Kompetenzerweiterung III, Homework for Week 4

For homework, please research both the pro and con side to the debate question "Should we do away with grades/marks at uni altogether?" Make sure you have four points for each side and that you have noted down where your sources are from.

Your optional essay prompt is a written response to the question above.

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Homework for Week 4

For homework, please:

1.       Review the prefixes and suffixes used to build new word/word classes in English here:

http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/blog/learn-english/grammar/negative-prefixes/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/word-formation/suffixes

And complete the following word formation quizzes: http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/advanced/cae-034-word-formation-exercise.php

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/advanced/cae-035-word-formation-exercise.php

2.       Review the names of various nationalities in English here: http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/nationalities/

Complete this tense exercise: http://www.grammarbank.com/suitable-tense-completion-exercise-dd5.html

For your optional essay this week you can either write your own What I'm really thinking essay (these Guardian articles can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/what-im-really-thinking) or write a travel/film/book/music review focussing on the use of non-gradable and gradable adjectives.

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Homework for Week 3

Note concerning class meetings: We will meet on October 30th from 9:45 am -1 pm. There is no class on October 31st.

For homework, please:

1.       Complete this open CLOZE exercise from the CPE exam: http://www.englishrevealed.co.uk/CPE/cpe_oc/cpe_oc_4.php

Don’t panic if this was very difficult for you (it’s at the C2 level – it is difficult!), but definitely invest in some practice each week to get better at this type exercise as there will be one just like it on the final exam. Additional open CLOZE exercises from this site can be found under the category "Use of English Part 2, Open Cloze" on their main page: http://www.englishrevealed.co.uk/cpe.php

2.       Review the rules for use of the definite and zero article in English here: http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/definite-article/

And complete the following exercises:

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-definite-or-zero-article.php

3.       Study these lists of verbs concerning taking the gerund or the infinitive and make sure that you have memorized them in advance of the exam in January. (We will be reviewing these lists regularly in class, so attending our sessions is definitely in your interest!) Take the quiz at the bottom of the page: https://www.engvid.com/english-resource/verbs-followed-by-gerunds-and-infinitives/

Add these expressions listed under the category of "verb + prep + gerund" to your list as well: http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/gerund2c.html

Practice your knowledge by taking these quizzes:

http://a4esl.org/q/h/9801/el-to-ing.html

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/420.html

4.       Review gradable and ungradable adjectives and complete the quiz:

https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/gradable-and-ungradable-adjectives

5.       Complete the rest of the exercise distributed in class "From Queen Victoria..." and fill in the gaps with the correct tense for the context. In addition to this, please underline the participle clauses you find in the text. This general guide to distinctions between tenses might be of assistance to you: http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/tenses.htm

Your second optional essay assignment is to write (a portion of) your biography using at least five different idioms. Make sure you are using the idioms correctly by checking for context using a dictionary or web search. In addition to this, pay attention to how you are using the definite article, try to use at least one participle clause for stylistic variance, and try to employ at least four different tenses. (Guidelines outlined in Week 2’s blog post must be followed.)

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Homework for Week 3

Note to my Monday class: my apologies for the confusion with the room this morning. We will be meeting in Room 322 as usual for the remainder of the semester.

Note to my Tuesday class: due to the federal holiday on October 31st, our next class meeting will be on November 7th.

For homework, please:

1. Complete the following exercise on reported speech (consult the website in the previous post if you need a review):
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/reported_speech/sentences.htm

2. Come up with 20 synonyms for the verb "to say" (on the exam, we will ask you to relay quotes as reported speech but to avoid using the verb "to say").

3. Read the articles distributed in class on the topic of "voluntourism". Choose a side (either for or against) and paraphrase two of the best points presented in the article corresponding with your side. Add two additional points to your argument for a total of four (as will be expected on the exam). Be ready to debate this topic in our next session.

4. Browse this online phrasal verb dictionary https://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/phrasaldictionary.html and find 20 phrasal verbs you are likely to use. Find non-phrasal equivalents for each as we did in class.

5. Read up on the differences between several -ic/-ical adjectival distinctions (such as the difference between "economic" and "economical") here: http://grammarist.com/ic-ical-words/

6. Finally, check out the Oxford Union's YouTube channel and watch one debate in its entirety: https://www.youtube.com/user/OxfordUnion

Your second optional essay prompt is to visit the NY Times' Room for Debate page https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate and select a debate question of your choice to answer from your perspective AFTER having read all of the responses posted to the question (the number of responses to each question range from 2 to 6). This is an excellent site to use in preparation of the exam. Essays must follow the guidelines mentioned in my first blog post (from Week 2).

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Homework for Week 2

Welcome to the course! For homework, please:

Read up on participle clauses as reduced relative clauses here and complete the two quizzes linked at the bottom of the page: http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/participle-clauses.html

Complete the tasks on the back of the handout distributed in class today. (The first sentence can be written as: Camped outside the movie theater, we waited for the midnight Harry Potter showing.)

Read up on the use of apostrophes in English on this page and take the two quizzes featured on the bottom of the page: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp

You can access the complete Economist Everest text from class here: https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2016/06/economist-explains-6

(By the way, the article’s caption reads, "Rocky crags and vertiginous heights notwithstanding, …" What does the word notwithstanding mean and how it is used syntactically?)

Finally, have a look at this website https://www.phrases.org.uk/ on idioms and proverbs and jot down three that you find particularly interesting. What is the meaning and origin of the expression? How is it used?

Your first optional writing prompt is an essay in response to the question "What is the best sense?" You can use the short essays distributed in class as models or take yours in an entirely new direction.

Essay guidelines:  written work should be kept under 500 words and must have gone through a spell and grammar check if it is typed. Typed work with basic spelling errors will not be corrected, so make sure that you have English settings on your Word processor (e.g. German Word will automatically correct "of the" to "oft he" if you do not set the language to English at the bottom of the screen). Submit the essays to me by Thursday at midnight if you'd like to receive them in your Monday class. Otherwise, submit them in person on Monday.

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Homework for Week 2

Welcome to the class! For homework, please prepare the following:
1. Read the following pages on fronting:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/about-words-clauses-and-sentences/fronting
Read 2.1 and 2.2 on this page (it requires scrolling down):
http://random-idea-english.blogspot.de/2014/09/exploring-inversion-and-fronting.html
And complete the following exercises:
http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/advanced/cae-050-key-word-transformations-exercise.php
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/elc/quiz/inverse.htm

2. Have a look at this debate https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2013/jul/15/internet-susan-greenfield-david-babbs-video-debate and jot down what you consider to be the three best points mentioned using reported speech, e.g. "I liked when Susan said that we weren't developing important face-to-face skills because we simply didn't have the time." (you can review the rules of reported speech in English here: http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/tense-changes-when-using-reported-speech/ )

This week's optional writing prompt is to respond to any of the following debate questions: 

Should museums ban the taking of selfies?

Can ideas ever belong to just one person?

Do boycotts ever make a difference?

Does the internet bring out the best in us?

Written work should be kept under 500 words and must have gone through a spell and grammar check if it is typed. Typed work with basic spelling errors will not be corrected, so make sure that you have English settings on your Word processor (e.g. German Word will automatically correct "of the" to "oft he" if you do not set the language to English at the bottom of the screen). Submit the essays to me by Thursday at midnight if you'd like to receive them in your Monday class. Otherwise, submit them in person on Monday. (My Tuesday class can submit their essays by Friday at midnight in order to receive them in their Tuesday class.)