IELTS Unit 9 What is Beauty? (Architecture)

Ready for IELTS Pp. 116-125
Vocabulary: Adjectives Talking about buildings
Describe physically and how it makes you feel

Breakingnews English:
1. World's tallest building opens in Dubai 2010(link)

2. World's largest building opens in China 2013 (link)

3. Cubans can now build their own homes (link)

Online Interactive Quiz Modal Verbs Jeopardy (link)

Objective IELTS 10.2 Pp. 68-69 Reading: Norman Foster - Architect
Grammar: Infinitives (~ing forms)

Grammar (British Council) -ing forms (link)

Prefixes: Under / Over (link)

Vocabulary to talk about buildings - TEFLTASTIC: (link)

Homes and architecture vocabulary Pictionary (link)

Speaking Task 1:
Practice with these Speaking Part 1 questions: (link)
*Describe your neighbourhood.
*What kind of house do you live in?
*Are there any monuments in your hometown?
*Do you like to visit historical buildings?
*Have you ever visited a famous structure?
*What are the landmarks in your hometown?
Speaking Task 2: Describe a building you like or dislike.

(link to IELTS-Simon.com),
(Link to IELTS Mentor: Describe an unusual building you have visited)


NPR Listening (National Public Radio)
Architecture:
(link)

1. After Decades, A Shanghai Preservationist Heads Home To America (link)


Lesson at (Link)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6HKvrbcVsKyTklSS1hJVkJvblE
1. After Decades, A Shanghai Preservationist Heads Home To America
2. Words You'll Hear: Gentrification
3. Renowned Iraqi-British Architect Zaha Hadid Dies At 65
4. Encore: Housing Costs Inspire London Builders To Create Underground Mansions
5. Meet The Architect Who Helped Bring Modernism To The Masses
6. This House Is A Work Of Art, So The Owner Is Donating It To A Museum

Writing Task 1 (General) Letter: There is a problem with your accomodation

Writing Task 2 Writing Task 2 Discuss Both Views (+opinion) Essay Lesson (Link) IELTS Advantage Website


Topics: *In the past, buildings often reflected the culture of a society but today all modern buildings look alike and cities throughout the world are becoming more and more similar. What do you think is the reason for this, and is it a good thing or a bad thing? (link)

*Some people feel that the design of newly constructed buildings in big cities should be controlled by governments. Others contest those who finance the construction of a building should be free to design it as they see fit. What is your position? Discuss both sides in your response.(link)

*It is more important for a building to serve its purposes than to look beautiful. Architects do not need to worry about whether it is a real work of art. Do you agree or disagree?

*Modern buildings are appearing in large numbers. Some people believe that we should build our buildings in traditional styles. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

TED Talk How Can Public Spaces Change A City's Character? (link to video)

IELTS Unit 8 The History of Geography

Breakingnews English British Museum has most successful year (link)
Sahara desert twice as old as we thought (link)
Map shows Chinese discovered America (link)

Speaking
ESL Discussions.com
Conversation Questions on Geography (link)

Practise IELTS Speaking Conversation Topics - Geography (link)

Task 2
Describe a historical place that you know about. You should say:
what the place is
where it is located
what is the historical significance of the place
and describe your experience of the place.

Follow-up Questions:
• What do you think of the future trend of historic places?
• Will government strengthen its protection toward historic places?
• What are the changes brought about by the historic place in local economy, people, etc?
• What is the effect of tourists on the place?


Part 3 IELTS Simon (link)
Catalyst (Video): Thursday, 28 February 2013
Measuring Our Coastline (link)

Ready for IELTS Pp. 104-113
Vocabulary:
i. Interchangeable nouns
ii. Verbs related to changes in Maps

Listening: IELTS Section 4 - Migration (gap fill)
Speaking: Section 2 - Describe a place which is special to you.
Reading (Academic): Cartography
i. Complete endings
ii. Fill in table
Writing
Task 1: Maps
Writing Task 2 (Link)
Task 2: Benefits outweigh drawbacks essay

Some people think that all children should learn geography in school. However, some others think that it is more important to learn subjects that are more relevant to life. Do the advantages of learning geography at school outweigh the disadvantages?

Paraphrase question
Thesis - Write what you believe...
Body paragraph 1
Body paragraph 2
Body paragraph 3
Conclusion

Listening
IELTSExam.com - Antartica (link)

Writing Task 1 (General) (link)
Your car is hired from a company and while you are driving on holiday, you have a small accident. You will have to write a report to the company to explain it.
In your letter: You need to explain the following:
» When and where you hired it?
» Describe how the accident happened?
» What kind of action did you take after the accident?

