الخميس، 25 سبتمبر 2008

كل عام و أنتم بخير، و عساكم من عوادة

تتمنى الهيئة الإدارية و التدريسية لأبنائها الطلبة عيدا سعيداً ومباركاً، اّملين من الله أن يعيده علي الجميع و هم بأفضل حال.

الأربعاء، 24 سبتمبر 2008

صورة أخرى لزيارة وفد الشرطة


شرطة أبوظبي في زيارةإرشادية


ضمن فعاليات شرطة أبوظبي و ضمن نشاطاتها المجتمعية، قام وفد منها بزيارة إرشادية لمدرسة التعاون، حيث تم خلالها إلقاء الندوات و توزيع هدايا على الطلبة.

صورة لبعض طلبة التاسع 5


صورة لبعض طلبة التاسع 4


الثلاثاء، 23 سبتمبر 2008

من احتفالات المدرسة بالأعياد الوطنية


صورة اخرى للسيد الموجه في أحد الإجتماعات الإدارية


موجه النطاق والمدرسة السيد نواف


صورة أخرى...........


صورة لبعض أعضاء المنتخب الوطني لكرة القدم أثناء زيارتهم للمدرسة


A List of Vocabulary Items & their Meanings: page 17

Look up meanings of the following words:



advertisement (n) announcement (…………………)
advice (n) suggestion (…………………)
advise (v) to suggest/advise (…………………)
borrow (v) have a loan of (…………………)
club (n) association (…………………)
communicate (v) converse (…………………)
encyclopedia (n) information book (…………………)
fact (n) truth (…………………)
index (v) alphabetical listing (…………………)
information (n) details about sth (…………………)
leaflet (n) booklet (…………………)
librarian (n) a person in charge of (…………………)
look up (v) search for meanings (…………………)
magazine (n) periodical (…………………)
meet (v) get together (…………………)
profile (n) a brief biography (…………………)
reference book (n) a widely detailed book (…………………)
research (n) investigate (…………………)
search engine (n) a website contains information about sth/sb(…………………) source (n) foundation (…………………)
webcam (n) internet camera (…………………)
website (n) a location on WWW/internet (…………………)

صورة للساحة الداخلية لمدرسة التعاون


صورة لمدخل مدرسة التعاون


Intelligence Theories

Intelligence theories have evolved through a succession of paradigms which have tried to explain and define intelligence. Many of these paradigms have been psychometric theories, cognitive theories, cognitive-contextual theories, and biological theories.

Psychometric Theories

Psychometric theories have sought to understand the structure of intelligence: the form it takes, its categories, and its composition. Underlying psychometric intelligence theory is a psychological model according to which intelligence is a combination of abilities that can be measured by mental testing. These tests often include analogies, classification/identification, and series completion. Each test score is equally weighted according to the evidence of underlying ability in each category.
British psychologist Charles E. Spearman published the first psychometric theory in 1904. His theory noted that people who excelled on one mental ability test often did well on the others, and people who did poorly on one of them tended to do poorly on the others. Using this concept, Spearman devised a technique of statistical analysis that examined patterns of individual differences in test scores. This analysis helped him discover what he believed to be the two sources of these individual differences: the "general factor" which is our general intellectual ability, and a test-specific factor.
American psychologist L. L. Thurstone disagreed with Spearman's theory and his isolation of the "general factor" of intelligence. Thurstone believed that the "general factor" resulted from Spearman's method of analysis, and that if analysis were more thorough, seven factors would emerge. These seven factors were collectively called the "primary mental abilities" and included verbal comprehension, verbal fluency, numbers, spatial visualization, inductive reasoning, memory, and perceptual speed.
To further complicate matters, a third theory was introduced by American Raymond Cattell and Canadian Philip Vernon. They combined ideas from Spearman and Thurstone's theories, stating that abilities are hierarchical. At the top of the hierarchy is our "general factor" of intellectual ability, and below are successive levels of narrowing abilities, ending with Spearman's "primary mental abilities".
Most psychologists agree that a broader subdivision of abilities than Spearman's classification is necessary, but only some agree with the hierarchical subdivision. It quickly became apparent to many psychologists that there were problems that could not be addressed by psychometric theories. The number of abilities could not be positively identified, and the differences between them could not be clearly defined due to the limitations of testing and analysis. However, the most significant problem extended beyond the number of abilities: what happens in someone's mind when they are using the ability in question? Psychometric theories had no means of addressing this issue, and cognitive theories began to fill this gap.

