Last 2 episodes! 14 &15

Well well! What a fight between Kate and Mark! Do you think she'll go with him back to London??? Would you????

Here are the final 2 episodes for the serial. Here's the audio for episode 14 and here are the written activities. Then finally Episode 15 audio and written tasks.

Hope you enjoyed the serial. Feel free to check out the blog in 2011 for the second series of The Road Less Travelled! I'll continue to post the episodes!

Happy listening!

Week 8

G'day all

As you know it's the last computer class for 2010. I'd like to thank you all for being very dedicated students this semester. You all worked very hard during the two hours in class and mostly completed all the tasks I set with very little need for direction from me! Well done!

I've put a little comment on each of your blogs so have a look! I wish you all the very best for next year in whatever you do.

On December the 25th, many Australians will celebrate the feast of Christmas. What does it mean? Why is it celebrated? Who is Santa Claus? What special foods are eaten? What are the traditions of this time? Do you celebrate the holiday where you come from? Do you have a similar holiday to this? As your final post you can do a Google search about this holiday and then write upan information report in your blog.

Finally, let's finish off by doing some listening. Listen to track 1 only. I couldn't isolate the track and spent HOURS trying to do so! Hope it all works now. Here is the link. Use the worksheets to answer the questions and complete the cloze!

I wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year. All the best to you all for 2011!

This photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Episode 12 & 13

G'day again!
Well we're almost at the end now so today I'll give you the link for 2 episodes of the radio serial. Then the final two next week! Are you still enjoying ita? Have your listening skills improved since you started? I hope so!
Here you'll find the written exercises for Episode 12 and the audio is here!
The written activities for Episode 13 are here and you'll find the audio here.
Happy listening!

Week 7

G'day all

I can't believe that this is the second last blog post for the semester! Where has the time gone? It's a good time probably to reflect on what you've learnt in these sessions and to make suggestions for the future! Can you put a comment on today's post and tell what you've liked/disliked and suggest how I can improve the blog for students in 2011? Thanks!

By now you should have all finished the power point practice so I'm looking forward to you sharing your efforts with me! Good luck with your oral prsentations on Wednesday!

First activity today is a little assessment to see if you can follow instructions!!! Follow the instructions on the computer task sheet. The image you have to find and copy is of a 'koala'.

Last Thursday there were Pathways talks for students (None of you went I suppose!!!) who are completing their 510 hours or who have passed level 4 and moving on to higher English or mainstream courses. What are your plans for 2011? Today, I'd like you to write about your plans in your blog.

Then, have a listen to this podcast and answer the questions. When you have completed the worksheet activities you can work on what you're wearing and we'll record it! Write your description on paper first so it won't be too hard for you.

If you finish all that you can listen to The Road Less Travelled.

Happy blogging!

The RLT episode 11

G'day and welcome to the latest instalment of The Road Less Travelled.

Here for your enjoyment is the audio and written activities.

Happy listening!

Week 6

G'day all

Did you all sleep well last night? It was hot wasn't it? I was out in Cronulla until late and it was quite balmy! I had a very busy weekend. It was so busy I din't even get a chance to prepare the blog for you all!

I hope that today you can finish off the powerpoint presentations on your favourite animals! I'm looking forward to seeing them!

Didn't we have a good excursion last Tuesday? And the weather was good too so we were able to have our picnic in the park! Today, I'd like you to write a recount of the excursion in your blog. If you didn't take any photos, you can use some of mine if you wish! Have a look at the interviews that Fatima and Jing did. Can you listen and write down the questions they asked? If we have time we can do a few more interviews in class today!

Today is also a good chance for you to go through the checklist I gave you recently and make sure you are able to tick off more items on the list.

Happy blogging!

Photos from excursion 09/11/10

Free digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

Excursion videos

G'da all

Here are a few videos from yesterday's excursion! I'd like to thank my reporters Jing and Fatima for their good work! I big thank you also to the students who took part in the 'interviews'!

Hope you enjoy them!

Edisode 10 The RLT!

G'day

Well we're getting near the end of Series 1 now...only 5 episodes to go! Hope you're still enjoying Kate's adventures in California!

Here's the audio and you'll find the written activities here.

Happy listening!

Episode 9

G'day

Well the excitement is mounting now in our radio serial!!

