If I had a little money ...

Level 2 and 3 : The Second Conditional : If you won a million dollars, what would you do?

Watch this video. What answers do the people give? What would you answer?

LISTENING EXERCISE & SURVEY: CLICK HERE and PRINT the listening exercise and survey. Watch the video again. Complete the survey in class.





ONLINE GRAMMAR EXERCISE - SECOND CONDITIONAL - CLICK HERE (from Grammar Aquarium)

If I got me a wealthy man, I wouldn't have to work at all, I'd fool around and have a ball ...

Here's a classic song from ABBA (using the 2nd Conditional) ... watch, enjoy, and sing along. PRINT THE LYRICS HERE.




Level 2 and 3: The Conditional : If +will, would, were

Last week we looked at the First Conditional (if +will). Watch this lesson if you are not sure how to use this grammar



ONLINE GRAMMAR EXERCISE - FIRST CONDITIONAL - CLICK HERE (from Grammar Aquarium)

IF - Online exercise (First and Second Conditional)from UsingEnglish.com

LEVEL 1 : HOW MUCH IS IT? / ... FOR HOW MUCH?

SHOPPING AT ALDI

This week we read the Aldi Catalogue. There are some great specials this week. Do you remember the dialogue?:



Customer: Excuse me, can you tell me how much the Vanilla Soy Milk is?
Assistant: It's $1.99
Customer: For how much?
Assistant : For a one litre carton

Vocabulary: litre / grams / kilo / carton / pack / box / bottle / packet / tin / block

It is easy to confuse HOW MUCH? (Price) and FOR HOW MUCH/MANY? (AMOUNT/NUMBER)

REPEAT THE EXERCISE WE DID IN CLASS ON YOUR OWN

1) PRINT this worksheet.
2) GO to ALDI'S ONLINE SPECIAL BUYS page. CLICK HERE.
3) Use the worksheet and write down the PRODUCT / THE PRICE / AMOUNT

MAKE SOME DIALOGUES LIKE THE ONE ABOVE AND PRACTICE THEM WITH A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER

LEVEL 1 - VIDEO : What have you got in that bag?



COMPLETE THE VIDEO LESSON (Click here)

***

Two Minute Talks

LEVEL 2 and 3 : This week we begin preparing for our two minute talks. You can choose to speak about anything you like. It can be a funny or sad story, something from the news, an interest or hobby, a TV show, film or book you like.

If you like:

Use GOOGLE IMAGES to find some pictures for your talk

Use YouTube to find a short video

Use Wikipedia for information if necessary (English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Arabic ... and much more here)


WATCH AND LISTEN TO THESE TALKS BY OTHER ENGLISH STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Some suggestions:

What kind of music do you like?

Fishing

My City - Vancouver


Listen to SHORT TALKS given by other Duke Street students in 2009. CLICK HERE


I'm going to talk to you about Italy and Italians! Watch this video. Do you know any Italians? What are they like?



COMPLETE THIS ONLINE LESSON about the Italians! (Lots of fun!)

Italy for Kids - a Picture Book

I really like this picture book about Italy written by some American school children. Find out more about Italy by reading ITALY FOR KIDS

***

Road Safety

Watch the video above. How many people in the car? How old do you think they are? Why does the accident happen? Where does it happen? What do you think about this video?



YOUNG DRIVERS

This week level 2 students have been studying road safety. How cna we make our roads safer? Here is a survey we made in class. Ask other people if they AGREE or DISAGREE

GRAMMAR Level 1 and 2 - TO BE ALLOWED TO




Click here and download a board-game you can play in class. You just need a dice and a token.



Level 3 - Make, Let and Allowed to (Online Exercise) - from Grammar Aquarium




VICROADS - Road Rules Website - Knowledge Game

So you think you know the road rules??? Try the VicRoads Knowledge Game. Click here.

Here is a site for learning the road rules.


Level 2 - Finding a Garage

We listened to the conversation with the man who needed his brakes fixed. Now give similiar directions to someone who needs to find the BP Sprint Service Station (Hampshire Road) from Duke Street. CLICK ON VIEW LARGER MAP below:


View Larger Map

Grammar: Level 2 - Verb-ing

When we use two verbs together we sometimes use INFINITIVE (to) and other times GERUND (-ing). You learnt the following this week:

I love ... - ing eg. I love cooking
I like
I hate ...
I enjoy ...
I don't mind ...
I can't stand ...

