(TESOL Worksheets--nouns, adjectives, spelling)
Crossword Puzzle: Drive
Crossword Puzzle Answers: Drive
(In my classes I used this with English World 7, Unit 4 p.41, Working with Words)
Friday, August 30, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
-ant adjectives and -ance nouns Crossword Puzzle
(TESOL Worksheets--nouns, adjectives, spelling)
Crossword Puzzle: Drive
Crossword Puzzle Answers: Drive
(In my classes I used this with English World 7, Unit 4 p.41, Working with Words)
Crossword Puzzle: Drive
Crossword Puzzle Answers: Drive
(In my classes I used this with English World 7, Unit 4 p.41, Working with Words)
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
(Supplementary Materials for Specific Textbooks--English World 7)
Google Drive Folder HERE
Slideshow: slides, pub
Quizlet Handout: docs, pub
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5xd5ym
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5xd5ym
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5xd5ym
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5xd5ym
Google Drive Folder HERE
Slideshow: slides, pub
Quizlet Handout: docs, pub
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5xd5ym
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5xd5ym
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5xd5ym
English World 7 Unit 4 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5xd5ym
My own proposal for an addition to the lexicon.
Proposal: From now on, we use the word "bedbug" as the name for anyone who complains about safe spaces and snowflakes, but who is themselves incredibly thin -skinned
Proposal: From now on, we use the word "bedbug" as the name for anyone who complains about safe spaces and snowflakes, but who is themselves incredibly thin -skinned— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) August 28, 2019
Proposal: From now on, we use the word "bedbug" as the name for anyone who complains about safe spaces and snowflakes, but who is themselves incredibly thin -skinned
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
On the one hand, Bret Stephens does deserve some mockery for this. On the other hand, it's sad that the President of the USA is just another twitter troll. Remember when their was a dignity associated with the office? https://t.co/sTbVST3Osn
— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) August 28, 2019
Good point. I guess there's nothing left to do but just let them win again in 2020.
— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) August 28, 2019
It's very easy to just throw up our hands in despair, but if some of those Trump voters can't be convinced to change their minds in 2020, then we can expect a repeat of the last election.
— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) August 28, 2019
Monday, August 26, 2019
Adjectives with the Suffix -al Crossword
(TESOL Worksheets--Spelling, Adjectives)
Crossword HERE
Answer sheet HERE
All the words in a story: docs, pub
Update: Upon reviewing this, I've noticed that one noun (arrival) slipped into this crossword puzzle. I still use this one, but after the students have completed it, I try to get them to tell me which word is actually a noun as a bonus challenge.
Read the story. What are they arguing about?
One day, I was driving my electrical car along a coastal road through the central part of my tropical country. My brother was in the car with me. He looked very comical, because he was wearing a hat that was too big for his head. I was feeling a little bit musical that day, so I decided to start singing.
“Stop singing,” my brother said. “It’s not normal.”
“It’s perfectly normal,” I said. “Don’t be so emotional.”
“It’s not normal. People don’t start singing for no reason. It’s not natural. You’re stupid.”
“There’s no need to get personal,” I said. “Why are you so upset anyway?”
“I’m upset because I only just arrived here yesterday. I flew into the international airport. And every since my arrival, I’ve had to deal with your continual interruptions.”
Then we drove through an industrial zone, where several factories pumped smoke into the air.
“Ugh,” my brother said. “This smoke is bad for our survival.”
“Is it?” I said.
“Yeah, it causes internal injuries. It makes our lungs black.”
“Well, if you want to get factual,” I said, “then you’re continual cigarette smoking is probably worse.”
“I can’t help it,” my brother said. “I’m addicted.”
“You can help it,” I said. “Everyone knows cigarettes are optional. You don’t need to smoke them.”
We kept driving. “Don’t worry,” I said. “This is the final factory now. Now we’re back in the fresh air,” I said, as the car drove on.
“I hate this sun,” my brother said. “It’s too hot. Can’t we go somewhere cooler.”
“It’s hot all over the country,” I said. “It’s a national problem.”
“It’s hot all over the world,” said my brother. “It’s a global problem.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “This hot weather is seasonal. It will cool down again during the rainy season.”
“I hope so,” said my brother. “Or I hope we get some snow.”
“This is a tropical country,” I said. “It won’t snow.”
“Maybe we’ll get some magical snow,” my brother said.
