Paul Krugman and Joe Scarborough debate on Charlie Rose

Here is the video link for the debate your final listening quiz was based on:

Click here

Final thoughts and tips (Part 1)

As we near the end of AP5,  you may have noticed (rightly) a certain emphasis on listening and reading coming from me.   This is because for many (most?) of you, these are your main weaknesses based on tests and self-analysis, and they are critically important to your future academic success in English.   Of course, they are founded on a solid vocabulary base that I hope you continue to build and reinforce.

Please continue to practice listening and reading outside of your required academic tasks.   I have shared some favourite resources with you through the semester.  

One of my favourites, of course, is Charles Adler. (charlesadler.com)  His radio podcasts provide a wonderful variety of dialogues and conversations on a variety of topics of interest.    (Remember,  dialogue is better than monologue and a conversation is better than a speech.   Adler demonstrates this.)

Here is a recent podcast about Generation Y.

Another of my favourite listening resources is Charlie Rose (charlierose.com),  a somewhat more serious interviewer.   His interviews and panel discussions are in video form.    Here is one with the author of the
 e-book I downloaded yesterday.  And here is the author/book's blog.  Try to find the flowchart/graphic about habit.

Urbanization Rates

There are some interesting demographic differences among the nations represented in our class.

from Index Mundi,  in particular this webpage ,  select a country, then demographics, then urbanization and you will find the following statistics.

Country              Rate of Change                Urbanization
                          (2005-2010)


Canada                    1.1%                              81%

Thailand                   1.8%                              34%

Vietnam                    3%                                 30%

Saudi Arabia             2.2%                              82%

China                        2.3%                              47%


McKinsey Global Institute also has an interesting report on urbanization trends here

Blog task for March 18th

Your writing/thinking task for this week is to create a joint blog post that lists and discusses 10 ways to become a more fluent reader.    (You may have to do a little bit of research.)

I want you to also discuss the problems you have when you engage in reading these days, and how these ten solutions can help solve these problems.   Which 3 of the ten do you think are most critical?

Finally,   include 2 links to good websites that can help you improve your reading in line with your ten tips.
(Don't forget to introduce/summarize the websites and how they relate to your ten tips).

I would expect this post to be between 400 and 600 words.  This blog post is due Thursday.

Another great learning and listening resource

One of my favourite interviewers (when I am feeling that I want to be mentally stimulated) is Charlie Rose.



His own website (www.charlierose.com) describes him thus:

Acclaimed interviewer and broadcast journalist Charlie Rose engages America's best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews and roundtable discussions.     


Unfortunately,   his website videos require flash player, so they won't work on iOs devices.   However,  you can access his latest interviews though the free Bloomberg TV app available from the app store.

Find a person or topic that interests you and have a listen.  Interviews range from 15 to 45 minutes.  The panel discussions are great.

A couple of interviews I recommend are these:

Michael Lewis: (a writer on international business and economics)

Larry Page:  (founder of Google)

Gloria Steinem  (about Women leaders in America)


Explore the website for other topics or personalities that interest you.   Listen for 5 minutes and then decide if you are interested or able to follow the discussion.   They won't all suit you, but you can find some gems that can provide many new ideas and assist learning.

Flipboard for mobile devices

I mentioned this wonderful app to you in class yesterday.   It is one of the best for reading (but there are audio, video and visual links as well).

This is the homepage of Flipboard.    If you have an Apple or Android device, download the app and try it out (in English).   Then share your favourite contents with a friend.

Podcasts

Do you know what a podcast is?    Have you ever listened to or viewed one?

As described by wikipedia,  

A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio radio, video,PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device.


Podcasts are therefore an excellent way to improve your knowledge,  English vocabulary and listening skills as you can utilize mobile devices to conveniently listen to podcasts of interest to you.   You can listen while on the bus or waiting for a bus.   You can listen before going to bed.   There are five minute podcasts and there are two hour podcasts.   You can choose the topic and length.    You can download or stream them.     You can share them.    Podcasts can be monologues or dialogues.    You will find the dialogues better for developing your listening skills.

