Notes from Friday December 12 Part 3 - The Homework

Homework from the lesson was to write a creative Christmas story, using some (not all, or it will get confusing) of the ten creative principles I went through in class. I've copied these below (under the links to past perfect exercises) so you can see them. I said there was no real word limit for this, as it was creative writing, but suggested around 300 words if you wanted one. 
The idea of the homework, apart from sharpening your creative talents, is to give you another chance to use the narrative tenses we looked at last term. Most people were ok with these, but if you want or think you need to revise particularly the past perfect again, here are some links to help you: 
http://www.teachthemenglish.com/2014/12/day-3-of-my-grammarly-christmas-past-perfect-and-past-perfect-continuous/
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/past-perfect
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-exercises/past-perfect
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/past-tense/past-perfect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQWEt3Lo358

TEN CREATIVE PRINCIPLES
Principle One: Change the dimension
Principle Two: Change the colour
Principle Three: Change the material
Principle Four: Change the place
Principle Five: Change the time
Principle Six: Change the purpose
Principle Seven: Change the velocity or type of movement
Principle Eight: Multiply
Principle Nine: Reverse Roles
Principle Ten: Animate or Personify

Happy Creativity! :) 

Notes from Friday December 12. Part 2 - A Moan

A painful bit. Only 3 students had done any of the homework from the last class, which meant (i) that I couldn't do the discussion activity I had wanted to start with, and more importantly (ii) around 75% of you hadn't done any English since your last class. It's really important that you use your English outside the classroom, and even if you're reading other things in English (I know some people read books), you need to read a variety of texts at the right level to help you get up to CAE level. Which is why I put them on the blog! :) So please do keep up with reading and listening activities when I set them for homework. 

Notes from Friday December 12. Part 1 - Thanks

Last lesson was a bit of a rough ride with all the problems with the computer, and we did well to do most of the important things I had on my lesson plan. Thanks for your patience while I was wrestling with the technology! We had it better than some classes - because I'd come in early, I had managed to get a stand-alone computer, which at least did some things I wanted it to: the ones which were connected to the network didn't work at all for most teachers. It happens sometimes with networks, and you just have to keep calm and carry on. Which for the most part we did. :) 

Lesson Notes, Friday December 5, 2014

Hi, Everyone. 

A long post, please read carefully! 

Today's lesson was based largely around the themes of happiness and what makes us happy, and we looked at the story of the autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire and his life. Just search for 'Stephen Wiltshire' on YouTube to see more videos about his amazing work. His website is here: http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/

I thought there were a few misconceptions about autism and what it means. Take a look at this New Scientist interview with Michael Barton, a high-functioning autistic university student - it's very interesting. 
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21657-mapping-the-language-minefield-for-kids-with-autism.html#.VIIwa9KsXsY
If you'd like to know more about autism and asperger's syndrome, check out this website. 
http://www.autism.org.uk/

Homework reading for this week is very nice! First, here's 'The Happiness Workout' from the man who is officially the happiest man in the world! You might be surprised when you see who he is! 
http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/68377/

For more advice on being happy, here are Pope Francis's ten recommendations: 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pope-francis-issues-top-10-tips-for-happiness-9639488.html

And (optional extra), if you have the time and inclination to be even happier, here is a short (8 minute-) but very nice interview with the Dalai Lama about happiness. And... um... gas. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUEkDc_LfKQ

Remember to tell your parents that they have the opportunity to come and talk to me about your progress on Friday December 19, and to check that the time that you chose for them is ok. Here is the Google doc with the times everyone agreed on for their parents: http://goo.gl/W8HIxG 
The times are not set in stone, and we can make any necessary changes next lesson. Please stress to your parents NOT to call customer services about the time of their appointment if they need to change it - we will deal with it directly. 

That's it. Have a happy week! :)