EF Atlanta Blog

Thursday, April 4, 2013

B2-2 Unit 3: Tech ads iLab

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Wizard of Oz Resources

Useful resources for your AY Project!

Online copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for free!:

http://www.enotes.com/wonderful-wizard-text/

When writing your essays, here's the MLA format:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Make sure you're not plagiarizing! Check the Oglethorpe Honor Code!

http://www.oglethorpe.edu/campus_life/resources/writing_center/honor_code.asp

Articles on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

B2+ level students, an article on the Wizard of Oz and business success:
http://www.findyourpeak.com/finding-your-peak/life-and-business-lessons-from-the-wizard-of-oz

B2+ levels: The allegory of the Wizard of Oz
http://www.amphigory.com/oz.htm

Quick biography of the author:
http://www.enotes.com/wonderful-wizard/author-biography

Information on adaptations of the story:

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/

Wicked: (1995)
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/

The Wiz: (1978)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078504/

Oz, the Great and Powerful: (2013)
http://disney.go.com/thewizard/

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Art inspired by books:

Michelangelo's Sistene Chapel was inspired by the story of creation, in the book of Genesis in the Bible. The figures are Michelangelo's representation of Adam, the first man, and God.

What other art do you know of that's inspired by books?

Here is some art inspired by The Alchemist:

1) What themes are represented?

2) What moment in the story is represented?

Monday, February 18, 2013

Making predictions- Creative Writing

Making predictions:

Link to worksheet: Easy predictions writing worksheet

A. What do you think will happen next?
Talk to a partner about your prediction.

4) Before

After

10)

11)

12)

13) http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=Making_Predictions&video_id=46432

14) What happens next? quiz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-UhE3qOYJU

15) Mr. Bean video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VumrpkL6RS0

B. Real life predictions. Choose one.

What do you think will happen...
16) In Syria?
17) To the price of oil?
18) To the Chinese economy?
19) To the Greek economy?
20) To the health care system in America?

C. Discussion.
1. Are your predictions usually correct?
2. How do you make a prediction?
3. When is a time you've been surprised?
4. Think of an example of a movie, book, or TV show that was predictable. Why?
5. Think of an example of a movie, book, or TV show that was UNpredictable. Why?

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Prefixes and Suffixes

Link to list of prefixes and suffixes and roots:
http://www.prefixsuffix.com/rootchart.php

Friday, February 1, 2013

AY Project: Essay feedback

AY Projects Class: Writing a Better Essay

I. Sending a document to a teacher:

1. If you have a crazy email that is nothing like your name, make sure your real name is in the body of the email. If your teacher receives an email from papichulo@gmail.com , or saudiprince3105@yahoo.com , or 詹潔妤@qq.com, she has no idea who you are! A solution would be to write in the text of your email:

“Hi, Emily. This is Ricardo. My AY essay 1 is attached. Have a good day!”

2. Your essay should be attached-- NOT in the body of the email. You can attach a Word document, or send a link to a Google document. You may access Word in the Oglethorpe library and computer labs.

3. Name your document in such a way that you know what the document contains! essay.docx or joseph.doc are not good names, and when you look for it on your computer later, you won’t be able to find it!

Solution: Include your name and the name of the assignment. Some ideas:

AYProject1-Justin.docx, AY1-Kimberly.doc. , Johnny-AlchemistEssay1.docx

II. Common Errors

With a partner, try to correct this common error:

1. I’m agree with the quote…

2. Santiago is the protagonist in The Alqimist.

****Less than half of you spelled the title correctly on your essays!

 III. For future AY essays, use MLA format.

  A. Headings go on the top left of the first page.

  Heading includes student name, teacher name, class and level, and date.

Here's an example of a proper heading:

Anita Chan

  George de Man

  AY Projects Level C1-2

  27 January 2013

  B. Font and Spacing in MLA style

1. Font:

a. Use an easy to read font.

Examples: Which fonts are ok?

Comic sans? Braggadocio? Times? Curlz? Brush Script? Georgia? Bauhaus?

b. Times New Roman is recommended. Size 12 font only.

c. In Microsoft Word go to format, then font to change.

2. Spacing:

a. Double space (2.0) your essay.

b. In Microsoft Word go to format, then paragraph to change.

C. Paragraphs

1. Indent paragraphs with the tab button on your keyboard

2. Do not add extra space between paragraphs.

  D. For more details, check out this website from Purdue University:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

II. The Writing Process: http://pinterest.com/pin/220606081719043126/

A. Brainstorming checklist

1. _____ Do I understand the assignment?

2. _____ What are my ideas?

3. _____ What do I need to do to turn my best idea into an assignment?

B. Draft checklist

1. ____ Have I put my idea on paper?

2. ____ Do I have enough information and examples?

