Showing posts with label Internet Activity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet Activity. Show all posts
Internet Activity 26 :"Ken Robinson says Schools Kill Creativity"
Assignment: This is a 20 minute talk. Take notes of his MAIN POINTS, but mostly listen. When you are finished make a list of points that you either agree or disagree with.
Next, write an introduction (JUST THE INTRODUCTION!) to a TOEFL-style independent response to the following question:
Do you think schools "kill" creativity? Explain how you feel using the points from the talk.
Internet Activity 25 :"Tim Ferriss: Smash fear, learn anything"
I think this talk has something for everyone in class: sports, Japanese, language learning, dancing, and motivational wisdom! Listen, take notes, and, you know, be prepared.
Internet Activity 24: "Spanglish, Chinglish...."
Listen to this short audio piece about misspelled English here in South Florida http://wlrnunderthesun.org/2009/06/whats-up-with-south-florida-inglish-gratis/
Spanglish
Chinglish
Konglish
Engrish
and many more...
Think about the possible poor/mistranslations of your native language into English and your experience as an English learner. Prepare to speak about this topic at the beginning of class.
Internet Activity 23: TOEFL writing practice with movie reviews
Assignment: Watch this short video about how to practice TOEFL writing skills by watching movies, discussing the movie with friends, reading (professionally written) reviews, and then writing a TOEFL-style response that compares your friend's opinion with the film critic's review.
Internet Sites that source professionally written reviews.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
Roger Ebert
http://www.filmcritic.com
Step 1: Ask a classmate to tell you his/her opinion about a movie that both of you have recently watched.
Step 2: Take notes during your partners response.
Step 3: Switch! Repeat STEPS 1 and 2
Step 4: Now you will work independently. Find a review of the movie using the above links. Take notes during your reading.
Step 5: Now prepare a 150-225 word response that addresses the following question:
How does your partner's review of the movie compare or contrast with the film critic's review?
Internet Activity 22: Debate Tips
Watch all 7 videos of the series "Debate Tips and Advice" (1-2 minutes each), and note how to effectively outline, organize, analyze, and potentially refute a persuasive argument. You will practice these skills in our class debate at the beginning of class.
Internet Activity 21: "Nina Jablonski breaks the illusion of skin color"
Assignment: Listen and take note of the main points. (There is no interactive text or subtitles, but you will find that she speaks very clearly)
Keep the following questions in mind as you listen:
What does Nina Jablonski say about Dawrin's idea that differences in human skin color (pigmentation) do not coincide with differences in climate?
How does she use NASA data to undermine Darwin's idea?
What is the relationship between UV radiation and the earth's surface?
What is the relationship between UV and human skin color development?
What is "natural sunscreen" and how does it work?
According to Jablonski what are the implications to our health when living in latitudes/climates that are not suited for our skin pigmentation?
What does she say about having evidence of evolution on your body?
Internet Activity 20: "Public - Private Healthcare Partnership in Miami"
Listen to the audio story Public - Private Healthcare Partnership in Miami at PRI about a new plan to help uninsured people in Miami receive health care coverage. DO NOT READ THE SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE FIRST. Listen first, then you can check your notes to the written summary after.
Try to take down the MAIN POINT of the piece with it's supporting details. Jot down important facts and statistics. Then compare your notes to the information in the written summary.
Internet Activity 18: "Jared Diamond on why societies collapse"
Assignment: Watch, take notes, and prepare to discuss his main points and examples.
Here is the link to the interactive transcript.
Internet Activity 17: "Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge"
Assignment: Listen and take notes on some of the more important details, so that you may also re-count this tale of cunning escape.
Internet Activity 16: "BBC project saves endangered sounds"
Assignment: Listen to the PRI audio story here, then visit and play with the
Save Our Sounds Map
What sounds are new and foreign to you here in Miami, or in other parts of the U.S.A where you have visited? Think about the places in the world where you have traveled or the particular sounds that you would hear in your hometown. Spend a few minutes writing a free-form memory. Be prepared to share with the class. Here is an example...
When I think of my childhood sounds in my hometown, Spring, Texas, I think of cows mooing, the faraway cheers of a little league baseball park, the song of the ice cream man circling the neighborhood, train horns, and lawn mowers. I think some of these sounds are distinctly American. When I think of my time living abroad in China, I think of a clamor of vendors calling out their vegetable prices in the market, car horns, and the din of ballroom dance music in the evening park.
