P1 EF71011 Class 19

 

**

I am scheduled to teach these courses for Quarter 4, April-June. This could change at the discretion of administration.

P1 (9:15-11:30) English Foundations 6

P2 (12-2:15)  English Foundations 7/English 10/Composition 11

*I do not recommend you take English courses from the same instructor over and over.

My P2 course will be 95% the same as our current course.

If you do take this course again with me, please know that it will essentially the same.

**

Writing Improvement 567 will not be offered again until next school year (Sept-June, 2026-2027). The schedules for the next school year have not been set yet. Our school course schedules are set quarter to quarter, the month previous to the start of the next quarter. We will know about September schedule in August, November schedule in October, February in January, April in March, Summer in May, usually.

 

You have the option to take Writing Improvement 567 self-paced now or next school year. Talk to the teachers in Self-Paced room, Room 203.

 

You can take a maximum of two courses at the same time.

 

**

Events in Iran

 

Regime change – kicking out the long-term leaders of a country

destroying country with bombing

regime- government that stays for years and years, maybe generations

-         hang on to power

 

destroy(v) destroyed(adj), destruction(n)- completely ruin, break into pieces, unable to be used any more, completely broken

destruction  ANTONYM construction

destroy- ruin   construct-build

 

Will the regime change in Iran?

-can’t predict

-complicated

-protesters against government- maybe 40000 killed in two day by the government police/soldiers

 

Bombing Saturday

-girls’ school bombed, maybe 160 people killed, including children

- school is in on Saturdays in Iran

 

Internet cut off in Iran.

Have you been able to contact family or friends?

There are huge line-ups for the bank, groceries, gas stations, etc.

 

The Iranian government is attacking other countries: Qatar, Israel, Dubai, Jordan, Bahrain, Omar, etc. and military bases.

 

The Middle East is a tinder box.

 

Why did the US do this now?

-cheap gas and oil

-Iran’s nuclear weapons program

-not friendly to the US

-US wants every country to cooperate with them

-Trump- hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes

good business for the Trumps

-The US has a history of doing this sort of thing

-weaken China, friendly with Iran

- Trump wants to draw attention away from the Epstein files. He is mentioned almost 1000000 times in the Epstein files. He has been accused of terrible sexual crimes, including with underage girls.

 

The Iranian people want regime change. They have been protesting.

Will this be a short war or a long war?

-Trump four weeks

-World War 3?

-US forever wars – Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc

 

Are you worried?

-nuclear weapons

-terrorism

 

The Iranian leader was killed. He was 86. There are plenty of people waiting to take over. Will they be as hard-line as the Ayatollah?

 

**

These are all old men. They will not have to live with the consequences.

 

I will keep watching the news. I understand that not everybody tells the truth. I look for news sources that I trust.

 

**

Iran has 90 million people. There are uncountable different groups.

 

dictator- autocrat – one person has all of the power, all of the say

democracy- ruled by the people, free and fair elections

 

**

Too much money will make you evil.

IDIOM Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 

What do we do next?

-study

-keep going

-work hard

-make money

-Don’t despair. feel like giving up because of disappointment

 

The world has seen situations like this many many many times before.

 

Canada is a peaceful country.

 

New law Afghanistan-

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/01/asia/taliban-afghanistan-domestic-violence-legal

 

 

We live in troubled times.

 

 

Beginning of our fifth week.

Today’s Agenda

·      Attendance

·      Return Test 3

Go over

“I Confess Test 3 example process”

·      Continue final kind of sentence “Compound-Complex Sentences”

·      Continue “Dead Man’s Path”

Prepare for Test 4 this week

 

Tuesday

·      Continue final kind of sentence “Compound-Complex Sentences”

·      Continue “Dead Man’s Path”

Prepare for Test 4 which day?

 

 

*Tuesday, March 10

Opportunity to replace one quiz, test, both or neither

 

*Wednesday and Thursday, March 11 &12

Midterm recommendations

 

 

 

**

Test 3

Why did Mr. Wei, the teacher, speak so rudely to Wang Wei, the student?

