ALL - IMPORTANT NOTICE

IMPORTANT NOTICE:


As is clear from the dates in which these blog posts were published and the information published, posts in this blog were written for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 academic years and the blog refers to courses which were active in the past, not the present ones.

At present this blog is no longer active and does not contain up-to-date information. Information may no longer be relevant in 2012-2013. For information on current courses, materials, exams, etc.,  please contact the faculty office directly.

ALL - Exams - signing up before the deadline

Please remember that it's essential to sign up for your exams before the deadline. Don't leave it until the last moment and then risk having problems.

There are details on the faculty website and in the general section of the vademecum about many aspects of your exams, including how to sign up. You should already have read this, but reading it again to refresh your memories won't do any harm.

Please don't e-mail me for help if you leave it too late to sign up for your exams -   unfortunately there is nothing that I will be able to do to help - so, be certain to sign up in time.

'Ricevimento' - changes

Today I will be in the staffroom at CLA rather than in room D of the faculty building.

When the 2nd semester ends, my office hours will be on an appointment-only basis - so from next week if you wish to meet up (at CLA staffroom), please send me an e-mail so that we can arrange a time and date.

B2d - mock test in class next Monday

A reminder (especially for those not present at last Monday's lesson, when we did a mock listening test) - next Monday we will be doing another mock listening test using a past paper in exam conditions. We will also be reviewing the answers from last week's test. See you then.

ALL - 'recuperi'

I'll be catching up on the lessons that I missed when I was off ill.
The times are as follows:  

C1a - Friday, 18th May,15.00-17.00, room B of the Language Faculty;

B2d - Wednesday, 23rd May, 17.00-19.00, lab B at CLA;

B2c - Friday, 25th May, 09.00-10.00, room D of the Language Faculty;

B1a - Friday, 25th May, 15.00-17.00, room D of the Language Faculty.

CC - Culture Call this Friday

This Friday we'll be meeting again at the usual time, talking about modern technology. I was sent this video by one of you (thanks), to watch and have a think about in preparation...

B2c/C1a - new materials

As mentioned I've added a document to your files this evening and more will be added tomorrow morning. See you soon.

B2d - mock listening test in class on Monday

Just to let you know that on Monday we will be doing a mock listening test in exam conditions, in preparation for the real exam.

See you next week.

B1a - timetable change

B1a students, please remember that our timetable will change from next week. Many of you said that you had problems because of Spanish 'monografico' on Thursdays, but most of you didn't have problems with Tuesdays. We will therefore have class on Mondays and Tuesdays for the rest of the semester. Please check the timetable on the faculty website carefully for details of times and rooms.

Remember to bring the completed extra grammar test to class.

See you next week.

ALL - Some extra work for Monday, as promised

As promised, other than the work I already asked you to do at the end of class, I have uploaded the following to my group files:

B1a - another past grammar paper, in your file. Title: Another English 1 Grammar Paper. To be done for Monday, please bring to class.

B2c and C1a - a preposition gap-fill and synonym match, in your file. Title: 80 Years BBC World Service To be done for Monday (C1a)/Thursday (B2c). Please bring to class. C1a first year students - I have also added another past grammar paper which you could try doing.

Bye for now.

ALL - Lessons - As normal from tomorrow

Hello there, just a quick message to inform you that tomorrow (Thursday) I will be back in class and lessons will take place as normal. 'Hope to see you tomorrow.

CC - No Culture Call this week - apologies

I am sorry that I haven't yet updated the blog with material for Culture Call, as I had promised, but I have been off ill for a few a days. I will be back in class tomorrow, but there will be no Culture Call this week, I'm afraid. Next week I hope I will be feeling on top form again, and Culture Call will be back as normal (next session Friday, 18th May). I'll post up the links as promised over the next few days.

C1A - a couple of extra articles

Hello there, a quick post to ask you to read these two articles (link one & link two) as well as do the work that I mentioned in class - we might be using them over the next week or two.

Have a good long weekend.

ALL - rooms

All tomorrow's lessons will be in the usual room (room D, in the Faculty building).

From next week there will be some room changes - please check the timetable for next week carefully.

CC - starting next week

Remember that when lessons start back next week Culture Call will be back again on Fridays - any English students from the language faculty are welcome!

ALL - file updates

A quick reminder to let you know that I've been updating my files of teaching materials and more should be added over the coming days and weeks. Remember to check them regularly. See you next week.

