Interactive Grammar Practice

Hi there...

Click the link below to have interactive grammar practice. It's fun.

http://www.wadsworth.com/devenglish_d/special_features/grammarquizzes.html

Good luck

Please Sign Up to elearning.uns.ac.id (for those how not)

Remember, if you have not successfully enrolled to http://elearning.uns.ac.id./, please try again. Ask your friend for guidance.
Those who have successfully enrolled should help others who have not.
We will stop using quicktopic.com as soon as you are all enrolled.
Thanks.

Pre-Quiz Forum

Hi there...
Sorry for the late post. I was down after leaving your class -- too tired :(
Well, here is the new forum to discuss your preparation for the quiz. Please click the link below.

Discuss Question-Answer Before Quiz

Our New Discussion Board for Thesis Statement

Hi there,

This is the alternative forum I create because many of you have problems signing up to http://elearning.uns.ac.id/.
Just click the link below. No registration is needed, but make sure you give me a clear ID.

Good luck.




Discuss Thesis Statement

Please Sign Up to the E-Learning Account.

Some have told me they've got problems when signing up for the e-learning account. This morning, however, we got some new participants. This means that the problem on email verification is no longer there. 

I've also uploaded the PowerPoint Presentation I displayed in our class last Monday (Feb 23).  I could not do this last weekend, either. Again, this shows that we have no technical problems any longer. In addition, I've created a forum to discuss your thesis statement. 

We are looking forward to your brilliant ideas.  

Thanks.

Pre-test

Hi Everyone.

Well, I am in the middle of grading your first assignment for the semester, and here are some of the things I'm finding in your first TWEs:

If you received a 2, please set up a time to conference with me.

If you received a 3, here are some of the items that kept you from getting a 4:

• unclear/vague thesis statement
• insufficient supporting details
• choice of words and word forms were not appropriate
• errors in structure or usage or a lack of variety in sentece structure
• repetition of words or phrases
• spelling and grammatical errors

If you received a 4, here are some of the items that kept you from getting a 5:

• difficulty in finding the focus of the paragrph
• inability to show facility in the use of a language through a broad range of vocabulary and sentence structures
• grammatical and spelling errors
• lack of detailed support or examples in body paragraphs

So far, I've only found a couple of scores at a level 5. A few of the reasons these students were able to earn a 5 is because the paper:

• had relatively few grammatical and spelling errors
• was clearly well organized and fully developed
• had a strong and well supported thesis statement through the use of details and examples
• showed a developed and appropriately used variety of vocabulary
• presented a well developed voice in the essay

As I stated in class, you have to be pretty close to native speaker proficiency to get a 6, and I haven't seen one yet.

A few things for everyone:

• it's SMOG not FOG
• conclusions need to be longer and more thorough
• all paragraphs should have topic sentences
• and, the golden number is 25 = 5/5/5/5/5 = If you write about 5 sentences per paragraph, you should have plenty of supporting details for the reader to follow your thought process.

Overall, I'm pleased with the types of essays I'm seeing. We do have quite a few things to work on, especially the vocabulary and syntax, but not bad for your first try.

I don't know how many people have a thesaurus, but if you have one and can bring it to class, that would be great. It will help tremendously with vocabulary development as we do our peer editing and revisions. So, I know it's a burden to bring an extra book, but if you can, it will help you and your peers as we journey toward that next level of greatness.

See you in the next class. Have a great night!

Grades - Speaking III & V

There has been some concern about grades. Allow me to explain the rationale and justification behind your grades:

1. Your participation grade reflects the grade of your final for the simple reason that by the final exam, you have had ample time to practice and prepare. Your final grade should be your best grade. This is also mirrored by the university policy as demonstrated by the weight distribution of the grades. If you will notice, your final grades in all of your classes carry the most weight. As stated before, this is due to the fact that by the end of the class you should have been more proficient than when you entered the class.
2. If you received a lower grade than expected on the final, you probably did not format your paper as was stated in the blog. If I couldn't find all of the information required (your name, student ID, topic, and class) your grade was lowered. If you forgot to put at least your name (which occurred in about 10% of all of my classes), you should have been given a ZERO.
3. I chose to give you the lowest grade out of all of the people who took the final rather than giving you a zero so that you were able to at least pass the class rather than fail completely. I consider this to be a gift to you since it would have been just as easy for me to fail you.

