Final class this term

Despite snow and bus related issues we managed to talk about our news articles today in class. We also read an article about the Stockholm suicide bomber from www.thelocal.se

Merry x-mas and a happy new year, everyone!

See you again 12 of January 2011.

Homework for Friday 17 December

For Friday's class I want you to find a news article in English. Be prepared to talk about your news item in groups. You can take a look here for articles or anywhere else you like. Make sure you state your source and that you are able to talk about your article, not just read it.

Questions "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"

We will discuss the following questions today in class. For those of you who have seen the movie but will not be in class today (and for those of you on "praktik") please answer the questions in the comments section below this post. Type as "anonymous" if you don't have a Google account but write your first name below your post so I know who you are.

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Discuss in English and write down short answers to the following questions in groups.

1. Discuss 3-4 key scenes in the movie that you remember specifically. Describe what happens. Explain why these scenes are important.

2. Describe the characters Arnie, Gilbert, Becky, the two sisters Amy and Ellen and the mother + the role of the dead father.

3. Explain the different relationships within the Grape family.

4. How does Gilbert change after meeting Becky?

5. Arnie says: ”I can go any time”. What do you think he means by that?

6. Gilbert says: ”Some days you want him to live, some days you don't.” Can you understand that Gilbert feels that way about Arnie?

7. Sum up what you think the overall message of this movie is.

8. Did you like the movie? Why/why not?

Reminder: Speaking assignment due 17 December

This task only applies to the students who are currently doing their "praktik".

I want you to make a recording (a sound file or a short movie) where you talk about your "praktik" (internship) in English. You can choose to talk on your own, or together with a friend. If you like, you can interview each other in English about what you are doing and what you think about your position as an intern (praktikant). You need to talk for at least 3 minutes/person. A cell phone recording should be fine.

Send your sound file or movie to me via Pednet (you may need to compress the file a bit if it's too large) asa.falk@pub.malmo.se

Please let me know if you have any questions.

This task is due no later than Friday 17 December.

Movie part 2

Today we finished watching the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (The Swedish title is only "Gilbert Grape").

On Wednesday we will discuss it in class and you will also be given some questions on the movie to answer in writing.

I will also post the questions here on the blog for you to answer in the comments section to that post. More on that later.

Movie: What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Today we started watching the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape. It's a great movie where a very young Leonardo Di Caprio plays a mentally challenged kid and Johnny Depp plays his older brother. On Friday we will watch the end of the movie.

For those of you who were not in class or if you are on "praktik" try to get your hands on the movie and watch it. I will post some questions for you to answer on the blog next week.

Picture: www.cdon.com

Conversation

Today we talked a bit more about the text The Children. After that I gave you a whole pile of conversation topics to discuss in pairs or in groups. I think all of you did a good job speaking English today.

Today's class

Here are the correct answers for today's homework:

Page 73

1. G
2. C
3. I
4. J
5. B
6. E
7. F
8. D
9. A
10. H

1. taken up
2. liven things up
3. grow up
4. chat up..chatted up
5. made up
6. get up
7. bring up
8. cracked up
9. speak up
10. break up

Translation page 74

Sister Condron was very strict to the girls in the choir. She told them to not use any make up until they arrived to/at the concert hall. She also thought that colored shoe laces were ridiculous. If the girls tried to argue against her she yelled ”be quiet” as loudly as she could.

Sister C was also very annoyed that the girls had more than one ear ring in each ear and considered it to be a hysterical fad. According to the rules of the school they were just allowed to have one ear ring per ear.

The tennis court was a special problem. That was where the girls got in touch with boys from a protestant school and therefore the girls were not allowed to be there.

The singing competition in Edinburgh was very important to Sister C. She was proud of her school and wanted her students to see themselves as the school's representatives/ambassadors.

Everybody counted on the girls in their senior year/graduation class would win. The girls themselves prioritized other things. Above all they wanted to have some fun. 

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We also read the text The Children on page 78-83 in your textbook. Please read it for Friday if you were not in class today. 

Homework for those of you on "praktik"

This task only applies to the students who are currently doing their "praktik".

I want you to make a recording (a sound file or a short movie) where you talk about your "praktik" (internship) in English. You can choose to talk on your own, or together with a friend. If you like, you can interview each other in English about what you are doing and what you think about your position as an intern (praktikant). You need to talk for at least 3 minutes/person. A cell phone recording should be fine.

Send your sound file or movie to me via Pednet (you may need to compress the file a bit if it's too large) asa.falk@pub.malmo.se

Please let me know if you have any questions.

This task is due no later than Friday 17 December.

New web site

Have you guys seen our school's new web site? It looks great, I think!

Girls Want To Have Fun

Today we listened to a crazy reading of the story Girls Want To Have Fun (page 66-71) in class. We also did the exercises on page 72 together.

Homework for Wednesday, 1 December is to do the exercises on page 73 + the translation (exercise D) on page 74.

Please be on time for class, especially on Friday mornings. I will close the door when class starts from now on.

Can you believe that the new "City-tunnel signs" in Malmö had this grammatical error in English? The signs will now be replaced...

Picture: www.sydsvenskan.se

Today's class + important information

Today some of the students shared their stories about an unexpected/interesting meeting. Kudos to those of you who were brave enough to share. Those of you who have not written your story yet, please e-mail it to me today. For instructions, see post below.

We also did the listening exercise on page 62-63.

Please note: English class on Wednesday, 24 November is cancelled due to different activities. 

Homework for Friday, 26 November: Study the text Girls Want to Have Fun (page 66-71). Study the words for the text as well (page 240-241).

Writing: An unexpected/interesting meeting

Today I talked to you individually about your current "grade" in this course. 

Today's task was to write a text of about 250 words about a meeting with someone special/interesting. 

An unexpected/interesting meeting

Write a text of about 250 words (write more if you like) where you describe a meeting with a specific person. Describe the meeting in as much detail as possible. Explain why this meeting was special to you.  

Read your texts aloud in groups.

Choose one text/group to be read to the class.

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Homework for those of you who are on "praktik" and those of you who were not in class today: Follow the instructions above. Bring your text to class on Friday, 19 November or e-mail it to me at asa.falk@pub.malmo.se if you cannot be here on Friday (that is if you are on APU).  

An Unexpected Guest

Today we read the text An Unexpected Guest on page 55-58 in your book. This text + the words on p 239 - 240 is your homework for Wednesday, 17 November. 


Also make sure that you answer the questions "Check your reading" on page 59 for Wednesday's class.

Tricky sentences

Today we translated these sentences into English. The grammatical rule that applies here is the rule about uncountable nouns in English. Some nouns like advice, money, evidence etc only appear in the singular in English, but usually in the plural in Swedish. Here Swedish speakers tend to go wrong in English. 

The other rule is the rule about the use of "det" in English. Here you need to use it, there is or there are. In some cases you need to rewrite the sentence in a completely different way (like in sentence number 14). 

1. Jag gillar skolan men knappast alla läxorna.

I like school but hardly all the homework.

2. Robin fick en stor applåd när han sjöng ”Yesterday”.

Robin received a huge round of applause when he sang ”Yesterday”.

3. Han blev frisläppt eftersom det inte fanns några bevis på att han var skyldig.

There was no proof that he was guilty so he was released. He was released since there was no evidence that he was guilty.

4. Lyssna aldrig på goda råd, om de inte är bra förstås.

Never listen to good advice unless it is good, of course.

5. Pengar är viktigt i livet, eller hur?

Money is important in life, isn't it?

6. Flickan på resebyrån gav oss en del värdefulla upplysningar om vår resa till Grekland.

The girl at the travel agency gave us some useful information about our trip to Greece.

7. Gamla möbler är ibland både vackrare och billigare än nya.

Old furniture is sometimes both more beautiful and cheaper than new ones.

8. Toni har goda kunskaper om amerikansk musik.

Toni has great knowledge of American music.

9. Vem är den där killen där borta? Det är Pete, min lillebror. Who's that guy over there? That's Pete, my little brother.

10. Det finns massor av trevliga människor där vi bor.

There are a lot of nice people where we live.

11. Jag tror inte att det finns något speciellt budskap i den här filmen.

I don't think there is a special message in this movie.

12. Det verkar vara något mystiskt med den där mannen.

There seems to be something mysterious about that man.

13. Det återstår en hel del arbete innan vi är klara.

There is still much work to do until we are finished. Some work remains before we're done.

14. Tycker du verkligen att det är gott med hamburgare?

Do you really like hamburgers?

15. Det hände en massa roliga saker när vi var i New York förra sommaren.

A lot of fun things happened when we were in NY last summer.

16. Vad kallt det är! Jag fryser om både händer och fötter.

It's so cold! Both my hands and feet are freezing.

17. Det blev rött ljus när vi kom fram till korsningen.

The lights turned red when we arrived at the intersection.

18. Det står just nu två-noll till Manchester United.

The score is two-nil/two-zero/two-nothing to Man U. 

Listening class

Toady I informed you of the dates for the national test of English B. The writing test (an essay) will be on Friday, 6 May 2011 and the reading + listening test will be on Thursday, 12 May 2011.

We did a couple of listening comprehensions from a sample national test today in class. You can find them all here.

Please remember to bring your text book for the upcoming classes.

Have a nice mid-term break!

Speaking class

Today's class was devoted to speaking. In groups you talked about what causes stress in you and other people. I listened to you and you all seem to have a good flow when it comes to speaking English. You are also good at expressing yourselves in an every-day-type situation. What we need to work on is some grammar. I heard a few "she have", for example ;)

Speaking preparation

Today we looked at an article about the recent shootings that have occurred in Malmö. The article appeared in the online paper called The Local where you can read Swedish news in English.

