Somewhere Over the Rainbow

This is from the movie, The Wizard of Oz. The singer/actor is Judy Garland. Sing along and enjoy!

Job Clubs for newcomers and immigrants

Today in class we talked about job clubs. Click on the links below to find out more about job club services at SUCCESS, MOSAIC, and ISS.

Click here for the MOSAIC Employment Centre's webpage

Click here for information about job search programs at ISS

Click here for the SUCCESS Employment webpage (in English). You can also view this webpage in Chinese.

End of term Testing Schedule

Here is the schedule for this week and next week. We are going to do some end-of-term tests and one-on-one meetings:

• Tuesday November 20: reading and writing
• Thursday November 22: listening and writing
• Tuesday November 27: listening and speaking
• Thursday November 29: one-on-one meetings with Sara. Bring all of your work from this term to the meeting.

Roberto's typical day / yesterday

A/ Listen to the sentences about a typical day in Roberto's life. Listen and repeat, and then listen and write the sentences.

Voice Recorder >>

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B/ Listen to the sentences about what Roberto did yesterday. Listen and repeat, and then listen and write the sentences.


Audio recording >>

Running Dictation Sentences

Here are the sentences from this morning's dictation activity with Dilara:

1. Mike ate a sandwich for breakfast and drank milk for lunch.
2. Bill drove to the movie theatre and watched Eat, Pray, Love.
3. Bill helped his neighbour clean the garage.
4. Mike caught a mouse in the bathroom.
5. Bill fell asleep on the couch.
6. Mike saw his sister-in-law at Shoppers Drug Mart on Sunday.
7. Mike went to Buntzen Lake and swam with his children.
8. Bill called his father and wished him a Happy Birthday.

Christmas market at the Convention Centre downtown

I had a great time this afternoon at the Circle Craft Christmas Market! There are so many things for sale. I think I will go back tomorrow morning.

Click here to go to the Christmas Market Website. If you buy tickets online, it's $2 cheaper than at the door. 

 

Click here to see a list of all of the different craft fairs in Vancouver in November and December. There are so many!

Click on the arrow below to look at the Christmas Market information booklet.

Open publication - Free publishing

Remembrance Day Ceremonies 2012

Remembrance Day is on Sunday, November 11, 2012. There are many ceremonies in Vancouver and around the Lower Mainland. Click here for a list of Remembrance Day ceremonies and events.

On Sunday at 11 a.m., there will be a moment of silence at these ceremonies. That means that everyone is silent for one or two minutes. Remember to turn off your cell phones if you go to one of the ceremonies!

Review of today's lesson with Dilara: Past Simple Regular Verb Endings

Here's a good video that reviews Dilara's lesson. Watch and enjoy!

The speaker uses British English pronunciation, but it's still a useful video :)

How To Make Delicious Banana Bread

Classroom Instructions

Here are the instructions that you learned with Dilara at the beginning of October:

• Draw a line
• Fill in the blanks
• Put an "X" in the box
• Match the words with the correct number
• Underline the words
• Check 
• Choose T (true) or F (false)
• Put the pictures in the right order
• Finish the sentence
• Put the words in the right category
• Write a sentence using the words

Listening: Inviting Questions and Answers

Here is a recording of the inviting questions and answers that you did in class today with Dilara. You can listen and repeat, and then listen and write the sentences down.

Click on the green button to listen to the recording.



Online recording software >>

Happy Birthday Shirley, Michelle, and Linda!

To all of the October birthday ladies,

Happy Birthday! 

Hope you enjoy this funny video. :)

A Thank You Note to My Students

October 17, 2012

Dear students at MOCC,

I want to thank you very much for the birthday cake and card that you gave me on Tuesday. The cake was delicious and my kids loved the card. You are all very thoughtful and special people. I am so happy that you are my students!

See you next Tuesday!

Sincerely,

Sara

Pronunciation

Today you learned about the sounds of English with Dilara. Click on this link to go to a useful website about the different sounds in English.

Back in Vancouver

Hi everyone,

I arrived back in Vancouver late last night. I had a great time in Kamloops and I will tell you about it on Tuesday.

I just recorded the "Puppy Love" story for you - I'm sorry that I didn't do it earlier! Please click on the Vocaroo button and listen to the story as you read along. You can also say the words as you listen.


Audio recording >>

Listening: At the Learning Centre (Dialogue)

1) Listen and repeat to practice your pronunciation.
2) Listen and fill in the blanks (see below).
 
Audio recording software >>

Dialogue: At the Learning Centre
Listen and fill in the blanks.

do   ·  am   ·  check   ·  card   ·  are   ·  answers   ·  help   ·  grammar   ·  student   ·  verbs  

Click and Drop click on a word or phrase in the box above and then on the appropriate gap.

