| COURSE NEWS 2008-09: JANUARY - JUNE |
| Learn a new word every day. |
| Get a new cartoon every week and have a good laugh. . |
| See the news of the day in pictures with the BBC. |
| Flash back into history with the BBC. What happened in history today? |
| For lessons 1 to 12, go to "Course news 2008-09A " |
| Donate rice grains to help end world hunger with "Freerice " |
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| JANUARY 7 2009 LESSON 14 First of all, my very best wishes for a happy and healthy new year. And thank you again for the present voucher you gave me. It has already been well-spent. To start the new year with something light: here's a funny cartoon I found on the Internet. There is no word of the week for this lesson. We are going to spend all of our time on the traditional New Year's Quiz. I have once more compiled a large set of challenging questions on a variety of subjects. I hope you will enjoy it. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. The first interactive exercise for this new year is a vocabulary exercise. Do you remember the Iraqi man who threw his shoes at President Bush when the latter was on a visit in Iraq? Well, what has happened to the man since then? What were the unintended results of his shoe throwing? Read all about it in: "The Iraqi Shoe Thrower " 2. Here's quiz 11 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Shopping ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (December 2008) |
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| JANUARY 14 2009 LESSON 15 Words of the week: in the tag question 'It's a cold day, isn't it?', 'isn't it' is the tag. But what does 'tag' mean in the following sentence: "Anti-Israeli tags could be seen at bus stops in Antwerp." (See the picture on the left) When you have found the answer, then you might also know what a price tag is, and a name tag. And what is a luggage tag? Look at the picture on the right and you will know what an electronic tag is. In the first part of the lesson, we're going to complete the new year's quiz. Then we're going to read (or finish) the articles that we didn't do from lesson 13. For group A this is 'Belgian franc not extinct yet' and for group B it is the same article plus 'More people go missing at Christmas'. During this freezing cold days it seems only right to focus on homeless people in our country. I've found an interesting article about 'Three-star hotel welcomes homeless'. It's about the 'Hotel Mozart' that has opened its door to some homeless people in Brussels. We will read (amongst other things) why the manager has done this. The hotel has a website where you can see where some homeless people will spend a comfortable night. Go to => 'Hotel Mozart ' INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This week's interactive exercise is a 'verb tenses' exercise. It is about an incident at JFK Airport, New York, and involves an Arabic slogan on a T-shirt. The question asked is if a person has the right to display any slogan even if it might make other passengers feel uncomfortable. If you want to know more, go to => "Arabic T-shirt payout ". 2. Here's quiz 12 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Police ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (December 2008) |
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| JANUARY 21 2009 LESSON 16 Word of the week: in the pictures you can see two ways of jump-starting a car. Can you explain in English both ways of how to jump-start a car? Jump-start is also used in a figurative way. Here's an example of a news magazine headline which I found on the Internet: "Obama to jump-start economy with stimulus plan." What does jump-start mean here? I want to focus this week's lesson on one of the most important public holidays in the USA which is celebrated on the third Monday of January and which commemorates the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. In the first article we're going to concentrate on the public holiday and how it was established. We're also going to look at the other 9 public holidays in the USA. The second article deals with the life of Martin Luther King Jr. while at the same time practising how to make questions If you want to watch a two-minute video on King's assassination, the rioting that followed, and King's funeral, go to => "King's assassination " INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This week's interactive exercise is a 'matching' exercise. It is about "compound nouns " (samengestelde zelfstandige naamwoorden). Use your mouse to drag the second half of the compound noun to the corresponding first part. 2. Here's quiz 13 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Disappearing ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (December 2008) |
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| JANUARY 28 2009 LESSON 17 Word of the week: when you go to the supermarket and you go to the check-out, do you ever ask: "Can I have €50 cashback?" What does cashback mean? What are the advantages for the customer and what are the advantages for the supermarket? * First we're going to do the second article dealing with Martin Luther King Jr. You will complete your incomplete article on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. by asking questions to your neighbour. * Link the picture on the left with the name of the former tennis star Sabine Appelmans and you may know what the next article will be about. The title is: 'Belgians conned in Turkey'. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. Do you know that Queen Fabiola died last week? At least, she was dead for one day. Read all about it in this vocabulary exercise: "Queen Fabiola declared dead " 2. Here's quiz 14 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Children's toys ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (December 2008) |
