Visit to Auckland University's ELSAC

On Thursday we'll visit the university's ELSAC. We are scheduled to leave the classroom at 10.50am tomorrow in order to arrive at ELSAC, next to the University Bookstore, which is on campus. We'll be back by 12.40am. For more information please visit Auckland University's ELSAC page.

Test (25/11/09): writing, listening & reading

Please check back tomorrow for your results. I will email the tapescript to those who sat the test.

Announcement: Wednesday's Class

Jennifer, Module 4A's teacher, will be away for the rest of the week. For this reason, the IELTS class and Jennifer's Topics Class will combine. Unfortunately, we will not be able to do the test we had scheduled for Wednesday's class, but we will do some reading & speaking that will be relevant for both classes.

Homework Answers p130...Nicole's writing answer

Tonight's reading is related to today's writing topic: In defence of history.

2) Answer = D

3) 1 b (lines 10-14)
2 A (lines 19-20)
3 C (lines 23-26)
4 A (lines 38-39)
5 C (lines 48-51)
6 A (lines 58-61)


4)1 a 2 b 3 a 4 b 5 b 6 a

5) 1 unbiased 2 analogous 3 consequently 4 perceive 5 succession 6 recognition

____________________________________________________________________________

Today in class, we wrote an essay (task 2). As mentioned, here's my personal answer:

The world is becoming increasingly aware of the existence of other cultures living on the same planet. This essay will argue that although it is preferable that as many of us as possible are aware of other cultures, it is not vital for everyone to study foreigh hisory and culture.

In this age of political correctness, it is appropriate that people understand the cultural history of others in the world around them. This understanding is thought to promote respect between people and represents the fertilizer from which peace and harmony spring. Knowledge of other cultures also allows one to be in a position to assist others in a multi-cultural community. As one gains insight into a different culture and its history, they can gain advantages such as the ability to do international business, avoid political clashes that can result from ignorance and miscommunication.

Coming from a contrary perspective, it can be argued that there is no advantage in learning about other cultures and history with regard to keeping peace. The Roman philosopher Apuleius once said that familiarity breeds contempt, while rarity wins admiration. He may have a valid point when it comes to race relations in countries such as Lebanon, where different religions and sects have lived side by side for centuries, with an awareness of each others' customs language and culture, and yet no real progress in regards to peace.

Furthermore, in the modern age of information technology, it is unnecessary to be intimately acquainted with a multitude of cultures. Should one need the tools of communication or social etiquette needed to do business with another country, there are a multitude of tools available. The internet is a wealth of knowledge, as are translation services. Whatismore, with the spread of globalisation, the world is becoming as one, culturally and linguistically. Minority languages are disappearing and people are beginning to operate within the framework of what is internationally acceptable, with certain cultural norms dominating others.

(Conclusion to come)

Listening Test: Answers & Results (Thurs 19/11/09)

Today's in-class Listning Test came from Cambridge Practice Tests for IELTS 1 and answers are as follow.

Practice Test 3:
Listening Section 1

1 B 2 D 3 C 4 A 5 Richard Lee 6 30 Enmore Road 7 Newport 8 Architecture 9 LJX058K 10 Ford 11 C 12 (on the) (front) window/windscreen

Section 2
13 November 1991
14 (historic) ships
15 green arrows
16 information desk
17 stairs to climb//lots of stairs
18 every hour
19 Captain Cook
20 the sea
21 Australian artists/painters
22 $70
23 souvenirs

Section 3
24 B 25 C 26 D 27 A
28 law has changed//law changes//changes in law
29 (powerful) computer programs
30 from home (computer)
31 hotels/hotel beds/rooms
32 hire cars

Section 4
33 displays//products//displays and products
34 (hidden) TV cameras
35 recorder//recording
36 'Spaceman'
37 position//shelf//spot//place
38 walk (straight/right) past//ignore//pass
39 at eye level//near customers' eyes
40 hotspots
41 special offers
42 chocolates

________________________________________________________
TEST RESULTS

25 , your listening test result was 19 out of 42.

21, your listening test result was 20 out of 42.

99 , your listening test result was 26 out of 42.

08 , your listening test result was 23 out of 42.

01, your listening test result was 30 out of 42.

66 , your listening test result was 27 out of 42.

88, your listening test result was 37 out of 42.

17, your listening test result was 36 out of 42.

00, your listening test result was 27 out of 42.

20, your listening test result was 28 out of 42.

14 , your listening test result was 29 out of 42.

Today's speed reading site in S5

http://www.freereadingtest.com/free-reading-test.html

Eels...pronunciation...test tomorrow

EELS
Today we talked about eels and their breeding cycle. For more on NZ eels, follow this link. The oldest eel

PRONUNCIATION
Today's words to practice were:
love / lev (which is Bulgarian currency) / live (v.) / leave

LISTENING TEST & VOCAB TEST TOMORROW
We've got a 30 min listening test tomorrow and a Vocab test tomorrow too. Please refer to Week 9 Vocabulary.

Homework Answers (worksheet - unit 15)

Reading homework:
2) 1 B (lines 9-10)
2 A (lines 18-23)
3 D (lines 39-41)
4 D (lines 54-55)
5 B (lines 56-60)

Vocaqbulary
3) 1 a website
2 pain
3 an illness (a battle is also possible)
4 medicine
5 the world
6 an illness (pain is also possible)
7 values (approach, assumptions and context are also possible)
8 context (approach and light are also possible)
9 light (approach and context are also possible)
10 approach (context and light are also possible)
11 assumptions (values is also possible)
12 judgements

4) 1 experience 2 diagnose 3 treat 4 appreciate 5 relate 6 practise (American English is practice) 7 complement 8 assume 9 respond 10 progress

5) 1 resistance 2 perception 3 assumptions 4 consultation 5 assessment 6 Failure

WEEK 9 Vocabulary List - 50 words

This week's vocabulary is from units 17.1-18.2 of our text book. These words are also from the Academic Word List.

adjustment
annual
approaching
aspects
conclude
consequent
considerable
construction
context
contributed
culture
cycle
conducted
debate
definable
defining
detection
distinction
enable
establish
estimated
ethnic
evident
evolved
generation
identical
illogical
inconsistent
indicate
inherent
institutions
integral
labouring
manual
method
migrant
migration
migratory
occurring
orientation
recreate
regional
restricted
reversing
seek
source
subsidise
techniques
tradition
unstable

Writing Test Results

Here are the writing test results:


14 you got 15 out of 20 for task 1 and 9.5 out of 20 for task 2.
99 you got 16 out of 20 for task 1 and 14.5 out of 20 for task 2.
08 you got 13.5 out of 20 for task 1 and 15.5 out of 20 for task 2.
66 you got 17 out of 20 for task 1 and 13.5 out of 20 for task 2.
17 you got 17 out of 20 for task 1 and 14.5 out of 20 for task 2.
00 you got 16 out of 20 for task 1 and 15.5 out of 20 for task 2.
14 you got 17.5 out of 20 for task 1 and 14.5 out of 20 for task 2.
21 you got 16 out of 20 for task 1 and 0 out of 20 for task 2.
25you got 15.5 out of 20 for task 1 and 13 out of 20 for task 2.

