Monday, May 4, 2020 Announcements and Assignments

Monday, 5/4/20

Announcements

1. I learned today that some of you had trouble joining the meeting from the Burlington English website calendar. I'll check and see what the problem is. Meanwhile, remember that you can also join this way:

1.   Go to the Zoom.com website
2.   Click "Join a meeting"
3.   Click "Open Zoom" if you are prompted to do so
4.   Enter the meeting ID and click "Continue" (or whatever that button says)
5.   Enter the meeting password 

2. We have our last classes this week and next week (each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00 a.m.). The last day of class for the spring semester is Friday, May 15th. We will continue to work in Unit 9 ("On the Job") of the FER3 textbook and workbook this week, as well as in Burlington English (see assignments below).

3. After unit 9, there are still two units in the textbook that we have not covered. Unit 10 is called "Going to the Doctor," and unit 11 is called "Money Matters." Obviously we will not have time to cover both of these units. I would like you to vote on which unit you prefer to cover, in our last three classes next week.

Please look at the "Scope and Sequence" section at the front of your textbook, on pp. x and xi. Look over the columns that tell what units 10 and 11 cover (grammar, life skills, reading, etc.). Then send me a text or email by Friday, May 8th, to let me know which unit you vote for.


Assignments for Monday, May 4, 2020
(due Wednesday, May 6th)

NOTE: I will post the answers to homework assigned Friday, May 1st (see the previous post), on Tuesday, May 6th. /So if you missed class today (5/4/20), you can check your work there.

1. FER3 Textbook, pp. 172-173

Please skim and then read "Working the Late Shift" on p. 172. 
Then do exercises 3A, 3B, and 4 on p. 173.

2. FER3 Workbook, p. 100

Do exercises A, B, and C on p. 100.

Do not send me the two assignments above--we will go over them in class on Wednesday, May 6th, at 10 a.m.

3. Burlington English Readers

One of your assignments from last Friday, May 1st, was to choose one of the stories in the BE Readers section and read it over the weekend. Please do so if you have not yet read a story. Be sure to choose a story you find interesting, not one that bores you!

Then write four sentences about the story you chose. These sentences should tell me what story you read and what you liked or didn't like about the story. Send your sentences to me (by text or email. by Friday, May 8th.

UPDATE: The due date for this assignment has changed, to give you a little more time. Please send me your sentences by Monday, 5/11/20.

4. Burlington English Core--Lower Intermediate

This is the same course we've been working on. In section 4, lesson 6, there is a section on indefinite pronouns that will give you more practice. This is the grammar term for words such as one, ones, which one, this, that, these, and those (as shown in the FER3 Textbook, pp. 170-171, which was part of Friday's homework assignment).Like the personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, him, her, etc.), indefinite pronouns can take the place of a noun.

Please complete Lesson 4, "Money Matters," section 6 (Grammar: Indefinite Pronouns), by Wednesday, May 6th. There are 8 parts to this section, but each one is short and won't take you very long.

Read "The Lady and the Tiger" online and complete your class assignment

In the ALC (Rock Island) class, we read a story by Frank Stockton called "The Lady and the Tiger." It was taken from C.G. Draper's Great American Stories 1: An ESL/EFL Reader.

Clicking on the following link will take you to another online version of the same story. Someone has rewritten the story to make it shorter and easier, but it contains the same ideas and information as the version we read in class.

LINK: Shorter Summary Version of "The Lady and the Tiger" 

If you would like to read and listen to Frank Stockton's original version of the story at Voice of America, click on the link below. Play the video, which allows you to read and listen to the story at the same time. 

LINK: Read and listen to still another version of "The Lady and the Tiger"

HERE IS THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT FROM THE BOOK:

Writing: Three-Paragraph Composition

     1. Which came out of the opened door--the lady, or the tiger? Write down this question. Then write a paragraph that begins with this sentence: Perhaps it was the lady who came out.
Give at least three reasons why the princess chose the lady for her lover.

     2.  Write a second paragraph that begins like this: On the other hand, perhaps it was the tiger. Give at least three reasons why the princess chose the tiger.

     3. Write a third paragraph that begins with these words: Personally, I think . . .
Give your own choice. Which of the reasons that you have written is the most important to you? Why?

(The writing assignment is from Draper, C.G., Great American Stories 1: An ESL/EFL Reader. 3rd edition. New York: Pearson Education, 2001, p. 127.

Watch Tara the Cat Rescue Child from Dog Attack! Write Sentences!

Click on the link below and watch the news story: Tara the Cat Saves 4-Year-Old Boy

LINK: Tara the Cat Saves 4-Year-Old Boy

My suggestion: Write sentences about what happens in the video in past tense (active voice). Your sentences should have the subject-verb-direct object pattern. Then change the sentences you wrote into past tense, passive voice. For example:

The boy rode the tricycle. (active)

The tricycle was ridden by the boy. (passive)

Here are some nouns and verbs you might use in your sentences (in no special order)

NOUNS                    VERBS

cat                               run

dog                              chase

tricycle                        bite

car                               save

mother                        drag

camera                        film

attack                          attack

This is a screen capture (picture) of the video--click the link above to watch it.

