En relación al TOEFL

¿Cuáles son las fechas para presentar el exámen del CIDEB? (si mi hijo quiere ingresar a esta prepa)
Las fechas vienen en el calendario que se les entregó: MAYO 23: Examen TOEFL y JUNIO 6: Examen de Conocimientos. Recuerden que el examen de admisión consta de dos partes.
Para más información, es necesario que pasen por el Tríptico Informativo aquí en las instalaciones, de lunes a viernes de 8 a 3 P.M.


Mi hijo no llevó el Nivel Grammar, ¿se trata de un curso de apoyo o remediales?
Se trata más bien de un curso para desarrollar y practicar la gramatica, el maestro decide si el alumno lo necesita o no. Al final del Nivel Comunicativo II, lo puede llevar si quiere, en caso de que ninguno maestro haya sugerido llevarlo anteriormente.

Mi hijo tuvo un resultado muy inferior al que ustedes solicitan para comenzar este nivel. ¿Por qué lo aprobaron entonces?
El Score del Toefl no tiene nada que ver con acreditar un nivel. Son cosas muy diferentes, en muchas ocasiones los alumnos lo contestan sin cuidado.

El examen Toefl que aplicamos en el Dpto de Extensión es uno de práctica, para que se den cuenta cuánto necesitan tener, pero no significan que estan mal.

Este ejercicio le va a ayudar al estudiante tambien a incrementar su puntaje y aprender estrategias para contestarlo con mayor rapidez. No es necesario bajar a un alumno de nivel por este resultado, eso no le ayudaría en nada con su score.

Aviso a los Padres de Familia

Por este medio voy a procurar dar respuesta a sus inquietudes.

Denme oportunidad de averiguar lo que haya quedado pendiente.

MATERIAL DE APOYO

Se recomienda contar con un diccionario, en clase sólo será permitido consultar uno totalmente en inglés.

1) LAROUSSE, Chambers Learner's English Dictionary

Editors: Sandra Anderson Kay Cullen

1a edició, 23a reimpresión.

- Designed for lower intermediate learners of English

- Over 20,000 words and phrases, and 23,000 examples of current English

2) LAROUSSE, Chambers School Theasures

1a edición, 7a reimpresión

- Over 155,000 synonyms and antonyms

Papás, en relación a lo anterior:

1) Es un diccionario sugerido en inglés que pueden encontrar en cualquier librería como Ghandi, pero hay también muchos otros con excelente contenido que pueden servir para el mismo propósito, ej. Merriam-Webster's

2) Los THEASURES son libros de sinónimos, no es tan indispensable como el diccionario, pero puede ser muy útil, sobretodo si desean extender su vocabulario.

TAREAS

Ya están disponibles los encargos para la próxima clase, se les pide a los alumnos que esten al pendiente en la semana de cualquier aviso.

Actividad: Charity Appeals

fecha de entrega: 28-Feb

Feb. 21: Charity Appeals

Activity: "Charity Appeals"

Hello people. This is the description of our last activity:

Pick one of the following charities and discuss why do you think people should donate to them.

1) A charity that helps elderly (old) people with food and housing

2) A hospice for people who are dying of an incurable disease

3) An organization that provides emergency supplies and medicine for disaster victims

4) A charity that helps homeless people

5) Cance research

6) A charity that helps people with AIDS

7) Animal shelters

In other words, try to give as much reasons as possible to convince people on why should they support a particular charity. THIS WAS A CLASS ACTIVITY THAT WE WILL FINISH AS AN INDIVIDUALHOMEWORK.

Due date: 28-Feb

Vocabulary:

wealthy: adj. having a lot of money: Milton Petrie and Hetty Green were wealthy people, they have a lot of money.

charity: refers to the kindness, especially in giving money to the poor people: Petrie was a generous businessman. Her widow, Carroll, said his charity was a result of the poverty of his early years.

widow: A woman whose husband is dead: After he died, his widow, agreed to share the money with the poor people.

widower: A man whose wife is dead.

ragged: torn pieces of clothing: At school, she was asked to change her clothing because she wore ragged jeans.

heritage: wealth passed on from generation to another.

