Kompetenzerweiterung I, Study Pack for Both Groups

*** Please be advised that our institute holds classes on Jan. 6th!***

For both groups: Please review the verb patterns on pp. 186-187 over the break. In addition, you might find this study pack for the exam useful for practice during the holidays. (The following constitutes a list of exercises which can help you train for the exam.)

Future and present forms

https://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/future/

http://oefeningenengels.classy.be/futuremixed3.html

http://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/tenses/t059-homes-of-the-future.htm

https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/will_going_to_future.htm

https://www.englishpractice.com/quiz/simple-present-future-tense/

Mixed tense

http://www.academia.edu/4349276/10_texts_to_revise_mixed_tenses_with_key

https://elt.oup.com/student/solutions/upperint/grammar/grammar_06_012e?cc=de&selLanguage=de

http://www.englishlessonsbrighton.co.uk/the-christmas-mess-mixed-tenses-reading-exercise/

Gerund and infinitive

http://www.spraz-ila.de/grammar/gerinf1.htm

http://www.spraz-ila.de/grammar/gerinf3.htm

https://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/gerunds_infinitives_5.htm

http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz97mkm.htm

https://languageavenue.com/advanced-english/advanced-grammar-exercises/gerunds-and-infinitives-1-advanced#take-the-quiz

Word formation

https://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_use_of_english_part3_test2.htm

http://www.dcielts.com/word-formation-exercises/

http://www.focus.olsztyn.pl/en-english-word-formation-exercises.html

https://www.grammarbank.com/word-formation.html

https://quizlet.com/103833447/word-formation-exercises-verbs-nouns-adjectives-flash-cards/

Cloze tests

http://www.englishdaily626.com/cloze_passages.php?001

(you will find at the bottom of this page a list of hyperlinked numbers; all of these are CLOZE exercises you can use for practice)

Register rewrite

http://www.ltn.lv/~markir/essaywriting/inform.htm

https://www.engvid.com/english-resource/formal-informal-english/

Relative pronoun gap fill

https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-2/pronouns/lesson-7/relative-pronouns

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/3g14-relative-pronoun-gap-fill-exercise.php

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/3g61-relative-pronouns-gap-fill.php

http://www3.lernplattform.schule.at/anglisten/pluginfile.php/6813/mod_resource/content/4/Gap_filling_1.htm

Relative clauses rewrite

https://www.englishgrammar.org/joining-sentences-relative-pronoun/

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/relative-clause-exercises.html

Error correction

http://www.businessenglishresources.com/common-english-mistakes-english-error-correction-3a-advanced/

http://www.businessenglishresources.com/common-mistakes-in-emails/

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_55.htm

Active to passive voice

https://www.englishgrammar.org/active-passive-voice-exercise-8/

http://www.englishexercises.net/yypassive2.html

http://suz.digitaleschulebayern.de/english/grammar/passive6.htm

http://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/passive-voice/pa006-active-passive.htm

Do/take/make/have:

http://www.tinyteflteacher.co.uk/learning-english/FCE/practice-make-do.html

https://learningapps.org/192576

http://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/general-vocabulary/gv002-make-and-do.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv2.shtml

 

 

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Wednesday Group, Homework for January 8th

Over the break, I recommend:

- finalizing your prepared debate question. This includes reading and listening to articles and videos on your question and pertaining to your topic area.

- practicing random debate questions. Use web searches to help and consult video playlists on previous blog posts.

- practicing presenting the graphs distributed in class and new ones you find on the web (web searches for infographics can help).

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Tuesday Group, Homework for January 7th

Over the break, I recommend:

- finalizing your prepared debate question. This includes reading and listening to articles and videos on your question and pertaining to your topic area.

- practicing random debate questions. Use web searches to help and consult video playlists on previous blog posts.

- practicing presenting the graphs distributed in class and new ones you find on the web (web searches for infographics can help).