 

PROCESS- for doing good answers

1.PREWRITE- make a plan

2.WRITE- write sentences

 

Prewrite Stage-planning

1.    Read the question.

why? teacher talk rude to student

 

Is this the question?

-What is the story about?

-What did you learn from the story?

-What does the story teach us?

If not, don’t write about that.

You have to plan an answer that is on-topic.

An off-topic is not worth much.

 

2.    Generate ideas, with “”

Why teacher rude to student?

-want to show “who was in charge”

*-follow the experienced teachers “gave them an inch, they would take a yard”

*-lost his temper “too angry” “harsh voice”

*-young and inexperienced “two months” “

 “not let superiors down”

 

-only 150, choose 3-4 points

3.    Organize the ideas

 

 

 

What order of imprtaance? TIME, IMPORTANCE

1.young and inexperienced

2.follow the teachers

3.lose temper

 

*TECHNIQUE: You can put the most important one last.

 

1.lose temper

2.follow teacher

3. young and inexperienced

Everyone’s will be a little different.

We have a plan to follow.

 

Write Stage

4.    Write the first draft.

Why did Mr. Wei, the teacher, speak so rudely to Wang Wei, the student?

Topic sentence- linked to the question, the writing prompt

 

There are three important reasons why the teacher, Mr. Wei, talked rudely with the student, Wang Wei, in the story “I Confess” by Wei Wenjuan. First, Mr. Wei quickly lost his temper when he heard  from the “monitor” that the top of the desk in the classroom has been “carved” and damaged. Mr. Wei was working hard to impress his new “superiors”; therefore, he wasn’t happy that a student has caused this issue. Next, Mr. Wei was following the advice of the older teachers. They had told him clearly not to give the young students “an inch” or they would “take a yard”. Finally, Mr. Wei was a very young and inexperienced teacher. He really didn’t know how to deal with classroom conflicts. He felt that he needed to “exert one’s authority” over the supposedly guilty student. All in all, Mr. Wei did not act fairly when he talked rudely to the student.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Point 1

-subpoint with “”

Point 2

-subpoint with “”

Point 3

-subpoint with “”

 

5.    Proofread, edit

6.    Pass in

 

 

Focus on C1, C5, and quoting.

You can do an optional RW for a point. Pass it in today or first thing tomorrow.

 

 

P2 EF71011 Class 18

 

Today’s Agenda- end of 4^th week

·      Attendance

·      “Self-Assessment Reflection” Week 4

·      Finish “Parallelism”

·      Begin final kind of sentence “Compound-Complex Sentences”

·      Continue “Dead Man’s Path”

 

Monday

·      Return Test 3

Go over

“I Confess Test 3 example process”

·      Continue final kind of sentence “Compound-Complex Sentences”

·      Continue “Dead Man’s Path”

Prepare for Test 4 when?

 

 

 

*Tuesday, March 10

Opportunity to replace one quiz, test, both or neither

 

*Wednesday and Thursday, March 11 &12

Midterm recommendations

 

 

 

 

Exercise 2- More challenging sentences.

Fix the parallelism error in each sentence. Write the corrected sentences on your own paper.

1.    The manager values honesty, to work hard, and employees who are creative.

What kind of words do we want?

 

The manager values employees who are honest, hardworking, and creative. adj

The manager values honesty, diligence/hard work, and creativity. noun

 

wf- word forms

work hard V ADV

She works hard every day.

 

hard work  ADJ NOUN

He does hard work.

 

hardworking

Mei is a hardworking person.

 

COMMON CONFUSION

hardly work- barely work

hard =// hardly

She has hardly any time for herself.

 

JOKE Working hard or hardly working?

 

2.    She decided to apply for the scholarship, attending the interview, and that she would submit her portfolio early.

She decided to apply for the scholarship, attend the interview, and submit her portfolio early. verbs

 

portfolio- a collection of your creative work

portfolio- a list of all of your financial investments

 

She decided on applying for the scholarship, attending the interview, and submitting her portfolio early. gerunds

 

In Canada, the usual retirement age is 65.