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| FEBRUARY 4 2009 LESSON 18 Words of the week: of course you know what 'crawl' means apart from being a swimming style. But what does it mean when we say that people go on a 'pub crawl'? And what is a 'kerb-crawler'? Kerb-crawling is an illegal activity in the United Kingdom, punishable by law. I'm not sure if 'kerb-crawling' is common in Belgium nor if the kerb-crawler can be fined. Maybe you can tell me on Wednesday. * First we're going to read the article on 'Belgians conned in Turkey', which you find in last week's bundle. * Then you're going to do the work instead of me. You're going to tell the class the story that you selected last week. They're all unusual, strange news stories which happened over the last few months in the world. They are called quirks. Above, you find two pictures that illustrate two of the stories. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. The Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent may lose one of its top works. It is about the oil painting called 'Portrait of Ludwig Adler' by the well-known Austrian expressionist Oskar Kokoschka. Interested? Then read more about it in => "Row over Kokoschka oil painting " 2. Here's quiz 15 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Banking ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (January 2009) |
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| FEBRUARY 11 2009 LESSON 19 Word of the week: let's look at the word 'trunk'. Two of its meanings are illustrated in the pictures on the right. What are the other meanings? Well, first of all, it's American English for part of a car. Secondly, it is part of the body, and thirdly, it is part of an elephant. And what are 'trunks' for men? * Group A: some of you still have to tell their quirk. You haven't forgotten, have you? Group A & B: In the next part you are going to read your story (stories). By the way, congratulations for the excellent way in which you told your stories. It was done very well. Reading your story will depend a bit on your memory because I have left out some words from the stories (as I usually do). * If we have some time left, we will read and discuss an article entitled 'Organ tourism under attack'. It's about the fact that although Belgium is one of Europe's top suppliers of donated organs, there are still long waiting lists for people whose life depends on an organ transplant. How come? We'll also be looking at the law in Belgium concerning organ donations. Would you be willing to have an organ or tissue removed after you've died. And if your answer is yes, how can you make sure this will happen? INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This vocabulary exercise is about the heaviest snowfall which has hit Britain for 18 years. One of the questions asked is why snowfall causes such widespread disruption in that country. If you want to know it, go to => "UK hit by heavy snow " 2. Here's quiz 16 from the BBC's quiznet: 'New words and expressions ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (January) |
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| FEBRUARY 18 2009 LESSON 20 Word of the week: look at the picture on the left. Why are the exhaust fumes (= gases) from this truck harmful to our health? Because they contain something for which you need a filter to remove it. This 'it' can also cause a chimney fire if you let it accumulate inside a chimney. You need a person, called a chimney sweep, to remove it. Now look at the picture on the right to see what the word is that we are looking for. What's the Dutch word for it? * Group A: some of you still have to tell their quirk. Others still have to read out theirs to the rest of the class. * Group A & B: we're going to read and discuss the article entitled 'Organ tourism under attack' which is in last week's bundle. We'll also be looking at the law in Belgium concerning organ donations. Would you be willing to have an organ or tissue removed after you've died. And if your answer is yes, how can you make sure this will happen? * Then we're going to do a roleplay. You will be members of a heart transplant surgery team. Six patients desperately need a transplant because they are critically ill. The heart of a 16-year-old boy, who died in a car accident, is available for transplantation. You are faced with the difficult task of choosing which of these six patients will get his heart. You will work with your neighbour to make your choice and you will, of course, be asked to give your reasons why a particular patient should or should not get the donor heart. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. Do you ever buy Zwam (sausages), Sun washing-up tablets or Lipton tea? If you do, you might not find them in Delhaize, not any more that is, because of a conflict Delhaize has with the manufacturer Unilever. If you want to read about this conflict, then go to => "Delhaize takes Unilever products off the shelf " 2. Here's quiz 17 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Films ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (January) |
