Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Special Announcement for Specialists

Extra lesson: May 9^th, 4:30-6 pm, Course conclusion

This year’s experimental, non-frontal, non-vertical, project-based Specialist practice in English was intended to function as a bridge between the academic world and the real post-university world of work, social relations, aesthetic interests. That’s why we did the following (and posted many on our blog: www.weareenglishspecialists.blogspot.it):

• A complete transcription of the J.K. Rowling commencement speech at Harvard University
• Europass curriculum vitae in English
• A series of 8 translations of idiomatic English, done in groups to favor peer-teaching
• A study of the Danish videos, “Teaching Teaching and Understanding Understanding”
• An interview with a classmate on a personally-experienced historical event
• A study of scansion followed by an analytical essay on sound in a chosen poem by Robert Frost
• Telling an English joke in a natural style
• Role-playing real linguistic situations
• A translation of the songs on a favorite recording sent to the singer through their publisher
• Advanced discussion of the terminology used in literary appreciation
• Attendance at the 2011 TESOL conference in Rome
• Collection and explanation of 10 slang terms or phrases
• A study of regional accents through videos
• An interview with an American and/or Brit based on our reading of the book, Brit-Think, Amer-Think, on perceived vs. actual cultural differences
• Writing and reciting a sketch of dialogs in slang-jargon-idioms
• A film review
• Translation of a poem by contemporary poet Barbara Ras, then sent to her
• Debating a topical issue in teams following the standard rules of debating
• A letter to the editor, then a second written directly to an online newspaper
• A multi-media presentation on women’s issues
• Correcting bad translations and correcting old student papers
• Interview with a working English teacher
• Teaching a language lesson

We did a lot, maybe too much. If you were unable to complete any of these you may send them to me anytime at martinpedersen1255@gmail.com.

Thank you for participating and good luck for your future,

Mr. Pedersen