Leipzig course

ESL Projects English Team Trainers
1

Hi everyone,

Travis started the Leipzig course at the Education Centre of Saxon Retails Sales with a group of motivated people. I’m sure he’ll give you an update on how it went.

Regards,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: A delivery truck[YSaerTTEW443543]

2

Hello everyone,
Just a uick note to say that the class went really well. They are, of course, of mixed levels but motivated and they play along. All are at a mid-beginner or lower level although there are two who can communicate a little more freely.
We worked today on the basics and I will give a more detailed report tomorrow after the lesson.
Thanks,
Travis

3

Hi Travis,
many thanks for giving me a more detailed report tomorrow after the lesson. Please advise me in which topics I should concentrate in my class on Wednesday.
Thanks
Uli.

4

Hello everyone,
Today was a mixed one. First, what we covered.
We have covered (since Monday) Introductions - How to say hello, the present simple in all forms ( pos., neg. and questions ) using Murphy, Basics for Business and worksheets from the web. We did daily routines - the clock and times of day as well as adverbs of frequency. These areas are getting better in terms of use and the problems remain the classics (3rd. person s and word order as well as vocabulary, mainly the verbs). We also used some materials provided by the school itself - a sheet called Money Matters and a page from spotlight - I left these on the desk for you to see.
That was more than enough to keep them busy. Their levels are truly mixed from absolute beginner to pre intermediate with 2 students speeking fairly freely despite vocabulary deficiency and typical mistakes made by learners.

Here is the problem which arose today. All in all, it was a very good day however it began quite badly when one student - Carola B. a woman with blue red and green hair (for identification) became very very frustrated and suddenly, quite unexpectedly, began to cry and left the room. I had realized Moday that she was weak but with the help of others she was coming along and, I felt, making good progress and feeling good. Today was different - after an hour of not understanding she closed up and left.
I felt terrible, having not seen it coming and I had the feeling that she would like to learn but was embarrased or, as said, very frustrated.
The others continued and we all had a very good day.

SO. She and 2 others, who have not attended as of yet, but are also ABSOLUTE beginners need special attention. Basic stories that they can translate or the basic forms of Be - micro taught as best as possible. Please ask Frau Naumann if you need more info or feel free to call me - Torsten has the number. I will look here later as well if I can.

The rest of the group is great, willing to participate and learn. They could use some more work on the simple but definately should focus their vocabulary on retail sales and shop assistant, work things. We discussed this and they want to learn about customer negotiations (rebates, guarantees returns and exchanges as well as complaints) but these must really be restricted to basic grammar levels at this point. There are/is or even the Present continuous or Past Simple would also be options for them.
I hope that this helps and that everything runs smoothly - they are all pretty nice and you can have fun with them as well.

regards,
Travis

5

Hi Travis,
many thanks for your remarks that will help me to work efficiently with this group of heterogynous learners.
In my understanding it is typical for adult students groups that we are facing a quite different level as well as a very different motivation.
This way it is always a great challenge to work rationally in the spirit of “……the show must go on……”
Let us do our best.
Best regards
Uli.

6

Hi Travis and Uli,

Thanks a lot for keeping us up to date. One of the biggest challenges of course and groups like this is the fact that the learners almost always have very different levels. Thats why we need to point out that the program is not just a typical English class but involves learning techniques and sharing experiences with each other. After all, we only have a very limited amount of hours with them so we need to give them tools and resources that help them continue their learning process AFTER the course is over.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: Fixing a car[YSaerTTEW443543]

7

Hello Travis and Torsten,
Just a quick note to say that the class today went well. Carola was very motivated to learn and especially Luzy and Anita assisted Carola to cotinue to learn.
We worked today on the basics, repeated the numbers, practised some telephone exercises, spelling, some grammar (plural, word formation, adverbs, how to express the time in different situations …).
I fully agree to your recommondation to give the students rational tools and adequate resources that help them continue their learning process even AFTER the course is over.
I thank you very much,
best regards Uli

8

Hi, everyone,

I was contented with the L-class today, for we had a pleasant, positive learning atmosphere. Everyone was attentive and I had the impression they really want to learn or refresh their English skills and that is in my opinion of course motivating. Carola was also present today and her neighbour (especially Luzy) tried to help her in some grammar details, above all, regarding the basics (to be, to have, can/must etc.: pronouns etc. ). She did well for her level.

