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Welcome to Flight 005. This week we start with the second cycle (find more about cycles here) of the flights so that means Word Formation, Individual Long Turn for Speaking, and the usual listening and OWL assignments. The Study Guide goes into deeper processing of learning material.
Enjoy this week studying!
You can download the complete Flight 005 here (zip-file in Dropbox):
Study Guide 005
Deeper processing
This week in Study Guide it is all about deeper processes. Also, we go into the importance knowing facts and why AI will dumb us down if we transfer factual knowledge to a computer.
OWL 005
Reading wins over studying words, though it can dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
I slip you five for this week: arbitrary, abound, surroundings, retain, and maturity.
Use of English
Word Formation 002
This week we return to Word Formation. With Word Formation you, for example, change a word from a noun to a verb, or a verb into an adjective. Word Formation is very helpful to extend your vocabulary bank. This week we go into PERSUADE.
Listening 005
In BBC 5 minutes on the hard decisions of City and Town Councils in times of austerity. Tough decisions have to be made by local governments and not everybody is happy with their choices.
for teachers
You can do this assignment in two ways. After the warming up students answer the questions as they listen. You can have them listen to the recording twice. This would be CEFR B1/B2 level.
The second method is having students take notes while they are listening and after the recording show them the questions. This would be CEFR B2 level. This would also practise CITO listening: note-taking for Dutch students.
Speaking
Individual Long Turn 002
Can you describe two pictures, compare them, and speculate about them in one minute? Practise your speaking skills with the individual long turn for this week.
Literature
It has been a busy week at the end of the school year but I started a new novel: The Dreaming Tree by C.J. Cherryh. Not really literature with a capital L, but an interesting style of writing that reminds me of some of the more archaic passages of Tolkien and The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsay, one of the first modern fantasy stories. It is fairy tale like, follows a strange plot pattern, and has an interesting style.
I still read Carl Sagan’s The Demon-haunted World. It is preaching to the choir but these books are always helpful as a reminder.
The Novel of the Week for this week is Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok. I once taught one of Kwok’s sons and he happened to know that when Kwok got stuck in writing the novel, she turned to Freytag’s Pyramid, a story structure I teach to my students. The story is about a Chinese girl coming to New York and trying to fit in.
Man Booker Prize is coming (the Long List is published on July 30th) and Ben explores some of the novels that might be on the list. He also goes into the rules of the prize and the important dates.
Novel of the Week
Girl in Translation portrays the story of Kimberly Chang, a young immigrant from Hong Kong, who faces numerous obstacles while striving for a better life in America. It explores themes of cultural adaptation, resilience, and the pursuit of the American Dream through Kimberly’s experiences and challenges.
Author: Jean Kwok
Year of publication: 2010
Pages: 290
CEFR: B2
Plot Complexity: moderate
Language Complexity: moderate
Ideas Complexity: moderate
Girl in Translation offers a moderately complex plot with multiple layers and interwoven story lines. The language used is more advanced than the basic level, incorporating richer vocabulary and nuanced sentence structures. The ideas explored in the novel are thought-provoking, delving deeper into themes related to cultural identity and the immigrant experience.
You can find more novel ideas at www.rookreading.com.
Poem of the Week
This week something different. This poem about Narcissus and Echo is an interplay between the two mythical characters Narcissus and Echo. The final words of each line are from Echo; the initial part from Narcissus. How you read the poem is up to you, but you'll probably have to read it more than once to get the right touch. (full poem here)
Narcissus and Echo
by Fred Chappell
Shall the water not remember Ember
my hand’s slow gesture, tracing above of
its mirror my half-imaginary airy
portrait? My only belonging longing;