Do It Yourself

Hello, seniors!

You have shown an enormous interest in DIY resources and frugal lifestyle websites and their newsletters.

Here is a good site for frugal gardening.

Here is a great site about frugal living.

Check out YouTube for an endless source of "how to" videos.  Try searching for "duct tape" or "how to make a cap."  Here is the "no sew" cap that one student is interested in making.

Have fun!

Lab Tests

Hello, seniors!

This week we learned about requisitions for blood work. I enjoyed watching your role plays with real cotton balls, gloves, and band-aids. Weimiao made a syringe from a pen.

Listen to these conversations between a patient and the laboratory staff.

If you enjoyed that one, take a look at the whole list. There is one about giving a urine sample, as well.

Happy learning!

K

Lots of Listening - Doctor

Hello, seniors!

Teacher Stephanie has a lot of listening activities on her blog. Her class is studying health now, too. Take a look!

Also: Maritza Goes to the Doctor

See you Monday.

Kelly

More Practice with Medical Language and the Body

Hello, seniors' class!

This week we are learning dialogues used during an eye exam.

First we will watch this video.

Listen to parts of the face and eye.

But don't forget to study the whole body. Listen and pronounce body parts HERE.

Pronounce more body parts.

Pronounce parts of the digestive system.

This British site has useful phrases that you can hear AND see translated. Click for Chinese or Arabic.

Our Posters

Hello, class!

Having requested a 'part two' to our health/medical unit, this week you agreed that breaking into teams to create posters of the systems of the body would be a good way to cement the new vocabulary into memory. I never dreamed you would do such a lovely job with your posters. You planned, sketched and coloured them beautifully. Crayons might have worked better for shading the organs. I'll remember that for next time.

First we had the planning stage...

Then you chose to colour in the organs.

Each team posed with their poster.

And finally we played "Each One Teach One."

In the end, you told me you want us to learn English this way more often. Creating the posters has helped you learn the vocabulary. From here, you've asked me to present lessons on the function of each organ. We will do that, as well as talking about the diseases associated with each system, tests involved in diagnosing those, and typical language used to discuss such investigations with your medical team.

Health, Part II

Hello, students!

You have voted to study health again, going further this time.

Last time we used English in Vancouver - Health. There are many good videos.

This week we talked about colds and the flu.

Here is a listening text about colds and flu.

Practice a few health phrases.

Learn some medical vocabulary.

For the very adventurous, you can view all the systems of the body HERE.

Our Main Traits

Hello, students! Take a look at the WIFF schedule.

Take this quiz on adjectives describing personality traits.

Watch this little video with adjectives describing personality.

Here is another one with great pictures.

Enjoy!

Volunteering

Hello, students!

Aiying asked me if I could record "Lazy Mailman." I did. You can listen to it HERE.

Would you like to create a profile in the WEVolunteer database?

Do you want to practice spelling our adjectives?

Try to unscramble these sentences. This helps you with English syntax.

Or listen to this 1-minute audio about volunteerism.

Here is a news podcast about volunteering. It's a bit harder.

More on Houses

Hello, morning class!

The last post gives you links to some of the resources we used this week. Here are some activities you can do to reinforce the new terms.

Listen a minute - houses

House vocabulary

Read and listen - My family's house

Take a tour of a Craftsman American Foursquare. I love all that unpainted woodwork.

You asked how much one of those homes on Victoria Avenue would cost today. Check prices of homes around downtown Windsor. You can see photos of the interiors, too!

The Architecture of Windsor's Core

Hello, students of my morning class!

I am VERY excited that Doors Open Windsor has inspired you to want to learn more about the architectural heritage of Windsor, specifically here in the downtown core where there is SO MUCH POTENTIAL for a fun walking tour! This ties in beautifully with our goal of accessing free educational opportunities and achieving more social integration as we learn about Canadian culture.

I hope for us to be able to undertake this walking tour on Thursday.

In the meantime, we will learn the names of ten to twelve architectural styles and the terms needed to understand the main features of each one. I will be referencing this website in class a lot. I have asked the author for permission to use some of her photos in our handouts, but have not yet received a reply. Another good resource is the blog InternationalMetropolis. Andrew Foote has been blogging about Windsor and Detroit's history and architecture for some years now, so his is a rich site.

This "vernacular cottage" is the downtown home that first caused me to stumble upon the Heritage Register. It was built in 1900 and seemingly has no basement or crawlspace. I managed a peek inside when it was for rent two or three years ago.