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| MARCH 4 2009 LESSON 21 Word of the week: last week I heard the Australian Prime Minister say that 'flags will fly at half-mast every 7th February in memory of those killed in the bushfires'. This gave me the idea of choosing the word 'fly' and its different meanings as the word of the week. First of all 'fly' is an activity. We all know this because most of us have flown in the course of our lives. You fly a flag (what is the opposite?). You also fly a kite. Think of the excellent book 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini. Fly is an insect as well as something in the front of your trousers. Look at the pictures on the right to see an illustration of two kinds of flies: a button fly and a zip fly. Both flies are undone. Do you still know the right verb to say that you close them? What does it mean when someone 'wouldn't harm a fly'? What is a flyer? And how would you define a high-flyer? * First you're going to do a roleplay in which you are members of a heart transplant surgery team. How you play it, is explained in lesson 20. * Next you're going to work with your neighbour. I'm going to give one of you a story which you can read out to your neighour who will then try to retell the story. Finally one of the class will tell the story to the whole group. There are four (short) stories, taken from the news. They all have original headings. Here are the titles: 1) 'Nice try, buddy' about a drunk driver, 2) 'Keep toilets dirty for kids' health, Doc says', a provocative statement by a Flemish urologist, 3) 'Bring it on' about a man who started a fight with two police officers, 4) 'Try this one again, missy' about a very special woman burglar. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. Why is there a general feeling amongst police officers that they will go unpunished when they act against the law while performing their duty? Remember the incident at the end of October last year when a policeman stole some porn magazines not knowing that he was being filmed by a surveillance camera and later got away with it? Read the full story in: => "Police officers above the law " 2. Here's quiz 18 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Talking vaguely ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 28 days (February) |
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| MARCH 11 2009 LESSON 22 Word of the week: this week you don't get the word for free. You have to find it yourself. It's a word that is widely used in modern English. It's a new word to replace 'second-hand' (clothes, for instance) and 'used' (cars, for instance). Here is the word, but I've jumbled all the letters: rep-woned. Can you find it? * First we're going to complete four stories. They are in last week's bundle which means that most of you will already have completed them. I'll ask one of you to tell the stories that we haven't told each other in class yet. Remember the titles: 1) 'Nice try, buddy' 2) 'Keep toilets dirty for kids' health, Doc says', 3) 'Bring it on' 4) 'Try this one again, missy'. * The next part of the lesson is all about flying. The first one is taken from a blog and is entitled: 'Airline might charge for bathroom use' and is a commentary on one of O'Leary's brazen declarations probably made to win free publicity. O'Leary is the boss of one of the airlines shown in the pictures. We will read it and I'm sure you'll appreciate its humourous style and its use of colloquial English. The second article is about an airline (it's one of the pictures) which cancelled its business seats some years ago. Well, 'Business class is back'. After reading the article we will have a discussion on which flight facilities are essential to you, which facilities would be welcomed, and which are not necessary at all. The third article is entitled 'Fleming delivers baby in the air'. It was in the news last week. Did you hear about it? If you haven't, you'll find the article in this week's bundle. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This week's interactive exercise is about the level of Belgian pensions compared with those in other European countries. Flemish retirees are amongst the most affluent in the world. How come? Read about it in => "'Flemish pensions " 2. Here's quiz 19 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Journalism ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 28 days (February) |
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| MARCH 18 2009 LESSON 23 Words of the week: the central word of the week is 'burn'. First we'll meet it in slightly different meanings. Then we'll also have the word in combination with another word, which gives it a completely different meaning. The words are 'heartburn' and 'sideburns'. On the right you can find the illustrations of both words. Do you know what they mean? * Firstly, we'll complete the third article from last week, entitled 'Fleming delivers baby in the air'. * Then we'll continue with a vocabulary game about flying and airports. Each of you will get words on a slip of paper. You will have to describe the word so that the rest of the class may guess it. Then we'll continue with a quiz based on these words. Finally, you'll get a list of actions and events which you experience from the moment you arrive at the airport till your plane takes off and lands again. But, of course, I've jumbled the order of the events. Your task will be to put them in the correct order. * I hope there will be some time left to talk about the national holiday of Ireland which is celebrated on March 17. It is in commemoration of the patron saint of this 'Emerald Isle'. We'll read how it is celebrated worldwide and we'll also learn some facts about his life and some of the legends around this person. Of of these legends is about the leprechauns. (You get an illustration of a leprechaun on the right). What does the legend say? Can you wait until Wednesday to hear about it? INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. Last week we talked about Ghent's police chief, Peter De Wolf and the mess he's involved in. I thought it was a good idea to read the article while doing a vocabulary exercise on it. Go to => "Ghent Police Chief Suspended " 2. Here's quiz 19 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Plurals ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 28 days (February) |
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| MARCH 25 2009 LESSON 24 Word of the week: have you ever heard of a swishing party? Do you know what 'swishing' means in this context? Probably not. It's a new trend in London and around. If you want to know, you can visit the official 'swishing' website. When you know what it means, how do you feel about it? * In the first part of the lesson we're going to do the 'event list', the list of actions and events which we experience from the moment we arrive at the airport till the plane takes off and lands again. The exercise is in last week's bundle. (If you have already done it, I wonder which number you gave to 'get delayed'. I myself had a problem placing it.) * Secondly, we are going to read the article on Saint Patrick's Day which was celebrated worldwide on March 17. The article is also in last week's bundle. * Finally, we're going to read about the three police officers who were stabbed and seriously injured in Ghent last week. They were trying to take a man to hospital for a psychiatric examination. You've read and heard about it. What were the exact circumstances and consequences of this event? The title of the article is 'Police shoot dead stabber in Ghent" * If we have some time left, we'll talk about the police in general with the help of some specific questions. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. March 24 has been 'World Tuberculosis Day' for some years now. Why is it on this particular day? Who discovered the cause of this disease. How can it be cured? Where is it mostly found? How is it spread and what are the symptoms? You can find the answers to all these questions and more in => "World Tuberculosis Day " 2. Here's quiz 20 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Modal verbs ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 28 days (February) |
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| APRIL 1 2009 LESSON 25 Word of the week: a few weeks ago I came across the word 'bespoke' in an advertisement. Look at the picture on the left. A 'bespoke' tailor is starting from scratch to make a 'bespoke' suit. The picture on the right shows a man fitting a 'bespoke' suit. The advertisement was from 'Raja fashions ' which has its own website. Visit it and find the word 'bespoke' on the page. Maybe you can think of the difference between a bespoke suit and a made-to-measure suit. And what is the opposite of both words? In Dutch we call it 'confectiekledij'. What is it in English? 'Bespoke' is not only used in the clothing industry. Visit the 'bespoke section' of car maker 'Rolls-Royce ' and discover all the possibilities to get your own bespoke Rolls-Royce (if you have the money for it!) * Next Wednesday is April Fool's Day. Have you ever played a trick on somebody or have you ever been the butt (doelwit) of someone's joke on this day? This lesson is your opportunity to tell your story if you have one. * After reading the article 'Police shoot dead stabber in Ghent' we're going to talk about the police in general with the help of some specific questions. All of this is in last week's bundle. * Finally, we're going to have a vocabulary revision. I'll be there with my slips of paper once again, asking you to describe the word which you have in your hand. The rest of the class will then try to guess the word. The words are taken from lessons 13-23. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. Last week there was a lot of discussion in Parliament, in newspapers and on television about the Belgian budget deficit. So here is a vocabulary exercise entitled 'The Budget Deficit ' which teaches a number of specific words used in connection with financial matters. 2. Here's quiz 21 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Taking a course ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 28 days (February) 4. At someone's special request, here's an exercise on 'questions in the passive ' The next lesson is on April 22. Enjoy the Easter holidays. The weather prospects are good. The perfect weather to start work in the garden. |
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| APRIL 22 2009 LESSON 26 Did you enjoy the Easter holidays? Are you ready for the last stretch of this schoolyear? Here's the outline of next Wednesday's English lesson. Word of the week: have you ever heard of the word 'drone'? First of all it is the word we use to talk about a male bee that does no work (= doesn't produce any honey). Secondly the word drone means 'a continuous dull sound' (gedreun) such as in 'the steady drone of traffic along the motorway'. There is also a third meaning. The illustration on the right shows you what a 'drone' is. As you can see it is a particular type of aeroplane used in countries such as Afghanistan. Do you know what it is? What is it used for? What are the advantages of using 'drones'? * First we'll continue the vocabulary revision that we started three weeks ago and which is in your previous bundle. There is a second exercise on the same page that I would like you to have a go at. You'll have to work in pairs. The idea is that you create your own story (together with your partner) with as many words as possible from the given list. * Do you recognise the man in the picture? His name is Titus Clarysse and he is 'Ghent's notorious freeloader'. If you know what he is doing or what he has done, what do you think of his actions? Do you feel any sympathy with him? We'll discuss him and read about him. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. They have been in the news in recent weeks and they are hot news today (Sunday). I'm referring to the Somali pirates. Here's your chance to read about them in English in this vocabulary exercise in which you find out why they are so successful and why the world seems so powerless to stop them. Interested? Then do this exercise => 'Somali pirates strike again '. 2. Here's quiz 22 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Mothers ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (March) |
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| APRIL 29 2009 LESSON 27 Word of the week: who doesn't remember the immensely popular 1960s western TV series "Bonanza"?. Do you still know the name of the farm? And what's the name of the father and his three sons? But the word 'bonanza' is also used in general English. What does it mean then? Here are some examples: "the film 'Pillow Talk' was a real bonanza for Doris Day" and "the film was a box-office bonanza". "It is doubtful whether 2009 is going to be a bonanza year for the computer industry." * group A: we'll first listen to any of you who have made up their own story from the given vocabulary revision list (exercise B) group B: I've corrected the copies of the stories which I collected. It took me some time, but I enjoyed reading them again and I want to express my admiration for all the efforts you put into producing these stories. It must have taken you quite some time to do this. * group A+B: we will first finish off the article on 'Ghent's notorious freeloader'. * Then we will deal with two articles which have more or less the same theme: "what makes people happy?" The first article is about 'chocolate'. After reading the article, you'll be asked to make questions of which you have the answers on your sheet. Your neighbour has different questions. You will then ask your questions to someone else in the group who should remember the answers without referring to the text. "Married with children" is the second article and deals with the findings of yet another survey which claims that 'having no kids may be the secret to a happy marriage". Before reading the article we will discuss what the secrets of a happy marriage are, and what, about the children, brings the greatest happiness to parents. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. In 1963 the greatest train robbery took place in England. Master mind was a man called Ronnie Biggs who is spending his time behind bars these days but wants to celebrate his 80th birthday at home as a free man. Read the article while filling in the right form of the verbs between brackets. The title is: "Ronnie Biggs launches parole bid " 2. Here's quiz 23 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Love and marriage ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (March) |
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| MAY 6 2009 LESSON 28 Word of the week: when I was reading about the outbreak of swine flu I came across a new word for me (and for you, too, I suppose): 'knee-jerk reaction'. What does it mean? Literally, it is the involuntary contraction of a leg when a doctor taps the knee with a little hammer (as shown in the picture on the right). So, what does it mean in a figurative way? The word jerk also made me think of a tear-jerker. What's that? And if I may be naughty for once, what does it mean when a person (usually male) jerks off? Finally, what do we mean when we say that a person is a 'jerk'? * I hope you enjoyed our special lesson last week with our Australian guest, Carl Plozza. I thought it was quite interesting and a very good test to see how good your English is. Did you understand all that he said? Did you hear he spoke Australian English? Of course, we didn't have time to deal with the topics in the bundle. We're going to do that in this lesson. * First, we will finish off the article on 'Ghent's notorious freeloader'. (part three) * Then we will deal with the two articles which have more or less the same theme: "what makes people happy?" The first article is about 'chocolate'. The second is "Married with children". Read about it in lesson 27 if you want to know what we're going to do with both articles. * If there is any time left, we'll have a language & vocabulary game in which you will have to make grammatically correct sentences from a given list of words. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. We've all been shocked by the tragedy that took place on Queen's Day in Holland. We all know the facts, but now you can read about it in English. In this fill-in exercise hints aren't always available. That's because you shhuld be familiar with the facts. Interested in doing this useful vocabulary-building exercise? Then go to: "Deadly attack on Queen's Day ". 2. Here's quiz 24 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Happiness ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 30 days (April) |
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| MAY 13 2009 LESSON 29 Word of the week: with the start of the spring and summer season I thought it was the right time to focus on an object we will all be using during these seasons: the flyswatter. Do you often use it? Do you only use it to swat flies? The word 'swat' makes me think of a word that has the same pronunciation but is spelled in a different way: swot. What is a swotter? Were you a swotter when you were a student? For the business-orientated people amongst us, what is a SWOT analysis? What do the letters S, W, O, T stand for? * First, we will finish off the article on 'Ghent's notorious freeloader'. (part three) * Next, we will read and complete the article "Married with children". * After that, we'll have the language & vocabulary game in which you have to make grammatically correct sentences from a given list of words. * Last week the results of a survey into the credibility of a number of professions and trades were published. How credible are doctors, teachers, judges, top managers, bankers, postmen/women, etc? We will give our own credibility ranking and comment on them. This will lead to the issue of politicians and the credibility of politics as a result of the defection antics (overloopcapriolen) of Dirk Vijnck. I think everybody in Flanders knows this person now, but nobody hears of him. The title of the article we will read is: 'Bart Somers pleads mea culpa'. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This week's vocabulary exercise is about the frustration of many a motorist with "Road-works result in record traffic jams " 2. Here's quiz 25 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Waiting in traffic ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 30 days (April) |
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| MAY 27 2009 LESSON 30 Word of the week: let's start with a word most of you already know: 'slot'. And of course you know what a 'slut' is. The word has two meanings. Do you know both of them? Probably the word 'slat' is new. What is it? The illustrations on the right show you where you can find them: as the base of a bed and on Venetian blinds. What is the word in Dutch? Don't confuse this with the object we all use now and then: a ruler. Finally, I want to introduce the word: 'plank' such as in a plank floor, something a lot of people seem to like these days. * First, we will definitely finish off the article on 'Ghent's notorious freeloader'. (part three) Make sure you have bundle lesson 26 with you. * Then we will correct part B of the article 'Bart Somers pleads mea culpa' which we did before but in too much of a hurry. * After that we will deal with an item from the international news although it was also covered in Belgian newspapers and on the radio. A New Zealand couple ran off with almost NZ$ 10 million after their bank mistakenly deposited that sum into their bank account. They are -to date- still on the run. I want to use this item as a base for a talk on your experiences with companies that made mistakes (Belgacom, Telenet, electricitiy companies, shops, restaurants, etc). If you had a bad experience with any company or shop, what happened and how did you sort out your problem? The title of the article is 'Bank error makes customers millionaires'. * If there is any time left, I would like to try a roleplay. In the summer of 2003, the state of New York and parts of Canada had one of the biggest blackouts in history. The electricity went out and stayed out for almost 15 hours. First we will brainstorm what we think happened to people during the blackout (for example: nobody could get money from the banks) Then I will give you a role card with a situation on it and I will ask you to,prepare (in pairs) a mobile phone call based on the information on your card. Finally, you will perform your roleplay. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This week's vocabulary exercise is about Belgium and is intitled: "Belgium exports gaol-birds " Strange title, isn't it? Not so much if you know that gaol is a bit of an old-fashioned word for prison. Who might the birds be then? If you want to know more about it, do the exercise and I'm sure you will have heard about it. 2. Here's quiz 25 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Binomials ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 30 days (April) |
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| JUNE 3 2009 LESSON 31 Word of the week: the picture on the right shows you a hawk. But what does it mean if you say that you sometimes find it annoying when people hawk all the time. * Group B: we still have to correct the homework of the previous lesson. We will do it this Wednesday. * Before we turn to the roleplay about the blackout (see the previous lesson), I would like to read about something that concerns us all. Last week a bill (wetsvoorstel) was approved in the Chamber of Deputies which will mean: "No more money problems after death of partner". Have you heard about it? If you haven't, you'll have to wait until Wednesday to find out what it is about. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This week's vocabulary exercise is again an article about Belgium and has a green touch to it. The title is "Bats seek belfries ". It's about the problem that most churches are being insulated or that attics are closed off to keep pigeons out, thus making it impossible for bats to get access to these attics which they use as summer quarters to give birth to their young. What is the solution? Read about it in the exercise. 2. Here's quiz 26 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Cleaning the house ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (May) |
