Dear students,

Welcome to the second part of the subject Practical and Professional English! This semester will be a little different from the previous one in terms of content, requirements as well as the type of completion. Let's take it one by one.

 

Content:

We will continue with the book English for the Teacher but this will be supplemented with a number of methodology modules, i.e. instructive texts on various aspects of teaching. Additional materials will again be available here, in the Interaktivní osnova.

 

Continuous assessment:

1.     active participation, regular home study & preparation 2.     essay 3.     presentation in pairs 4.     50% attendance (required)

ad 2) see the guidelines below - deadline 31 March 2016

 

 

ad 3) 

Presentations

The following is a list of topics you can choose from. The presentations will take place throughout the semester;  the dates will be supplied shortly. The basic guideline is as follows:

format:     in pairs (the turn-taking is up to you)

time limit: 5 - 7 mins

structure: part I - presentation of the main ideas of the article

                part II - your personal reflection / experience / ideas etc. (practical examples may        

                be included, however, you should stay within the time limit)

 

Methodology modules:

Worksheets:

• Listening comprehension

Watch the BBC documentary on Prehistoric Life (The Woolly Beast) and work with the handout.

• Grammar in focus: Conditionals                                                                                                                            

• Try the following diagnostic test, check your answers against the key and highlight anything that remains unclear; we'll go over it in class.

... and the key

• Go to these two links and complete the excercises:

• In this exercise you will read some lines from songs: each line is a conditional. Match the two halves of the conditional sentence to make the complete line.     

          Be careful - one of the conditionals is incorrect. Can you identify which one?

• Teaching-related vocabulary

The following is a table with possible answers to ex. 9 p 71:

 Methodology modules:

Worksheets:

• Reading comprehension

The article "Non-native academic writing" was written by a Czech expert linguist and is more than worth reading, particularly in respect to your own work ahead ...

There are a number of activities and tasks, please don't rush and take your time with each of them.

 (... and the key)

• Grammar in focus:

Future

• Have a look at the following link and then try the short quiz at the bottom of the web page:

 

• Now print the Diagnostic test 4 (below), try it at home and bring it to class when required.
• When we've checked the test, move on to the following exercise on sent transformations:

Methodology modules:

Worksheets:

• Idioms

• Grammar

Go through the following notes on the possible ways of making comparisons and then try the exercises below.

•  Listening comprehension

Go to the following link and take the activities in the suggested order: before you listen, do the preparation tasks, then move on to the listening itself, etc.

Methodology modules:

Worksheets:

• Idioms

Do you have a cutting headache? Or do you have a splitting headache? Or possibly a ringing headache? Try the following exercise (or take a painkiller).

• Grammar

Asking questions

Do the Diagnostic test first (we'll check it in class) and then move on to the specific topic of Tag questions below.

• Reading comprehension

 Methodology modules:

Worksheets:

Vocabulary: key to exercise 2 p 97:

gentle - gentleness

cheerful - cheerfulness

affectionate - affection

sentimental - sentiment/sentimentality

dedicated - dedication

reliable - reliability

clean - cleanliness (pronunciation!)

ordered - order

lively - liveliness

 

• Grammar

Third Conditional

• Try the following link - even though the exercise gets a bit mechanical it's still good practice.

• Mixed conditional sentences

These are formed from two clauses with different time references. The most common type involves a clause from a second conditional and a clause from a third conditional. The if-clause can state the 'cause' or 'reason' and refers to the past (3rd conditional), with the 'result' in the main clause referring to the present (2nd conditional).

eg. If Sally hadn't tuned her violin (3)...  it wouldn't sound very nice (2).

Mixed conditionals often express regret (or satisfaction) in the present for something that happened in the past,

eg. If I hadn't studied international relations at UCL, I could never work in Brussels.

or they can express present possibilities based on past events,

eg. If you had kept the receipt, we would give you your money back.

Also, the time reference of the clauses can be reverse, i.e. the if-clause can refer to the present, the main clause (the result) can refer to the past,

eg. If Anna wasn't so clever she wouldn't have known how to take my blood pressure.

Now go on to the following exercise; it is based on translation from Czech to English to demonstrate that the two languages differ greatly and that you must rely on your knowledge and feeling for English, not on the Czech equivalent.

• Miscellaneous

You can choose any of the SKILLWISE activities, just  go to this link from the BBC website.

• Listening

 Watch the following video about leisure activities in Britain.

 Now listen to the recording about what university students in UK spend money on and how they economize.

 Methodology modules:

Worksheets:

• Teacher talk

The following worksheet contains a number of phrases that an English teacher uses daily in their classes. Look at them, compare them with what you say in those situations and decide whether they're correct or need improvement. (based on the book "Angličtina pro učitele angličtiny" by Lucie Betáková). (Look at the key only after you've been to the last class on Wednesday 18/5 please.)
 

This is just a brief overview of some school-related vocabulary.

• Grammar

The following exercise is a brief summary of different uses of articles (KEY is provided).

• Vocabulary

Collective nouns

• Phrasal verbs

This is an overview of the phrasal verbs with KEEP & HOLD.

 Methodology modules:

Worksheets:

• Grammar

• Some more material on the use of articles.

 

• The following are just three extracts from the (very useful) book by Don Sparling called English or Czenglish. Although first published in 1989, it is still more than relevant.

• Various prepositions missing in common phrases (... and the key)