English Literature Project

The time has come for the students of Group 34-H to finalize their English Literature projects. You should choose your favorite English author and his/her book. Then - tell the audience about the author's biography and about the book (the plot, main character(s) and messages). The actual time of speaking: 10 - 15 min followed by 5 - 10 min of comprehension questions (comprehension control tasks) and discussion. The project material is to be prepared in the form of a Powerpoint Presentation (to illustrate your lecture) and a Microsoft Word Document for handouts.

You can find the sample presentation of Jonathan Swift (my favorite author) HERE . Of course, your presentations do not have to be THAT BIG - 12 - 15 slides will be enough. As to the text document, you can see the sample HERE . In your case, make it 2 - 3 pages with illustrations. Your projects are to be READY by March 19. Good luck!

Quarantine Assignment for Groups 32-E and 33-E

I am happy to inform you that in December you will have to show your excellent knowledge of the two following topics:

#1. The Political System of the USA (which you will be able to find by clicking HERE ).
#2. The Spanish-American War (which you will be able to find by clicking HERE ).



Juicy opportunity to get another excellent mark:
The Hyde Park needs a refreshed material about the Thanksgiving Day, its history and actual celebration. Contribute it and I guarantee a reward.

Quarantine Assignment for Groups 12-E and 14-E

Not to let you forget about the existence of such a subject as "English" I decided to remind you that some serious control papers on Spotlight on Britain are waiting for you to come and write them. So, I advise you to be ready to answer the following questions:

Task 1. Put the invaders into correct chronological order:
1. The Vikings
2. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes
3. The Celts
4. The Normans
5. The Romans

Task 2. Give the short answers to the following questions:
6. What is the highest mountain in Great Britain?
7. From which group of invaders did England get its name?
8. What is the longest river in Great Britain?
9. Can we call a person from Glasgow “an Englishman”?
10. Which part of the UK has a red dragon on its flag?
11. How many crosses are there on the flag of the United Kingdom?
12. Which part of the UK has St. David as its holy patron?
13. When did the Normans invade Britain?
14. Which part of the UK is NOT situated in Great Britain?
15. Which part of the UK is sometimes called Ulster?
16. What sort of monarchy is the UK?
17. How many chambers are there in the Parliament?
18. How many MPs are there?
19. Who becomes Prime Minister after the elections?
20. What is the ‘Shadow Cabinet’?
21. What are the main political parties in the UK?
22. What happens to a bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons?
23. Who is the head of the Church of England?
24. Where do we find a kirk?
25. At what age can you drive a car in Great Britain?
26. At what age can you get married without asking your parents in Great Britain?
27. When do they usually take family holidays in Britain?
28. Where does the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree come from?
29. When do they celebrate St. Valentine’s Day?
30. What comes after Pancake Tuesday?
31. What may happen if you don’t ‘treat’ masked children nicely on October 31?
32. When do they launch a lot of fireworks in Britain?
33. When do the British open their Christmas presents?

After making sure you are able to answer those questions, you have to study the material about London (Pages 16 - 30 of Spotlight on Britain). May this map and the pictures help you to feel in London.