Tune in for the next thrilling instalment! Here is the audio and activities for episode 9!

Happy listening!

Week 5

G'day all

What a busy week you've had! I heard from Andrew that you were all exceptionally good on the excursion to Parliamnet House last Thurs! You took the roles of Government representatives very seriously! Well done to all of you who had a speaking part! Perhaps you'd like to write a recount of your experience in your blog!??

I didn't realise that it would take so long to do the Halloween activities last week and that you wouldn't have time to do the work on Powerpoint. So today, can you go back to last week's post and complete the work set on doing a powerpoint presentation? I'll look forward to seeing your results today!!

If you finish all that you can use the extra time to catch up on our radio serial The Road Less Travelled! It really is good and a great chance to practise your listening!

Have a good week and happy blogging!

Episode 8

G'day

Again I've posted this episode separate from the main blog post so you can access it more easily!

Have fun with this audio and these activities! Who is your favourite character? Are the predictions you made about the story still true???

Enjoy!

Episode 7 The Road Less Travelled

G'day

Here is the audio and activities for Episode 7 of the radio serial!

I hope you're enjoying it!

Week 4

G'day all

Last night was Halloween. It is celebrated on the 31st October each year. Can you work out the words associated with Hallowe'n in this wordle?



What does Halloween mean? Have a look at this Youtube link and then in your blog write a report about it. Follow the correct format for a report. Use an introduction and then 2 or 3 paragraphs describing aspects/features of the holiday. Is Halloween celebrated in your country? Do you have anything like this holiday?

Well I had a great few days in Melbourne but it's still nice to get home! I'm not into horse racing so that didn't interest me much but I was lucky enough to get to go and meet the owners/trainers and jockey of a race! I even got to stand behind the man presenting the trophy!!! Very exciting!!

It was also great to catch up with friends and enjoy the atmosphere which goes with the whole Melbourne Cup carnival. The weather turned awful about lunch time and it poured rain all day! I saw many celebrities from TV and sports stars too! I finally got back to the hotel at 11.30pm and my feet were killing me!

As we read and heard this morning, not only is the Melbourne Cup a very important event in Melbourne each year but it's big all over Australia! It is the race that stops a nation! We'll have a look at other aspects of the Cup tomorrow in class!

As part of your oral presentation you'll have to produce a powerpoint slide show. I told Andrew that I would show you how to use the program and that you could practise in this class. So, have a look at this link and follow the prompts to produce your own powerpoint presentation. Have a look at my first attempt at creating a slide show! I just tried to use as many techniques as possible for fun! For practice, I'd like you to choose your favourite animal and try to make a slide show using images from Google and some info!

Happy blogging!

Week 3

G'day all

As last week's post was very demanding, I'm going to let you have today as a 'catch-up' lesson! Go back and complete any outstanding activities from last week and even the previous weeks.

Look at the table on the printed worksheet and check that you have completed all the required tasks. If you haven't done so then please try to get up to date as soon as possible. (There are still some we have to do in class so don't panic!!)

I know some of you are almost up to date so here is Episode 6 of The Road Less Travelled! Here is the audio and the worksheets are here!

Happy listening and blogging!

Week 2

G'day all

I hope you all had a good first week back in class. You did well on Monday when we were looking at facts versus opinions in advertising! On Tuesday you all did very well with the running dictation! It certainly 'woke' you up! It was great too to have a few new students in the class! Welcome to Sara and Mariam and welcome back to Mirche and Rado. (Of course I think only Sara will attend this class!!)

I enjoyed reading your recounts about what you did during the break. I'm delighted that so many of you made it on the excursion to Bundeena. The weather was great and you all had a marvellous experience I think!

Last week on BTN there was an article on Beach Safety. Open the website and log on (ask me for the username/password). Print off the written exercises before clicking on the video link.

Have you ever heard of a webquest? Well, it's like a quest/hunt for information using the web. If you follow the link, you will end up with some pages that require you to answer questions using the information you gather by opening the highlighted sites. You don't have to read EVERYTHING, just what's relevant for the quest. In Part 2, when you have to send an ecard, I'd like you to send it to me as well as a friend! (Ask me for my email address if you don't already know it!)

Ok, so let's begin! Click on the link to the webquest and have some fun!

