proficiency 2c 2006

EVERYBODY'S FREE-LEE PERRY & QUINDON TARVER

2007-03-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

"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

2006-12-10T12:54:00.000-08:00

“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

2006-12-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

Watch the films and write your opinion on the blog.

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

2006-12-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

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

Drug users are patients

2006-12-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

Personally, i think that we should consider people who make usse of rugs as patients. First of all, the do harm mainly to themselves. So they are not criminals. Even if they steal other people, they do it because of their compulsion. If they are cured, they will stop offencing. Secondly, they may not be completely responsible for their addiction. Perhaps, it was due to peer pressure that they started the use of drugs. So, if we consider these people as criminals, we will simply do them much more harm than good. In that way, i think that we should cosider them as patients and try to cure them. Of course we should ask them about who gave them the drugs and chase and punish him.
bill

Homework

2006-12-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Do you think that people who take drugs should be considered as criminals or patients?

2006-12-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to everyone who passed the Michigan ECPE preliminary test.

No to warlord's offer

2006-12-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

Apart from the reasons mentioned by Chris for rejecting the offer made by this criminal, we should also considrer another thing. Accepting the offer of the baron won't resolve the problem of refugees. Perhaps it will "attenuate" its gravity but only for these refugees and only for a small period if time. After the end of the war, or when the warlord will decide to, he will cut off these dispensations and the "symptoms" will appear again. The real problem will not be trully resolved. If we want to solve it, we have to search its root. Probably, we will have to ameliorate the financial state of the country and find these people a house and a job. This is the real solution to the problem and not any offer made by an odious criminal. Of course it demands many years to be accomplished and it will be difficult. Eventually, and if we also take into consideration what Chris said, it isn't worth to accept the offer.

Bill

Should Sadam Husein be executed?

2006-11-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

Undoubtedly ,the death penalty has always been a controversial issue . Its supporters say that if we execute a criminal its victims and theis relatives feel relieved . On the other hand , the opponents of death penalty claim that it seems like a revenge . Some of them maybe, also , allege that is out of our limits and only God decides the death time of a person .
As far as Sadam Husein is concerned , my personal view is that he must serve a whole-life sentence , since according to moral and according to law I ' m against death penalty . Finally , if Sadam Husein will be executed , why don' t we execute as well other politicians responsible for numerous deaths of innocent people?

Evi

A moral dilemma

2006-11-25T00:42:00.000-08:00

Imagine a situation:

You're the head of a refugee camp somewhere in a poor, developing country. The annual crops have failed once again and thousand of people arrive at the camp seeking food and medical help. The problem is that you have supplies enough for, at most 5000 refugees, however another 15,000 have come. As the days pass the death rates, especially amongst the very young and the very old rise dramatically. Despite repeated calls to the international community the aid promised by western governments fails to appear.

At this point a local drugs baron/warlord appears on the scene and makes a proposal; in return for supplying food and medical supplies for the camp you must agree to let him use the place as a cover for his cocaine/heroin/etc production facilities.

Do you agree?

If you think this scenario is far-fetched then check out this link on Darfur, Sudan.

Chris's answer

Eleni's posts

2006-11-24T03:50:00.000-08:00

Homework

2006-11-14T00:37:00.000-08:00

We did the death penalty role play in class. Now tell us what you think;

"Should Saddam Hussein be executed ?'

Here are some links to help get some background knowledge on the case and the man.

See here for a biography.
See here for the trial background.

FROM BLACK TO WHITE

2006-11-13T07:13:00.000-08:00

Should Sadam Husein be executed?

We can not characterise so simply this act without serious consideration. It is not a simple equation like x+2=3. It is more like x+z=3. There are ethical, social and religious spectrums which colour differently a desicion. According to Ethics execution seems "wrong". One of the Ten Commandnents orders: "You shall not kill". Purpose may ease th punishment but doen't relieves from crime. From another point of view an act is characterised according to it's result. If Sadam Husein will be executed there is a strong possibility of making the vast majority of people relieved. There for it is excused. Religious Virtue supports that mankind should suffer the tortures of a dictator patiently so it's faith would be tested. If we pass this test we will be rewarded later. Maybe in another life. Buddhism claims that violence recycles violence. According to this point of view execution will only expand the circle of fanaticism and blood.
Personally, I agree for what Buddhism stands. One murder more will not change anything for the better. It is easy to be carried away emotionally and convenient to "wash your hands" obeying codes and laws. But is really the right way to stop the bloodshed? And if we can, are we willing to?