You can access podcasts through the Apple podcast app and/or iTunes.  Android can also do this.    You can use an old fashioned computer as well.      Have a purpose when you listen.  Share with a friend and discuss the podcast.

Some of my favourite podcast sites are:

http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/
http://charlesadler.com/
http://www.cknw.com/podcasts.aspx

There are many more as a quick Google of  “podcasts” will show.


Finally, while not exactly a podcast,  here is a great resource for interesting interviews.

http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/   

A great movie about employment trends

You can watch this movie -- Outsourced  (this is an IMDB overview) -- on Netflix.  It is about a call centre in India and the cross-cultural communication and management issues that arise when an American is sent to manage the Indian-staffed office.





If you have not yet subscribed to Netflix,   I highly recommend it.   You can get the first month free.

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.

Reading Aloud Game Article

Our reading aloud game (coming soon ...) will be based on this interesting article from the Economist.

Schumpeter

Mammon’s new monarchs

The emerging-world consumer is king

Jan 5th 2013 |From the print edition

 

 

 

You may want to read it and learn how to say the words before we play the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wikis - a useful tool for students (or anyone) to collaborate

This short YouTube video explains the basics of what a "wiki" is (why and how we use it).   It is one of the best introductions.  The speaker speaks very quickly, so you may want to select "cc" (close caption)  in the bottom right corner of the video so you can read as you listen.

You can also read this short introduction (if you want).





I have created a wiki for AP5 using PBWorks (you can log-in here or through D2L).  You have all been invited (an e-mail has been sent to you) and are official editors for this wiki space.    Within this wiki, which I haven't done much at all with,   there are files and pages for the 5 AP5 groups, where you can collaborate.  This would be a good place to work digitally together on your group argumentative essay.      The wiki is an optional part of this course, but one that along with blogs you may find to be extremely beneficial.


Here is a short video I have made using Jing and Screencast that shows you our AP5 wiki and how to navigate and use it.

Win an iPad mini

You only have a couple of days left for this. I would certainly do it if I were a student.





You can do it from the Facebook page   here

Week 4 Computer Lab

In this computer lab,   you will become acquainted with a learning management system that has been newly introduced at VIU for all students called D2L (Desire to Learn).    Many academic courses use D2L to blend their in class and out-of-class teaching.   It will benefit you to learn it now.


Two important new urls you need to learn are:

www.learn.viu.ca

and

ap5d2l.blogspot.ca

To enter D2L,  you go to the first website and enter your name and password as  would you normally do.      

The second website is a special blog that has a video introduction to D2L, which essentially repeats what I will show you in class.


You have three computer tasks this week.   The first two deal with D2L.

1. After familiarizing yourself with D2L,   use its e-mail function to send me an e-mail.
2. In the discussion board,   make a post and reply to a post.   You can do this within an existing thread or you can create a new thread.

3.   On your blog,   if you use a mobile device (smartphone or tablet-  Apple or Android),  

describe what you use it for mostly.   Also,  write about how you use it for learning English and how you would "like" to use it to learn English.     If you do not have a mobile device,  write about how you imagine one could be  used to help you learn English.  This is an individual post, not a joint post.




You can also study the Academic Wordlist in computer lab as we will be studying it this week.  You can use the AWL link in this blog to help you.

Looking up word definitions

Looking up the meaning of words should be very easy and should avoid translation.   If you have an iPad, iPhone or iPod,   you can utilize an iOs feature called dictionary which allows you to highlight a word, which will then bring up its definition in English.   I know you can do the same with your own first language, but it is not so helpful for learning English. 

This blog post explains and shows this.  (I'm sure Android devices have or will have a similar feature.)  Using this,  you should be able to find out the meaning of the words for Monday's reading quiz in 15 minutes.   Don't translate!   Although these images show text using Notepad,  the dictionary app also works in Safari, iBooks and other programs.