Happy new year!!

Best wishes and choicest blessings!

See you all on Monday, January 6, bright and early at 9 a.m.

Thank you so much, and selamat hari raya Krismas

Thank you, Carol, Jie Lin, Iris, Tracy, Hasina, Cheyenne, Teresa, Bo, Hala, Pei Zhang, Marjan, Fides, Daisy, Maribel, Yoo Lee, Aseel, Ling Ji, Yang Yang, Esmail, and Chang. I'm sure I've missed out someboy--please tell in under Comments, below!

That was awful kind and generous of you all! It truly made my day after the long journey to the other side of the world. Thank you so much, and thank God for his indescribable Gift that made Christmas possible! I look forward to seeing you all when I get back.

A view of Singapore on the left in the distance, connected by a bridge to Johor, Malaysia, in the foreground

Curry laksa, a local favourite in Malaysia and Singapore

Nice spelling test!

Wednesday's Assignment

Welcome to another glorious Wednesday! What a load of listening, speaking, reading, and writing awaits!

Merry Christmas!

Here are your tasks this morning:

1. With your headphones on, practise singing "Silent Night."
2. Listen to this carol and try to write down the first sentence.
3. Listen, practise, and record on vocaroo.com your dialogue with a partner on Filing Taxes. Post it on your blog.
4. If you haven't already done this, research the tax system of Canada, complete this reading exercise, and leave a brief comment below this post.
5. Update your blogs with your field trip report (of CBC's Sounds of the Season).
6. Make sure all your blogs are edited according to the Editing Checklist.
7. Leave a comment on the corrected blogs of three classmates.
8. Take this “fun quiz” when you have finished.

Tuesday's Assignment

You've waited for the other shoe to drop. This morning, we round out our assessments with a listening test.

Take the CLB-OSA Listening Test 1 and show your instructor your scores.

Monday's Assignment

Announcement for this afternoon: As the teachers will be having a lunch meeting, there will be no classes in the afternoon. Instead, please update your blogs with a report on last Friday's field trip as homework and for the purpose of attendance.

This week we consider the theme of Taxation in Canada, and to kick us off, here's a rather taxing task for us this morning:



Take the CLB-OSA Reading Test and show your instructor your scores. Make sure a picture of the screen is taken with your name and score clearly shown.

Coffee, Curry, and Concert for Christmas - Sounds of the Season!

Announcement for Monday afternoon: As the teachers will be having a lunch meeting, there will be no classes in the afternoon. Instead, please update your blogs with a report on last Friday's field trip as homework and for the purpose of attendance.

Perhaps due to the enhanced advertising campaign this year, this year saw a bigger crowd at CBC's annual Sounds of the Season open house. Nor was the nippy weather any hindrance. After swigging our cups of free Keurig and visiting the museum and theatre behind the atrium, we snuck into the PATH underground city for lunch, several of us hitting Amaya Curry. And then it was back upstairs for the studio recording. Hope everyone had a grand, glorious time!

Welcome to Canada! Merry Christmas!



Here we come: Marjan, Iris and Aiden, Fazi, Tracy, Fides, Jielin, Maribel, Cheyenne, Aswathi, Esmail, Bo, Ling, Chang--photo taken by Mohammad on Chang's DSLR, and where's Yang Yang?

Field Trip Friday: CBC SOTS 2013

Do remember that our field trip this Friday is to CBC's Sounds of the Season.

Those leaving from Bayview Station are welcome to meet at 10 a.m. on the Westbound Platform. Those leaving from Don Mills Station should leave around 9:45 a.m. We could get off to St. Andrew Station and walk over to CBC together.

Have you picked out a non-perishable food item (like canned food) to bring along and donate? You're welcome to bring your friends, relatives, and neighbours. Don't forget a camera and lunch money if you'd like to hang out a little.

Check out the following video for a foretaste of the program:

Thursday's Assignment

One of the happy customs of Christmas is the singing of carols, or carolling. Here's one big carolling session in Downtown Toronto last year:



What carol did they sing? Do you think they broke the world record? Discuss with a partner; then click below for the answer.*

Here are your tasks for this morning:

1. Listening and Role Play: Singing Christmas Carols
2. Listen to “Silent Night” without the video (switch off the monitor), and see if you can fill in the blanks. Then check it with video on. Practise singing with your partner.
3. Now practise together with the:
1. Winchester Cathedral Choir
2. Mormon Tabernacle Choir
3. Toronto Choirs (starting from 1:30)

* Answer below

Wednesday's Assignment

Good morning! Here are your tasks for today:

1. Review the Christmas-themed tasks of this Monday and Tuesday if you didn't get the chance to do so earlier.
2. Listening Comprehension and Vocabulary: Chrismukkah or Hanumas?
3. Listening and Role Play: Christmas is Coming!

Tuesday's Assignment

You've just been through them--the pre-Christmas sales. You've seen Black Friday weekend followed by Cyber Monday. What could be as crazy as that?

Well, check this out:

1. Listening and Role Play with a partner: After Christmas Sales
2. Write brief notes on the topic of post-Christmas sales and record yourself and a partner discussing for at least 60 seconds on Vocaroo.com on the topic of: What you think of Boxing Day sales? Post or embed your recording on your blog by 10:15 a.m.
3. Check out this video. What has it got to do with Christmas? Discuss with a partner. Together, watch three other short videos on that Facebook site.



30 mistakes?!

Monday's Assignment

Welcome to a week on the theme of Canadian Celebrations: Christmas!

First, please note our field trip this Friday to CBC's Sounds of the Season. Watch this space for details, soon to be announced!

In the meantime, pick out a non-perishable food item (like canned food) to bring along and donate.

Check out the following video for a foretaste of the program



Okay, and now for your writing test:

Write three paragraphs comparing how Christmas is celebrated overseas and in Canada. Use your imagination if you're not sure. Post your writing on your blog by 10:15 a.m.

Monday Afternoon's tasks:

1. Reading: Check out Christmas and Its Impact on Canada and leave a comment.
2. Listening Exercise: The Original X'mas Story

What is Christmas about? This well-loved holiday in Canada has long roots in history. How long? Well, some people think it goes back to Santa Claus at his H0H 0H0 (Ho Ho Ho!) postal code in the North Pole. Others trace it back to Saint Nicholas of Myra (in today's Turkey), a generous church leader whose name later became "Santa Claus." Or does that history trace yet further back?






Fortunately, we still have hundreds of historical documents of the event, and they have been translated into English. Following are excerpts from a couple of those documents. Do the listening exercises, record your answers under Comments, and discuss them with your instructor.




Listen to this reading (right click and click on Open in New Tab) and take dictation on the following blanks:


1 Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, ___ ____ _______ ___ ___ ___ ____ ____. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So He became higher in rank than the angels, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs.

Listen to this narration (right click and click on Open in New Tab) and fill in the ten blanks:

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be (1) _____________. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own (2) _____________.

4 And Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was (3) _____________. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give (4) _____________. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the lodging (5) _____________.

8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were (6) _____________. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be (7) _____________, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the (8) _____________: 11 Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.12 This will be the (9) _____________ for you: You will find a (10) _____________ wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”


13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven,and peace on earth to people He favors!
15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told.


Check your answers in Hebrews 1 and Luke 2.