UNIT 2:

    "Towns, customs and traditions"


 

TASK 2

  

AIMS

  • Learn about different interactive ESL web sites.
  • Review some grammar: Present Perfect (for/since).

PROCEDURE

  • Do the assignment "From the flag to the tradition" a guided surfing on the net which will take you to different ESL web sites.
  • Go through the indicated web sites and accomplish the tasks required.
 
  
   

"From the flag to the tradition" (guided surfing)

Our journey begins in International House, (international house) the International Language Centers Group in the UK.  Go through the site till you read Interactive English Language Exercises. Then click on Flags & Countries Quiz. We are now going to do a quiz on-line and get immediate results. 

Now, we move within seconds to the West Coast of the USA and learn how to find key pals. Go to Dave’s ESL Cafe, (Dave's ESL cafe) (one of the most popular sites for learning English!!), choose Student Email Connection and  make new pals by adding your name (only if you have your own email account!) to a growing database of ESL/EFL students from all over the world. Easy, isn't it? Bookmark!  

Go back  to Dave's main page and visit the section ESL Idiom Page, where you can learn a new idiom at the push of a button! Choose the third option: a random idiom from the collection. Did you know this idiom?   

Dave’s site is also an excellent place to test your English grammar. Select EFL Quiz Center, choose grammar and then Simple Past and Present Perfect. Try to do it. Difficult??? If you are not sure about any of your answers click here. You can also study the use of  the Present Perfect and the Simple Past in depth accessing Hiway   (hiway), a popular on-line elementary grammar. Bookmark the sites!  
    
I do not want to bore you with grammar, but there are more specialized English grammar sites on the Internet. I will take you to a very interesting grammar page written by Jonathan Revusky. Scroll down the menu on the left and stop when you read The Present Perfect. Click on number 1: for, since, how long. Read and copy this information in your personal file. Save the document as "for-since". Now, test if you understood it by doing this quiz from the The Internet TESL Journal . Bookmark pages!.  

Let's leave grammar for now and visit Ex*Change , (exchange). Go through the site and click on World cultures. Here you will be able to read what students of English around the world write about their own culture. Choose one of the topics, for instance wedding celebrations (Happy Merry Wedding) or Festivals and celebrations (Mexican Cultures and traditions) Copy one of these texts and paste it in your personal file. Save this new file as “uni2tas2a”.   

Let's come back and finish this guided surfing by going to another site which publishes students’ writings. The site is called “WRITE NOW” (Write Now) a section from International House Easter Spain (International HouseEaster Spain). Click on the article Discover Romania, written by a Romanian teenager and published in June 1997. Save this text as "Romania". We will use this text in the following task.