Infonews n°291 from 17/12/2006
- in the US
- in Latvia
- in the UK
- in the Netherland
- in Germany
Litvinenko
Christmas
Flash Cards
Christmas Bingo Cards and short activities
Dress the Elves (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, December 13th)
Math and handicraft : polyhedral ornaments (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer,
December 13th)
Lang Primary (free magazine)
View Do
50 online animations
Webquest
Articles
Virtual World
Flat paper batteries
Auto and Truck Repair and Advice (from The Scout Report -- December 15)
Modules d'anglais professionnel automobile
How to Take Great Photos of Holiday Lights (from [LII New This Week] December
14)
The Channel Tunnel (from [LII New This Week] December 7)
The World (from The Scout Report -- December 15)
Use my cell!
Against Death Penalty
Stop Child Poverty (from The Scout Report -- December 15)
60 years of Heroes
Microcredit (from The Scout Report -- December 15)
New Blog Competition from the BBC
Make your Video
The two minutes rule ( from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, December 13th)
Ouvrage gratuit
Stages à l'Etranger
Calendrier des épreuves du bac, brevet etc.
Conférence à lire en ligne
There seems to be an exam to be naturalized in most countries, except France.
Read this report (in French) and then see how it works in several other countries:
"tous les Etats étudiés, à l'exception de la Suède, ont établi ou vont
bientôt introduire un test de citoyenneté pour l'obtention de la nationalité par
naturalisation. La France, qui n'en a pas, fait figure d'exception. Tous les
pays étudiés, à l'exception de la Suède et du Danemark, ont ou vont aussi bientôt
introduire une cérémonie obligatoire pour l'obtention de la citoyenneté, avec
ou sans prestation de serment.
" (extrait d'une intervention à l'assemblé nationale du 6 décembre)
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/12/europe/c-rendus/c0191.asp
en français aussi, sur un blog perso, le compte rendu de l'épreuve et la cérémonie
au Canada:
http://www.gabuzomeu.com/quebec/article.php3?id_article=10
in the US
See how it work on the site of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS)
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
and read the 144 questions and answers from New Pilot Naturalisation Exam
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=dcf5e1df53b2f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD
more information on the test in an Indian newspaper
http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=77644#compstory
it's new (September 2006) and there's even a video!
http://www.workpermit.com/news/2006_11_27/us/new_citizenship_test_01.htm
in Latvia
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/03/wlatvia03.xml
in the UK
Here is a site "to help you to prepare for the Life in the UK Test. It
does not give you the knowledge you need to take the test. You can find this
information in the 'Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship' handbook.
This is the only book you will need to buy to prepare for the test.
Not everyone has to take the Life in the UK Test. Visit 'About the test' to
find out if you do. Depending on your level of English, you may choose to attend
combined English language (ESOL) and citizenship classes.
The test is computer-based and only available to take at an accredited Life
in the UK Test centre in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).
http://www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk/
And you can learn more about the test and find useful links to more details
on wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_in_the_United_Kingdom_test
in the Netherland
This country make the applicants take the exam in their country of origin
before they are allowed to travel to the Netherland for a long stay. Read:
http://www.hollandemb.org.eg/english/civilintegration.htm
in Germany
read this article, see the questions, and you can even go to wikipedia for
a cheat sheet with all the right answers in German
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=28656
Litvinenko
- Everything about Litvinenko
Time Magazine features a long article ( 7 pages!) about "the mysterious
death of Alexander Litvinenko -- the ex-KGB agent who turned on the Kremlin
-- may read like the plot of a spy thriller. But the classic methods of the
murder inquiry still apply: Who had the motive? The means? The opportunity?"
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1568482,00.html
[ for teachers and advanced students.]
- It's Elemental: Polonium (from [LII New This Week] December 7)
Background about the radioactive element polonium, which was "discovered
by Marie Sklodowska Curie, a Polish chemist, in 1898. She obtained polonium
from pitchblende, a material that contains uranium." Includes a brief
description of uses, facts and figures, and other details. From the Jefferson
Lab, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.
http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele084.html
Christmas
Solstice, Sacaea-Saturnalia, Yule, and Today(from [LII New This Week] December
7)
This site examines "the ancient origins of the winter holiday season" and
how pagan and Christian celebrations have merged into Christmas traditions.