For those who are up to date, here is Episode 5 of The Road Less Travelled. Open the written exercises here and the audio link here.


Have fun and Happy Blogging!

Week 1, Term 4

G'day all and welcome back to term 4!

I hope you enjoyed your two-week break from English class! I enjoyed not having to get up early each day! I didn't do anything major just caught up with some friends, did some shopping and a bit of spring cleaning! The weather was very good the first week but last week it was cold again, wasn't it?

Well, we're back to class again now for a very short term. There are only 8 weeks of classes left! During this time you'll all be deciding what to do next year and looking at the best options for you! To help you reach your decisions, I suggest you visit the counsellors in Building A. There will also be a Further Study Pathways event organised for you in November. Please remember though, that if you've only been attending 2 days a week, you will probably not have covered enough units or completed the required number of assessments to pass the course.

Ok, now to work! To begin today, I'd like you to write a recount of how you spent the break from TAFE. Just remember the structure of a recount. Ask me to refresh your memory if you've forgotten!

We all love food, right? Have a look at this short video (Please HIDE the transcript and just LISTEN to the conversation.) Complete the vocab and comprehension questions that go with it. Then, in your blog, write a short report about the kind of food you eat and what Australian food you've eaten or would like to try. You might like to look at this link to get some ideas about Ozzie food!

Have fun and happy blogging!

Week 2 Holiday time!

G'day all

I hope you're enjoying your time away from TAFE but I hope you're not forgetting all your English! I hope you're still practising every day! Have you managed to talk English anywhere? I hope so!

Here is Episode 4 of our English serial. Who's your favourite character? Is the story developing as you guessed it would? Are you still sure that your predictions will come true???

The listening is here and the activities can be found by clicking on this link.

Hope the last week goes well for you!

Happy blogging!

Week 1 Holiday time

G'day all

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend. I know I did! It's lovely knowing that I don't have to get up very early tomorrow morning!!!!

I'm not sure how many of you will actually sign into the blog and do this work but here it is anyway!

Episode 3 is the next episode of The Road Less Travelled so you can listen during the holidays. I hope you complete the activities. You can check your answers at the end. Here is the audio link and the exercises are here.

If you do some work on your blog, either put a Comment in my most recent blog post or send me an email and I can check your work!

Happy blogging and enjoy your week!

Week 9

G'day all and welcome to the last computer class for the term.

Well done on creating your slideshows last week. I hope you enjoyed doing it and I hope you create many more in the future! If you go on the excursion to Bundeena organised by the MRC you should have lots of photos to use! Maybe even some video!

Many Chinese people around the world are celebrating the Moon (Lunar) Festival at the moment! There are many legends surrounding this event. Some of the main legends are about Chang Er, Wu Kang, Jade Rabbit and Moon cakes. Do a Google search and write abot 2 of these characters in your blog!

Here are the written activities for Episode 2 of The Road Less Travelled. Print them off and then listen to the podcast and complete the tasks. (Remember to do Episode 1 first if you haven't alreday done so!!)

I came across this Youtube video the other day when I opened a link from a language website I subscribe to. It looks at common expressions in English. Check it out and maybe have a look at some other Youtube videos available for learning English. Some are better than others.

Here's a free website with Australian slang. You can register if you like and they'll give you the slang expressions and explanations.

Have a good week and happy blogging! Enjoy your 2 weeks of frredom! Remember, you can still work on your blogs during the break and I'll continue to write a post and give you the next 2 instalments of The Road less Travelled!

Personalize your own photo slideshow

Week 8

G'day all

Thanks for the great work you did last week in adding your tips to the list despite the fact you were unable to access the link from your computers! At last look we were up to 44! Can we think of some more? Do you think we can make 101?

Well done too on posting your Father's Day comment on my blog. It was lovely to read them. I've printed off the list and corrected your mistakes so you can perhaps go back in today and edit your comment.

You all worked so hard too with the Fairy Penguin listening that I've got a fun activity for you to begin today. Open this link and try the language game! It doesn't just test your grammar skills but your games skills too! I failed terribly the first time I tried! I couldn't get it! You can open the other games too and try them!

Did you enjoy the Car and Bike Expo last Wednesday? What did you see? What did you do? Did anyone win a prize in the raffle? Write a short recount in your blog and upload any photos if you have them. (I can't believe that I forgot to bring my camera so I hope you remembered yours!!)

