Cambridge TV

Hello,

It looks like Cambridge University Press has started to add YouTube videos. It looks promising.

Cambridge TV


Cheers,
Maurice

Voice One Oy
www.voiceone.fi

Word Dynamo

Hello,

I've been using Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com for years now. I highly recommend the latter -- thesaurus is an essential tool for learning, and this one is particularly good.

It looks like they just released this new free service, Word Dynamo. It's a Beta version, but it looks like it might offer intermediate to advanced students some http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifexcellent opportunities to practice new vocabulary on their own. You can find it here:

http://dynamo.dictionary.com/

Enjoy the lessons!

Cheers,
Maurice Forget
Voice One Oy
www.voiceone.fi

Business Case Studies

Hello,

Over the years, I've helped a few executives successfully complete their MBA programs. It was mostly providing editorial advice for their essays and tailoring discussion activities around their assignments. One of the key takeaways for me after reading so many of their assignments was the usefulness of business case studies to stimulate new ways of thinking.

While I don't think it is inevitable, there does seem to be some degree of "groupthink" in large companies. Whether it's a case of yes-men (or yes-women), the fear of rejection in offering divergent ideas, or not wanting to upset a supposed winning streak, people can get into an idea rut.

It is in fact one real value of MBA programs in that they offer students the chance to revisit their thinking by examining real cases of best practice and failure.

Anyways, the British paper, The Times, offers 100 free business case studies for UK business studies students taking GCSEs and A-levels. This places them within the BEC Higher range although I would suggest they would be suitable for BEC Vantage even. At any rate, they offer a wealth of easily accessible, readily discussable, relevant business topics.

http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/

Enjoy the lesson(s)!

Cheers,
Maurice
Voice One
www.voiceone.fi

Distribution of wealth

Hello,

I don't normally post links to articles without adding downloadable questions. However, I found this recent collection of statistics from Mother Jones rather jaw-dropping. It graphically illustrates the distribution of wealth in the US.

While I think this may stimulate a lot of discussion spontaneously, here are a few questions you can add--

Warm-up: In pairs, create a pie chart showing wealth distribution for the top 20%, second 20%, third 20%, fourth 20%, fifth 20% in the US.

Show the information. Then, discuss:

- Were you surprised by this information? How different was it from your prediction?
- Do you pay too little, just enough, too much tax?
- What do taxes pay for? Is it worth it?
- Who is more cost effective -- private or public sector? Has this changed over the years? Has egovernment and computer technology made government more efficient?
- Why do you think the tax rates have changed? Do you agree with this?
- Should corporations pay more taxes? Why or why not? Do low taxes make companies more competitive or more profitable? How can countries with higher tax rates compete against tax-havens? Should tax havens be outlawed?
- Is paying taxes a patriot act? / Is tax avoidance unpatriotic?

Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
Voice One Oy
www.voiceone.fi

Chatbot

Hello,

It occured to me that it would be good practice for English students to try interacting with well-designed chatbots. This would work especially well with customer service representatives and sales people.

The latest generation of chatbots are programmed to reply in natural conversational English. As well, they are constantly evolving their language through AI. Similarly, some offer up interesting conversation filler to keep the conversation going.

You can find many different chatbots at:
http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Artificial_Intelligence/Natural_Language/Chatterbots/
http://www.chatbots.org/.

Enjoy the lesson idea!

Cheers,
Maurice
Voice One Oy
www.voiceone.fi

Free ESL/EFL resources from the US Govt

Hello,

I keep running across great material through my Master's course.

Case in point, the US State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs produces material for ESL/EFL teachers. It's probably on par with the British Council's work in this area.

They publish a quarterly magazine called "English Teaching Forum" which is chock full of instant communicative lessons. I think they were trying to blend contemporary SLA research and applied linguistics into teacher-friendly formats.

You can order a subscription free or download past issues for free online:
http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum-journal.html

It's a little American-centric at times, but still very interesting.

Enjoy the lessons!

Cheers,
Maurice
Voice One Oy
www.voiceone.fi

Small Talk

Hello,

Here's the Small Talk material I promised you.

Small Talk

This is the video I mentioned about John Cleese in Fawlty Towers NOT avoiding taboo subjects in conversation.



Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
Voice One Oy
www.voiceone.fi