Visitors and Friends

A few passing thoughts before your exams and the beginning of the break. I was visited by three former students, Marwan, Muhammad and Khaled pictured above, early last week. They've gone on to grade 11 and have become student scholars in their own right. I was happy to see them, and enjoyed talking to them in English.

Students always ask how can they improve their English. The answer "read"! Whatever your interests are, get books, articles from newspapers and magazines and read about that interest.

As you probably know, your grade 10 English exam will consist of a listening section, writing, reading and possibly a grammar section. To prepare for the listening section from the very moment you step into the examining class, stop talking and put on your listening cap.

You have been given your past weekly exams, so study them beginning with the week 5 exam until the last exam taken. Study the grammar exercises in units 3, 4 and 5. Go over the exercises in your workbook for those chapters.

During your writing exercise be sure to use words you know and know how to spell. Spelling counts on the end of term English exam! Make sure you understand the writing instructions. Do you know what you are being asked to write about? Do you have to write one paragraph or two, 50 words or 150 words? Read the instructions carefully!

Finally, a little Divine help never hurts, but don't only rely on It. You have to do your part; study, read, get plenty of rest, be alert and attentive when you go to your exam room. Cheating is not allowed at IAT and students will be punished for it so don't do it and don't encourage others to do it either.

Have a safe and fun filled end of semester break. I look forward to seeing you all in class on Sunday, February 6, 2011.

Concentration

What is Concentration?
Studying requires long periods of sustained focus on new knowledge and working with that knowledge so it becomes a permanent partof long-term memory. This demands"concentration"-the ability to work intensely at a task to the exclusion of every other demand on your attention.
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably why so few people engage in it.

Accurate Communication is important

It's not enough to "know" English, you must also be able to understand it AND accurately communicate it to others. Think about the answers to the questions below from the scavenger hunt held in the library this week:

1- What is the capital of French Polynesia?

2- Which famous car company is based in Turin?

3- What is the population of the Metro area of Hong Kong?

These questions are asking about the capital of a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, a car company in Turin, Italy and the total number of people living in Hong Kong, yet the answer students gave were, respectively, Paris, France a country in Europe, the Shroud of Turin a piece of cloth some say was used to wrap Jesus, Son of Mary in his grave and by leaving off the last three digits of a number reducing the population of a major international city from millions to thousands.

In your role as young scholars, engineers, and leaders of your country, you must be able to know AND understand what it is you are asked and communicate that information accurately and effectively. That makes all the difference in the world between answering question 2 with the name of a car company instead of a burial cloth, or removing over 6 million people from a city's population from 7,182,000 down to 7,182, or finally placing a European capital city right in the middle of Oceania. Being accurate is as important as "knowing" the answer, especially when you have to communicate that answer to others.

Read as much as you can and when you run across words you don't understand write them down and bring them to our 'Brain Dump' sessions in class. See you in class!

Classroom etiquette

Fortunately, our classroom doesn't look this bad yet, and we want to keep it from getting there. Gentlemen, I don't allow you to plug your computers into the electrical outlets during class time in order to reduce the chance for accidents from people tripping over or avoiding tripping over charger cables laying across the floor. However, I have told you all since the very first day you received your laptops that you can come to G210 during either first or second break and charge your laptops in a secured room while you take your break. It is your responsibility to have a working laptop during all of your classes.

I strongly encourage you to charge your laptops at night before you go to bed and at least one of the breaks during the day. You are accountable for the working condition of your computers. I want to insure that they are handled as safely as possible during my class, which is why I will not allow you to run cables across the classroom floor while the room is full of students.

Scavenger Hunt at IAT Dxb Library

Scavenger Hunt: Class 10.05

A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items, using which the participants — individuals or teams — seek to gather all items on the list — usually without purchasing them — or perform tasks or take photographs of the items, as specified.

The goal is usually to be the first to complete the list, although in a variation on the game players can also be challenged to complete the tasks on the list in the most creative manner.

Well, this is what class 10.05 did. They participated in a scavenger hunt, finding resources / volumes and completing tasks as assigned by Ms Margaret. Thank you Ms Margaret. The students really enjoyed the activity.

Remedial Classes

Remedial Classes:

Remedial classes are taken for students who fall behind in their basics and the advancement of the subject is not fully understood by them. Remedial classes are necessary for students who don’t understand a subject properly. So, gentlemen, if you're one of the students who has missed some classes then, this is the time to catch up on what you've missed. Your teachers are here every evening, from 3pm - 3.45 pm, to assist you. So, make the best of it.