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Discussion Groups / British English / January 2004A good English language course anyone?
I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of any good books that I could use. I would like a course that has teachers notes (this is the first time I have done this) plus a students workbook that I would be able to photocopy. I have heard such things exist but have yet to find one. I would rather be recommended a course that someone has actually had success with, as a teacher or student, than buy one 'off the shelf' that isn't any good. Thank you. Please contact me at georgemitchell2@yahoo.co.uk thanks > I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in > Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > actually had success with, as a teacher or student, than buy one 'off the > shelf' that isn't any good. Thank you. Please contact me at georgemitchell2@yahoo.co.uk thanks > I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in > Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > actually had success with, as a teacher or student, than buy one 'off the > shelf' that isn't any good. Thank you. > I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in > Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > actually had success with, as a teacher or student, than buy one 'off the > shelf' that isn't any good. Thank you. I heard about The New Cambridge English Course http://publishing.cambridge.org also check Amazon.co.uk others might know it better Marius Hancu >I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in >Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of >any good books that I could use. I would like a course that has teachers >notes teachers' notes > (this is the first time I have done this) plus a students workbook a student's workbook HTH  SignatureMolly Mockford I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be! (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) >>I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in >>Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of >>any good books that I could use. I would like a course that has teachers >>notes > teachers' notes >> (this is the first time I have done this) plus a students workbook > a student's workbook ...or even a students' workbook, asuming that there will be more than one student. >>>I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in >>>Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >...or even a students' workbook, asuming that there will be more than >one student. That's 'assume', I presume. Signaturewrmst rgrds Robin Bignall Quiet part of Hertfordshire England >>>>I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in >>>>Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >>...or even a students' workbook, asuming that there will be more than >>one student. > That's 'assume', I presume. Oi carsn't believe I typed that..... >>>>>I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while living here in >>>>>Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here could give me the name of [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >Oi carsn't believe I typed that..... We've all done it. One manifestation of Skitt's Law is that it's always easier to find typos in other people's posts and almost impossible to find them in one's own. A spell checker is an absolute necessity for me, but unfortunately it doesn't correct thinkos. Signaturewrmst rgrds Robin Bignall Quiet part of Hertfordshire England "Dr Robin Bignall" typed: >>>>>>I'm thinking of teaching English as a foreign language while >>>>>>living here in Switzerland. I would like to know if anyone here [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > impossible to find them in one's own. A spell checker is an absolute > necessity for me, but unfortunately it doesn't correct thinkos. Using a spell checker cracks my ability to spell words correctly in the absence of a spell checker, such as when I am attempting an examination paper, and that isn't good, at all. I haven't used it, therefore, for over an year. SignatureAyaz Ahmed Khan Yours Forever in, | Webmaster, Cyberspace. | http://fast-ce.org/ _______________________________________________ I ditched Windows for Linux over two years ago. Life's never been better since. > "Dr Robin Bignall" typed: > > Using a spell checker cracks my ability to spell words correctly in > the absence of a spell checker, such as when I am attempting an > examination paper, and that isn't good, at all. I haven't used it, > therefore, for over an year. That's supposed to be "a year", I assume. qt "QT" typed: >> "Dr Robin Bignall" typed: >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > That's supposed to be "a year", I assume. I pronounce it with the first letter silent, which I did when I typed the line, too. SignatureAyaz Ahmed Khan Yours Forever in, | Webmaster, Cyberspace. | http://fast-ce.org/ _______________________________________________ I ditched Windows for Linux over two years ago. Life's never been better since. > "QT" typed: >> "Ayaz Ahmed Khan" <resilient@myrealbox.com> wrote in message [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I