TO ALL MY ESL STUDENTS and TODAY, to YOU, someone NEW! !

You are all invited to join in and be pro-active! This blog also belongs to you.

Here are some of the ways you can participate:

* COMMENT (even if you make mistakes) C'est pas grave!
You will get better and better! You cannot GO BACK!
PLEASE leave a COMMENT (click on comment at the bottom of post and follow instructions)

* SHARE INFORMATION with your classmates, they will surely appreciate your findings:
New ESL sites, stories, anecdotes, jokes, games ...
* WRITE what's on your mind! How you feel about your learning process.
You are not alone! Group 'therapy'!!!

HAVE a dose of FUN!!!
* LET me KNOW that you are there to encourage... ME TOO (inside joke)!

LISTEN to this INTRODUCTION VIDEO:

NOTE TO THE READER:
- CLICK on Ctrl and +++ to enlarge TEXT
- anything UNDERLINED ia a link to click on



Thursday, February 16, 2017

ENGLISH CLASSES HAVE STARTED!!

The ESL (English Second Language) classes have started!
WELCOME and WELCOME BACK!!
To all you students – ‘old’ and new!!
Each group has welcomed some new students!
I surely like what I see and I feel very confident
about the dynamics of each group!
Well things have started off with a bang!
That is with much excitement and enthusiasm.
And I’m talking about the teacher ;)
Celebrating Valentine’s Day holiday,
this past week was especially fun!!!
A team activity that took the form of
WOW!!! What a project!
 
Teachers, in general, have to be the best organisers in the world. And I as a teacher, just happen to have the best students in the world to accomplish this very ambitious project ;) which seemed to please you all!
I had loads of fun and so did you!! Maybe a little stress and anxiety… but all worth it. 
        I am a very proud teacher!
 
Every type of activity was included.
YOU learned to follow directions, you wrote,
you composed, you learnt new vocabulary,
especially about LOVE and its uses.
You spoke English during the activity,… ummm???
You created a homemade card and
finally, the best of all, you sang in English!
 
To conclude, I would like to tell you
that you and I are partners
 in this learning process.
We will work together at your success!!!
SUZANNE
 
Here are the links to :
  1. the Righteous Brothers on YouTube
  2. and the lyrics to 'Unchained Melody.
 
 
 
 

Monday, October 31, 2016

MONSTER IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH

Hey! Charlie Brown comes to mind when mentioning 'the pumpkin patch'. In this story a farm is the setting so you can imagine that there would be a pumpkin patch.
FUN story from a FUN TEAM!!!
 
             Here it is:
       THE MONSTER… IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH.
Once upon a time, a poor little girl named Rosy lived on a farm. She was ten years old. Every morning she got up before sunrise. Her job was to feed and take care of all the chickens, two cats and a dog.
One day, Rosy was awaked when she heard loud barking. She went quickly to the window and she saw nothing out of the ordinary. But her dog was still barking, so she went outside. While she was running after her dog, she saw something unusual in the pumpkin patch. It was black, huge and it moooooved very slowly. Rosy was afraid but however curious. When she had reached the pumpkin patch… there, she saw a MONSTER.  
After a few minutes,  she realized it was some kind of giant human figure. It wasn’t a monster but… a homeless man and he had been sleeping there. He was really hungry and Rosy, a compassionate girl, prepared breakfast for him.
TEACHER'S COMMENTS: Loved this little story especially the moment of suspense when we can just imagine the monster because it is well described! I hope that you like my image of how I personally imagined the 'thing lurking' in the pumpkin patch.
                        Happy Halloween!
LURKING means > presenting a threat 
 
 
COMMENTS ANYONE!!!
More stories to come this week!
 
 

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Halloween 2016 CREATIVE WRITING!


HELLOOOOOO ... there!

This 'holiday' is a great opportunity
to use for creating, telling or writing stories.
Now for a nice change, I proposed to
the intermediate and advanced groups
to try some 'creative writing'
What a great idea I had!!!
The outcome is outstanding!
 Here is one of the first excellent stories:
 

 

Last year, at midnight on Halloween, some teenagers decided to squat in an abandoned school.
While they were telling scary stories about mummies, they heard a very loud noise and it had come from the roof. They challenged each other to see which one would be the one to go upstairs. Fred decided he would be the hero! While he was climbing the stairs, unfortunately, a step broke.
“AAAAAHHH!” he moaned in pain.
Fred had fallen down and was now crying  out for help. The others rushed to his side and realized that Fred had broken his leg. They called someone to rescue him.
Sidetracked by this incident, they would have never known what the noise was. A few minutes later after they had left the building,  a huge owl spread its wings and flew across the orange mooooooon…
 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!
   Céline, Lise and Odette



TEACHER'S comments:
you knocked my socks off!
I have just finished editing your original draft.

The story is excellent and flows,
keeps you in suspense and has creative qualities.
The verb tenses are all there and well used!!
I (as a teacher) just added a few expressions
for vocabulary learning purposes.
I also applied a few sentence structure rules
and  corrected word order.

The next step is to publish it on my blog,
(which I have just done)
to let your classmates have a look!