1.	student: Hi, I need with my English.
2.	tutor: Ok, you a VCC student?
3.	student: Yes, I .
4.	tutor: Do you have your ?
5.	student: Yes.
6.	tutor: What you need help with?
7.	student: I want to practice my . In my class I am learning about present and past tense .
8.	tutor: Okay, I have some verb worksheets. You can the exercises by yourself. When you finish, I can help you your .
9.	student: Thank you very much!

This exercise (10.1) has been made using a free generator and script at Random Idea English

Listening: Sentences with Frequency Adverbs

Listen to these sentences and repeat (say aloud). You can also listen and write the sentences.

Mid-autumn Festival

Watch this video about the Mid-autumn Festival. Do you celebrate this festival? What is your favourite holiday?

Events Around Vancouver

At the end of class today we quickly read about some different events in Vancouver. Here are the links to the event webpages:

Mid-Autumn Moon Celebration - Public Day at Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens (Chinatown)

Word on the Street Festival - Vancouver (different locations, but on Sunday it's at the Vancouver Public Library downtown)

Free Style Chinese Brush Painting Workshop (part of the Culture Days festival) - Richmond, BC

Have a great weekend, everyone, and happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Listening: 'Bullying' story from the September 2012 Westcoast Reader

Click on the button to listen to this story about bullying. Say the words out loud as you listen.

Record audio or upload mp3 >>

Listening and Speaking Practice

1) Listening & speaking practice: Listen to these sentences and repeat. Pay attention to the words (the verbs and nouns) that have the strongest (loudest) sound.

2) Dictation: Listen to these sentences and write them down in your notebook.




Check your dictation:  -->

She exercises at the gym every Monday.

Her daughter brushes her teeth twice a day.

Sara teaches in the morning and at night.

My husband washes the dishes every night.

My son likes to play cards with his friends.

Can you please take out the garbage?

We always come to school on time.

My neighbour’s teenage daughter talks on the phone every night.

Welcome to the blog for the UB class at MOCC!

Hello to all Upper Beginner students at Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre. This is going to be your class blog for this term. I hope you will use this blog to practice your English.

Toastmasters Speech - Kwong Yue Yang

How to deal with telemarketers - the Seinfeld way

An Unbelievable Marriage Proposal

I thought this would be fun to watch since you wrote about 'an ideal spouse' yesterday! :)

Computer Lab tasks for May 29

1. Vocabulary: Study for the What a Life Vocabulary (Units 13-16) quiz: Click here for the Quizlet set.

2. Pronunciation: Listen to John Lennon's 'Imagine' (scroll down on the home page to see the video) and sing along if you want. You can also go to "Pronunciation Power" (On the desktop - VCC ESL Programs) and practice the /I/ sound.

3. Grammar: Click here to review modals (permission, ability, etc.)

4: New grammar - 'say vs. tell' - click here to read the grammar notes for when to use 'say' and when to use 'tell'. There are also some exercises if you click on 'say or tell quiz' at the bottom of the page.

5. Click here to view a list of free events in Vancouver for June 2012. This list was compiled by Eugene Sayson, who is an ELSA teacher at VCC. You can also check out some of the travel videos about British Columbia on this site (go to 'episode guide' and choose an episode from 'season 2').

Sophie's Choice

Who should Sophie marry?

John Lennon: Imagine

Computer Lab Tasks for May 24

1. Grammar: Adjective Clauses - On the desktop, go to 'ESL Programs' - Focus on Grammar High Intermediate - Part 8 Adjective Clauses Unit 18 & 19

2. Spelling: collect a list of words you have misspelled and practice them using 'Look-Cover-Write-Check'. Click here for the 'Look-Cover-Write-Check' site. Ask Sara if you need help setting it up.

3. Recording: 'What a Wonderful World' - go to vocaroo.com and sing or say the song. E-mail it to Sara for pronunciation feedback.

4. Listening (and speaking) - Click here for Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab and choose a dialogue to listen to and do the exercises.

5. Reading: Click here to try the UVic Study Zone's reading passages & exercises for the Lower Intermediate level. If that's too easy, try the Upper Intermediate reading passages & exercises.

What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world

Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

[Instrumental Break]

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Computer Lab Tasks May 22

1. Reading: Click here for the 'Reading for Understanding' website

2. Pronunciation: click here for a 10 minute video presentation about sentence rhythm and word stress - (we practiced this a little bit in class last week).

3. Grammar: We are going to look at adjective clauses this week. Click here for a brief lesson and some practice exercises.

How to feel inspired and encouraged

Victoria Day events and festivals

The City of New Westminister has a big festival around Victoria Day - the Hyack Festival. Click here for information about the Hyack Festival

The Vancouver Farmer's Markets are open! One is at the Trout Lake Community Centre Parking lot. Click here for information about the Farmer's Markets.

