Delitzsch course

[Roberto]

Hi, Torsten,

thank you for your update. You're right, Torsten, it is a book for kids (1-4-class), but since most of them are beginners, I agreed with them on getting the book and bought it.
In my opinion, if we as adults rediscover the power of imagination, creativity, spontanousness we used to have as kids, and use them in our daily life for learning, e.g. English, we can have more fun with learning new things, with an advantage: we are as adults aware (or should be aware) of our goals, we know consciously why we learn English/logistics and we can this way convert the "need" or "must" into a "want" or even better "fun and entertainment > hobby". In fact, memories are just waiting to be "whipped up" in the classroom. After all, kids have the remarkable ability to transform even the most commonplace activities into a novel event full of joy and discovery. I think, it is time well spent, not only for the beginners. Granted, kid logic is different than adult logic, however if we anyhow go back to the "child" in us, i.e., we activate the hidden energies of our childhood, we can reach far more efficiency, than trying to play the adult all the time. All in all, if we know the rules of this game "activating the child in us" and "our adult behaviour". In this sense, we as adults learn to feel free and overcome our inhibitions, with the positive by-effect that we are more receptive and can learn more efficiently.
My point of view is, if they learn English/logistics step by step, progressively, beginning from the basics, since they are a beginners' class, we can prepare them for their professional aims. By the way, they had already some relatively simple business/logistics texts. I have planned more logistics reading material for them (like in the other class).

Regards,

Roberto

P.S You should still review the basics (vocab + grammar).
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[Roberto]

Hello Torsten,

I sent you the copies of some of my handouts yesterday (Atriumstr. 4). Otherwise, you can have a look at the short summaries in the class register and my updates posted on the forum.
Could you send me an overview of the dates I should do in Delitzsch in June, please?

Thanks in advance and enjoy the weekend!

Regards,

Roberto
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[Torsten]

Hi Roberto,

Thanks a lot for the handouts. Please continue to review the basics and make sure that everyone in the group can use the alphabet without any problems. As for the June dates, if possible please check the email confirmations you've sent me. (Your next day with the group is June 15).

Let me know if you have any questions and I can send the dates again.
Regards,
Torsten

TOEIC short conversations: Talking about being self-employed.

[Roberto]

Hello Torsten,

thanks for your reply. As for the dates in June, I've checked the dates and according to the schedules either of us should do DZ (the other class) from 10 to 12 June. Is this all right? Thus, I am not quite sure who is teaching the other class (KEP) from 10 to 12?

RSVP ASAP

Regards,

Roberto
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[Torsten]

Hi Roberto,

We have now two groups in Delitzsch: 1 the new one whom you are working with from June 10 through June 12 and the air courier agents whom you are working with on June 15. The KEP group's English course has finished and they now are doing something else.

Regards,
Torsten

TOEIC short conversations: A customer is getting put through to his accountant.

[Roberto]

Hi Torsten,

thanks for your reply. I'll keep you informed on any further details. I just wondered, because the old class (KEP) had invited me to celebrate "Bergfest" anytime in June.

O.K Torsten, have a nice week and enjoy this spring month too!!

Regards

Roberto
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[Roberto]

Hi Torsten,

I'd like to update you on the last English sessions (Wednesday through Friday) in AFI Delitzsch. I am quite satisfied with the group, and due to this special classroom I think we can learn much better than in the other rooms of the school. There is a good group balance and sense of cohesiveness in spite of the heterogeneous character of the group.
On Wednesday I used my own hands-out, since I didn't have the book provided by AFI. We repeated the basics you had practised with them, i.e., the verb to be, personal pronouns, the simple present, the verb to be etc. As usually, I had everyone introduce himself or herself (name, age, profession, origin, nationality, hobbies etc. ). I tried to clarify what it is important to learn English or generally any other language in the world, of course I focused the lesson on the basic rules to learn English:
What is English? Why do we need English? I actually found out that they are motivated and regard English as an important language in Germany and worldwide. I stressed the existence of false friends (handy, smoking, wife is not Weib, car is not Karre), gave them some rules and tricks to convert German words into English and vice versa. Also, they learnt about anglicisms in the German language (here in small letters): car sharing, outlet, public viewing (attention!!! doesn't have often the same meaning), clean, hardware, software, marketing, top, hit, subway, family, kids etc.
We spent enough time classifying the English vocabulary of the first lessons into the different categories found in the conventional grammar: verbs, nouns, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, pronouns, idioms and expressions and others.
The sentence structure was explained and the basics of the word position in an English sentence.
On Wednesday we learned the lyrics of Wind of Change late in the afternoon. The several words in the song were classified into nouns, verbs (also modal verbs), prepositions, important grammatical and lexical endings (such as: -s, -ing, -er etc...)