Quarantine Assignments for Group 24-H

The two weeks of the flu quarantine plus the preceding week of regular school holidays make the gap in learning process really scandalous. So, here is the task to keep you, students of GROUP 24-H busy, and make you ready for the checking in the beginning of the Second Term. Firstly (#1):Be ready to answer the following questions:
1. How many people live in the USA?
2. Which European nation was the first to settle in the New World?
3. When did American Colonies proclaim independence from England?
4. When was the slavery abolished?
5. What is the fastest growing ethnic group in the USA?
6. What is American economy based on?
7. What happened in the early 1930s?
8. Is it true that the government influence on the economy reduced since the 1930s?
9. What shift is observed in the modern US economy?
10. Do children pray in public schools?
11. What is the dominant religion in the United States?
12. Which Christian denomination prevails in America?
13. Which Christian church makes the largest religious group?
14. Which religion prevails in Utah?
15. How many marriages end in divorces?
16. What is the woman’s role in traditional families?
17. Are there more or less children in American families nowadays?
18. What is a “reconstituted family”?
19. How many Americans will have been over 65 by the year 2020?
20. Can you name 3 basic levels of the US secondary education?
21. Do they pay for studying at public schools in the USA?
22. What are most private schools associated with?
23. Students’ drama clubs, school sport teams, school newspaper… what are they?
24. How long do they study at community colleges?
25. What is the lowest academic degree?
26. How do they call the subjects that students are free to choose?
27. What is the most popular source of entertainment in the USA?
28. What are the FOUR major professional sports events?
29. Speaking about TV, what do many people complain about?
30. What is a “New Year’s Resolution”?
31. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
32. Which two great Americans had birthdays in February?
33. What do Americans celebrate on the 4th of July?
34. What do Americans celebrate on the first Monday in September?
35. What do Americans celebrate on the last Thursday in November?
36. How do people rule in an indirect democracy?
37. Who can vote in the USA?
38. When was the US Constitution written?
39. What is the Bill of Rights?
40. What did the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments do?
41. What are the Chambers of the US Congress?
42. How many representatives are there?
43. How many senators are there? Why?
44. Who is the head of the country?
45. How many Departments does the US Administration include?
46. How do the judges of the Supreme Court get their appointments?
47. Who is the leader of an individual state?
48. What are the major political parties in the USA?
49. Which symbol belongs to which party?
50. Which party does the current US president belong to?

Secondly (#2): Study the material about the US National Symbols which you will be able to find in the middle (on Page 4) of the USA, Part 1 by clicking HERE .

Thirdly (#3): Study material on pp. 17 - 31 of SPOTLIGHT ON THE USA (the unit about New England). That's all for now.

P.S. I remember both about Harry Potter and the dictation-translation. We have some work to do. Take care.

How to write a Letter of Application

Attention,4th course students! One of the possible writing tasks at the External Independent Assessment is to write a letter, applying for a job. However, our current coursebooks do not show its layout. So, learn how to do that by clicking HERE . Use it as a sample, write your own data, don't make mistakes. Good luck!

The USA in Brief, Part 1.

ATTENTION 2nd COURSE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS)! Here you can obtain the first part of material about the USA covering the following topics: "General information", "Geography, climate and wildlife", "US symbols" and "Population". It is based on Wikipedia articles but is easier to consume. In November I plan to finish the job publishing the rest of the required topics. To get your copy of "The USA in Brief" click HERE .

ALARM! "Scribd" are rebuilding their domain, so some problems may occur. If you haven't got direct access to the document do the following:
Step 1: click HERE - you will be directed to Scribd.
Step 2: type zabolotnyi61 in the "Search" window and click "Search".
Step 3: No documents but "People(1)" will be found. Click it.
Step 4: Click the blue "zabolotnyi61" and you will see all my documents. Choose by clicking - help yourself to some country studies.

School Health Risks

The 4th course students have submit some research works investigating and evaluated school health risks. Some of their opinions (with advice) were published in the Hyde Park bulletin as articles. If you haven't read them in the bulletin, you are welcome to enjoy them by clicking HERE .

Hello dear users, students, parents, teachers and random visitors!
I have a rare privilege to welcome you at my blog, which has been created to accumulate information and resources that can help you to excel in your English, and to provide us for some virtual space to communicate independently of the school time-table. I hope to receive your projects, materials and comments, and I am eager to share mine.
Some free advice for the learner:
1. Playing computer games choose their original English versions.
2. Watching Hollywood movies choose originals with English subtitles.
3. Get an interesting English book for your pleasure reading.
4. Use every opportunity to speak English (including your classroom).
5. Enter new words and phrases into your vocabulary notebook.
6. Do not trust non-academic dictionaries, songs' lyrics, TV translators etc.
(Trust me.)
Faithfully yours,
Oleksiy Zabolotnyi