Watch this video to learn more about when to use TO and when to use -ING

A Lost Boy

Level 1 and 2

This week we read the story about Paul Lee, the 2 year old boy from Queensland who was lost in the bush. Paul survived because he ate insects and sucked leaves. In this video Bear Grylls from Man Vs. Wild (SBS, Monday night, 8.30 pm)eats an African worm! Very funny ... but not very yummy!


LISTENING : A LOST CHILD

When listening to a description of a lost child, what kinds of information would you expect to hear (e.g., the child's name)?

CLICK HERE FOR LISTENING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITY - MISSING CHILDREN IN A SHOPPING CENTRE(Randall's ESL Lab - American English)



MAKING ENQUIRIES ... "I lost my son"



You are at Highpoint Shopping Centre. You look in a shop window for a minute. You look around - your son is gone!

What do you do?
What do you say?
Who do you ask?
Where do you go?

1) ASK THE PEOPLE NEAR YOU ...

a. Excuse me

b. I lost my son

c. Did you see a boy about 3 years old wearing a blue T-shirt and white pants?

WHAT WOULD THEY SAY

No luck!

ASK AT THE INFORMATION DESK

a........

b........

c........

d. Can you make an announcement?

What questions would the lady at the information desk ask you?

eg. Can I help you? / Does he speak English? / What's his name? / etc

1. NOW WRITE A DIALOGUE
Lady: Can I help you?
You: Yes, I lost my son?
Lady: Oh dear! Don't worry. What's his name?

(continue)

2. PRACTISE YOUR DIALOGUE WITH A FRIEND

3. RECORD YOUR DIALOGUE HERE

Here is a PAIR WORK exercise to help you complete the exercise above

Messages, Notes, Risks and Dangers

LEVEL 1 and 2

Last week we studied instructions - what to do in an Emergency.

In the video Mr. Bean visits the Emergency department at a hospital.

What is his problem? How would you help him? How does he try to get to the front of the queue?

LEVEL 1

Read this note and answer the questions:


11.15 am

Fred

Grandma is in hospital. Don't worry, it's not serious. I'm going there now. She is in the Queen Victoria Hospital in Carlton. She is on the 4th floor in Room 409.

See you there.

Susan

P.S I've taken the car

Who wrote the note?
Who is the note for?
What is the message?
What time was it written?

LEVEL 1 : Assessment Task - Listening and Speaking VPAU 493.3/493.4

TAKING NOTES

Listen to the phone discussion. CLICK HERE.

1. Take notes from the conversation you hear ...

HOSPITAL:

FLOOR:

ROOM:

VISITING HOURS:


What happened?

Is he alright? Yes / No

If yes, how do you know?

What was he wearing?

2. A FRIEND OF YOURS HAS HAD AN ACCIDENT. WITH A FRIEND WRITE A DIALOGUE. RECORD IT HERE AT VOXOPOP.COM

CLICK HERE TO READ AND PRINT SCRIPT OF THE CONVERSATION

Teachers: Here is a copy of the VPAU 493.3 Assessment Task


LEVEL 2 and 3: Dangerous Sports : Taking risks



Watch the video above to get an idea about the "exciting" new sport of Free Running (also known by its French name, Le Parkour)

Boxing / Skydiving / Karate / Footy / Diving / Free Running (Le Parkour)...

We talked about these sports in class.

1. Which sport is the most dangerous? Why?
2. Which sport is the least dangerous? Why?
3. Is Boxing more or less dangerous than Free Running? Why?

Now ask your friend what she thinks? Use REPORTED SPEECH and tell me your answers:

eg. Teresa said Boxing was the most dangerous sport because people get brain damage.

Grammar Exercise : Reported Speech (Click here and complete)

LISTENING - LEVEL 2 and 3

DANGEROUS ANIMALS

Which animals are dangerous in your country? In Australia we have sharks and crocodiles, snakes and spiders --- but are they really dangerous?

CLICK HERE to hear from Jingwei and Joseph from Singapore. Which animals do they think are dangerous? Note: Click VIDEO QUIZ on the right hand side ofthe page to complete the listening exercise when you have finished listening to Jingwei and Joseph.

READING ... Are Sharks Really Dangerous?

Facts about Sharks ... CLICK HERE

Read and take notes about sharks from this website to answer the question.

LEVEL 3

The Letters of Rachel Henning ... Life in a Foreign Land

In our reading of the novella last week we discovered that Rachel does not seem to like life in Australia very much. She complains about many things and seems very homesick for England.



CLICK HERE to visit the Permanent Australia Collection at the Ian Potter Gallery (NGV) Melbourne.

Find some paintings of early Australian life to show to the class and discuss with your classmates

Level 1

APPOINTMENTS

We listened to people making appointments last lesson. Here is Mr. Bean trying to get to his Dentist appointment on time ...