Prewriting Methods

Do you fear writing? Find out different ways to break through your fear and begin a writing assignment by clicking the link below:

LINK: How to Begin Writing--Prewriting Methods

     

Read More About Using Semicolons for Punctuation

Read about the semicolon by clicking the link below:

LINK: How to Use Semicolons

Deciding Whether to Use Present or Past Tense of "To Be"

Sometimes it's important to use the same verb tense for your whole paragraph. For instance, if you write a paragraph about your morning routine, use simple present tense in each sentence of the paragraph. Here is an example of a paragraph written completely in the simple present tense (verbs are typed in red):

Every morning I awake at 7:00. First, I take a shower and dress. Then I eat breakfast and brush my teeth. After that I drive to work. I arrive by 9:00 a.m. and work for four hours. At 1:00 p.m., my work day is over. Sometime I run errands before I drive home. 

In some paragraphs, however, you have to change verb tenses now and then. If you are telling about your life, you will probably write about events in the past as well as information about your present life. Here is an example (present tense verbs are typed in red, but past tense verbs are in green):

My name is Pedro. I come from Mexico. I was born in Mexico City and lived there for 30 years. I came to the United States five years ago. I work part time at a grocery store and part time at a nursing home. In Mexico, I didn't complete high school. I want to return to school, and I plan to be a nurse.

Try this exercise from Englishmaven.org. Decide whether to use the present or the past tense of the verb to be. How do you decide? Look for time words in the sentence that show something happened in the past, such as yesterday, last night, when I was young, etc. These words or phrases are clues that you should use the past tense of to be. Use the present tense of to be to state facts and to refer to things that happen regularly (like habit or routine). Time words such as now and today also tell you to use the present tense.

My suggestion:  Click on the link below and try the exercise on the past and present tenses of the verb to be.

LINK: Deciding Whether to Use Present or Past Tense of "To Be"

You can also click on the following link for more information on using present versus past tense when writing.

LINK: Using Present or Past Tense in Narration

Writing a story or article in simple present tense.

We normally use the simple present tense to talk about a fact (a piece of information) or a regular habit (something that happens repeatedly or regularly) For example:

     I work at a grocery store. (fact)

     I speak English and Spanish. (fact)

     I eat breakfast at 7:00 a.m. every morning. (habit)

     My brother and I play basketball every Saturday morning. (habit)

However, we can also use the simple present to tell a story or a joke. We use present tense or present progressive to tell the story or joke in an active manner, as if it is happening at the moment. We can even tell about past events using the simple present, to create the feeling we are watching events as they unfold.

My suggestion: Click on the link below and read about using present vs. past tense in narration and about telling jokes or stories with active wording. Then do Practice 1 and Practice 2.

LINK: Using present vs. past tense in narration

Improve Your Writing--Avoid Nominalizations

A good basic rule for beginning writers is: KEEP IT SIMPLE. Don't use a lot of words or complicated grammar structures, when a few strong words will get your point across.

One mistake even advanced writers make is using a lot of abstract nouns (nouns that name ideas) as subjects. Here are some abstract nouns: demonstration, analysis, collection. Each of the nouns hides an action: demonstrate, analyze, destroy. 

When a writer hides actions inside nominalized verbs (verbs made into abstract nouns), the only place to put the subject that performed the action is into a prepositional phrase, which requires more words. For example, here are two sentences that contain nominalized verbs, passive verbs, and wordy prepositional phrases:

The destruction of the city by the Romans was followed by the driving away of its citizens.
  
The collection of samples by the scientists was achieved gradually, over a period of ten years.  

Writing is clearer when you use strong verbs, rather than abstract nouns that hide the action of a verb. Here are the same two sentences, rewritten with personal subjects and active verbs:

The Romans completely destroyed the city and then drove away its citizens.

The scientists collected samples for ten years.

Here is another pair of sentences. The first sentence uses abstract nouns (demonstration, transformation) that hide the action and thus need to use more words to name the subject. The second uses specific subjects and active verbs and doesn't overuse prepositional phrases:

1) The demonstration of a new invention, the light bulb, by Thomas Edison was followed by a transformation of the way most homes were lit.

 2) After Thomas Edison demonstrated his new light bulb, this invention soon revolutionized the way most people lit their homes.

My suggestion: Click on the first link to read about how to avoid overusing abstract nouns in your writing. Click on the second link to read more about writing clear sentences.Then try quiz 1 and quiz 2 by clicking on the Student Activity links at the bottom of the page.

Changing Nominalized Verbs into Clear Actions

Sentence Clarity and Quizzes on Nominalizations and Subject Position