I can't think of a better way to enjoy a mild September morning in the core than walking around looking at the beautiful Queen Anne, American Foursquare, and Craftsman style houses around us! It's like a treasure trove in our own backyard.

Free and Low-cost Continuing Education

This week e of four teams was assigned an educational venue and given materials in which to find course tuition (if any), times and days of classes, campus locations, etc. The venues were:

Mackenzie Hall
Canterbury ElderCollege
The YMCA
The City of Windsor (Activity Guide)
Free online courses offered by top universities

Also today we talked about Doors Open Windsor. I plan to ride my bike to Prado Place and take a tour of the unique architecture. It's a beautiful street! I will print off the Windsor Heritage Register for six of you. Let's turn that into a field trip soon!

You can use any English practice sites on the right, or use Mr. Zhang's page for listening practice.

Learning as a Senior

Hello!

Here you can take a quick dementia self-test.

Watch this video.

If you want the test, I can print it for you.

Here are short dialogues about staying healthy.

Here is a story you can listen to and read.

Post Office

Welcome back to lab Fridays, morning students! I'm very pleased you have voted once again to include an hour of computer time in your week. I think it's a wise decision.

Do you want to listen again to the text we listened to on Wednesday? It's HERE.
You can watch this video of a man mailing something ExpressMail.
You can listen, read and practice these sentences.
Try completing this dialogue about renting a post office box.

Want to visit the Canada Post website? It's HERE.

These are addressing guidelines.

Listen to Lazy Mailman Hides Letters (c) Oxford University Press.

Simple English Videos

Hi, students!

I just discovered a new YouTube channel called Simple English Videos. Check it out!

I especially like this one about air travel.

What are you up to these days?

Kelly

Summer Fun in Windsor

Hello, students!

There is so much fun and educational stuff happening around Windsor in August and September.

Click the orange links for dates, time, place, and cost--if any.

Starting tomorrow, Ribfest

August 15th through 17th - Leamington Sunset Tomato Festival

August 21-24 - Tecumseh Corn Festival

August 23-34 - Amherstburg Art by the River

August 28th through 31st - Harrow Fair

August 29th - YMCA - 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. - Information Session: How to Avoid Being the Victim of Scams with Popo. Call your orientation worker if you are interested.

September 13 - Vintage in the Village Street Festival

September 27th and 28th - Doors Open Windsor

Do you plan to participate in any of these events? Which one appeals to you the most, if any?

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Hi, students!

Tonight I borrowed a DVD from the library and watched it at home. It is a film I had seen a few years ago, but this time it was more meaningful to me. Why? Because of what you have shared with me and taught me about the Cultural Revolution.

Have you seen it? The trailer is HERE.

I'll bet many of you have seen it.

What did you think of this movie when you saw it?

You can leave a comment below.

I hope you're enjoying your summer break. I can't wait to hear about Yellowstone National Park from Shurong and Weimiao.

Kelly

Do You Remember Your Air Travel Vocabulary?

Hello, students!

I hope you are having a nice summer. Mexico was VERY HOT. I have written about my trip on my personal blog. You can look at pictures from my trip if you want to. Mostly I wrote about the food and the birds. It's HERE: http://bordercitiesblooming.blogspot.ca/2014/07/mexico.html
And it continues on the next nine posts.

Everything we prepared for in class happened to me!

When we arrived in Mexico, we didn't get our bag. It was lost. After two days, they delivered it to us.

Because our flight from Phoenix, Arizona was late getting to Charlotte, North Carolina, we almost missed our connecting flight. But we didn't. We ran fast from one gate to another. The airline representative was very happy to see us coming. She said, "Great! That's everybody." They were waiting for us before closing the door!

And then our bag was again delayed. When it arrived, they drove it all the way from Toronto to Windsor and delivered it at 3:47 in the morning!!!

Can you remember the names of the things in the pictures? Please leave a comment and describe these pictures.

What do you see in this picture? Where am I? What am I doing?

Picture A

How about picture B? Where am I? What am I holding?

Picture B

And picture C? What am I opening? I hear the flight attendant coming. She has pop and peanuts.

Picture C

And how about picture D? You are right. I am finally in sunny Mexico. I am birding. I am wearing very strong sunblock.

Picture D

Many funny things happened on our trip. For example, we forgot to book a hotel room in Chicago for our nine hour layover. So we had to sleep on army cots in the airport. That was not much fun, but it makes a good story now. Now we can laugh.

Also, my boyfriend was stung by jellyfish while swimming in the sea. He is okay now. In addition to this, I forgot to load Mexican maps onto my GPS before we left. We had to buy a map at a convenience store.

When we come back to school in September, I am going to ask you about any trips you took this summer. Don't forget all the words we learned for travel! You will have to tell your classmates about your trip, especially any mishaps. Do you know the word "mishap?" It's a great word.

Please leave a comment today.  Thank you.

Kelly

Summer English Lesson #6 - Gone Fishing

Hello, students!

Today's lesson is especially good for those of you who fish or who stroll along the riverside. When you see someone else fishing, you can start a conversation by asking about their luck fishing.

Here are some ways to start the conversation:

"Hi! Caught anything?"

Or...

"Having much luck?"

These two are yes/no questions, so don't forget the rising intonation.

"What kinds of fish have you caught today?"

That's a wh- question, so your voice goes up on the word FISH, then down again.

If you are also fishing, you can tell the other person about your fish. You can say,

"I really like catching perch. They are delicious."

The most stressed words are PERCH and DELICIOUS.

You can also ask people how they cook their fish. You can say:

"Do you fry your fish? I steam mine." 

Those sentences are contrasting two ways of cooking, so you need to stress the words FRY and STEAM.

Give this a try the next time you are down by the water.

Summer English Lesson #5 - Small Talk

How's it going? Have you struck up a conversation with a stranger in pubic yet?  I hope so!  Please leave a comment here when you achieve this goal.

Here are some lessons and ways to practice to get ready.

Randall's Listening Lab has a lesson on small talk HERE.

Here's a good video about small talk.

Please practice small talk this week when you are in public.

You can compliment someone on a pretty blouse or nice watch.

You can admire a beautiful baby.

You can ask a dog owner about his/her dog.

You can comment upon the weather.

You can ask, "Are you following the World Cup?"  "Which team are you rooting for?"

Please leave a comment after you do the lesson.

Cheers!

Summer English Lesson #4 - A Beautiful Dog

Hello, students!

Today's assignment is for you to go down to the riverside area and strike up a conversation with a stranger. Here are three ways you can get the conversation started.

Conversation #1 - A Beautiful Dog
People love to talk about their pets. Here are some questions to get the conversation started, and more questions to keep the ball rolling.

1. That's a beautiful dog. Is it a HE or a SHE?
2. How old is he/she?
3. Have you had him/her since he/she was a puppy?
4. What breed is he/she?
5. I'll bet he/she really loves coming to the park!

Conversation #2 - A Beautiful Baby

People love to talk about their children! Here are some questions to get you started.

1. That's a beautiful baby. How old is she/he?
2. What's his/her name?
3. Does he/she like to come to the park?

From there you can give your new friend information about your grandchildren, nieces or nephews. For example: "I have a grand baby, but he/she is XX years old."

Conversation #3 - The Weather
Canadians love to talk about the weather. It's a safe topic. Let's try...

1. It sure is [hot / pretty out / windy / humid / nice] today, isn't it?

From there you can tell your new friend what the weather is like back in your hometown.

Good luck! Please LEAVE A COMMENT when you fulfil this assignment.

Kelly

How to Comment

Hello!

WeiYing wrote to me to tell me that YES, many of you ARE doing the lessons.  Please click the COMMENT link under each post. This is good practice writing. If you comment, I will answer.

For example, you can say:

Kelly, I went to a yard sale. I used my English. I bought a vase.

It's not difficult. Will you try?

I will post a new lesson tomorrow.

Bye for now!

Kelly

Summer English Lessons - Is Anyone Doing Them?

Hello?

I have posted three summer assignments and I have not received any comments.  When I receive some comments showing me that you have done the prior lessons, I will post new lessons.

In the meantime, you can always visit Mr. Zhang's Page for some good listening practice. And you can visit Rachel's English for pronunciation practice.

Enjoy the summer. I hope that I soon get comments saying that you have been practicing English in public and trying to make Canadian friends, trying to talk to people outside your cultural group, trying to talk to neighbours, etc.

--Kelly

Summer English Lesson #3 - Go to a Yard Sale

Yard sales are a great opportunity to practice English.  Look in the paper today. Or look on the internet. Click here to see the Windsor Star classifieds - Garage Sales.

Here are some useful questions:

• How much do you want for this?
• Is [$5.00] your best price?
• Would you take [$3.00] for it?
• Would you take $___ for both of these?
• Would you take $___ for all three?

Go to a yard sale on Saturday.  Will you accept this challenge?  If you use English at a yard sale, leave a comment below.

For more practice with the language, click HERE.

Summer English Practice #2 - Social Integration

Did you watch the fireworks Monday night?  I did.  My boyfriend and I took a couple of lawn chairs downtown. We rode the bus.  The bus was free all evening.  We didn't have to pay to ride.  We found a good spot for watching the fireworks.  I saw Tareq and Widad when I went to buy ice cream.

There is only one way to become fluent in spoken English. You have to practice every day.  Also, you have to talk to people outside your cultural group.  I challenge you to try. Are you willing?

Today when you are out in public, try saying this to someone:

A: The fireworks show was beautiful, wasn't it?  Did you watch it?

B: Yes, I did.  /  No, I didn't.        

 A: We watched them from our apartment.   We have a great view of the river.

Good luck!  If you accept this challenge, please leave a comment below.

Summer English Practice #1 - Air Travel

Hello, students!

Xiumin said she wanted more practice with TRAVEL English. So...

Go to THIS WEB PAGE.  First do the pre-listening exercise.

Next scroll down and play the conversation.

Answer the questions.

Finally, do some grammar and vocabulary exercises.

Don't forget to APPLY all the travel English we learned when you travel this summer.  Enjoy your trip!

Summer's Coming!

Hello, seniors!

I was very pleased when you asked me today to post something on this web log for you to do during the summer break. I'm so glad you want to keep practicing English.

taken May 30 (we'd forgotten to change the date on the board)

Talking to the Doctor

Hello, LINC 2 students!

Please watch this video.  I will call you to come talk to me about it.

When you are finished preparing for the test, you can:

• practice spelling
• play a game
• learn parts of the body
• learn parts of the face
• learn medical words
• watch this video
• watch another video

Thank you!

Welcome Aboard

Hello, LINC Seniors!

We have been studying a lot of English for air travel. Yesterday we listened to some pre-boarding and flight announcements.

Today I will play some REAL boarding announcements.  I will give each of you a boarding pass with your flight number and destination city.  Here are the questions we will practice:

To your travel companion:  "Did you catch that?"

To your travel companion: "Did they just announce our flight?"

The answer will probably be, "No, I didn't."  "I'm not sure."   "I couldn't understand a word of it."

So now we have to know how to walk up to a stranger or an agent and ask:

"Excuse me, did they just announce flight _____ to _______?"  This question just became your best friend.

These are two of the four recordings we listened to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRmEMPhmY0I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8E5vP4FEXk

The Government

Hello, LINC 2 students!

This week we are studying the government.

First watch this short video about the levels of government.

To practice spelling the words, click HERE.  Don't forget: you can play games, too. The green ones are free.

GRAMMAR

Here is a quiz on possessive pronouns.

Here's another one.

Here is a quiz on possessive adjectives.

You may also use ELLIS software.

--K

Confederation

Hello, LINC 2 students!

This week we learned about Confederation.

Practice spelling HERE.

Unscramble the sentences.

Play a game.

GRAMMAR

Here is a quiz of basic tenses we have studied.

HISTORY

Watch a 1-minute video about Sir John A. Macdonald.

Laura Secord

Hello, LINC 2 students!

CANADA

If you want to practice spelling, click HERE.

To unscramble the sentences about Laura Secord, click HERE.

Here is the 1-minute video about Laura.

GRAMMAR

Try this QUIZ about adverbs.

Here you can practice present continuous.

Or you can practice with Mr. Bean.

Have fun!

Early History

Hello, LINC 2 students!

Here is a short video about Canada's name.

If you want to practice spelling this week's words, click HERE.

After spelling, play a game or unscramble the sentences.

Can you answer these questions? If you're not sure, click the link.

Who was John Cabot? What did he do?

Who was Jacques Cartier? What did he do?

Who was Samuel de Champlain? What did he do?

Learn and have fun!

Canada - Geography and History 1

Hello, LINC 2 students!

This week we learned some quick facts about Canada. Wednesday we began studying a little about the first people to live here.

SPELLING
Practice spelling some words from our lessons.

GRAMMAR
Here is an easy quiz on the present continuous.
This one is also not too difficult.
This quiz is a little harder.
This one is fun, too.