How would you like to follow an English serial here every week? It's called The Road Less Travelled. Try out this podcast and print off the activities. Hope you enjoy the story!

One more thing! Try to remember your photos on a USB next week so we can do a photostory!

Happy blogging!

Week 7

G'day all

I hope all the fathers in your lives had a good day yesterday! Was it Father's Day in your country too? Post a comment at the end of this post and tell me how you celebrated the day. What did your children do for their dad and what did you do for yours?

As last week's listening was quite long and most of you didn't finish, I'd like you to complete that work first. Here is the link again so you can complete the activity.

When you've done that, I'd like you to look at the language learning tips you wrote a couple of weeks ago and add them to a common page so we can see if we get to 101!!!! I have to invite you to join the site. You'll need to open your emails and see the invite from me. Then you can follow the link and open the page and edit it. Read the other tips first and then add yours. DO NOT write a tip that's already there! Only one person can edit at a time so you may have to wait a bit before you get a turn.

Try to remember to bring some photos on a USB/memory stick next week so you can do a photostory. You only need about 5-10 photos. It's better if they are on a theme say a party or picnic or holiday. That way the story can make more sense.

If you finish all today's work, just have a look at this 'Australia' prepositions quiz. No need to print it! Just show me the online work you've done.

Have a good week and happy blogging!

Week 6

G'day all

What another lovely fine weekend we had! Did you get out and about at all? Write about it as a recount in your blog.

Now, you've all seen the Harbour Bridge, I know, and some of you have walked across it but how would you like to have breakfast on it?? There will be a Breakfast on the Bridge event happening on October 10. To attend, you have to first register for tickets and then hope your name is drawn in a ballot! You can register by visiting this site. Remember, you have to be in it to win it!!

When you've done that, please finish off any work from last week. Next week I'll give you a list of all the things you should have completed by now!

Phillip Island in Victoria is famous for its penguins. Many many tourists visit there each year to see the famous parade. Listen to this recording and answer the questions on the handout.

Happy blogging!

Week 5

G'day all

Well I hope you had a great weekend. My husband and I went away for the weekend. It was a friend's birthday so a few of us went to stay at his gorgeous home - a restored and renovated flour mill. The mill is situated in a small country town called Binda, (the link will give you a bit of info about the place) about 40 minutes from Goulburn. We had a fantastic time together and enjoyed great food and conversation!

We also watched the election results on TV. As you can imagine we were waiting for a clear winner all night but we're still waiting!

In last week's class you read about Kyle's language learning tips. What were they? What are yours? In your blog, write up 10 language learning tips you think are important for learning English. Then next week we'll try and compile a long list and see if we can reach 100!!!

When you've finished that, watch this video about an Australian singer with a Vietnamese background. Thanh talked about 'integration' into the country. As all of you have only been in Australia for a short time. What are your feelings about integration? What are the difficulties new migrants face? What experiences have you had? Has anyone called you names? Have you ever felt like the 'odd one out'? Write your opinion in your blog.

In the video there are some explanations about grammar topics such as tag questions and rhetorical questions. Try this exercise for practice.

If you still have time, I'll give you something else to do!

Happy blogging!

Week 4

Photo slideshow made with Smilebox

G'day all

Today you need to finish off any work from the last few week s that hasn't been done. Therefore, I'm not giving you too many class tasks today.

Have you ever wondered when your English will be good enough so that you could star in an English speaking movie? Well, today you're going to listen and read about an American teenager who has starred in a Chinese language film!

Print off the worksheet and view the YouTube video. Then complete the true/false questions and finally complete the reading activities.

If you finish everything and still have time left over, I'll give you something else to do!

Happy blogging!

Week 3

G'day all

First I'd like to say well done for working out the sentences last Monday. While they weren't exactly like the ones I'd used, they were still good!

Well done too on working out what the people were saying about the best places to visit in their countries. Now, today, I'd like you to write in your post about the best place to visit in your country. Then I'd like to video your response and put it on your blog!

Next, look at this video and then see if you can understand it. Then do the pronunciation quiz as suggested. You may have to test the headphones and microphones a bit!