Chris

A typical day of my life

2006-11-09T05:25:00.000-08:00

I find it quite difficult to wake up early in the morning, so if I don't have any lessons or other business to do my usual awakening time is around 12. My breakfast necessarily includes milk, and a slice of bread along with butter and honey - if I'm not bored to prepare it. Additionally, I may eat some fruits. Then I do the housework - since my sister and I live alone - and study for my lessons. I usually work on Saturday but I may also arrange some lessons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I always prefer to use buses instead of taxis in order to reach my workplace or any other place in the city, for financial reasons, but this choice means that I have to leave home earlier (I hate the "30" bus, it's always late!). I may spend some time playing the piano during the day - there are always some exercises that need to be learned for the classical music composition lesson. I may also cook for lunch and dinner or, alternatively, eat at my parents'. I try to avoid junk food, but it's not easy when I have many successive lessons during the day. Later in the evening I often arrange a drink with friends, or invite them at home to watch DVDs. Finally, I fall asleep at about 2 a.m., after having read 2-3 pages of John Irving's book "Until I Find You" - it's quite difficult...

Eleni P.

Ten things I've done that most other people haven't

2006-11-09T05:11:00.000-08:00

1. In a children's summer camp, the team which I joined won the first prize in a dance competition (by the song “Because the Night”).
2. When I was 10 years old, I had some drawing lessons for two years. During an exhibition, a man showed great interest in buying one of my works.
3. When I was 12 years old, I won the first prize in a competition about short imaginary stories, which was held by a magazine for children and a famous Greek writer.
4. I got the first place in the Entry Exams for the Music Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
5. I have sung in an opera as a chorus member.
6. I have sung as a choir member in the Ancient Theatre of Ephesus, in a memorable performance which included both Greek and Turkish musicians.
7. I have visited the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
8. I got lost in Vienna’s underground for 5 hours without knowing German or Austrian, and without a mobile phone.
9. I shared a common room (kitchen) with three girls from Thailand during my visit in Vienna.
10. From this year onwards, I attend classical music composition lessons with a famous Greek composer and conductor, Alkis Baltas.

Eleni P.

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY OF YOUR LIFE

2006-11-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

I wake up between 9:30 and 10 p.m and i leave home at 10:15 usally.I attend lessons at the university until noon and sometimes I go for cafee with other students.Then I have lunch and i take a rest.I often help to the household chores.In the afternoon I go to my english lesson which lasts until 9:45 a.m.After the lesson I go out for a drink,when I have arranged something in advance.

A typical day of my life

2006-11-05T11:52:00.000-08:00

I usually wake up at 8:00 in the morning and I am at school by 9:00. The lessons start at 9:00 and depending on the day, they last until 2:00 or 4:00. Then, I return back to my home to have lunch and take my siesta. After that, I normally choose to study a little bit. Then, at 5:00, I go again to the university in order to attend the anatomy lesson. At 6:00, the lesson finishes and I am back home, where I can ‘rest’ or more likely study (again) my lessons or English. The day can end in two different ways. Firstly, I might have an English lesson from 8:15 to 9:45, when I return back home and fall asleep. On the other hand, I can have some free time and go out with my friends. This is what I usually do on weekdays.
Billy

2006-11-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

A day in the life......

I thought I'd just give you taste of a typical day. I started my working day at 10 am when I went to my first lesson in Euosmos, a suburb in the west of Thessaloniki, with Maria and Marianna, two very enthusiastic eight year - olds. They are a joy to teach as they bring so much energy and joy to everything they do. We're doing the Chatterbox book which they adore as it has lots of music, songs and games. Although they don't have a PC I usually take my ibook and digital camera and record them singing songs or acting out the dialogues from the book. Unlike most of my students they love seeing themselves on the computer screen.

After that it is a quick 10 minute ride over to Stavroupoli, the neighbouring suburb in order to do a lesson with Antonis (Antony),a fifteen year old who loves basketball and had no great love of English, or at least that was the case in the beginning. Now we've reached some kind of agreement in which I try to find stuff in English that interests him and he does the more pedestrian exercise that the Headway Intermediate book offers. This includes lots of action movies on dvds (English subtitles only), music and sports related articles.

Today one of the highlights of the lesson was sending his entry, which he took using his mobile phone to the BBC's young photographer's competition.

Also, whenever we have a short listening exercise in the book I ask him to record it using his mobile phone. As a result his accent in English has improved enormously.

After that I pop by the supermarket to get my shopping for the next couple of days then later it's back home to grab something to eat and prepare for the evening's lessons. This means recording cds, ripping listening exercises, putting them onto a memory stick, collecting dvds that I'll give out and getting photocopies done.