" Title: Scorpions - Wind of Change lyrics - This song originated in Han(n)over (Lower Saxony) and its lyrics celebrate the political changes in Eastern Europe in 1990-1991.

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park (This was surely interesting not only for our Russian participant Igor Igushin, I think)
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close,like brothers
The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change

Chorus:
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

The wind of change blows straight
Into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring
The freedom bell for peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

On Thursday, in addition to the repetition of some known vocabulary + grammar in form of exercises, we continued to discover new associations with the old vocabulary. Furthermore, we discussed some efficient memory tricks to learn vocabulary, expressions etc. The usage of the business vocabulary in the English handbook (and more) were first explained and then practised: outlet, company, department, revenue, share, subsidiary, advertising, production, items, etc.
In order to avoid monotony in the class, I came up with interesting facts in the international (English) world: English-speaking countries in the world, EU-countries (how many?), EFTA-countries, some important international, British and USA corporations or companies such as IKEA (Sweden), Toyota (Japan), Microsoft (USA), BMW (USA), Siemens (Germany), Tesco (GB), MacDonalds (USA), Wal-Mart (USA);
famous personalities and billionaires in the world (Gordon Brown, Barack Obama, Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Al Pacino, Al Capone, Salvador Dali, William Gates, Carlos Slim, Theo Albrecht etc. ).

I'll summarize the rest of the covered aspects (Thursday and Friday):
- how much / how many: mass, volume, units; singular and plural
- do/does, don't, doesn't: exceptions of the usage of this auxiliary verb.
- modal verbs and the prep. to.: I can come tomorrow
- general basic vocab: time expression, telling the time, days of the week, months, seasons of the year; different parts of a house, objects found in a room/office
- possessive pronouns: my, your etc.
- regular and some irregular plural forms; geese, feet, teeth, mice, women, men
- the verb "to have"
- giving a talk or making a presentation
- spelling and pronunciation exercises
- numbers
- the three sectors of economy: primary, secondary and tertiary sector; agriculture, raw materials, industry, manufacturing and production, services, education etc.

On Thursday we listened to the song "Unchain my heart" by Joe Cocker late in the afternoon too.

Have a nice weekend and regards,

Roberto
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[Torsten]

Hi Roberto,

Many thanks for your great work, I'm sure the group will enjoy working with Scott next week too. In the meantime, can you please tell me what days you would be available for work this month? I'm asking because we have another course coming up next week.

Best regards,
Torsten

TOEIC short conversations: A colleague asks how to submit vacation requests.

[Scott Graham]

Delitzsch 15th June.
It was good to meet the new group in Delitzsch today; they are all very eager and dynamic.
As normal we began by looking at introductions, I asked the group to interview each other in pairs and report back to the group.
We then reviewed the alphabet by playing a game of hangman.
Next we did a little bit of brainstorming looking at different forms of advertising, and the group created a company name, logo and flyer.
We carried on with the book on page 18, ‘Planning a trip’, which concentrates on making enquires about a hotels facilities (Is there and are there?)
Also making a reservation and special requests, using can, could and may.
We also made our own list of questions.
We finished the day with a session of brainstorming; we created a list of English foods.
16th June.
We began the day with a round of hangman.
Next I had prepared a handout about cash crops which was a reading exercise with multiple choice questions afterwards.
I explained the use of frequency adverbs in English, and their equivalents in German.
After our break we continued with the book, 2.2 ‘Flying out’, which concentrates on saying the time, distance and frequency, plane travel and booking a flight. Also questions of time, distance and frequency.
I explained to the group about the large amount of words with silent letters which highlighted the difference between English and German (phonetic and non-phonetic)

