POST 7: CAREER RELATED WEBSITE or AN EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD

Since in order to write today’s post you can choose ONE of two options, I have written two sample posts to guide your writing (See below).

I also included a set of useful phrases you can use to write about the topic you choose.

Post 1 (Instructions).
Write about a career-related website that you enjoy visiting.

You should:
- provide a link
- describe the website (sections, features,etc)
- say how often you visit the site
- explain why you like the site.

Make sure you add comments to at least 3 of your classmates’ posts.
-Word Count: 170

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Post 2 (Instructions)
Who is a person/expert on your field that you admire?

Say:
-Who she/he is.(short biography)
-What she/he has done. (examples of their work)
-Why you like her/him.
-Include his/her image

> About 170 words
Remember to add comments to at least 3 of your classmates’ posts

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The BBC English learning website.

Whether you’re a student or a teacher, you should visit BBC Learning English. To me,  it’s one of the best sites to look for different kinds of information related to teaching and learning English as a second language.

But it’s not only about learning, it also has lots of articles related to culture. It’s a great site where students can do exercises, read pieces of current news, practice their listening skills, improve their pronunciation, and even have fun playing games, watching videos  or chatting with people from all over the world.

If you are a teacher, you also have lots of options, for example you can download up to date material for your classes, that you can adopt or adapt,  get new ideas to improve your lessons or exchange information with other teachers.

Some of its regular features that Ilike include, among others,: “Words in the News”, which contains written and video stories; “Express English”, in which people are asked about their opinions on different things -Each week there’s a new topic and the interesting thing is that you can also join the conversation; “Quiznet”, which gives you the chance to increase your vocabulary on different topics; and I also like “6 Minute English”, a short radio programme that helps you improve both your listening comprehension skills and your vocabulary while you learn about an interesting issue.

I like this site because everything in it has been carefully done by very professional people, it’s very user-friendly, so you can find things easily, and everything is interesting and down-to-earth, I mean , it is related to real life.  For all these reasons I visit this site on a regular basis and I strongly reccomend it to you. The address to this website is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/

An expert that I admire

“What a great activity! It’s interesting and fun to do”. This is what I usually say when I see English text books that have been written by Penny Ur.  But Penny is more than an experienced  text book writer, she´s a remarkable English Language Teaching author who has helped teachers develop their teaching skills, that is to say, she teaches teachers to teach.

 I don’t know much about her personal life, all I know is that she is Israeli or American and that she studied at Oxford and Cambridge  Universities.  I also know that she has travelled extensively giving conferences worldwide and has written lots of papers, which are very teacher-friendly, I mean, it’s very easy to understand what she is trying to communicate and her tips are really helpful.

Some of her most prominent books, among others,  are: Five Minute Activities, A Course in Language Teaching , and  Grammar Practice Activities. When I was studying in London I used one of her books, which was called Proficiency in English, if I remember well.

Although her books are more concerned with the teaching of grammar than on improving your communicative  skills, I like her because she is able to teach structures in an interesting and meaningful fashion, which is something that not many writers are able to do. Finally, there are writers concerned with Teaching English as a Foreign Language who have written long, boring and hard to understand papers. Instead, she has written short and clear documents that say more than a million pages.

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USEFUL PHRASES:

Career related site:

If you are interested in ................, you should visit ......

If you are a .............. student, make sure you visit .....

A great site for ......  students is ................ 

Are you interested in ...............? Well, you must have a look at .....

This site has many interesting  features, like ..... 

   "    "     "     "            "          sections, such as/for example .......

The section/feature I like/enjoy the most is .....

My favourite section/feature  is ......

I usually visit/clock on ...... on a regular basis/almost every......./once-twice-three times a .....

I like/enjoy/love this site because ...../for its wonderful-amazing-remarkable-well designed ......

An expert in my field:

I really admire...

I take my hat off to...

A remarkable/An important person in the field of  ...... is .......

Mr/Ms ............... is probably one of the most .............. in the field of/related to ........

He/She is famous for ............ing (writing/doing/having /etc)

One of the most important things he/she has done is ........

He has (also) contributed to ...... (the field of ..../areas of ..../the developnet of...)

I like/admire  .... because/since ...

I feel grateful to ... for his/her useful/interesting/invaluable ....

CA 4: WEB QUEST: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

 

Part 1- Calculate your carbon footprint!

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

·        Don’t forget to select English before starting the activity.

Questions:

Ø What’s your carbon footprint?   (Optional)

Ø What’s the average carbon footprint of a person?

Part 2 - Take these Recycling Quizzes

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/quiz-going-green/

http://www.quizmoz.com/quizzes/Science-Quizzes/r/Recycling-Quiz.asp

Questions:

Ø Hand washing dishes can use up to ______ % more of water than using an efficient dishwasher.

Ø Only about _________ % of global energy comes from renewables.

Ø True or false? Appliances that are turned off don’t use any electricity.

Ø Can you make paper out of hemp?

 

Part 3- Video >> Top ten tips for recycling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjbSEIOUp4w

Watch the video and choose the best 3 tips in your opinion.

1.

2.

3.

 

POST 6: How Can Your Major Make the World a Better Place? / Friends

  Today you have two possible topics to choose from.

Possible topic N° 1

  How Can Your Major Make the World a Better Place?

Tell us why and how what you study (your major) can make the world a better place. Include this information:

·         How can your major affect the world?

·         How can you see yourself in this process?

·         What makes your major something that contributes to the world’s benefit?

Upload pictures

Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts 

Word Count: 150 words

 Possible topic N° 2: Friends.

Tell us about how you see friendship. Include some of the following information.

1.  What do you value in a friend? What qualities should a friend have? What are friends for? Do you consider yourself a good friend?

