This week’s lab class

I thought the lab class was reasonably successful, although I wasn’t used to the environment and didn’t know about the temperature check and changing shoes, for example. As I expected, all students were pretty good at working independently, and not too many people were writing MSN messages to their friends and so on!

The most important thing to understand about student centered learning in the lab is this: you can work at your own speed, on tasks that you find interesting. If it isn’t interesting, stop, and change to another task.

Depending on your sense of humor, you might enjoy this from the BBC English learning site. The “interesting and intelligent” teacher uses real things (balls, in this case) to teach English idioms.
Or maybe you’ll just think it’s childish, I don’t know.

Please note there is a new direct access URL for the class website. In your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox or KKMan) just type tiny.cc/ce1. This is easier to remember. You will find all the class PowerPoint slides there, and your grades.

Please make sure you have done your first 2 blog entries (introduction and remarks on advertising or disabled sports) by Monday 12th, otherwise you won’t get a grade.

New homework: here is the information again. Perhaps this is clearer than what I presented in class:

•Write a new blog entry about today:
–What did you do? Which questions did you answer?
–Which of the three websites did you like best? Why?
–Give links for two good activities from Randall’s listening site or BBC English Learning
•Write a comment on another student’s blog entry (1, 2 or 3).

BBC news: you don't need to send me regular news stories, although you should read the BBC email regularly.