B2c - part of the homework, as promised

As promised, as well as the various other homework I gave you in class, here is another composition title (especially important for those students who have already tried all past exam papers - if not, remember that you should be doing them regularly).

In keeping with the theme of the reading that we checked last lesson, the general topic is still that of work.

"In today's society what may be the positive and negative aspects of working as an apprentice when a person first starts working?" (250 words).

Remember that before doing the composition, it is a good idea to reread the 2nd year course guide, with particular reference to the various types of composition. Decide which type of composition you think this is, try to understand precisely what the question is asking you to do, and how this composition type should be structured, then write your brief plan (a plan is essential - I want to see that as well as the composition if you do this and hand it in) in order that your work is organised in a correct way that demonstrates logical progression through the paragraphs (indented, of course). Keep checking your essay plan as you write, in order to be certain that you don't go 'off track' (a common problem and serious error in written compositions). Remember not to be over-personal and subjective in your writing - academic writing should be quite objective. You can (and should) use a dictionary to write this. Try to keep to exam times to give you an idea of working in those time limits.  It could be a good idea to write this by hand (especially if you are used to working on the computer) in order to give you a good idea of exam time limits when writing by hand. When you've finished your work do remember to check through it carefully for mistakes that you might find.

As usual, I'd be very happy to check through your work when it's completed - the deadline for this assignment is the end of week fve (approximately 10 days).

B1a - next week

A quick reminder that one of the things we will probably be doing next week is a reading comprehension from a past exam in exam conditions. This will be a very useful exercise in understanding and working in exam conditions - please try to come along.

C1a - next week, new materials on-line and song

A quick reminder that next week one of the things we'll probably be doing in class is part of a past exam grammar test (in exam conditions) - a good opportunity to check how the work is going.

A few recent handouts have now been added to my file of teaching materials for your group, including last lesson's idiomatic expressions ...'down under' ...Australia... the song some of you mentioned, in case you'd like to go track it down, is Men at Work's 'Down Under' ...a bizarre song with an equally bizarre video (as I just discovered). For those interested in the reference to Vegemite, it is similar to Marmite, which is something of a minor institution in the UK - a yeast extract food product that you either love or hate.

ALL - Culture Call, semester 2

It's time to start chatting at Culture Call once again. Are you interested in coming along? Feel free to bring along anyone from the language faculty who studies English.

We'll be meeting for the first session tomorrow (16.00 - 17.00) in room 6 at CLA.

From next week we should have a slightly different time - Fridays from 17.00 to 18.00, room T.B.C. (to be confirmed).

I hope you can make it!

B2C - Temporary room change

A quick message to let you know that this Thursday (only) we have a temporary room change - instead of having lessons in the Language Faculty, we will be at CLA in lab B. Future lessons will be in our regular classroom.

ALL - office hours ('ricevimento')

A quick update to let you know that for the rest of this module my office hours will be Thursdays, from 16.00 to 17.00 in Room D (Language Faculty) and not at CLA.

B2C - reading comprehension and mock grammar test

Hello there, as promised I'm posting up a few comprehension questions (click here) to accompany the BBC article (see dispensa or click on the link above the questions) that I mentioned in class. We'll be checking your answers to these questions next week.

Please remember that next week we will also be doing a 'mock grammar test'.

See you soon.

B2C -preparation and mock grammar test next week

A quick message to the B2c regarding preparation for the second year exam. Please do remember that correct preparation is essential for any exam, and our year two English exam is definitely no exception. Unfortunately, this semester as last, I am noticing that in many cases there are serious problems in grammar, spelling, syntax etc. which must be resolved in order to do the 2nd year exam with success. Unfortunately in many cases I have received little/no homework to check and the work that I have received and/or seen in class often shows errors which are to be avoided in year one English, not to mention the year two exam. Please remember that this year's level (B2) is necessarily more difficult that last year's (B1), therefore scoring an 18 or a 22 on last year's exam is not the equivalent of the same score on this year's 2nd year exam, but the equivalent of a lower grade.

At the end of last semester I reminded the group that it was necessary to come back in the 2nd semester with a higher level of English, but last week I was still seeing some basic errors in question structures, etc.. It is essential to prepare correctly and frequently for this exam - don't leave everything until the last moment, it is impossible to learn a language well in such a manner. In order to do a successful 2nd year exam, it really is necessary to put in a lot of work and, in various cases, improve the level of work being produced. Remember, as we have said all year, lessons are just a starting point, but you must do much more on your own, and show me your work regularly so that I can check and correct it for you. Don't forget that coming to class regularly is also important.