When you've finished that, look at this link about a special festival held each year in a small Australian country town. Do you have anything like this in your country? Write about a festival in your country.

If you still have time , you can try this grammar quiz on the present perfect and present simple tense.

Remember, any work you don't complete in class, you can do at home! The idea is not to fall behind and have too much to catch up on!

Happy blogging!

Week 2

G'day all

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend. It was lovely to see the sun again wasn't it? I liked that I could hang out the washing and get it dry! That was a treat!! I also sat outside for a little while and read the paper!

It's good to have a couple of new students in the class - Jing and Shampa! I hope they enjoy blogging too!

This is called a Wordle. It contains 4 sentences. Can you unjumble them? When the text is LARGE then it means the word is used more than once. Some little words have been omitted so you have to add them in. For example, was, a, in, from, her, out, of, the, she, into. (You may need to use these words more than once) The first sentence starts with Jessica Mortimer.



When you've worked them out come and show them to me so I can check if you're correct!

When you've finished that, I'd like you to listen to this interview about the best place to live in one's home country. Now answer the question for your country and write your opinion in your blog!

Happy blogging!

Semester 2, Week 1

G'day all and welcome to blogging!

For those of you who don't know anything about blogging, ask me for instructions to help you create your own blog. When you have done that, write your first post and tell me a bit about yourself and where you come from. I'll show you how to add links and photos etc.

For those of you who have done blogging before and already have your own blogs, well you can start by writing a recount of what you did during the break.

After that have a look at the previous post and answer the questions on the video clip. It doesn't really check your listening skills more your general understanding of what you see and hear!!

Andrew told me that there were only 2 of you in class last Thurs pm to do the work on Behind the News (BTN). Have a look at the video clip and complete the questions on the sheet I give you. We will be listening to the song in class tomorrow.

If you still have time, check out these exercises and complete the work! The first exercise is a reading task about the internet. Print off the questions and complete the worksheet. This next worksheet is on the grammar of adjectives ending in -ed or -ing. If you still have time you can complete this one too!

Happy blogging!

A music video clip!

This is a music video my daughter, Claire directed for a Sydney band called 'Songs' Have a look at the video clip and answer the questions. For those of you who've already watched the video, here are the questions! I posted it by mistake...it was still in draft!!!!

1. What colour is the singer's scarf?

2. How many cows walk past?

3. What colour is the car?

4. What does the singer take out of his pocket while in the car?

5. What season do you think it is and what makes you think that?

6. According to the singer, what's the girl giving him?

7. Who/what does the singer walk past in the town?

8. What's the girl doing?

9. Do you think the singer and the girl will ever be together? Why/why not?

10. Would you say this is a happy or sad song?

You can answer the questions in a post and leave me a comment saying you've done it so I can check your answers!

Happy blogging!

Week 9

G'day all

I can't believe we're up to the last computer class of the semester! I hope you've enjoyed it! Some of you have been fantastic contributors and added comments and posts regularly to your blogs. Some of you have a 'block' on comments so I haven't been able to say anything on your posts.

Well done to most of you on your presentations last week. I know you were very nervous but you still did a good job! Have a look at Olga's blog to see a slideshow of the day! Thanks Olga


The first activity for today is to send me an email. I'd like you to tell me what your plans for next semester are and also what you liked about this class. (Check the address on the board)

For the last activity today I'd like you to write a recount of the Health Expo. You can also add any photos you have from the day.

After that, open the following worksheet and print it off. Then listen to the podcasts about Floods and Hurricanes and complete the activities. Hand it to me when completed.

I'd like to thank you all for being a great class and to those of you who are leaving us, I'd like to wish you all the best for the future. Don't forget us and come and visit when you can or keep in touch via email or the blog!

Good luck and keep blogging!

Health Expo video and photos

G'day all

Hope you're all enjoying the extra long break this weekend. I know I am!

Here are the videos and photos from last week's Health Expo. Congratulations to you all for a job very well done. Your help was much appreciated. Remember that you will be able to add that to your Resumes as it was volunteer work. You will be able to mention selling raffle tickets, interviewing stall holders or handing out evaluation forms as part of the event.

Have a look at Thomas and Vladimir talking about the raffle tickets

Cindy is seen here describing the food she's bought!

I know that Olga, Susanne and Tatiana were also around and helping out but I seem not to have any photos of them! Does anyone else have photos??

