2M
English focuses
on developing analytical reading and writing,
improving your listening and speaking skills plus
mastering grammar and vocabulary at an intermediate level.
Reading
Reading
is challenging and will serve to develop your understanding of
British and American literature and culture, as well as to strengthen
your comprehension, analysis, and interpretation.
Our
first book,
called Of Mice and Men1
by John Steinbeck is set in the California
of the thirties, when people had to cope with the Great Depression
.Through Lennie and George’s friendship your heart will beat at the
same pace as those two “drifters” (wandering poor men). Getting
familiar with the historical background of a novel is always an asset
and enables you to gain a better insight on the author’s work and
life. A
journal writing will sum up your work on this classic American novel. Study guide online .
We will go on with The Great Gatsby 1brought to a new fame thanks to Baz Luhrmann's latest film, yet still a classic of American literature of the 20's. Fitzgerald portrays a young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Francis Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, “The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream” .cf wikipedia
Time
permitting, we
may
end up with a third
book,
The
Glass Castle
by Jeanette Walls but the choice is still open. “Things
usually work out in the end." "What if they don't?"
"That
just means you haven't come to the end yet.”
The Glass Castle is a 2005 memoir
by Jeannette
Walls.
The book recounts Walls' and her siblings' unconventional,
poverty-stricken upbringing at the hands of their deeply
dysfunctional parents.Writing
Through a number of different writing assignments-from narrative, compare/contrast to argumentative and literary essays -you will practise your writing skills. You will also be writing about literature in many creative ways. You should expect to write once every two weeks or every month, whether in a quick feedback exercise or for a major class essay.
In order to increase your proficiency in English for daily written and oral language, vocabularies will be studied by theme-related chapters and will be practised through role plays, listening activities or little games . Be ready to learn about two new pages every week and have a final quiz (oral or written, sometimes a listening task) after every chapter or every two chapters if they are short.
Grammar5
We shall go on introducing grammar topics in context - with material created by the team of English teachers at the Bugnon , newspaper articles, games and role plays in class or short writing exercises. Yet most of the job is the one you do on your own (or in pairs) when you practise exercises in class or as homework. We shall try to use our time very efficiently during our grammar period so as not to overload you with tasks at home, but learning by heart also plays a major part in mastering the basic rules of our dear English grammar. Remember you may download and print summaries of every chapter of the GGB plus all tenses, on the English department website6 under Grammar English Bugnon Grammar4U
We
will practise vocabulary
and grammar in a vivid and active way in
our brand-new language laboratory.
SpeakingKnowing your vocabulary is a good thing, but being able to come up with the exact word you need is better.
While reading a book, all activities which involve sharing information with your classmates or presenting a feedback on a chapter you have read, alone or in group, will give you opportunities to practise your oral expression. Make a special effort to ask your questions in English!
Listening and understanding
During classes, I speak English only so your listening skills will be challenged almost every day.
Watching and listening to the latest news on the BBC (radio or TV) will be part of the curriculum, as other listening tasks I might ask you to do, in connection with vocabulary/grammar or with films.
Website7
In case of absence or illness, it is each student's responsibility to inquire about the material received or the assignments due.
Tests and marks
Final Advice
Please be sure to come to class prepared (i.e. with exercises done and chapters read), with your grammar vocabulary/reading books on specific days. Major assignments such as oral presentations or essays are given way ahead of time, so I will not tolerate students who cannot produce the required task on due date.
I hope we will go on working in a stimulating and serious, yet pleasant, atmosphere which will lead you to do your best in my English classes.
Martine
Guignard
Remember that you can access most documents I have handed out to the class here
4
Bescherelle anglais: le vocabulaire, edition Hatier, juin 2008
www. bescherelle.com
5 T.Spencer:The Golden Grammar Book, fourth edition, 2014
6 http://www.gymnasedubugnon.ch/enggybn/file/
7 http://mguignardwebsite.blogspot.ch
my email: martine.guignardschneider@vd.educanet2.ch
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