You can retire early if you are able.

You can retire later in many jobs.

Some jobs have forced retirement.

You can collect CPP (Canada Pension Plan) at 60. It will be reduced.

You can wait until you are 70. It will be increased.

 

3.    The new policy aims to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and increase customer satisfaction. infinitives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.    He enjoys hiking in the mountains, to swim in the ocean, and long bicycle rides.

He enjoys hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, and riding bicycles.  missing ‘long’

He enjoys hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, and riding bicycles for long distances.

He enjoys hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, and long-distance cycling.

He enjoys hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, and cycling for long distances.

 

long-distance cycling  no ‘s’ for hyphenated modifiers

She is 20 years old. She is a 20-year-old woman.

 

He enjoys mountain hiking, ocean swimming, and long-distance cycling.

 

*This is what writing for school is like. Write, and rewrite. Repeat.

Writing is painful.

 

5.    The professor expected students to complete the assignment on time, participating in class discussions, and that they conduct independent research.

The professor expected students to complete the assignment on time, (to) participate in class discussions, and (to) conduct independent research.

 

6.    The charity focuses on providing food to families, educating children, and supporting healthcare programs.

*beuatiful balanced parallel structure

 

The charity focuses on providing food to/for families, education for children, and programs for healthcare. noun + prep

*detail-oriented writing

 

7.    The job requires strong communication skills, being able to solve problems quickly, and attention to detail.

The job requires strong communication skills, quick problem-solving ability, and careful/precise/proper/meticulous attention to detail.  tough?

The job requires strong communication skills, quick problem-solving ability, and detail-oriented/meticulous attention.

 

scrupulousness / conscientiousness

 

keen- eager, enthusiastic

 

8.    She is known for her leadership abilities, to mentor younger colleagues, and inspiring confidence in others.

She is known for her leadership abilities, mentorship to younger colleagues, and inspiration to others. nouns

 

She is known for her leading abilities, mentoring younger colleagues, and inspiring confidence in others.

 

She is known for her ability to lead, mentor younger colleagues, and inspire confidence in others.

 

IDIOM Marry in haste. Repent at leisure.

IDIOM Love at first sight.

 

You have to keep them guessing.

 

 

9.    The committee plans to review the proposal carefully, discussing possible revisions, and a final vote will be taken.

The committee plans to review the proposal carefully, discuss possible revisions, and take a final vote.

 

take a vote- show of hands

Show of hands. How many people want to …?

 

The committee plans are reviewing the proposal carefully, discussing possible revisions, and taking a final vote.

 

The committee plans on reviewing the proposal carefully, discussing possible revisions, and taking a final vote.

 

The committee is planning on reviewing the proposal carefully, discussing possible revisions, and taking a final vote.

 

Verb tenses:

simple present

simple past

simple future

present progressive/continuous

present progressive

present perfect

present perfect progressive

 

 

This weekend, I plan/am planning on going to a birthday party, catching up on sleep, and going out on a date. simple present – authentic English, grammar?

This weekend, I will go to a birthday party, catch up on sleep,

and go out on a date. simple future

This weekend, I am going to go to a birthday party, catch up on sleep,

and go out on a date. simple future

 

I am going to have/throw a party at my house.

 

 

10.                       Success in life depends on working hard, that you stay

determined, and having clear goals.

Success in life depends on working hard, staying determined, and having clear goals.

Success in life depends on having clear goals, working hard, and staying determined.

 

determined- keep going, don’t take no for an answer, don’t give up.

a bull at a gate- never quit

A determined person has grit.

had has- common typo ‘s’ and ‘d’ are next to each to each other on the keyboard

grit- a strong determined personality, resilient

grit- how rough something is, e.g an emory board, exfoliate

She had some grit in her eye. She had sleep in her eye.