Letters: From Me to You

LEVEL 3 : THE LETTERS OF RACHEL HENNING (Chapters 1 and 2)

Last week we started reading the novella, The Letters of Rachel Henning (1853). We will also use this book in our study elective, Australian History.

You have been writing personal and business letters, letters of complaint and emails. How do Rachel's letters differ from the way we write personal letters today?

The letters are very interesting and give us a good idea of what life was like in Australia for a young woman 150 years ago. Her letters are like a diary.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION: Do you think you would like being a young woman in the bush back then? How was the voyage out to Australia? What was life like when a young woman arrived? What was life on the farm like? What was life in Sydney or Melbourne like?

Complete the following questions to help you with the discussion topic



(if you cannot see all of the form, click here)

Level 3 : Writing letters of complaint

Exercise 1 : Rental Property Problems

Go to this page - copy and paste into Word - then practise writing a letter of complaint to Bowman's Realty about problems a - f in our class reading text. Use the reading text to help you complete the task.

Exercise 2 : Problems with a Purchase

Go this page - copy and paste into Word- then practice writing a letter about something you bought which is faulty.

You can copy and paste other templates into Word from this website.

Introducations: Nice to Meet You

Welcome (back) students in Levels 1, 2 and 3 at Duke Street Community House ... and to others using this blog for practising reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in English.

INTRODUCTIONS

"How do you do? My name is Dale Pobega, and I am the teacher of this course at Duke Street Community House."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

EXERCISE ONE: Practice the dialogue with a friend or classmate.

EXERCISE TWO: Write down some questions you might ask next?

eg. Is this your first time learning English at Duke St? Where do you live? Do you have any kids?



SHAKING HANDS : In Western culture we generally shake hands when meeting someone for the first time. Do you shake hands? If you do not shake hands tell the other class members and your teacher. Many Asian people and Muslims do not feel comfortable shaking hands --- that's ok, don't worry!

LEVEL 1 and 2 : WATCH these people introduce themselves and SPELL their names:



LEVEL 3: LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND SAY ONE THING ABOUT THEIR COUNTRY

CLICK HERE TO START ...

Complete the questions with your teacher and the rest of the class OR by yourself (if you have your own computer)

PRINT and STUDY the audio-script



READING COMPREHENSION & VOCABULARY : The British Royal Family

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is popular all over the world. She is eighty years old and has a large family. There have been many ups and downs in the lives of the British Royal Family - just like any family!

In this exercise I want you to

1) STUDY the Family tree of the British Royal Family. CLICK HERE.
2) PRINT the Family tree for reference.
3) COMPLETE the questions below about THE QUEEN AND HER FAMILY

CLICK HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS --- remember to click SUBMIT when you have finished!

GRAMMAR: The Simple Present Tense



Watch the video above to review when we use this grammar tense in English.

Points to remember. We use the Present Simple when we talk about:

1. Facts
2. Permanent situations
3. Routines and habits
4. Future meaning - after these prepositions: "when", "as soon as", "before" and "until". eg. I will buy a new car when I have enough money.

Level 3 Homework Exercise - SIMPLE PRESENT and SIMPLE FUTURE. Click here!

In Grammar this week, Level 1 and Level 2 we are looking at SUBJECT PRONOUNS and OBJECT PRONOUNS. Remember --- He loves her but she doesn't love him .

Level 1 and 2 Homework Exercise - Using Subject and Object Pronouns. First answer: Tony saw that girl yesterday ---> He saw her yestrday. Click here

WORK AND OCCUPATIONS

I LOVE LUCY

This TV show from the 50s is still very popular. In this episode Lucy and her friend, Viv, are employed at a chocolate factory. Let's watch the episode in class. Others can write to me by email. Click the ENVELOPE icon below.

Did you enjoy the video? What happens? Why is it funny? Have you had a job you liked or didn't like? How was the job? How was your boss? How were your workmates?





LISTENING - MY FIRST JOB

Listen to Aiste from Lithuania talking about her first job in Japan. CLICK HERE.

What was she selling?
What was her biggest problem?
How did she feel?

LISTEN TO THIS DISCUSSION BETWEEN CRYSTAL AND GEORGE FROM THE U.S.A ABOUT JOB OPTIONS. Complete the online comprehension questions.

TIP: Print the dialogue FIRST and study it if you have any problems with vocab and grammar ---> use your dictionary and teacher! We are here for you! :-)



COMPETENCIES: VPAU493, 494, 497, 498, 502, 503