Cognitive Theories

During the era of psychometric theories, people's test scores dominated the study of intelligence. In 1957, American psychologist Lee Cronbach criticized how some psychologists study individual differences and others study commonalties in human behavior, but the two methods never meet. Cronbach voiced the need for the two methods to be united, which led to the development of cognitive theories of intelligence.
Without understanding the processes underlying intelligence, we cannot come to accurate conclusions when analyzing test scores or assessing someone's performance. Cognitive analysis helps the interpretation of test scores by determining to what degree the score reflects reasoning ability and the degree to which it is a result of not understanding the questions or vocabulary. Psychometric theories did not differentiate between these two factors, which have a significant effect on the determination of intelligence. Many people are excellent reasoners but have modest vocabularies, and vice versa.
Underlying the cognitive approach to intelligence is the assumption that intelligence is comprised of a set of mental representations of information, and a set of processes that operate the mental representations. It is assumed that a more intelligent person represents information better, and operates more quickly on these representations than does a less intelligent person.
Several different cognitive theories of intelligence have emerged over the years. One was introduced by Earl Hunt, Nancy Frost, and Clifford Lunneborg, who in 1973 showed one way in which psychometric and cognitive modeling could be combined. Instead of using conventional psychometric tests, they used tasks that allowed them to study the basis of cognition - perception, learning, and memory. Individual differences in the tasks became apparent, which they related to differing patterns of forming and operating mental representations.
Several years later, Robert Sternberg suggested an alternative approach to studying cognitive processes. He argued, based on evidence he had gathered, that there was only a weak relationship between basic cognitive tasks and psychometric test scores because the tasks being used were too simple. Although simple tasks involve cognitive processes, they are peripheral rather than central.
Although opposing cognitive theories exist, they are all based on the serial processing of information, which means that cognitive processes are executed one after another in a series. The assumption is that we process chunks of information one at a time, trying to combine the processes into an overall problem-solving strategy. Other psychologists have challenged this idea, arguing that cognitive processing is parallel, meaning that we process large amounts of information simultaneously. However, it has proved difficult to distinguish between serial and parallel models of information processing.
Despite evidence and support for cognitive intelligence theories, a major problem remains regarding the nature of intelligence. Cognitive theories do not take into account that the description of intelligence may differ from one cultural group to another. Even within mainstream cultures, it is well known that conventional tests do not reliably predict performance. Therefore in addition to cognition, the context in which the cognition operates also needs to be accounted for.

Cognitive-Contextual Theories

Cognitive-contextual theories address the way cognitive processes operate. The two major cognitive-contextual theories are of Howard Gardner and Sternberg.
In 1983, Gardner proposed a theory of "multiple intelligences", arguing that there is no single intelligence. He identified what he believed to be the seven minimal intelligences, some of which are similar to the abilities proposed by psychometric theorists, but others not. Gardner devised his list of intelligences from a variety of sources, including studies of cognitive processing, brain damage, exceptional individuals, and cognition between cultures. He suggested that whereas most concepts of intelligence had been ethnocentric and culturally biased, his was universal.
Sternberg's "triarchic" theory of intelligence agreed with Gardner in terms of the conventional notions of intelligence being too narrow. However, he disagreed as to how to go beyond traditional notions. Sternberg suggested that some abilities are talents rather than intelligences, since they are specific and are not prerequisites for adaptation to a cultural environment. He proposed that intelligence has three aspects - not multiple intelligences, but independent aspects that relate intelligence to what goes on internally within someone, what goes on in the external world, and what mediates between the internal and external worlds.

Biological Theories

Biological theories are radically different approaches to intelligence, seeking to understand intelligence in terms of its biological basis instead of hypothetical factors or abilities. These theorists, called reductionists, believe that a full understanding of intelligence will only result from the identification of its biological substrates.
Those that oppose biological theories argue that they only seek to describe the fundamental behavior behind intelligence, not explain it. However, those in favor of these theories believe that the understanding of the biological basis of intelligence will compliment other investigations into intelligence, and will help unlock the mystery.

Vocabulary Learning and Speaking Activities


Vocabulary Learning and Speaking Activities



by Angela Joe




Speaking tasks such as mini-lectures, ranking activities, split information tasks, roleplay, and problem solving discussion are not usually thought of as having vocabulary learning goals. One of the reasons for this is that it seems difficult to plan vocabulary learning as a part of a syllabus using activities that are largely productive, unpredictable, and subject to the whims of the people who happen to be in the discussion group. This article shows that such activities are in fact a very useful means of vocabulary learning. Drawing on recent research, it shows how a vocabulary learning goal can be effectively designed into many speaking activities; and it shows how it is possible to plan what vocabulary is likely to be learned in particular activities. Although this article focuses on vocabulary learning, this may be an incidental goal in speaking activities. Speaking activities can achieve a range of goals, and several may be achieved in the same activity.






