Feeling overwhelmed?

I know sometimes that being a student can be challenging,  particularly so in a second language.  There is so much to do.   You can't seem to do it all.   You are frustrated by your weaknesses.   You are afraid of failure.

Studying ESL where you have only one course is simple, though,  in comparison with academic (especially MBA) programs where you are taking several different courses at once.     The key is to plan your studying, and follow the plan, paying careful attention to time management.      You should make a plan at the beginning of the week and try to follow it.

Here is an overview of the different activities you should be attending to.   When you do them and how much time you spend on them is up to you.   (Just don't leave it to the end.)

• Research paper -- ongoing -- you should be doing research and an outline now
• Debate -- in 3s,  you should be doing research and an outline
• Textbooks --   EE,  RW,   ML   -- keep up with what I assign weekly and daily
• Vocabulary -- AWL (spend some time on);  ML text and handouts;  reading vocabulary
• Blog tasks
• Reading tasks --  usually for Friday -- reading, vocabulary and questions
• Other stuff -- ex.   watch Wall Street;  complete the Critical Reading handout

You see,  it is not that complex when you write it down.   You just need to organize it in terms of time and effort.

Check your reading speed

Reading speed is an important factor in academic success.   There are many things we need to read and if we read too slowly, it is a problem.    Remember that we can use different reading speeds depending on what we are reading for and depending on the type of text we are reading.   But generally,   for academic study you should be aiming for an average reading speed of 200 words per minute (wpm).   Below 150 wpm is a problem.    This speed is with an average comprehension of 70%.   You don't need 100% comprehension.   There are many resources that can help you improve your reading speed, but first you must know what it is.  

Here is a neat website to calculate your reading speed.

A quick and easy listening practice technique

Here is a good way to practice your listening in 10-20 minutes.

You need to find a listening file (either streamed or downloaded) with an available transcript.

BBC Learning English is one good resource.    

1.   Go to this site,  and go to 6 Minute English.   Find a news story that interests you.  

2.   Download the transcript.   Select and copy and past the text into this Cloze Generator.  You may also want to print a copy of this transcript.

3.   In Cloze Generator,   choose  "Every 7th word"  (or any option you like)

4.    Print out a copy of the cloze.

5.    Study any vocabulary or questions before listening.

6.   Listen to the news story and complete the cloze.     You can check your answers in the original transcript.



Another option is to listen to the story and practice note-taking.   When you are done,  read the transcript to see if you got the main and supporting details correct.

Updated Listening Skills blog page

I've updated my listening blog page in Learning with Les.  There is additional information and links.   Please explore this when you have time.   You can find it here.

Computer Lab for February 25, 2013

Hello again.    Your tasks for today's computer lab are:

Please change your blogger comment settings.  In settings -- posts & comments -- 1)  Who can comment -- select "anyone"  2) Show word verification -- select "no".

Now the main tasks:

#1 --  Jointly,   paraphrase and summarize the reading you did on the weekend ("How to be a
          superachiever...") .   State what you liked and didn't like about the article. Choose the five qualities  
          you feel are most useful for you (both of you). (Only five qualities
          together.)  Be sure to explain why these qualities are most relevant to you.  This post should be
          between 400 and 600 words.  This is due by Thursday morning.

#2 --  Individually, in D2L -- go to discussion board and make 2 posts.  They can either both be responses,
          or one can begin a new thread/topic and the other can be a response.  This is due by Thursday
          morning.

#3 --  Individually,   read two other students blogs and post comments to these.  Do this before next
          Monday.

#4 -- Individually,   in D2L Content,  look in the section "Critical Thinking"  and watch the 2 videos on
         debating.   Although the first video is 28 minutes long,  probably 15 minutes will suffice.   These
         videos will give you context for your debating task.   Try to do this today.


Have fun learning.

The Nature of Things -- CBC Documentary

CBC has a interesting documentary on "fracking",  a relatively new and important energy extraction technology.    You can watch it here:

Evernote -- a great tool for organizing your life

Evernote is one of the best tools for organizing your life, synchronizing data between mobile devices and pcs.  

Explore the website.  Try it out.    It works well with smartphones.    Blend creativity and production.    Collaborate with others.