Three Bites of a Cherry: October 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Writing assignment for Halloween

Hello there,

As part of your homework for Halloween (I know... what a bummer...sorry...), you have to write a report about the topic below, following the practice and instructions given on the coursebook, pages 16 and 17, under the headings Reading and Writing Skills. Complete the exercises step by step, and get ready to write a report of which the title is:

A new form of Romance: Finding love in the Internet

Write about 140 words. Divide your report into four or five paragraphs, making sure you introduce the topic in one paragraph, develop the main ideas in two or three paragraphs, and conclude and give your personal opinion in a last paragraph, ok? Oops... And happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

How optimistic are you?

Some people are always thinking about the worst things that can happen to them... Some other people are constantly wearing these rose-tinted glasses that make them totally oblivious to possible dangers, and most of us prefer to see the glass half full most of the times, while staying on the realistic side of life.

Tali Sharot is a researcher who after conducting several lab studies believes that we are born to be optimistic, and that we are actually biased to look on the bright side of life.

Click on the link below to review vocabulary and expressions, and get ready to watch her talk again. Next week I would like you to share your comments and ideas in class, so click on the open questions to get started!

Tali Sharot's vocabulary and expressions

Open questions on Tali Sharot's talk

Thursday, October 11, 2012

It's all about taking risks...

You have probably realised by now that learning a second language means taking risks, and regaining your own creativity! You need to be creative, imaginative and, above all, you need to lose your fear of being wrong!

Here follows the talk Kevin Robinson gave at TED several years ago, where he speaks about our current education system, and some things that we should change if we want to make the most of our human capacities.

But first, before watching the video, review the list of vocabulary and expressions he uses, which a) I think you should know, and b) are gonna help you follow the thread of the story, ok?

Click here to see the vocabulary list

And now enjoy the lecture! I tell you, he's definitely a fun guy!