At 3.20pm I go to my lesson with Aristidis, a ten year-old boy who lives in Ano Poli and has just started lessons with me. We've been a lot of activities on the internet and together we've set up a blog and have been doing a lot of interesting writing exercises from the British Council site. He's off to Berlin and I've asked him to take lots of photos so that we can put them on the blog.

Next I whizz off to the centre in order to do my next lesson at 4.45pm in the language school with my FCE class. They're a bunch of boisterous teenagers who get bored quickly. In order to get way from just doing the atrocious exam practice books that we've been given I decided to do a listening exercise with a song and lyrics chosen by one of the students. We end up listening to one by System of a Down and discussing the meaning of the lyrics to Dreaming.

They've also set up a blog but they haven't really got the hang of using it yet. Their homework is to find the lyrics to a song and say why they like it. However, they shouldn't write their name as the other have to guess who chose what.

Finally, I'm off out of the centre to Retziki a new suburb to the north of the city to do a lesson at 7pm with Angeliki, who has just passed the FCE and wants to take the CPE exams. She is a long-time blogger, having started hers last year. I asked her to write about the school sit-ins that are sweeping the country from her own perspective. Check out her latest post here.

Finally at 9.30pm I get home exhausted. Thankfully, tomorrow is a public holiday here in Thessaloniki.

Now why don't you write your own?

QUOTATIONS

2006-10-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized. ~Fred Allen

Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them. ~H.L. Mencken

A compromise is an agreement whereby both parties get what neither of them wanted. ~Author Unknown

A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking. ~Attributed to Arthur McBride Bloch

A gentleman is a man who can play the accordion but doesn't. ~Author Unknown

If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error. ~John Kenneth Galbraith, Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia. ~Charles Schulz

All generalizations are bad. ~R.H. Grenier

All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific. ~Jane Wagner, The Search For Intelligent Life In The Universe, performed by Lily Tomlin

Chris

TEN THINGS I'VE DONE THAT MOST OTHER PEOPLE HAVEN'T

2006-10-20T09:35:00.004-07:00

1. After a circus show I had been photographed with a little tiger.

2. I've eaten one kilo of ice-cream in 5 minutes.

3. I've eaten a hamburger in one minute.

4. I've been on a diet for one week with only one cucumber the day.

5. I've swimmed continously for 3 hours in the sea.

6. I've kept my breath under the water for 50 seconds.

7. I've drunk 4 litters of water in 2 hours.

8. I've gone out of my home a day for 2 hours wearing only a t-shirt and a short.

9. I've kept myself awake for 4 nights.

10. I've inflated twenty balloons in one minute.

ELENI

TEN THINGS I'VE DONE THAT MOST OTHER PEOPLE HAVEN'T

2006-10-20T09:35:00.002-07:00

1. After a circus show I had been phoyographed with a little tiger.

2. I've eaten one kilo of ice-cream in 5 minutes.

3. I've eaten a hamburger in one minute.

4. I've been on a diet for one week with only one cucumber the day.

5. I've swimmed continously for 3 hours in the sea.

6. I've kept my breath under the water for 50 seconds.

7. I've drunk 4 litters of water in 2 hours.

8. I've gone out of my home a day for 2 hours wearing only a t-shirt and a short.

9. I've kept myself awake for 4 nights.

10. I've inflated twenty balloons in one minute.

ELENI

TEN THINGS I'VE DONE THAT MOST OTHER PEOPLE HAVEN'T

2006-10-20T09:35:00.001-07:00

Ten things I ‘ve done that most other people haven’t

2006-10-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

1 I have seen a cadaver in school during a lesson of anatomy.
2 I once saw the interior of my aunt’s eye with an opthalmoscope.
3 I took a price in an computer painting contest when I was 12 years old.
4 I attended the Easter ceremony at the patriarchate of Constantinopole.
5 I obtained the DALF certificate in French when I was 16 years old.
6 I have collected all issues of Asterix and I also have one in ancient greek, one in French and one in English.
7 I stayed at the hotel of Chelsea In Stamford Bridge for 7 days when I traveled with my family to London this summer. We could see the field from our room’s window!
8 I dared to purchase a sweat shirt of France national football team from England.
9 I bought a pullover of a brand which was created originally in a Spanish jail by a Colombian drug dealer.
10 So far, I have broken a test-tube and I destroyed a resistor in our school’s facilities.