(Revising and drafting are a cycle that continues until you’re satisfied!)

C. Revising checklist

1. _____ Do I have an introduction?

2. _____ Are my body paragraphs organized?

3. _____ Do I connect my ideas?

4. _____ Does my essay have a point?

5. _____ Do I give examples, support, evidence, etc.?

6. _____ Do I have a conclusion?

7. _____ If I make an argument, is it logical?

8. _____ Does my essay make sense?

D. Reviewing checklist

1. _____ Have I critiqued my work?

2. _____ Have I shared my work with someone?

3. _____ Have I checked that my work is consistent with the assignment I was given?

4. _____ Have I left anything out? If so, go back to drafting!

E. Polishing checklist

1. _____ Have I used spell check?

2. _____ Have I followed MLA format?

3. _____ Have I read over my work again for mistakes?

4. _____ Is my paper the correct length? 2 pages? Longer?

F. Publishing checklist

1. _____ Is my work finished?

2. _____ Did I turn in my work in the proper way? (i.e. electronic copy emailed, printed copy given to teacher, etc.)

3. _____ Did I turn in my work on time?

G. After the teacher reviews my work…

1. ____ Have I read her feedback?

2. ____ Have I asked questions if I didn't understand the feedback?

3. ____ Have I asked questions if I didn’t understand why I got the grade I got?

4. ____ Do I know how to improve in the future?

IV. More problems to avoid:

A. An essay should be in paragraph form. Don’t make a list.

B. Don’t use labels or headings except for a title.

C. Imagine the reader of the essay doesn’t know what the questions were. Make the questions apparent in your writing.

D. Don’t quote the questions.

V. Locate the problems in this essay. (Besides the fact that it’s too short!) Refer to the problems in IV.

Learning on the Journey

The Alchemist is a book about a journey a boy goes on and what he learns along the way. The boy learns many life lessons on his trip from Spain to Egypt.

What are some of the things Santiago learned through action? Santiago learns to not be so trusting in the book when the thieves steal from him. He also learns to follow his dreams no matter the cost. Even though his father wanted him to be a priest, he knew his personal legend was to travel to the pyramids.

Yes, I agree. I learned English through action. For example, before I came to Atlanta, I studied English in school but didn’t use it every day. When I came here is when I really started to learn because practicing it makes you remember more than reading it in a book.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the old man was right. Everything you need to learn you learn in the journey of life. Santiago’s story was proof, and in my life I have experience learning through action as well.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

HULT IC: Final reflection

Some of you have been here since September, and others only a few weeks, but we're all going to reflect on this class in a blog entry for our final project.

If you don't have gmail/blogger, (students who have been here since September already do!) here are the steps, and some advice:

1) Open a gmail account. (at http://gmail.com) Use something recognizably you! Initials, first name, last name, something. Make it professional as well. You will use this to correspond with teachers, so please nothing silly or inappropriate!

2) When you open your gmail set your language to English! You'll be forced to get used to the English emailing terms, and spell check will make your emails easier to understand!

3) Name your blog. I recommend the url be easy to remember, related to you and your time in Atlanta. You will use this in other classes and other assignments!

4) Personalize your blog. Check out some great examples! http://blogsofnote.blogspot.com/

Students who have been here since September already have an entry on "My Biggest Challenge Learning English." The last entry will be a course reflection. Make sure you answer the following questions and including the following components:

Final reflection blog. Due 11/29 8:15 am. (Our last class will be spent checking out other students blogs!)

Think back to what we've done in this class (VARK learning styles, phonetic alphabet and pronunciation, history of the English language, note-taking, mind-mapping, dictionaries, libraries, research, reading techniques like skimming and scanning, giving speeches, multi-cultural learning...) What topic is the most useful for classes and projects next term?

What topic is the most useful for AY projects next term?
Which do you wish you'd learned before AY projects were due?
What topic is the most useful for the TOEFL?
What topic is the most useful for your overall experience at EF Atlanta?
Is there a topic that wasn't useful or helpful for you? Why not?

Think about your AY Project on your famous person. You read a biography, and wrote about that person's ups and downs, your personal connection to the person, and ran their presidential campaign.

Which project did you learn the most from?
What kinds of projects would you like to see in the future?
What kinds of readings would you like to do in the future? Would you prefer the whole class reading the same book? Why or why not?

SPIN classes at EF are "special interest" classes. This particular SPIN class was accredited by Hult University as part of their "Introduction to International Communication" course.

What other topics would you like to see in a class about "International Communication"?
In general, what did you like about this class? What didn't you like about it? Do you have any suggestions to make the class better in the future?
What other "special interest" topics interest you for future SPIN classes?

Instructions: Write your blog entry including your responses to all the questions above. Please include an image: a photo, drawing, etc. as part of your reflection. Then comment on this post with a link to your blog!