EF34 1st class- Intro, class structure, quizzes and tests

 

Good morning, everyone.

Welcome to your new class.

 

This is a split class:

English Foundations 3

English Foundations 4

Composition Writing 3/4

Basic Computer Skills

 

We will get started at 11:00.

 

Are you in the right place?

Do you know which class you are in? EF3 or EF4?

If you can’t remember, I can tell you.

 

We are supposed to have 30 people in class. Hopefully more people will arrive.

 

 

Teacher: Al Haley

You can call my by my first name. ‘Al’ is ok.

I will call you by your first name, if that’s ok with you.

 

This is my school email address: ahaley@vsb.bc.ca

Write it down!

 

 

We have a wide range of students- different home countries, languages, cultures. From all over the world.

 

You are welcome here.

I am very glad you are here.

 

 

 

Today’s agenda:

agenda- plan, the topics to be dicusssed

A business meeting will have an agenda.

 

·          Welcome!

·          Discuss structure of course

·          Class procedures

·          Quizzes and tests

·          Chatting

·          Homework activity

 

 

** NOTE:

Everything I put on this screen will be posted to my class blog afterward.

I will update my blog every day after class.

The blog is here: haleyshec.blogspot.com

 

Write it down! You need this URL: haleyshec.blogspot.com

 

 blog – online writing

 

You can review what we cover each day by checking the blog.

You can check the blog as much as you like. There is no sign in, no password. It’s all public and accessible. People from all over the world visit my blog. It’s cool.

Our blog is a tremendous resource that you can use. You can use it whenever you want, this term or in the future.

You can also search it for specific topics.

 

 

 

o   Go to the blog right now. Make sure you can open it.

          haleyshec.blogspot.com

haleyshec.blogspot.com

 

Open it. Bookmark it.

 

o   Let me know if you are having trouble opening my blog.

o   Any trouble getting in? We’ll figure it out. Let me know.

 

If you do not have a phone or a computer, you can use the computers in the Learning Centre, Room 203.

Also, you can use computers at the library. Vancouver Public Library is next door.

Do you have a library card?

 

https://www.vpl.ca/

-books

-audio books

-music

-movies

-ebooks

-musical instruments

 

Yes? Good!

No? Go to the library tomorrow (Tuesday). Ask for a library card.

 

 

·      Overview of course

 

·      Course dates: Monday, February 7^th to Friday, April 22. (Final day).

Monday to Friday, 11:00-1:15pm 

 

Nine weeks of class

South Hill calendar: https://www.vsb.bc.ca/Student_Learning/Adult_Education/Contact_us/Documents/Year%20at%20a%20Glance%20Calendar%202021%202022.pdf

 

Holidays – Non-instructional Days

 

·      BC Family Day - Monday, February 21^st-

·      Spring Break - Monday, March 14 – Saturday, March 26 (incl.)

·      Good Friday- Friday, April 15^th

·      Easter Monday- Monday April 18th

 

 

 ** This is a split class:

English Foundations 3

English Foundations 4

Composition Writing 3/4

Basic Computer Skills

 

Around the same level- good split.

We will all learn the same material.

I will mark the EF4 students a little but tougher than the EF3 students.

The EF3 students I will mark a little bit easier.

 

When you are successful in this class:

 

English Foundations 3 --- move up to EF4

EF4--- move up to EF5

 

Composition Writing 3/4 is an auxiliary course. You will still have to take your regular EF3 or EF4 to move up.

 

auxiliary – extra, back of your TV- AUX

 

** THE THINGS WE WILL BE STUDYING IN THIS CLASS

FOCUS OF MY CLASS

 

 * WRITING

-very important, most important for school, high school, college, university, job, life

 

Being able to write well is a wonderful gift that you can give to yourself. I can help. I will teach you. You have to do the work to learn it.

 

THREE SENTENCE TYPES

-SIMPLE

-COMPOUND

-COMPLEX

I will teach you these in great detail.

 

Other points of grammar/writing I will be teaching:

·      main and subordinate clauses

·      verbs followed by infinitives and gerunds

·      subject verb agreement

·      phrasal verbs

·      prepositional phrases

·      modal auxiliaries

·      verb tenses and verb forms

·      nouns as modifiers

·      causative verbs

·      passive and active voice

·      sentence fragments

·      run-on sentences

·      adjective form

·      appositives

 

 I teach you as much as I can in nine weeks. You don’t have to learn it all in nine weeks. Learning a language takes years.

 

All of the grammar that I teach you will be useful in your daily life in English.