The site includes factual tidbits about ancient and current winter solstice
celebrations; Egyptian, Persian, and Roman celebrations; and northern European
Yule traditions. Also includes a description of holiday celebrations for the
day, a bibliography, and related links.
http://www.candlegrove.com/sacaea.html
Flash Cards
On e-teach, Florinda Fernandes recommends this site where you can find flash
cards on many topics, such a Christmas at the moment, but also clothes, jobs,
animals, places, etc.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-flashcards.htm
On LearnEnglishKids by the British Council, you can find lots of other printable
sheets and activities
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-print.htm
This page is for Christmas, but just follow the links and find resources on
other topics like pirates, school, shopping, rainforest and super heroes...
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-topics.htm
and there is also a page of tips on how to use these resources
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-parents-tips.htm
Christmas Bingo Cards and short activities
Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, from December 13th recommends this site where
teachers can "find a generous supply and variety of Bingo cards to use
as holiday treats, learning reinforcements, or simply as sponge activities
for those few extra minutes at the end of the day or before breaks."
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo1.asp
Dress the Elves (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, December 13th)
There are two elves that need to dress up for Christmas, with beautiful dresses
and winter coats, boots, and hats. Have your students create stories about
the elves, where they are going in their wonderful costumes, what their names
are, what they do at the North Pole, etc.
http://www.akidsheart.com/holidays/christms/dresself.htm
from this page, you can also access a whole page of "dress up":
http://www.akidsheart.com/dress/dressup.htm
Math and handicraft : polyhedral ornaments (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, December 13th)
Combine holiday festivities with math in action, where your class will be
studying geometric solids and then learning how to create those solids with
paper. Use red, greens, golds, and sparkly silver papers to make these polyhedrons
into wonderful Christmas ornaments.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/math/geometry/solids/
Lang Primary (free magazine)
Vanessa Bertrand has discovered this excellent site of an Italian ESL magazine
to teach English in primary school. The site offers online the full version
of old issues of the magazines, with teaching tips, lesson plans and worksheets.
Click on "volume completo" to download the magazine in .pdf, and
then everything is in English.
http://www.langedizioni.com/varie/riviste/index.html
View Do
You certainly all know "you tube", where anybody can post any home
made video, or almost. You can find there excellent videos that you can use
in class, but avoid sending your students directly to the site, because some
videos are definitely not suitable for the class....
http://www.youtube.com/
Thot Cursus ( <http://thot.cursus.edu/rechforum.asp?query=&s=1&Btn.x=23&Btn.y=7>http://thot.cursus.edu/ )
recommends another site of the same type in their last letter. It is called "View
Do" and claims to teach you to do things through videos. What you can
learn is varied and often interesting and well done, from cooking recipes to
break dancing or wrapping gifts. Note that there is a "message from the
sponsor" (and some are rather disgusting...) before the videos, which
makes them more difficult to copy and if the ad isn't allowed through firewall
(as it is in my school) then you can't even see the video in streaming!
wrapping gifts : http://www.viewdo.com/now_viewing.php?id=139
making a yule log http://www.viewdo.com/now_viewing.php?id=139
break Dance : http://www.viewdo.com/now_viewing.php?id=110
50 online animations
Focus on animation is a stunning site made by our Canadian colleagues from
the Natioan lFilm Board (NFB) in French and in English.
http://www.onf.ca/animation/objanim/en/index.php
Explore the NFB’s rich animation heritage, learn about the techniques used
in our films and discover some of our key filmmakers, relive the history of
a world-renowned institution, from 1941 to today, learn about the many different
animation techniques honed by NFB filmmakers over the years, explore 43 NFB
animated shorts and three optical games in this section designed for 9- to
12-year-olds and their teachers, and view 50 NFB animated shorts, including
several classics of the animated art (this is the part I like best).