IDIOM the sandman-

 

Metallica “Enter Sandman”- music heavy metal rock music

 

 

the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus

 

 

**

Test 3

Divider

Phones, devices away

You can have your story out for the test.

 

Write a paragraph of least 150 words on the following topic. Include quoted material.

 

 

Why did Mr. Wei, the teacher, choose to confess his mistake to his class of students?

 

 

 

P1 EF71011 Class 18

 

Today’s Agenda- end of 4^th week

·      Attendance

·      “Self-Assessment Reflection” Week 4

·      Finish “Parallelism”

·      Begin final kind of sentence “Compound-Complex Sentences”

·      Continue “Dead Man’s Path”

 

Monday

·      Continue final kind of sentence “Compound-Complex Sentences”

·      Continue “Dead Man’s Path”

Prepare for Test 4

 

 

 

*Tuesday, March 10

Opportunity to replace one quiz, test, both or neither

 

*Wednesday and Thursday, March 11 &12

Midterm recommendations

 

 

 

**

Exercise 2- More challenging sentences.

Fix the parallelism error in each sentence. Write the corrected sentences on your own paper.

1.    The manager values honesty, to work hard, and employees who are creative.

The manager values honesty, hard work, and creativity. nouns

What kind of words do you want?

wf- word form- noun, adjective, verb, adverb

honesty(n)   honest(adj)   ?(v)   honestly(adv)

 

The manager values employees who are honest, work hard, and are creative. adj cl

 

hard work (adj+noun)           She doesn’t mind hard work.

work hard (verb+adv)            She works hard.

                                                   She is working hard.

hardworking (adj)                  She is hardworking.

 

 

 

verb tenses:

EF1

simple present

simple past

EF3

simple future

EF4-5

present progressive/continuous

past progressive

present perfect

present perfect progressive

 

2.    She decided to apply for the scholarship, attending the interview, and that she would submit her portfolio early.

What kind of words do you want?

She decided to apply for the scholarship, decided to attend the interview, and decided to submit her portfolio early. REP

She decided to apply for the scholarship, to attend the interview, and to submit her portfolio early.

She decided to apply for the scholarship, attend the interview, and submit her portfolio early. IMO- most authentic sounding

 

ADVICE: Aim for brevity. Make your writing as compact as possible. Eliminate REP repetition wherever possible.

 

3.    The new policy aims to reduce costs, improving efficiency, and customer satisfaction should increase.

The new policy aims to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and increase customer satisfaction.*

*beautiful balanced, parallel structure

 

 

 

4.    He enjoys hiking in the mountains, to swim in the ocean, and long bicycle rides.

What kinds of words do we want?

He enjoys hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, and riding bicycles. gerunds

He enjoys hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, and biking/cycling long distances. gerunds

He enjoys likes to hike in the mountains, to swim in the ocean, and to bike/ to cycle long distances. infinitives

He enjoys mountain hiking, ocean swimming, and bicycle riding.

He enjoys mountain hiking, ocean swimming, and long-distance bicycling/cycling.

He enjoys hikes in the mountains, swims in the ocean, and long rides on his bicycle. nouns

She swims in the pool.

She goes for swims in the pool. noun

He goes for hikes. noun

We will go for a 10-minute break.

 

5.    The professor expected students to complete the assignment on time, participating in class discussions, and that they conduct independent research.

The professor expected students to complete the assignment on time, (to)participate in class discussions, and (to) conduct independent research.

 

He expected you INFINITIVE.

He expected you to clean up the kitchen.

You expect your kids to be polite, respect others, and be honest.

 

 

 

6.    The charity focuses on providing food to families, education for children, and to support healthcare programs.

The charity focuses on providing food to families, education for children, and healthcare programs. nouns

The charity focuses on providing food to families, educating children, and supporting healthcare programs. n-gerunds

 

provide(v)

providing(n-gerund)

is/was/are providing(v)

 

AREA FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION gerunds

 

7.    The job requires strong communication skills, being able to solve problems quickly, and attention to detail.

The job requires strong communication skills, quick problems solving, and attention to detail. nouns

The job requires strong communication skills, quick problems solving, and detailed attention.