Internet Activity 15: "Gever Tulley teaches life lessons through tinkering"
Assignment: What is tinkering? Do you think tinkering with objects as a child helped you develop useful and creative skills as an adult? Use an illustration from your own childhood to make a free response.
Internet Activity 14: Female Saudi Journalist, interviewed.
In light of our discussion on Tuesday, watch this two-part interview with Suzan Zawawi, an English-speaking Saudi female journalist (one of few), who works from her home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the video she gives a tour of her home, and speaks of her daily routines and the role of women in Saudi society. (Note: In video 2, time = 4:20, they interview a different woman, a gynecologist)
The black covering she wears is called an abaya.
Take notes as if you were writing a journalistic story based on this interview.
What would you ask the woman, and how would you follow up on some of her responses?
Think critically about her responses, and prepare to discuss the interview in class on Thursday.
Internet Activity 13: NPR's Scott Simon, How to tell a good story
Assignment: Watch the short video and take note of some tips for telling a good story. What does Scott Simon recommend we include and avoid in telling a story?
Internet Activity #12: Dan Dennett: Cute, sexy, sweet, funny
Assignment: Write a brief response. In you own words, what is the gist of this short talk? What is the "take-home" point?
Internet Activity 11: Jan Chipchase on our Mobile Phones
Jan Chipchase is researcher with Nokia. He travels the world researching how people actually use and, often, innovate upon existing technologies. In this talk, he discusses "street up" innovation; that is, how people from poor communities (in developing countries) distribute, re-engineer, and develop technological strategies to suit their specific needs.
Assignment:
Listen and take notes on the talk. We will play a game in class, so make sure you are familiar with the material. Here is the link to the interactive transcript.
Here is a link to his fascinating blog, Future Perfect. Chipchase makes daily observations and photographs spaces and designs that can either reflect or inhibit particular human behaviors.
Internet Activity 10: Mae West and Suggestive Language "Come up and see me some time."
Take a look at Hollywood legend Mae West delivering one of her most famous, of many, suggestive lines. Watch the video here.
Mae west was a Hollywood starlet and sex symbol. Her character shtik was witty, risque, and notoriously suggestive. What does she mean exactly when she says, "Come up and see me some time"? Think about the context of their conversation and the way she says it. As we start Pragmatic Understanding, in the Listening section, we see that it is important to pay attention to the unstated context of the speakers and the manner in which they are speaking.
We will go over some other examples in class. Perhaps, you can think of a few sentences whose meaning is completely dependent upon their context.
Internet Activity 9: "Indian Mangoes--Now in America"
Assignment: Follow the link and listen to the audio story.
Indian Mangoes
1.) Use your web dictionary to help explain the following words in the context of the audio story.
"mango détente"
"undocumented mangoes"
smuggle
forlorn
"King's ransom"
2.) According to the speaker, about how many varieties of mangoes are in India?
3.) What is the name of the Indian mango the chef tries in California?
4.) What is the gist of the audio story?
Internet Activity 8: "Malcom Gladwell on spaghetti sauce"
Have you walked down the aisles of an American grocery store and wondered why there are sometimes 3-10 varieties of the same brand? Take Cheerios, for example, there are: Honey Nut Cheerios, Multi-Grain Cheerios, Banana Nut Cheerios, Berry Burst Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, etc. In this TED talk, Malcom Gladwell discusses the history of marketing research and the work of one man who changed the way food scientists and marketers think about the idea of consumer preference.
Assignment:
1.) This talk is 17 minutes. Pay attention and take careful notes. Go to the website and use the interactive transcript to find new vocabulary words in the speech.
2.) Using the context of the speech and your web dictionary define the following words and terms:
aspartame
straightforward
plot
bell curve
dismayed
"educated guess"
placated
adherence
"focus group"
"horizontal segmentation"
"culturally authentic"
universals or "universal principles"
variability
Internet Activity 7: " Chris Jordan pictures some shocking stats"
Your assignment is to take notes! I will be asking to see your notes, so make sure you actually do it. We are going to start the TOEFL Listening section this week and this is the most important skill to practice.
Also remember that you can go to this video on the website to use the interactive transcript, which is located to the left of the video. (Click on "Open Interactive Transcript" )
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