RESULTS: Reading Test (12/11/09) / Test Answers

Today's reading test answers are as follow:

1 viii 2 i 3 ix 4 iii 5 vi 6 motlen glass//ribbon of glass//molten glass ribbon
7 belt of steel//steel belt//moving belt
8 (lightbulb) moulds
9A 10B 11A 12C 13A 14E 15G 16A 17C 18F 19D 20A 21S 22M 23S
24 (it has) double(d)//doubling
25 de-layering
26 demographic trends
27 employers
28 YES 29 NO 30 NO 31 NOT GIVEN 32 vi 33 iii 34 i 35 ii

RESULTS:

25 your result is 15 out of 35.
21 your result is 10 out of 35.
18 your result is 16 out of 35.
14 your result is 14 out of 35.
99 your result is 12 out of 35.
08 your result is 17 out of 35.
01 your result is 18 out of 35.
66 your result is 31 out of 35.
17 your result is 25 out of 35.
13 your result is 26 out of 35.
00 your result is 20 out of 35.
14 your result is 24 out of 35.

These/those/that/this...& reported speech

Today a question came up regarding the use of these/those and this/that.

Try these examples:

1) More sport has become, in effect, a branch of the etertainment and advertising industry, and the top performers in sports such as golf, tennis, football and track atheletics can expect to become very rich. ________ in itself worries some people.

2) Even among hard-working office workers in the company, there are _____ who believe that a promotion is almost impossible.

3) Rugby and netball: __________ are the most popular sports amongst young New Zealanders.


ANSWERS
1 This 2 those 3 these

For more on this, go to p 142 in your book (the section is half way down the page under Unit 14).


REPORTED SPEECH

Try this quiz on reported speech

Homework Answers (worksheet - unit 13)

Reading
2)1 collision 2 destruction 3 research 4 suggestion 5 device 6 data 7 nature 8 core 9 risk 10 action 11 effect 12 shift 13 result 14 force

Extra H/W (worksheet)
Grammar
3)1 will be passing /will pass
2 will be affected
3 will be travelling
4 will be learned/learnt
5 will never be
6 will be altered

Vocabulary
4)1 causing 2 hazards 3 impact 4 orbit 5 outcome 6 proximity 7 implications (The horizontal word is gravitational.)

Extra, Extra Homework:
p110-111

2) a the 2 for/of 3 it 4 its 5 to 6 this/that 7 been 8 themselves 9 would 10 their 11 who 12 so

3)1 will be spending / will spend
2 will award
3 will have worked/will have been working
4 will have earned

4)1 danger 2 success 3 a/the belief/persception 4 nature 5 denial6 a/the perception/belief

5) 1 unfair income distribution
2 acute labour shorages
3 high living standards
4 influential, shrinking market sector
5 high, unfair taxation levels

6) 1 being triggered 2 have resulted 3 have suffered 4 has contributed

7) Possible answers

B In a nutshell, an assessment of private income will define the extent of state support of the over 65s.
C Without going into detail, natural disasters may influence an individual's perception of risk.
D Briefly, human beings differ in their personality traits, both positive and negative.

Homework Answers p102-103

p102-103 READING
1E, 2B, 3G, 4A example 5F, 6C, 7D, 8E, 9D

Extra H/W READING (continued from the reading we did in class)
p104-105

7 YES (para A)
8 NOT GIVEN (para B)
9 NO (para C)
10 NG (para D)
11 YES (para E)
12 YES (para F)
13 NO (para G)

4)a respond 2 determined 3 consequences 4 inherent 5 dilemma 6 manifests

15.2 p 101

6 In the first sentence of each pair, the noun is countable, and refers to one instance.
In the second sentence of each pair,the noun is uncountable, and refers to the concept in general.

7 a) uncountable b) countable
8) 1a 2a 3- 4an 5a 6- 7- 8a 9a 10-
9)1 acceptance 2 existence 3 consideration 4 thought 5 certainty 6 suspicion

Week 8 Vocabulary List

Here are the words to learn in week 8. Again, all the words are taken from our text book (units 15.1-16.2), and they're all from the Academic Word List:
adulthood
alternatives
analysing
assess
circumstance
coincidence
community
complex
component
consequences
contemporary
contribute
denial
detection
dimensions
dissimilar
distinct
distortions
dramatic
enormous
environment
equipment
error
evaluating
factor
granted
identified
impact
income
inherent
injuries
investigator
involve
irrational
legislation
major
modification
perception
predicted
psychology
random
reinforcement
reliable
researcher
signify
similarly
strategies
technology
theory
unaware

We'll test these on Thursday.