We covered the following aspects, among other things:

  • telephone phrases: can I help you? What can I do for you? etc…put through to, connect, leave a message etc…We analysed a telephone conversation text: usual idioms and phrases (telephone vocab), business vocab (deliver, order, confirm, arrange etc. ), relevant grammar: modal verbs, verb to be/have, polite forms (could, would, please etc. ), political correctness.
  • we repeated the learned vocab many times during the day in different kinds of exercises: brainstorming, playing cards (New Amici: english grammar + vocab), asking questions in pairs etc. )
  • time expressions (past, to etc.) , days of the week: as they were eager to know why the days of the week are called that way in English and German, I explained the etymology to them. Then, we discovered a lot of connections between English words and German words, partial similarities in German and English words;
  • false friends: today’s example: handy - mobile phone (cell phone)
  • English in the world: where is English an official language?
  • I gave them some hints (tools and resources) how they can continue learning English , not only for general purposes, but also for special ones (e.g. business), how to enrich their vocab on the basis of known words (roots), analytical skills, Internet, music, English words in German, menmonics. In this context, I warned them that there are “false friends”.
  • possessive pronouns
  • how to learn verbs. We used the verb wheel (Go Language Press). I explained to them the three important variants of irregular verbs in English, comparing them with the German grammar.
  • we practised some numbers, spelling and pronunciation (I had them write the sentences and expression on the whiteboard), word formation
  • business vocab (a preview): offer, discount, claim, confirmation, customer, enterprise etc.
  • we practised some “grammar patterns” such as: "Have you ever been to (place) ?
    Then we learned some important country and city names (a bit of geography, regional and cultural studies)
  • general vocab: family, time, days of the week versus special vocab : telephone, booking a room
  • Reading comprehension: Tipping in Australia, in the USA and UK. The text was read aloud, discussed and translated. New words were analysed.
  • I suggested they should pay attention to the English typical features (verb to “do” with questions and negative sentences, verb structure, “have got”, omission of the relative pronoun “that”, phonetic peculiarities, phrasel verbs: today’s phrasal verbs: some verbs with “up”: e.g. get up, stand up, eat up etc.
    I also thank everybody here on the forum for keeping us up to date.

Regards,

Roberto

9

Hi everyone,

Thanks a lot for your great work. Here is the line up for the next week (March 30 through April 3):
Monday: Travis Baumgartner
Tuesday: Travis Baumgartner
Wednesday. Dr. Roswitha Hunold
Thursday: Roberto Steffens Villarreal
Friday: Travis Baumgartner

Week of April 6 through April 9:
Monday: Roberto Steffens Villarreal
Tuesday: Roberto Steffens Villarreal
Wednesday: Dr. Roswitha Hunold
Thursday: Dr. Roswitha Hunold

Thanks,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: In a hair salon[YSaerTTEW443543]

10

Hi Travis,

Can you please post the room number here so Dr. Hunold will find it easily on Wednesday? Many thanks. Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, question-response: They haven’t lowered the temperature, have they?[YSaerTTEW443543]

11

Hello everyone,
The course has been running smoothly. The students remain motivated and are willing to work with us on everything that I have started so far and have been giving me positive feedback so enjoy.
First, what we have covered since Friday, last week. As far as grammar goes they are all at a lower level so I have kept it light. We did There is/are, telephoning phrases and basics (could be reviewed), the possesive pronouns and adverbs as well as giving directions (and prepositions f place) as well as was/were.
Vocab that we covered included the days, months and dates as well as payment methods (articles and role plays) and department store vocab. I used a nice worksheet with the possible different departments and talked about products and product descriptions - this proved useful for adjectives, opposites and, again, giving directions.