Wall Street: a street in lower Manhattan, N.Y. where major U.S. financial institutions are located.

spoil: 1. to damage or ruin; to make something bad or useless: You will spoil our dinner if you touch it with your dirty hands. 2. to give children too much of what they want and make they characters worse by doing so: Don't give your children so many presents, otherwise you'll spoil them.

ESTIMADOS PAPAS:

SE LES PIDE A LOS ALUMNOS QUE PERMANEZCAN AL TANTO DE LAS TAREAS Y/O AVISOS QUE PUEDAN SURGIR ENTRE SEMANA. NO DESCARTAMOS REALIZAR ALGUN CAMBIO AL PROGRAMA DE LA CLASE SIGUIENTE CUANDO ASI LO CREEMOS CONVENIENTE. POR LO CUAL, EN ALGÚN MOMENTO SE LES PUEDE LLEGAR A PEDIR EN LA SEMANA QUE REALICEN ALGUNA ACTIVIDAD ADICIONAL O SE PREPAREN PARA ALGUN EXAMEN.

SE ESPERA DE ELLOS QUE SEAN RESPONSABLES Y SE TOMEN EL DEBIDO TIEMPO PARA AVERIGUAR CUALQUIER PENDIENTE DE LA CLASE DE INGLES.

DEJO MIS DATOS PARA CUALQUIER DUDA O ACLARACIÓN:

Lic. Luis Jaime Guerra

hoogdalem@gmail.com

1ST PARENTS MEETING THIS SAT. 21 FEB

PEOPLE, REMEMBER, THIS SATURDAY WE'RE HAVING OUR 1ST PARENTS MEETING.
FROM 12.00 TO 1.30

ALSO, THIS WEEK I AM SHARING YOUR GRADES.
********MY ADVICE FOR YOU IS TO BRING ALL OF YOUR HWs DONE BEFORE, JUST IN CASE I MISSED TO INCLUDE ANY OF THEM IN MY GRADE SHEET.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WITHOUT YOUR EVIDENCE, I AM NOT ABLE TO CHANGE YOUR GRADE, DESPITE THE CHANCE THAT I MADE A MISTAKE.

DONT FORGET TO MAKE THIS WEEKS HWS. A LOT OF YOU ARE NOT HANDING IN HWS.

Thirst, The Quarrel for Water

Hi guys. I have to tasks for next week.

1. Answer to the following questions regarding our discussion on water scarcity:

• How will our lives change if water was scarce in our community?
• What did I learned from the discussion?
• What was my role-play? How was my opinion affected after performing this role?
• Historically, water has been viewed as a shared common, but ¿do you think of it as a) a public good or right or b) a market commodity? Explain your answer.

*Remember! HWs with answers type YES/NO will be incomplete.

Vocabulary:
commodity: Any good that can be exchanged in commerce; any good that can be bought or sold.
bill: a note showing how much money is owed for goods: A water bill.
scarcity (scarce): lack or shortage of something: Rapid industrialization and increasing agricultural use have lead to worlwide water shortage and scarcity.
privatization: a business term referring to the transfer of ownership from government to a privately owned entity, such as a company.
World Bank: a branch of the United Nations that provides financial and technical assistance to enhace economic growth in developing countries.
income: the amount of money received during a period of time in exchange for labor or services: His monthly income while working on Hispanic Teleservices was enough to pay his studies. (ingreso)
profit: refers to the money gained in business, for example, by selling something. Profit is not the same as income. (ganancia)
loan: the lending of money.


2. Don't forget to tell your parents that this Saturday 21st, we're having our 1st Meeting!
12.00-1.30

FEB. 14: SPECIAL TASK

DEAR STUDENTS, I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE. I AM VERY CONCERNED REGARDING YOUR GRADES ON OUR 1ST QUIZ. I BELIEVE MOST OF YOU DID NOT STUDY AT ALL. THIS WAS NOT A HARD TEST, YOU WERE ONLY REQUIRED TO MATCH THE WORD WITH ITS MEANING. STILL, I HAVE A SPECIAL TASK FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR GRADE.

