READING

The following list are the readings (as numbered in the document provided by Stan):

1. Rodeo cowboys stay true to their roots - corrected
2. An amputee sprinter: Is he disabled or too-abled? - corrected
3. Hackers could skew US elections - corrected
4. Amid the buzz of tech show, can gadgets get smarter? - corrected
6. Elite U.S. students told to try harder - on lunch - corrected
7. Poker: a big deal --- WIP
10. Fair trade branded 'unfair' - corrected

AUDIO: Minding the Summer Learning Gap

This recording was started on Thursday 30 September - end of session - but all the questions were not completed. Stan will answer the remaining questions and we will review at our next session.

Vocabulary: "mind the gap", setback, at last count, spread out, fall behind.

Technology Increases Income, Reduces Poverty in Developing Countries

Stan will do this topic on his own.

PRONUNCIATION

1. listen - British pronunciation click here and American pronunciation click here.

AUDIO: Britney's Haircut

Sometimes the script and the audio recording are NOT identical (so listen closely!).

Vocabulary: rehabilitation (rehab), mood, hairdressing salon (not saloon), talk out of, already, make up, stick to, to suit, to draw attention to oneself, magazine,

Ended at question #11 (19h10).


NOTES:
It is "salon" ... not "saloon" for hairdressing.

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentcontinuous.html

AUDIO: Politicians and Words

This audio recording is easy according to Stan. However, he expresses concerns about answering certain questions. Suggestion: listen to the audio again, but reading the transcript of the topic.

Vocabulary: proven track record, own (to own - verb; owner, ownership), supporters, February, challenge.

Possible follow-on: http:// www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2008-10-09-voa1.cfm

NOTE: Stan should pay more attention to capitalization and spelling.

TOOLS

1. http://www.wordreference.com
2. http://www.systran.fr
3. http://www.thefreedictionary.com
4. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com

WORK ITEMS (AUDIO)

E-mail from Stan: "Thanks for all the information , I have 6 audios files to work on. I think, tomorrow (Tuesday 29/09), we can work on topics 4 & 5 if we have enough time. I will bring 2 other texts that I have started to work on."

1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/163_entertainment_ex/page12.shtml
3) http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1728_people_places/
4) http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2008-08/2008-08-28_voa1.cfm
5) http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2008-07/2008-07-01-voa1.cfm
8) (this doesn't work, but I've found the file on youtube... 45minutes, I think I can work on it alone for now) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQaHrcwKsox
10) http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1412_weekender/page4.shtml

Below my reworking of the topics:
1) BBC Learning English - Entertainment - Britney Spears' haircut - duration: 6m
3) BBC Learning English - People and Places - Words and politics - duration: 4m 50s
4) Voice of America - Special English - Minding the Summer Learning Gap - duration: 3m 50s
5) Voice of America - Special English - Technology Increases Income, Reduces Poverty in Developing Countries - duration: 14m 15s
8) youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQaHrcwKsox - The video you have requested is not available.
10) BBC Learning English - Weekender - Ethical Travel - duration: 5m

OBJECTIVES

1. Cover the 6 audio comprehension topics.

2. Cover the 7 reading comprehension topics.

3. Review the grammar exercises for the above.

4. Correction and feedback on all of Stan's work.

INTRODUCTION

Stanislas has provided the information regarding the English-language work he needs to complete (listed in the next post). We will meet on Tuesday/Wednesday 29/30 September for two hours each day and will work through a maximum of his material. In additon, before starting, we will address his objectives (to be posted on this blog) and measures of success. Finally, this blog will serve as a channel of communication where Stan can pose questions and concerns.