An example:



Here is part of the transcript of a problem solving discussion by three learners (S1, S2, S3) about redesigning a zoo. The task comes from Ur (1981).



S3 All enclosures should be filled S2 Enclosures should be filled enclosure, do you know? S1 What means enclosure? Do you know? S3 Close ah should be filled S2 No I don't know enclose enclosed S1 Filled what means fill? Oh oh all enclosed, I think that all enclosed that means enclosed S2 Fill S3 Filled, filled S2 Ohh S1 Every every area, yes, should be filled S2 Should be filled S3 Should be put put something inside S1 Yes, because yes, yes, because you know two? the- S2 I see. No empty rooms, ahh S3 No empty rooms, yeah S2 Two is the empty. I see S1 Yeah, empty so we must fill it O.K.



The word enclosures comes from the typewritten handout that the learners are looking at. One of the points of information on this handout states, "All the enclosures should be filled." The learners S3 and S2 repeat the sentence from the handout, and then S1 asks *"What means enclosure?" This starts a discussion about the word. Notice that the form enclosed is also spoken although this does not appear on the handout at all.



What is clear from this example is that what is written on the handout has an effect on what is said during the discussion. In the example given above, it is also clear that the discussion involves the learners in explaining the vocabulary to each other. The written input to the activity can play a major role in determining what is learned if it includes vocabulary that is important for the speaking activity.



There are three important issues to consider in learning from the written input.



Where do the new vocabulary items and the information about them come from?
How are they learned?
How can the activity and in particular the worksheet be designed to maximise the chances of the wanted vocabulary being learned?



Source of vocabulary and information about the vocabulary



The sources for information about the words, mainly the words' meanings, can come from the textual context provided on the worksheet, and from the learners in the group who already know something about the words. Newton's (1993) study found that when learners discussed the meanings of words from the worksheet with each other, by far the majority of words discussed resulted in useful and accurate information being provided about the words. This is not surprising. Vocabulary tests of learners who have roughly the same proficiency level usually show a remarkable diversity of knowledge. All learners usually know the higher frequency words, and one or two learners know many of the other words appropriate to their level of proficiency. Newton, for example, found that in is pretest to the tasks, 35% of the 111 tested words were known by all learners, 54% by one or more learners but not everyone, and 11% were not known by anyone. It was the 54% that were known by at least one person that could most usefully be discussed by the learners. In addition the learners could use the context clues to work out meanings of the words that nobody knew before the activity.



Knowledge of the meanings of unknown words could thus come from the learners in the group or from context clues on the worksheet.



How can words be learned from textual input?



Getting the meaning of an unknown word is not the same as remembering that meaning. Although the learner may discover the meaning through the written context, through hearing it used, or through the explanation of other members of the group, this is no guarantee that the word and its meaning will be remembered.



There are three important processes that may lead to a word being remembered. These processes can be viewed as three steps with the later steps including the earlier steps. The first process encouraging learning is attention. This means that learners need to notice the word to be aware of it as a useful language item (see Ellis 1991, McLaughlin 1990, Schmidt 1990 for discussions of noticing ). This noticing may be affected by several factors, including: 1) the salience of the word in the textual input or in the discussion of the text; 2) previous contact that the learners have had with the word; and 3) the learners' realization that the word fills a gap in their knowledge of the language (Schmidt and Frota 1986, Ellis 1990).



Newton (1993) found that all the instances of negotiation of meaning in the four tasks he studied involved negotiating items in the textual input. No vocabulary items that were introduced during the discussion and not derived from the textual input were negotiated. Negotiation of word meaning indicates that an item is noticed and that the learner has a gap in his or her knowledge. Items which were negotiated or used had a greater chance of being learned than items in the textual input which were not used.



It was not necessary to be the negotiator in order to learn. Learners learned equally well by observing negotiation.



Teachers can have a direct influence on noticing by giving thought to the placement of desired vocabulary items in the written input, and by some form of preteaching or "conscious-raising" of wanted items before the activity.



The second process that may lead to a word being remembered is retrieval (Baddeley 1990:156). A word may be noticed and its meaning comprehended in the textual input to the task, and if that word is subsequently retrieved either receptively or productively during a task, then the memory of that word will be strengthened. Receptive retrieval involves perceiving the form and having to retrieve its meaning when the word is met in listening or reading. Productive retrieval involves wishing to communicate the meaning of the word and having to retrieve its spoken or written form as in speaking or writing. Retrieval does not occur if the form and its meaning are presented simultaneously to the learner. Baddeley (1990) suggests that each retrieval of a word strengthens the path linking the form and meaning.



