E.U Commission Writing Course - Lesson 3

Lesson 3

Class

Writing legal texts in plain English.

Sentence length, subject + predicate structure, using strong verbs, turning -ion nouns into verbs, avoiding "of" , making everything you write "sayable".

See: http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/25080245/Legal%20Writing%20In%20Plain%20English

Homework

Read the article Drive for plain English from the New York Times in the link above.

For more golden rules see: http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/garner/

British Council At ANIA Lesson 17

Group 5 C2

12:30pm

Class

Discussion: Flags and national Identity

Discussion: Driverless Cars - pros and cons and liability

Corrections

Noun forms - approvement approval

Homework

Reading - "2020 The year you became a permanent backseat driver." See link and comprehension questions on worksheet. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/13/self-driving-cars-bmw-google-2020-driving

Error Correction - spend some time going over the corrections and suggestions on your two recent writing tasks. 

Going Further

"10 Grammar rules you can forget"

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/30/10-grammar-rules-you-can-forget

"To split or not to split infinitives"

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/split-infinitives?page=1

"The era of cheap labour is over." 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/27/the-era-of-cheap-labour-is-over

The referendum on the New Zealand flag

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11505765

Group 7 C1

2:00pm

Class

Discussion: Driverless Cars - pros and cons and liability

Modals continued: don't have to/mustn't/shouldn't

Corrections

I like drive 

I like driving

When I think to the problem 

When I think about the problem

False friends - control/check

Vocabulary

Background noise

Manspreading

Warrant of fitness (to prove your car is roadworthy)

Sycophant, Teacher's pet, Groveler, Greaser (NZ schoolboy slang)

Homework

Reading - "2020 The year you became a permanent backseat driver." See link and comprehension questions on worksheet.http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/13/self-driving-cars-bmw-google-2020-driving

Noticing - you can also use this week's article to work on modals. What modal auxiliaries can you find in the article on driverless cars? Why has the writer chosen those and not others?

E.U. Commission Writing Course - Lesson 2

Lesson 2
23/09/2015

• The problem with translation/Sentence structure http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442650/Sentence%20Structure
• Creating an editing checklist http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/37583119/Correction-Checklist-For-L1-Italian-Speakers

All Students - Vocabulary Skills

Follow the link below to find an article by Diana Lea, editor of the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English on what it really means to know a word.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-use-learners-dictionary-academic-english

British Council at ANIA Lesson 16

Lesson 16

Group 5 C2 12:30pm

Discussion
The purpose of modern museum

Writing 
CPE Part One
Writing Folder 1 p. 22 - 23

Going Further
Clicktivism 
http://www.clicktivist.org/what-is-clicktivism/  What is your view of clicktivism? Do you see it as a modern and effective form of activism or a lazy way of assuaging our guilt about modern problems?

Museums

The Save Centennial Street Campaign: 

https://www.change.org/p/auckland-war-memorial-museum-save-centennial-street?recruiter=28624522&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

Group 7 C1 2:00pm

Modals
p. 21
Homework
(1) p. 137 G2 Question 3
(2) Find a short text and highlight the use of modals.

Going Further
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442644/Modals

EU Commission - Writing Course - Lesson 1

Lesson 1 
16/09/2015

• Goal Setting http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/84924628/Things%20To%20Think%20About%20When%20Starting%20A%20New%20Course   http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/84924640/The%20Keys%20To%20Success
• Timed Writing - a profile
• Elementary Principles of Composition http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/100618933/Writing%20Skills

Recommended Text:
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White

http://www.amazon.it/Elements-Style-William-Strunk/dp/020530902X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441622634&sr=8-1&keywords=the+elements+of+style

American poet Dorothy Parker once proclaimed, "If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy."

George Orwell on writing: http://www.theatozreview.com/2013/09/28/george-orwells-20-quotes-on-writing/

British Council at ANIA Lesson 15

Lesson 15
Group 5 Level C2 (12:30pm)

Class

• Aspects of the future (unit 2.2)
• Similes (as fresh as a daisy, water off a duck's back, like chalk and cheese) 

Homework

• Writing: 180 words on the following topic using a range of appropriate future forms:            What changes do you expect to see in your industry in the next 30 years?
• Vocabulary: p. 19 Prepositional phrases, Have no. 

Corrections
The next near future
A travel very common A very common trip/journey

Going Further
Empathy (putting yourself in someone else's shoes) versus Sympathy (feeling compassion, sorrow or pity for the hardships of another) http://www.vocabulary.com/articles/chooseyourwords/empathy-sympathy/

The great film Roger Ebert from the documentary Life Itself.

Group 7 Level C1 (2:00pm)

Class
Articles continued (p. 137, G1)
Remember a + consonant sound eg. /j/ (a university) but an + vowel sound (e.g. /^/ an uncle)
Tourism & Conservation unit 2.3 reading & discussion (p. 20 - 21) 

Homework
Revise modal verbs see p. 20 question 8 

Corrections
Pronunciation - word stress
knowledgeable, invigorated, consortium
Modifiers
Too much + noun
Too + adjective
Too much expensive

Going Further:
Read about the he Malibu beach access controversy http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/12/malibu-celebrity-homeowners-beach-battle-public-access