Friday, February 25, 2011

Good Listening in Class


It is important for you to be a good listener in class. Much of what you will have
to learn will be presented verbally by your teachers. Just hearing what your teachers say is not the same as listening to what they say. Listening is a cognitive act that requires you to pay attention and think about and mentally process what you hear.
Here are some things you should do to be a good listener in class :

1.Be Cognitively Ready to Listen When You Come to Class. Make sure you complete all assigned work and readings. Review your notes from previous class sessions.
2.Think about what you know about the topic that will be covered in class that day.
3.Be Emotionally Ready to Listen When You Come to Class. Your attitude is important.
4.Make a conscious choice to find the topic useful and interesting. Be committed to learning all that you can.
5.Listen with a Purpose. Identify what you expect and hope to learn from the class session. Listen for these things as your teacher talks.
6.Listen with an Open Mind. Be receptive to what your teacher says. It is good to question what is said as long as you remain open to points of view other than your own.
7.Be Attentive. Focus on what your teacher is saying. Try not to daydream and let your mind wander to other things. It helps to sit in the front and center of the class, and to maintain eye contact with your teacher.
8.Be an Active Listener. You can think faster than your teacher can speak. Use this to your advantage by evaluating what is being said and trying to anticipate what will be said next.
9.Take good written notes about what your teacher says. While you can think faster than your teacher can speak, you cannot write faster than your teacher can speak. Taking notes requires you to make decisions about what to write, and you have to be an active listener to do this.
10.Meet the Challenge. Don't give up and stop listening when you find the information being presented difficult to understand. Listen even more carefully at these times and work hard to understand what is being said. Don't be reluctant to ask questions.
11.Triumph Over the Environment. The classroom may too noisy, too hot, too cold, too bright, or too dark. Don't give in to these inconveniences. Stay focused on the big picture - LEARNING


Read more at http://www.how-to-study.com

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Top Ten Reasons to use Email in your Classroom

Top Ten Reasons to use Email in your Classroom
Number 1
Email makes communication easy!
Assigning homework, receiving completed assignments and setting up parent conferences can be done with the click of a mouse.
Number 2
Get students excited about writing!
Students are motivated by the social experience of exchanging emails with pen pals and classroom peers.
Number 3
Go green!
Email helps us use less paper, which is not only a cost-saver for your school's budget, but also protects planet Earth.
Number 4
Give students the skills they need for tomorrow.
When students practice using email in the classroom, they are learning essential workplace skills.
Number 5
Embed writing in all class subjects.
When using email to communicate, students integrate writing in all classes, even math and science.
Number 6
Engage parents in classroom activities.
Email allows you to communicate easily with parents about class activities and increase their involvement in the classroom.
Number 7
Provide authentic writing opportunities.
Unlike worksheets and drills, writing to peers with email creates authentic learning experiences, providing deeper learning and encouraging higher-order thinking skills.
Number 8
Improve standardized test scores.
When email is a regular part of the classroom, students write more and score better on standardized tests.
Number 9
Safely bring the world into your classroom!
With SchoolMail's robust security features, students are able to safely connect and collaborate with students from around the globe.
Number 10
Remove language barriers!
SchoolMail's integrated, instant translation feature allows easier communication between those who speak different languages.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Common Mistakes We Make while speaking English!!

1. "It was a blunder mistake."
Correction, people! The word 'blunder' means mistake, so you could say:
"It was a blunder," or
"It was a big mistake."

2. "It would have been more better."
The word 'better' itself implies that the option in question is superior -- the use of the word 'more' in the sentence is, therefore both inappropriate and unnecessary. Thus the correct sentence would go as follows:
"It would have been better."

3. "Why don't he get married?"
The term 'don't' applies when discussing a plural subject. For instance, "Why don't they get married?" The right way to phrase that sentence would be:
"Why doesn't he get married?"

4. "Your hairs are looking silky today."
This is one of the most common bloopers! The plural of 'hair' is 'hair'! Thus:
"Your hair is looking silky today."

some more::

1. Loose vs lose:
Many people make this mistake. They inevitably interchange the words 'loose' and 'lose' while writing. 'Lose' means to 'suffer a loss or defeat'. Thus, you would write:
'I don't want to lose you," and not ' don't want to loose you.'

'Loose', on the other hand, means 'not firm' or 'not fitting.' In this context, you would write,
"My shirt is loose," not "My shirt is lose."

2. "One of my friend lives in Kelantan."
This is one of the most common bloopers ever! The correct way of putting that is:
"One of my friends lives in Kelantan."

Why? Because the sentence implies that you have many friends who live in Kelantan, but you are referring to only one of these friends.

3. Tension-inducing tenses.
People often use the wrong tense in their sentences. For instance, someone might say:
"I didn't cried when I saw the movie."

Unfortunately, the word 'didn't' is never followed by a past tense verb, in this case 'cried'. The correct way of putting it would be:
"I didn't cry when I saw the movie."



That's all for the time being. 
Read and avoid making the same mistakes, children. 
Good Luck :-))