Writing Task 1 (Academic) Maps IELTS Liz Video Tutorial (link)

IELTS: Describing maps By Sam McCarter (Link)

Ready for IELTS



NPR: National Geographic (link) Around The World In ... A Lot Of Steps
Paul Salopek has discovered that the best way to a storyteller is by foot.
Lesson connected to this listening (link)
Contents: Vocabulary / Listening for main ideas / Fill in table from listening /Speaking / Writing: Benefits outweigh Drawbacks
TED Talk
Mapping the future of countries Parag Khanna (link)
Instant IELTS:
* The History of Migration (Academic reading Passage 3)
* Homegrown Maps (Academic reading Passage 3)


Brief History of Cartography and Maps (link to video)

John Green: The nerd's guide to learning everything online (link to video)

Catalyst:
Tuesday, 9 August 2016
ANTARCTIC FOSSILS (link)

Tuesday, 9 August 2016
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS (link)

Content Lesson (passives): The Empire of the Incas (link)

Ready for IELTS Unit 5 The Future

Breaking news English
*Robots smarter than humans by 2029 (link)
*World’s first flying car makes its debut (link)
*Electric car does 0 to 100kph in 2.8 seconds (link)
Speaking:
ESL Discussions.com
Conversation Questions on The Future (link)
IELTS Speaking
Part 1
The future What are your plans for the future?
Are you planning to change your job?
Would you ever consider changing your job?
How might your industry change in the future?
Why are you taking the IELTS test?
IELTS Speaking Part 2: future plans
Describe a future plan which is not related to work or study. You should say
- what the plan is
- when you thought of the plan
- who is involved in the plan
- and say how you think you will achieve the plan.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 Guide (link)


Different ways to talk about the future DC IELTS (link)

Writing Task 1
Letter:
You are going to study in a college in the UK next year. You would like to stay in a college Hall of Residence.
Write a letter to the college giving your accommodation requirements. You should outline what your room and food needs are and also ask what alternatives are available if they cannot provide what you want.

You should write at least 150 words.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You do NOT need to write your own address.

General Writing Sample Task 1 #13 IELTS.net (link)



Academic Writing Task 1: Maps
Link to IELTS Advatage (link)

Worksheet (link)




IELTS Liz Maps: Vocabulary and Sentence Structure with Video (link)

IELTS Liz Maps: Model Writing Task (Map Comparison): (link)

Pictures from The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS
Maps Question from IELTS Mentor (link)

Writing Task 2
*Genetic engineering is an important issue in modern society. Some people think that it will improve people's lives in many ways. Others feel that it may be a threat to life on earth. Discuss both opinions and give your opinion?

*Some people believe that robots will play an important role in future societies, while others argue that robots might have negative effects on society. Discuss both views and give your opinion.(link)

*We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are used in business, hospitals, crime detection and even to fly planes. What things will they be used for in the future? Is this dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benefits?

*The percentage of overweight children in western society has increased by almost 20% in the last ten years. Discuss the causes and effects of this disturbing trend.


NPR: What Predictions From 1984 Came True? (link)


Check out my lesson based on the NPR Lesson above: Lesson

Lesson link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6HKvrbcVsKySTF6QWF6Yk9MalE/view?usp=sharing
NPR Page: http://www.npr.org/2013/09/13/219719902/what-predictions-from-1984-came-true

IELTS Unit 7 The World of Work and Training

Breakingnews English:
Travelling to and from work is work, says EU (link)
Chinese maths teachers to help UK schools (link)
Finland has world's best education system (link)
Speaking:
*ESL Discussions.com Conversation Questions on Work (link)
*iPass IELTS (link)
*IELTS Advantage (link)

Writing Task 1 (general)(link)
You want to apply for the following job. Write a letter to Mr. Moore
*describing your previous experience
*and explaining why you would be suitable for the job.
* Waiter/waitress required for evening work. Some experience necessary.
You should write at least 150 words.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Writing Task 1 (Academic) (link)
The bar chart below shows the results of a survey conducted by a personnel department at a major company. The survey was carried out on two groups of workers: those aged from 18-30 and those aged 45-60, and shows factors affecting their work performance. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.




IELTS Liz Bar Chart Video (link)



Australia's Unemployment rate (link)

Writing Task 2:
IELTS Liz Questions about Work (link)

*Some people think that all teenagers should be required to do unpaid work in their free time to help the local community. They believe this would benefit both the individual teenager and society as a whole.
Do you agree or disagree?

*The length of the working week does not reflect modern lifestyle needs. It should be substantially reduced to give people more leisure time and time with their families.
How far do you agree with this statement?

IELTS Liz Essay Questions (link)

Vocabulary for IELTS: Striving to Achieve
Complete IELTS: Unit 1 Getting Higher qualifications
NPR Talks: Drawing from an experiment with chickens, entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan explains how our cultural obsession with individual success is threatening our potential for collaboration and productivity. Is The Professional Pecking Order Doing More Harm Than Good? (link) Worksheet (link)



Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work | TED Talk | We believe we should work hard in order to be happy, but could we be thinking about things backwards? In this fast-moving and very funny talk, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that, actually, happiness inspires us to be more productive. (link)

TED Talks on working smarter (link)
TED Talks: Changing education Paradigms (link)

Barry Schwartz: The way we think about work is broken - TED.com (Link)

Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work | TED Talk |Work-life balance, says Nigel Marsh, is too important to be left in the hands of your employer. Marsh lays out an ideal day balanced between family time, personal time and productivity — and offers some stirring encouragement to make it happen. (link)


Thursday, 23 October 2014
Open Plan Office (link)


Dateline: “Secret Lives of Call Centre Workers” (link)