivating with enthusiasm, attention, care and interest – like a sport, a musical instrument or a plant. Here are the main exercises which are to be done between the two semesters:

First-year students

- Review what we’ve been doing so far this year (study and do related exercises).

- Review any other basic grammar that is listed in the first year grammar programme (see ‘dispensa’ and look up any problem points in your C1a grammar book rather than in Murphy).

- Continue looking through phrasal verbs (‘multi-word verbs’).

- Grammar book – units 12, 13, 18, 27.3, 30, 33

- Do all sections of the January 2011 exam (see English I ‘dispensa’).

- Do any other exercises in English I ‘dispensa’.

- Continue reading the short stories – we’ve already looked at ‘The Landlady’ and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ – the next one we will look at together (semester 2, module 1) is Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Pedestrian’.

- Write about at least four of the eight themes (I’ve given you general topics rather than exam-style titles in order to give you a little more liberty, but please remember that academic writing guidelines apply):

- Sports

- A memory

- A topic/argument that you feel strongly about

- New technologies

- Society and television

- Multi-cultural society

- Transport

- Life in 2030

Second-year students

- Review what we’ve been doing so far this year (study and do related exercises).

- Review any other basic grammar that you should already know (see second year grammar programme in my file of teaching materials).

- Continue studying multi-word verbs (Unit 14 + see grammar programme / ‘dispensa’ for shorter list).

- Grammar book – units 12, 13, 18, 27.3, 30, 33

- Do the past exam reading and composition sections from January 2007 (see ‘dispensa’) and a past exam grammar test that you have not yet done.

- Continue reading the short stories – remember that you should read all the short stories and then prepare a certain number of them for the ‘accertamento orale’ (see course guide for further details).

- Write summaries of newspaper articles, also saying why you found them interesting (if you send them to me, please remember to send me the link to the original article too). Remember that this is also important exam preparation.

- Write about at least four of the eight themes (I’ve given you general topics rather than exam-style titles in order to give you a little more liberty, but please remember that academic writing guidelines apply):

- Sports

- A memory

- A topic/argument that you feel strongly about

- New technologies

- Society and television

- Multi-cultural society

- Transport

- Life in 2030

Have lots of fun – study, but relax too. Enjoy the holiday-time and good luck to those of you doing exams. Keep in touch (in English, of course – via e-mail or with comments on the blog) and please send me any work to be checked regularly - as you finish it, and not all in February.

Bye for now!

ALL - short stories

Please remember that you should be reading another short story for week ten.

This time we will be looking at the following:

1st year students - Roald Dahl's 'Lamb to the Slaughter'

2nd year students - Helen Simpson's 'Dear George'

We will continue looking at a few more short stories throughout the year, but please remember that you should mainly be reading them all on your own, to study and prepare the necessary short stories for part of the 'accertamento orale'.

B2d - students who are 'non-frequentante'

A quick reminder to all students who cannot come to class - don't forget to contact me about the possibility of changing group and about ways or preparing for your final listening test.

B2d - Enjoy England - hidden gems videos

In class this week we watched this video from the 'Enjoy England' website - all about the Lake District.

In preparation for next week's lesson, please visit the 'Enjoy England' youtube page and choose another 'Hidden Gems' video - about any of the places you're interested in. Watch it and take a few notes. Prepare to tell someone else about it next week in class.

B2c - optional extra essay title

As promised last week, for those of you wishing to do an extra essay on globalisation (who do I hear shouting 'NO!'?!), here you go (it's a very clear and simple title, just to help!):

Discuss the positive and negative aspects of globalisation in today's society.