WEEK 7 (27 October-31 October)

Dear All,
This week  we completed Chapter 4.

Hopefully you learnt the following subjects:
1- Parallel Structures
2- Sentence Fragments
3- Choppy Sentences
4- Run-on sentences
5- Comma Splices
6- Editing
Best

HW (Deadline: November 3, 2014)
1-Please rewrite your previous homework
2- Use the prompts on page 73 and write a paragraph about Turkey.

WEEK 6 (20 OCTOBER - 24 OCTOBER)

Dear All,

We paid attention to :

• correct verb-tense consistency mistakes,
• choose the suitable subordinator while writing complex sentences,
• use the correct subordinator while writing complex sentences, and
• write compound-complex sentences.

Choose one of the topics below, and write a paragraph using the sentence connectors you have learned.

1- In what ways can technology help the environment?
2- Do you think people in Turkey do a good job of protecting the environment?
3- How are American food and Turkish food different from each other?
4- What is a very important skill a person should learn in order to be successful in the world today? Choose one skill and use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

WEEK 5 (14-17 OCTOBER)

Dear All,

This week, we started complex sentences.
A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which. In the following complex sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the subordinators and their commas (when required) are in red.

A. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last page. 
B. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error.
C. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.
D. After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the movies.
E. Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished studying.

When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences A and D, a comma is required at the end of the dependent clause. When the independent clause begins the sentence with subordinators in the middle as in sentences B, C, and E, no comma is required. If a comma is placed before the subordinators in sentences B, C, and E, it is wrong.
Note that sentences D and E are the same except sentence D begins with the dependent clause which is followed by a comma, and sentence E begins with the independent clause which contains no comma.  The comma after the dependent clause in sentence D is required, and experienced listeners of English will often hear a slight pause there.  In sentence E, however, there will be no pause when the independent clause begins the sentence. 

WEEK 4 (7-11 OCTOBER 2013)

Dear All,

Hope you have learnt how to connect sentences using sentence connectors and complete simple sentences with sentence connectors.

Have a look at the list for the help.

Below are some exercises.

1. choose a connector and finish the sentence.

 

1.     The number of jobs doesn't rise although/in spite of___________________________.

2.     Nobody was hurt although/as a result of       ________________________________.

3.     Dogs are said to be friendly animals so/because of____________________________.

4.     Turkey has a lot of smokers whereas/due to________________________________.

5.     Not many men cook in Spain in spite of/ however_____________________________.

6.     Some people are always cheerful  in spite of/ therefore________________________.

7.     He applied for the job although/in spite of___________________________.

8.     Mike earned litltle money because/as a result of__________________________.

9.     The lights went out for a while so/because of_____________________________.

10.   He did not like the French whereas/due to_______________________________.

11.   Cooking is one of my passions in spite of/ however________________________.

12.   Suzanne is never happy in spite of/ therefore_____________________________.

13.   Although they were all very tired____________________________________.

14.   They ate nothing despite___________________________________________.

15.   As a result of a severe headache_____________________________________.

16.   Though the shop didn't open until nine o'clock__________________________.

17.   Whereas most Europeans___________________________________________.

18.   No matter how hard you try________________________________________.

19.____________________________________as long as your orthography is right.

20. You won't lose weight unless_________________________________________.

21. If only_________________________________I could spend better holidays.

22. While Mary  was watching TV _______________________________________.

23. After we had ordered dinner______________________________.

24. Even though the walk was long and tiring_____________________

25. The stay at the hotel hasn't been very comfortable since_____________________.

26. Many children in the region had to be taken to hospital due to_____________________.  

 

2. Link the following sentences through the most appropriate connector.

 

1. The weather was very bad and there were strong rains. We went out.

 

 

2. The price of petrol has risen twice in the last four months. People are tending to buy diesel cars ( write a resultative sentence ).

 

 

3. Japanese cars are very well-built and reliable. Italian cars have lots of breakdowns.

     (use 'whereas')

 

 

4. Swallows fly away in winter. That is the time when they fly. (Use when)

 

 

5. Those children look as if they were working very hard. They are very young though.

(use any 'spite' compound). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1-) Choose one of the topics below and write a paragraph using the sentence connectors.

Remember to type it here by 21-10-2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1- Write about a remarkable person who is alive now or from the past giving your reasons why this person is (or was ) incredible

2- What is something that is challenge for you to do? Why?

3- How does a friend affect one person's personality?

 

 

 

 

 

  2-) Many household items can be used in different ways. Be creative and inventive, and write down a list to explain what you can do with the following items.