Personalize your own slideshow

Week 8

G'day all

It's good to be back...I think!!!! I had a great time and enjoyed being with my family. The 'goodbyes' were difficult as usual!

I'm sure you're all finished your research on your short talk topic by now! if not you can finish it up today!

I'm sorry but I'm really, really tired after my long flight so am unable to think straight about today's blog lesson! I don't have anything too hard for you to do!!

To begin today you can complete this reading comprehension on 'which is the hardest language to learn'. Read the text and answer the questions! No cheating!!!

Now listen to this podcast prepared by one of last year's AMEP students and then answer the questions for yourself! Ask me for the ipod to record your opinion and I'll publish it for next week!

On Wednesday, as you know, the Student Association will hold its annual Health Expo. As it's all about healthy lifestyles, try this quiz and see how much you know about heathy eating!

Happy blogging! By the way, remember that there won't be a class next Monday as it's a long weekend! Do you know why?

Some photos from the 2009 Health Expo

Customize a picture slideshow

Semester 1 2010 Student blogs

Binu
Bob
Cindy
Fatimah
Jabeen
Jessie
John
Junghee
Kanvara
Kate
Keya
Maysaa
Mushfika
Nazma
Olga
Pascale
Rado
Seon
Shayla
Sue
Sunny
Susanne
Vladimir

Greetings from Cork, Ireland

Photo of my brother and I with my nephew & niece (Kevin & Lisa) on their First Holy Communion Day..

G'day all and greetings form Ireland!

How are you getting on? I'm having a great time here with my family. I'll need to go on a diet though when I get back because all I seem to do is eat!!!

The weather has for the most part been surprisingly good! I have even worn a short sleeved T-shirt once or twice!!!

I'm sure you're all working hard on your presentations! You should have all your information by now! I'll be back on Monday so no excuses!!!

Enjoy the rest of the week without me!

Take care and keep blogging!

Week 5

G'day all

I hope all you mothers in the class had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday. Was it Mother's Day where you come from too? Leave me a comment and tell me how you celebrated or if you rang your mum etc.

As you know, you will all have to do an oral presentation when I return from Ireland. Today I'd like you to start practising using powerpoint. The following tutorials are useful for you. It shows you. Use this tutorial to help you get started with Powerpoint. If you find a better one just let me know!

The second tutorial explains how to make an effective presentation. Have a look at it and if you follow the suggestions you'll make a wonderful slideshow to go with the your talk at the end of term!!

To help you become familair with it all, today I'd like you to prepare a short slide show using powerpoint. You can choose from :

• the town/city or region you come from


• your favourite animal


• your hobby
  

You will need to include at least 5 slides including the Title slide. Add images, animation, music and effects. Ask me to show you the very basic one I prepared!!

Have fun!

Rocks excursion May 4

Hey all

Here's a slide show of our excursion. Have a look and if you put the curser over the slide, a caption will appear! Have a read!!

I'll be looking forward to seeing your photos on your blog! To begin today I'd like you to write a recount of the excursion in your blog. Don't forget to add all the features of a Recount like orientation, series of events and a reoreintation! Remeber too to use time markers, noun groups and a little personal comment! Ask me if you're unsure!

An interesting video!

G'day all

Here at last is the video I took in class when we were playing the Alibi game! You can see how funny some of the students found it!!

I hope you enjoy it too!

Aboriginal performers

G'day all

Here's a short video clip of the Aboriginal performers we saw on the way back to Circular Quay station on Tuesday.

The didigeroo playing is impressive as is the dancing! It's a pity though that the jogger ran in front of them! It spoils my video!!!

A little bit of fun!

G'day all,

Here's a little fun video taken in Foundation Park when we were on our excursion! Vladimir sure was having lots of fun!

Week 2/3

G'day all

Wasn't the weather great on the weekend? I hope you were able to get out and enjoy the sunshine! I was happy to get all the clothes dry quickly!

I hope it'll be as nice for our excursion tomorrow! I'm looking forward to walking around the city and seeing the famous sights again! It's something I never tire of!

To begin today I'd like you to look at this information about places in the Rocks. Have a little read about the various places then make a note of them and look out for them tomorrow! We'll see who can best remember some facts about the various places!