Crossword HERE
Answer sheet HERE
All the words in a story: docs, pub
Update: Upon reviewing this, I've noticed that one noun (arrival) slipped into this crossword puzzle. I still use this one, but after the students have completed it, I try to get them to tell me which word is actually a noun as a bonus challenge.
Read the story. What are they arguing about?
One day, I was driving my electrical car along a coastal road through the central part of my tropical country. My brother was in the car with me. He looked very comical, because he was wearing a hat that was too big for his head. I was feeling a little bit musical that day, so I decided to start singing.
“Stop singing,” my brother said. “It’s not normal.”
“It’s perfectly normal,” I said. “Don’t be so emotional.”
“It’s not normal. People don’t start singing for no reason. It’s not natural. You’re stupid.”
“There’s no need to get personal,” I said. “Why are you so upset anyway?”
“I’m upset because I only just arrived here yesterday. I flew into the international airport. And every since my arrival, I’ve had to deal with your continual interruptions.”
Then we drove through an industrial zone, where several factories pumped smoke into the air.
“Ugh,” my brother said. “This smoke is bad for our survival.”
“Is it?” I said.
“Yeah, it causes internal injuries. It makes our lungs black.”
“Well, if you want to get factual,” I said, “then you’re continual cigarette smoking is probably worse.”
“I can’t help it,” my brother said. “I’m addicted.”
“You can help it,” I said. “Everyone knows cigarettes are optional. You don’t need to smoke them.”
We kept driving. “Don’t worry,” I said. “This is the final factory now. Now we’re back in the fresh air,” I said, as the car drove on.
“I hate this sun,” my brother said. “It’s too hot. Can’t we go somewhere cooler.”
“It’s hot all over the country,” I said. “It’s a national problem.”
“It’s hot all over the world,” said my brother. “It’s a global problem.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “This hot weather is seasonal. It will cool down again during the rainy season.”
“I hope so,” said my brother. “Or I hope we get some snow.”
“This is a tropical country,” I said. “It won’t snow.”
“Maybe we’ll get some magical snow,” my brother said.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
(Supplementary Materials for Specific Textbooks--English World 7)
Google Drive Folder HERE
Slideshow: slides, pub
Quizlet Handout: docs, pub
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5vfwj8
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5vfwj8
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5vfwj8
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5vfwj8
Google Drive Folder HERE
Slideshow: slides, pub
Quizlet Handout: docs, pub
Half a Crossword: drive
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5vfwj8
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5vfwj8
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5vfwj8
English World 7 Unit 3 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5vfwj8
I haven't read it myself yet, but this sounds like it might be of interest.https://t.co/OHhgllu8IV
— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) August 26, 2019
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Describe a Place in Your City
(TESOL Worksheets--Projects)
Google: docs, pub
Describe a place in your city
Name of place:
Adjectives to describe it:
What can you see there?
What do people do there?
What sounds can you hear there?
What can you smell there?
Make some sentences with Participle Adjectives:
Example: The street is filled with hurrying people.
Google: docs, pub
Describe a place in your city
Name of place:
Adjectives to describe it:
What can you see there?
What do people do there?
What sounds can you hear there?
What can you smell there?
Make some sentences with Participle Adjectives:
Example: The street is filled with hurrying people.
Friday, August 23, 2019
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
(Supplementary Materials for Specific Textbooks--English World 7)
Google Drive Folder HERE
Slideshow: slides, pub
Quizlet Handout: docs, pub
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5rxnej
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5rxnej
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5rxnej
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5rxnej
Google Drive Folder HERE
Slideshow: slides, pub
Quizlet Handout: docs, pub
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5rxnej
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5rxnej
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5rxnej
English World 7 Unit 2 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_5rxnej
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Life Pre-Intermediate 9D Enrolling on a Course p.112
(Supplemental Materials for Specific Textbooks--Life Pre-Intermediate)
Google Drive Folder HERE
Enrolling at university PDF: drive
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Life Pre-Intermediate Unit 9 p.105
(Supplemental Materials for Specific Textbooks--Life Pre-Intermediate)
Google Drive Folder HERE
Find 5 mistakes in the transcript.
While I was working as an English teacher in Japan, I tried to learn the language but it was hard. Even the kids found their own language easy. This photo is of a second grade class at the school. They were all practising writing some of the different letters for the sound “shou” in Chinese. A lot of Japanese words are homophones so they have the same sound but different spellings. Japanese has so many letters and symbols to learn. There are several thousand, most of which have come from Vietnamese. It’s similar to English in the sense that it has also taken words in the past from other languages. For example, you can find lots of English words which have come from the languages of German and Spanish.