HOMEWORK #2- MAKE A 1 PAGE STORY ABOUT YOUR LIFE USING THE VOCABULARY FROM 'HOOKED ON THE NET'- HANDWRITTEN- NO MISTAKES IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE POINTS. DUE DATE IS TOMORROW, FEB. 14. NO EXCUSES. REMEMBER, THIS IS ADITTIONAL HOMEWORK (BESIDES STARTING A NEW CIVILIZATION),

REGARDS,
JIM hoogdalem@gmail.com

Feb. 14 Happy Valentines Day

I want to know if you would like to have a small celebration for Valentine's Day.

So, if you agree, I need your cooperation with any meals, beverages, etc. depending on what you want.

Hence, let me know by the weekend (friday) your opinion through our blogspot. 

Perhaps, I could bring a cake and you deal with the cokes, dishes, napkins, etc. and we could get together outside, early before leaving, let's say 12.40 - to 1.15

If you decide to ignore this message, we are having our normal schedule for this week, like a regular class. 

Feb. 07: Starting a New Civilization

Starting a New Civilization

Hi people, it takes a lot of time during the week to prepare your activities . I want your best effort as well to perform them as good as possible and ON TIME.
Because we didn't finish the Starting a New Civilization Activity on class, you homework is to hand it in, this is now INDIVIDUAL HOMEWORK, including the teams that came up to the front!!!!

1. Choose 6 survivors from the list.

2. Choose a shelter, it can be either a shopping mall, a bunker, a big house or whatever you want.

3. Make up a survival plan in a 1 page essay.

4. On the back, answer to the following questions regarding your survivors:
a) For each survivor, you will answer:

Character:

Reasons for survival:

Reasons against survival:

b) With these survivors, what type of of leadership do you think your group is most likely to have? Liberal, authocratic, democratic leadership? EXPLAIN WHY.(If you are not sure about the types of leadership discussed in class, search over books or the internet to find more information).
c) Based on the descriptions of the survivors, what type of prejudices did you have towards the people? How could these beliefs be detrimental to people?

1.A U.S. marine that will not give-up his weapon (male, age: 25)

2.A judgeful (biased) priest

3.A journalist from a popular celeb-gossip magazine (female)

4.A thoughtless (careless) nurse

5.A naughty (bad-behaved) 13 yr. old boy

6.A cook with a huge appetite

7.A very rude but funny clown

8.A philosopher with existential attitudes and trends

9.An atheist scientist (female, age: 41)

10.The leader of a trade union (male, age: 33)

11.A mother with a strange obsession with good manners

12.An old wise man in a wheelchair. (male, age: unknown)

13.A pregnant woman

14.An young anarchist (male, age: 19)

15.A blind woman that knows to play the piano and is not willing to stay unless she keeps her dog.

16.A indigenous peasant that does not speak your language.

17.A tradesman with hard trading skills

18.A government bureaucrat with bad reputation

19.A sometimes arrogant English Teacher

20.A very enthusiast homosexual willing to help in anything

21.An arbitrary but brilliant businessman

22.A very moody-temperamental manager

23.An easy-going (perhaps too relaxed) mediator

24.An engineer with a severe obsessive-compulsive disorder

25.A pretty girl with no concern in anything (age: 17)

26.A charismatic leader that is too sensible to failure

27.An intellectual with liberal and feminist tendencies (female, age: thirty-some)

28.A self-restrained carpenter with no interest in involving with others.

On your survival plan, do not focus on surviving zombies. Write about how you plan to start a new civilization with the avaiable people.

Vocabulary:
bunker: an underground shelter built with strong walls to protect people against bombs or heavy gunfire.

prejudice: preconceived judgment or opinion.

shelter: a place or refugee that provides cover or gives protection.

Jan. 31: Homework

Guys, last class some of you didn't hand in the HW due to 'problems with my computer'.

