Quiz: Are You A Good Language Learner?

Are you a Good Language Learner?

1.  Do you like working

a.  with other learners in pairs or groups? 

b.  on your own/alone?                

2.  During the lesson, are you usually  

a.  relaxed and comfortable?

b.  anxious and uncomfortable?            

3.  While speaking English, are you

a.  confident and relaxed?   

b.  inhibited & shy?             

4.Do you

a.  look for opportunities to use English in and out of class? or

b.  forget all about English when you leave school?     

 5. Do you

a.  prefer not to wory about grammar rules? or

b.  worry about grammar so much that you can’t speak?      

 6. Do you

a.  Keep a well-organised notebook from which you can revise easily? or

b.  often have to ask your friends for their notes?    

7.  Are you

a.  Aware of your own mistakes? or

b.  Unaware of your mistakes ?      

8.  Are you

a.  Able to notice others’ mistakes? or

b.  unable to spot them?              

9. Do you feel

a.  relaxed about making mistakes? or

b.  worried about making mistakes?        

 10. Do you

a.  recognise similarities and differences in language or

b.  is this difficult  for you?         

11. Do you learn better 

a.   by seeing words and pictures or

b.  by  listening to the language or is this a mystery to you

 12. How do you feel about learning English?

a.  You enjoy it  

b.  You hate  it

13.   Do you 

a.  enjoy participating in classroom activities or

b.  do you prefer to just watch and listen?        

14.   Do you prefer

a.  challenging activities or

b.  easier activities?      

15.   Do you prefer to

a.  experiment with language or

b.  repeat only sentences you were taught?         

16.   Are you 

a.  prepared to take risks or

b.  do you avoid  risks and prefer to be safe?       

17.   Are you 

a.  prepared to be playful and not serious or

b.  are you afraid of appearing foolish?            

18.   To understand a message do you feel

a.  Comfortable if you don’t know all the words or

b.  Uncomfortable unless you know all the words

19.    Do you attempt to communicate orally

a.  even if you don’t know every single word, or

b.  only when know all the words  

20.   Do you 

a.  feel comfortable in your new class or

b.  miss your previous teacher and fellow students?         

21.Are your feeling towards native English speakers

a.  a.positive?

b.  negative?

22.    Are you

a.  an adolescent/adult or

b.  a younger or very young learner?     

23.   Do you know if you are

 a. an analytical learner or 

 b. not sure of what type of learner you are?         

24.   Are you better at

a. listening orb. reading? 

Your Score

Quite obviously, the more  a answers you have managed to collect, the closer you tend to be to the ideal profile of the Good Language Learner. Most Good Language Learners average a score of about 70%.  If you have scored more than 90%, well then, you are a rare creature indeed!

If you did not score high

If your score is less than the Good Learner average, identify the areas of difficulty and plan a course of action for yourself.
For instance, if you answered B for Question 23, make it a point of training yourself to be a better listener by listening to more tapes, switching regularly to watching English speaking TV  channels, You Tube videos and films, listening to TED talks on topics of interest.

Idea copied from Marisa Constantinides´s blog; TEFL Matters

No Tobacco Day 2013

May 31st, No Tobacco Day; in 2013, the theme is ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship 

How much do you know about smoking? Test yourself with this quiz

Governments all over the world launch campaigns to encourage smokers to quit smoking; the messages are explicit but they do not seem to work. Let´s consider this smoking campaign in the UK: the ad shows a tumour growing on a cigarette as it is smoked, trying to demonstrate that just 15 cigarettes cause a mutation that can lead to cancerous tumors. This is the message:

“When you smoke, the chemicals you inhale cause mutations in your body. And mutations are how cancer starts. Every 15 cigarettes you smoke will cause a mutation. If you could see the damage, you’d stop.”

And this is the video. Watch it and give your opinion about it: do you think it is an effective campaign? why (not)? 

What about this one?

Click here to see other graphic anti-smoking ads.

Have a look at the advertisements below; which one do you like best as an anti-smoking ad? Explain the reasons for your choice: 

US Elections

Today, Tuesday, November 6th, the American citizens will choose their president for the next four years. Here´s an explanation of how they do it - it´s not at all similar to our election system. The narrator speaks pretty fast but you can click here to read the transcript.

How much do you know about the current elections? Do this quiz to find out. Jeffrey Hill designed it; he is the writer of The English Blog, a very good blog for English learners that has lots of information about current news and events. It is a blog worth keeping an eye on.

US Election Quiz 2012 from Jeffrey Hill

There have been all sort of videos in the internet asking for the vote for either Obama or Romney; here are a couple of examples - you will easily find out who they are in favour of:

Have you noticed the words NSFW in the title of the video; those initials stand  for "Not Safe For Work, " that is, the content of the video, its message or its language could get you into trouble at work... I bet many people will want to watch the video once they see the initials, don´t you agree?

What Type of Learner Are You?

In our first lesson in 1º BAC this year we have been reading about Dr. Howard Gardner´s theory of 8 multiple intelligences; do you remember the intelligences he refers to?: 

• linguistic / verbal : good with words, with spoken and written language; it involves the ability to learn languages.

• logical / mathematical: good with math and logic; it involves being able to analyze problems logically, to carry out mathematical operations

• musical: good with rhythm; it involves skill in the performance, composition and appreciation of musical patterns

• bodily / kinesthetic: good with activities - using one´s whole body or parts of it to solve problems

• spatial: good with pictures - recognizing and using the patterns of open spaces and confined areas

• interpersonal: good with communication - understanding the desires, motivations and intentions of other people

• intrapersonal: good at analyzing things - understanding oneself, one´s fears, feelings and motivations

• naturalist: they enjoy interacting with nature

Do you know what intelligences are strongest for you? If you don´t, this quiz  or this one may help you. Remember Dr. Gardner thinks people use more than one type of intelligence 

Once you have found out the types of intelligences that work better for you, click here to see (and do) some activities classified according to the different types of intelligences.

Infographic: original source: OnlineCollege.org

What kind of jobs would you associate with the different types of intelligences? Continue the list: 

• linguistic: writers, lawyers, speakers...
• mathematical: scientists, computer programmers, chess players...
• musical: musicians, singers, conductors...
• spatial: artists, designers, architects...
• kinesthetic: athletes, actors, dancers, soldiers...
• intrapersonal: psychologists, counselors, philosophers...
• interpersonal: teachers, politicians, social workers...
• naturalist: farmers, naturalists...