MODULE 1 AND ASSIGNMENT 1

Complete either the telephone quiz or the alternative assignment. If you want to practice for the telephone quiz, use Wimba.

Check out the Present Progressive verb tense with the help of Road Runner Grammar. And here's another link for the Simple Past.

Please post any questions that you have.

MODULE 2 AND ASSIGNMENT 2

This paragraph writing assignment is for everyone. Check the requirements and also look at an example.

Post any questions that you may have.

MODULE 3 AND ASSIGNMENT 3

Complete either the telephone quiz or the alternative assignment. If you want to practice for the telephone quiz, use Wimba.

Check this link to cartoon resources that explain the modal can.

Please post any questions that you have.

MODULE 4 AND ASSIGNMENT 4

This paragraph writing assignment is for everyone. Check the requirements and also look at an example.

Post any questions that you may have.

MODULE 5 AND ASSIGNMENT 5

Complete either the telephone quiz or the alternative assignment. If you want to practice for the telephone quiz, use Wimba.

Please post any questions that you have.

MODULE 6 AND ASSIGNMENT 6

Complete either the telephone quiz or the alternative assignment. If you want to practice for the telephone quiz, use Wimba.

Please post any questions that you have.

MODULE 7 AND ASSIGNMENT 7

This paragraph writing assignment is for everyone. Check the requirements and also look at an example.

Post any questions that you may have.

MODULE 8 AND ASSIGNMENT 8

This paragraph writing assignment is for everyone. Check the requirements and also look at an example.

Post any questions that you may have.

MODULE 9 AND ASSIGNMENT 9

Complete either the telephone quiz or the alternative assignment. If you want to practice for the telephone quiz, use Wimba.

Please post any questions that you have.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

ST. DAVID’S DAY

March 1^st is St. David’s Day--St. David is the patron saint of Wales. The daffodil--a national symbol is worn on that day--better that than the leek another national symbol!

PURIM

The 28th of February 2010, Jews celebrate the holiday of Purim.  One of the messages of Purim is change.  We can change how we, and the world thinks and behaves toward each other, with just a few small words and deeds, you and I can be instruments to help the human race be more loving and kind to each other, no matter what race, religion or origin.  Happy Purim! 

Thanks to Martha S., a student in Engl 177 for this information on Purim.

GRAMMAR QUESTION, Feb. 24th, 2010

Correct the errors in the following sentence:


The commentator said its the most unique program was skated at the competition and they are skating unbelievable therefore it hasn't been surprised that the audience have given them the standing ovation.


Note: you can still see previous Grammar Questions; they are posted in the archive in the side bar and listed a year previous to their date of posting.

PUZZLE, Feb. 24th, 2010

Previous Puzzle

1. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a...BALLOON
2. Body modification.TATTOO
3. A Group of people.COMMITTEE
4. Acuteness or acumen. KEENNESS

New Puzzle

Find a shorter word with the meaning given within the following words:

Example: "rapscallion" contains the word "rascal": RApSCALlion

See if you can find the shorter words in the words below that fir the definitions given:
1. prosecute
2. scoundrel
3. falsities
4. stockings
5. pantaloons
6. brackets

ALL CHANGE! Feb. 24th, 2010

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated. You can only change the exact word in the sequence given; after someone else has posted the next change, then you can post another change. For instance, student 1 writes #1 Subject Noun, and changes the subject noun; Student 2 writes #2 Direct Object Noun, and changes that noun. Each student only makes one change at a time and keeps to the order indicated.If you complete all 7 changes, then start making more changes again from 1 to 7. Each student should build on the changes that the previous students make.

Ali quickly bought some groceries at the small supermarket.

1. change the subject noun 2. change the direct object noun
3. change the indirect object noun 4. change the adjective
5. change the adverb 6. change the verb name
7. change the verb tense

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE ... Feb. 24th, 2010

Use the type of clause, phrase, or grammar indicated to complete the following sentence; you can add the phrase or clause before or after (not both) to the clause below:

...we saw many interesting people and places ...

1. Use a phrase
2. Use a dependent clause
3. Use an independent clause

Note:you can still see previous Sentence Completion questions; they are posted in the archive in the side bar.

VOCABULARY, Feb. 24th, 2010

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. Use the following two words (note the part of speech) in one sentence.

malign      (verb) +      discrepancy      (noun)

To further improve your vocabulary, check Word of the Day every day! There are also word games and puzzles on this site.

THE PASSIVE, Feb. 24th, 2010

Change an active voice sentence to the passive voice, or change a passive voice sentence to the active voice.

A thief stole a lot of valuables from a jewellery store.

Postings will be saved in the archives (see sidebar).

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

There are lots of special events/holidays occurring within a very short time frame; learn more about some of these by following the links.
Valentine's Day

Celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14th.We are all familiar with the current representation of this day, but find out about the history behind Valentine’s Day. 

 Gung Hay Fat Choy

 February 14^th also marks the start of the Chinese New Year. This is the Year of the Tiger. There is a long history behind this festival. Besides eating special food (see the guest column below), one of the traditions is the Lion Dance. This one is a especially exciting and energetic!

Ash Wednesday
The first day of Lent in the Christian calendar is Ash Wednesday . The day before, is known as Shrove Tuesday in much of the English speaking world or as Mardi Gras  in other places; there are many traditions associated with that day, too.

Winter Olympic Games

Today marks the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver; it’s a huge event both for Canada and for winter sports fans around the world. There is an Athabasca University interest in these games: Madeleine Williams who is competing in cross-country skiing, graduated from AU last summer. Also, her mother is an academic coordinator at AU. Here’s wishing Madeleine good luck!

Family Day

Monday, February 15th, Family Day, is a holiday for some of us; it's a day in which to spend time with family--hence its name.

 

 

 

Chinese Spring Festival

Chinese Spring Festival is drawing near and I feel a bit homesick nowadays.

      It is the most important festival for the Chinese. Everyone tries his best to go back to enjoy the family reunion. But this year, I will not. This is my first absence. 
     Preparations begin at least 10 days (even 1 month for some people) before it. People are busy doing spring cleaning, buying new pieces of furniture, new clothes, and the most important item----all kinds of delicious food. On the last day of a Lunar Year, we paste the Chinese character 'Fu' (meaning ‘good luck, good fortune, blessing’ etc.) on the center of the door and decorate windows with paper-cut pictures. Firecrakers and fireworks crack so loudly that we can’t hear each other. Then the most significant moment comes. All family members sit around a table to enjoy the reunion feast. Jiao zi in north China and nian gao (a kind of sticky rice cake) in the south are the indispensable foods. In the evening, we watch The Spring Festival Gala Evening on TV and nibble goodies time and again until midnight. 
     On the following days, we visit relatives and friends to extend New Year's greetings, which is called Bai nian. Other traditional activities include Temple Fairs, Yangge dancing, and lion and dragon dancing. The Spring Festival lasts until the Lantern Festival  which is 15 days later.

Ms. Fangyi Xia (Visiting Scholar from Tianjin Open University)

    

GRAMMAR QUESTION, Feb. 12th, 2010

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

For entertaining Hai is liking to going too outdoors concerts in the Summer or during the Winter he is watching much reality television's shows.

Note: you can still see previous Grammar Questions; they are posted in the archive in the side bar and listed a year previous to their date of posting.

PUZZLE, Feb. 12th, 2010

Previous Puzzle

Here are some of the possible correct answers:
o … honor (o/or/nor/horn/honor)
i … detail (i/it/lit/tail/tidal/detail)
i … elation (i/in/nil/nail/alien/entail/elation)

New Puzzle
Feed, good, and kiss are 3 examples of words with double letters. Use the clues and fill in the blanks to find words with consecutive double letters. Remember, these words have 2 sets of double letters in a row!

1. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a...B _ _ _ _ _ N
2. Body modification.T _ _ _ _ O
3. A Group of people.C _ _ _ _ _ _ _ E
4. Acuteness or acumen.K _ _ _ _ _ _ S

ALL CHANGE! Feb. 12th, 2010

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated. You can only change the exact word in the sequence given; after someone else has posted the next change, then you can post another change. For instance, student 1 writes #1 Subject Noun, and changes the subject noun; Student 2 writes #2 Direct Object Noun, and changes that noun. Each student only makes one change at a time and keeps to the order indicated.If you complete all 7 changes, then start making more changes again from 1 to 7. Each student should build on the changes that the previous students make.

Tina is avidly watching the Olympic Games on a big-screen television.

1. change the subject noun 2. change the direct object noun
3. change the indirect object noun 4. change the adjective
5. change the adverb 6. change the verb name
7. change the verb tense

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE ... Feb. 12th, 2010

Use the type of clause, phrase, or grammar indicated to complete the following sentence; you can add the phrase or clause before or after (not both) to the clause below:

... many people will be watching the Winter Olympic Games from Vancouver ...

1. Use a phrase
2. Use a dependent clause
3. Use an independent clause

Note:you can still see previous Sentence Completion questions; they are posted in the archive in the side bar.

THE PASSIVE, Feb. 12th, 2010

Change an active voice sentence to the passive voice, or change a passive voice sentence to the active voice.

The spelling mistakes could have been avoided if a dictionary had been used.

Postings will be saved in the archives (see sidebar).

EXAM PRACTICE, Feb. 12th, 2010

The following question is similar to the one in part 3 of the Engl 140 final exam. There are many possible answers. Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated.

Add a dependent clause in the past progressive tense:

... I saw an entertaining Lion Dance in Chinatown ...

There are many possible correct answers. Correct answers will be available in the blog archive.

GRAMMAR QUESTION, Feb. 1st, 2010

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

There were to much peoples at the mall so I was hurried up shopping, I was too hurried that the shirt’s I bought's not big enough and I'm having to return them.

Note: you can still see previous Grammar Questions; they are posted in the archive in the side bar and listed a year previous to their date of posting.

PUZZLE, Feb. 1st, 2010

Previous Puzzle
Congratulations to Anastasia and Joanne for providing answers to the puzzle.

There were more possible answers than I expected--here is an example of the correct answers:
1. u … super (u/us/sue/sure/super)
2. e … hamper (e/he/her/hare/harem/hamper)
3. o … erosion (o/so/son/ones/snore/sooner/erosion)
Other answers were possible.

New Puzzle
Let’s try the same thing this week. Add one letter at a time to make a new word: example a to adios (a/as/sad/dais/adios)
1. o … honor
2. i … detail
3. i … elation
Note Please don't use proper nouns;-)

ALL CHANGE! Feb. 1st, 2010

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated. You can only change the exact word in the sequence given; after someone else has posted the next change, then you can post another change. For instance, student 1 writes #1 Subject Noun, and changes the subject noun; Student 2 writes #2 Direct Object Noun, and changes that noun. Each student only makes one change at a time and keeps to the order indicated.If you complete all 7 changes, then start making more changes again from 1 to 7. Each student should build on the changes that the previous students make.

My younger sister gleefully received flowers for her birthday.

1. change the subject noun 2. change the direct object noun
3. change the indirect object noun 4. change the adjective
5. change the adverb 6. change the verb name
7. change the verb tense

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE ..., Feb. 1st, 2010

Use the type of clause, phrase, or grammar indicated to complete the following sentence; you can add the phrase or clause before or after (not both) to the clause below:

... Margaret Atwood is a well known Canadian author ...

1. Use a phrase
2. Use a dependent clause
3. Use an independent clause

Note:you can still see previous Sentence Completion questions; they are posted in the archive in the side bar.

THE PASSIVE, Feb. 1st, 2010

Change an active voice sentence to the passive voice, or change a passive voice sentence to the active voice.

My sister was surprised by the flowers she received on her birthday.

Postings will be saved in the archives (see sidebar).

VOCABULARY, Feb. 1st, 2010

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. Use the following two words (note the part of speech) in one sentence.

antidote (noun) + ecological (adjective)

To further improve your vocabulary, check Word of the Day every day! There are also word games and puzzles on this site.

EXAM PRACTICE, Feb. 1st, 2010

The following question is similar to the one in part 3 of the Engl 140 final exam. There are many possible answers. Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated.

Add an independent clause in the future progressive tense:

... while many people will be watching the Superbowl...

There are many possible correct answers. Correct answers will be available in the blog archive.