Hey,

today we finished talking about the text from the A-Levels in the US. You had to create a questionnaire for this text and we noticed that your questions were relevant and actually present in the test itself. Good Job!

I hope that this job will have helped you understand better what you are expected to do for the exam.

Until then, you know that I will try to make myself available if you need me on the Internet.

Good luck!

Mr Hattais.

PS: I want to have a photo of Sonia, Aline, and Julien drinking from their "English Day by Day" branded mug! I need to promote the website :) ... Just kidding even if I would definitely LOVE to get this picture... ... ...

PPS: just in case you need your list of texts for the oral exam, it will be available on Friday at the highschool to make a photocopy. But remember, DO NOT take English unless you have a VERY VERY bad grade and DO call me before so that I can give you some pieces of advice.

Hi,

today we first corrected today's assignment, i.e. how to express positive comments (apart from it's good...). Hope this will help you to improve your future essays.

Then we continued working on the correction of your last mock exam and we particularly focused our attention on some translation techniques. Here they are:

"to be written by..."

Oops... I forgot to bring Sonia's gift today... sorry but she didn't even remember to ask me for it... argh... what a goldfish I am...!

HW: for next time, I gave you a list of grammar exercises to try and eliminate the regular mistakes from your written expression. You need to complete the exercises in which you often make mistakes. Go and check the grammar rule before on the web and then complete the exercises. It will help you proofread your essays and narratives.

Hey,

today we worked about the last topic of the year: the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that happened last year.

We first worked with a subverted logo of the company and we commented on it. Here is what we said about it:

"to be written by ..."

Then we studied a new document, an article from the internet. Here is what we said about it:

"to be written by ..."

HW: for next time, prepare a recap of the documents and get ready to talk about reproaches and accusations from this document.

Files: download a copy of the article here (yet to be uploaded)

INFORMATION

Le devoir initialement prévu (essay sur le thème "Gun Culture") aura lieu un jour plus tôt. Mardi prochain (au lieu de mercredi).

Merci d'actualiser votre agenda et de faire passer le message à vos camarades.

Par ailleurs, je rappelle à ceux qui n'auraient pas encore voté pour les poèmes en ligne qu'il serait temps de le faire... cf. section: "Students' corner" à gauche du blog...

Take care,

Mr Hattais.

Hey,

today we first talked about Britain's Got Talent, the British show which intends to promote new talented artists... or not... Here is the video that we watched and the reactions you had:

"to be written by..."

Then we continued speaking about the text and more precisely about what arguments the author puts forward to account for America's gun culture.

HW: for tomorrow, you need to complete the worksheet I gave you and prepare to make a recap of what we have said so far about the text.

Files: download a copy of the worksheet here (yet to be uploaded)

Hey,

today we first watched a new video awareness campaign about junk food. You can watch it again below:

Here is what we said about it:

The document is an ad campaign against fast food restaurants and in particular Mc Donald's (the Golden Arches).
It aims at denouncing the bad quality of junk food and it intends to warn people about the consequences for our health -> high cholesterol / high blood pressure / heart attack.
The video features a man lying dead at the morgue with his wife / widow crying. He is holding the murder weapon in his hand: a left-over of a hamburger.

The slogan reads: McDonald's, I was loving it instead of "I'm loving it" to show that it can be the cause of our death.
It also states: "Tonight, make it vegetarian" to warn us that meat can be dangerous for health. It recommends us to have a healthy diet.

Additional vocabulary:
(to) be moved
chest
scar
a commercial = an ad on TV
(to) commit suicide
(to) poison

Then we continued working on the notion of American gun culture and here is what we said:

The values conveyed by guns in the American culture:

They are symbols for...:

- independence -> the American revolution made the US a free state. The British government didn't have power over them.
- democracy -> the United States was not under the control of the British Crown anymore.
- survival -> During the conquest of the West, people used to hunt buffalos to feed.
- protection -> They used guns to "protect" themselves against the "enemies" and exterminated the Native Americans where were a threat for them.
- freedom -> The Civil War marked the end of slavery and the slaves were freed thanks to this war.
- unity -> It also unified the country (North and South).

That's why guns are deeply-rooted into the culture and that now the N.R.A is a very influent and powerful political lobby.

HW: for tomorrow, you need to focus your work on speaking about the two pictures illustrating our new text and to compare them.

Hey,

today we first warmed up with a document entitled "Facebook Manners and You". You can watch it again below:

Here is what we said about it:

The document is a spoof / parody. It deals with social networks and more precisely Facebook.

The story is set in the 1950's or 60's when Facebook didn't exist. There is a discrepancy / difference / contrast between the fact that Facebook existed and the real story.

The story features Alice who comes back home from work and connects to Facebook to read the newsfeed of her friends and in particular the news of Timmy, her fiancé.

She realizes that Timmy has broken up with her. His relationship status is now "single". He has a new lover : Donna Whitehouse.
Alice starts a hate group in which she says that Timmy "doesn't buy things made in the USA" and "is a communist". Her revelation leads Timmy into being arrested.

Indeed, at that period, Mc Carthy was in power in the USA and there was a witch-hunt against communists.

The document intends to denounce the way some people use Facebook. They don't take the "common sense rules" of Facebook seriously.

Additional vocabulary:

The Internet:
- (to) connect to / log on to (my) Facebook account
- a type-writer
- a screen

Face expression:
- a haircut
- a well-cut beard
- to be well-combed

Structure:
- (to) lead (someone) into + V-ing

Source of humor:
- There is a discrepancy between time and topic.

Then we continued the correction of your mock exams focusing our attention on the attitudes of the characters and understanding why and how they evolved throughout the text. Here are some important phases and phrases to remember:

"to be written by ..."

HW: learn your lesson.