Present simple or present continuous? Try this quiz!

CANADA
Do you know where all the provinces and territories are? Try this quiz!
If you want, you can watch this 10-minute video about the Aboriginal Peoples.

Dear Teachers

Thank you to those who stayed till the end and those who gave up and left early but who are now trying to create a blog from home. Please don't hesitate to call on me if you get stuck or can't figure something out.

Thank you for your kind words of appreciation.  Having things not go as planned is a (recovering) perfectionist's worst nightmare. So thank you for making it easier on me by so graciously rolling with the punches.

I hope you have a wonderful time exploring these links and creating your own site.

Please leave me a comment here and let me know where I can come peek at your new web log.

Happy blogging!

Kelly

A Classroom Blog for Beginners

What is a web log (blog)?

A blog is a personal website where one may regularly record opinions, activities and experiences for others to read and, optionally, comment upon.

There are many free online blogging platforms with tutorials to help you get up and running quickly.

What prompted me to start using a blog in LINC classes?

• I wanted a place to park links to sites I would use again and again
• I wanted computer lab day to be less stressful for me
• I wanted to make students' experience in the lab stress-free
• I wanted to empower students, make them more self-sufficient in the lab, able to choose among activities and set their own pace

What are some other reasons teachers use web logs?

There are as many reasons for blogging as there are teachers and classes. Here are some ways you may wish to use a web log:

• to speak to your peers, as do Jennifer (Cultivating Learning) and Rp (ESL Learning Journal)

• to make resources available publicly, as Susan Bates does on English in Vancouver

• to make computer lab day easier, as many of my colleagues have done (see sidebar), and as I have done for my seniors and for my literacy class

• to give your students a forum for expression, exploration and collaboration

How will you use your new blog? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Canada's Geography

Hello, LINC 2 students!

This week we studied Canadian geography.

Watch this 10-minute tour of Canada's festivals and highlights.

Please practice your Canadian map skills HERE.

Practice spelling the provinces and territories HERE.

GRAMMAR

We also learned "be going to" for future.

Watch this video to revise the grammar.

Take a quiz HERE.

Helping Your Child Succeed

Hello, LINC 2 students!

This week we learned these adjectives to describe people. We used these words on the Ontario report cards that we made for four students: Sarah, Todd, Tommy and Mary.

Have fun with them. Spell them and play games.

We reviewed comparative and superlative.  Take this quiz to practice.

Then we watched a video about newcomers with children. How can we help newcomer children succeed in school? You can watch the video again in English, or in Chinese, Arabic or French. I'm sorry it's not in Karen.

-K

School

Hello,  LINC 2 Class!

I am happy to be your teacher now. You are good students!

Here are your links for this week:

Vocabulary (words)

•  Click here for vocabulary
•  Take the vocabulary quiz.
•  Here's more vocabulary.
•  This vocabulary test is harder.
•  Here is a vocabulary game.

Reading and Listening

• Listen and read.
• Listen and read - a parent talks to the teacher (Level 3)

Spelling

• Practice spelling.
• Take the spelling test.
• Play a game with the spelling words.
• Play word unscramble.

Grammar

• Watch a fun video about NOUNS. (Lyrics are HERE.)
• Unscramble the sentences.
• Study possessive nouns with this video.
• Here is a past simple quiz.
• Another past simple quiz.
• You can do another past simple verb quiz here.
• And finally here is an object pronouns quiz.

Some Helpful Videos

Hello, Seniors!

During our unit on health, medicine and talking to our doctors, the videos on this web log should help us a lot.

Kelly

Talking to Our Doctors

Hello, Seniors!

Well, we've just completed another needs assessment and have found that the topic you most want to study is health / medical. You want to be able to talk to your doctors, especially the specialists who do not speak your first language.

After we learn the parts of the body, we'll be listening to some patients communicating with receptionists, nurses and doctors.

Cheers!

Telephone Talk

Hello, Seniors!

Unscramble these sentences.

Kelly

Telephone English

Hello, Seniors!

Before the winter break, we started our unit on telephone English. During our first week back, the majority of students stayed home due to record-breaking frigid temperatures. Therefore, we did not continue with our lesson on telephone English right away.

Now that everyone is again coming to class, we have resumed our unit on telephone English.

Here is a video about taking messages.

And here is one about leaving messages.

We might watch these in class, in the lab, or from home.