Phrasal Verbs

Last week, the Canadian Academic Success School's Sunday Seminar was on phrasal verbs.

Here's an activity using phrasal verbs for the classroom. Give each student a copy of the following:

Find someone who:

1. _______________ resembles his/her mother.

2. _______________ checked his/her homework carefully.

3. _______________ tolerates the cold weather in Toronto.

4. _______________ borrowed a book from a library.

5. _______________ put something in the garbage.

6. _______________ didn’t come to class last time.

7. _______________ exited a bus at school today.

8. _______________ has the same name as

......his/her grandmother/father.

9. _______________ has shown a classmate a mistake in

......his/her homework.

10._______________ has finished this exercise.

Now, restate your answers using the phrasal verbs below:

check out
get off
get through
go over
name after
point out
put up with
show up
take after
throw away

Math Memory Game

Preparation: On 3x5 inch index cards, write out 12 or 16 equations appropriate to the level of study. Each equation should be different, but pairs should have the same solution (eg. 4+8 / 15–3).

To Play: Place the cards face down in rows of four. Take turns turning up two cards at time and reading the equations aloud. If the solutions to the equations on the two cards are equal, the player keeps them and takes a second turn. If they do not match, the cards are replaced face down in the same position and the next player takes a turn. Don’t tell the players if they have a match. It is important that the players recognize matches themselves. Play until all the cards are matched. The player with the most pairs wins.

How To Help Failing Students

This advice is directed at teachers, but it is also useful to tutors and parents.

Identify problems as early as possible. In the first week of class, assess all students’ needs through testing, in class writing, and interviews.

Meet privately to discuss problems with students. Show the students the problems you have found in their work. Then, let students tell you what they think their problems are, why they have those problems, and what they think should be done to solve the problems. If they deny there is a problem, be firm and go through their work with them to provide specific evidence for your concern. Students must recognize their problems before they can be fixed.

Listen to what students tell you. You can learn a lot about students’ problems simply by listening attentively and paying close attention to body language. Your assessments may have only revealed the symptoms of their problems, but not source of the problems. Show the student that you are interested, and be open and honest with them.

Work with students to create a plan of action. Help students to determine the best starting point, and to set goals you both agree are realistic. Then, work together to plan reasonable steps to reach those goals. It’s important that students think of this as their goals and their plans. Later, you can use these plans to remind students of what they said they wanted to achieve and offer support and encouragement through each of the steps.

Become a resource for students. Make yourself available for additional instruction and provide extra material at an appropriate level for each student’s needs. Offer to locate other resources such as tutoring (www.CanadianAcademicSuccess.com) or community services which can help the students.

Vary your approach in class to accommodate all learning styles. This is something that all the students in your class will benefit from. Because each student takes in information differently, a varied teaching style will allow different groups of students to display their strengths at different times. However, don’t tailor your classes for those weaker students at the expense of the stronger learners.

Offer encouragement. Meet with students before major tests or assignments to listen to their concerns and help them develop a positive attitude. Even when students do poorly, stress the areas where they have improved and help them to learn from their mistakes. Try not to pass students for effort, though, as that will not give them a realistic understanding of their results.

Don’t take your students failures personally. Sometimes, despite all your best efforts, a student will still not improve. Don’t blame yourself; in the end, students are responsible for their own successes and failures. Console yourself by saying that you did everything that you could.

Tips for Writing Opinion Essays

Like a hamburger, an essay has several layers. Divide the essay into sections and develop each section separately over time.

The Introductory Paragraph

• The opening paragraph not only introduces the topic, but shows where you are going with it (the thesis). If you do a good job in the opening, you will draw your reader in. Just like in everything else, first impressions are key to winning someone over

• Write in the active voice rather than passive voice because it will make your essay much more powerful. Also, unless you are writing a personal narrative, avoid using the pronoun "I."

• Write more than one thesis. Even if you think your first idea is brilliant, try to come up with at least 2 more theses. You may surprise yourself with an even better idea.

