Friday, May 16, 2008

Free vocabulary online game!

How does the FreeRice vocabulary program work?

FreeRice has a custom database containing thousands of words at varying degrees of difficulty. There are words appropriate for people just learning English and words that will challenge the most scholarly professors. In between are thousands of words for students of all ages, business people, homemakers, doctors, truck drivers, retired people… everyone!

FreeRice automatically adjusts to your level of vocabulary. It starts by giving you words at different levels of difficulty and then, based on how you do, assigns you an approximate starting level. You then determine a more exact level for yourself as you play. When you get a word wrong, you go to an easier level. When you get three words in a row right, you go to a harder level. This one-to-three ratio is best for keeping you at the “outer fringe” of your vocabulary, where learning can take place.

There are 60 levels in all, but it is rare for people to get above level 50.

Try it and see! http://www.freerice.com/

Who pays for the donated rice?

The rice is paid for by the sponsors whose names you see on the bottom of your vocabulary screen when you enter a correct answer. These sponsors support both learning (free vocabulary for everyone) and reducing hunger (free rice for the hungry). We thank these sponsors for their participation at FreeRice. For information about how you or your company can sponsor FreeRice, please email here. Additional rice is paid for by generous individuals who support FreeRice by making a donation through the UN World Food Program. If you would like to make a donation, please click here.


How does playing the vocabulary game at FreeRice help me?

Learning new vocabulary has tremendous benefits. It can help you:

  • Formulate your ideas better
  • Write better papers, emails and business letters
  • Speak more precisely and persuasively
  • Comprehend more of what you read
  • Read faster because you comprehend better
  • Get better grades in high school, college and graduate school
  • Score higher on tests like the SAT, GRE, LSAT and GMAT
  • Perform better at job interviews and conferences
  • Sell yourself, your services, and your products better
  • Be more effective and successful at your job

After you have done FreeRice for a couple of days, you may notice an odd phenomenon. Words that you have never consciously used before will begin to pop into your head while you are speaking or writing. You will feel yourself using and knowing more words.






Speaking & listening




We worked on pages 184-188 in our Toefl book. The students had to listen and read
a short passage and then prepare a spoken answer to the question asked.

Our second class was based upon "Listening" pages 121-128 in which students had to answer questions in the book based upon what they heard.


HOMEWORK
-finish lesson #6
-write words in flash cards
-study for vocabulary test on lessons 5-6

Monday, May 12, 2008

Writing Skills


Last day we had a lessons 3-4 vocabulary quiz and then we
worked on pages 247-252 on Topic of reading passages.

Homework
-do lesson 5
-study for ibt info quiz next class
-write new words on flash cards

How to Prepare TOEFL Essay Page

How to prepare TOEFL essay? You might ask yourself this question as you prepare for the new TOEFL iBT writing test.

It's a good question to ask because you will need to be prepared in order to write good TOEFL essays on the iBT.

It's true that in order to do well on a TOEFL essay, you will need to have a high level of vocabulary and grammar in your writing.

But first of all, you will need to know about the format of essays on the new TOEFL iBT.

So here are the details about the essays on the new iBT TOEFL:

TOEFL iBT Essay Task 1: IBT TOEFL essay 1 is an integrated essay. "Integrated" means that the essay will ask you to combine and summarize information from two different sources. For the first TOEFL essay on the iBT, you will be given 3 minutes to read a passage on your screen. Then you will have to listen to a brief talk that lasts for 2 minutes. Finally, the iBT asks students to complete the TOEFL essay task 1 writing test. This TOEFL essay is a summary of the points from the reading and lecture.

TOEFL iBT Essay Task 2: The second essay on the new iBT TOEFL is an independent task. "Independent" means that you write this TOEFL essay from your own ideas and experience. Essays for the second writing task of the iBT TOEFL will be about familiar topics. For instance, a TOEFL essay on task 2 might be about the topics of study abroad or the internet. You will be given 30 minutes to write the second TOEFL essay.



TOEFL daily quiz: Sun May 11, 2008
use this test to practice some new words:

http://www.gettoefl.com/cgi-bin/daily/daily.pl