http://www.onf.ca/animation/objanim/en/films/
For example, watch 'Christopher, please Clean up your room!"
http://www.onf.ca/animation/objanim/en/films/film.php?sort=director&director=Gauthier%2C+Vincent&id=50445
Webquest
Our colleague Valérie Gély has created a new webquest for her intermediate
students about Global warming, based on very useful documents like three front
pages from Time magazine, two videos : "Global Warning" from Di Caprio
and the trailer of "An uncoinvenient truth" and two audio documents
from VOA. The site also offers links to several online dictionaries and a debate.
http://perso.orange.fr/ecole.st.sulpice/eleves2/globalwarming/total.htm
Articles
On eteachNet, our colleague J-Marc Brauer who teachers physics in English,
recommends this interesting article from the New York Times, with two animations
"
By 2040, Greenhouse Gases Could Lead to an Open Arctic Sea in Summers"
http://tinyurl.com/y9vd5t
or in full:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/science/earth/12arcti.html?_r=2&n=Top%2fNews%2fScience%2fTopics%2fGlobal%20Warming&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
and our colleague Frederic Chottard recommends this article from the Guardian:
"Britain 3C warmer"
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1769825,00.html>http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1769825,00.html
Virtual World
This site for advanced students provides information on Global Environmental
problems, and lists the NGO and NPO that work for the global environment:
http://www.virtualglobe.org/en/
problems and solutions : http://www.virtualglobe.org/en/info/env/index.html
NPO, NGO : http://www.virtualglobe.org/en/info/env/01/index.html
It is the result of a project lead by three Japanese groups : Global environment
Action (GEA), The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and
the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency in Japan (ERCA)
GEA : http://www.gea.or.jp/
IGES : http://www.iges.or.jp/
ERCA : http://www.erca.go.jp/english/index.html
On eteachNet, Françoise Campo recommends this site for answers to questions
like "what is a fuel cell" or "what is the Kyoto protocole" in
short and to the point articles. See espacially the page about global warming:
http://www.virtualglobe.org/en/info/env/01/index.html
Flat paper batteries
Time Magazine Europe this week presents SoftBatterys by Enfucell, a new battery,
made of paper, 0.4-mm-thin, measuring about 5 cm by 5 cm and with a cost of
only a penny. "If saving bits of energy and environment here and there
add up, then Finland's Enfucell has a battery that will help people make a
difference by cutting down on all the metal, lithium and alkaline that leaks
from conventional cells." read more at:
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901061211-1565509,00.html
[ for technicians, from intermediate level upwards.]
Auto and Truck Repair and Advice (from The Scout Report -- December 15)
George G. Scott, Jr. has been an auto mechanic for over thirty years, and
he has also found time in his busy schedule to create this website dedicated
to providing both the average person and future auto mechanics with information
about car and truck repair. While the site does contain some banner advertisements,
there is plenty of fine free material here as well. Visitors can begin their
journey by looking into areas titled
"How Your Car Works". After that, they can look over an alphabetical
list that includes sage advice on everything from alternators to water pump
repair. The site is rounded out by a fun collection of sounds of
cars in "trouble", including a bad motor mount of 1994 Saturn and
the valve train tapping of a 1993 Isuzu Rodeo. [KMG]
http://www.econofix.com/
[ a data base of articles, but no pictures or videos that we could use in class.
The part with the 'noises' is short, but unusual : you could try it and see
if your students specialisez in mechanics and cars agree on the diagnosis...]
Modules d'anglais professionnel automobile
L’ANFA – Association Nationale pour la Formation Automobile – met à disposition
sur son site internet un nouvel outil pédagogique en anglais professionnel
automobile. Créé dans le cadre de la convention de coopération avec le ministère
de l’Education nationale, cet outil a été construit avec l’appui d’enseignants
formant les jeunes aux métiers de l’automobile. Il propose, sous une forme
interactive, des textes sonorisés, des rappels de grammaire et plus de 80 exercices.
Organisé sous la forme de 28 modules de formation thématiques, cet outil permet à l’enseignant
de construire une approche modulaire des apprentissages et d’individualiser
les parcours de formation. Ces modules multimédias de formation, contextualisés
automobile, ont été
conçus à l’attention des jeunes préparant un Bac Pro en carrosserie-peinture
ou en maintenance (automobile, moto et véhicule industriel). Ils peuvent également être
proposés à des publics en fin de BEP et en début de formation BTS.
http://www.anfa-auto.fr/anglais/
How to Take Great Photos of Holiday Lights (from [LII New This Week] December 14)
This article offers ideas for taking photos of tree lights, candles, holiday
lights on buildings, and other indoor and outdoor lit subjects. Includes tips
for both film and digital photography, and examples of photographs of holiday
lights. From a photography school.
http://www.nyip.com/ezine/holidays/holidaylights.html
[ for all those who are not sure how to take photos of lights...]
The Channel Tunnel (from [LII New This Week] December 7)
This illustrated feature provides a history of the Channel Tunnel, the train
tunnel connecting France and Britain under the English Channel, officially
opened in 1994. Features photos, images, and diagrams of the tunnel. From the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/uk/04/channel_tunnel/html/default.stm
see also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/1/newsid_2516000/2516473.stm
The World (from The Scout Report -- December 15)
Any effort to provide high-quality news coverage of events around the world
must include a crack team of international correspondents drawn from some of
the world's most prominent news organizations. Fortunately, Public Radio International's
well-regarded program, The World, draws on correspondents from the BBC and
other respected news agencies. On their well-organized site, visitors can listen
to each program in its entirety, or move through a number of online-only special
reports, which include features on Afghanistan and ethnic conflicts in Africa.
The World's site also offers three different podcasts and RSS feeds. Another
fine feature of the site is the section where reporters for their program offer
journals from their recent investigative excursions to Israel, Mexico, China,
and Northern Ireland.
Overall, the site is a fine way to stay up to date with current events of importance
from Ghana to Goa. [KMG]
http://www.theworld.org/
Use my cell!
BBC Learning English features a simple and easy text about the word cell as
in cellphones, which tends now to replace mobile phone in England too. You
can download the audio file, the transcript and even the lesson plan. A ready
to use lesson for intermediates onwards, which also contains useful internet
vocabulary like "I did a seach on Google" or "synchronize your
cell" ( I don't know exactly what that means, but I can rely on my students
to willingly explain it to me!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1130_uptodate2/page6.shtml
Against Death Penalty
Time Magazine Europe this week feature these articles against death penalty.
You can consider them a bit catchy, and I'm not sure they're appropriate for
our students, but they can also be a starting point if you want to deal with
this issue in class, because they deal with being innocent (with the touching
image of an Italian child signing the coffin of the alleged Texan murderer)
and with how painful death by injection can be. You can relate it to the film "the
green line", or find additional resources among those:
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/disci/anglais/70.php#117
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/disci/anglais/17.php#58 (scroll
down, it is the second article)
Here are the two articles from Time Magazine this week ( for upper intermediates
onwards)
- "How Gregory Summers, a Texan triple-murder convict, came to rest in
Italy"
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901061218-1568443,00.html
- "Executions halted in 2 states after botched injection" ( some
details are shocking, and since many teenagers are attracted to gory details,
I think it would be better to edit the text before using it in class...if you
ever feel like using it!)
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/15/diaz.execution.ap/index.html
Stop Child Poverty (from The Scout Report -- December 15)
A number of international organizations are committed to helping end child
poverty, and one of the best known of their number is the Global Volunteer
Network. Through their advocacy work and the Stop Child Poverty campaign, they
are dedicated to the proposition that child poverty can be completed eradicated.