Answers
While I was working as an English teacher in Japan, I tried to learn the language but it was hard. Even the kids found their own language (1)hard. This photo is of a second grade class at the school. They were all practising writing some of the different letters for the sound “shou” in (2)Japanese. A lot of Japanese words are homophones so they have the same sound but different (3)meanings. Japanese has so many letters and symbols to learn. There are several thousand, most of which have come from (4)Chinese. It’s similar to English in the sense that it has also taken words in the past from other languages. For example, you can find lots of English words which have come from the languages of German and (5)French.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
-ing verbs or infinitive verbs Doreamon PowerPoint Game
(TESOL Worksheets--Infinitives, Word Patterns, Gerunds)
Google: drive, slides, pub
(In my lessons, I used this to supplement Life Intermediate: 2B)
Update: I've converted this into a Kahoot Game--sharing link, quiz link
Google: drive, slides, pub
(In my lessons, I used this to supplement Life Intermediate: 2B)
Update: I've converted this into a Kahoot Game--sharing link, quiz link
Monday, August 19, 2019
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Life Intermediate: 1D First Impressions p.16
(Supplemental Materials for Specific Textbooks--Life Intermediate)
Google Drive Folder HERE
1.
P: Good morning! Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Paola Iannucci.
C: How do you do? My name’s Colin Burke.
P: It’s a pleasure to meet you, Colin. I see you work for an advertising agency.
C: Yes, erm… Paola. I’m the arts director at Arrow Agency. I mostly work on web adverts.
P: Do you? That sounds interesting.
C: It is. We’re developing some really new ways of advertising. Do you use the Internet much in your work?
P: I do, actually, Colin. I’m in sales.
C: Oh, are you?
P: Yes, I work for an electronics company. We’re starting to sell online.
C: Really? Well, Paola, why don’t I give you my card? Here you are.
P: Thanks. It’s been good talking to you. Let’s stay in touch.
2.
L: Hello, how are you? I’m Lucy.
Y: I’m very pleased to meet you. I’m Yuvraj Singh. I work for Get fit--it’s a chain of gyms.
L: Oh yes, my brother goes to Get fit.
Y: Does he? Great. We’re building a big new gym in the town centre here. It’s nearly ready to open, in fact.
L: Is it? That’s great.
Y: Yes, we’re all really excited about it. Erm, what about you?
L: I’m looking for a new job at the moment, actually.
Y: OK, well, thanks for your time. Let me give you my card. Don’t forget to check out our new gym when it opens.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
From the AVclub:
R.I.P. Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda is one of those actors who did a lot of stuff, but is only really remembered for one iconic movie.
At one point in 2002, I had Easy Rider on my list of top 10 films of all time. Although when I rethought that list in 2017, I decided I had outgrown Easy Rider. But still, it's a classic movie no matter how you look at it.
R.I.P. Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda is one of those actors who did a lot of stuff, but is only really remembered for one iconic movie.
At one point in 2002, I had Easy Rider on my list of top 10 films of all time. Although when I rethought that list in 2017, I decided I had outgrown Easy Rider. But still, it's a classic movie no matter how you look at it.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
From CNN.com today:
Archaeologists find evidence of Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem -- as told in the Bible
This sounds like huge news, but it's actually not. The Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem was never really in any doubt to begin with. The Old Testament account of the fall of Jerusalem lines up pretty much exactly with our accounts from other historical sources. (For more information on this, see The Unauthorized Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible by Robin Lane Fox.)
It is a point worth remembering, however. These days, I sometimes feel like half of my conversations about the Bible are defending it against hardcore atheists--people who don't want to credit the Bible with any historical accuracy. But these people are just as wrong as the hard core Christians who claim that there aren't any errors in the Bible. There is actually a lot of real history in the Old Testament, but it is mixed up with mythology and religions polemics. Separating the two can be tricky, but also fascinating.
My understanding is as follows:
Story of the Patriarchs, the Exodus, and the Conquest of Canaan--Pure Mythology. No historical value
Ruth--Historical fiction. It was a later addition to the King David legend, which was meant as a rebuttal to the racial purism that had developed in Ezra and Nehemiah's time.
King David--Possibly historical (For more discussion see HERE).
1st and 2nd Kings-- History re-arranged to fit a religious polemic, but based on real historical events. The closer we get to the fall of Jerusalem, the more accurate it becomes
Esther and Daniel--Historical fiction. The settings are historical, and most of the kings were real people, but the story is fiction
Ezra and Nehemiah-- authentic historical documents, that have been mangled by and chopped up carelessly by later editors
...and actually while I'm on the subject...
