January 2008

A Happy New Year to you all when it comes, and count down to the end of the 1st semester.

Take a note of these dates:

Mini-talk session 2 - Wednesday 9th January ( those who did not present on December 19th as programmed - last chance!)
Mini-talk session 3 - Monday 14th January
Class assignment 5 (discursive writing) - Wednesday 16th January
Orals - Monday 21st January and Wednesday 23rd January

Be aware of 'faltas'. Everyone should be present at the mini -talks, and of course, the class assignment. 'Faltas' have to be justified with an official note. Remember that you have to attend 60% of the lessons. If you are not sure about your faltas, check with me.

So, once again, a great New Year. Enjoy the parties, the festivities, the quiet reflections and the time with family and friends.

ASSESSMENT TASK 4 - discursive writing -due 17th December

Ideas for raising funds for charity

Some of you asked of links for ideas on how to raise money for charity events. I came across these links. They are linked to existing charities but give some good examples, especially the first one! Great ideas!

http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/index.php?id=1590

http://www.childline.org.uk/AtoZoffundraisingideas.asp
Allyson

Sudan teacher pardoned: Your views

Teacher Gillian Gibbons has been released from prison in Sudan following a row over naming a teddy bear Muhammad. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir pardoned her after a meeting with two British Muslim peers, Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi.

Mrs Gibbons had been sentenced to 15 days in jail and then deportation from Sudan for allowing her pupils to call a teddy bear Muhammad.She was found guilty of insulting religion and inciting hatred after allowing her class of primary school pupils to name the teddy bear in September.

What's your reaction to Mrs Gibbons’ release?
Do you think the incident was handled appropriately?

Art and politics - winner of this year's Turner Prize

The jury commended Wallinger, 48, for its "immediacy, visceral intensity and historic importance".
They said: "The work combines a bold political statement with art's ability to articulate fundamental human truths."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7124575.stm

Women in history in the UK, plus much more

http://www.historytoherstory.org.uk/themelist.php

Try this online morality quiz

http://www.moral-politics.com/xpolitics.aspx?menu=Home&action=Test&choice=Long

Tips for giving a talk

Soon we will be scheduling your mini talks. These are some tips to get you thinking. Use some of these ideas on Monday when you present your research on 'women in politics.'

Engage with your Audience

Introduce yourself
Smile and sound interested
Develop eye contact
Tell audience the structure of your talk
Use the right language for your audience
Maintain right pace
Use your voice and pauses to move between points
Use notes to move you from one point to next

Dealing with Nerves

Be well prepared – that will make you feel more confident about your material
Use prompt cards if you can.

Breathe deeply before you start, this slows your heart rate down and you should feel less nervous
Look at your audience – despite what you may think, this does calm you.
Smile and look relaxed, it should create a more relaxed atmosphere for you (and your audience).

Beginnings and endings
It is worth dwelling for a moment on the importance of the beginning and ending of your talk. Some public speakers say that you should structure your talk by:

1. ‘saying what you are going to say’,
2. then ‘saying it’,
3. then ‘saying what you said’.

Inviting and responding to questions
Prepare beforehand for the moment when you have finished and you want to invite questions. How will you actually conclude your talk, and how will you then ask the audience if they have any questions? A common ‘awkward’ moment in talks is when the speaker has finished, and people do not know whether they can then ask something. How will you avoid this?

Likewise, if you receive no questions from your audience, what will you do? You could ask one or two yourself. For example, were you clear about…? and so on. Or, if you are brave, you could ask the audience specific questions with a view to determining how much they have taken in – in other words, assess the effectiveness of your presentation. Think ahead about how you will handle this.

BBC - Search results for women in politics

BBC - Search results for women in politics

No lesson Wednesday 14th

Monday 12th November - Please note

Class assignment 1 will be returned . We need to look at punctuation!!! In advance, see this link: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/566/01/


We will also be setting up small group blogs. We already have one group up and running J.A.P.A.C. Congratulations to them and we look forward to seeing their creative writing and biopics there very soon!


