Vocab for week 3 Mod 5 and 6

A terrible holiday
Rosa and Mark saved up all year for their holiday. It was their wedding anniversary so they wanted to do something really special. They booked accommodation near the beach for a week in January. It cost over $3000, but according to the brochure, it was very luxurious. They were really looking forward to their holiday. Finally, it was time to leave.

The flight was delayed by five hours, so they didn’t get to their hotel until late at night. In the morning, they were terribly disappointed. The beach was polluted with poisonous jellyfish and it was dangerous to swim, while the hotel was dirty and not very comfortable. The hotel staff were rude and Rosa thought the food in the restaurant was disgusting. Instead of being a relaxing time, it was a horrible experience.

What you look like
Fashions are different in many countries. In some countries it is fashionable to have pale skin, whereas in many western countries, people think a tan is very attractive . Hair is another thing that gets changed a lot. The length of hair that is ‘cool’ changes all the time. At the moment it is trendy to have straight hair. People also dye their hair different colours, but some people wear wigs .

Dangerous sports
Some people really enjoy doing dangerous things for fun. Sports like sky-diving really terrify me but I have a friend who thinks it is really exciting. My son has gone bungy-jumping and said it was great fun, but I think jumping off a bridge is one of the most frightening things that you could do.

How to be a successful language learner

1. I started learning languages...
2. We didn't have to learn another language.
3. My parents advised me to...
4. I chose to study German and Japanese.
5. I learned them for about 8 years so I can speak them well.
6. One of the most important things is motivation.
7. at the same time
8. ...be realistic about the progress you can make.
9. ...try not to get too frustrated.
10. develop an ear for the language
11. This is easier for some people than others.
12. ask someone to explain a new word
13. look it up in a dictionary

Tense Buster

Today in class we used software to help your grammar - Tense Buster. This is available in the other drop in labs as well, so you can use it to help you practise your grammar.

What do you think about Tense Buster? Did you like it? What did you like about it? What did you not like?

What do they look like?

Do you know these actors - Johnny Depp, Jackie Chan, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom?
What films have they been in?
Do they always look like these pictures? Who do you think is the best-looking?

Common verbs

Check out this site on chunks of words. How good are you at collocations?

Blackboard

Blackboard is a learning place that we use at Unitec. Many other universities around the world use it as well.

Go to Blackboard and look at the School of Languages area. You can find information about the LLC (ideas about practising your speaking) and also look at some websites about Auckland. If you click on Classes, you can write emails to your classmates and talk to them in the Lounge discussion board.


How do I log in?

You can log into Blackboard at

http://bb.unitec.ac.nz

Just use your normal log in and password to get into the Unitec network.

You can also log on at home through Explorer. If you are in a Unitec computer lab you can use the Online Courses icon on the screen.

Writing on your blog

Your blog is a useful place to practise your writing. Try to write something on your blog at least once or twice a week. Some students actually write on it every day.

What can you write about?

• topics that we have discussed in class eg. yesterday we talked about the education system in your own countries - this is good to revise vocab and grammar
• things that have happened to you eg. what you did in the weekend
• advice for other students eg. a nice restaurant you have found, a good movie you went to
• topics that you like writing about eg. your family, your country
• topics that I set for homework each week (usually to do in the weekend)
• writing that has been marked eg. coursework, writing from class

Remember that other students will read your writing!

What do you like doing in class to help you learn English?

Share your ideas with us by adding to the comments below.

Vocab for week 2 Mod 3 and 4

Reflections on learning a language
I got frustrated when I was learning Malay. I was living in Brunei, so I was highly motivated. I also thought my expectations were realistic. We had a good teacher and I paid careful attention to everything that she said. However, I didn’t seem to make much progress. I think it was because I didn’t actually need to use the language. Most people seemed to understand English enough for me not to need Malay. It was useful on some occasions though eg. at the market. I have learned languages successfully in the past but, in my opinion, you need a good reason for learning if you want to be successful

Christmas
Christmas is a religious holiday that most people in NZ celebrate. Some people go to church on Christmas Day or the night before which is called Christmas Eve. A popular tradition is to give gifts to your friends and family. Many people decorate their homes, often with symbols like stars and bells. Most families have a Christmas tree, which is also hung with decorations.

An operation
My mother needed an operation on her hip last year. She was in a lot of pain and was finding it difficult to walk. I arranged to have some time off work to help her when she came home from the hospital. It took a few weeks before she could walk without her stick. We organised food for her so that she didn’t have to do any cooking until she was better. She is much more comfortable now and can walk without any problem.

Welcome to our class blog this term

Welcome to our class blog for Term 4 2005. This is a website for us to use as a class. It will be used for

• letting you know everyone's blog URL (web address)
• giving homework answers
• giving useful links to English practice websites
• giving you information about things that are on around Unitec and in Auckland
• giving information about the course eg. assessments
• access to vocab blog

You might have good ideas about how you think we could use this blog. Write a comment to tell us by clicking on the comments button below.