The I'd like you to listen to this mini play set in a clothes shop in England. The accents are very English but as many TV shows and films are English, I thought it would be good for you to listen to it. Open this link and print off the worksheets first to help you with it all. Hopefully they won't all be back to front again!!!

When you've done that, you can come up to me and we'll do a little voice recording of you talking about how you spent the weekend!

Still got time? I'm sure we'll find something for you to do!!!

Happy blogging!

Here's the video from our Easter party! I've know idea why it won't play right way up as it does in the video folder! I've tried twice and you know it takes forever to upload!! Enjoy anyway but don't strain your neck!!!

Term 2. Week 1

Make a free slideshow design

G'day all and welcome back for another term. I hope you all had an enjoyable break away from TAFE. Did you do anything special? Did you go to the Easter Show? the beach? the mountains? anywhere??? Write about it in a recount in your blog.

As I explained to you this morning, we're unable to go on the excursion tomorrow. I'm sorry about that but we will hopefully go on May 4.

I had a lovely 2 weeks away from work. In fact, I must apologise because I had such a lovely time I didn't even think about work or the blog or anything! Sorry!

I'll try to make it up by putting lots of things on for you to do!!

Do any of you go to the TAFE canteen for a coffee? Well listen to Annette who worked there last year as she talks about coffee and other things. Remember to print the worksheet before you start listening!

Next Monday is ANZAC Day. To help you understand a bit about its significance, open this link to find the answers to the questions on this worksheet. Print it out first then write up your answers as a report in your blog.

Happy blogging!

Week 7

On Sunday, my daughter Claire and I went to the Art Gallery of NSW to see the Archibald exhibition.

G'day all and welcome to the final blog for the term!

I don't know about you but I feel the term has gone very quickly! I had a lovely time reading your blogs last night and tried to leave a comment on your posts! Check out what I had to say!

I was very impressed with your slideshows! Well done! It's lovely looking at all the creative things you can do! I'm sure you could teach me a thing or two!

How many of you remembered to switch off the lights for an hour on Saturday night? I did! I was home alone and had a very romantic hour with the lights off and candles burning!!! The dog thought I was crazy!!!!

Today I'd like you to write a recount about our Harmony Day activity in your blogs! Most of you were there so you should be able to write about it! If you weren't in class on Wednesday then write what you did on the day!

When you've done that have a look at Susanne's blog and read the cute story she wrote as part of her homework a couple of weeks ago. She really did write interesting sentences! Leave a comment on her blog to tell her what you think of her story!

Thanks too to Cindy for posting the recipe for the delicious dumplings. They look as yummy in the photos as they did in reality! The recipe for the Irish brown bread is here too. Let me know if you try any of the recipes!

The holidays will start after your class on Thursday. You can enjoy two weeks of sleeping in and no homework....well, almost no homework!!! The Easter Show starts April 1. What is it? Have a look at the following link and check it out for yourself and then answer the questions in your blog.

Happy Easter and Happy Blogging! Please feel free to write in your blogs over the break! I'll try to!!

Week 6

Ned Kelly and his famous armour!




G'day all

I hope you had a good weekend. I did! On Friday night I had some friends around to help me belatedly celebrate St Patrick's Day! We had lots of good food, music and conversation! Some of us even managed to have a bit of a dance!

It was great to see your recounts on your blogs this week. Unfortunately, my printer didn't have any ink when I went to print them out on Sunday evening and all the shops were closed. Perhaps you can print them today for me so I can correct them for you.

I also found out that Photostory 3 is hiding on the desktop so we should be able to locate that today. I'll tell you where to look!

When we were singing I am Australian last Tuesday, the bushranger Ned Kelly was mentioned. Read this text and answer the questions about him.

We also had a look athe gerund. See if you can complete this short grammar exercise on it!

Wednesday is Harmony Day. Go on Google and find out what it is. How is it celebrated? Is it only in Australia or anywhere else? Post your answers in your blog. As we are talking about harmony and migrants, have a listen to this podcast and complete the activity in your blog post. Can you link it with Harmony Day?

Finally, can you tell me what's happening in Australia next Saturday night? Will it be happening anywhere else in the world? What will you be doing for it? Post a comment on my blog!

Have a good week and happy blogging!