Herea are a few more events:

May 21, 2012
Bradner May Day Parade. Located just outside of Abbotsford, this annual May Day celebration is one of few left of its kind in the Lower Mainland. We start with a delicious pancake breakfast followed by an exciting parade including the Abbotsford Mayor, Councillors & MLA Mike deJong. After the parade, we host opening ceremonies with May Pole dancing by Bradner Elementary students. The rest of the afternoon is a Country Carnival with exhibits, rides & games. Visit the concession for a burger, some delicious cotton candy or enjoy some homemade desserts with tea & coffee at the May Royalty Tea Room. http://www.abbynews.com/community/122196643.html

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May 21, 2012
Victoria Day at Fort Langley. Watch for our float in the 90th annual Fort Langley May Day Parade (11 am), followed by a community fair. All day, explore the fort, feed the farm animals, and watch historic weapons demos. Free admission. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/bc/langley/activ/activ2012.aspx#victoria

Computer Lab Tasks for May 17

1) Enjoy this song by Beyonce, "If I Were a Boy" - Then, listen for and write down all of the conditional (unreal) phrases you hear/read!  :)



2) If you need more practice with conditionals, go to the blog's grammar page and click on the Conditionals links.

3) Pronunciation power (in the ESL Student Program files): work on some vowel and consonant sounds that are difficult for you. Ask Sara for help if you don't know what to work on.

4) Click here to listen to this news story about how superstitions affected an airline company, and answer the questions on the handout that Sara gave you.

Smiley-Face feelings - vocabulary

I recorded the feelings and emotions vocabulary from the smiley-face handout. Listen and repeat to get the correct pronunciation.

(Many of the words are spelled wrong on the handout - apologetic, disappointed, disapproving, mischievous, surly)



Record audio or upload mp3 >>

Computer Lab Tasks for Tuesday May 15

1) Conditional I and II practice: ESL programs -- Focus on Grammar High Intermediate -- Part 7 Unit 15, 16, and 17

2) Review What a Life Units 9 - 12 vocabulary using the Quizlet set (on the blog's vocabulary page)

3) go to vocaroo.com and record your fable, then e-mail it to Sara (syuen@vcc.ca)

4) Click on this link to write your definitions and example sentences for the feelings/emotions vocabulary from this morning.  Use the Cambridge Online Dictionaries (choose the learner's dictionary) to help you.
Come and see Sara if you need extra help with grammar, writing, etc.

Stone Soup

Listen and read along to Sara's recording of the Stone Soup story.

Listen here:


Voice Recorder >>

Click here to read the story (google doc) - leave a comment or question if you like!

Stone Soup Festival - Britannia Community Centre (Commercial Drive)

Come to Sara's neighbourhood on Saturday May 12 and enjoy the Stone Soup Festival at Britannia Community Centre! Click here for more information.

Big Garage Sale in Richmond - Saturday May 12

Computer Lab Tasks May 10

1. Listening: Watch this short video about Kelowna and answer the questions on the worksheet.

2. Find photos (or use Google Maps) of a place you have lived in or travelled to. Describe the place to a classmate and explain why it's a good place to visit or live.

3. Reading practice - http://homepage.smc.edu/reading_lab/cards.html

4. Grammar practice: either/neither, so/too: Go to the VCC ESL Programs and choose 'Focus on Grammar High Intermediate', Unit 7

5. Pronunciation practice: read the feedback on your lab recording from last week and use the 'Pronunciation Power' software to practice a few consonant and vowel sounds.

What a Life Unit 10: Princess Ka'iulani

Listen and read along to this recording of What a Life Unit 10: Princess Ka'iulani.


Voice Recorder >>

Computer Lab tasks for Tuesday May 8

Listening: Click here for a dialogue about traveling in New York, from 'Randall's Cyber-ESL Listening Lab', a collection of dialogues and listening comprehension questions. If you want to listen to other dialogues, go to the website's home page - www.esl-lab.com

Grammar: adverb clauses of reason (because, as, since) and contrast (though, although) - click here for notes and some exercises.


Vocabulary game: Try 'Wordshake' - an online version of one of Sara's favourite games!

Shadow Reading: Play the recording of What a Life Unit 10 and read aloud at the same time. Pay attention to the sentence rhythm and intonation.

Voice Recorder >>

Good: Water

It's been so wet in Vancouver this spring...thinking a lot about water. Actually, we are so lucky to live in this part of the world. Here are some world water facts for you to think about.

What A Life - High Beginning: Unit 9 - Julia Morgan

Listen to the recording of the Unit 9 story about Julia Morgan. Follow along with your textbook as you listen, if you want.

 
Voice Recorder >>

May 2012 - Sara's Introduction

Hello everyone in the full-time LI class at VCC (Downtown)! My name is Sara Yuen, and I'm your instructor for the month of May and I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all.

This blog is to help you practice your English, keep track of homework assignments, find useful online links to grammar, reading, writing, and vocabulary websites, and to communicate with one another. If you have any questions or comments, you can leave a comment on the blog or e-mail me at syuen@vcc.ca