billy RAF

Billy RAF (RAF for Rafailidis, not for Royal Air Force)

2006-10-20T06:29:00.001-07:00

Hi, my name is Billy and I am 18 years old. I am from Thessaloniki and I have all the advantages and disadvantages of being an only child. I study medicine as I have the dream of becoming a doctor and helping people. This year will be the second of my studies. In my free time, I like very much going out with my friends, surfing on the internet and playing football (something for which I had a fracture in my arm). Apart from all that, I love music and it’s true that I like all kinds of music (greek and foreign). Furthermore, I usually borrow DVDs and see films from our video club. Of course, I don’t have so far a driving license, but I follow (or I used to before my arm was fractured, and I ‘ll continue after It’s healed) some lessons of driving. Generally, I want to be optimist and have a positive thinking in my life. These are some things I would like to say about me.

Eleni

2006-10-20T02:12:00.000-07:00

10 things I have done that most other people haven't

2006-10-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

1.i wrote a fairy tail when i was at primary school.It was about a competition.
2.i was in a car with 7 other people.All of us we are friends and we travelled a distance about 8 kms.
3.i visited the island of Sadorini for one day with friends ,having nowhere to stay.
4.I was a member of the writing team in our school magazine.
5.I attended about 50 driving lessons until getting the driving licence.The limit is 10 compulsory lessons.
6.I used to practise the ballet when i was about 6-7 and i give a performance in a theatre of Thessaloniki.
7.I attended a council of the university of Harvard,which took place in Paris.
8.I watced a football match in a stadium
9.When I was at primary school, i broke my finger of my left hand, playing as a goalkeeper.
10.I was a member of the volleyball school team and once we won the first prize.

Evi

This is not a threat, it's a warning

2006-10-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hi, i'm Chris. I'm from Thessaloniki as you can tell by noticing my accent. I'm 22 years old and i study Mechanical Engineering at the university of Thessaloniki. I play the guitar, every now and then, especially when i want to torture or blackmail others. In extreme situations I sing, too. When i'm on a good or bad mood I listen to music. And most of all I love to share this wonderfull experience with my neighbours. I repeat, this is not a threat, it's a warning.

homework

2006-10-15T02:02:00.000-07:00

1 Remember to post your biogs on the blog so we can talk about them next Friday.
2 Try to do something from then exam tips handout.
3 Don't forget your meme;

Ten things that I have done that you probably haven't.

This is my list

1: Taught myself to read and write modern Greek

2: Once helped fight a forest fire.

3: Drove from Athens to Rome on a Vespa.

4: Hitch-hiked 8000 km in five weeks.

5: Lived out of a one suitcase for a year.

6: Saw inside my own heart, live.

7: Was interviewed on Italian TV.

8: Was once held by Czech soldiers in Vaclav Havel's back garden.

9: Spent my first term away from home as a university student on crutches (as I had had a motorbike accident one week before term started).

10: Took my driving test in a foreign language.

How can I learn English outside the classroom?

2006-10-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

Exam Preparation Tips

This is a list of different things you can do to improve your English outside class.

1 Use the internet - How ?

a Surf the web on a regular basis - 10 to 15 minutes a day is enough.

b Use chat rooms - Mirc or Yahoo have easy to use (and FREE) chat services.

http://www.mirc.co.uk
http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/chat/chatbylycos.html

c Listen to radio or download podcasts from the net.

www.cnn.com/services/podcasting/
www.bbc.co.uk/radio/

Or download a book and listen to it. It costs nothing.

http://freeaudio.org
http://www.scottsigler.net

d Set up your own blog (web page). It's easy and costs nothing. Also it is a great way to practise your writing skills.

www.blogger.com

2 Watch DVD's - without subtitles - at least once a week. This is a great way of preparing for the the listening test.

3 Read something other than your course books. Literature, short stories, magazines, newspapers; In fact just about anything you can find in English. All reading is good practice for the Reading Comprehension part of the Cambridge exams.All these things can be found at the kiosks in Aristotelian square or in central bookshops.

4 Record yourself. If you have a cassette recorder, mobile phone that can record or a microphone for your PC, record yourself speaking. It's a great way of correcting errors in your spoken English.

5 Speak only English in class. This is probably the only chance you'll get to speak English before the exam so make the most of the opportunity.

Nobody expects students to do all of these things but if you try some of them during the course of the year then you'll see a great improvment in your language skills and of course you'll greatly increase your chances of getting a good grade in the exams.

Our first lesson

2006-10-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome to everyone in Prof 2C.

My name is Eleni and these are my classmates.