Hi there:

The weather gives me a good reason to look forward to a very nice and relaxing summer. This morning was gorgeous!



So, classes are finally over and we are heading into exams. Several things have transpired. Last week completed ETTs. It was tough, I know. You are right folks, every instructor believes his/her class is the most important. Hope, you survive.

The other big news this week is that I met my student from last year and he kindly accepted my invitation to join us online next academic year.

Haven't heard from Alexandra and Paul yet . :(

It would be nice to hear from Ivan, Igor, Andrei and Yuri. Just pop in and say"Hi"!

sg

Alexandra and Paul:

The topic of your essay is : " Habemus Papum! A worthy successor or a new figure on the world stage? "

Hope you enjoy great sunny days in Germany.

See you soon,

sg

Networking

Networking
Originally uploaded by netopNyrop.

hello Minsk!

I've been to Oslo in Norway for some days, and am now in Trollhattan, 89 km north of Goteborg in Sweden! I hope your exams are succesful and wish you a great summer!

yours,

Sus

Writing: News Reports

A news report is a brief piece of writing giving factual information concerning an important current event. It is formal and impersonal in style, presenting facts objectively and unemotionally.

It usually starts with a summary of the event ( who, when, what, where,why ) which is then developed in detail.

A successful report consists of:

a) a heading which is short and eyr-catching, giving the reader an idea of the subject of the report;
b) an intorductory paragraph which summarises the event, including information about the people involved, the place, the time, etc.;
c) a main body in which the relevanmt info is developed in detail, including an explanation of the cause ( s) and /or result(s) of the event;
d) a conclusion which mentions the significance of the event, future actions to be taken, reactions/comments. ( may be given in direct or reported speech)

News reports and narratives differ in a number oif ways. ( SB, Unit 3, pp. 68-69 ).

Exams...What do you think about them?

"... exams play on a law student’s world like some weirdly orbiting moon. They are always in sight; but while they’re at a distance, they serve merely to create the tension which swell daily like tides – to read, to keep pace, to understand. As exams draw close.... their gravitational force starts to shake the whole place to pieces...

We were all stopping each other now at lunch, in the hallways, to ask questions about cases and concepts we’d covered at the beginning of the term. And the study groups were growing more active. Some people preferred to work alone, either because they did not want to rely on others, or simply because they felt they learned better independently. But by now, most of the members of the section had found their way into groups, almost all of which were meeting a number of times every week to swap information and outlines and to work out past tests.

As we entered the last week of the term... most of the students at the law school seemed to abandon any effort to maintain a brave front in the face of exams. The evidence of great apprehension was wide spread. Whenever I visited the library, there were long lines before each of the Xerox machines, as people waited to copy earlier editions of the red books or Law Review articles which were said to offer particularly trenchant digests of the material in various courses. Everybody around the school seemed to be fretting aloud that they would never catch up in their class work in time to make a thorough review..."

( adapted from Scott Turow. One L. Warner Books, 1988 )

Questions for Discussion:

Exams are a waste of time! All they measure is how good you are at memorizing things.

Exams are important. They test how well you take in information and how you manage to
interpret it and put it to use.

Unit 8. Live and Learn

Reading

"How I Got My First- Class Degree" - an article by a student who graduated from university with a first-class degree ( SB , pp 166-167 ).

How similar/different is your method of study to that of the writer?

"You can make me do it, but you can't make me like it " - an article written by a mother whose child started reading later than others. ( SB, pp.174-175 )

How important do you think it is for children to start reading early?

Dear students in Minsk,

It was a great pleasure to join you this morning, I loved to hear your voices and see your posters about food, straw crafts and language. It was so close ot my heart to listen to your song - so do not forget to send me the text please.

I hope to hear from you about this event - everyone should try a virtual potluck!

Yours,

Susanne

Reflections and Feedback

Thanks everyone for coming! We met in Susanne's Virtual Office in LearningTimes today in the morning and shared local specialities and culture in a Virtual Potluck. I am very happy that you met Susanne. She is great! Susanne is involved in graduate study of education theory at the Danish University of Education in Copenhagen. It's really great that you could tell Susanne a little bit about Minsk, our university and our faculty. I loved the Alphabet Soup! It was delicious, Uladz! You are a great cook! A special thank you to Paul and Helen. Thanks to Inna for bringing potato pancakes! Yummy! Yummy! I've never been to Dudutki. Hope to go there one day! Thanks everyone for bringing something to share! I loved your song! I do hope Susanne enjoyed it.

It would be nice to hear from you! In no more than 20 words share you impressions about your first synch session. Please, use the comment area.

Thanks in advance,

sg

Virtual Potluck

I think it was a blast...



Thank you Susanne!



You did very well guys! Thanks a lot!