EDUCATION: Wed December 10 2014

There are many different systems of education around the world. Think about your experience as a student: what did you like and dislike about your primary, secondary and post-secondary schools? What would you change about school to make it better--both for teachers and for students.

Finland
According to international rankings, Finland is often said to have the best education system in the world.

Do you think you would enjoy going to school there?

What is different from your experience?

Why do you think they are so highly ranked?

You can access the article here: http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2011-12?op=1


Please add your comments below and come to class ready to discuss this article, and other issues related to schools and education.

MIDTERM EXAMS

Here is some information and dates about the midterm exams and the schedule for the next few weeks:

The midterm exam will be held in 2 parts. It will cover all the class materials from the start of the term until November 26/27: 

• Speaking English with confidence
• English slang and expressions
• Video games and technology
• Travel
• The supernatural
• Sports
• World cultures

You are responsible for both the specific vocabulary words covered in class for each topic, as well as general information about each topic that you could discuss independently.

Exam Part 1: Wednesday December 3, 9am  Room 204: Written part of the exam to test vocabulary. If you missed any classes, be sure to get the vocabulary words from someone who was there.

Exam Part II: Wednesday December 10, 9-10am (Group A) and Thursday December 11, 9-10:15am (Group B): Speaking

Students will select, at random, a question related to one of the 7 class discussion topics and then talk to the instructor about it. Your grade will be based on your vocabulary, fluency, grammar and comprehension of the material. 

A schedule for the speaking exams will be posted outside the door in advance of the speaking exam dates; please be on time. Regular class will resume after the speaking exams are finished (10am). The topic for hours 2 & 3 on December 10/11 will be EDUCATION. Please refer to the website post for that topic to prepare.

If you have any questions about the midterms for this class please leave a comment below.

Good luck with your studying.

Schedule updates

Here is the class schedule for 119 and 123 A/B until the end of December:
December 2014

	1 Midterm 119 Listening & pronunciation	2	3 Midterm 123 Part 1: Written 9am, Rm 204	4	5	6
7	8 119 regular class	9	10    123 Midterm Part 2 A 9-10am	11    123 Midterm Part 2 B 9-10am	12	13
14	15 119 regular class	16	17 Combined class A & B 9-12 Combined class A & B 12:30 - 3	18	19	20
21	22 119 cancelled *make-up class in January*	23	24 123A cancelled	25 123B cancelled	26	27
28	29        119 cancelled	30	31 123A cancelled	1 (NEW     YEAR	2 HOLIDAYS)

Wednesday November 19 : WORLD CULTURES / UNUSUAL CUSTOMS

The next discussion topic concerns cultures and cultural practices from around the world. If you were selected at the end of last class to bring an article, please remember to find an article on this topic that you find interesting to talk about with the class (you do not need to read it to the class, but should tell us about it and why you chose it).

Do you know of any places/societies that have unusual customs relating to food, celebrations, dress etc?

If you think of your own culture, can you think of any habits or customs that might be considered strange by people from another culture?

Please post your ideas, comments and links in the comments below in advance of next week's class.

Here are some ideas to get you started; do a bit of research and see if you can discover what these foods and traditions are and where they come from.  PLEASE COME PREPARED TO EXPLAIN THE FOLLOWING CUSTOMS AND DISCUSS THEM IN CLASS!

• La Tomatina
• Buzkashi
• Foot binding
• Haggis
• Polar Bear Swim
• Holi

Also: Strange laws from around the world: http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2012/04/25/strange-laws-from-around-the-world/

And another strange law, this one in the US, mentioned in a recent news article from Canada: http://www.ctvnews.ca/u-s-reminds-easter-travellers-kinder-eggs-are-banned-1.634973

Wednesday November 19 : SPORTS

The next topic for class discussion is sports. Students selected at the end of the last class need to bring in an article about anything to do with sports that they can summarize and/or discuss in class. The rest of the class should add their ideas and suggestions in the comments below, and also consider these questions:

• Do you play a sport? What is your favourite? If you could learn to do one sport really well, what would it be?

Professional Sports

• What do you think about the salaries of professional athletes? Should they be paid so much money? Why are they paid so much money?
• Could women play on men's sports teams? An article from ESPN explores this issue: http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-opinion/6495612/women-pro-sports-women-play-men

Extreme Sports

• Why do you think some people enjoy extreme sports? Have you tried any? If you could try an extreme sport, which one would you choose? Do any of these interest you? http://www.outdoor-sport-leisure.net/extreme-sports.htm
• See what Forbes magazine has to say about extreme sports: http://www.forbes.com/2002/08/07/0807sport.html

Playing sports vs Spectator Sports

• What is your favourite sport to play? To watch? Do you have favourite teams?
• Why do you think some people get so involved with and excited about sports teams?

Is it a sport?

• What makes something a sport? Do you consider any of the following 'real' sports:
• Auto racing
• Professional wrestling
• Ballroom dancing
• Golf
• Trampoline
• Equestrian

Wednesday November 12: SUPERNATURAL EVENTS

This week's discussion topic is the supernatural. Consider the following topics/articles as you prepare for class:

• Has anything strange or unexplainable ever happened to you or someone you know? What do you think caused it? Have you ever experienced deja vu or strange coincidences?

MIRACLES

• Do you think miracles happen in real life, or just in the movies? What makes something a miracle?

• A news story about a boy who recovered after a near-drowning explores the psychology of how people understand miracles: http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/drowned-boy-miracles-110812.htm

WORLD MYSTERIES

• How did ancient people built giant structures without modern equipment? Why were they built? What is your opinion on these structures:

• Pyramids at Giza (Egypt) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/

• Stonehenge (England)  http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

• Nasca Lines (Peru) http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/nasca-lines/

• Moai giant stone heads (Rapa Nui/Easter Island, Chile) http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/easter-island/

• Step pyramids (Chichen Itza, Mexico) http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/chichen-itza/

• Giant stone spheres (Bosnia and Costa Rica):  http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/picks-from-the-past/191353/prehistoric-stone-balls-a-mystery
• http://www.philipcoppens.com/spheres.html

ALIENS AND UFOs

• Is Earth the only planet that supports intelligent life? Are there aliens living somewhere else in the universe? Have a look at some of these articles about mysterious occurrences related to UFOs:

• Strange lights: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/episodes/mystery-lights/

• Do you believe any of these 'alien sightings'? http://www.sciencechannel.com/aliens-space/10-alien-sightings.htm

Read this article by a travel writer about his stay in a hotel in Prague. What do you think was going on? What would you do if something like this happened to you?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/my-hotel-room-was-perfect-except-for-the-unseen-visitor/article21394462/

Please post your ideas, links, comments and suggestions for discussion in the comments below.