If you already have a group in mind and know how to create a blog, get strarted.

1. Give each person in the group a RESPONSIBILITY position .e.g. Technical person for making the blog and moderating comments, assistant tech person, group manager to motivate people to contribute, group communicator to ensure messages are replied to thus keeping the spirit of communication vibrating, photo collector to illustrate and do creative things.

2.Go to.... to create your blog in 3 easy steps.

3. Decide if you want it open to anyone or if you want to moderate it - keep visitors by invitation only.


If you do not have a group nor a blog DON'T WORRY We will do this on Monday.


Also remember to start planning exhibition visits. One very near is on cartoons at the Caixa Geral de Depositos.

Creative Writing Workshop

CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP (ESCRITA CRIATIVA)
com o escritor norte-americano Bruce Holland Rogers
Quinta-Feira, 8 de Novembro de 2007
sala t11 16-18h - entrada livre –
Secção de Estudos Ingleses e Norte-americanos (DLCLM)


Check his short stories on www.shortshortshort.com

PLEASE try and go, and on all our behalves, take notes to post in our blog.

Bruce Holland Rogers has been writing fiction full-time since 1991. His stories range from literary and experimental to SF, fantasy, and mystery. Rogers is married to psychologist Holly Arrow and has long been interested in what psychology might teach writers. That interest was the foundation of Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer. He is the author of four or six story collections, depending on whether or not you count e-books. His stories have won a Pushcart Prize, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, and half a dozen assorted nominations. Rogers’s fiction appears regularly in a wide range of magazines and anthologies. He recently began teaching fiction writing for the Whidbey Writers MFA program in Washington state. He also teaches writing seminars in Greece, Italy, and other locations in Europe.

ASSESSMENT TASK 3 - EXHIBITION REVIEW due 21st November

Class written assignment - Wednesday 7th November

The class written assignment will be a narrative/story. Check on the use of narrative tenses in unit 5 of the coursebook and work book.

You may bring an English/English dictionary.

You also need to bring a sheet of lined paper, the official university exam paper, which you can buy from Novacópia.

Museum for Broken Relationships

Balkan heartbreak a hit in Berlin
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7059844.stm

One woman donated her wedding dress to the exhibitionA travelling exhibition devoted to the theme of failed relationships is proving a hit in Berlin.
Members of the public are asked to give or donate an object, along with a short description of what it means to them, the time of the relationship, and where they are from.
"Even if the objects seem ordinary the stories are very individual and they make the exhibition come alive," Mr Dobrovic said.

What would you put there?

Help the united Nations and improve your vocabulary

Vocabulary practice and as you play you donate rice!

http://www.freerice.com/

Frida Kahlo

What more can you find out about her art, influences and her outlook on life? Use the links suggested as a start.

Orlan's Performance /surgeries

We are starting with unit 5A in the Coursebook Straightforward, Upper Intermediate.

Find out about Orlan's creative, artisitic work. in the links on the right. How do you respond?

assignment 1

Course Overview

Course Assessment

Welcome!

Welcome to your class blog.

Where to start? Right here by getting to know each other. So, for me, Allyson - your teacher, home is near Torres Novas. This is the view from home at night, with some creative adaptation! It takes me quite a while to get to the faculty - almost 3 hours! When I worked in London I thought 45 minutes was a long time. But I love the contrast of Lisbon life and living in the country. I live with my partner Jonathan, and Jaffa and Jinga. You will find out about them sooner or later!

I started learning to paint last year. One of my goals is to paint fabulous skies. Another is to play jazz piano. My favourite place is floating in a hanging chair, feet off the ground. My favourite meal is either a really good, home-made Italian pasta ( I make my own pasta), or a huge plate of vegetables with couscous. I lived in Algeria, hence the influence. My favourite place in Portugal is right here in Adofreire. That is another story! Looking forward to working with you this semester. Tell us you have safely arrived by replying to this message with some news about yourself.

Allyson