Remember that in the 2nd year course guide (in my teaching materials) which you must read, you can find information about the exam, including the grammar programme. As we said from the start of the year, we are looking at the main new points in class, but smaller points and old material should be covered on your own.

In the first semester we did a mock 2nd year grammar test. Next week at some point we should be doing another, so please be sure to review the work we have been doing and also to come to class.

Please speak with me as soon as possible if you need any clarifications or advice about your work, and don't forget the language-learning spirit...

ALL - This week - 'ricevimento' and 'Culture Call'

Hello to you all. I hope the second semester has got off to a good start. This week is pretty chaotic here in Urbino - we are happy to be hosting the second edition of the Language Olympics. Due to the Olympics my timetable is quite chaotic too, which means that - unfortunately - there won't be 'Culture Call' or 'ricevimento' with me this week. While I do apologise, I can also add that if you need to speak with me about anything important, then let me know - send me an e-mail and I'll reply as soon as possible. As for 'Culture Call', we WILL be starting again next week - watch this space for the new time-slot!

Bye for now!

B2C - materials for next lesson

Hello there. Please remember to bring the completed reading comprehension (which was set as part of inter-semester work) to class on Monday as we shall be analysing the answers.

C1a - comprehension questions

Hello there, as promised here are the comprehension questions that are connected to the article you should be reading for next week. Click here for the questions - there is a link to the article included.

ALL - ricevimento (temporary)

This week my office hours are 15.30 - 16.30 tomorrow (Friday) - this is a temporary timetable and will change as of next week, so please check the blog for further details. Tomorrow I will be at CLA staffroom.

ALL - Thanks for visiting (10,048 times)

Gosh, Blogger gave me a surprise today by telling me that this blog has had 10,048 visits since it began just over a year ago. More than ten thousand! That's quite a big number and made me happy. I hope that it is proving useful for you.

This made me think - let's all try to make the blog become even more useful - it's 'our' blog, not just mine. So, if you have any ideas of other links, etc., which could be useful on this blog for fellow students, then please e-mail/leave a comment to let me know - I'll check them out and hopefully add them.

Thank you (10,048 times) for coming to visit!

ALL - the approach of semester two

Hello there folks - I hope that you haven't had too many problems with all the snow we have had!

A quick reminder. The inter-semester break has become longer than we expected because of the many serious problems caused by the snow. Of course, you don't need me to tell you, but please use this time to continue practising and studying your English - extra past exam papers, exercises, reading etc. - it's very important to keep your English active and on top-form. Remember that by the time I see you back in class, your English should definitely have improved from the practice you have been doing since the end of last semester. We will be starting with new work, and won't have time to review materials that have already been covered. So it's going to be an intense and hard-working second semester that we should all (you and I) face with enthusiasm and dedication. The true language-learning spirit!   :)

As the inter-semester break is longer, you also have a little longer to send me any work you have done, so that I can check it for you. Remember, as I said previously, I will only accept inter-semester work which is given to me by the set deadline (before the start of semester two).

I look forward to getting back to class and seeing you soon!

ALL - Snow

As you probably noticed... it's snowing! For information about university and the snow, please keep checking the official university website.

ALL - written work, e-mails and deadlines

A quick hello from inter-semester land! I have received e-mails with written work from many students over the past few weeks (good, good, good - that's what I like to see!). Please remember that due to the high number of e-mails (sending assignments) that I receive, it isn't possible to reply to each one just to say "I received your mail and will soon correct it and send it back" - however, I will e-mail it back to you as soon as possible. If you want to be certain that I received your mail however, then you could try to check if your e-mail provider has a "ask for receipt" function - that way I can click to say I received it when I open the mail.

Please remember that between semesters it can take a little longer for me to look through your work because of exams, etc. here at work. However, I have recently started correcting work that has been sent to me, and so if you have not already received your work, you should do soon.

Please hand in any inter-semester work that you would like me to check before the start of the second semester.

Written exam results

A quick note about written exam results. English 1 exam results have been published. English 2 students - your results should be published by the end of the week - as there are more students, marking takes a little longer, but the results will soon be published.

L2 - A reminder to Masters students

A reminder to all students who have chosen B1 English as part of the 'Master Insegnare Italiano a Stranieri' - please contact me as soon as possible regarding information for exam preparation and in order to request a copy of my 'dispensa'.

I look forward to meeting you all!