2.  Do you make friends easily? Have you ever made any friends over the internet?

3.  Who is your closest friend? What is he/she like? How did you meet?

4.  Do you keep in touch with your childhood or high school friends?

Don't forget to leave a comment on 3 of your classmates' posts.
Finally, how many words?: 150
I hope you get a lot done!

“For good times and bad times 

 I think a friend is someone you can count on when you are in trouble, but also someone who  is around when you feel well and want to share your happiness.  I like people who are fun to be with, so I really value people who are funny, have a good sense of humour and are able to talk about interesting things.

I´m a sort of sociable person and  make friends easily, but I’m afraid I don’t see my friends as regularly as I should, because I tend to spend too much time on my own.  I forget to give my friends a call on a regular basis, so I guess I’m not a very good friend in that regard, but, on the other hand,  I’ve been able to keep long friendships with some people and when we meet it feels as if we had just seen one another the week before.

One of my best friends is Alberto. He is a very lively, intelligent and talkative person (maybe too talkative!!, ha, ha).  He works as an arquitect for the goverment and when we meet he always has lots of new stories to tell. We met  well over 50 years ago when we were neighbours, but we became friends years later when we were adults.

I don’t think I keep in touch with any of my childhood friends, but I’ve met with some of  my ex university classmates four or five times lately these years. We got in touch again thanks to Facebook and now I’m looking forward to our next get together when the pandemic is over.

POST 5: THE STORY BEHIND A PHOTOGRAPH

 Say Cheeeeeeese!

Taking photographs is one of my hobbies and I’m pretty good at it, or so they say. I started to take photos when I was in my twenties with an old analog Zenit camera that someone lent me. That was back in the early 80s, so by now I have around ten albums with old prints, plus the photos I have taken with my digital camera.

Do you enjoy taking photos? Do you have a camera? Do you collect printed photos? Are you an Instagram freak?
This week you are expected to write about a photograph that you like. Make sure to include the following in your post:

·   Who took it

·  What it shows

·  When it was taken

·  Why you like it

Don't hesitate to include any other information you think is important.

Write at least 150 words.
Finally, add comments to at least 3 of your classmates’ blogs

Please, have a look at my sample post below.

Snap Shooting Around London.

I took this photo on my last trip to London, in July 2011, when I went to Camdem Town Market Place, which is a large market where you can find lots of things, such as handcraft, clothes, ethnic food, paintings, jewelry, rugs, antichs, -you name it-, therefore there are lots of things worth  a click.

This photo shows a very eclectic shop there, where, as you can see, they sell vintage clothes and  old pieces of furniture, along with some typical English pastries and beverages, and I took it while I was having a nice cup of tea. So it mixes two things I'm crazy about: antichs and good tea!

I know that this is a rather simple photo, but I like it since it reminds me of the good time that I spent in that city and in that cafe, which is a very special place with a very pleasant atmosphere where they  always play music from the 50s to the 70s, and where sometimes one of the owners plays beautiful tunes in the piano they have there. 

CA2: A WEEK IN LONDON

A WEEK IN LONDON

You are going to spend a week in London evaluating tourist locations for an end of year study trip. 

Here is a list of things you want to do (ONLY FOR FIVE DAYS)  while you are there.  Follow the links and fill in the table that your teacher will give you.

Half Day Outings     (ONE SPACE EACH, either AM .morning, or  PM -afternoon)

London Eye    (ONE SPACE)

http://www.londoneye.com

The British Museum  (ONE SPACE)

http://www.britishmuseum.org/

The Tower of London      (ONE SPACE)

http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/ (including Crown Jewels)

Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum       (ONE SPACE)

http://www.madametussauds.com/london/

The Natural History Museum       (ONE SPACE)

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/

The Tate Modern Art Gallery        (ONE SPACE)

http://www.tate.org.uk/

Full day           (TWO SPACES EACH, ON THE SAME DAY)

Kew Gardens      (TWO SPACES)

http://www.kew.org/

Camden Market       (TWO SPACES)

http://www.camden-market.org/

For each location say:

• What day you will visit
• How much you will have to pay to get in—TRY TO GET THE LEAST EXPENSIVE ADULT PRICES
• Which Tube station you will use to get there (ANY STATION NEAR THE LOCATION)

Then, find more locations to visit in or around London. Do your own research online to find them. Add them to the table.

Remember that full day activities occupy the AM and PM spaces.

Half-day activities occupy either an AM or a PM space. You decide how to distribute the activities/sights.

Full-day activities  occupy two spaces

For each location say:

What day you will visit,

How much you will have to pay to get in,

Which Tube station you will travel to 

What will you do on the two other days? Search the web for other things to do in London.

You can organize the two remaining days like this:

Find only two full-day activities

Find one full.day activity  +  two  Half-day activities

Find four half.day activities

Half-day activities might include: a museum, a park, a shopping mall, a stadium, a theatre,etc

Full-day activities might be a funfair.

.

50+ Must-See London Attractions

https://www.readersdigest.ca/travel/world/50-must-see-london-attractions/

Day		Place		Entrance Fee	Tube Station
Monday	AM			£ 30,45    30.45pounds
	PM
Tuesday	AM	London Eye		£
	PM
Wednesday	AM
	PM
Thursday	AM
	PM
Friday	AM
	PM
Saturday	AM
	PM
Sunday	AM	Kew Gardens
	PM	Kew Gardens

Key words to look for entrance Fee:

entrance   /   admission     /    £    /   tickets   /  prices  /    Free

Key words for Tube station:

Location   / Directions  /  How to find us  / by underground / by  tube / We are here /Getting here   /Plan your visit

Other ways:

Look for a map,  or  the symbol of London underground,    or for: