Professional Development | Accenture In-Company Lessons

 

Accenture in-company lessons

REPORTS – MARCH

Professional development | AMEX In-Company Lessons

 

AMEX in-company lessons

REPORTS – MARCH

Professional Development | Baufest In-Company Lessons

Baufest in-company lessons

REPORTS – MARCH

lesson plans here here here here and here

 

Professional Development | Baufest In-Company Lessons

                  

Baufest in-company lessons

                                                                            lesson plan

• What happened according to plan? Took down Ss' e-mail addresses. Wrote up T's journal link. Suggested they use a 'word list', Ss drew it up in the back of their books. Talked briefly about my 'cloud' calender with which we can synchronise events, etc. F redrew the language acquisition illustration 'jouney to Mordor' on the board. V found an image of Mordor on-line. A and M chose from needs analysis cards the picture which best represents their language goals.
  
  Personalised topic with a story about an unsuccessful team I was once part of. Two Ss told their stories. Ss completed gap-fill using vocabulary related to success.
  
  Ss discussed questions to generate interest in the topic 'success leadership' before reading. Ss matched those questions to respective paragraphs, individually. Ss read for general meaning answering true-or-false questions. Ss discussed in more depth the topic using quotes in book, developing fluency.
  
  Ss listened to 'work appraisal interview', practising listening for general meaning. Used listening to elicit TL 'It's time/I'd rather' onto the board. Elicited parallel examples. Ss completed dialogue gap-fill using the TL.
  
  Assigned homework task: review vocabulary from the next exercise with their new 'word lists'.

• What didn’t happen according to plan? Introducing 'vocabulary bag'. Didn't clarify TL 'I'd better' onto board. Didn't drill pronunciation of TL. There were a couple of mistakes by the Ss in the dialogue gap-fill and not enough time to re-clarify. Didn't use at least 50% of class time to practise TL structures.
  

• What happened that I didn’t expect? Std arrived late. Clarified extraneous language outside TL. Spent too long, or moved too slowly through pre-lesson aim work. The room was needed as 10 o'clock and had to leave quickly.
  

• What would I do differently next time, and why? Be mindful of exercises that need plenary feedback and those that don't in order to save time and maintain pace. Not lingering in parts of the lesson in which I may have already lost pace.

Statement	Evaluation
1 I achieved what I was aiming to do.	0  1  2  3  4  5
2 I managed the class effectively.	0  1  2  3  4  5
3 I Involved the learners.	0  1  2  3  4  5
4 I used the time effectively.	0  1  2  3  4  5
5 I used the materials / aids effectively.	0  1  2  3  4  5

The Baufest Reading Corner

Buafest in-company lessons

lesson plan here and here

CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING YOUR COURSE! 

KEEP REVIEWING AND PRACTISING HERE…

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS ALL COURSE MATERIALS

THE BEAUFAST BOARD GAME BRINGS BRIGHT BEGINNINGS TO A NEW COURSEBOOK UNIT!

notes from Tuesday the 4th of June:

I hardly know what to say! [almost don't]
 I hardly have any time to go to the gym!
 I hardly see the sense in going!
I hardly know her!
I can hardly believe it!
I can hardly run, I'm so tired!


I hardly woke up on time today! [almost didn't]
I hardly arrived on-time today!

There are hardly any apples left! [almost none]
There's hardly any reason to be upset! [almost no]

I'm hardly 18 years old! [almost not]

I hardly ever read the paper! [almost never]

I had hardly arrived to the hospital when they told me the good news! [almost hadn't, when]
I had hardly got out of the car when it started to rain!

This job is very hard. [difficult]
He worked with difficulty [<--adverb]

This table is very hard. [solid]
He hit the table hard [<--adverb]

For a Tuesday, I'm really exhausted.
Although it's Tuesday, I'm really exhausted.
Even though it's Tuesday, I'm really exhausted.
Despite it being Tuesday, I'm really exhausted.

I'm looking forwatd to travelling, walking, beginning, reading, practising...

~ skills | READING ~

¡Read your way to better English!

read more riddles ('mind benders') here

The Landlady by Roald Dahl:-

► noun

(pl. landladies) a woman who rents 
out land, a building, or accommodation. 

■ a woman who keeps lodgings, a 
boarding house, or a pub.

A good level of commitment by everyone in reading the short story The Landlady in small sessions, and as such, making important steps towards mastering English.

Remember: a little practice – but very often – can go a long way!

your comments have been posted on this popular literature forum:

Click to view your comments as posted

It was a great story. It was full of mystery because even in the end, you didn’t know what happened with the boy.
– Andrés

The Landlady is a good story, but I don’t like how it ended. In the best part of the story, when you are getting really interested in what is going on in that house, it suddenly ended and left you with nothing. I was expecting to read how Billy was feeling – If he was scared or not – and about the woman’s story and intentions.
– Facundo

It was an interesting story but from the beginning I suspected what was going to happen.
– Victor

I think the author wrote a very detailed story with two types of interperetations. At first Weaver feels comfortable, then it seemed he would be attacked after the effect of the hidden substance inside the tea. And the other meaning I thought is that the woman has just some sort of mental disease, which causes her memory loss and living her life without a timline. There are clues but nothing certain, it holds the reader in suspense with a lot of strange things forcing us to use the imagination.
– Rodolfo

The story was great, it had the atmomsphere of every classic horror story, that doesn’t tell up to the end that you’re reading a horror story. But something deep inside of you knows that something there is not ok, giving you the clues that something terrible is going to happen until the end. To conclude, when you’ve realized everything you know that the protagonist probably is not going to have a ‘happy’ ending.
– Maximiliano

I think the story is great mainly for teenagers and young people, The characters are quite naïve, and yet there is a smart plot that like a trail leads the readers to an open end. Does the landlady truly exist? Has the young boy been poisoned?Are the other young guest still alive?. Good story. **** 
- Graciela

Now listen to the audio book below, as a perfect way to consolidate any new language you picked up reading the story.

 

Above music video contributed by Maximiliano 

during our reading skills lesson using excerpt of 

science fiction novel Brave New World...

 the excerpt:

from Pearson & Longman's Total English  p.138

~ skills | LISTENING ~

On The Honeymoon by Javier Marías (read by Baufest):-

  

The Landlady by Roald Dahl:-

audiobook:

part 1 available

part 2 available

part 3 available

part 4 available

~ skills | SPEAKING ~

more art after 'Super Stop The Bus' by describing 3D realistic digital objects (a form of 'kinaesthetic' learning i.e. learning via touching an holding things)

pronunciation:-

Find your 'Buafest pronunciation & spelling' pack as used in class here

  

~ skills | WRITING ~
  

during the week students use AR app to insert protagonist into Buenos Aires surrounds, out  of which we will develop a story.

(PDF)

A good way to peer-correct and self-correct is by using the pictured symbols; think about the corrections, correct and then and rewrite your text.

essential report writing phrases:-

From April the 23rd's lesson in which students wrote text type 'report' to prepare for next week's oral fluency lesson where they will discuss whether or not to invest in a new computer-based learning school for toddlers!

Introduction –
This report aims/sets out to …
The aim/purpose of this report is to …
The report is based on …

Findings –
It was found that …
The following points summarise our key findings.
The key findings are outlined below.

Conclusion/s –
It was decided/agreed/felt that …
It is clear that …
No conclusions were reached regarding …

Recommendation/s –
It is suggested/proposed/recommended that …
We (strongly) recommend that …
It is essential to …
It would be advisable to …

Signalling  –
The following areas of concern have been highlighted.
There are a number of reasons for …
There are several factors which affect …
A further factor is …
This raises a number of issues.
As might have been expected, …
Contrary to expectations, …


Homework due Thursday, April 18th:

Write a text about the interview of the sportsperson you made in class, using reporting verbs. Types of texts include: e-mail (students F and A), match review (V), report or letter (R), magazine (M).

use this as a model:
reported speech materials

and some of these reporting verbs:

Neutral Verbs -
Say, tell

Topic verbs -
Discuss, talk about

Non-attitude verbs -
Add, answer, ask, explain, reply, mention

Attitude verbs -
Claim, complain, warn, accuse, allege, blame, confirm, demand, deny, insinuate, insist, recommend, suggest, threaten

Other expressions -
Wanted to know, thought

A very good magazine article, with a neutral register, that is both interesting and engaging!