 

If you find this boring, you may not like university.

 

8.    She is known for her leadership abilities, to mentor younger colleagues, and inspiring confidence in others.

She is known for her leadership, mentoring/mentorship of younger colleagues, and inspiration to others. missing ‘confidence’

 

She is known for her leading teams/coworkers, mentoring younger colleagues, and inspiring confidence in others.

 

She is known for her ability to lead, mentor younger colleagues, and inspire confidence in others.

 

IDIOM Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

 

She is known as a leader, a mentor, and an inspiration.

My mother is an inspiration to me.

 

9.    The committee plans to review the proposal carefully, discuss possible revisions, and take a final vote. verbs

 

DIFFERENT MEANING

discuss possible revisions

discuss revisions possibly

a final vote

vote finally

 

A final vote will be taken.

 

Don’t despair. Keep working. Don’t give up.

I am psyching myself up. I am motivating myself.

 

10.                       Success in life depends on working hard, that you stay

determined, and having clear goals.

Success in life depends on working hard, staying determined, and having clear goals. verbs

 

Success in life depends on hard work, determination, and clear goals. noun

 

determination- perseverance

 

 

 

 

 

**

Short stories for adult learners of English

 

-regular short story- might be too hard

-children’s stories- too childish

 

challenge to find easy short stories that are mature

 

VPL – young adult fiction- young teenagers

Talk to the librarian.

**

 

 

 

**

Let’s change gears.

Let’s get into our chat groups (4-5 people)

We can discuss “Dead Man’s Path Thought Questions”

 

 

 

**

Test 3

Divider

Phones, devices away

You can have your story out for the test.

 

Write a paragraph of least 150 words on the following topic. Include quoted material.

 

 

Why did Mr. Wei, the teacher, choose to confess his mistake to his class of students?

 

 

 

 

 

**

Return Test 3

 

P2 EF710 Class 17

 

Today’s Agenda

·      Attendance

·      Distribute “Thought Questions” for Animal Farm

·      “Parallelism”

·      Begin “Dead Man’s Path”

 

Friday- end of 4^th week

·      “Self-Assessment Reflection” Week 4

·      Begin final kind of sentence “Compound-Complex Sentences”

·      Continue “Dead Man’s Path”

·       

 

Monday

·      Continue final kind of sentence “Compound-Complex Sentences”

·      Continue “Dead Man’s Path”

Prepare for Test 4

 

Link to the text: https://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/orwellanimalfarm.pdf

We will begin our novel later next week.

Starting late next week, we will do approximately one chapter a day. There are 10 chapters. Add a few days for test, essay, etc.- I expect we we get in done in three weeks.

 

DISTRIBUTE “Thought Questions Chapters 1-10”

 

Later next week, we will begin the novel Animal Farm. We should get it done in three weeks of so.

I will pass out the novels early next week. Usually, students have pay to use the novels. They have to leave a deposit in the office. I am not going to do that. I will hand out the novels to you. I trust that you will take care of them and return them to me.

If you decide to leave the class, please give me my novel back.

I will email you a link for a pdf of the novel if you want to get started on it.

Link to the text: https://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/orwellanimalfarm.pdf

 

Please prepare Chapter 1 for the middle of next week. The plan is to do one chapter a day.

You can read ahead and prepare ahead.

If you print it out, you can write all over it with your notes.

 

Hopefully you will take this as an opportunity to read a fun but serious novel in English. It will be a challenge.

 

Some of you may be familiar with it already, in another language.

Longman? ESL rewrites of hard English novels

Charles Dickens Great Expectations

 

Novel about animals taking over a farm from the farmer. Then they run their own farm. Will they be successful?

 

It sounds like a children’s story. It has deep themes, deep ideas.

 

Audiobook – effective way to learn English

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc78arfcmRo

 

movie version- We will watch the British animation (1954) in class on the last day.