Teachers can design retrieval into speaking activities by making it necessary for the learners to reuse the words that occurred in the textual input. This can be done by: 1) making the task involve retelling of the textual input; 2) by making the task involve a procedure whereby the same material has to be discussed or presented several times through a change in group membership as in the pyramid procedure (Jordan 1990); or 3) making the solution to the task involve considerable discussion of the information provided in the textual input as in a problem solving discussion.



In a strip story activity (Gibson 1975) the learners are each given a sentence to memorize from a paragraph. They then must tell their sentences to each other and decide whose sentence is first, second, and so on. No writing is allowed. Because the learners must memorize their sentences, they then have to retrieve them each time they relay them to the rest of the group. Memorisation thus ensures a form of retrieval.



The third process that may lead to a word being remembered is generation. Generation, or generative processing, can also be receptive or productive. In its productive form, it involves producing new ways of using the wanted vocabulary in new contexts (Wittrock 1974, 1991). This means that a word is used generatively if it is used in speaking in a way which is different from its use in the textual input. Receptive generative use involves meeting the word in new contexts.



There are degrees of generation. Generation occurs at a low degree if the linguistic context for the generated word is only slightly different from the textual input: Chronic pain becomes very chronic pain. Generation is high if the word is used in a substantially different way, perhaps indicating that the word has begun to be integrated into the learner's language system: Chronic pain becomes chronic backache or chronic illness.



Joe (1994) found that degree of generation was closely related to amount of learning in retelling tasks. Newton (1993) found that negotiation of the meaning of a word in-creased its chances of being learned. Negotiation of a word's meaning will usually involve generative use of that word during the negotiation. The most striking receptive generative uses of vocabulary are those where meeting the word in a new context forces the learner to reconceptualise the meaning that they previously had for that word. Having learned the Japanese word moshi-moshi simply as a greeting on the telephone, it was surprising to hear a man on the train use it as a way of offering to take care of the parcels that a woman friend was carrying. This forced a rethink of the meaning of this word.



Teachers can encourage generative use by: 1) requiring retelling of the written input from a different focus; 2) distributing the information in a way that encourages negotiation; and 3) requiring learners to reconstruct what was in the text rather than repeat it.



Activities for learning vocabulary through speaking



We have looked at the processes that can help the learning of vocabulary through speaking. In this section we look at the design of activities that provide conditions that encourage these processes to occur. In the description of each activity we will comment on these conditions. The aim of the comments is to alert teachers to what is important in the activity and also to make teachers realise that the same conditions could be designed into other activities. Teachers could then adapt various activities to achieve vocabulary learning goals.



Retelling. As we shall see, retelling activities can take many forms. What is common to all of them is that the learners read a text (usually about 100 to 200 words long), and retell it. From a vocabulary learning point of view, the text provides new vocabulary and a context to help understand the new words. The retelling gives learners the chance to productively retrieve the vocabulary and ideally make generative use of it. Research by Joe (1994) indicates that the absence of the text during the retelling encourages generative use, but having it present during the retelling ensures that more of the target vocabulary is used. But since having the text present during retelling provides poor conditions for retrieval (the form which should be retrieved is already present in the text that the learner can look at), until further research is done on this technique, it is probably best not to have the text present during the retelling.



Other forms of retelling include 4/3/2 (Maurice 1983, Arevart and Nation 1991) and Read and retell (Simcock 1993). 4/3/2 involves giving the same talk to three different listeners one after the other, but with four minutes to give the first delivery of the talk, three minutes for the delivery of the same talk to the second listener, and two minutes for the third. The talk can be a retelling of a previously studied text. The repetition would not be expected to increase the range of generative use, but would provide an opportunity for more fluent retrieval.



The Read and retell activity involves re-telling a written text, but the listener has a set of guiding questions to ask the reteller so that it seems like an interview. The design of the questions can encourage use of target vocabulary from the written text and ensure that all the important parts of the text are retold. Both the listener and the reteller study the text and questions before the retelling, and they can rehearse the retelling to perform before others.



When observing retelling activities, the teacher looks for the use of the wanted vocabulary, particularly to see if it was in a salient enough position in the text to encourage its use in retelling, and to see if it is being used generatively in the retelling.



Roleplay. Roleplay activities can involve a written text on which the roleplay is based. It may involve written instructions to the roleplayers. The Say it! activity combines these features and serves as a simple introduction to role play. In the Say it! activity the learners read a short text such as a newspaper report containing the target vocabulary. They can read the article and discuss it together if they wish. Then they look at a grid containing short tasks to perform. The columns in the grid are labeled with letters and the rows are numbered. The first learner in the group names a square for example, B2 and the second learner in the group has to perform the task contained in that square. After that, the second learner names another square, and the third learner has to perform that task. This continues around the group. The same task may be performed more than once by different learners in the group.