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for December 19th

For homework, please:

- review unit 7 on passives and causatives and the topic vocab and word formation words for unit 8 (including all exercises; the unit 7-8 review as well) and bring in any questions you might have to class

 

- complete the rest of the "Why I'm opting out of Christmas" exercise

 - have a look at the following video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-7UV8Vmxuw and complete the following:
a) answer the question: are hydrogen cars (part of) the future?
b) identify as many collocations as you can (e.g. "vast majority", "cutting-edge technology")

- complete the following exercises:
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/3g20-passive-active-exercise.php
https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/passive-voice/pa002-incident-in-the-sky.htm
https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/passive-voice/pa006-active-passive.htm
https://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-23159.php
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/structures/gerund_infinitive.htm
https://school-english.de/english/uebungen/gerundium/remember.htm

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for January 6th, 2020

*** Please be advised that our institute holds classes on Jan. 6th!***

For homework, please have a look at the objects listed on this page. In your opinion, which objects definitely belong in the collection and which ones are questionable? Are there any missing that you would include? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/101-objects-that-made-america-2254692/

Bear in mind that the collection was inspired by this project: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nrtd2/episodes/Downloads

To my Erasmus students / exam re-takers taking the exam in Jan (please note that some review will be included in our last two sessions in Jan.; I encourage you to bring in questions):

Concerning review for the exam, please review all of the posts from the blog (can be easily accessed by typing "Kulturraumstudien" into the search engine at the top lefthand corner of the blog webpage) and your notes from homework and class. You should be familiar with the following terms and able to use them naturally in analysis: culture, text, discourse, collective consciousness, prototype, consensus, frames, scripts, localization, canon, democracy, capitalism, metonymy, conceptual metaphor, orientational metaphor, cultural memes, signs, symbols, indexes/indices, icons. You should be familiar with how the electoral college works, the Bill of Rights, the context for the "space race", the Civil Rights Movement, the effects of the Civil War on modern-day race relations, the notion of Reconstruction, how the US does (and doesn't) talk about class, ways of dividing up the US.  Remember: I am predominantly interested in how this background knowledge feeds into your analysis of cultural artifacts on the exam. (Why are we seeing/hearing what we're seeing/hearing and how is it a product of its time and cultural context?)

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for December 18th

For homework, please:

- review unit 7 on passives and causatives and the topic vocab and word formation words for unit 8 (including all exercises; the unit 7-8 review as well) and bring in any questions you might have to class

- have a look at the following video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-7UV8Vmxuw and complete the following:
a) answer the question: are hydrogen cars (part of) the future?
b) identify as many collocations as you can (e.g. "vast majority", "cutting-edge technology")

- complete the following exercises:
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/3g20-passive-active-exercise.php
https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/passive-voice/pa002-incident-in-the-sky.htm
https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/passive-voice/pa006-active-passive.htm
https://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-23159.php
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/structures/gerund_infinitive.htm
https://school-english.de/english/uebungen/gerundium/remember.htm

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for December 17th

For homework, please:

- review Units 5 and 6 and bring in any questions you have regarding expressing the future in English and topic vocab and the word formation words from unit 6.

- have a look at this video on what Google expects from applicant resumes (most of the points they mention are relevant for all jobs) and 1) write down five tips from the video and 2) write down as many colloquial expressions/idioms that the speakers use as you can (e.g. "walk you through", "a safe bet"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYUy1yvjHxE

- complete the handouts on the continuous and "exam practice 7" distributed in class.

- using exercise 2 on "exam practice 7" as a guide, write a couple sentences about one of your favorite travel destinations in a similar fashion (i.e. employing participle clauses, adverbs modifying adjectives, etc.)

 - complete the following exercises:

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-simple-future-simple-exercise-1.html
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/4g9-future-continuous-perfect.php
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/3g58-future-errors.php
https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/intermediate/future-simple-will-versus-going-to-future

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for December 16th

For homework, please:

- review Units 5 and 6 and bring in any questions you have regarding expressing the future in English and topic vocab and the word formation words from unit 6.

- have a look at this video on what Google expects from applicant resumes (most of the points they mention are relevant for all jobs) and 1) write down five tips from the video and 2) write down as many colloquial expressions/idioms that the speakers use as you can (e.g. "walk you through", "a safe bet"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYUy1yvjHxE

- complete the handout on the continuous distributed in class.

- complete the following exercises:

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-simple-future-simple-exercise-1.html
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/4g9-future-continuous-perfect.php
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/3g58-future-errors.php
https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/intermediate/future-simple-will-versus-going-to-future

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Wednesday Group, Homework for December 18th

***Attention: There is a team scheduled for Monday, January 27th at 15:30. Can anyone switch their time with them? Please let me know as soon as possible via email.***

For homework, please:

- continue preparing for your prepared debate question.

