EVERYBODY'S FREE-LEE PERRY & QUINDON TARVER

This is a collection of the some signicant tips included in the song...

''Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth''
''Don't be reckless with other people's hearts ; Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.''
''Whatever you do , don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either''
''Enjoy your body , don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it.''

ECPE oral exams

Yesterday i took the oral exams of ECPE. Fortunately, the examiner was very good and asked me some easy and logical questions. Firstly, she commented on the weather and then she asked me about my studies. We talked about that and then we discussed about educational system in Greece. She told me that she finds it too difficult and strict and of course i agreed. Finally she asked me if i attend lessons in a school of english in order to study english. All in all, it lasted about 7 minute and that was all!
Bill

CPE Interview

Here is Maria's and Chris's Interview. What I would like you do is look at it and see where they followed the advice given below and where they could could improve their performance. Please leave your remarks in the comment box.

CPE interviews do's and don'ts

PART ONE


1 Be friendly, be polite. This is a chance to show the examiners how well you can speak English, not a fight to the death.

2 Learn some words that may come up, e.g. the name of the subject you are studying or the job you want to do in the future.

3 DO NOT learn a little speech by heart. It sounds unnatural and you'll get even more nervous than you need to be trying to remember it.

4 Keep eye contact with the examiner. That means looking him or her in the eye rather than staring at your shoes or some point on the wall behind them.

5 Remember there are no wrong answers here, only well- expressed and badly expressed ones.

6 DO NOT give short, monosyllabic answers, nor tell them the story of your life.


PART TWO


1 If you don't understand the question ask the examiner to repeat it. You'll not lose marks for this. However, you will lose marks for answering the wrong question.

2 Move your chair so that you are facing the other person. Remember what we said about eye-contact.

3 Start with a question, not a monologue.

4 Listen to what the other person says, comment on it, ask them questions.

5 Disagree with the other person whatever they say. It's always easier to have something to say if we disagree.

6 Give the other person chance to speak. You'll lose marks if you monopolise the conversation.

7 DO NOT stop speaking until the examiner tells you that your time is up.


PART THREE (part one)


1 Make sure you understand the question before you start speaking. If necessary, ask the examiner to explain it.

2 Give yourself a few moments to think about what you want to say.

3 Remember there are no wrong answers. Nobody expects you to be an expert on the subject of the question.

4 Feel free to ignore the prompts suggested. You do not have to use them, if you do not wish.

5 DO NOT stop speaking until the examiner tells you that your time is up.

6 Listen to what the other person says as you will be asked to comment on it.


PART THREE (part two)


7 Remember the longer questions asked towards the end of this part are always connected with the topic discussed in the prompt cards.

8 Give full answers, not just short, monosyllabic ones

9 Comment on what the other person says, use their name.

10 There are no wrong answers, only badly-expressed ones.

Create a video that shows your city

I've been working on producing videos without video cameras over the last few weeks. The idea is that you use still photographs, either their own or images taken off the internet to create a video which can be posted on the blogs.

I came across a particular good site called Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling at the University of Houston that has lots of information on using Microsoft's Photo Story 3 (check out their tutorial pages) and great examples of projects that students can use for inspiration.

What I would like us to do over the holidays is create a short video (one to two minutes) that shows our city in a different way. I'll let you know more about where to post them soon.

MUNICH-A FILM BY STEVEN SPIELBERG

"Munich'' is a film based on the true story of Black September aftermath . In 1972 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics .In response to this , five men were chosen to eliminate the ones responsible for that day . Eric Bana gives a compelling performance as ''Avner'' .
Basically, the film poses the moral dilemma of justice and vengeance .It shows that even in the most ''noble'' fight against terrorism we eventually become what we despise . I would totally agree with Gandi who said that '' an eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind''.

Evi

Batman Begins

“Batman Begins” is an adventure based on the well-known comic character. Of course, there were several other movies in a sequence, but this one refers to the beginning of the whole story. We can see how the hero decides to undertake the role of a super-hero in order to fight crime in Gotham city. As for the scenario and the plot of the movie, I found them interesting and impressive. One particular strength of this movie is its special effects. When it comes now to acting, it was pretty good and the actors well-chosen. Generally, the three main assets of this movie are the action, the special effects and its interesting scenario. All that render this film ideal for the fans of the genre. In conclusion, I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in adventure movies.

Mr and Mrs Smith

Watch the films and write your opinion on the blog.

Should people who take drugs be treated as criminals or as patients?

Nowadays , drugs cast a blight on our society . So , what can be done to tackle the problem?
In my opinion , it would be helpful if we adopted a sensitive approach to this particular problem . Certainly , people taking drugs do damage on themselves and we should consider them as patients . On the other hand , when somebody commits a crime , breaks the law and does harm to other people . There are some cases in which dope-addicts resort to crime . However , even in this case , the main reason for becoming '' criminals '' is their addiction to drugs . We have to combat the problem and its fundamental causes from its root .Needless to say that the judges have to impose tough penalties on drug dealers .

Evi