Friday's Field Trip

Called Toronto's Vatican City, the University of Toronto was our destination of choice for last Friday's field trip.

Eisa, Sossy, Sharareh, Hong, Zahra, Shekoufeh, Fottima, Saida, William and, from Workplace English, Raul.

Brave classmates all, grimly enduring an inexplicable TTC subway delay, navigating the immense, unfamiliar campus, and trudging through double-digit subzero weather! More pictures here.

This Friday (Jan. 30) our field trip begins at 10:30 a.m. with a guided campus tour from the Visitor Centre of the University of Toronto.

Friday's Assignment

Congratulations on completing the Job Search Workshop with Nina!

Would you like to record your voice speaking the above comment? Make it as real as possible!

So what was your dream job? Here are your tasks for this morning:

1. Connect with your instructor and at least 5 classmates on LinkedIn.com and Facebook.
2. Peer check with 5 partners and post your cover letter and resume for your chosen profession on your blog.
3. Role Play: Getting the Dream Job

Thursday's Assignment

Welcome to class on Thursday! Here are your tasks:

1. Finish up any unfinished work from Monday to Wednesday's assignments.
2. Do this lesson on Business Writing--Successful Letters: The Basics.
3. Watch this video, take notes, and then draft and publish a cover letter on your blog. If you have a resume, you may publish it as well.

Wednesday's Assignment

Today we continue on the theme of job search resources. But first, please sign up for next Friday's (changed from next Thursday) trip to UofT, which includes a walking tour and a visit to this Startup Career Expo 2015. Be sure to forward your confirmation email to your instructor. Here's what it looked like last year:


Then check out the following cartoon:

Do you find the cartoon funny? Tell a partner what you think.

Here are your tasks for this morning:

1. Learn 10 new vocabulary and make sentences with them on your blog: Writing a Letter of Enquiry.
2. Listen to this presentation, and take good notes. Then take dictation at 26:19 - 26:43. Check your transcript with 3 partners before publishing.
3. Business Writing Lesson--focus on: Applying for a Job

Tuesday's Assignment

This morning we take the opportunity to update our blogs with the corrections on our writing. Make sure you have used the editing checklist to check your work carefully, and 5 more classmates have done the same as well. When updating, make sure to leave the original alone and start a new post with all the corrections done.
If you would like to add some pictures to your corrected report, you may do so.
When you have done all that, go visit the blogs of those 5 classmates who helped you, and put a nice and helpful comment on their posts as well. For example, if they really improved in terms of their run-on sentences, you could say, "Great job, Usman! It was a great story, and I liked how you punctuated your sentences and removed all the R.O.S.!"

Monday's Assignment

Welcome back to an exciting week on the theme of Job Search Resources!

1. First, make sure you have forwarded your IEP Registration confirmation email to your instructor. If you are unsure how to, please ask a classmate who has done it.
2. Learn all about Business Writing on this free but highly valuable resource: The Writing Process
3. Role Play with a partner: Asking about Jobs

Field Trip Thursday: AGO

Look who came: Sharareh, Zahra, Diego, Serena, Yun, Manal, Coco, and Hong! Plus alumni Niki, Joyce, Rana, Lan, and Sara! How fun is that! Don't forget to tag yourself in our FB album!

What an amazing field trip we had today, with activities starting at 10 a.m. at the Art Gallery of Ontario and continuing through lunch at a Mongolian hot pot restaurant to a grand finale at the Toronto Boat Show at the Exhibition Place, thanks to complimentary tickets through Ben's friend. What a strange and exciting day it turned out to be, from looking at Cornelius Krieghoff's winter scenes and Lawren Harris's icebergs, to downing freshly boiled grub and immersing in summer boat dreams by "the world's largest indoor lake for boaters."

What did you or your classmates see? How did you feel? Tell us on your blog and on your FaceBook!

Hey, there's Wu and Tao and Ben, too! Tired and ready to go eat in Chinatown?

Here we go, sailing into the boat show!

Friday's Assignment

Yay, T.G.I.F.! Are you glad to have made it to the end of the first week of school? How would you celebrate? Break out the chocolates and candies and reward yourself?

Like this cartoon? What is it about? Check out the rest on Google Images.

