Free Posters Celebrating Mighty Women Role Models

Read the mini biographies of powerful female models and enjoy the posters!

New blog member

I want to say hello to all members of the blog and especially to my future classmates John and Eleftheria!!!
Let's get off to a good start!!!
The most interesting topic for me is pets in our society!!
Goodbye............................!!!!!!!

This is one of my favourite photos of our Christmas Holiday in Thessaloniki.

Amazing Christmas videos and ideas for New Year’s Resolutions

• New Year’s Resolutions for English Language Learners: https://youtu.be/XZUb69IocuA 
• Funny scene of Friends: https://youtu.be/UV7fZd7gjJ8 
• Phrases expressing resolutions: https://youtu.be/SVJRq2ezhFQ 

• Christmas Karaoke https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF22689E438E0C08A

• Crazy Christmas traditions around the world https://youtu.be/wFXkazFvFI8

• The Gingerbread Man story https://youtu.be/pckuS--UlV4

• A Christmas Carol - short version https://youtu.be/HqMfGq3okZY

• Mr Bean’s Christmas https://youtu.be/HKUY_gOxLas

• Nightmare Before Christmas- when Jack discovers Christmastown https://youtu.be/yXo-mqmiGew

MATERIAL WITH WHICH WE CELEBRATED THE EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES

The Council of Europe declared a European Day of Languages to be celebrated on 26th of September each year. The general objectives of the European Day of Languages are:

1. Alerting the public to the importance of language learning and diversifying the range of languages learnt in order to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding;

2. Encouraging lifelong language learning in and out of school, whether for study purposes, for professional needs, for purposes of mobility or for pleasure and exchanges.

3. Promoting the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe, which must be preserved and fostered;

   

Some language facts:

http://edl.ecml.at/LanguageFun/LanguageFacts/tabid/1859/language/en-GB/Default.asp

Quiz on language facts:

http://edl.ecml.at/Portals/33/teaching-materials/EDL-school-visit-EN.pptx

Idioms of the world:

http://edl.ecml.at/Portals/33/teaching-materials/IDIOMS%20OF%20THE%20WORLD.edited.pdf

Online activities for students:

http://edl.ecml.at/LanguageFun/tabid/1516/language/en-GB/language/fr-FR/Default.aspx

Discuss Language and its connection to thought

(From the introduction to George Orwell's "1984", Penguin Reader)

 

Reading:

Linguist on mission to save Inuit 'fossil language' disappearing with the ice

http://markaki-students.blogspot.gr/2010/08/languages-in-danger-of-extinction.html

 

Videos:

TED talk on endangered cultures

http://markaki-students.blogspot.com/2009/06/about-this-talk-by-ted-with-stunning.html

How languages evolve https://youtu.be/iWDKsHm6gTA

Parody of learning: https://youtu.be/xq8IqZXy1s8

 

Writing:

Several languages die every year and English is becoming used more and more as a world language. Many people feel this is a positive trend and that a world with fewer languages promotes harmony and understanding between people. Analyze both sides of this argument and provide your opinion.

Before writing, also read the notes on globalisation on the Proficiency blog. Doesn't English as the global language contribute to and result in it?

Quick map of ideas:

Paragraph 1: introduce the topic —- English is the global language —- more and more people strive to master it=> both positive and negative aspects

Paragraph 2: the positive effects —- communication, openness to other cultures, open-mindedness, professional needs, companies have the competitive edge, mobility/ travelling, bilingualism/ language proficiency— boosts intelligence and thinking skills

Paragraph 3: results in globalization= homogeneous societies = similar tastes in music/films/ clothes—-> uniformity, no variation , elimination of cultural differences/traditions, limited significance of cultural identity and individual history, indigenous languages / dialects constantly die out/ vanish/ become extinct which means that a civilisation/ culture/ tribe ceases / stops to exist

Paragraph 4: sum up both aspects and say your own opinion, end with a final message

 

Growing pains discussion

VISUALISING IDIOMS WITH C2 LEVEL LEARNERS

More vocabulary websites on the school wiki:

http://eflinks.wikispaces.com/Vocabulary

 

Vocabulary notes and games!

 

 

 

 

ADJECTIVE ORDER ~ A useful trick

The order of adjectives is a very important rule in grammar and it is very helpful for us to know! However, are we able to remember the exact order without a small trick? I guess no! Only if a trick is found, will we remember the adjective order! Our English teacher told us an amazing trick to remember the exact sequence in a funny and entertaining way, but firstly here are some definitions:
M.M
= Michigan mother
sass
= Nonsense/ rude words
I absolutely liked that trick and I really wanted to share it on the blog:

As you may have understood, when Comku is naughty, his mother tells him off by telling him: "No sass Comku!!!"

If we remove an "s" from sass, a huge word arises:

Getting to know your classmates!

ECPE ice breaking speaking game in which students have to stand up and discover things they didn't know about their classmates' personality.

Congratulations, Nassia!

Great news on our very first day back to school: Nassia Tournaki has passed the CPE exams with a straight A after only 8 months of (admittedly) hard work! Congratulations, Nassia! We have had the pleasure to teach you since the A' Junior and we can confidently say that you deserve the high grade! In the photo, you can see Nassia providing the world with some serious food for thought.

 

Can YOU answer those questions?

Flabbergasted, I happened to read the article about the British actor currently starring as Sherlock Holmes in popular TV series, Benedict Cumberbatch, who bravely decided to hold up paper signs attacking the UK government over its abuse of civil liberties.

The next thing I knew was that my C2-level students were eager to do exactly the same in an attempt to express their thoughts on topics discussed in class or the current affairs, which would also allow them to exploit the new vocabulary in a more creative way. Therefore, we proudly present you with the photos taken today, depicting certain questions which cannot be easily dealt with. You can click on the images to view them in a larger size.

Take a look at a fun GIF image comprising all the students' photographs here.

After the photo shoot, the ECPE 'celebrities' exchanged signs with the intent of answering the questions their classmates came up with on the class blog. The links to those blog posts will be shared within this post as soon as they are published.

We would love to hear our readers' opinions on the following controversial topics.

Nassia: How can we let people suffer from famine or die fighting
in wars while we are safe and well- nourished at home?

Konstantinos: How can we tackle the economic crisis
which torments our country?

Andrew: Many people resort to animal cruelty.
But are they really human? 

Hercules: Do you think, if we use cloning wisely,
it can contribute to making the world a better place?

George: Why don't you take photographs of the buildings
which are destroyed in the Middle East by the U.S. Army?

Rafaela: How is the world going to be without war?
Why not live in a safe place in peace?