28 October 2011 / by Radmila Gurkova

Friday Meeting 28/10/2011

This weeks meeting focused solely on students. How to evaluate students? How many levels exist in English? and teaching students who don't want to learn.

We often find that when level testing students they are placed in the wrong groups/levels. This is not a mistake from the examiner but a lack of confidence from the students when doing the test. I believe that rather than focusing on grammar and structures we should also take a look at pronunciation and confidence, then we will be able to grade them on those criteria.

In our method of teaching there are 5 levels: Absolute Beginners (S1), beginners (P2), pre-intermediate (p3), intermediate (p4) and advanced (p5). When level testing students in a company it is often difficult to separate groups and we find students with different levels in one class. This happens because some students are afraid or lack confidence when expressing themselves in English and therefore changes might occur.

The toughest part of teaching is teaching those who do not want to learn. How can we as teachers get ourselves in the right mindset to teach?

30

December 2011
Who.......That......Which
by Radmila Gurkova
Confusing relative pronouns...so let's find out how to use them! WHO refers to people THAT refers to groups or things ...

30

December 2011
Then or Than... Listen to the first 20 seconds of the video
by Radmila Gurkova
Ever get confused with Then and Than? Then...

30

December 2011
Too Much... Structure (Beginner)
by Radmila Gurkova
MUCH or MANY  Countable nouns are nouns that can be easily counted Uncountable nouns are nouns which cannot be counted such as liquid (water, w...

30

December 2011
London 2012: Athlete turns to eBay in search of sponsor
by Radmila Gurkova
An athlete from London is seeking a sponsorship deal for the 2012 Olympics on the auction site eBay... httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTCtDxsijdI James Ellington, 26, is advertising on the site with a reserve of £30,000 (€35,000) from any sponsor willing to assist. He will wear a sponsor’s branded kit in full training to the run-up to ...

30

December 2011
Was vs Were - Which is correct? (Advanced)
by Radmila Gurkova
'Was' or 'were' - which is the correct one to use? I'm sure you ask yourself the same question... Was/were = past tense of TO BE W...

25

December 2011
No more Turkey - I'm "Stuffed"!!!
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV56DJO6pH4 (Watch a different Christmas Carol)   Christmas Day is filled with cheer, laughter, family and food. Too much food in fact and often too much turkey. After traditi...

24

December 2011
Twas the night before Christmas...
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUzIF4eYRkg Clement Clarke Moore (1779 - 1863) wrote the poem 'Twas the night before Christmas' also called “A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1822. It is now the tradition in many families to read the poem every Christmas Eve. We at Oxbridge would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas Eve. &nbs...

16

December 2011
What - No Santa Claus...?
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-3oCa07kjM "A Chicago news anchor enraged parents when she announced during a segment on children's gift expectations that Santa Claus isn't real. During a conversation with her cohost about how long children should believe in Santa, Robin Robinson, a news anchor at Fox Chicago since 1987, argued that kids s...

16

December 2011
No Santa Claus....? Spare a thought...
by Radmila Gurkova
Spare a thought for somebody... - to think about someone who is in a difficult or unpleasant situation Spare ...

16

December 2011
CAPTCHAs video - Real or Really?
by Radmila Gurkova
Real or Really? Real is an ...