Through sections titled "Learn It", "Live It", and "Pass
it On", visitors to this site will learn about the "big picture" of
child poverty and how they can become directly involved in any number of volunteer
projects. The "Pass It On" area is quite fine in this regard, as
visitors can look over a message board where they can discuss the campaign,
and then use a zip-code search engine to find volunteer opportunities in their
area. [KMG]
http://www.stopchildpoverty.org/
[ The big picture offers articles and information about all the areas concerned
: child labour, landmines, health, slavery, children soldiers, etc.
http://www.stopchildpoverty.org/learn/bigpicture/
Also about Child labour, see those animations from a Canadian website (an there
are many resources, available both in French and English):
http://www.in-terre-actif.com/english/extension/exploitation_travail/anglais/activite.html
you can also access several lesson plans and teacher's guides
http://www.in-terre-actif.com/english/show.php?id=2579
see for example this lesson on fair trade:
http://www.in-terre-actif.com/english/fichier/FAIRTRAD.pdf ]
60 years of Heroes
Time magazine features several portraits and biographies that can be very
useful in class. They are organised in three categories which mix surprising
people. In "culture and entertainment"
you find side by side the Beatles, Paul Bocuse, Enzo Ferrari, J.K.Rowling and
Coco Chanel. The next category, "rebel and leaders" is quite appropriate
to our upper high school curriculum....and in "inspiration and explorer",
find Cousteau and princess Diana next to Mother Teresa and Jean Claude Killy.
http://www.time.com/time/europe/hero2006/opener.html
Microcredit (from The Scout Report -- December 15)
As founder of the Grameen Bank receives Nobel Peace Prize, the profile of
microcredit lending grows . Read this psecial report from The Scout Report
and visit the sites they recommend. (from upper intermediate and advanced students
in economics.)
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2006/scout-061215-inthenews.php#1
New Blog Competition from the BBC
If your students are 16 or above, invite them to answer a simple question
and become next month's student blogger on BBC Learning English. The winning
blogger will need to write a daily diary about their life on this site. Read
this page to enter the competition:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/blog_competition.shtml
Make your Video
anybody can take part : you, your school or one of your students. The only
request about the content is that at the end the viewer must fel able to do
something he didn't know how to do before. Read the article on Thot and register!
http://thot.cursus.edu/rubrique.asp?no=25139
The two minutes rule ( from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, December 13th)
Need some help getting organized? Try following this set of rules to get the
paperwork in place, the task done, and the focus on track.
http://www.teachnet.com/how-to/organization/2minute.html
Ouvrage gratuit
Voyez la rubrique biliographie de la partie langues vivantes du Café Pédagogique
: vous y trouverez entre autre la dernière publication en français du CELV
est un manuel sur l’interculturel :"Miroirs et fenêtres - Manuel de communication
interculturelle" de Martina HUBER-KRIEGLER, Ildiko LAZAR et John STRANGE,
gratuit et intégralement en ligne
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/disci/langues/78.php#77
Stages à l'Etranger
Sylvie Brod sur eteachnet nous signale que la liste des stages et les procédures
d'inscription sont parues au BO du 14 dec, pour des inscriptions avant le 10
janvier
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2006/46/MENE0602910C.htm
Voyez la page d'accueil, vers la procédure et les formulaires d'inscription:
http://www.ciep.fr/stageslinguistic/
voici la liste des stages pour ensiegnants du 2nd degré
http://www.ciep.fr/stageslinguistic/stagesprofs.htm
Et si vous preferez la Fondation Fulbright
http://www.fulbright-france.org/
ou des echanges de postes
http://www.ciep.fr/echposte/
Calendrier des épreuves du bac, brevet etc.
au B.O. n°14 sont aussi parues les dates des examens pour cette année:
ftp://trf.education.gouv.fr/pub/edutel/bo/2006/46/calendrier_bac.pdf
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2006/46/MENE0602993N.htm
Conférence à lire en ligne
Sur le site de l'APLV, ne manquez las de lire la conférence de Claire Bourguignon,
Maître de Conférences HDR, IUFM de l’Académie de Rouen, sur
"La responsabilité des enseignants de langues à
l’aune du Cadre Européen Commun de Référence"
http://www.aplv-languesmodernes.org/article.php3?id_article=655
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