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| JUNE 10 2009 LESSON 32 By the time you read this, you will have been to the poll stations and voted for your favourite party or people who you think will best represent you in the The Flemish and European Parliaments. I hope these politicians will deliver what they promised in the campaigns, although - together like some many of you - I have my doubts. Word of the week: this week revises some words we have seen before and introduces a new word: mobbing. What is mobbing? It describes a recent social phenomenon occurring in the workplace and seems to affect more and more people. Why are some people mobbed? The picture on the right may help you to understand the meaning of mobbing. The word mobbing made me think of mugging. Do you remember what it means if someone 'is being mugged'? And what is a mug, and a beer mug? One of last year's words of the week was a mug shot. Do you remember what the word means? First I'll give you some more time to prepare your mobile phone conversation which you chose from the blackout page. Then we will listen to them as you act it out in class. After that it will be time to listen to the joke (s) you chose. Tell the joke in your own words and I hope we can all have a good laugh. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This time I have a matching exercise for you. It's about Ghent and Leuven. Ghent has a first in the world, but Leuven is not following suit. If you want to know what it is about, go to "Not every Belgian city claims veggie day " 2. Here's quiz 27 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Common collocations ' (Collocations are words that often go together) 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (May) |
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| JUNE 17 2009 LESSON 33 Words of the week: this week I want to concentrate on some specific meanings of the word pop. Do you recognise the food in the first picture on the right? If you know how it is made, you will probably know what it means when we say 'we pop a balloon'. And sometimes some people's ears pop when they are in a plane. But what does it mean when we say that Belgium is a nation of pill poppers? Do you know how many sleeping pills are popped every day in our country? If you know the name of the bird in the second picture, you also know the relation with the name for this bird and pills. English is a strange language, isn't it? * Firstly, we will finish the reading of (and filling in) our jokes section. * After that we are going to read about and discuss an event that took place at a boarding school in a neighbouring town of Ghent. It involves physically challenged (do you remember this word) children and teenagers and it has caused a lot of commotion, not in the least because it opens a discussion on 'the right to sexuality' of mentally disabled teenagers. The title of the article is "Sexual abuse at boarding school". * Finally, I'll give you some more time to prepare your mobile phone conversation which you chose from the blackout page. Then we will listen to them as you act it out in class. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This week's practice is a vocabulary exercise. Again, it is about Belgium and again it has a green touch to it, although this time it is all about money. The title is "Eco vouchers ". Click on the link and find out more. 2. Here's quiz 28 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Time ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (May) |
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| JUNE 24 2009 LESSON 34 Words of the week: the motto is 'you get what you see'. Do you know the words for these objects? * Group B: we're first oging to complete and read the article "Sexual abuse at boarding school". * Group A + B: the greater part of the lesson will be spent on the final test of the year. Don't worry this much (unless you like tests). Most questions are multiple choice, but some are also open questions. They are a combination of grammar, vocabulary and content, all based on things we have read or studied this year: words of the week, articles, homework. INTERACTIVE PRACTICE 1. This week's practice is a vocabulary exercise. I don't know if you consider this good or bad news, but there seems to be a "Baby Boom in Flanders ". Interested in finding out more? 2. Here's quiz 29 from the BBC's quiznet: 'Work and jobs ' 3. Practise your listening, reading and vocabulary skills with 'Audio News Reports ' from the last 31 days (May) Important notice: Yahoo (the provider of this website) has decided to close 'geocities' later this summer. Geocities offered free website space for people who signed in. This means that I will no longer be able to give you on-line information on future lessons (if you decide to come back) through your familiar address. So, don't be surprised if you can't open 'www.oocities.org/zonneheem_fvp' or if you don't find information on the new lesson which starts mid-September. I won't be using geocities again. |
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