• Vary your sentence structure and vocabulary. Try to avoid the same sentence pattern--especially SVO--and review your writing to make sure you're not using the same expressions over and over. This is something that you will carry through the whole essay.

• Plan your essay before you start. Make sure you are using the best supporting ideas and have a reason for putting them in the order you will use. An unplanned essay will always present an ineffective argument.

Supporting Paragraphs

• Each paragraph is like a mini-essay in of itself. Make sure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that is obviously connected to your thesis, supporting details that are clearly related to the topic sentence, and a poweful final statement that closes the argument.

• Use transitions to show the relationship of each paragraph to the one that came before it. Each paragraph has to flow, one to the next. It's not enough to just have a plan, but you must tell the readers what your plan is throughout the essay. The transition can be included in the topic sentence.

• Use specific support. The best arguments are the ones that the readers not only can understand, but can see. Answer Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? for each supporting detail.

The Concluding Paragraph

• Many essay writers torpedo a good argument with a weak concluding paragraph. This is the second most important paragraph after the introduction because it will create the impression the reader will take away from the essay. Write the conclusion carefully.

• Restate the thesis with originality. Do not simply copy it.

• Summarize your argument with authority. The reader should have no doubt about your position or conclusion of logic.

• Leave the reader with a powerful thought-provoking last thought. You want the reader to finish the essay thinking, "That was good!"

Edit and Revise

• Review individual sentences for spelling, grammar, and consistency. Use the spelling and grammar check in your word processing program. Avoid repetition of sentence structures and phrases.

• Reanalyse your argument. Make sure the ideas flow logically and there are no gaps or repetitions.

• Ask a knowledgeable friend to review and comment on your essay, and to repeat back what the essay says. You may be surprised.

BizLaunch Posting

I should have posted this sooner, but better late than never. Please check out the article about the Canadian Academic Success School on the BizLaunch blog: http://bizlaunchcanada.blogspot.com/search/label/small%20business%20story

Pronunciation: /ur/

For some people, the pronunciation of /ur/ can be murder.

Rhyming Words
Yearn Learn Burn Turn Earn Fern
Hurt Assert Desert Alert Skirt
Word Heard Bird Third Spurred
Search Besmirch Lurch Church Birch
Pearl Whirl Unfurl
Germ Worm Term Squirm
Were Fur Sir Cur
First Thirst Worst Burst
Worth Girth Mirth Berth

Minimal Pairs
Yarn Yearn
Part Pert
Carl Curl
Farm Firm
Far Fur
Garth Girth
Heart Hurt
Parch Perch
Par Per
Sparred Spurred
Cart Curt
Star Stir

Nouns Ending With “er”
Change the following verbs to nouns by adding /ur/
Swim
Drive
Speak
Teach
Sell
Work
Pay
Council
Search
Employ
Toast
Sit
Learn
Write
Camp
Watch
Rob
Buy
Time
Jump
Beg
Send
Buzz
Mow
Serve

Comparatives
Say the comparative form of the following adjectives
Big
Red
Small
Old
Long
Wet
Pretty
Soon
Lonely
Fast
Yellow
Thin
Dumb
New
Sad
Edgy

Listening
Circle the word that you hear
1. Bird Bard
2. Car Cur
3. Further Farther
4. Lurch Larch
5. Barn Burn
6. Curt Cart
7. Hard Heard
8. Fur Far

Listening Script
I saw a bard in the garden.
There is a cur in the driveway.
I went a little further.
My son is in a larch.
That’s a very big burn.
We talked to the cart salesman.
The answers to the test questions were heard.
The jacket is far.

English Circle

The English Circle is an informal group of non-native English speakers who meet every Tuesday evening from 7 PM to 9 PM at the Canadian Academic Success School, 5308A Yonge Street. We discuss current events in the news with an ESL instructor who has 22 years of high-school & community college ESL teaching experience.

Every week, I browse the internet for articles that can be used as an introduction to a topic for conversation. The articles need to be short, because we want to spend most of our time discussing them and not reading them. They also need to be fairly easy because we get people with a wide range of English levels at each meeting.

Once I've chosen three or four articles, I go through them highlighting vocabulary I think might be unknown to some of our attendees. I also look for a grammatical item to explain, and underline all the examples of it.

During the meeting, each of the attendees takes turns reading sections of the articles while I correct pronunciation. We then explain all the highlighted vocabulary and any other words or phrases people ask about. After that, we discuss the topic of the article. Finally, before moving to the next article, I do a brief lesson on the grammatical item.

In tonight's meeting, we will be discussing articles dealing with where people's names came from, unusual fashion, friends with bad habits, and stupid criminals.

For example, here is the article on names, which I took from the City TV News website. Unfortunately, I can't highlight the vocabulary or underline the grammar here, so I've changed the text colour of the vocabulary to blue, and the grammar to purple:

Man Offers Naming Rights For His First Born Son For Free Gas
Monday July 14, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff

Many people are proud of the stories behind their names. Some have been named after an interesting relative, literary figure or a word with special significance in another language.

One Florida boy may not be so keen on sharing the tale behind his name when he grows up.

David Partin agreed to name his unborn son after two morning radio show hosts to get some free gas.

The radio hosts offered a gasoline gift card to a listener with the most interesting offer to trade. Partin called in and agreed to name his child after the radio personalities Richard Dixon and J. Willoughby. The child's full first name will be Dixon and Willoughby - yes, the "and" is included.

The baby is due this winter.

Dixon and Willoughby - the radio hosts - said they'll hand over the voucher for free gas when they see the birth certificate.

Perhaps Partin and his expectant girlfriend could try this stunt if they plan to have a second child. Pampers Partin has a nice ring to it.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/features_24744.aspx?&categoryurl=http://www.citynews.ca/news/features_690.aspx

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Vocabulary:
Naming Rights = the ability to give a name to something (or somebody). We usually use this phrase when the rights are bought or traded. (eg. Rogers Centre)
behind = in this case, behind means the reason for (eg. Money is behind all my problems.)
named after = the source of a name (eg. I am named after my grandfather.)
literary figure = a character from a famous book or a famous writer (eg. Romeo, or Shakespeare)
significance = importance
be so keen on = to really like or enjoy something (eg. I'm keen on sports.)
gift card = a card which that lets the user buy things or services up to the set value of the card. For example, if I go to Future Shop and buy a $50 card which I give to my son, he can buy $50 worth of things at Future Shop.

personalities = people who are very good at something (eg. Tiger Woods is a famous golf personality.)
due = expected to arrive. We also use this to describe when the mother is expected to have the baby. (eg. She is due in July / When are you due?)
hand over = to give up possession of something (eg. The police officer told the drunk driver to hand over his keys.)
voucher = a written, official promise, often for cash or goods. In this case it means the gift card.
birth certificate = An official record of the date and place a person was born. In Canada, it is made by the province after the hospital where the baby was born sends them the information.
expectant = pregnant / going to have a baby
stunt = something that is done to attract attention
Pampers = a brand of diapers (underwear for babies)
has a nice ring to it = sounds interesting or attractive (like the sound of a bell)

Grammar
Infinitive: “To + Basic Verb”

The infinitive is often used like a noun, usually as the object of a verb. Eg. I decided to go. / I want to go.

However, some verbs use a gerund (verb + "ing") as an object (eg. I enjoy swimming.); so you have to memorize which verbs take infinitives and which take gerunds.

Infinitives can also be used as the subject of sentences, but that sounds old fashioned today, as in Shakespeare's "To be or not to be, that is the question." Nowadays, we usually use a gerund as a subject (eg. Studying is the most important thing.) Infinitives are more common as subject complements (eg. The most important thing is to study / It is important to study.)

Another use of infinitives is to explain the purpose of an action. (Notice the use of the infinitive as a subject complement in that sentence.) If I want to explain why I went to the bank, I can say, "I went to the bank to withdraw some money." This is really a shortened form of the more formal "in order to." (eg. I went to the bank in order to withdraw some money.)

You can get more information on infinitives here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/627/03/