Here is the newspaper report on which the following Say it! is based. The learners need to read the report carefully and discuss it before doing the Say it! activity.



Notice that the tasks in each square are designed to encourage use of the target vocabulary and that they require the learners to reshape what was in the text to suit the viewpoint of the task. If the text is read, discussed, understood, and then put away before doing the Say it! activity, then retrieval is encouraged. The roleplay nature of the tasks encourages generative use of the vocabulary.




CASTAWAYS SURVIVED ON SHARK'S BLOOD
Three fisherman who drifted on the Pacific for four months told yesterday how they drank shark's blood to survive.The fishermen from Kiribati told their story through an interpreter in the American Samoa capital of Pago Pago after being rescued by the ship Sakaria.Kautea Teaitoa, Veaieta Toanuea, and Tebwai Aretana drifted 400 kilometers from home after their outboard motor failed on February 8.They said four ships had refused to help them during their ordeal.When they were picked up on June 4 they had eaten the last of a one-metre shark four days before and drunk all of its blood."I have not prayed so much in all my life," Mr. Aretana said.

A
B
C
1
You are Kautea. Say what helped you survive.
You are Tebwai Aretana. How did you feel when the ships refused to help you?
You are a sailor on the Sakaria. What did you do to help the fishermen?
2
You are Tebwai. Explain why you were in the boat and what happened after it broke down.
You are Kautea. How did you feel when you caught the shark?
You are the captain. Explain why you stopped?
3
You are Veaieta. Explain what caused the problem.
You are the interpreter. Describe the feelings and appearance of the three men.
The journey was called an ordeal. Why was it an ordeal?
Larger problem solving roleplay activities can involve substantial written input that needs to be processed in a similar way (Nation 1991). Learners need to read about the background to the problem, the problem itself, the constraints on the solution, and their own roles.



Ranking. Newton (1995) found that shared tasks where learners all had equal access to the same information resulted in more negotiation of word meaning than split tasks where each learner had different information. Split tasks had more negotiation overall but most of this was not negotiation of word meaning. Vocabulary which is placed in the list of items to rank is most likely to be used in the activity, particularly if the items are difficult ones for the learners to agree upon. Words occurring in the background description and in the instructions are less likely to be used and learned. Clearly the places where words occur on the worksheet have a major effect on whether they will be learned. Although Newton found that negotiation was an important contributor to learning, most words learned were used in the task but were not negotiated for word meaning. Very few words were learned by simply seeing them in the written input and not using them or hearing them used in the task.



Other activities. There are numerous other speaking activities which make use of written input. These include split information tasks (Nation 1977), interview activities , and information transfer activities (Palmer 1982). Thoughtful design of the worksheets and careful observation of their use can maximise the opportunities for the incidental learning of useful vocabulary while the learners are involved in a meaning-focused speaking task.



Designing the worksheets



Let us look at a task to see how it can be re-designed to create favourable opportunities for vocabulary learning.



The learners work in groups to solve the following problem.



You have just seen one of your friends stealing things from a local shop. What will you do?



Inform the shop owner immediately.
Tell your friend to put it back.
Discuss it with your friend later to discourage him from doing it in the future.
Just ignore it.
Discuss it with your parents.



The following words in the written input are unknown to many of the learners: local, inform, discourage, ignore. Inform and ignore are important ideas in the text and the likelihood of them being noticed, discussed and used in the activity is quite high. Local and discourage may not get the same attention.



There are several important ways in which the activity could be improved for vocabulary learning. First, the numbers in front of the choices should be removed. If they are left there, then the learners will say things like "I think 4 is the best choice" instead of saying "I would just ignore it" which makes use of the target word ignore.



Second, the written input is quite short and does not contain a lot of useful new vocabulary. The written input thus needs to be increased in quantity and additional useful words to learn should be included. This can be done in several ways, by increasing the amount of description about each choice, by giving more description of the background to the task (more information about the friend and what was stolen, for example), or by adding more choices. Probably the most effective way will be to turn the activity into a roleplay. This would involve providing each player with a role card describing their role and goals, and adding descriptions of constraints to the activity (your friend's parents punish him severely for bad behavior) (Nation 1991).



Third, some changes could insure that the target vocabulary will be used. The activity could be made into a ranking activity rather than a choosing activity. This might produce discussion that is more evenly spread among the choices. Each learner in the group could be given responsibility for a different choice. They should make themselves very familiar with that choice, and while it does not have to be their first choice, they have to ensure that it gets sufficient discussion and consideration during the activity. It may be more effective to get them to memorise their option and then remove the written input.



