So here we are again. Results are in and now we begin the arduous task of working out where our students did well and where we need to review teaching and learning to benefit our next cohort. A few years ago we had some very inconsistent marks for the SPAN2 unit but we made some […]
Last Minute Advice for AS SPAN1 Exam
For students sitting their SPAN1 exam next week then this document gives some useful advice on how the questions on the paper where students often lose marks.
Goodbye Authentik
To my surprise I found out this week that Authentik (the Irish company which produced magazines in French, Spanish, German and Italian as well as some nifty practice tests for GCSE and A Level) has gone into liquidisation. I must admit that their resources (particularly their magazines) were quite expensive which probably put off a lot of students which is a shame.
The good news is that they have made their 2009 Listening and Reading Tests available free of charge. If you haven’t already got these then you can download them here. I am not sure how long they will be available for so I would get in quick.
El culto al cuerpo y los medios
This video would be good to start a discussion about the role of the media in shaping our views of what is attractive in a person and the dangers of Photoshop!
¿Cómo llevar los tacones más altos?
This is a short article about women who are having their small toe surgically removed to enable them to wear higher high-heels. I have uploaded it to Textivate which enables you to generate a range of activities from the text.
Click here to view the activity.
Does advertising mislead us?
This is a nice little video about how adverts are not always what they seem. The video is about the Dove campaign where they take an ordinary women and turn her into a super model with Photoshop. I had a good discussion with my students about it and whether they think that they are manipulated by adverts.
Campaña contra el cigarrillo
This is a cartoon which formed part of an anti-smoking campaign. Get students to watch it and make a list of all of the problems which are associated with smoking.
Has transcription got its place?
Doing lots of past paper practise with my AS students I have realised just how much practise some of them need at transcribing what they hear in the target language listening comprehension activities. Each year I say that I am going to do more of it but somehow I never get around to it. Now I have a […]