~ language | VOCABULARY ~

'Word Count', a fun and simple way to practise vocabulary. How many words can you find?

here is my blog post (from 2011) on 'gaol', and more on General American English's spelling standard. 

Another step closer to 'Mordor'; an important advance in leagal vocabulary, at least!

qualm (noun)
cope (verb) – compare to 'deal with' and 'manage'
rhyme (verb, and noun – a short poem)
hothouse (verb)

filthy (ungradable adjective)

creative (gradable adjective)

patient (gradable adjective)

I can't stand (+ object / + ing)

absent (ungradable adjective)

(to) sue

arson

file

convict

premium

insurance

guarantee

(to) sentence

appeal

fraud

butcher shop

witty

brilliant

ward

beg

brand-new

crystal-clear

so-called

witness

jury

judge

pickpocket

294 mouldy twenty-dollar notes

headstrong (energetically wilful and determined)
single-minded (concentrating on only one aim)
catch up with (Julie at the weekend)

catch up to (the blue team)
opinionated
get away with (murder)
come up with (a new idea)
cut down on
look up to
look forward to (+ing)
put up with


(to) convict
(to) sentence
burglar
burglary
pickpocket

from On The Honeymoon:-

tarrace
pick out
high heels
stance
(to) sling
stout
(to) smooth
date
passers-by
(to) peer
moan
dodge
striking
dizzy
tuck in/up
beckon
(to) flare
sole
scarcely
shriek
bewilder
sturdy
tottering gait
rendezvous (ron-day-voo)

from a lesson of unit 8:-

 

from The Landlady:-

~ language | GRAMMAR ~ 

Reported Speech:-

examples of reported speech in different contexts

from Tuesday the 9th of April's in-class blog:

I think it was a very productive lesson. Matt said (that)  __________.

Yes I agree, especially to review reported speech. V commented (that) ___________.

It's sunny today and looks like it will be a warm day. V said (that) ___________.

The sun is shinning in the sky. A commented (that) ____________.

I heard a lot of Portuguese music during my trip to Brazil, the only bad thing was listening to Axe, and nothing else, all night in the disco. M said (that) ____________________________________.

I don't understand Portuguese, so I would also have a bad time listening to that all night long.

F commented (that) ____________.

reporting verbs:

Neutral Verbs -
Say, tell

Topic verbs -
Discuss, talk about

Non-attitude verbs -
Add, answer, ask, explain, reply, mention

Attitude verbs -
Claim, complain, warn, accuse, allege, blame, confirm, demand, deny, insinuate, insist, recommend, suggest, threaten

Other expressions -
Wanted to know, thought

Modals must / might / can't for levels certainty:-

It must have been poison.
He might have been there on business.
He can't have organised to meet her: he only arrived in Seville yesterday.
He could have tried escaping before the posion affected him.
He musn't have had subway credit.
You must be here for the meeting.
There musn't be anyone home.

Relative clauses, defining | non-defining:-

The family at the end of the road, whose dog barks constantly, are thinking of moving.
My neighbour, whom I've always liked, has given me his old computer.
Tasmin's going to Australia for the winter, where her parents are living at the moment.
Tina's car, which she's had for years, is up for sale.
In the summer, when the weather is nice, we should go to the beach.



with prepositions,


The family at the end of the road, with whose daughter you play football, are thinking of moving.
My neighbour, to whom you gave your printer, has given me his old computer.
Tasmin's going to Australia for the winter, to where her parents travelled last year.
Tina's car, about (or of) which your brother was talking, is up for sale.
– all prepositions may be moved to end of the sentence, e.g. play football with, which is more common in spoken English.

Tina's the girl who (or that) is selling her car.
That's the old computer which (or that) my neighbour has given me.
Australia is the place where Tasmin is going.
Summer in Buenos Aires is the time when the porteños go to the beach.

~ language | FUNCTIONS ~ 

(see excerise on speech acts and the intention behind our words, e.g. it's hot in here...)

sequencing devices for storytelling:-

Having + past participle: having finished breakfast, he went to the subway.
After + ing: after entering the subway station, he realised he didn't have credit on his travel card.
Before + ing: before getting off the train, he had to quickly tie his shoelaces.
While + ing: while riding on the subway, he looked at the railway map.
On (upon) + ing: upon getting to work, he discovered a lot rubbish at the front door.