Correcting students' tests

I have been very busy preparing and correcting students' last tests (written, listening and oral tests) and concluding the evaluation process.

After arriving from school, all the time I have is dedicated to correcting students' tests and assignments.

I am totally exhausted.

I don't even have time to blog.

The internet and the other mass media!

How different is the internet from the other Media?


 Besides allowing quick or instant access to all sorts of information, data and entertainment, it also connects the entire world together. In short, people can be accessible anywhere and at any time.

 Moreover, the internet allows people to play a much more active role and it is much more convenient for them.

 Finally, we have access to all media in one! If we have an internet connection, we can have access to all the other media online.

What are your predictions for the future?

Will the internet cause the death of the other Mass Media?

 Or

Will the other mass media be able to innovate and keep their audiences/readership?

The evolution of the mass media

We have been talking about the evolution of the mass media throughout the times till the present
In order to give my students background information about this topic, I prepared a powerpoint presentation
I had to scan through innumerous sites so as to find the most accurate information. Different sites show different dates, so we never know which site is right and which site is wrong.
I enjoyed doing this and I hope this can be useful to my students and to anyone in the blogosphere.

Sorry: I couldn't upload the powerpoint presentation. Can you help me?

Carnival in Portugal

Carnival is synonymous with joy, fun, laugh, trick and satire. People throughout Portugal celebrate it with great enthusiasm and good-humour. There are great parades in many Portuguese cities, where thousands of people can be seen, either participating or enjoying the view. Each city has its own traditions and customs, which make part of the country's history.

People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations and pretend to be someone new and different. In many street celebrations, lots of floats with political or social message can also be seen.
 Carnival is considered a time of excesses and fun. It occurs immediately before Lent, a period of fasting and penitence for the Christian communities. It is believed that Carnival started in Europe in the eleventh century, and spread to other continents with the help of emigrants.
The best-known Carnival in the World takes place in Brazil. Samba is a typically Brazilian dance, which was popularized by carnival. In Portugal we can already see many features of the Brazilian carnival, such as samba schools and samba dancers.

After three days of celebrations, it’s time to return to daily’s life routine and hope for another carnival.

Today's Mass Media

We have started block 3: Mass Media and global communication.

Firstly, students  identified the different mass media: television, radio, print media/press and internet.

Then, we talked about the purposes of the Mass Media. Below you can find some examples.

• To inform:
• To entertain;
• To educate;
• To sell/ advertise;
• To call people’s attention to a certain problem/ situation;
• To promote social change.

We also considered some pros and some cons of the Mass Media.

Pros
• Good source of entertainment, information, knowledge, culture;
• Quick and/or instant access to updated information;
• Portability;
• Company;
• Way to relax and relieve stress;
• Possibility of reaching anyone anywhere (internet).

Cons
• Invasion of people’s privacy;
• Audience war and the lowering of standards;
• Censorship;
• Manipulation of information;
• Exploitation of people's feelings;
• Abuse of shocking images;
• Violence;
• Sedentarism and obesity;
• Cyberbulling and identity theft (internet).

We also read a text called- young people, youth TV- and did several reading comprehension exercises on it. Then we did many vocabulary exercises related to the topic.

As for grammar, we have been talking about relative clauses.

Film watching: Simone

At home I have been correcting students ‘tests.  At school, we have been watching the film, Simone. This film is a funny and interesting way of establishing the link between the last block we studied and the one we are about to start and which deals with the Mass media and global communication.

In this film we see a digitized actress becoming an overnight success. She is so virtually perfect that people all over the world fall in love with her, never imagining she is not real.  We can see the power the several media, namely cinema, TV and the print media, have on people and how well they manipulate the public opinion and  preferences.

 After watching the film, the students are requested to write a film review.

See the trailer

Valentine's Day is coming ...

"What is the first word that comes to your mind when you think of Valentine’s Day? The word is Love. Something that we all crave and need, and at times wish for. So if you have fallen in love, go all out to express your hearts desire to your valentine. Pen down all your thoughts in a valentine card and gift it to her. A love letter with romantic love quotes is even better."                                         Source: My dear Valentine

See More:
Valentine's cards
Valentine's poems for him
Valentine's poems for her
Valentine's Day history

Students' written tests

I have been very busy, preparing students' next tests.

Contents

Block 2: A technological world

• set 1: great inventions/ technological advances
• set 2: social effects of technology   (see worksheet)
• set 3: space exploration

- Text production: An argumentative text (on the referred topics)

- Grammar topics: Passives (+ idiomatic), different ways of expressing future and connectors.

Space exploration

Before finishing the topic, a technological world, we had time to talk a little about space exploration.

First we did  a brainstorming exercise in order to activate students' vocabulary on the topic. Then we read a text about the first female space tourist and did some exercises about it.

The students were asked to research about the space race and present some conclusions in class, which they did. We also saw the trailer of the film, Apollo 13 and commented on it.

Finally, students presented the advantages and disadvantages of space exploration.

If want to know more about the space race, check this site:
http://www.seasky.org/spacexp/sky5d6.html

If you want to know more about the pros and cons of space exploration, check this site:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Space-Exploration-2540/2008/4/Advantages-Space-Exploration.htm

Ways of expressing future ...

Now that we have been talking about technology, it’s the perfect time to revise the different ways of expressing the idea of future in English.


In class we have seen many examples of sentences with “going to” and with “will”. However, we have also talked about situations where the present continuous and the present simple can be used to express a future action.

Try these links to find some information about this grammar topic. Then do the quizzes to test your knowledge.

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/goingtoorwill/menu.php

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplefuture.html

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/339.html

http://www.better-english.com/grammar/willgo.htm

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/will_going_to_future.htm