They are a good group. One or two students are at a slightly higher level but there are 2 or 3 that are absolute beginners. I think that most would be ready for a little more grammar, in particular the Will future or the simple past basics (one asked me explicitly for this) and, otherwise, they are open for just about anything.

The room is ‘Kompetenzzentrum 29’ and Frau Naumann in room 9 or Frau Haussig in 25 can help you with copies or unlocking the door if necessary.

I hope this helps, have fun,

Travis

12

Hi Travis,

Thanks a lot for your great work. Here is an update on your Cologne group: Colgne course[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, question-response: You didn’t shut down your computer, did you?[YSaerTTEW443543]

13

Hi everyone,

here are the topics covered yesterday:
introduction (family, hobbies)
introduction of the -ing-form
reading comprehension, writing a short summary
booking a hotel
grocery store (vocab, reading comprehension)

Roswitha

14

Hi, everyone,

I spent a pleasant “sunny” day with all students, the class was full, everyone but one participant (Anita) was present, since her daughter is ill. We covered the following topics, among other things:

  • verbs in the simple present, ending -s versus -es: plays, goes, does; also tries
  • plural forms: s- versus -es tables, churches, also countries (y > -ies);: irregular plural forms: teeth, feet, geese etc.
  • repetition of the - ing- ending. Continuous forms, after such verbs as “enjoy, love, hate, keep” etc.
  • the auxiliaries do/does, did/didn’t
  • some irregular verbs: the simple past and sometimes the past participles (specially for the beginners it is still a grammar aspect that requires more attention)
  • hints how to continue learning grammar structures and how to enrich their vocab: learning techniques (cards, brainstorming, mindmapping, association exercises, mnemonics, language games, etymology tricks etc; discovering analogies in the English grammar structures etc.
  • vocab training: telephone phrases (text + test); parts of the face and some parts of the body, production (game: hangman)
  • reading comprehension: my job (book: English for Shop Assistants, Cornelsen)
  • dictation: my job (as a shop assistant); spelling and phonetics training, specially th (voiced versus unvoiced); stress on words
  • repetition of some old vocab (also deriving from other trainers): verbs/nouns/business vocab
  • prepositions: under, on, over, behind, in front of. Oral exercises
  • modal and auxiliary verbs: can, will, must, have to
  • important adjectives; opposite forms; comparative forms
  • phrasal verbs: get up, stand up, put through (connect), look up
  • time expressions (review)
  • the verb “to get”: different meanings

I was surprised that one of the beginners did not make any serious mistakes as it was her turn to write some sentences on the whiteboard. She said she remembered at that moment a lot of situations as she was reading or hearing English “consciously or unconsciously” (songs, signposts, clothes etc. ). I think the best way to keep them motivated is showing them that they are really able to achieve their goals by working as a team, exchanging experiences and by helping them to see a clear way to the English language and culture, I mean, they can base on their passive skills regarding the English language used in Germany in everyday life. In addition, they get more and more conscious of the importance of English. All in all, I am also satisfied with the cooperation in this class and among all of the trainers involved. We have had a lot of fun so far too. We have been focussing both on specialised English for shop assistants and general language aspects.

Have a nice day with them tomorrow!

Regards,

Roberto

15

Hello,

I just want to write that everything went very well on Friday.
The materials that we covered were:

a quick review of the previous tenses - present and was/were and then the simple past. We used some Murphy, readings using the past simple and Q & A exercises.

