L3 English Class at La Sorbonne University in Paris: October 2010

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Message for the Thursday class / My absence today (October 21) / Homework for November 04

Dear L3 students (the Thursday group),

Though I tried very hard this morning (from 6 to 8 am...!), I was not able to get into a train on the line B of the RER which was VERY disrupted this morning. When I finally "managed" to get into a PACKED train and arrived at Gare du Nord, it was already 8:40 am. By the time I would arrive at CNAM, many of you would have left and the class could not last more than 30 minutes. As a result, today's class is cancelled and this is the homework I would like you to prepare for our next class which hopefully will take place on November 04.

Homework for November 04:

1/ Audio report: "Moscow's Homeless People"

- listen carefully and several times
- fill in the gaps
- check the vocabulary (use the online dictionaries to work fast and efficiently, not paper-based dictionaries)
- start learning the vocabulary

2/ Grammar

- do the execise # 3 up from each unit up to unit 16 (the entire handout)
- read carefully the explanations on these units/chapters from your grammar textbook (English Grammar in Use (intermediate level) by R. Murphy)

3/ Idioms: Fish / Leg / Foot (this was for today)

- watch these videos from the BBC's website
- you should be able to explain in English the general meaning of the idiom
- you should be able to explain in English the context/example used by "the teacher" to explain the idiom discussed
- try to find an equivalent translation in French
- learn both the French and English versions of the idioms

4/ Phrasal Verbs

- page 1 and 2 (you will be able to find this handout from the link you use to reach the other documents - see previous post)
- in order to do these exercises and to work fast and efficiently, use the specialized links on phrasal verbs indicated on a previous post
- start learning these phrasal verbs

My apologies again for my absence this morning.

Best regards,

(mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Message for the Tuesday group / Homework for November 02

Homework for November 02:

1/ Audio report: "Moscow's Homeless People"

- listen carefully and several times
- fill in the gaps
- check the vocabulary (use the online dictionaries to work fast and efficiently, not paper-based dictionaries)
- start learning the vocabulary

2/ Grammar

- do the execise # 3 up from each unit up to unit 16 (the entire handout)
- read carefully the explanations on these units/chapters from your grammar textbook (English Grammar in Use (intermediate level) by R. Murphy)

3/ Idioms: Fish / Leg / Foot (this was for last Tuesday)

- watch these videos from the BBC's website
- you should be able to explain in English the general meaning of the idiom
- you should be able to explain in English the context/example used by "the teacher" to explain the idiom discussed
- try to find an equivalent translation in French
- learn both the French and English versions of the idioms

4/ Phrasal Verbs

- page 1 and 2 (if you don't have it, you will be able to find this handout from the link you use to reach the other documents - see previous post)
- in order to do these exercises and to work fast and efficiently, use the specialized links on phrasal verbs indicated on a previous post
- start learning these phrasal verbs

Best regards,

(mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

BBC Learning English The Teacher Idioms

BBC Idioms

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/

Permanent link for documents (audio reports, transcripts, etc.)

Here is the link all L3 students (Tuesday and Thursday groups) will have to use to find the documents (audio reports, phrasal verbs, vocabulary, etc.) used and discussed during the class sessions:

[in case this link does not work, switch to Mozilla/Firefox or to Internet Explorer or email me, I will send the documents and audio reports by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK51384cab25c068d3c/

All my students are required to check this website on a regular basis (at least twice a week) and before coming to class.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Attendance Rules

Attendance is compulsory for those who are in "contrôle continu": if you are absent 3 times (ie 2+1) for unjustified reasons, if you cannot provide me with a valid and sincere justification, you will be automatically registered in "contrôle final".

Those of you who would like to be in "contrôle final", I recommend that you come and talk to me about this at the end or at the beginning of a class or send me an email about this as soon as possible.

In case you fail to be present for a class session (for justified or unjustified reason), you will have to do all the exercises from a unit/chapter of your choice from the grammar textbook (English Grammar in Use by Murphy). You will have to hand in these exercises the following class otherwise you will get a zero. This assignment must be handwritten NOT typed.

In "contrôle continu", in case you fail to be present at one of the two main exam sessions, you will be automatically registered in "contrôle final" even if you have a valid and sincere justification.

In "contrôle continu", if you have no valid and sincere justification for your possible absence for the short tests and quizzes that will also take place during the semester, you will get a zero.