Deadline: 18-10-2013

 

1- A spoon  

2- A straw

3- A paper cup

4- A tennis ball

5- A paper clip 

 

WEEK 3 (29 SEPTEMBER-2 OCTOBER)

Dear All,
This week I have introduced our class blog to you and explained how to get the most out of it.
We have covered some words, whose noun and verb forms are the same, in Chapter 2.
Besides, we have had a chance to practice coordinators: and, so, for,, but, yet, nor (FANBOYS).
Regarding your homework, you are required to complete the half of the sentences on pages 29, and 32-37.
Have a nice bayram holiday break:)

WEEK 2 (22-26 SEPTEMBER)

What we have learnt so far....

Dear All!

I will do my best to give the summary of each week and to help you practice more. You just need to click on the highlighted words or  phrases. You are more than welcome if you post your assignments here.
Best
Hacer Şivil

As you may remember last week we started UNIT 1-ENVIRONMENT. We read a text entitled Climate Change  and learnt some new words:

occur
alter
challange

pattern

major

decade

predict

adapt

costly

 If you need to remember what they mean, You can use Cambridge Free English Dictionary.

You were also requested to introduce yourself, and I gave you the correction codes, which is available here.

This week we also focused on Subject/Verb agreement, Word order, Connecting Words and if you need further practice, please click on the relevant sections.

Adjective Order is important when you are required to you more than one adjective.  We had the chance to expand simple sentences by adding adjectives, adverbs, linking words, and the like.

Let's have a look at the following exercise and try to expand the given sentence 'I made tea'

We may tend to confuse some English words, so click here for further practice.

Writing Assignment 1:

Choose one of the topics below, remember to use at least 5 words from Real Reading 2, on page 21 or 28,  and write a paragraph by September 30, 2014.

*You are expected to use the topic related vocabulary you have learned in the Reading course and to make simple sentences.

• Have you ever given your time or Money to charity? What did you do?
• Why do famous people give Money to charity? Do they really do it to help others?
• Do you think having a Professional sports team is good for a city? Why? 

WEEK 1 (15-19 SEPTEMBER 2014)

Dear A2-02 Students,

Congratulation! Now, you are a member of ITU FamilyJ

After you have proved that your English is proficient enough, you will be able to start the education in your departments, attend student-exchange programs, do research, and the like.  

 

It is great to have lessons with you. It must be a bit confusing for you since you have so many lessons and teachers each week.  What I see is that you are self-motivated, which is curicial while learning English. Since we do not have a class picture, I have not uploaded one yet. but will take your pictures and upload them to our blogWell... Let me explain why I decided to open this blog. To be honest, there are so many reasons:

 

•  Since you are a tech-savvy, I thought you may use interactive tools easily.
• Due to my workload, I have limited time, so this blog may be a great help to stay in touch with you.
• Your strenght: You know grammar by heart. You remember every single rule indeed.Yet, you need  variety and practice. The assignments and suggested activities will help you improve your English.
• I hope by means of the activities on our blog, you will be able see your streghts and weaknesses.
• I have taken some online courses provided by Oregon University, and the British Council. I believe that if I put into practice whahtever I know, it will be helpful to improve your English.  

   

What is our class profile?

As you know your level is Pre-Intermediate, which means you are able to express yourselves  clearly despite the limited lexical knowledge and  minor grammar mistakes. You are almost adults (17+) and eager to start and complete your academic career. There are 28 students in the class, and most of you are not from Istanbul.

What is the setting?

Thank you for choosing Istanbul Technical University (ITU), where we provide a one-year intensive English program for our students before they start their faculty. It is such a crowded school. We run two different preparatory programs; one for the ones who will study at ITU, and the other for the ones who will study both at ITU and a sister school in the USA.

Apart from preparatory programs, we also have English lessons for Continuous Education Program called SEM shortly. Our classrooms are equipped with a projector and sound system. We do have wireless internet in the whole building. You can use our computer lab, writing center, dining hall, medical center, parking lot, service buses, and library whenever you need.  As part of school facilities, you may also use the health club on the main campus.

 You are so lucky to be in the heart of Istanbul. The location is amazing, you can go everywhere easily or enjoy the historic building.

 

What are the course goals?

As we all know you are required to prove that your English level is eligible enough. Thus, we offer you an intensive program till June. That is, in total you have 8 months. At the end, you may take our national exam or an international exam. Your priority might be passing one of the exams, yet remember that you need to use English efficiently in your career and social life.

 

My course is Writing, yet I would like to remind you that writing exists in every skill. Thus, we will do various integrated activities using our knowledge.

The main goal of this course is to help you produce free and academic writing, making use of process approaches, rhetorical devices, and given frameworks

 

What do you need?
We provide all the materials including books and handouts. What you need to do is to follow lessons and complete assignments. If you need additional source, please feel free to use our library or ask for help. I have already provided plenty of activities. If you have not tried them yet, in spite of the deadlines, you can start to explore them. 

Best

Class Teacher Hacer Şivil

PS: Please click on our Wallwisher/Padlet below and write how you feel today. You may upload images, videos or anything else you wish.  
 

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