Notice that I'm not allowing this type of excuses. You better have ready the phone or email address from one of your partners.

Remember the homework for this week. Due date is Feb. 07. Thanks.

1. Study the vocabulary from 'Hooked on the Net' and 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' activities.
I may also include a bonus section for those of you that learn the vocabulary from previous activities. All the vocabulary is avaiable in our blog.

2. For those, still missing the paying bill, I'm begging you to please bring it!

3. Most of you are still missing the signed rules by your parents.

4. Remember, this week we may probably have our TOEFL test.

Have a nice week.

Jim

Jan. 31: Vocabulary "Hooked on the Net" and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"

Hi people.

This is our last class vocabulary. Please learn it, next class we're having our first quiz.
If you have any doubt, feel free to write me an e-mail, I'll answer as soon as possible.

hoogdalem@gmail.com

Regards!
Jim

Hooked on the Net

come out: appears, to be revealed.
Raul is obsessed with videogames. He has to have every new edition from Guitar Hero as soon as it comes out.
The new movie from Jim Carrey just came out.

turn in: identified a person to the police or authority.
She noticed her colleague was sharing company secrets with a competitor, so she turned her in. Her boss fired her immediately.

turn into: to become
She was so thrilled at winning $2,000 playing "pachinko", a Japanese pinball-slot machine game, that she turned into a real pachinkoholic.

crave: to need or have a extremely strong physical desire for something
Although he quit smoking two months ago, he still craves a cigarrette after each meal.
I crave coffee all day and couldn't wait to get my next cup.

hooked on: addicted to something
He got hooked on golf when he movied to Florida. He loves the game so much that he misses work twice a week to play golf.

cold turkey: 1. a slang expression that refers to a sudden withdrawal of something from which you have become too dependent, such as a drug. 2. to talk plainly or getting to the point
1. Instead of reducing the number of cigarretes gradually, the smoker simply quit cold turkey.
2. I'm going to talk cold turkey with the press about everything I know.

to lose track of time: to get so involved in something that you forget what time is it.
Netaholics (people hooked on the net) spend hours and hours without realizing how long they've been on-line. It's easy to lose track of the time when you are surfing the Net.

willpower: ability to control one's desires
She has tried several diets but hasn't lost any weight because she has no willpower.

cut off: to isolate or stop communicating with
Lincoln Burrows was found guilty for the murder of Terrence Steadman. The prisoner became cut off from his son L.J. and incarcerated in the Fox River State Prison.

cut down: to reduce
She couldn't give up coffee completely, so she decided to cut down to the number of cups she drank each day.

drag away: stop doing something (even though you don't want to)
When she started winning hundreds of dollars at the slot machines, it became impossible for her to drag herself away.
No matter how hard I tries, I couldn't drag myself away from the coffee bar.

withdrawal: uncomfortable physical symptoms while giving up an addiction.
After he gave up cigarretes, withdrawal was very uncomfortable. He felt hungry and irritable for weeks.
This is easier but I still suffer from uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms like headaches and dizzines.

all-consuming: to enjoy something so much that you want to do it as much as possible.
The movie director and producer Steven Spielber is a well-known workaholic. He readily admits that his passion for work is all-consuming.

detrimental: harmful
Most people know smoking is detrimental to one's health. It causes cancer and other illnesses.

Who want's to be a Millionaire?

windfall: an unexpected sum of money you receive.
When he bought the Sorteo Tec ticket, he wasn't expecting any windfall at all. He is now looking to split his fortune among his relatives.

beg (begging): to ask for something very strongly.
Natalia was begging to win this time, she had already lost 3 rounds before.

linked: connected
Doctors said mad cow disease is linked with blood transfussions.

broke: having no money
After playing for an entire afternoon, the lady gave up all of her money. She was finally broke.

withdraw: 1. to leave or retire 2. to remove (money) from a bank account
After several discussions with his girlfriend, he decided to withdraw his account from Facebook.
If I were to withdraw from Facebook, I would no longer have access to my friends' photos and they would no longer have access to mine. How scary!