 

 

 

PARAGRAPHS- different kinds of paragraphs

-         narrative paragraph – tell a personal story

-         descriptive paragraph – describe what something or someone looks like

-         process/expository paragraph -teach someone who to do somethings

-         persuasive paragraph – convince somebody, explain your opinion

-         MAYBE literary paragraph – writing about a short story

EF56- literary paragraphs

 

 

 

*READING

-         short stories

-         news articles

-         non-fiction

I like to do a mix of easier and harder challenging things to read.

 

difficult = better word ‘ challenging’

 

*LISTENING AND SPEAKING

I will be talking a lot. You will be talking too.

We will be doing a lot of group talking, group chatting. People who talk learn the language much faster than people who do not.

 

I will speak at a normal pace, slightly slower than if I were talking with my friends. It helps people to understand if you speak a bit slower than usual. For expert examples of good spaaking, listen to CBC radio, 690 am. Listen to how the announcers speak. They speak at a nice relaxed pace. Excellent pronunciation. News, interviews, interesting subjects

CBC radio, 690 AM 105.7 FM

 

Commercial radio announcers tend to talk much more quickly.

          e.g. KISS FM,

 

 

Speak as much as you want. Speak as much as you can.

IDIOM Chime in. Join the conversation.

Don’t be shy. Don’t let your shyness hold you back. Force yourself to speak out. Being quiet only holds you back. Being silent only slows down your progress.

gregarious(a) – likes to talk, happy to chat with people, chatty, talkative

 

If you are quiet and shy, that’s ok. You still need to talk to improve your English. You have to get used to communicating with people- for example, at work, socially, at school.

If you want to learn to swim, you have to jump into the pool.

Sometimes we have to push ourselves. We have to get out of our comfort zones.

Stretch yourself.

 

 

Ask as many questions as you want.

“Sorry. I have a question. May I ask a question?” YES!! You don’t have to ask. Don’t be shy.

 

I will be paying attention to who talks and who is silent.

Don’t be a Silent Sam or a Quiet Quan.

Be a Talking Tim and a Chatty Cathy.

chatty – like to talk, talks easily

 

****************************************

 

YOUR MARKS WILL COME FROM THESE:

 

QUIZZES- 6 points each- worth about 26-28% of your mark

 

Quiz1- 6 simple sentences

Quiz2- 6 compound sentences

Quiz3- 6 complex sentences with adverb clauses

Quiz4- 6 complex sentences with noun clauses

Quiz5- 6 complex sentences with adjective clauses

Vocabulary for the quizzes will come from the non-fiction and news articles we read together in class. We will the vocabulary together as a class.

 

3-4 other quizzes- Listening quizzes- I will ask some easy questions. You will write down the one-word answer.

e.g.

1. Does a cat have feathers?

1. No.

2. How many sided does a square have?

2. Four

 

After we have finished all of the quizzes, there will be an opportunity for a replacement quiz, with which you may replace one of your quiz marks. The replacement quiz will cover all of the sentence types, not just the topic of the quiz you are replacing. You will have to sign up for this replacement quiz.

 

 TESTS- 12 points each- worth about 55-58% of your mark

 

Test1,2,3,4,5?- 100-150 word paragraphs on the topic we are covering at the time.

After we have finished all of the tests, there is a POTENTIAL opportunity for a replacement test, with which you may replace one of your test marks. The replacement test will cover a new topic, not the topic of the test you are replacing.

You will have to sign up for this replacement test.

 

2 Class presentations- You come up to the front of the class and tell us about some topic. 12 points eachL: 6 points for writing, 6 points for speaking

 

 

EXTRAS, BONUS – 2-5%

Little things, HW, extra task

 

SPOKEN WORK, PARTICIPATION, BEING ACTIVE IN CLASS- worth

around 10-15%

 

 

The pass mark in BC is 50%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARKS 

-Quizzes

sentence types

listening

-Tests

paragraphs

presentations

-Spoken

-Extras

 

SPOKEN SECTION

Small group chatting. (4-5 people together)

chat- talk, small talk,

IDIOM chew the fat -casual talking with friends

  

A.   Introduce yourself to your partner.

Possible topics:

1.          Name

2.          Home

3.          Family

4.          Job

5.          Travel

6.          Hobbies

7.          Future plans

 

LATER - Be prepared to introduce yourself to the class.

I will give everyone a number between 1 and 5. All the 1s will make a group. All the 2s will make a group, etc.

 

Chatting is in English.

 

 

 

Tuesday Agenda

·      8 Parts of Speech

·      Begin simple sentences

·      Personal introductions- written and spoken

·