- read the "Tampons to Be Taxed as Essential, Not Luxury Items in Germany" article (aloud!) and look into the taxing of other items in Germany (this article might help: https://www.n-tv.de/ratgeber/Die-kruden-Regeln-der-Mehrwertsteuer-article21191910.html ). Select a few items and come to class ready to debate whether those items should move from the 7% to 19% sales tax category, drop from 19% to 7%, maintain their current percent, or be made entirely sales tax free.

- have a look at this video on whether we should do away with chocolate Advent calendars, write down the best arguments the speakers in the video present and be ready to debate the question next week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cYUFf5tHII

- complete exercises 17.1 and 17.2 from the handout "17: stress in compound adjectives and in abbreviations"

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Tuesday Group, Homework for December 17th

***Attention: There is a team scheduled for Monday, January 27th at 15:30. Can anyone switch their time with them? Please let me know as soon as possible via email.***

For homework, please:

- continue preparing for your prepared debate question.

- read the "Tampons to Be Taxed as Essential, Not Luxury Items in Germany" article (aloud!) and look into the taxing of other items in Germany (this article might help: https://www.n-tv.de/ratgeber/Die-kruden-Regeln-der-Mehrwertsteuer-article21191910.html ). Select a few items and come to class ready to debate whether those items should move from the 7% to 19% sales tax category, drop from 19% to 7%, maintain their current percent, or be made entirely sales tax free.

- have a look at this video on whether we should do away with chocolate Advent calendars, write down the best arguments the speakers in the video present and be ready to debate the question next week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cYUFf5tHII

- complete exercises 17.1 and 17.2 from the handout "17: stress in compound adjectives and in abbreviations"

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for December 12th

For homework, please:

- review Units 3 and 4 and bring in any questions you have concerning past time and the topic vocab and word formation words for Unit 4

- watch one of the "5 Levels" Videos and bring in a concept that you are prepared to explain on five different Levels: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLibNZv5Zd0dyCoQ6f4pdXUFnpAIlKgm3N

- complete the rest of the error correction handout distributed in class

- complete the following exercises:

https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/4g4-past-tenses-exercise.php
https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate/past-simple-v-past-perfect
https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/tenses.htm
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/past_perfect_simple_past.htm
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-perfect-exercise-3.html

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for December 16th

For homework, please:

- as discussed in class, look up a conflict that the US was involved in (e.g. the Civil War, WWII, Vietnam, Iraq, etc.) and compare the English Wikipedia page with the German one (or one from another language). What are the notable similarities and differences in terms of content, organization, and layout on the page? What is included on one and absent from the other?

- watch this video on Reconstruction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjetWrsQb-E

- have a look at this video concerning how the electoral college works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468

- this letter might interest you, from a free man in 1864 to the man who formerly enslaved him: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/to-my-old-master.html

- here is a link to the entire "What We Learn from the Big Bad Wolf" article by Lippi-Green: https://freerangeresearch.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/ic-lippi-green-1997-teaching-children-how-to-discriminate.pdf

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for December 11th

For homework, please:

- review Units 3 and 4 and bring in any questions you have concerning past time and the topic vocab and word formation words for Unit 4

- watch one of the "5 Levels" Videos and bring in a concept that you are prepared to explain on five different Levels: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLibNZv5Zd0dyCoQ6f4pdXUFnpAIlKgm3N

- complete the rest of the error correction and "exam practice 7" handouts distributed in class

- complete the following exercises:

https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/4g4-past-tenses-exercise.php
https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate/past-simple-v-past-perfect
https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/tenses.htm
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/past_perfect_simple_past.htm
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-perfect-exercise-3.html

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for December 10th

***Make sure you're registered for the exam on PSSO!!!***

For homework, please:

- complete exercises G-K on pp. 126-127 of the textbook.

- complete exercises A, B, and E on pp. 136-137 of the textbook.

- watch this TED talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFjD3NMv6Kw and do the following:
a) identify the seven principles the speaker outlines and provide an example of each
b) write down 10 pieces of vocabulary specific to the field of urban planning/design
c) answer the question: Do you agree with all of the principles the speaker covers in his talk? Are there any principles you can think of that the speaker has neglected or failed to adequately address?
d) What are the speaker's concerns about autonomous vehicles?