On Wednesday, 27 October you will do a speaking exercise in groups. We prepared for that by reading the material from an old national test. The speaking assignment is about stress. Please make sure you read the material here and here.

Questions Dead Poets Society + course information

Today we read the Wikipedia article on Dead Poets Society and you answered four questions on the movie in writing.

For those of you who will do "praktik" this term and next term, make sure you check the blog on a regular basis to keep you updated on the reading in the course. I will post everything we do in class on the blog and it's your responsibility to do the work.

Dead Poets Society part 2

Today we finished watching the movie in class. That final scene always makes me cry...

On Wednesday you will be given some questions on the movie to respond to. If you were not here to see the movie this week, please make sure you see it on your own before Wednesday. The questions will be general questions on the movie and your personal response to it.

Movie part 1

Today we watched the first half of the movie Dead Poets Society. Make sure you come to class on Friday to watch the other half. See you then!

Word list and chapter 2

Today we made a word list together (see the post below). These words will be your homework for Wednesday, 20 October. We also read chapter 2 of Dead Poets Society.

On that same day (20 October) I will give you some questions to answer on the movie Dead Poets Society.

The classes on Wednesday 13 October + Friday 15 October will be devoted to watching the movie in class. Be sure to come to class so you don't miss the movie.

Check your e-mail for response on your "Everyday Hero"-text.

Words Ch 1 Dead Poets Society

nestled = to settle and snuggle comfortably, (inbäddat)
dais = a podium (podium/scen)
reverberation = an echo (genljud)
strolling = walking around (promenera)
cluster = a bunt of (klunga)
aisle = a walkaway between a section of seats (mittgång)
husky = coarse (hes)
a robe = a costume (dräkt)
beamed = glowed, shone/shined (strålade)
gaze = a look (blick)
subside = sink (sjunka)
octogenerian = someone in their 80's (åttioåring)
alumnae = a former student at a school (f d elev)
smugly =  (självbelåtet)
vicar = priest (kyrkoherde)
fervent = passionate (passionerad)
acknowledgement = when you admit something (erkännande)
scholarly = a person with an academic degree (lärd, vetenskaplig)
tense = uptight (spänd)
quiver = shake (darra, skaka)
squirmed = move in an uncomfortable way(skruva på sig)
pay no heed = show no attention (inte visa någon uppmärksamhet)
distinguished = stylish (stilfull)
stiffly = rigidly (stelt)
faculty = a department in a university (fakultet)
dorm = where university student live (studentboende)

Introduction to Dead Poets Society + homework

Today we did an oral quiz of today's homework. I asked you to talk about the story "What's Hiding in The Dark" and we explained a few words and expressions from the text in English.

After that we did the translation exercise at the bottom of page 44 in your book.

For the next couple of weeks we will read an extract from the book Dead Poets Society and we will also watch the movie in class. Today we started reading the first chapter in the book. We also underlined words and expressions from that chapter.

Your homework for Friday 8 October is to make a word list of the words that you underlined and write down either an English or a Swedish explanation to the words. Be prepared to tell me which words you have looked up and give me an explanation in English or a translation to the words.

What's Hiding in the Dark?

Today we read the chapter "What's Hiding in the Dark?" (page 38 - 42) It's about a forensic scientist who is working on a case involving a serial killer. We also finished the exercise "Check your reading A" on page 43.

This text is your homework for Wednesday 6 October. Look up the words on p 237 - 238. They will help you understand the text. Make sure you understand the text and that you are able to explain what it's about. Also be sure that you are able to explain words and expressions from the text in English.
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We talked about the characteristics of a serial killer. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_killer

If you haven't e-mailed me your text about an everyday hero (for instructions, se post below), be sure to do so during the course of the day.

Homework for Friday, 1 October

Write a text of about 300 words where you explain what a hero is to you. Write about someone who is or might be an everyday hero. Hand it in on Friday or e-mail your text to me before Friday's class: asa.falk@pub.malmo.se

Practice vocabulary

Here is a link to a site where you can practice words online. The words are from your text book Shortcuts and here are some useful web sources for you:

http://www1.bonline.se/shortcuts/

Today's class

Today in class we talked about what makes a hero. We agreed that a hero is someone who does something extraordinary in one way or another. It could be a policeman, a fire fighter or just anyone who performs an achievement out of the ordinary. We also talked about "everyday" heroes who do extraordinary things that may be left unnoticed by many.

We read the text Highway Inferno (page 30 - 33) and answered the questions 1-5, exercise A on page 34 together.

Homework for Wednesday 29 September: Read the text Highway Inferno a few times. Make sure you understand it. Be prepared to talk about the text in class. Think about what makes a hero for you personally and in our society at large.

Our English B blog

Today we have created this blog for English B. Here I will be posting course information and other course related material.