Sumários

Grammar: Verb tenses...

28 Janeiro 2021, 15:30 • Hilda Alexandra Prazeres Eusebio

Students learned about WHEN to use: 

  • the simple present;
  • the present continuous.
Thank you englishpage.com for your awesome tutorials!

Homework: please go to englishpage.com and do the following Verb Exercises:

Next class: we will look at the simple present and the present continuous.

Introduction to B1.1 English

27 Janeiro 2021, 15:30 • Hilda Alexandra Prazeres Eusebio

Those students who missed the first day of class should read the information below very carefully and consult the course calendar which is in the course book and which is available on the shared google drive.

Today TP4 went through the course book and course calendar and learned the following:

  • Warning:

    • In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, I hereby declare that all learning objectives, lessons, scheduling, assessments, etc., can be changed at any point in the semester by myself, Hilda Alexandra Eusébio.  This is because classes are now 1.5 hours instead of 2 hrs. and this is new to me.  Also, our class may eventually go back to being in-house, which could change things.  Please be patient with any future changes or surprises – and I will try to respond to your learning needs as best as I can.

  • Rules:

    • Punctuality

      Please get to class on time.  If you cannot make it on time, please come to class anyway.  I would rather you come late than not come at all.  Please note that if you come late and I have already done the register, it is your responsibility to ask me to add you to the register at the end of class.  If you forget to remind me, please do not bother telling me next class – I cannot add you to the register after the class has finished.  If you are more than 30 minutes late, you will be marked as ‘late’ in the register, not as ‘present’.

      Resources

      Please bring your course book to class.  You must either print the course book out or you can bring a laptop or tablet.  Accessing your course book on your mobile phone is not allowed.  If we are zooming are classes, you will definitely need to print out your course book, unless you have two laptops or PCs at home.

      Plagiarism

      Please do not plagiarize either for homework assignments or for tests.  You will be caught if you do.  You will not enjoy being caught.  Being caught will result in a mark of ‘0’ and you will not be allowed to retake the test or redo the assignment or the oral presentation.

      (Yes, I always catch people.)

      Participation

      Active participation in both class and group discussions is not only reflected in your final mark but it also ensures you develop fluency and confidence. This is an English language course. Do not speak Portuguese in class with either your classmates or your teacher.

      Finally…

      Please ensure that you know what is going on at all times.  Students are to check their emails regularly and come to class prepared for the lesson.  In the event that a student misses a class, s/he should read the online summaries (sumários) in order to know what we did or to be updated on any important information.  (Please do not email me personally to ask what happened in class.  The summaries are there for a reason.) 

  • Learning Objectives:

    • In B1.1, students will be given ample opportunity to practice their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills.  The topics of the homework and in-class exercises/assignments will ensure that students are able to apply these skills to the familiar or everyday situations that one may experience in an English-speaking country or whilst traveling.

    • By the end of the semester, students should upon completion of the unit be able to:

      • listen: and understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc., including short narratives;

      • speak: and a) exploit a wide range of simple language to deal with most situations likely to arise whilst traveling; b) enter unprepared into conversation on familiar topics, express personal opinions and exchange information on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life.

      • read: a) straightforward factual texts and/or short pieces of fiction with a satisfactory level of comprehension and b) understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters well enough to reply to correspondence;

      • write: straightforward connected texts on a range of familiar subjects within his/her field of interest, by linking a series of shorter discrete elements into a linear sequence.

  • Course Content:

    • Grammar:

      • The present:

        • the present simple; the present continuous; the present perfect; the present perfect continuous.

      • The past:

        • the past simple; the past continuous; the past perfect; the past perfect continuous.

      • The future

        • the future simple

      • Prepositions: location, time, directional, positional

      • Gerunds and Infinitives

      • Modals

    • Comprehension:

      • reading and learning vocabulary from short texts;

      • listening to and learning vocabulary from audio clips;

    • Writing:

      • in-class writing exercises;

      • three optional homework assignments.

    • Speaking:

      • in-class reading;

      • Q&A;

      • end of semester oral presentation;

      • speaking workshops;
      • etc.
  • Grading Policy and Course Requirements
    • GRADE PERCENTAGES

      Assessment methods include class participation, written tests and an oral examination. Weighting will be as follows:

      • Attendance and class participation – 10%
      • Midterm Test (Grammar) – 20%:
      • Oral presentation (exam) – 30%
      • Written Test – 40%
    • Should you FAIL the course, you can sit the Final Exam (Época Especial) which will be in May 2021. 
    • In addition to grammar lessons and other in-class activities, students will have three OPTIONAL homework assignments. 
      • All written work will be marked by the teacher with a colour key (yellow = incorrect conjugation; blue = incorrect spelling, etc.)
and students will have the opportunity to correct their own mistakes in class under supervision.  All students are
entitled to tutorials for homework writing assignments, grammar and their oral presentation.  
      • Please do not plagiarize either for homework assignments or for tests.  You will be caught if you do.  Being
caught will result in a mark of ‘0’ and you will not be allowed to retake the test or redo the assignment or the oral presentation.

      • ALL HOMEWORK MUST BE UPLOADED ONTO GOOGLE.

        All homework must uploaded onto Google on the day that it is due.  If it is sent early, that is fine.  It cannot, however, be sent more than three days late.

      • Homework assignments must have the following on the front page:

        • Student's name.
        • Student's class (turma).

      • Homework documents must be saved in Word (not PDF) as follows:

        • Example:

          • ana silva – writing1

          • ana silva – writing2

          • ana silva – writing3

      • All tutorials will be in class as our class is very small.
  • Resources
    • B1.1 Course Book
      • The course book will be uploaded onto Google and will contain all of the texts that are to be read during lessons and/or for homework.
    • Grammar books:
      • Grammar Practice for Elementary Students (with answers).
      • Essential Grammar in Use Supplementary Exercises (with answers) .
      • Grammar Practice for Pre-Intermediate Students (with answers).
    • Websites:

      • www.englishpage.com

        • This is an excellent site to learn about and practice your grammar, and practice your listening skills as well.

      • https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

        • This is a very good site to practice listening to audio books.  You will need to start exploring this site as you will need to choose an audio book for the purpose of delivering your oral presentation.

Please note that all of this information is in the course book which is available, along with other important documents, on our shared google drive.  If you need me to add you to the google drive, please email me and let me know.