C.O.D. Library ESL/ABE/GED Faculty Newsletter May 2009
Resource of the Month
End of the Year As I'm drafting this newsletter, the weather reports indicate that today will be the first 80 degree day of the year, so my mind has already moved on to summer even though we do still have a couple weeks until the end of the semester. I'm sure we're all looking forward to a warm sunny break (or at least a warm sunny weekend), so this final newsletter of the semester will wind us down from a long winter and slow-to-warm spring with a bit of fun.
http://eslblogs.englishclub.com/ film "The Learning English Video Project is a 7-part documentary series about people learning English in different countries around the world. Made by independent UK filmmaker Daniel Emmerson, the series features students from across the world who have different methods and reasons for learning English. The students’ methodological approaches and grounds for learning are often determined by their geographical and social situation. These are the key aspects that the series focuses on, and by doing so it provides an entertaining and educational glimpse into the global ESL community."
I recently came across a blog called Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals, containing the lesson plans and video clips that an English language teacher in Brazil uses with his students. The blog also includes tips on how to use your own DVD collection to create engaging classroom activities of your own. The film segments available on the website range from action/thrillers to comedy to animation-- but all of them are popular movies that you and your students will recognize and enjoy watching. The C.O.D. Library has many of these videos (see below) if you prefer to use DVDs in your classroom rather the online clips. Another fun use of movies for teaching language is called English Trailers , a website that uses popular movie teasers to encourage students to listen, write and talk about topics that interest them. Finally, I've also included a film project as this month's online resource. As the semester winds down, this combination of movies and learning seems just about the right speed. I hope the semester wraps up well for everyone and that you all have an enjoyable summer. I'll be here in the Library over the summer, so feel free to contact me with questions, requests for class Library visits and orientations or just to say hello.
Summer Movie Season Wall-E After hundreds of lonely years, a waste management robot finds a
--EnglishClub.com
Your Librarian Jenn Kelley Reference Librarian Office: SRC 3043A Phone: (630) 942-2383 E-mail: kelleyj@cod.edu Library Website: www.cod.edu/library Find me on Facebook
new purpose in life. With only a cockroach for a friend, he finds true love in another robot sent on a mission to Earth to see if it is safe for human life Ratatouille A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unwanted visitor in the kitchen of one of Paris' most exclusive restaurants, Remy forms an unlikely partnership with Linguini, the garbage boy, who inadvertently discovers Remy's amazing talents. They strike a deal, ultimately setting into motion a chain of extraordinary events that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down The Game Plan Superstar quarterback Joe Kingman has an ego bigger than a football field. Joe is getting ready for a run at the big championship game when the 8-year-old daughter he never knew existed shows up at his not-so-family-friendly bachelor pad. As the big game gets closer, he begins to realize the most meaningful win he can achieve is the heart of the one little fan who counts the most Kung Fu Panda Po works in his family's noodle shop while dreaming the day away about becoming a Kung Fu master. His dreams soon become reality when he is unexpectedly chosen to join the world of Kung Fu and study along side his idols. Before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung is headed their way. It is now up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat I Am Legend Robert Neville is the last human survivor in what is left of New York City. A pandemic has left only 1% of the population alive and most of those who survived are no longer human. The infected, now lurking in the shadows, watch Neville's every move. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by the only one remaining mission-- to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood The Ultimate Gift Jason thought his inheritance was going to be the gift of money and lots of it. Was he ever in for a big surprise. Based on the best-selling book "The Ultimate Gift" by Jim Stovall, the story sends trust fund baby Jason Stevens on an improbable journey of discovery, having to answer the ultimate question: "What is the relationship between wealth and happiness?" Jason had a very simple relationship with his impossibly wealthy Grandfather, Howard "Red" Stevens. He hated him. No heart-to-heart talks, no warm fuzzies, just cold hard cash. So of course he figured that when Red died, the whole "reading of the will" thing would be another simple cash transaction, that his Grandfather's money would allow him to
continue living in the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed. But what Red left him was anything but simple. Red instead devised a plan for Jason to experience a crash course on life. Twelve tasks, which Red calls "gifts," each challenging Jason in an improbable way, the accumulation of which would change him forever