17th June
Again to try and instil the English alphabet, we started the day with a session of hangman.
I then created a handout listing many words that contain silent letters, which I read and asked the ss to mark the silent letter(s) in each word.
We then looked at asking/giving directions and prepositions of locations, which as normal was ok with in and on but as ‘at’ replaces 13 German prepositions the group at times found it a bit tricky. But I explained the importance of watching English TV programmes, reading English publications and listening to English music as the prepositions are used a lot.
We finished by looking at all the parts of the body.
18th June
We began with a session of ‘Pictionary’, so each ss would draw a picture on the board based on a word they have seen/heard during the course. Then the group would try to guess the word, the person who guesses the word then had to spell it.
Next we compiled a list of sports, including the equipment needed for each sport, and we also gave our opinion (I think.......) on whether the sport is safe, dangerous or potentially fatal.
Next we made a list of the board of Countable and uncountable nouns, with which I explained the use of much, many and a lot of with help of a handout. We also looked briefly at some and any.
19th June
Hangman.
We did a reading exercise about ‘Environmental issues’, to highlight the pronunciation of English words, I asked the ss to read as I read, then we spoke about the article and any new words.
Next I had compiled a list of ‘Denglish, words, and as normal they were all very surprised just how many English words they already use and know. In fact some of the words they didn’t know the German word for.
We then compiled a list of ‘False Friends’.
I reviewed the 2 main English verbs To be and To have, firstly in the present then in the past.
I explained inf+ed for regular verbs in the simple past, and the pronunciation difference between ‘t, ‘d and ‘id.
To finish the day/week we compiled a list of everyday common verbs, in the inf and the simple past.
All in all its been a great week with this group, they’re all very motivated and interested. They also expressed they prefer to use mainly English as they feel they have already started understanding a lot more.
_________________
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[Torsten]

Hi Roberto,

Can you please introduce Ian Spring to the Delitzsch group on Monday? Ian is going to work with them next Tuesday and Wednesday. You can read about him here: http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic40396.html#teaching_english_the_irish_way

Many thanks,
Torsten

TOEIC short conversations: Employee in R&D gives update on new browser development project.

[Roberto]

Hi Torsten and Scott,

thanks for your mail and update. Of course I can introduce Ian Spring to the D-class on Monday. I'll have a look at the link you've just sent to me. I'll post more updates next week.

Have a nice weekend!

Regards,

Roberto
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[Torsten]

Sounds great Roberto. I take it Ian will use the same train like you so the two of you might even want to have a chat during the ride to Delitzsch on Tuesday....

TOEIC short conversations: Two co-workers discuss final stages of new advertising campaign.

[Roberto]

Hi Torsten,

last week I happened to meet Scott at the railway station in Delitzsch and we took the same train to Leipzig then. If I meet Ian, it would be great too, because we could exchange experience personally.

Regards,

Roberto
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[Roberto]

Hi dear English-trainers,

I've just finished an 8-hour session in Delitzsch again. I'll update you on the key aspects covered today:

- auxiliary verbs: do, don't, does, doesn't. Their usage and exceptions/restrictions
- modal verbs: can, could, must, may, should and negative corresponding forms: can't etc.
- some past tense forms and participles: fly/flew/flown, throw/threw/thrown; wear wore worn
- the continuous form of the present tense: -ing. Class exercise: what are you doing now? I'm booking a flight etc.
- vocab exercise: weather, seasons, good manners, travel(l)ing, politeness - polite expressions: please, thanks, excuse me; may I...? etc.
- we read a text about Carlow in Ireland: Economy of Carlow: Sugar Companies; Institute of Technology; Greencore; Shopping Centres; OralB Braun, Merck&Co etc.
- important usual phrases such as: May I have.....? I would like (to have), can you pass me, please.....? etc.
- the use of the imperative (Business Basics)
- Ten tips of tired travel(l)ers (Business Basics)
- the verbs: leave and leave for.
- opposite of some important adjectives: wet and dry; hot and cold; thin and fat etc.
- the use of the prep. of after such words as: a bunch, a cup, a can, a carton, a glass of...etc..
- lots of crossword puzzles associated with the above-mentioned vocabulary
- free exercises: In the travel agency: What can I do for you? Can I help you?..
- explanation of lots of important basic words, including sometimes their etymology.
- homophones (wear, where; meat, meet; feat, feet, right, write etc. ) , synonyms, antonyms; spelling and pronunciation exercises
- the verb "to want"
- -ing versus -ed adjectives: tiring and tired; boring vs. bored; interesting vs. interested

I just wondered that the time with the group flew by so fast. The group already knows that Ian will be coming tomorrow. How do you pronounce your name, Ian: is it with a stress on i? I wish you a pleasant day with them tomorrow! I left some handouts of some of the topics covered today.

Have fun and regards,

Roberto
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[Ian Spring]

Hello all!
This is my report for my last two days with the Delitzsch group:

Teaching Report: No. 001
Teacher: Ian Spring
Date: 23.06.2009
Time: 8.00 - 15.00
Location: Delitzsch
Group quantity: 10 students

Report:
Today was my first day with the Delitzsch group.
I spent the first hour Introducing myself to the group and also familiarising myself with the different students.
After Introducing myself. I asked simple questions about the work the students had already completed with the other teachers.
Understand the mix of work they had performed, I had a better idea of the pattern of work they would expect.
We began with the Standard English Book they all had and proceeded reading the texts.
Some of the topics we read and discussed, were:
- eating in a restaurant and ordering.
- meeting business friends and discussing food.
- organising to meet for interviews and discussions.
Using the book as a basic starting point.
I was able to asses the standard level of reading for the group as a whole and on a individual basics.
I found that the group struggled a little with understanding some of the formal words used in business and restaurants, but with some simple explanation, there was no problems.
One item of the students attitude I found was fascinated was the attention to detail. No word or sentence was left unanswered and not understood.
This eagerness to learn and perfect there English truly impressed me.

After systematically going though each questions and forwarding onto the next text, I allowed 5-10 minutes for the students to discuss with one another, what there opinions were about the specific topic under discussion. This resulted in some impressive results and showed that, when prompted, the students could already produce understandable and legible English sentences.

Also under discussion, we spoke about the Irish and German economies, there effects on family life and also the impact and importance of English in finding work in Germany.

Teaching Report: No. 002
Teacher: Ian Spring
Date: 24.06.2009
Time: 8.00 - 15.00
Location: Delitzsch
Group quantity: 10 students

Report:
Today was my second day with the Delitzsch group.
After completing all Introductions the day before and establishing the level of English of the students. I was able to proceed through the English text book with more confidence.
Focusing on conversations and the stressing of words, the students were able to identify the clear structure of normal every day English conversations.
Pages 37-44 of the English text book were covered.
The students showed a very quick and receptive attitude to what they had learn yesterday and openly applied there new skills.
I also understood that for the moment, when English sentences consists of specialize words, that it was good that I would explain these words, so the stupor of the students would be broken and they could reapply them selves to the flow of work.

We also discussed more about Ireland and its history and economy. And Ireland was beautifully nick-named by the students "Monkey Island".

Finally I tried to keep a good balance of work today with a great deal of reading practice, but also speaking and writhing, I had all the students writhe down questions about there favourite foods and why they liked them, and then questions for the other students about there likes and dislikes.
I was very impressed with the results, the grammar and pronunciation was not perfect but the sentences were understandable and carried across the emotion of the writer.

Teacher: Ian Spring