Week 5

G'day all

Well, we had a lovely excursion last Tuesday to celebrate International Women's Day! The weather was great and so was the experience. All the ladies from AMEP-A and B attended their first Aboriginal smoking ceremony, had a walk in the bush and saw and patted some small native animals. We were also treated to some impromptu Lebanese dancing and listened to Annie talk about the depression she suffered shortly after her arrival to Australia. Lunch wasn't bad either!
Meanwhile our men were involved in a workshop about Australian workplace culture and coping with migrating to a new country. I'm sure they got a lot out of it but perhaps it was not what they expected. I'll try and make it up to them!

Today, I'd like you all to write a recount of our excursion last Tuesday. If you didn't go on the excursion, then I'd like you to write a recount of how you spent your day! Remember to use the correct structure: orientation, sequence (list) of events, a closure or reorientation.

When you have done that you can start on your photostory. Ask me how to get started! If you don't have any photos, you can use some of mine for now.

If you still have time check out the questions here on Ireland's National Day, St Patrick's Day which will be celebrated on Wed 17 March.

Have a good week and happy blogging!

Week 4

G'day all
I guess there is no need to tell you what these are images of! The spider on the left is the Sydney Funnel Web spider and the other i,s of course, the Redback spider. It was one of these spiders that Mandy spoke about the other day when we visited Rosemarie's class. Mandy was one lucky lady for sure!

Well done to all of you who added a piece of advice to those who wish to improve their English outside the classroom! I hope you follow the advice given!

Most of you are keeping up with the class work set each Monday but there are others who still have things to finish. It is important not to fall too far behind!

Today as you know is International Women's Day. Can you do a search and find out when the event was first celebrated? How is the event celebrated in your country? Write your answers by leaving me a comment at the end of this post!

In class we have been looking at casual conversation and recounts. Have a listen to these teachers having a conversation and answer the questions on the worksheet. (Follow the link to find it and print it!)

I think that should keep you busy for a while! If you finish, see me and I'll suggest something else for you to do!

Happy blogging!

Week 3

G'day all

The item below is from Wallwisher. You can add to it on the topic by clicking on the tab Post a sticky. Let's see how many suggestions we can come up with in total!



I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Did any of you go to the Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday night or the Dragon Boat Racing on Saturday afternoon? Tell me about it if you did!

I hope that you've all done at least the preliminary draft of your report from Patricia's talk. Begin today by posting the corrected draft in a post on your blog.

During this week in class we continued with a bit of grammar and looked at articles and when to use or not use them. To help you consolidate what we covered, have a go at the exercises from this web site.

Over the past few weeks we have on a couple of occasions looked at a bit of information to do with Australia. Have a go at this quiz and see how well you know your new country! There is a second quiz you can do do about Australian animals and after that see how well you know Aussie slang!

Good luck and try to finish as much as you can in class!

Happy blogging!

Week 2

G'day all!

Well done on creating your blogs last week! Some of you did the job with ease while some of you took a bit longer to get your blogs set up! I've written comments on all the blogs that posted something last class so please read them!

You should all have:

• written an introductory post
• added a photo
• added a link to either information on your country or town/city
• added a link to my blog and a link to at least one of your classmates

Well done to those of you who completed the Computer Health quiz last week. If you didn't do it then please do so today.

Those of you who went to have the library tour with Andrew should find the next exercise easy!

First, you should print off the library exercises and complete the answers as you listen to an interview with one of the librarains called Patricia. When you have all the answers to the questions you are to present the information as a report in your blog. I do not want a list of numbered answers but paragraphs.

Please try to complete these activities today. It is very easy to fall behind with the work and then you won't hve time to catch up later! All activities must be done as this work is counted towards your reading/writing portfolio!

If you finish all this within the class time, I'll give you something else to do!

Happy blogging!

Week 1

G'day all and welcome to our class blog! I hope you all have a fun time learning English through the activities I'll set you each week.

Today I'll help you to create a blog and post a bit of information about yourself. I'll show you too how to add an image to your post and blog.

Before you get started though, I have to ask you to complete a few exercises entitled 'Computer Health'. Click on this link and read through the information on Stretches, Postures and Consequences. Then print out the Quiz worksheets. Once you've completed this task and handed in the worksheets, you can begin to create your blog!

Happy blogging!