Ondas Radio

Each trimester at Ondas the English classes write, produce and record an original radio program. This activity is not only fun and collaborative; it also helps to improve pronunciation, grammar, spontaneity, confidence, and overall speaking skills.

                                   

• The first step in this creative process is brainstorming, or coming up with the main idea, subtopics and a format as a class.

• Next, we will partner up and come up with an outline for each subtopic.

• Then, partners will work together to write a rough draft, or first attempt at the script.

• The next step is peer editing. We will correct grammatical and stylistic mistakes as a class in order to improve and perfect the content.  
• After that, we will practice reading aloud, pronunciation and delivery to get our timing down.
• When we are ready, we will head to the studio and record our radio program, adding sound effects and background music.
• The final step is listening to the finished product and critiquing our pronunciation and delivery. Listening to our own voices, while strange, helps to improve our communicative skills. 
• Remember, have fun with it! The radio program is a great momento of all your hard work throughout the course.

In the comments section, add the outlines and/or rough drafts you complete with your partner. Then, over the next few classes, we will continue with the following steps of the process. 

PS. Did you know that Ondas has it´s very own radio station? Check it out here: Ondas Radio

Happy Holidays: Digital Nativity and 3rd Conditional

What would the Nativity have been like if it had taken place during the digital age? 

How would word spread? 

What would be different? 

What would stay the same? 

Check out this video and then discuss. 

Using the 3rd conditional, come up with some sentences to describe what would have happened if JC had been born in the XXI century.

A reminder about the 3rd Conditional:

• It is used to talk about a hypothetical situation which is impossible at present. 

Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win.

	condition	result
	Past Perfect	WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If	I had won the lottery	I would have bought a car.

And just to spread a little Christmas joy, here is a video gift from my hometown. I love LA people!

Nelson Mandela: In his own words

An ideal for which I am prepared to die is one of Mandela's most famous speeches. It was made at the opening of his trial on charges of sabotage in front of the Supreme Court of South Africa on April 20, 1964.

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

Click here to listen to the speech and see the full transcript

Want to read more about Nelson Mandela? Click here for more on Nelson Mandela´s Legacy.

Conference Calls

Listen to the Podcast: Conference Calls

Dealing with conference calls Type the keywords “meeting” and “waste of time” into an Internet search engine and you get around 2 million website matches. Meetings are often seen as time-consuming, costly and even environmentally-unfriendly. Conference calls are meetings which use standard phone lines or web-based telephony to connect people in multiple locations. They offer companies the bottom line advantage of not having to pay to move participants. A reduction in air and road miles translates into a reduction in a firm’s carbon footprint, a significant plus in today’s greener business environment. The fact that staff don’t have to travel to attend has practical benefits, too. Businesses can ignore the convention of scheduling a one-hour meeting whatever the subject, there is nothing to stop them organising a 15- or 20-minute call. If employees don’t travel they also get more family time and that means a better work-life balance. English is the default language of business and many conference calls will be conducted in the language. To deal with them well you need to familiarize yourself with some basic terminology. The device you use to connect with other participants is a “speakerphone”. The security number for calls is a “passcode”.. At the start of the call there will usually be a “roll call” of all participants’ names. Meeting moderators can switch off or “mute” lines of communication to eliminate background noise, as well as of course “unmute” them. Conference call and teleconference are umbrella terms for a range of different meeting activities. This technology allows for teletraining  through teleseminars which are also used to promote or sell products. All hands or town hall conference calls are larger-scale presentation events which offer all staff the chance to interact with senior executives. For students of English the good news is that conference calls do not require mastery of the confusing phrasal verbs such as “put through”, and “hang up” associated with routine telephone contacts. You will probably hear just two easy-to-understand verbs of this type.  Participants “dial in” to what is sometimes referred to as a “meet me” number to join a meeting.  Moderators or call leaders can “dial out” from the conference to bring in attendees The downside of audio-only meetings is that you miss out on clues given by facial expressions and body language. Sound quality becomes really important and understanding each other can be a challenge for native and non-native speakers alike. There are some courtesy do’s and don’ts which can make life easier for everybody. DO’s •Join the conference call from somewhere quiet •Face the microphone of the speakerphone •Address everybody by name •Mute your line when you are not talking DON’Ts •Allow anything noisy near the speakerphone (beware projectors, PC fans, air conditioners and vacuum cleaners!) •Put the conference call on hold, everybody will hear your hold music •Tap on the table or shuffle papers near speakerphones •Start up side conversations It is a big help that conference calls are normally recorded so when in doubt you can always replay the meeting to check whether or not you were right first time. Perhaps the real winners, though, with recorded teleconferences are the minute takers who no longer even need to be there at all!

India: Topics borrowed From Pod Academy

The East India Company and its legacy

UK trade mission to India

History of English

Here is a nice little rundown of the history of the English Language. Check it out!

As we see in the video, many different groups have left their mark on the English language throughout its history. Name some of the words or expressions that originate from these sources:

• The Anglos and the Saxons
• The Vikings
• William the Conqueror and the Norman Conquest
• Shakespeare
• The King James Bible
• Scientists like Hook, Boyle and Newton
• Local words from Australia, Africa, India and the Caribbean

Class Discussion Questions

1. According to this video, which cultural and linguistic groups contributed new vocabulary to American English? Can you think of any others which the video does not mention?
2. As we heard, the English language borrows words from a total of 350 other languages. Therefore, the narrator argues, nowadays English has little to do with England. He also suggests that perhaps we should consider changing the name of the language to something other than English. Do you agree? Why or why not?

LANGUAGE REVERTS TO TYPE

• Do you know these terms and abbreviations?
• How often do you use them?

Download                   IMHO
Toolbar                    FYI

Firewall                   IMHO

Blog                       BTW

Poke                       LOL

Reboot                     OMG

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Every fourth Thursday of November Americans celebrate this epic holiday. In Canada Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October. What other facts do you know about Thanksgiving?

Dying for more details on this holiday? Take a look at this History Channel Video: 

Bet You Didn´t Know: Thanksgiving

 

Another interesting tidbit from the History Channel are these facts and figures...

Traditional Recipes

Here are some of my personal favorites, yum!  Turkey     Gravy       Stuffing

   And save the best for last. Pumpkin pie is a classic.  

Sequencing and Story Telling

How do you make the perfect cup of joe?

 How do you get to Ondas?

How does the photocopier work?

When telling a story or giving instructions, it is important to be succinct so that the person you are talking to is able to follow.  When giving instructions, you can you these basic sequencers:

• First, (you) . . .
• Then, (you) . . .
• Next, (you) . . .
• Lastly, (you) . . .

For more intricate instructions and telling stories or narratives, these connectors are helpful: 

Starting out

• Before you begin, (you should . . .)
• The first thing you do is . . . .
• I would start by . . .
• The best place to begin is . . .
• To begin with,

Continuing

• After that,
• The next step is to . . .
• The next thing you do is . . .
• Once you've done that, then . . .
• When you finish that, then . . .

Finishing

• The last step is . . .
• The last thing you do is . . .
• In the end,
• When you've finished,
• When you've completed all the steps,