Homework Answers p95 & p91

p95 Answers:

3)1a 2c 3a 4a 5b 6c 7b

4)1 each: cause of social change
2 those: individuals and whole families
3 this: the massive contribution of immigrants to the culture of the receiving country
4 these: big families
5 others: changes
6 one: a family

5
Rewritten essay extract:
Today's students have to deal with a number of problems. THESE include an acute shortage of affordable accommodation and rising debt. To supplement their finances, students are often forced to work long hours and THIS will more often than not affect the quality of their college work. Even if the students manage to get a good degree, THEY then face declining job prospects, WHICH are particularly poor for those in arts and humanities.

6) 1 ...small ones
2 ...8 million of them/these
3 ...the individuals themselves
4 ...makes her
5 Some claim...others disagree
6 ...which was more than
7 For those who....

EXTRA H/W: Reading p 91
1=E (paragraph 2)
2=K (paragraph 4)
3=I (paragraph 3)
4=C (paragraph 1)
5=L (paragraph 4)
6=D (paragraph 2)
7=B (example)
8=H (paragraph 3)
9=F (paragraph 2)


NB/ I haven't checked h/w over the last few days. If you have any questions, there will be time on Monday to check this and p89, 93 & 95 - the past few days' homework.

Homework Answers p 93 Vocabulary

Homework was #6 and #7, but here are the vocab answers for the whole page, FYI:

4) 1 living standards: the amount of weatlth and comfort (accommodation, possessions, etc.) people have in a particular society.
2 labour shortages: a lack of people available to work
3 social expenditure: the money spent by government at a national or local level to provide care and facilities for citizens in need
4 standard of living: (see #1)
5 role(s): the position or purpose of a person or organisation
6 market sector: a defined part of the population that is targeted commercially

5) 1 enhanced living standards
2 serious labour shortages
3 associated social expenditure
4 acceptable standard of living
5 respective roles
6 influential market sector

6) 1 rising living standards
2 acute labour shortages
3 related social expenditure
4 satisfactory standard of living
5 corresponding roles
6 powerful market sector

7)1 enhanced is the opposite of DECLINING
2 serious is the opposite of NEGLIGIBLE
3 associated is the opposite of UNCONNECTED
4 acceptable is the opposite of INADEQUATE
5 (there's no opposite) - perhaps the closest opposite word is "opposing" e.g. the opposing team played a good game
6 influential is the opposite of INEFFECTUAL


EXTRA H/W:
Worksheet Unit 9
Reading
2)1 T (lines 9-10)
2 T (lines 15-16)
3 F (lines 22-23)
4 T (lines 26-27)
5 F (lines 37-38)
6 F (lines 48-50)

3)1 NG, 2 YES, 3 YES, 4 YES, 5 NG, 6 YES

Vocabulary
4) 1e 2c 3f 4b 5a 6g 7h 8d

Writing
5) 1 One 2 another 3 a third 4 not only 5 but also 6 Among 7 Alongside 8 thus

Grammar
6) 1 Ben could scarcely have known about the road closures as he doesn't drive.
2 The traffic lights had no sooner turned green before they went back to red again.
3 I have rarely visited as beautiful a city as Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
4 I hardly need to add that all mobile phones should now be switched off.
5 There was barely enough room for everyone who boarded the bus.

Questions in class today - vocabulary

The homework answers are coming later today....

Meanwhile, today a few students had some questions regarding vocabulary. One of the words was "role". If you'd like to read an article on the role of teachers and students, there's one here. Another question that came up in class were the other names for "ER" (emergency room). New Zealanders talk about the A&E (accident and emergency). Other synonyms are: ICU (intensive care unit), critical care facility, emergency, emergency clinic, intensive care unit, medical crisis unit, trauma center, triage room ...