I hope you like the edited version.
I enjoyed listening to it the first time.
NOW you can read it once again
at our next class.
 

Saturday, April 9, 2016

PROCRASTINATION... aborted!!!

 
 GOOD MORNING!!!
Spring time and spring cleaning!!
Guess what I'm doing for the next three days!!!
Cleaning my appartment, picking up and
organizing what has been lying around
 for a few months...
Call it coincidence or the UNIVERSE telling me to MOVE IT!!!
 I have been put into a situation that requires me
 TO TAKE ACTION!!! What is it do you ask!!???
Here's the story:
the triplex where I live has been put up for sale
 and the realtor wants to visit the appartment...
 SHOCKED, SURPRISED and FLABBERGHASTED!!!
 I told her that it wouldn't be possible
until next Wednesday!!
I have a DEADLINE!!!
There is nothing like a deadline to give
 a procrastinator incentive to move it!!
So there it is!
 
 
 
I'll write to you next week when I can get back to
my favourite activity of all, besides beeing outside!
WRITING and writing to you, dear students!
Have a great weekend,
SUZANNE


Sunday, March 27, 2016

I'M 70 and LOVING IT!!!

 
* un message suit  pour les amies et amis  
 
 
TODAY is my BIRTHDAY!!!
 and here is a fun image
 that I found on Google
 
 
Yes! I feel really fabulous!
It all has to do with growing up
and choosing what you love and
what you want for your life!!
AND one of them is TEACHING!!
And I am still at it !
 
LOVE to you my dear students!
    You are the best and you make my life WONDERFUL!!
You keep me smiling every Tuesday and Wednesday!
But most of all, you help me stay young!!!
___________________________________
 
And what would life be....
without humour...
 
   * QUOTES from The Wise and the poets:
 
"The spiritual eyesight improves
as the physical eyesight declines." Plato
 
Another from the poet,
Thomas B. Aldrich,  that I just LOVE:
 
 
Voici une traduction libérale
de ces paroles précédentes:
- Garder un cœur sans ride, avoir la foi,
être généreux, joyeux et respectueux,
sont les secrets de la jeunesse
qui , elle, n'a pas d'âge!.-
 
MERCI pour toute votre générosité
 de paroles et de souhaits de fête!
Lorsque je souffle sur les chandelles,
voici mon vœux pour cette année:
 revoir toutes les belles personnes
 que vous êtes et profiter de votre présence.
 
Aujourd'hui vous m'avez aidée à faire 'le plein'!!!
SUZANNE xoxoxo
 
 
 
 
 
 


Thursday, March 17, 2016

HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY 2016


Hi! To each and everyone of YOU!!! 
And Happy Saint-Patrick's Day. 


To the Irish part of you, from your ANCESTRY,
and we know that it is a fact that Québec greeted 
so many Irish immigrants over the centuries that 
you could be a quarter, a fifth, a half, or an eighth
which ever ... the Irish is in you and in me.

 



BEST WISHES!! and

 may the LUCK of the Irish be with you today!!

 
SUZANNE

Monday, March 14, 2016

A WELL MET CHALLENGE!!!

A WELL MET CHALLENGE!
WELL CHOSEN words!!!
for JULIE'S hard-working skills!!
Why do you ask?
Well Julie is a student that was 'parachuted' into
the intermediate group  after only one session as a beginner.
Because I had to close this group and didn't want her
 to lose what she had invested time and moneywise

 I suggested that she 'graduate' rapidly.
I also did the same for Lynda L. her then classmate.
 BOTH are doing fine!!!
 
Here is Julie's adventure story!!
with a few tweaks from the teacher...;)
 
________________________________________________
 
  AN UNLUCKY SITUATION
 Three summers ago, my family and I went on vacation to Ontario. We always like to go camping every summer with our caravan (trailer home).
 
On one day, while we were there, we went to Marineland and after to Red Lobster’s, my favourite restaurant. After dinner we returned to the campground. On the way there, the police arrested me because I was driving too fast. I didn’t know that the speed limit in Ontario was lower than in Québec. Normally I’m not nervous but this time I realized that I didn’t have my driver’s license.
“Oh! Oh! I’m in trouble!” I said to myself.
 The police officer, mmmm…, the ‘big’ police officer walked towards my car with an angry face. I said, “Sorry! My husband drank a lot and I wasn’t supposed to drive. So I don’t have my permit with me. So sorry!”
The officer said nothing and returned to the patrol car. He took a long time and when he came back, he said, “Because you are a very responsible person, I’m going to give you a ticket of 46$ instead of 246$” I responded by thanking him so very much.
When we arrived at the campsite we saw my cousin and he had been waiting for us to come back. The awning of our trailer had been broken by the wind.
 My husband’s reaction was to exclaim,”TABARNAC!” Something he never says.
Right now as I am writing this and thinking back, it makes me laugh but at that time, it wasn’t so funny.
 
  GOOD JOB, Julie!!!
 I’m really glad that you took the challenge! 


 

Ù Campground is the place (all the sites)                   Ù Campsite is where you park your trailer