Message for all groups / vocab quizz on March 24 and 26

Dear students,

There will be a short vocabulary quizz on March 24 (Tuesday) and 26 (Thursday) on the vocabulary from "Oregon Discovery", "Coretta Scott King" and "Barefoot College in India".

The questions will be asked orally, so you should be able to understand them orally. I will not repeat the questions more than twice.

There will be questions on the vocabulary, on entire phrases and sentences from these two reports.

Therefore, it is crucial that you listen to oral English a lot and particularly the reports we are discussing and studying.

Should you be absent that day, you are required to provide me with a valid and sincere justification, otherwise, you will get a zero. There will be no catch-up whatsoever!

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor (mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Message for the Tuesday group

Dear students,

I would like to apologize for this morning. A mishap in the RER B prevented me from coming to class this morning. When I finally arrived at Luxembourg, it was around 8:55...

We will definitely catch this up: from 9:30 to 10 am, 3 times.

My apologies again.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

For the Thursday group only

Dear students,

As convened and agreed, on Thursdays, from next Thursday onwards (March 12), we will start class at 8:30 am except when there is an in-class test. To allow you to finish your test for 10-15 extra minutes, we will start at 8 am. As you know, the next class after our class starts at 10am.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor (mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

For March 10 and 12: message for all groups

Barefoot College in India: prepare 5 questions and their answers, check and start learning the vocabulary:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/july-dec08/indiaschool_10-06.html

Movie Earth by Deepa Mehta next Tuesday (March 10) at 7 pm at La Sorbonne

The movie Earth by Deepa Mehta will be screened at La Sorbonne (amphi Milne Edwards) next Tuesday (March 10) from 7 pm to 8:30pm. You are all most welcome to come and join us. The movie will be screened in original version with English subtitles.

Here is a trailer (use Internet Explorer instead of Mozilla Firefox if this does not work):

Synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes:

Deepa Mehta's epic tale of the hateful religious and civil wars that took place in India and Pakistan in the 1947 battle to gain independence from the British, EARTH is the second movie in a trilogy from the director, preceded by FIRE (1996) and followed by WATER (due in 2001). The story, which is based on an autobiographical novel entitled CRACKING INDIA, by Bapsi Sidhwa, is told through the eyes of a little girl, Lenny (Maia Sethna), who has one leg in a brace. The impediment keeps Lenny from being very active, so she spends her time sitting and talking with her loving nanny, Shanta (Nandita Das), whose beauty attracts a faithful following of about six male friends. Lenny and Shanta sit in the park, fly kites, take long picturesque walks through the ruins outside their village, and all the time Lenny is absorbing the conversations around her. Between Shanta's Muslim and Hindu suitors--one of whom is a Sikh--and Lenny's parent's varied group of Parsee and Catholic friends, the debates about the futures of India and Pakistan, including a litany of stereotypes, fearful opinions, and hateful feelings about all parties involved, become more and more heated. Finally, Lenny watches as the warring begins. A horrific trainload full of the bodies of massacred Muslims arrives in their town. Gangs march through the streets raging with violence. Hindu tenements are burned to the ground. Lenny is terrified, and as she struggles to understand all that is happening--and why--the tragedy only gets worse. EARTH is an intense and moving film that illustrates beautifully the terrifying political and cultural atmosphere of 1947 India.

Synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes:

http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/1099317-earth/?critic=creamcrop#contentReviews

Message for all groups: for Tuesday (March 03) and Thursday (March 05)

• Listen to the report on Coretta Scott King from PBS.ORG very carefully and several times

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/jan-june06/king_1-31.html

• Prepare 5 questions and their answers on this report (we will use them for class discussions/debates)
  
• Check the vocabulary and start learning it
• those students who want more grammar explanations and exercices, we will do that from 9:30 am to 10 am (after the class)

Program of the second semester:

• Phrasal verbs (see list given during the first semester)
  
• Idioms (the idioms studied during the first semester will be in the bonus questions: ARM/EYE/FOOT/HEAD/HORSE/LEG)
  
• Vocabulary based on second semester (audio) reports and articles
  
• Audio reports (listening comprehension + expression)
  

Message for all groups: for Tuesday (Feb 17) and Thursday (Feb 19)

• Listen to the report Oregon Discovery from PBS.ORG very carefully and several times

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june08/firstamerican_06-30.html

• Prepare 5 questions and their answers on this report (we will use them for class discussions/debates)
  
• Check the vocabulary and start learning it
• those students who want more grammar explanations and exercices, we will do that from 9:30 am to 10 am (after the class)
• Reminder: you are all most welcome to see the movie Water by Deepa Mehta next Tuesday (Feb 17) at 7pm in amphi Milne -Edwards