So, as you ponder your grades, hopefully next time you will remember that you are college students who need to follow directions or suffer the consequences.

Best wishes. ~Angela

Final Grades

Well, most of you made it through the semester unscathed. However, as I am calculating grades, many of you will be astonished to find that you failed your final simply for failing to follow directions. Listed on this blog were explicit directions as to how you were to proceed with signing up for your final. Yet, I find that many of you chose to do things your way rather than respecting my rules. So, it is quite easy for me to not have pity when I posted time after time what you needed to do. Listed below are some of the infractions that I found:

1. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED - NO DUPLICATE TOPICS (Grade lowered)
2. SIGN UP FOR YOUR ASSIGNED CLASS (Grade = zero - I will not hunt through stacks of papers to find your final.)
3. No header with name, student id, and class number (This is elementary school stuff....if you don't know your own ID number, how to put your name on a paper so I can read it, or if you can't put the right class on the paper, guess what, I just forgot how to give a grade for that particular assignment.)

The only way I know how to make you understand that rules are to be followed is to show you how consequences work. Hopefully next time you won't make the same mistake.

This is not to say that everyone falls into this category, so please don't flood my inbox asking if you were one of the people who made a mistake. You know what you did and who you are. I won't play the game of even giving you the chance to explain why you didn't read or simply didn't follow the directions in the blog. You made a choice; now you have the result of that choice.

Best wishes to all who will progress to the next level. And, best of luck to those who must, once again, take this semester of English.

Final Exam Schedule - ALL CLASSES

So, the majority of you have already finished your final, and have done so with fairly decent marks. I am very pleased with your effort and courage to come into your finals and speak so easily with me. It is not an easy task to speak to a native speaker, especially when you know you are going to be graded on it. But, I would say that 85-90% of you succeeded, and for that I am proud of you.

Level I (Bu Fitria) - I hope you have signed up and have modified your presentations to fit within the 3 minute time limit.

Level III (Non-regular) -- I know that some of you are really dreading dragging yourselves out of bed tomorrow morning. With that, I must concur. So, I do have time in the afternoon on Tuesday and after Bu Ida told me that you have no finals that day, I figured that it would be an opportune time to complete them. We will keep the regular order on the schedule, but start at 2pm and continue until all are finished. Keep in mind, I leave the following day, so if you miss your final, you will get a zero.

One final note: I've noticed that many of the same topics keep coming up in the finals. Those who are listed first in the blog will get full credit. Those with a duplicated topic will receive partial credit. Also, for those who missed their exam or signed up for the wrong class, Tuesday is your last chance. Partial credit will be given for taking your final or signing up late.

That's all for tonight. Best wishes to level V students who will finish their studies this semester and go on to do great things. Take care one and all.

~Angela

Final Exam Schedule - ALL CLASSES

Speaking I (Bu Fitria) - Sign up sheet is on my desk. Only three students showed up today to sign up. If by Monday at 3pm you have not signed up, then you have chosen to not take the final exam which will result in a zero.

Speaking III & V - Wednesday morning finals are on the same schedule, but now on Saturday. Wednesday afternoon finals are on the same schedule, but moved to Friday afternoon.

If you do not show up for your exam, please do not expect to receive a grade for your final. Some very irresponsible people have missed their exam and want to "make it up." I thought, at first, if I have time, I will interview you for a lower grade; however, this is still under consideration. You signed up for the time you wanted. You have a ten minute window to get to your interview. Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Only one student, thus far, has had a doctor's excuse. That is an excused absence. Everything else is unexcused. I'm thinking a zero is an appropriate grade for failing to show up for your exam

Final Exam Schedule - ALL CLASSES

SPEAKING I:

The sign up sheet for the class that Pak Depe and I share is listed on his blog. Please sign up as soon as possible. Failure to sign up could result in a zero.

The sign up sheet for the class that Bu Fitria and I share is with me and can be accessed any time I am at school. So far I only have four students who have signed up. The times are available from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Your presentation needs to be no more than 3 minutes long and then I will interview each student for another 2-3 minutes individually. If you do not sign up soon, you may receive a zero.