Fourth, some changes could be made to give the target vocabulary a greater chance of being used often during the activity. These could include getting learners to report back to other groups on their decision and the reasons for that decision, and moving through a pyramid procedure from pairs to fours to the whole class.



The aim of all these changes to the activity is to increase the opportunities for vocabulary learning. Their effectiveness may be seen by testing the vocabulary learning directly coming from the activity, or more informally by observing whether the learners are negotiating and using the wanted vocabulary during the activity.



The main theme of this article has been to suggest that teachers who are serious about planning vocabulary learning should give careful attention to the design of speaking activities. Without compromising the communicative nature of spoken activities it is easily possible to increase the opportunity for planned vocabulary learning.




Angela Joe , Paul Nation , and Jonathan Newton all teach at the English Language Institute New Zealand. Angela Joe has taught in Japan and New Zealand. Her research interests include vocabulary acquisition and second language teaching methodology. Paul Nation was recently teaching at Temple University in Japan. He has published a book entitled Teaching and Learning Vocabulary, 1990 and has just edited New Ways in Teaching Vocabulary, TESOL, 1994. Jonathan Newton has taught in China and New Zealand. His research interests include second language acquisition and discourse.



Return



References



Arevart, S. and I. S. P. Nation. 1991. Fluency improvement in a second language. RELC Journal, 22, 1, pp. 84-94.
Baddeley, A. 1990. Human memory: Theory and practice. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ellis, R. 1990. Instructed second language acquisition. London: Basil Blackwell.
----- 1991. The interaction hypothesis: A critical evaluation. In Language acquisition and the second language classroom, ed., E. Sadtono. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
Gibson, R. E. 1975. The strip story: A catalyst for communication. TESOL Quarterly, 9, pp. 149-154.
Joe, A. 1994. The effect of text-based tasks on incidental vocabulary learning. Unpublished MA thesis, Victoria University of Wellington,
Jordan, R. R. 1990. Pyramid discussions. English Language Teaching Journal, 44, pp. 46-54.
Maurice, K. 1983. The fluency workshop. TESOL Newsletter, 17, p. 29.
McLaughlin, B. 1990. "Conscious" versus "Unconscious" learning. TESOL Quarterly 24, pp. 617 634.
Nation, I. S. P. 1977. The combining arrangement: Some techniques. Modern Language Journal 61, pp. 89 94.
-----. 1991. Managing group discussion: Problem solving tasks. Guidelines 13, pp. 1-10.
-----. 1989. Group work and language learning. English Teaching Forum, 27, pp. 20-24.
Newton, J. 1993. Task-based interaction among adult learners of English and its role in second language development. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Victoria University of Wellington,
-----. (1995) Task-based interaction and incidental vocabulary learning: A case study. Second Language Research, 11, pp. 159-177.
Palmer, D. M. 1982. Information transfer for listening and reading. English Teaching Forum, 20, pp. 29-33.
Schmidt, R. 1990. The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics 11, pp. 129-158.
Schmidt, R. and S. Frota. 1986. Developing basic conversational ability in a second language: A case study of an adult learner of Portuguese. In Talking to learn: Conversation in second language acquisition, ed. R. R. Day Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Simcock, M. 1993. Developing productive vocabulary using the "Ask and answer" technique. Guidelines 15, pp. 1-7.
Ur, P. 1981. Discussions that Work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wittrock, M. C. 1974. Learning as a generative process. Educational Psychologist, 11, pp. 87-95.
-----. 1991. Generative teaching of comprehension. Elementary School Journal, 92, pp. 169-184.

More about Passive Form

The Passive Form

The passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb to be into the same tense as the active verb and adding the past participle of the active verb.

When should we use the Passive form of the verb?

First: when the subject is unimportant:

1. Parents put the children to bed at seven o’clock.
.............................................................................
2. Mothers sometimes send the older children to do the shopping.
.................................................................................
3. The painter has painted the outside of the house.
..................................................................................

Second: when the speaker doesn’t want to name the performer of the action:

1. The cook has spoilt the meat.
............................................................................
2. My brother broke your television.
.............................................................................
3. The police had arrested the wrong man.
............................................................................

Third: in order to replace a “thing” subject by a “person” subject:

1. The flooded river carried several people away.
.............................................................................................
2. Cholera used to kill several people every year.
..............................................................................................
3. A bus ran over an old man.
..............................................................................................

Forth: when the speaker doesn’t know who or what did the action.

1. Something had broken the window.
............................................................................................
2. Somebody found the lost jewel.
..............................................................................................
3. One day, somebody will explore the planet Mars.
..............................................................................................
The Passive Form

Change the following sentences by using the passive form but do not add by somebody:

Example: The guests ate nearly all the food.
Nearly all the food was eaten.

