Entries from December 2006 ↓

Let’s Talk recycles many of the listening passages as self-study units, but only half of the units actually have these self-study exercises. Many teachers use the exercises in class, so the Level 2 team is tarting to make more exercises along the same lines.

Below is a folder with a PDF and an Apple Pages version of a cloze-type self-study exercise for Unit 6B. Students will not have the audio, but the classroom CD has the listening passage.

These activities can be used to focus on forms in the target language, suppport students who need more raw material to wotk with, and to turn more attention to listening. This example is a fairly convention al cloze, with the exception that some of the blanks should actually remain blank. Click below to have a look.

This is just the start of this project. Any feedback would be very helpful. I have attempted to match the look of the textbook as much as possible by using a similar font and layout. Those with Apple Pages can use the linked file as working model or template if they wish.

Download the zip file for Let’s Talk Unit 6B Self-study Food around the world.

This is a draft. If you have suggestions, please comment below.

This is an activity that I use with my students to give them practice drawing inferences. It’s a great way, even for lower level students, to get students applying English that they have been studying in short simple structured sentences. The students also seem to have fun with the activity.

Culture Card Instructions

Culture Card Worksheet

Culture Card Resource Questions

Sample Culture Cards

Partly to alleviate the burden on teachers who dislike having to do a lot of photocopying and partly to organize student resources for the writing course, the level 3 team has decided to gather a set of writing materials to distribute to students as a booklet at the beginning of the Spring ‘07 term. There is a consensus that students should not be asked to pay for the booklet, as it will be made up of material that was previously distributed as class handouts.

Ideally, this booklet will consist of any activities, examples, guidelines, instructions, or evaluation criteria which course teachers deem necessary for their students. The project is currently focused on the Spring term.

Because we want to keep copying costs to a minimum and respect the fact that teachers on the course do have a great deal of flexibility in terms of how they teach it, we would like the selection process to be limited to only those materials which teachers consider highly useful (this, of course, implies no obligation to use the materials in class). We are soliciting materials and feedback from all teachers so that this will be a collaborative effort.

I am attaching a brief table of contents page which has been approved by the level team. You can assist us by making any comments on this document or sending contributions in the form of activities, model paragraphs, writing tips, etc. Please also let us know if you would like to nominate for inclusion in the booklet any materials in the existing level 3 binder.

If you are interested in helping out, please email me directly, respond to this announcement, or write comments in the project binder located on the Level 3 materials shelf in PFC.

While there is no official deadline for contributing, we plan to complete the project by early March.

L3 writing booklet TOC

Students can use this rubric to evaluate their classmates presentations. This should help to keep themPresentationRubric23.doc focused.

Students can use this sheet to evalaute their classmates presentations.This should help to keep them focused during the presentations. Level Presentations Student EvaluationLevel Presentations Student Evaluation

The second semester Level 2 Reading Final Test is now ready. There is no need to print out the tests, they will be printed for you. This posting is just for reference purposes.

1) The test requires students to know enough of the words to put them into a cloze. There are also a lot of questions tapping a purely receptive understanding, and a few spelling items.
2) The cloze sections are summaries of the stories in the units. So, the students who regularly come to class will be at an advantage.
3) Some students will finish much quicker than others. To to keep the fast finishers occupied, there is a riddle at the end. The answer is on the answer sheets.
4) There are two versions of the tests to provide an obstacle to any nefarious test taking strategies. The tests cover the same material, but the questions are in a different order.
5) The test can be given any time that suits the intructor.

Apart from the spelling questions which are each worth half a point, each question is worth one point. The grades to associate with the scores are the same as for the speaking test and are as follows:

49-50 A+
47-48 A
45-46 A-
43-44 B+
41-42 B
39-40 B-
37-38 C+
35-36 C
33-34 C-
31-32 D+
29-30 D
27-28 D-
26 and below F

As you will see from the scale above, scoring an A+ may be quite difficult. However, but many students should be able to score an A- if they have prepared regularly. It is hoped that many of the students should fall in the B range. Some students may receive an F according to this scale, but that mark still earns them points towards their final EIgo II grade.

Please feel free to pass on any feedback.

Level 2 Final Test VERSION A with answers.doc
Level 2 Final Test VERSION B with answers.doc
answer sheet.doc