Thursday

OBS! Tomorrow book presentations. Remember to have the questions ready! 

Country Project

Why?

Kommunikationen i engelska ska innehålla:

Levnadsvillkor, attityder, värderingar och traditioner samt sociala, politiska och kulturella förhållanden i olika sammanhang och delar av världen där engelska används. Engelska språkets utbredning och ställning i världen.

 

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English speaking cities around the world!

What?

You are going to pick an English speaking country somewhere in the world. Find information on the internet about the country so that you can give some basic facts about it. You are also going to take a closer look at one aspect of this country which interests you. It could be everything from: a famous sight, a famous person, a dialect, a sport, music, a tradition, a building, an area, company, current trend. Find information about this so that you can tell your friends about it. You should also find out if we have something similar in Sweden? Is there something in Sweden that could be compared to this?

Your presentation should contain 50% general facts about the country and 50% information about one aspect of the country that you find interesting (+ comparison to Sweden). 

 

How? 

You will give an oral presentation. You will work together in groups of 2-3 and you will need to divide the work between all of you. When you give your presentation all of you should be equally involved. You are welcome to use power point/pictures/film clips. It makes the presentation more alive. Use keywords, but only words. Prepare! The more prepared you are the more you can let go of your text and you will feel more relaxed. How do you prepare? You simply give your presentation at home a few times. Audience? A friend/sibling/pet/or simply a wall! 

 

Length of presentation?

8-10 minutes (a group of 2)

10-15 minutes (a group of 3)

When?

You will give your presentation on Friday , December 11th.
All of you should be prepared to give your presentation by then.

I still don't understand...!

 

Three examples: 

1.

You pick Great Britain and you give a presentation with basic facts about the country. You are interested in football so you present facts about the football club Liverpool FC. You make a comparison between the "football culture" in England compared to Sweden (based on your personal view). 

2.

You present facts about Australia. You are also interested in the history of Aboriginals, so you find out more about this topic. You also make a comparison with indigenous people (ursprungsbefolkning) in Sweden "The Sami". 

3.

You are interested in cars/motors. You find facts and give a presentation about the USA. General facts and perhaps the most famous sights. You briefly explain the history and current status of the company General Motors (or Ford) which has had a very large impact on the city of Detroit. You also draw a paralell to SAAB and its impact on the Swedish city Trollhättan. 

English is spoken in several differents countries. Have a look at this page for more tips: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territorial_entities_where_English_is_an_official_language

Friday

Present your articles

3-minute-talk:

What - When - Who - Where?

Present country Project

(20-års jubileum 11 a.m.)

Thursday

Reading comprehension + speaking
Reading articles + speaking

Find article for tomorrow

(what  where when  who)

Read novel (Girl missing - if time left)
(prepare book discussion)

Practice listening

Friday

Mocktest - writing

Thursday

Writing in English


How to improve your writing:


Learn from feedback

Consume the written word! Pick up a good book or ten. Read and understand the works of great and influential writers to learn what is possible with the written word.


Read magazines, newspapers, and everything else. Literature isn't the only place to get ideas—the real world is filled with fascinating people, places and events that will inspire your writerly mind.


When writing:

Think: Introduction, main text and conclusion. This is the way almost all written assignments are built (essay, letter to the editor, letter of complaints, formal letter etc.).


An introduction: Should give a hint on what your text will be about. It should make the reader curious and make him/her want to continue reading.

A main text is usually two or three (depending on type of task) paragraphs where you present/discuss one argument/idea in each paragraph.

A conclusion is the last paragraph where you summarize what you have written. You should not present a new idea in this part of the text. You should just draw some kind of conclusion from the examples/ideas you have already mentioned. A conclusion usually begins like this: In conclusion...., All in all....., To summarise......, On the whole...To sum up.....Altogether.....etc.


"Kill your darlings" (To let go of any element of our writing that is not essential). Good writing is simple, clear and direct. You don't get points for saying in 50 words what could be said in 20. Good writing is about using the right words, not filling up the page. It might feel good at first to pack a lot of ideas and details into a single sentence, but chances are that sentence is just going to be hard to read. If a phrase doesn't add anything valuable, just cut it.

Try not to repeat the same word over and over unless you are trying to build a rhythm with it. Look for synonyms.

If you start writing in one tense. Keep this tense throughout your text.

Use paragraphs. It makes your text easy to read.

In most written tasks formal language is required. Learn a few linking words and use them. They will make your text more formal.

Edit, edit, edit. When you are done, give it another read, and maybe another (if you have the time...).

Do not!
Do not plagiarize! Presenting the words or ideas of others as your own is a serious offense in academics, journalism and fiction. Just don't do it. Also, it will not help you to get better at English.



1.

Have a look at the power-point below. This is important to think about when Writing a text in English.

writing PP (Spelling, structure, linking words, paragraphs, formal writing, grammar, read task thoroughly...)

These are linking words (also called "transitions". Tiny words which can make all the difference in a text): practise here


Go through the following words and try to learn a few of them until next week. IF you want to be able to reach a higher level of writing. Do the online task below the words.


Listen and practise more on linking words or transitions Online tasks below the clip).

More info. + tasks from Engvid (below the clips are online tasks)

Useful tips from Engvid on how to improve your English writing

Practise online?
Want to practise on using linking words and a more formal style of writing? Here are some links:Floe-Joe     

OBS!
Before the lesson is over. Write down the most important things to think about when Writing a text in English(based on the power-point).

Also, write five English sentences where you include a linking word. Show me that you can use a few of them correctly in a sentence.

Before you leave today, show me what you have written.

2.

Common mistakes in writing. Try to avoid them! Have a look: Easily confused Words



3.
If you have time! Have a look at these two clips (one at a time) and discuss the questions below the clip together with a friend.

One Direction
The sick note


OBS! Today you will have time to read your novels! Remember to bring them!