1. The ambulance driver took John to hospital.
John.................................................................. .
2. Mr Azizi taught the children to say their prayers.
The children were................................................. .
3 .My parents took me on holiday to the seaside.
I was.................................................................... .
4 .His uncle gave Hasan a bicycle for his birthday.
Hasan.................................................................... .
5 .The teacher showed him how to use a knife and fork for eating.
He.......................................................................... .
6 .The parents leave the presents near the children’s beds.
The presents............................................................... .
7. I found the missing book in the garden.
The missing book............................................................... .
8. People will use up all the coal in the world before the end of the next century.
All the coal in the world.........................................................
9. When he got home, he found that somebody had broken one of his windows.
One of his windows ............................................................
10. Hurry up, or we shall leave you behind.
You..................................................................................







More practice with the passive form of the verb Think of a suitable first part for the following sentences.
1. ...........................................................are given presents by their parents.
2. ..........................................................are taught to be polite to strangers.
3. ...........................................................is found in many countries.
4. ............................................................has been broken.
5. ............................................................has been taken to hospital.
6. ............................................................has been lost.
7. ............................................................ will be cooked for the guests.
8. ............................................................is going to be repaired tomorrow.
9. ............................................................is going to be painted by Mohamed.
10. ..........................................................can be found in the dictionary.
11. ..........................................................may have been stolen.
12. .......................................................... may be found.

كيف تستطيع أن تتعلم الكثير من دروسك؟

كيف تستطيع أن تتعلم الكثير من دروسك؟
إليك ثلاثة أفكار:

أولاً: استعد للدرس. قبل الدرس, اسأل نفسك: ماذا سأتعلم من هذا الدرس؟ أنظر إلى الصفحات التالية في كتابك لتأخذ فكرة.
ثانياً: بعد الدرس, أكتب ملخصاً عن النقاط المهمة. ثم حاول أن تتذكر الملخص في اليوم التالي. إسأل نفسك: ماذا تعلمت بالأمس؟
كن حذراً في إجاباتك. لا تقل: لقد درسنا الصفحة الرابعة والثلاثين في مادة الرياضيات, أو لقد درسنا القرن السادس عشر في مادة التاريخ, أو حتى لقد تعلمنا عن البرازيل في مادة الجغرافيا. هذه الإجابات ليست جيدة جداً. إنها تجاوب سؤالاً مختلفاً. إنها تجاوب السؤال ماذا تدرس؟ ليس ماذا تتعلم؟ الدراسة تعني "أن أنتبه جيداً", لكن التعلم يعني "أن أعرف شيئاً جديداً".
لنرجع، إذا، إلى السؤال الحقيقي: ماذا تعلمت بالأمس؟ الجواب الجيد هو حقيقة/واقعة, أو طريقة لفعل شيء. مثال: بالأمس في مادة التاريخ, تعلمت عن هنري الثامن ملك انجلترا. لقد كان ملكاً منذ سنة 1509 إلى سنة 1547. في مادة الجغرافيا, تعلمت أن معظم البرازيليين يتكلمون اللغة البرتغالية. لقد تعلمت أيضاً أن عاصمة البرازيل هي برازيليا. عدد سكان عاصمة البرازيل يصل نحو مليونين نسمة, لكن أكبر مدينة في البرازيل هي سان باولو, التي عدد سكانها أكثر من عشرين مليون نسمة. البارحة بعد الظهر في مادة الرياضيات, تعلمت كيف أجد مساحة المثلث ذو الزاوية اليمنى: أضرب القاعدة بالارتفاع ثم أقسم الناتج على اثنين.

في بعض الأحيان أنت لا تفهم أو لا تستطع أن تتذكر المعلومات. هاك الفكرة الثالثة. اسأل أصدقائك ليشرحوا لك المعلومات. إن لم يستطيعوا أن يخبروك, اسأل المدرس في الدرس التالي.
سؤال أخير: ماذا تعلمت من هذه الفقرة؟ اشرح النصيحة لشريكك.

ترجمة: مصطفى أبو بكر العيدروس

الاثنين، 22 سبتمبر 2008

Present Simple

1. She ___ four languages.
speak
speaks
2. Jane is a teacher. She ___ French.
teach
teaches
3. When the kettle ___, will you make some tea?
boil
boils
4. I always ___ the window at night because it is cold.
close
closes
5. Those shoes ___ too much.
cost
costs
6. The food in Japan is expensive. It ___ a lot to live there.
cost
costs
7. His job is great because he ___ a lot of people.
meet
meets
8. He always ___ his car on Sundays.
wash
washes
9. My watch is broken and it ___ to be fixed again.
need
needs
10. I ___ to watch movies.
love
loves
11. I ___ to the cinema at least once a week.
go
goes
12. They never ___ tea in the morning.
drink
drinks
13.We both ___ to the radio in the morning.
listen
listens
14. He ___ a big wedding.
want
wants
15. George ___ too much so he's getting fat.
eat
eats

WH- questions

`Wh`-questions

Main points

* You use `who`, `whom`, and `whose` to ask about people, and `which` to ask about people or things.

