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Welcome to Flight 006. This week more Word Formation, the collaboration task for Speaking, and the usual listening and OWL assignments. The Study Guide goes into mnemonics. Enjoy this week’s study material!
You can download the complete Flight 006 here (zip-file in Dropbox):
Study Guide 006
Mnemonics
Facts are ore difficult to remember than concept, but facts are needed to understand concepts. How to retain facts? Here come the mnemonics, devices that help your brain remember facts better and longer.
OWL 006
Reading wins over studying words, though it can dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
Two and two make five: indulge in, attribute to, illiteracy, prevention and scholar.
Use of English
Advanced Grammar 002
How come some texts read like a bore and others just flows naturally? It might have to do withe sentence variation. Know the difference between simple, compound, and complex sentences to improve your writing.
Listening 006
In BBC 5 minutes on we go into deepfakes and their influence on society.
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
Collaboration 002
In this collaborative task you will discuss making decisions. The task will take three minutes and is the shortened version of CAE paper 4 part 3.
Literature
This week You Can Beat Your Brain by David McRaney just popped in. This book is about various forms of cognitive dissonance and it both enlightens and scares me of how the brain works. It also explains a lot of the internet and (anti-)democratic behaviour.
The Dreaming Tree by C.J. Cherryh still goes steady as she goes. The plot is really different than your usual novel so it remains an interesting read.
The Novel of the Week for this week is The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers. I recommend this novel to student who like playing Call of Duty. It is, however, a serious book, but because it written from the perspective of an ex-veteran, you do get the same kind of atmosphere of camaraderie. Its main focus is PTSD and how to cope with life back home when having faced the atrocities of war. The language is almost poetic and works well with the topic.
In the video of this week, Eric Karl Anderson goes his mid-year check 2024.
Novel of the Week
Set against the backdrop of war, The Yellow Birds delves into the intertwined lives of two soldiers and explores themes of friendship, loss, and the haunting effects of combat. Through a complex narrative, it offers a thought-provoking examination of the human experience in the midst of conflict.
Author: Kevin Powers
Year of publication: 2012
Pages: 241
CEFR: B2
Plot Complexity: moderate
Language Complexity: moderate
Ideas Complexity: high
The Yellow Birds has a moderately complex narrative with multiple interwoven storylines and subplots, employing a moderately complex language that goes beyond the basics, offering depth and variety to the narrative. In terms of ideas, the novel is classified under highly complex, presenting notably complex and intellectually engaging themes that delve into the psychological impact of war, friendship, loss, and moral dilemmas.
You can find more novel ideas at www.rookreading.com.
Poem of the Week
This week's poem is about (day)dreaming of quietude, an escape from the world and to have some peace. The island itself is quite boring (been there, seen it, no t-shirt), but the point is that everybody has their own recluse in their own time and place. Whenever I am lost in the hubbub of life, I will arise and go to all the sweet hiking memories. Find that memory (or create one if you don't have one!) and create an anchor for desperate times.
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
William Butler Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings. I
will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
There is a beautiful rendition of this poem by Anúna: