Hi guys, 

today you first took a vocabulary test about the previous sequence "Colonialism and Heart of Darkness" and then we continued the lesson with a picture to describe and analyse. You can see where the actual photo was taken below thanks to this google map.

View Larger Map

Here is some useful vocabulary to talk about the issue:

The border

A highway / a ringroad

A road sign

A wall / a fence

(to) cross the border illegally

An illegal immigrant

(to) hold hands

(to) run away from

HW:

- préparez-vous pour le contrôle de 2 heures sur la séquence terminée (compréhension / expression / traduction)

- pour mercredi 18/01/12, préparez une réaction développée et argumentée à l'oral sur cette image.

For those who don't know how to make Google Maps work... here is a picture of what you can do with it to be able to locate the picture precisely on a map... Just in case...

Hi guys,

as some of you were absent since there was a special Portuguese class, we will do the vocabulary test on Wednesday.

So we talked more about the story of Jacob in the video. Here is what we said about it:

The main character (actions)

Present / preterit

Then we continued with reviewing how to build the preterit in English (regular and irregular verbs) + how to pronounce the /ED/ ending.

HW:

- apprendre la leçon

- réviser pour le contrôle de vocabulaire qui n'a pu avoir lieu ce matin.

- commencer à réviser la liste des verbes irréguliers (d'ici deux mois votre liste devra être intégralement connue...).

Hi guys,

today we watched the 2nd part of the interview of Andrew Beckett with his lawyer and here is what we said about it:

The lawyer says that he can't help Andrew with his case. He can't see a case.

However, Andew thinks he has an ulterior motive = personal reasons.
He could refuse to help him because...:

- ...he thinks Andrew is untrustworthy; he is a liar.

- ...he thinks he doesn't have money to pay.

- ...Andrew is gay and he may he homophobic.

- ...he doesn't want to have a "bad" reputation. If he sues a big law firm, he could lose. What's more, the idea of defending person who is sick with AIDS is not positive for his image.

When joe Miller says he doesn't want to help him, Andrew looks both sad / disappointed, and angry.

Additional vocabulary:
- an anti-acid
- (to) be relieved

You can watch the scene here again:

HW:

- apprendre sa leçon et réviser pour le test de vocabulaire (qui n'a pas pu avoir lieu aujourd'hui pour des raisons techniques...).

Hey guys,

today we first watched the live report about the attacks on the WTC back in 2001 and you had to confront the text we were studying with the testimony of the two eye witnesses upon that day.

Here are some of the comments you made about the document:

Then we continued working on the correction of the translation:

...de ses inquiétudes à propos des poisons qui flotttaient dans l'air. Et puis elles dormirent. Elles dormirent, dormirent et dormirent du sommeil de l'épuisement et peut-être du soulagement d'être loin de là-bas, de l'endroit où ça s'était passé. Mais le dimanche, quand Inga demanda à Sonia ce qu'elle avait vu depuis la fenêtre de sa classe ce matin-là, la jeune fille se contenta de secouer la tête, le regard vide et la mâchoire crispée.

and we summed up some of the techniques and important points that you needed to think about when in front of your translation:

"to be written by Jason / Joyce"

HW:

- j'ai oublié de vous dire que vous auriez un contrôle de vocabulaire Mercredi sur l'ensemble de la séquence incluant le texte "Heart of Darkness" + un devoir de fin de séquence Jeudi (2 heures: comprehension / expression / translation)... oops... ... faites passer le message. Merci.

Hi guys,

we first studied how the American population was distributed in the US according to "race and ethnicity" but also density thanks to the following powerpoint presentation:

(opens with open office)

Here is what we said about it: 

Then we continued the class with this picture which served as an anticipation to the extract from the movie Ellis Island we watched later:

Here is what we said:

You can have a look at the video down here again. We will make further comments about it next time:

Here is what we said so far:

"to be written by Ameline"

HW:

- apprendre la leçon

- se préparer à un contrôle de leçon + vocabulaire notamment en actualisant les fiches de son classeur.

Hi guys,

today we began to correct the translation you had to complete during your 3-hour test before the holidays. Here goes what we have done so far:

In the days afterward, I couldn't get in to them. The area had been cordoned off and most it evacuated but somehow the police nerver arrived at 40 white street to tell its residents to leave.
Les jours suivants, je n'ai pas réussi à les rejoindre. Le quartier avait été bouclé et la plupart évacuée, mais bizarrement la police n'arriva jamais au 40 white street afin de dire à ses habitants de quitter les lieux.
 
The first week-end, Inga and Sonia managed to travel to Brooklyn and I cooked for the two of them. We talked a little. Inga told me about the ruined cars piled up on C.S, the smoking pit a few blocks south,
Le premier week-end, Inga et Sonia réussirent à aller à Brooklyn et je leur ai fait à manger. Nous avons un peu discuté. Inga m'a parlé des carcasses de voitures empilées sur C.S, du cratère fumant quelques pâtés de maison plus au sud,
 
the pale dust that had covered everything like a toxic snowfall, her worry about poisons in the air. And then they slept. They slept and slept and slept, the sleep of exhaustion
de la poussière pâle qui avait tout recouvert comme un manteau de neige toxique, de ses inquiétudes à propos des poisons qui flottaient dans l'air. Et puis elles dormirent. Elles dormirent, dormirent, et dormirent
 
and perhaps relief to be away from there, the place where it had happened. But on Sunday when Inga asked Sonia what she had seen from the classroom window that morning,
du sommeil de l'épuisement et peut-être du soulagement d'être loin du lieu où cela s'était passé. Mais le dimanche, quand Inga demanda à Sonia ce qu'elle avait vu depuis la fenêtre de sa classe ce matin-là,
 
the girl just shook her head, her eyes blank and her mouth tight.
la jeune fille se contenta de secouer la tête pour dire non, les yeux vides et les lèvres sérrées.

We will finish correcting it tomorrow.

HW:

- pensez à actualiser vos fiches de vocabulaire et préparez-vous à un contrôle sur la séquence "Disturbing Lives: colonisation"

- rendre la correction de son devoir d'expression écrite (en corrigeant les erreurs / finissant / améliorant votre production)

Hey guys,

today we first finished our sequence about shopping with the end of the song "Price Tag" that you finally succeeded in singing alright. Here are the comments we made about the song:

"to be written by ..."

Then we continued the lesson without Holly because she was sick but we did talk about slavery and modern slavery in particular. Here is what we said about the document we watched about Bridal Slaves:

India, a land of contrasts (slavery and a blooming economy)

The document is a report about slaves in India. It deals with bride trafficking, a modern type of slavery.  A woman is sold to a man by her parents. She is then the slave of her husband, who can make her work around the house (for the house chores and for sex) and outside the house for agriculture.

          Slavery is now illegal in every country in the world. However, it is alive, striving and bigger than ever (in India for instance).

A slave: is a person who works for no money and without his/her consent. They are not free to leave. Moreover, there is always violence.

Finally, you had to guess what the mystery object was and you have made many assumptions so far. Here is the list of possibilities you put forward:

"to be written by ..."

The mystery object, the picture:

HW:

- apprendre vos leçons.

- faire la fiche de vocabulaire "Shopping"

- se préparer pour le test de fin de séquence et le test de vocabulaire sur "Shopping".

Hey guys,

today we worked on correcting the chart you had to complete about immigration waves to the US.

Here is what we said about it:

From 1860 to 1880, the Chinese went to the U.S to build the railroad and because they were too poor to raise their children in China, they stayed in the U.S., full of dreams.

From 1880 to 1900, Italians, Poles, Ukranians, and Greeks went to the USA for religious and political reasons and to live an easier life.  

Goal = They went to the U.S to have freedom of religion.
Cause = They fled/left/went to the U.S because of tyranny.

From 1900 to 1920, Italians left their country because of the war (WW I) and to have a better life.

From 1920 to 1940, the 1929 Wall Street crack slowed immigration. It was not attractive. It made immigration go down / decrease. The National Origins Act also made immigration go down. There was a quota* to make immigration stop.
 

* A quota = only selected immigrants could enter.
 

Vocabulary:

* to lack food
* to die of starvation / to starve to death
* a high rate of unemployment
* So / Consequently, ...
* an economic crack / crisis
* to decrease (-) // to increase (+)
* a quota
* a law
* the railroad
* to raise children   

HW:

- Chercher les définitions pour les mots suivants:

   1- Pogrom (groupe 1)

   2- E pluribus unum (groupe 2)

   3- Ellis Island (groupe 3)

- Vérifier ses sources concernant la population aux USA et les pourcentages de chaque communauté.