SPEAKING III & V:

Today (Wednesday), much to my dismay, I am unable to come to work. I will add times for afternoon interviews tomorrow and Friday for both level III and level V classes. Additional times on Saturday will be made available to you for those who are unable to reschedule for Thursday or Friday.

I keep getting questions about why your topics weren't approved. PLEASE READ THE BLOG THOROUGHLY... I also keep getting questions about the sign up sheet. For two weeks you had the chance to sign up. IF I have time to interview you, you will receive a lower grade, but I will let you take the final. Again, this is only IF I HAVE TIME. If not, too bad.....

I will also allow you to choose a different topic (for a lower grade). Come with your new, unused topic from the website, and as long as you have scheduled a time, I will interview you. Keep in mind that when I say read the blog, that means READ THE BLOG... if you don't understand and you don't ask me questions, then you have a problem.


And just a little note for future reference:

I am a little upset about some of the e-mails and questions I have been getting. Most of you talk to your friends to get the information rather than doing what you were supposed to do for yourself, which is READ THE BLOG. Getting information from other people is unreliable. Do the work; READ THE BLOG. Don't skim through the information. Read it and make sure you understand the requirements of the project, etc. You ask me questions like, "Why wasn't this approved?" What you need to be concerned with is the fact that it wasn't approved and FIND A DIFFERENT TOPIC. If you see that your topic isn't listed on the 30th, please don't write me on the 6th and complain about your circumstances. If you had been checking the blog, you would have realized on the 30th or 31st that your post wasn't approved and you needed to select a different topic.

If you have me again next semester, you will find yourself in a world of trouble if you choose to not follow directions. I made so many exceptions this semester; please do not expect that these same exceptions will be made next semester. You have been adequately notified.

Speaking III & V Final Exams - Only a few minutes left

The thread for the post regarding finals will close within the hour. I noticed some of you have not yet posted. There will not be ANY exceptions made regarding the topic request and final exam. Even if you called me, it is YOUR responsibility to post to the blog.

Tomorrow I will print off the complete list of posts and match them to the name on the schedule. The schedule will close at noon tomorrow. If you haven't made an appointment, you need to do so tomorrow morning. Students taking the final early in the morning, go directly to my office until the ILC opens up. Once the ILC has opened, we will move the exams there.

You must have the hand-written list of pros and cons to hand in during your final. Please list in the upper, right-hand corner the heading listed below:

• Class section, day, and time
• Student ID
• Full name
• Topic
  
• Date of your final exam

Thank you. See you this week! Good luck!

Speaking III & V Final Exams - last day

Last Day. This blog will close at 9pm. If you fail to read and select an appropriate topic before 9pm today, you will receive a zero, NO EXCEPTIONS.

Again, before you request a topic, please read the other posts. I WILL NOT APPROVE A TOPIC THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN CHOSEN; your topic MUST come from the website listed in the blog. (http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_index.php)

Once more, if you have not signed up on my desk by the 5th at noon, you will receive a zero. If you have signed up under the wrong class, you will not receive credit for your final (a/k/a zero). Duplicate topics will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to make sure you have a topic that has not been duplicated. If there was an oversight on my part and it was published, you need to make sure that you re-post with an alternative topic. Failure to do so could result in a zero.

Reminder: No requests after 9pm

Speaking III & V Final Exams - READ

Before you request a topic, please read the other posts. I WILL NOT APPROVE A TOPIC THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN CHOSEN. If you fail to read and select an appropriate topic before tomorrow, you will receive a zero, NO EXCEPTIONS. You have had plenty of time to browse the site, and with over 500 topics to choose from, there shouldn't be any problem with finding a unique selection for your exam.

Keep in mind that a zero is very easy for me to average, so I have no problem putting it in my grade book. This is probably your last chance since the thread will close on the 4th.

Speaking III & V Final Exams

Only two more days to request a topic. If your post has not been published by the 4th, you will receive a zero on the final. Also, if you have not signed up on my desk by the 5th at noon, you will receive a zero. If you have signed up under the wrong class, you will not receive credit for your final (a/k/a zero). Duplicate topics will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to make sure you have a topic that has not been duplicated. If there was an oversight on my part and it was published, you need to make sure that you re-post with an alternative topic. Failure to do so could result in a zero. I have close to 210 students in these classes and only 158 posts....you do the math....

By the way, your topic MUST come from the website listed in the blog.