I was meaning to link to this ages ago and never got around to it, but my old pal Phil Christman has published a review of the Old Testament. Or as he puts it, "I reviewed the FREAKIN’ BIBLE, no big deal".
It's available at the Plough:
Poetry and Prophecy, Dust and Ashes: A review of The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, by Robert Alter Reviewed by Phil Christman
(The beginning of the essay is a review of the specific translation, but it then turns into a review of the Hebrew Bible generally).
Phil's essay has been attracting attention from a lot of different corners. Arts & Letters Daily plugged it. Whisky Prajer also highly recommends it.
I agree with half of Phil's review, and disagree with the other half, but I will resist the urge to comment on every line of the review. I'll just say that I enjoy reading Phil as always. He is one of those writers who has the ability to make his thought process clear to his readers, and even when I don't agree with him, I love being able to see what his thought process is. There's nothing I like more than enjoying a morning cup of coffee and reading Phil's latest post.
Archaeologists find evidence of Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem -- as told in the Bible
This sounds like huge news, but it's actually not. The Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem was never really in any doubt to begin with. The Old Testament account of the fall of Jerusalem lines up pretty much exactly with our accounts from other historical sources. (For more information on this, see The Unauthorized Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible by Robin Lane Fox.)
It is a point worth remembering, however. These days, I sometimes feel like half of my conversations about the Bible are defending it against hardcore atheists--people who don't want to credit the Bible with any historical accuracy. But these people are just as wrong as the hard core Christians who claim that there aren't any errors in the Bible. There is actually a lot of real history in the Old Testament, but it is mixed up with mythology and religions polemics. Separating the two can be tricky, but also fascinating.
My understanding is as follows:
Story of the Patriarchs, the Exodus, and the Conquest of Canaan--Pure Mythology. No historical value
Ruth--Historical fiction. It was a later addition to the King David legend, which was meant as a rebuttal to the racial purism that had developed in Ezra and Nehemiah's time.
King David--Possibly historical (For more discussion see HERE).
1st and 2nd Kings-- History re-arranged to fit a religious polemic, but based on real historical events. The closer we get to the fall of Jerusalem, the more accurate it becomes
Esther and Daniel--Historical fiction. The settings are historical, and most of the kings were real people, but the story is fiction
Ezra and Nehemiah-- authentic historical documents, that have been mangled by and chopped up carelessly by later editors
...and actually while I'm on the subject...
I was meaning to link to this ages ago and never got around to it, but my old pal Phil Christman has published a review of the Old Testament. Or as he puts it, "I reviewed the FREAKIN’ BIBLE, no big deal".
It's available at the Plough:
Poetry and Prophecy, Dust and Ashes: A review of The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, by Robert Alter Reviewed by Phil Christman
(The beginning of the essay is a review of the specific translation, but it then turns into a review of the Hebrew Bible generally).
Phil's essay has been attracting attention from a lot of different corners. Arts & Letters Daily plugged it. Whisky Prajer also highly recommends it.
I agree with half of Phil's review, and disagree with the other half, but I will resist the urge to comment on every line of the review. I'll just say that I enjoy reading Phil as always. He is one of those writers who has the ability to make his thought process clear to his readers, and even when I don't agree with him, I love being able to see what his thought process is. There's nothing I like more than enjoying a morning cup of coffee and reading Phil's latest post.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
I don't know if you've already listened to this or not, but I found Christine Hayes lectures on the Old Testament fascinating. (This is part of the Open Yale Courses). She makes the point that there are actually various parts to the book of Job. There's a poetic section...
— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) August 11, 2019
...and there's a prose frame for the poetry (The first 2 chapters and the end chapter) that were added later. I think part of the confusion is that the Job in the prose section is much more patient with God than the Job in the poetry section. This is why most people...
— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) August 11, 2019
...don't know that Job in the poetry section wasn't nearly as compliant in his fate as the Job you hear about in Sunday School
— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) August 11, 2019
For Christine Hayes's lectures, see HERE.
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
BREAKING: Toni Morrison's publisher Alfred A. Knopf has just announced the death of the beloved American author, adding a quote from her: 'We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.' Recently on CBC: https://t.co/AraPNvxKR8— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) August 6, 2019
Rest in Peace Toni Morrison.
My review of Beloved by Toni Morrison HERE.