This was the main point for the morning and early afternoon but we also read a little about ‘In a Clothing Store’ form ‘Eng. for Shop Assistants’ and spoke a lot about the vocab surrounding clothes - colors and patterns, etc…

Have fun next week and say goodbye for me again,
Thanks,
Travis

16

Hello, dear English trainers,

it was my last teaching day in the Bildungszentrum in Leipzig today. As usual I would like to update you on the last two days. Here is a summary of the most important aspects covered on Monday and Tuesday:

  • brainstorming exercises, learning techniques, memorizing new vocabulary, what is not only interesting for the beginners in the class, association exercises, analogies, etc.
  • regular verbs in the present and past forms (specially: simple past and -ing present form).
  • some irregular verb patterns: sing, shrink, stink, drink e.g. or break and speak
  • pronunciation versus spelling: u in words such as but, butter versus put and butcher; the ending -ed in regular verbs: she stopped /stopt/, he lived /livd/ etc. ; the s in English versus German s: send /send/ = senden /zenden/
  • use of double consonants in certain regular verbs (past tense, for example): stop > he stopped
  • comparative and superlative forms of adjectives: large > larger > largest; the conjunction than; opposite adjectives: low and high etc…
  • vocab regarding: clothes, money (pay, spend, tax, fine, tip, charge, credit card, debit card etc), weather (cloudy, snow, foggy etc. ), some animals, fruit and vegetables, different shops (butcher, chemist’s, haberdasher’s, bookshop etc.;
  • reading comprehension: Travel guide for Leipzig: sights, monuments, lively nightlife, history (German reunification, Napoleonic wars), culture (Faust, Goethe), architecture (Hieronymus Lotter), society, population: in simple English sentences. I asked some of the students to prepare a short presentation about Leipzig in simple English sentences: question-and-answer session. Difference between city and town.
  • pronouns: personal , demonstrative, question, possessive pronouns. A contrastive analysis of the pronominal system in English: wh-words (questions), th- and h- and sh words (demonstrative and personal pronouns).
  • some typical English sounds historically compared with the German correspondent words: e.g. the English /ou/ like in stone = German /ai/ like in Stein. Other examples: oath, soap, alone, goat, home, bone > Eid, Seife, allein, Geiß (= Ziege), Heim, Knochen (= -bein wie in Schlüsselbein = collarbone). Other analogies: d = t: good = gut, day = Tag; g = y/i or w: Auge = eye, Roggen = rye; gestern = yesterday; geflogen = flown; morgen = tomorrow; Regen = rain; th = d: thing = Ding, think = denken; thank = danken; the = der, die, das; this = dieser etc…; t = s/ss/ß/z: it = es, water = Wasser; eat = essen;: forget = vergessen. I think this is a good help for the beginners. This way they have a “bridge” between these two languages.
  • shopping phrases (repetition), grammar: modal verb: can/could: Can I help you?
  • playing learning cards: important verbs, their pronunciation, how to use them and hints to learn them.
  • grammar with jokes (mostly British humor; book used: Grammar in Laughter ): use of the auxiliary do/does/did and negative sentences; modal verbs: can, can’t; must etc; some simple if-sentences; word order etc.
  • colours, seasons; connection existing between the following words (“etymological false friends”): yield (Ertrag, > Geld), fee (= Gebühr, > Vieh) cattle (= Vieh; > Kapital) and capital; pay and peace;earn (= verdienen > Ernte), harvest (= Ernte > Herbst) and autumn.
  • politeness: thanks, you’re welcome, don’t mention it; idioms and important phrases: of course, certainly…
  • adverbs in -ly.

They still should repeat the basic grammar aspects such as verb patterns, pronouns, prepositions etc. and focus the vocab on important shopping dialogues: The Bildungszentrum makes books (English for Shop Assistants) available that you can certainly copy. We spent the first Monday morning hours reading different shopping dialogues.

I thank all of the trainers involved in this English class for their efficient cooperation: I wish Roswitha a lot of fun with them on the last two teaching days. Say goodbye for me again!

Happy Easter!

Roberto