Class with Linguistiko HOW ARE YOU

My first class with Linguistiko

It was a very useful class in the online school linguistiko.com. We practiced with tricky words. Our teacher (Michelle) created a very positive atmosphere in the class and we had a funny discussion about confusing words.

I found interesting our discussion about which word should we put in the gap in this sentence:

She got ___ wrong on the test.

We had three options:  to, too, two.

I and another student decided to chose word “too”. But the right answer was “two”. Michelle explained us that in this sentence was omitted the noun “questions”. For English native speakers it sounds naturally: “She got _two_(questions)_ wrong on the test”.

I liked that this school used Google + hangout as a platform for the classes. I think for nowdays it is the best way for online education with excellent quality of sound, possibility using screen sharing and recording broadcasting (this class was recorded here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8aYRSvUWDs)

Anatoly

January 9, 2015

Let’s remove wires

Task: Write a letter to a company that no longer sells your favorite product on why they should offer it again.

Attention to THE general director OF defender.ru:

I’ve been using your bluetooth headset for a few months. I found it here  http://www.defender.ru/products/multimedia/headset/freemotion-b801/ . But when I decided to buy it as a gift for MY FRIEND’S BIRTHDAY, I FOUND OUT that your company no longer sells this device.

I tried to find A replacement but I wasn’t successful in it. It is THE reason why I decided to write this letter.

I believe that this product follows the trend releasing home and office devices from wires. I hope your company will resume sales of this device.

PS: It is not advertising, just English-writing practice

Written special for Anatoly’s blog http://item1000.blogspot.com

The capital letters show some mistakes which were corrected by teacher Audrey Ross

Anatoly

Close to nature

Task: To create story about picture

This person likes to be near nature. What do we need to take a bath apart from water?  

No shampoo, no perfume. There is other stuff, and in this case it is fruit. Old people know that fruit has lots of useful components inside. Even dry fruits could be used with water to enrich it with vitamins.

The next thing which demonstrated our closeness to nature is the cat. As it is well known, pets can communicate with their owners. Moreover, they can heal people. It seems that the two in this picture are happy being together. It could be dangerous to make eye contact with animals because they could perceive it as a threat. But this advice doesn’t work in this photo. They look like friends.

In choosing a title for this picture, I could name it Water/Fruit/Animal Therapy. Is it correct in English? Maybe not, but close to matters of nature.

Written on December 5, 2014 by Anatoly special for blog http://item1000.blogspot.com  , corrected by Verbling Teacher Andrea  during the class on Verbling.   

English: Writing. Context dictionary of future

Task: You have just discovered a great new product/service. Write an email to your friend recommending it.

Dear Audrey, hello. I know that you are interested in using new technologies for studying foreign languages and I think this product could be interesting for you.

In fact it is not A product, this is just AN idea of creating A context dictionary with pictures or icons which could help to memorize translationS.

Traditional online dictionaries as a separate application compete now with context dictionaries which ARE includeDED IN  Internet browsers like Safari, Chrome etc. But they don’t have pictures and our visual memory does not work for THE purpose of expending new vocabulary.

If you are interested in this idea let’s make a deal: your knowledge in languages and my programming skills is enough TO CREATE this application. I’m sure people would be grateful TO us.

This is an example OF how this dictionary could work:

Anatoly

Written special for Anatoly’s blog http://item1000.blogspot.com

The capital letters show our mistakes which was corrected by teacher Audrey Ross

English: Writing. Complaining in a hotel

Write a complaint letter to a hotel manager about your terrible recent experience.

Hello Mr.Smith,

I’m writing you about my experience of spending two weeks in your hotel. I hope it WILL improve the level of service which your hotel offers.

In general, we liked the service. We had a few negative emotions and here they are:

Food: We had a wide choice of fruits only if we woke up early in the morning. The staff in the restaurant didn’t REFILL THE FRUIT BAR at all.

Swimming pool: We were not always able to USE THE places near THE swimming pool because they were occupied by towels.

Room: There were some moments when the air conditionING didn’t work.

Everything else was great.

Thank you for all,

Anatoly and family.

The capital letters show our mistakes which was corrected by teacher Audrey Ross

English: Writing. Short description OF studying with Verbling

Task: Your friend is new to Verbling. Write an email to them explaining how Verbling works and giving them advice on how to best use it.

Hello Jon,

You asked me about Verbling and here is my short description:

Verbling is an online school which provides classes for people who are interested in studying foreign languages. Now they offer English and Spanish. I guess they are thinking about OFFERing other languages too. I know about it because once they sent me AN offer to teach Russian. But for now they concentrate ON only two languages which I mentioned before.

They use Google plus hangoutS as a platform for the classes. The restriction of 10 participants in EACH Google plus hangout works WELL because studying in very large groups is not so effective.

The most important features which we can use in Google plus hangoutS ARE a very good quality voice chat and screensharing.

But it is possible in Google plus hangouts to watch videoS together, to paint, AND to play several games.

IT’S ALSO very important THAT WE ARE ABLE to use tablets and smartphones.

The teachers who work there DO their jobS very well. The styles of teaching are very different AND the classes ARE USUALLY very informative and interesting.

I think that it is very important in studying languages to keep a strong motivation AND to maintain an interest in studying.

My advice for you - try it.

Anatoly  

The capital letters show our mistakes which was corrected by teacher Audrey Ross