* You use `what` to ask about things, and `what for` to ask about reasons and purposes.

* You use `how` to ask about the way something happens.

* You use `when` to ask about times, `why` to ask about reasons, and `where` to ask about places and directions.

1 You use `who`, `whom`, or `whose` in questions about people. `Who` is used to ask questions about the subject or object of the verb, or about the object of a preposition.
Who discovered this?
Who did he marry?
Who did you talk to?


In formal English, `whom` is used as the object of a verb or preposition. The preposition always comes in front of `whom`.
Whom did you see?
For whom were they supposed to do it?

You use `whose` to ask which person something belongs to or is related to. `Whose` can be the subject or the object.
Whose is nearer?
Whose did you prefer, hers or mine?

2 You use `which` to ask about one person or thing, out of a number of people or things. `Which` can be the subject or object.
Which is your son?
Which does she want?


3 You use `what` to ask about things, for example about actions and events. `What` can be the subject or object.
What has happened to him?
What is he selling?
What will you talk about?


You use `what...for` to ask about the reason for an action, or the purpose of an object.
What are you going there for?
What are those lights for?
4 You use `how` to ask about the way in which something happens or is done.
How did you know we were coming?
How are you going to get home?


You also use `how` to ask about the way a person or thing feels or looks.
`How are you?` - `Well, how do I look?`

5 `How` is also used:

* with adjectives to ask about the degree of quality that someone or something has
How good are you at Maths?
How hot shall I make the soup?

* with adjectives such as `big`, `old`, and `far` to ask about size, age, and distance
How old are your children?
How far is it to Montreal from here?

Note that you do not normally use `How small`, `How young`, or `How near`.

* with adverbs such as `long` and `often` to ask about time, or `well` to ask about abilities
How long have you lived here?
How well can you read?


* with `many` and `much` to ask about the number or amount of something
How many were there?
How much did he tell you?

6 You use `when` to ask about points in time or periods of time, `why` to ask about the reason for an action, and `where` to ask about place and direction.
When are you coming home?
When were you in London?
Why are you here?
Where is the station?
Where are you going?


You can also ask about direction using `which direction...in` or `which way`.
Which direction did he go in?
Which way did he go?



Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency


Name: ……………………………………………. Section: …….


Rewrite each of the following sentences, placing the adverb of frequency given in brackets in the middle position of the main clause. For example:
She is late for work. (rarely)
She is rarely late for work.
We visit him on Sundays. (sometimes)
We sometimes visit him on Sundays.
I have read that book before. (never)
I have never read that book before.
Yes, I do. (usually)
Yes, I usually do.
1. I had wanted to see the ocean. (always)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
2. They do. (frequently)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
3. She is very friendly. (usually)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
4. They have the opportunity to travel. (rarely)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
5. I am at home in the mornings. (generally)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
6. He has. (always)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
7. We were given free sandwiches at the school. (frequently)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
8. Birds return to the place where they were born to build their nests. (often)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
9. Albatrosses are seen close to shore. (rarely)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
10. We would. (never)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
11. They follow the news. (rarely)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .
12. This kind of wood is used to make violins. (sometimes)
……………………………………………………………………………………….. .

Vocabulary Items & meanings

Look up meanings of the following words:



advertisement (n) announcement (…………………)
advice (n) suggestion (…………………)
advise (v) to suggest/advise (…………………)
borrow (v) have a loan of (…………………)
club (n) association (…………………)
communicate (v) converse (…………………)
encyclopedia (n) information book (…………………)
fact (n) truth (…………………)
index (v) alphabetical listing (…………………)
information (n) details about sth (…………………)
leaflet (n) booklet (…………………)
librarian (n) a person in charge of (…………………)
look up (v) search for meanings (…………………)
magazine (n) periodical (…………………)
meet (v) get together (…………………)
profile (n) a brief biography (…………………)
reference book (n) a widely detailed book (…………………)
research (n) investigate (…………………)
search engine (n) a website contains information about sth/sb(…………………) source (n) foundation (…………………)
webcam (n) internet camera (…………………)
website (n) a location on WWW/internet (…………………)

Tuesday,23 Sep,2008


Lesson: 4 Applying New Reading Skills
Students are expected to read an essay about the disadvantages of the internet and answer the related questions and exercises on page 21.