Here are your tasks:

1. A few of you have yet to complete the writing task from Monday describing your Christmas vacation in answer to WH questions like Who, Why, What, etc. Please do so right away! You may wish to organize them in 3 to 5 paragraphs. Try not to exceed 150 words.
2. Listening and role play: Going on a Diet
3. Take notes from this video and post them, with embedded video, to your blog.
4. For extra practice, take dictation of the first 25 seconds of the video, and check it with the CC.
5. Role Play with a partner from a different country of origin from yours: Checking Blood Pressure
6. Record yourself saying the three long words on Monday's assignment, beginning each with, "Me? I'm fine, thank you. I don't have __(name of disease)__." Practise with a partner before posting your Vocaroo.com link on your blog.

Thursday's Assignment

1. What do you think of someone who has these symptoms? Can you identify the disease?

• Tremor (shaking)• Slowness of movement• Rigidity (stiffness)• Difficulty with balance• Small, cramped handwriting
• Stiff facial expression• Shuffling walk• Muffled speech• Depression

1. Read the following two paragraphs: 

Japanese researchers have published a study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation reporting a major breakthrough that might pave the way for a possible cure of Parkinson disease. This brain disorder occurs when certain nerve cells (neurons) in a part of the brain die or become impaired. Normally, these cells produce a vital chemical known as dopamine, which allows smooth, coordinated function of the body's muscles and movement. When approximately 80% of the dopamine-producing cells are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinson disease (shaking, difficulty with balance, paralysis) appear. Parkinson disease affects both men and women in almost equal numbers. It shows no social, ethnic, economic or geographic boundaries. In the US, 60,000 new cases are reported each year.

The team from Kyoto University said experiments have shown that embryonic cells transplanted into monkey brains can reverse the debilitating effects of the degenerative disease, for which there is currently no cure. Tests on humans may occur within five years. Doctor Nobuo Hashimoto said, “There are many approaches to curing the disease, such as strong drugs or destruction of troubled cells in the brain, but use of embryonic stem cells is seen as an ideal and fundamental therapy for the disease.” The study suggests that stem cells taken from embryos can be used to replace damaged tissues in a whole variety of other diseases. Opponents of stem cell research, including US President George W. Bush, who has frozen all federal spending on its research, say using a human embryo for such research or even treatment is unethical.

1. Answer the following T/F Questions:

(a)  A cure has been found for Parkinson disease.  T / F(b)  A major breakthrough might pave the way for a possible cure of Parkinson disease.  T / F(c)  Parkinson disease is a neurological disorder.  T / F(d)  Our brains need a chemical called dopamine to allow it to function smoothly.  T / F(e)  Parkinson disease affects men much more than women.  T / F(f)  Tests on humans may occur within five months. T / F(g)  The use of embryonic stem cells can only cure Parkinson disease.  T / F(h)  US President George W. Bush has greatly increased spending on stem cell research.  T / F 

1. Discuss your answers with a partner. Then check your answers here.
1. Role Play: Physical Checkup

Wednesday's Assignment

Today, we consider a modern disease that afflicts and frightens many people.

1. Remember our exercise on gum disease yesterday? Do the following exercises:
1. Click on this exercise to Listen and complete dictation and other tasks.
2. Do this Preposition exercise.
3. Complete this Word Order exercise.
4. Then practise Speed Reading with this exercise. Click on Next Activity for a faster exercise.
2. Find out the scope and phone number for Ontario Telehealth.
1. With a partner, call the service with a legitimate question.
2. Post the answer on your blog.

Tuesday's Assignment

Good morning! What do you think of the following cartoon?

Here are your tasks this morning:

1. Speaking and role play: Seeing an Eye Doctor
1. Practise speaking by yourself.
2. With a partner, practise the roles of Dr. Olho and Virginia.
3. Record your conversation on Vocaroo.com, and publish it on your blog.
2. Listening and vocabulary: Cancer Treatment
3. Go back to yesterday's work, and make sure you finish it if you haven't done so already.

Monday's Assignment

For this afternoon, write a post describing your Christmas vacation in answer to WH questions like Who, Why, What, etc.
If you have the time, you may finish the work from this morning, below:

===============

Welcome back, and Happy New Year! How are you doing?

Hope everybody's doing okay and nobody has (try saying them aloud to a partner!):

1. pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism,
2. lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or
3. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

So, this week, Guess what we're looking at! We are taking a closer look at some modern diseases. As an ancient prayer goes, "Dear friend, I pray you may prosper concerning everything and be healthy, just as your soul prospers."

Here are your tasks for this morning:

1. Listening and Role Play: Is Obesity a Modern Disease?
2. Write a post on your blog about three other modern diseases. Check and edit it with a partner before publishing it.
3. With a partner and speaking aloud, role play as doctor and patient this Form Filling Exercise.