 

 

 

 

 

novel- fiction- a made-up story

non-fiction- history, biography, science, psychology, memoir, autobiography

 

biography  bio graph y

bio - life

biology – the study of life

graph- a picture

 

autobiography-

auto- self

 

automobile-

auto- self

mobile- move

 

automatic

matic- machine

 

studies

biology

geology  geo- the earth

geography- pictures of the earth

psychology- psyche- the mind

sociology- societies

seismology

physiology- physio-the body

anthropology

criminology

kinesiology- kinesiologist

 

Latin roots

 

aquarium- aqua-water   rium-room  

egocentric(adj)-  ego- centre

He is egocentric. He is narcissistic. He is self-absorbed. He is self-centred.

absorb- soak up water, soak up information

Is she self-aware?

 

She is generous, thoughtful, considerate, etc.

community-minded, helpful, kind, selfless, caring, etc.

 

Narcissus- Greek myth

Echo-

 

Trump is a narcissist.

He is narcissistic.

 

 

**

 

Exercise 1- Easier sentences.

Fix the parallelism error in each sentence. Write the corrected sentences on your own paper.

1.                She likes reading, to swim, and biking.

She likes reading, swimming, and biking. gerunds ‘ing’ nouns

She likes to read, (to) swim, and (to) bike. infinitives

 

2.                He is smart, hardworking, and has kindness.

He is smart, hardworking, and kind. adj

 

3.                My goal is to graduate, getting a good job, and I want to travel.

My goal is to graduate, (to) get a good job, and (to) travel.

My goals are graduating, getting a good job, and travelling. gerunds

gerund- ‘ing’ noun  e.g. Skiing is fun.

 

4.                The teacher asked us to finish the homework, to study for the test, and to review (the) notes.

The teacher asked us to finish the homework, study for the test, and review (the) notes.

 

He asked you INFINITIVE. He asked you to pick up the kids.

causative verbs- ask, tell, invite, get, advise, etc

She invited you to come for a hike.

causative- cause something else to happen

Tuesday, I told my daughter to put the dishes away.

 

Joke about Spanish people- Manana.

Spain has a relaxed vibe.

They take a siesta every day.

 

5.                They spent the day cleaning the house, cooking dinner, and watching movies.

6.                The new student is friendly, helpful, and caring about others.

caring- think about other people

She cares about others. She is very caring person. She is caring about others.

He is uncaring.

 

careful- avoid making mistakes, alert,

Keep your eyes open. Make wise decisions.

roofied- rufilin- drug that will knock you out

creeps- creepy guys – make you feel uncomfortable

 

7.                I enjoy to draw, painting, and to design clothes.

8.                She wants fame, to be rich, and being successful.

She wants fame, riches/wealth/money, and success.

She wants to be famous, to be rich, and to be successful.

She wants to be famous, to be rich, and to be successful.

She wants to be famous, to be rich, and to be successful. REP

 

9.                The dog was running in the yard, barking loudly, and chasing a squirrel.

The dog was running in the yard, was barking loudly, and was chasing a squirrel. REP

 

10.           He promised that he would study hard, to exercise daily, and eating healthy food.

He promised that he would study hard, exercise daily, and eat healthy food.

He promised that he would study hard, do exercise daily, and eat healthy food.

 

eat healthy food.  V ADJ N

eat healthily. V ADV

 

**

 

 

 

*Tuesday, March 10

Opportunity to replace one quiz, test, both or neither

 

*Wednesday and Thursday, March 11 &12

Midterm recommendations

 

 

 

 

 

 

**

Let’s change gears.

Let’s get into our chat groups (4-5 people)

We can discuss “Dead Man’s Path Thought Questions”

 

 

 

**

Test 3

Divider

Phones, devices away

You can have your story out for the test.

 

Write a paragraph of least 150 words on the following topic. Include quoted material.

 

 

Why did Mr. Wei, the teacher, choose to confess his mistake to his class of students?

 

 

 

 

 

**

Return Test 3