pronounce it with the first letter silent, which I did when I > typed the line, too. "An ear"? Please don't. It's always been a consonant, and the cognates have a consonant in most Indo-European languages. (I rarely get a chance to correct pronunciation online :-) ) SignatureJohn Briggs > > "QT" typed: > >> "Ayaz Ahmed Khan" <resilient@myrealbox.com> wrote in message [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > I pronounce it with the first letter silent, which I did when I > > typed the line, too. > "An ear"? Please don't. It's always been a consonant, and the > cognates have a consonant in most Indo-European languages. (I rarely > get a chance to correct pronunciation online :-) ) It's been silent for donkey's ears! Signaturehttp://www.dacha.freeuk.com/cook/24mct-0.htm 4 Mock Curd Tart Recipes >>> "QT" typed: >>>> "Ayaz Ahmed Khan" <resilient@myrealbox.com> wrote in message [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > It's been silent for donkey's ears! :-) SignatureJohn Briggs >"Dr Robin Bignall" typed: > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >examination paper, and that isn't good, at all. I haven't used it, >therefore, for over an year. It's a fair point for ESL people, but I see spell checkers in exactly the same way as I see calculators, particularly for native English speaking dyslexics. I should imagine that in the past some perfectly intelligent dyslexics failed exams in many subjects just because they could not spell words they could read perfectly well. In the same way, some people probably failed maths or got marked down because they couldn't remember how to take a square root the manual way. Now that they've been invented, calculators and spell checkers that fit into the hand are not going to be uninvented, and in my opinion, should be used wherever they make things easier. I suppose that once upon a time, logarithmic tables were frowned on in exams. Signaturewrmst rgrds Robin Bignall Quiet part of Hertfordshire England < snipped > > It's a fair point for ESL people, but I see spell checkers in exactly the > same way as I see calculators, particularly for native English speaking [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > and in my opinion, should be used wherever they make things easier. I > suppose that once upon a time, logarithmic tables were frowned on in exams. But are people becoming short term 'information' consumers and ignoring any long term ability to produce - like giving a starving angler a fish rather than a fishing rod? Gilbert [de-lurking] > < snipped > >> It's a fair point for ESL people, but I see spell checkers in exactly the >> same way as I see calculators, particularly for native English speaking [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> suppose that once upon a time, logarithmic tables were frowned on in > exams. > But are people becoming short term 'information' consumers and ignoring any > long term ability to produce - like giving a starving angler a fish rather > than a fishing rod? > Gilbert > [de-lurking] Oi! Back to the greenhouse and the bulk Emva Cream. <g> <snip> > Now that they've been invented, calculators > and spell checkers that fit into the hand are not going to be uninvented, > and in my opinion, should be used wherever they make things easier. Unfortunately, there seems to be a growing tendency for many people to rely on such devices to do their thinking for them. How often do you see someone reach for a calculator to add £1.99, £5.99 and £11.99, for example? Or encounter the checkout operator who should have keyed in £1.77 plus £1.24 plus £0.59, but mistakenly enters £5.90 and doesn't then have an instinctive feel that the sum of £8.91 for three bags of sweets - or whatever - just ain't right for the items being charged? If the till says it should be £8.91 then £8.91 it is, not £3.60! Spell checkers, I can accept, may be of some benefit, especially to the dyslexic. I can also accept that we all have the odd word that gives us a problem, no matter how often we see it written correctly, but some spelling errors I see scattered across web pages and NG threads are inexcuseable - or should that be inexcusable, inexcusible? . Oh, and I *did* run the spill chucker over that lot, just to be certain that I hadn't made the odd typo or three. Pity there aren't grammar checkers....... <g> ><snip> > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >being charged? If the till says it should be £8.91 then £8.91 it is, not >£3.60! I know, and it annoys me, too. They have no idea of the approximate magnitude of the answer. But, until bar code readers are installed everywhere, small shops often can't seem to be able to find or afford people who have learned to add up in their heads, or count up from the total in order to give change for the next higher number of pounds or dollars. Those were skills that parents taught their kids half a century or more ago. >Spell checkers, I can accept, may be of some benefit, especially to the >dyslexic. I can also accept that we all have the odd word that gives us >a problem, no matter how often we see it written correctly, but some >spelling errors I see scattered across web pages and NG threads are >inexcuseable - or should that be inexcusable, inexcusible? . All true. One local commercial radio station is running advertisements from a company that runs courses for dyslexic kids. The courses are not cheap, and it seems to me that the state schooling system has not solved the problem of their special needs if a company can make a profit from providing such courses. >Oh, and I *did* run the spill chucker over that lot, just to be certain >that I hadn't made the odd typo or three. Pity there aren't grammar >checkers....... > ><g> <g> apart, there is a sort of grammar checker in MS Word, the efficacy (or otherwise) of which has been discussed frequently. Signaturewrmst rgrds Robin Bignall Quiet part of Hertfordshire England <snip> >>Oh, and I *did* run the spill chucker over that lot, just to be certain >>that I hadn't made the odd typo or three. Pity there aren't grammar [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > <g> apart, there is a sort of grammar checker in MS Word, the efficacy (or > otherwise) of which has been discussed frequently. We-ell, yes, I was talking about grammar checkers! I find myself frequently disagreeing with the 'thing' [1] in Word. [1] I won't dignify it by referring to it as a grammar checker. In uk.culture.language.english, Wanderer <wanderer@tesco.net> wrote in <1aq4qw6f9h478.1ud82vavqz83b.dlg@40tude.net>: [...] >> Now that they've been invented, calculators >> and spell checkers that fit into the hand are not going to be uninvented, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > How often do you see someone reach for a calculator to add £1.99, £5.99 > and £11.99, for example? You mean there are people who don't work out the sum of two, six and 12 pounds and then subtract thruppence? You'll be telling me they need a calculator to work out VAT at 17.5% next... :-) Adam (Who still gets confused looks from colleagues when showing them how to work out VAT at that rate in three easy steps. I think it was the OU who first pointed that one out to me, but ICBW). SignatureYou can prove anything by mentioning another computer language. :-) -- Larry Wall in <199706242038.NAA29853@wall.org> >(Who still gets confused looks from colleagues when showing them how to >work out VAT at that rate in three easy steps. How do you do that, then? I need four steps: 1. One-tenth of n 2. One-half of 1 3. One-half of 2 4. Add n+1+2+3 SignatureMolly Mockford I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be! (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) | >(Who still gets confused looks from colleagues when showing them how to | >work out VAT at that rate in three easy steps. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] | 3. One-half of 2 | 4. Add n+1+2+3 Hmmm I'll stick with a calculator. SignatureDave Fawthrop <dave@hyphenologist.co.uk> Sick and tired of Junk Snail Mail? Register your family surname and address with www.mpsonline.org.uk >>(Who still gets confused looks from colleagues when showing them how to >>work out VAT at that rate in three easy steps. > > How do you do that, then? I need four steps: Indeed. For some reason, I appear to have been unable to count last night (well, technically this morning :>). Adam SignatureOne of the reasons Perl is faster than certain other unnamed interpreted languages is that it binds variable names to a particular package (or scope) at compile time rather than at run time. -- Larry Wall in <199709050035.RAA29328@wall.org> "Molly Mockford" <nospam@mollymockford.me.uk> wrote... > Adam D. Barratt <usenet+ucle@adam-barratt.org.uk> wrote... > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > 3. One-half of 2 > 4. Add n+1+2+3 It's three if you add them as you go along... :O) Gilbert > "Molly Mockford" <nospam@mollymockford.me.uk> wrote... > > Adam D. Barratt <usenet+ucle@adam-barratt.org.uk> wrote... [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > 3. One-half of 2 > > 4. Add n+1+2+3 > It's three if you add them as you go along... Seven binary operations, plus quite a bit of stack for storage of intermediate results. Signaturehttp://www.dacha.freeuk.com/mavic/ Mavica Mania - It's different but is it art? > Oh, and I *did* run the spill chucker over that lot, just to be > certain that I hadn't made the odd typo or three. Pity there aren't > grammar checkers....... There are (in some WP programs). In my experience they're useless. Typical reponse "Warning - this sentence may be in the passive voice." To which my reaction is usually "What d'you mean "*may be* in the passive voice"? Can't you tell? Call yourself a grammar checker? What am I paying you for? Of course it's in the bl**dy passive voice. I *meant* it to be in the passive voice. And why the h*ll *shouldn't* it be in the passive voice?" After that, I become incoherent and have to be restrained from throwing the computer out of an upstairs window. I keep mine firmly turned off. -- Mike Stevens, narrowboat Felis Catus II Web site www.mike-stevens.co.uk Me cogitare credo, ergo me esse credo. (Rainy Day Carts) >> Oh, and I *did* run the spill chucker over that lot, just to be >> certain that I hadn't made the odd typo or three. Pity there aren't >> grammar checkers....... > >There are (in some WP programs). In my experience they're useless. The one that I briefly tried using in Word certainly was. >Typical reponse "Warning - this sentence may be in the passive voice." >To which my reaction is usually "What d'you mean "*may be* in the >passive voice"? Can't you tell? I was annoyed by the sheer number of incorrect warning messages that it produced. It was too much like hard work to look through all its messages for the occasional one where it had identified a genuine mistake. I quickly stopped using it. SignatureJohn Hall "One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other." From "Emma" by Jane Austen (1775-1817) >> Oh, and I *did* run the spill chucker over that lot, just to be >> certain that I hadn't made the odd typo or three. Pity there aren't [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Web site www.mike-stevens.co.uk > Me cogitare credo, ergo me esse credo. (Rainy Day Carts) I think it may be time to mount a "hands off the passive" campaign. I really resent MS and some other commentators' suggestion that its use in general may be bad form. Passives can be naff if done inappropriatly - someone sent me a postcard from India recently, saying where they'd been and wrote "Udiapur was visited" which IMHO is cringeworthy. However, if I write a memo to my boss and say "something should be done about this problem", that's what I mean - not "you should do something about this", TVM MS. DCC "Dr Robin Bignall" typed: >>"Dr Robin Bignall" typed: >> [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > suppose that once upon a time, logarithmic tables were frowned on in > exams. Yes. But English is one thing; mathematics another. I took nine subjects in O'levels. Except one, the eight other subjects were in English -- the medium of instruction was in English. Out of those eight, three, at most, had anything to do with maths, and, thus, with the use of a calculator. So, at that time, I think, a dependency on spell checkers would have had put me in an uglier postion than a dependency on calculators would have. SignatureAyaz Ahmed Khan Yours Forever in, | Webmaster, Cyberspace. | http://fast-ce.org/ _______________________________________________ I ditched Windows for Linux over two years ago. Life's never been better since. > Yes. But English is one thing; mathematics another. I took nine > subjects in O'levels. Except one, the eight other subjects were in [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > checkers would have had put me in an uglier postion than a dependency > on calculators would have. Er... are you the one who composes the instructions included in most foreign DIY goods - or is your English just naff? :O) Gilbert >"Dr Robin Bignall" typed: [..] >> It's a fair point for ESL people, but I see spell checkers in >> exactly the same way as I see calculators, particularly for native [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >checkers would have had put me in an uglier postion than a dependency >on calculators would have. I read that as "uglier postilion", and wondered how you had time to get involved with horses. ;) You are probably right, but... My elder son entered the French educational system at 12, after having supposedly had 2 years of lessons in mixed French and English at a school which was advertised as being for youngsters in his position, with parents having come to live in France from a native English-speaking country. After 2 years in the French system he had to redouble (take the same year) yet again, and find himself as a 14-year-old in a class of 12-year-olds, because he failed in every subject except English. It's not that he didn't know any geography, science, maths etc. or that he couldn't chat to his French friends. It's just that the French considered that spelling mistakes in any subject caused failure in exams in that subject, and his spelling in French was atrocious. A French spelling checker would have saved a lot of grief and expense! Signaturewrmst rgrds Robin Bignall Quiet part of Hertfordshire England > You are probably right, but... My elder son entered the French educational > system at 12, after having supposedly had 2 years of lessons in mixed [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > that subject, and his spelling in French was atrocious. A French spelling > checker would have saved a lot of grief and expense! Flying off at a tangent from this, I remember a very able young man to whom I taught A-level Maths some years ago. He was the son of Anglo-French parents who had separated, and Christophe lived with Mum in London in term time and with Dad in Paris in the holidays. The result was that he had a full command of French and English in both colloquial and literary registers. Part-way through his 6th form career (taking A-levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry) he investigated the possibility of applying to the Sorbonne to read Physics. He found that because he had learned all his science in English he was totally unable to get to grips with the very different French scientific vocabulary. I'm glad to say that instead he went to my old college in London (now Queen Mary University of London) to read Physics and Astronomy. -- Mike Stevens, narrowboat