- read the two remaining humorous/satirical texts from our set from class and do the following:
a) in the cafe article, identify the thesis and the ways the author uses humor in his examples
b) in the German article, identify five words/phrases that you've given some thought to on how to translate.

- review Unit 1 of your book, Unit 2's topic vocab and word formation words, all exercises completed and the exercises completed for the Unit 1-2 review. Bring in any questions you have or points you would like reviewed in advance of the exam.

- complete the following exercises (these pages feature exercises in a lot of areas of grammar, so I encourage you to bookmark the pages you like best and to use them for other areas of grammar you need practice in):
https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/present-continuous-or-present-simple-pre-intermediate
https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/perfect-past-simple.htm
https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs8.htm
http://usefulenglish.ru/grammar/tenses-exercise-two

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for December 9th

***Make sure you're registered for the exam on PSSO!!!***

For homework, please:

- complete exercises G-K on pp. 126-127 of the textbook.

- complete exercises A, B, and E on pp. 136-137 of the textbook.

- watch this TED talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFjD3NMv6Kw and do the following:
a) identify the seven principles the speaker outlines and provide an example of each
b) write down 10 pieces of vocabulary specific to the field of urban planning/design
c) answer the question: Do you agree with all of the principles the speaker covers in his talk? Are there any principles you can think of that the speaker has neglected or failed to adequately address?
d) What are the speaker's concerns about autonomous vehicles?

- review Unit 1 of your book, Unit 2's topic vocab and word formation words, all exercises completed and the exercises completed for the Unit 1-2 review. Bring in any questions you have or points you would like reviewed in advance of the exam.

- complete the following exercises (these pages feature exercises in a lot of areas of grammar, so I encourage you to bookmark the pages you like best and to use them for other areas of grammar you need practice in):
https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/present-continuous-or-present-simple-pre-intermediate
https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/perfect-past-simple.htm
https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs8.htm
http://usefulenglish.ru/grammar/tenses-exercise-two

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Wednesday Group, Homework for December 10th

*** Make sure you are registered on PSSO!!! ***

For homework, please:

- prioritize doing the research necessary for your prepared debate. This should involve reading at least 10 articles/watching 10 videos in English on the subject, collecting examples, arguments and relevant vocabulary.

Kompetenzerweiterung III, Tuesday Group, Homework for December 9th

*** Make sure that you have registered on PSSO!!! ***

For homework, please:

- prioritize doing the research necessary for your prepared debate. This should involve reading at least 10 articles/watching 10 videos in English on the subject, collecting examples, arguments and relevant vocabulary.

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for December 5th

***Make sure that you've registered for the exam on PSSO!!!***

For homework, please:

- read through the grammar notes on pp. 122-123 of the textbook and complete exercises A-F on pp. 124-125.

- study the topic vocabulary for materials and the built environment on pg. 128 and the word formation words on pg. 129 and complete exercises A-D on pp. 130-131 and exercises L-O on pp. 134-135.

- complete exercises D and E on pg. 185.

- complete exercises A, C, and E on pp. 265-266.

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for December 9th

For homework, please:

- read this article on the effects of the Civil War on US society: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/spring/newnation.html

- watch this Video on the Year of Return in Ghana (I encourage you to pay attention to music used in the background and to be critical of it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqoqhruujN4

You might be interested in this NPR broadcast on the history of pardoning turkeys: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/26/782716688/i-beg-your-pardon-the-strange-history-presidents-sparing-Turkeys

This Crash Course channel might interest some of you history buffs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s

Kompetenzerweiterung I, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for December 4th

***Make sure that you've registered for the exam on PSSO!!!***

For homework, please:

- read through the grammar notes on pp. 122-123 of the textbook and complete exercises A-F on pp. 124-125.

- study the topic vocabulary for materials and the built environment on pg. 128 and the word formation words on pg. 129 and complete exercises A-D on pp. 130-131 and exercises L-O on pp. 134-135.

- complete exercises D and E on pg. 185.

- complete exercises A, C, and E on pp. 265-266.

- read the two remaining humorous/satirical texts from our set from class and do the following:
a) in the cafe article, identify the thesis and the ways the author uses humor in his examples
b) in the German article, identify five words/phrases that you've given some thought to on how to translate.