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 Wed Feb 14, 2007 5:23 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hi Tamara,
!!!!I had a look but I didn’t get your point!!!
| Quote: | | Also, needed to validate my memory about the meanings of lush and opulence. Still fine. |
To some extent it can prove that we are on the right track. I believe we need a way to recall most of the words which we’ve learned before.
| Quote: | | I have a question: what do you think about teaching English through English, in comparison with teaching English through a native language? |
I support the idea of teaching English through English. All the material I myself use to improve skills is in English. However, personally, I believe that while a teacher is teaching English to beginners, he can teach in English and student’s native language. But, as the students learn more and get ahead, the amount of the students’ first language content should be cut down. Also, whenever and wherever, at any stage of teaching, if the students doesn’t get the teacher’s point, the teacher is allowed to speak in student’s native language.
My general view: the less the presentation of the first language material = the better
Here’s the fourth one:
Instruction: Fill in the blank with the proper given option.
4- Reporters were expecting the candidate to ………… his policy on the escalation of the war.
a) enunciate b) eschew c) covet d) excoriate
PS: There is something wrong with the teacher. Can you sense it?
See you later,
Nasr |
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m1mohammad
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
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| Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hi Nasr,
| Quote: | | !!!!I had a look but I didn’t get your point!!! |
Sorry... That’s because of an accidental bracket at the end of the URL. My morning slip. )
This one is better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pique
| Quote: | | as the students learn more and get ahead, the amount of the students’ first language content should be cut down |
Agree.
Just to add that obviously each (ethic) language group has it’s typical ways and … errors, so, methodically, it’s reasonable (in ESOL teaching, generally) to take (also) into account typical features of, for example, Arabic->English, Slavic->English or Chinese->English 'matches'. Ideally.
| Quote: | 4- Reporters were expecting the candidate to ………… his policy on the escalation of the war.
a) enunciate b) eschew c) covet d) excoriate |
b) eschew c) covet d) excoriate are new for me (For some reasons I know the spelling of ‘eschew’ but was unable even to suppose its meaning. Perhaps, leant it long ago  )
a) enunciate is from my passive vocabulary. And I’d go for it.
Reporters were expecting the candidate to enunciate his policy on the escalation of the war.
By the way, this time ALL four words require me to spent some more time on pronunciation than on spelling! A bit unexpected.
enunciate – the first [ i ] in [InAnsiate]. In compare with [ e ] in announce, which is a 'glue word' for me in this case,
eschew – I always have difficulty with sch, because in Russian we have several different sounds equally possible for the English 'sch'. In addition, different dictionaries give a bit different first sound for the word: http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/eschew?view=uk
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/eschew
covet – I’d suppose here stressed [O], not [A]… Also, some dictionaries give [kAvvit]!
excoriate: Again, I tend to pronounce such kind of words with the fist [e] instead of [ i ]…
Thanks!
| Quote: | | PS: There is something wrong with the teacher. Can you sense it? |
feel?
What happened, Nasr?… What's wrong with you?
I am afraid today I’m not empathical enough (sensitive to 'wrong')', maybe because of the special date (Valentine Day) I’ve got a wonderful bunch of flowers from my husband, as always. He is definitely more romantic person than I am. )
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Tamara
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 1577
Location: UK
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| Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:35 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hi Tamara,
| Quote: | | sensitive to 'wrong' |
I didn’t want to ruin your happy day.
Here’s the fifth one:
Instruction: Fill in the blank with the proper given option.
5- His profligate son made the parsimonious old crank even more ………… .
a) irascible b) introspective c) susceptible d) incompatible
Take care,
Nasr |
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m1mohammad
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
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| Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:46 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hi Nasr,
| Quote: | | I didn’t want to ruin… |
…
Nasr, I’m very sorry if life turns its not light side and our lessons go in your bad time…
If for any reasons it’s difficult for you, you can stop them with no further explanation.
I just want you to know that I’m very grateful to you for what you’ve already done.
| Quote: | 5- His profligate son made the parsimonious old crank even more ………… .
a) irascible b) introspective c) susceptible d) incompatible |
profligate, parsimonious, irascible are completely new for me
incompatible, introspective both are from my active (technical!) vocabulary
susceptible – from my passive one
I’d go for (a) irascible.
Even though, first I suspected susceptible (as I generally tend to mix up ‘suspend’-words, ‘suspect’-words and ‘suscept’-words…)
Thanks, Nasr!
Tamara
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…
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Tamara
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 1577
Location: UK
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m1mohammad
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
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Tamara
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 1577
Location: UK
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| Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:11 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hi Tarama,
| Quote: | | You will sit a short quiz on the next Monday based on the new words. |
Review the words you’ve learned until now.
Here’s the seventh one:
Instruction: Fill in the blank with the proper given option.
6- In an attempt to show how assiduous he was, the executive spent an ……….. amount of time on his report.
a) sumptuous b) inordinate c) indigent d) acrimonious
Time to go out-my friend’s waiting for me outside.
Bye,
Nasr |
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m1mohammad
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
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Tamara
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 1577
Location: UK
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| Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:10 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hi Tamara,
Complete the text below, choose your answer from the word list and write them in the spaces. There are more words that spaces, so you will not be able to use them all. You may need to change their parts of speech. 
1- The Enlightened One
Siddhartha exchange his sumptuous garments for a monk’s yellow robe and went out into the world to do ………… for what he considered to be his previous life of sin. First, he would cleanse himself by becoming an …………; then he would study Hindu wisdom in order to be prepared to help his suffering people. After six years of ………… wandering and attracting only a handful of ………, Siddhartha came to a huge tree near the Indian city of Gaya. For seven weeks he sat beneath its branches, seeking an answer for his personal torment. Finally, it is said, he underwent a …………, becoming the Enlightened One-the Buddha.
perspicuous - ascetic – metamorphosis – desultory – disciple – maladjusted - penance –
2- The Perils of the Alphabet
Dr. Weston is convinced that the ………… is the culprit. Since teachers seat their pupils in alphabetical order, the “S” to “Z” child is usually the last to receive his test marks, the last to eat lunch, the last to be dismissed, and so on. As they are the last to recite, these youngsters feel frustrated because what they had to say had usually been ………… earlier. The ………… amount of waiting which this group has to do causes them to become ………… and jittery. “S” to “Z” people also become quite …………, convinced that they are inferior to those at the top of the alphabet.
inordinate – heterogeneous - introspective – enunciate – analogous - pedagogue – irascible –
Tamara, it’s crystal clear that this part of the project can never be set up via SMS. The student can be given such a test on a special website.
By the way, how have you evaluated our work? Was that a sort of spam? Or it was helpful? I like to know your impression as a student! 
Look forward to hearing from you,
Nasr |
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m1mohammad
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
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| Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:42 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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1- The Enlightened One
Siddhartha exchange his sumptuous garments for a monk’s yellow robe and went out into the world to do … penance… for what he considered to be his previous life of sin. First, he would cleanse himself by becoming an … ascetic…; then he would study Hindu wisdom in order to be prepared to help his suffering people. After six years of … desultory … wandering and attracting only a handful of … disciples …, Siddhartha came to a huge tree near the Indian city of Gaya. For seven weeks he sat beneath its branches, seeking an answer for his personal torment. Finally, it is said, he underwent a … metamorphosis …, becoming the Enlightened One-the Buddha.
2- The Perils of the Alphabet
Dr. Weston is convinced that the … pedagogue … is the culprit. Since teachers seat their pupils in alphabetical order, the “S” to “Z” child is usually the last to receive his test marks, the last to eat lunch, the last to be dismissed, and so on. As they are the last to recite, these youngsters feel frustrated because what they had to say had usually been … enunciated… earlier. The … inordinate … amount of waiting which this group has to do causes them to become …irascible … and jittery. “S” to “Z” people also become quite …analogous… (?), convinced that they are inferior to those at the top of the alphabet.
()
It took me 12 minutes, for both.
To be honest, I still used a dictionary…twice. For culprit and jittery.
And still am not sure about inordinate amount of waiting (I’d expect time of waiting)
| Quote: | | Tamara, it’s crystal clear that this part of the project can never be set up via SMS. The student can be given such a test on a special website. |
Yes, I agree.
And, of course, being in so different time zones makes it difficult to use advantages of ‘online’ communication.
| Quote: | | how have you evaluated our work? Was that a sort of spam? Or it was helpful? I like to know your impression as a student! |
Summing all that up, I can say that I’ve found your lessons quite helpful, even in their above (‘modelled’) form.
Main advantages (in my student’s view) are:
- lessons are regular,
- they were quite systematic (even though you didn’t know me, each time I was given 3-4 new words to learn + 2-3 words from my passive vocabulary to see them in a context),
- they were reasonably balanced – short, but rich )
- personal contact. I knew that you prepared them and came here - for me, individually. And I feel you care. That’s really great!
Thanks a lot, Nasr, indeed!
All the best to you and your students,
Tamara
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…
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Tamara
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 1577
Location: UK
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| Wed Feb 21, 2007 5:32 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hi Tamara,
Thank you so much for participating in this thread. I really enjoyed it and could find some potential pitfalls of sending English words via SMS. You may like to know that one difficulty that any teacher would run into with this is somehow related to students’ knowledge levels. The teacher sometimes has to design a lesson for each student and it’s not practical. However, I still support the idea of sending English words via SMS.
Have fun,
Nasr |
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m1mohammad
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
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| Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:35 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hi Nasr,
Are you still running your teaching via SMS project? If so, I'd really like to hear more about your current experiences. How many recipients do you have on your list right now?
Talk to you soon.
Regards,
Torsten
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TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten
Site Admin
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 5536
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| Mon Jun 18, 2007 11:52 am Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hello Torsten,
No recioient at the moment.
Bye |
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m1mohammad
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
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| Sat Dec 29, 2007 20:01 pm Teaching English via SMS? |
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Hello all,
I have recruited more than 40 members. I send them idioms, proverbs, word and grammar tests every day.
I'm here to say that I'm ready to share my experience with anyone who has such plans in his/her mind.
Best,
Mohammad (my first name) |
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m1mohammad
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 83
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| Help Hungry People-- and practice your vocabulary! | Do we need to believe in God to be happier? |
a) cupidity b) metamorphosis c) discipline d) desultory