Felis Catus II web site www.mike-stevens.co.uk Old teachers never die, they simply lose their class. "Dr Robin Bignall" typed: >>"Dr Robin Bignall" typed: >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > I read that as "uglier postilion", and wondered how you had time to > get involved with horses. ;) Besides the very rare smiley -- thanks --, my _Chambers Mini Dictionary_, which actually is a pocket dictionary, defines _postilion_ thus: postil(l)ion n (old) a person who guides the horses of a carriage, and rides on each of them. Why the extra _l_ enclosed in paranthesis? I noticed no metion of BrE or AmE variants. My OALD doesn't have it, nor my CEEB. I'll glance through M-W when I get online to post this message. > You are probably right, but... My elder son entered the French > educational system at 12, after having supposedly had 2 years of [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > that subject, and his spelling in French was atrocious. A French > spelling checker would have saved a lot of grief and expense! That is debatable. But, Dr Robin, it takes time to learn a foreign language. And two years are just not enough. <sighs> I rest my case. I just don't have anything more to say than what I have already. But I will, nonetheless, continue to stay away from spell checkers. SignatureAyaz Ahmed Khan Yours Forever in, | Webmaster, Cyberspace. | http://fast-ce.org/ _______________________________________________ I ditched Windows for Linux over two years ago. Life's never been better since. > Besides the very rare smiley -- thanks --, my _Chambers Mini Dictionary_, which > actually is a pocket dictionary, defines _postilion_ thus: > > postil(l)ion n (old) a person who guides the horses of a carriage, > and rides on each of them. I bet it doesn't describe the meaning of postilionage! SignatureBrian {Hamilton Kelly} bhk@dsl.co.uk "We can no longer stand apart from Europe if we would. Yet we are untrained to mix with our neighbours, or even talk to them". George Macaulay Trevelyan, 1919 >> Besides the very rare smiley -- thanks --, my _Chambers Mini >> Dictionary_, which actually is a pocket dictionary, defines _postilion_ [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > I bet it doesn't describe the meaning of postilionage! The Shorter Oxford doesn't either, so I can't quibble about the number of 'l's :-) SignatureJohn Briggs "Brian {Hamilton Kelly}" typed: >> Besides the very rare smiley -- thanks --, my _Chambers Mini >> Dictionary_, which actually is a pocket dictionary, defines [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > I bet it doesn't describe the meaning of postilionage! Yes. It doesn't. SignatureAyaz Ahmed Khan Yours Forever in, | Webmaster, Cyberspace. | http://fast-ce.org/ _______________________________________________ I ditched Windows for Linux over two years ago. Life's never been better since. > Besides the very rare smiley -- thanks --, my _Chambers Mini Dictionary_, > which actually is a pocket dictionary, defines _postilion_ thus: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > or AmE variants. My OALD doesn't have it, nor my CEEB. I'll glance > through M-W when I get online to post this message. They're trying to save space. Either 'postilion' or 'postillion' is acceptable - and neither is more correct. SignatureJohn Briggs > >"Dr Robin Bignall" typed: > > [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > and in my opinion, should be used wherever they make things easier. I > suppose that once upon a time, logarithmic tables were frowned on in exams. Not log tables, but slide rules. I still have mine, it's an "Otis King's Pocket Calculator" and in fact, it's a cylindrical slide rule, and being cylindrical, has a much longer scale than conventional slide rules of that era. Not that I use it anymore :) > -- > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Quiet part of Hertfordshire > England some 5000 oddities of the English language, www.dislexicon.com best wishes john > some 5000 oddities of the English language, www.dislexicon.com Very oddity! All I get us a dark blue ground with the words: "noplugin Movie1.swf". Whatever happened to the use of good old-fashioned words to display the oddities of the english language? > best wishes Better wishes needed, methinks. > john Signaturehttp://www.dacha.freeuk.com/zodiac/9sag-0.htm Sagittarius (November 23rd - December 21st) Dhanus - the Bow Neit > > some 5000 oddities of the English language, www.dislexicon.com > > Very oddity! All I get us a dark blue ground with the words: "noplugin > Movie1.swf". I second that. Remove the Flash Splash! It's only value is as an annoyance and obstruction. Once one fights past it, the real content is good. Take the Flash padlock off and let everyone in. ----------- GC > some 5000 oddities of the English language, www.dislexicon.com I presume that "coarse" in the subject line is a deliberate misspelling? SignatureBrian {Hamilton Kelly} bhk@dsl.co.uk "We can no longer stand apart from Europe if we would. Yet we are untrained to mix with our neighbours, or even talk to them". George Macaulay Trevelyan, 1919 Nothing compared to French... |
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