Addendum: I'm still Mad About This Video Game Thing
(An addendum to the previous post)
And another thing that makes me so angry about this whole "video games cause mass shootings" nonsense...
Listening to the pundits and politicians talk about the link between video games and violence, it is very notable that none of them are citing any evidence. At all. They're just talking about how they don't like video games, and how they're sure that it must be doing something bad to young people's minds.
Look, if you want to just complain about how you don't like what the young people are doing these days, you can retire and spend all day on your front porch.
But if you go on TV and make these allegations, you should do your homework ahead of time.
And it's bad enough when pundits do it, but then when actual politicians (people in actual positions of power) start talking about how they "feel" video games are behind these massacres, then this is the height of irresponsibility.
It's a stupid debate, like I said before. But, fine, if you guys want to get into it, then let's get into it. What does the evidence show? What is the statistical correlation between violent crime and video games? What is the link between crime rates and the popularity of video games in countries? What is the evidence that video games cause violent behavior? (This data is easily available. The topic has been researched to death. There have been literally thousands of studies on this by now).
This is serious topic. And the opportunity cost of addressing the wrong issue will mean that we've lost the chance to prevent the next massacre. So we should be taking this seriously.
Instead what we have is a lot of out of touch old people talking about how they don't like video games. Either they're stupid, or they're being deliberately obtuse in order to misdirect.
(An addendum to the previous post)
And another thing that makes me so angry about this whole "video games cause mass shootings" nonsense...
Listening to the pundits and politicians talk about the link between video games and violence, it is very notable that none of them are citing any evidence. At all. They're just talking about how they don't like video games, and how they're sure that it must be doing something bad to young people's minds.
Look, if you want to just complain about how you don't like what the young people are doing these days, you can retire and spend all day on your front porch.
But if you go on TV and make these allegations, you should do your homework ahead of time.
And it's bad enough when pundits do it, but then when actual politicians (people in actual positions of power) start talking about how they "feel" video games are behind these massacres, then this is the height of irresponsibility.
It's a stupid debate, like I said before. But, fine, if you guys want to get into it, then let's get into it. What does the evidence show? What is the statistical correlation between violent crime and video games? What is the link between crime rates and the popularity of video games in countries? What is the evidence that video games cause violent behavior? (This data is easily available. The topic has been researched to death. There have been literally thousands of studies on this by now).
This is serious topic. And the opportunity cost of addressing the wrong issue will mean that we've lost the chance to prevent the next massacre. So we should be taking this seriously.
Instead what we have is a lot of out of touch old people talking about how they don't like video games. Either they're stupid, or they're being deliberately obtuse in order to misdirect.
Monday, August 05, 2019
Fox News & Politicians BLAMES FORTNITE & Video Games for the death of 29 people in El Paso
I am rapidly losing my patience with civil debate and am getting to the point where I just want to scream obscenities at people. Which on one hand is a completely natural reaction to everything that's been happening the past few years, and yet at the same time is exactly the wrong thing to do if we're ever going to make any progress.
But really, it makes me so, so angry when I see people still blaming gun violence on video games.
This is the stupidest argument ever. For reasons so obvious that I feel like I'm wasting my time typing them out again. Violent video games are popular with kids all over the world, but the U.S. is the only place that has regular gun massacres. Japanese and South Koreans play way more violent video games than the U.S., and they don't have these gun massacres.
Part of this frustration is just fatigue. I've been pointing out this fact out on this blog for over 15 years now. (See this post from 2003. And this post from 2012.) And I just weary of having to type out the obvious over and over again.
But it's not just me. Lots and lots of people have been making this really obvious point. For years.
So why are we still having this discussion about video games?
I am rapidly losing my patience with civil debate and am getting to the point where I just want to scream obscenities at people. Which on one hand is a completely natural reaction to everything that's been happening the past few years, and yet at the same time is exactly the wrong thing to do if we're ever going to make any progress.
But really, it makes me so, so angry when I see people still blaming gun violence on video games.
This is the stupidest argument ever. For reasons so obvious that I feel like I'm wasting my time typing them out again. Violent video games are popular with kids all over the world, but the U.S. is the only place that has regular gun massacres. Japanese and South Koreans play way more violent video games than the U.S., and they don't have these gun massacres.
Part of this frustration is just fatigue. I've been pointing out this fact out on this blog for over 15 years now. (See this post from 2003. And this post from 2012.) And I just weary of having to type out the obvious over and over again.
But it's not just me. Lots and lots of people have been making this really obvious point. For years.
So why are we still having this discussion about video games?