Melbourne Cup Day

Photos taken yesterday somewhere in Sydney. Do you know where?

• Check your emails. You will receive and invitation to a party. Please reply following the structure that we learnt last week (refusing an invitation).
• Today is Melbourne Cup Day. Do you know anything about it? Check the information in the Australian Government Culture and Recreation Portal, Melbourne Cup, and answer the following questions:

1. What is it?
   
2. When does it take place? (time and date)
   
3. What happens to the nation on that day?
   
4. What is a sweep?
   
5. What would you be looking for if you checked the milliners directory on the Racetrack Fashions link?
   
6. How long has the Melbourne Cup been around (existed/taken place)?
   
7. Which is Austalia's most famous racehorse? Why?
   
8. What can you see in the National Museum of Australia?
   
9. Who won the 2006 Melbourne Cup?
   
10. What do you think about all of this?
    
11. Use the answers to these questions to write a short report about the Melbourne Cup, with your opinion about it at the end. You can compare it to other celebrations or festivities in Australia or in your country of origin.

• Last Tuesday Luisa Odelli, one of the college career counsellors, gave a talk about educational & vocational pathways. She showed us two very useful websites with course and work information: TAFE Find a Course and My Future. You should start thinking about your pathway for next year.
  
• Last Tuesday we corrected all the answers of the webquest. Well done everyone and thank you to Marta for helping all of you.... Today you can write a draft of your report. Email it to me or print it and revise it before we can check it together.


• Did you email your questions about Grant Mizens to me?


• Today's ESOLForum question is about drivers. First do this short dictation in Time4English: Advanced 3L, Bad drivers!. Then go to the last entry of our ESOL forum and give your opinion. Don't forget to read everyone else's opinion before you write yours.

Last Day of Our Course

This week we say goodbye to each other after a semester working together. Last week everyone was saying how quickly time has gone.

• Last week we had the pathways session to help you with your choice of course for next semester. One of the speakers was a teacher from CEEW, Jennifer Julian. Listen to her talking about her course in the podcast, Jennifer: Empowering Women. It may help you decide what to do next semester if you are still unsure.


• As promised, let's play with slide shows. You can use bubbleshare, slide, photobucket and many other image hosting free software. You will have to join, though. Today let's use bubbleshare, as it allows you to write captions and later at home to record your voice on each slide. Remember that a few weeks ago Marion's students started playing with slide shows. Have a look at what they did in their blogs (all linked in Marion's class blog).
• You can choose your own work from Time4English today. I recommend you to try the highest level.
• Publish your opinion text
  

I hope you all have a great future in this country, no matter what course of job you do. Good luck!

Pathway Talks

Well done, Sharon! You can listen to her radio program about dreams in Let's Talk. Everyone was very interested in the subject and you all did a very good job talking about a topic that can become very personal at times. Thank you.

If you want to take advantage of the recordings we do in class, you can listen to all the bits in which you talk, write everything you say and try to think of ways to improve it. It can be your grammar, your choice of words, feedback or pronunciation. Check with your teachers if you have any doubts. Show me your script with the corrections and practise your pronunciation.

Today we are going to attend an information session about possible study pathways for each one of you, once you finish your English course. The speakers are teachers from other sections, like Communications (English section), and the counsellor will be here too. Take advantage of the opportunity to talk to all of them, or at least the ones that you may be interested in.

• To help you start thinking about it, go to Time4English, Intermediate and listen to Education in Australia 1 & 2 (4L, 4M).

• Also in Time4English, Intermediate listen to Grammar lady 5 & 6. She is talking about the use of would with wish and if.

• Go to our forum and take part in this week's topic.

• Listen to Katarina who used to be the multicultural education coordinator at this college. She may also give you ideas about your future.

• Next week we will listen to an interview with a dancer. You can start by watching the videos at home. You'll find them in Sydney's People Podcast. Remember that we can't access them at TAFE, so it's better to view them at home before we do the listening exercises in class.