Lastly, someone asked about which option is correct:
a) Based on asumptions of continued low fertility, combined with the fact that people are generally living longer with each generation, Australia's population is projected to continue ageing.
b) Based on asumptions of continued low fertility, combined with people are generally living longer with each generation, Australia's population is projected to continue ageing.
c) Based on asumptions of continued low fertility, combined with people generally living longer with each generation, Australia's population is projected to continue ageing.

Answer: a & c are correct, but b is unacceptable. The reason is that you need VERBing after a prepostion (ie with + VERBing). An alternative is to place "the fact that" + normal sentence [ie a subject + verb + the rest of the sentence]. Answer "b" is neither of these, so it's wrong.

EXTRA INFO
"Based on assumptions of continued low fertility" and "combined with the fact that people are generally living longer with each generation" are subordinate clauses.

Follow the link for more on subordinate clauses and examples.

Extra Reading - try reading the news

LOCAL NZ NEWS
If you'd like to practise reading and are interested in current affairs, http://www.stuff.co.nz/ was awarded Best Media Site 2009, and is a popular local news source.

LOCAL NEWS FROM YOUR COUNTRY
If you're interested in keeping up with local news from your country, the Chosun news from Korea is available in English.
Swedish news is available in English from www.thelocal.se . Chinese news is also available in English, as is Taiwanese news,Saudi news andwww.arabnews.com is also available. Here's a Japanese site and it was also possible to source a Brazilian one. The news from Thailand is available in English at http://www.bangkokpost.com/ and the http://www.thejakartapost.com/ has the latest on news from Indonesia.

NEWS FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS/LEARNERS
If you're interested in language learning and teaching The Guardian is a well-known British newspaper that has created a website for English Teachers.


ADDITIONAL READING PRACTISE
For extra practise, here are some texts available on the internet that aren't exactly like IELTS tests, but practise reading and comprehension.
Reading #1, and here are 34 reading texts with comprehension questions. You can click on a word and the dictionary definition will come up. You can also do the reading as a test or as practise.

Tony Buzan - someone with an amazing memory

A student asked about something in a Simpsons episode he'd seen on TV. I believe that the following clip is the person referred to. His name is Tony Buzan. If you're interested in creating your own mind maps online, there's a free online tool to do this called http://bubbl.us/edit.php.

If you're interested in improving your memory, here are some light-hearted games that may help you.

More on comets & asteroids

Today we asked what the difference is between a comet and an asteroid. If you haven't been to Auckland Stardome, check it out. It's a good place to absorb vocabulary regarding space exploration. Shows take place at night and tickets are around $16.


Vredefort Crater is located in South Africa. It's the largest crater in the world. For more reading material on this crater, click here.

Homework p89 & Extra Homework (worksheet 9)

Exercise 7 Answers:

1 will have been travelling 2 won't reach 3 will be approaching 4 will cause
5 will be formed 6 will take/will be taking 7 will be found 8 will terminate / will be terminated
9 will have passed 10 will be making


Extra Homework
Worksheet 9

Reading
2) 1=D (lines 17-19)
2=C (lines 22-28)
3=D (lines 42-43)
4=B(lines 57-58)
5=A (lines 60-62)

3) Vocabulary
Across
1 manipulation
2 informant
3 precise
4 ritual
5 vehemently
6 interpret
7 lore
8 taboos
9 omen
10 trance
11 role
12 tale
13 shaman
14 tribe
15 heresy

Grammar
4) 1 Could my bad dream last night have been due to that cheese I ate?
My bad dream last night couldn't have been due to that cheese I ate, could it?
2 The fact that you cannot remember your dreams might be reversible, mightn't it?
Mightn't your inability to remember dreams be reversible?
3) David's dream couldn't have been caused by watching that film.
There's no way that David'sdream could have been caused by watching that film.