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?

24

November 2011
English for Beginners Class 14 - The Days of the Week
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G89r_G1NLkI Do you know the days of the week? With this wonderful song you can revise them day by day. Are you able to answer the questions of the quiz? ...

24

November 2011
British Food - A tasty Topic to get your teeth into!!!
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGGbJEcUZsM Do you know what types of food comes from Britain? Have you tasted any? Is Britain famous for traditional food? There are many types of food from all around the British Isles. The Traditional English Breakfast, Steak &...

23

November 2011
English tips #11 wh questions
by Radmila Gurkova
 wh questions are open questions, they leave room for a description or opinion, and are more useful in eliciting information. what - when you are asking for inf...

23

November 2011
Dutch judge rejects pleas for killer whale freedom
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEkIvVNm1hI&feature=grec_index A Dutch judge has ruled that a rescued killer whale can be sent to a Canary Islands amusement park, despite pleas to release the animal into the wild. The case of Morgan the orca sharply divided opinion in the Netherlands. The orca was rescued by a dolphinarium in Harderwijk ...

22

November 2011
Passive Voice
by Radmila Gurkova
The passive voice is used when focusing on the person or thing affected by an action. The Passive is formed: Passive Subject + To Be + Past Particple ...

22

November 2011
Business interaction: Giving and accepting excuses for not meeting commitments
by Radmila Gurkova
Here are some useful phrases related to excuses for not meeting appointments or commitments: appointment ...

22

November 2011
Second Conditional
by Radmila Gurkova
Form If + past simple/continuous + would Functions and examples We use the second conditional to talk about situations or actions in the present or future, which are not likely to happen or are imaginary, hypothetical or impossible. If I won the lottery, I...

22

November 2011
Human Resources - Recruiting
by Radmila Gurkova
Here is some useful vocabulary related to HR and recruiting: Division of labour ...

22

November 2011
This Week's Class: Upper Intermediate English C23
by Radmila Gurkova
This is a sample class for you to try out with your students this week. You can find useful materials and blog posts on the 'Learn English' section of our blog. This class includes activities on: ...

22

November 2011
English tips #10 As a matter of fact
by Radmila Gurkova
Have you ever hear the expression 'as a matter of fact'? Would you know how to use it in a sentence? As a matter of fact simply means actually example: "As a matt...