December 1st is National AIDS day, but we this year we can really celebrate!

National AIDS day was established many years ago to raise awareness about this chronic disease.  I remember that I once wrote a paper  for a university class at UCLA that AIDS was the modern disease that had the possibility to change the genome of the human race.  There will be people who are immune to the disease, and those who succumb to it.   What is happening now with AIDS? 

Read this article to find out  http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/01/us-health-aids-idUSKCN0JF0ZW20141201

Key Terms

pandemic
campaign group 
infected
keep AIDS at bay
advocacy group
preventable disease
around the corner
global level
easily stall
unravel
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
antiretroviral drugs
dramatic improvement
domestic budgets
injecting drug users
stigmatized 
accessing


Questions
How is the day recognized in your country? 
What does the author mean when he says that it is the "beginning of the end" of the AIDS pandemic? 
Are there many AIDS sufferers in your country?
How many AIDS sufferers are there world-wide?
What other health threats do we have in the world today?

English Vocabulary in English

Even English speakers need to improve their vocabularies. 

Here are a few to study and start to use in your everyday speech.  One way to remember new words is to create a mind map of words that call this word to mind. Answer the questions, and then go back over these words at least three times. Good luck!

1.  Narrative:  Noun   a story.   

Mr. Smith read the class a narrative written by a soldier in the Second World War. 

Narrative -- story  --- narrative -- first person narrative -  narrator 

 What is a narrative that you have enjoyed reading or listening to? 

2. Patriot - Noun - someone who loves and support her or his country. 

 A great patriot of the American Revolutionary War was Paul Revere. 

Name a patriot of your country?  What did this person do?  When did the person live? 

Why do you remember this person? 

3. Charisma -  Noun - Charm or appeal    

Politicians often have charisma, otherwise they wouldn't get elected. 

Name a person who has charisma in your city.  Does anyone in your family have charisma? 

What is the negative of charisma? 

4. Ancient - Adjective  - from a long time ago. 

The remains of Rome are ancient.  

What is something ancient that exists in your country? 

Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach Professional English Teacher 

Is it difficult to find Heros nowadays? English lesson

Heros may be a vanishing breed, In the Internet age, everyday we hear about bad news, but good news can be hard to find, or even boring.  Read this article to find out about modern superheros that we can look up to!


http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-06112014




Key Terms
transcript
superhero 
superpowers
skills
abilities
published 
extraordinary 
life-savers
mission
devastation 
identity
 grime fighter
 comic book.
admire
honourable
closely-guarded
villain


Questions
According to the audio, what did Finn try to do at home when he was a kid? 
Why are firefighters often thought of as superheros? 
Why is Chitabatman special? 
When did he start to do his mission?  
What does Mr. Full Moon do? 
Why is this interesting? 
Why does he do this?
How do you think that the Internet has affect our perception of heros?
Which type of ordinary people would you consider a hero?
Which political figures in the world today could be a hero?
Tell me about some of your heros. Say who the person is, what did the person do, and why you admire this person.
When did Superman first appear in a comic book? 
In your opinion, Why did the creators change him from a villain to a good guy? 

Lesson plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English Teacher

Are Robot Security Guards the answer? Business English Lesson

Microsoft has ordered robot security guards to patrol its offices in California.  What can these robots really do?  What type of actions can they take?  These questions and more will be answered when you read this interesting article.

http://newsmaine.net/21482-five-robot-security-guards-patrolling-microsoft-s-silicon-valley-campus

Key Terms

indefatigable 

tediously 

strategic work
beefed up 
tackle
 natural calamities 
sensors.
Asserting
counterparts
 monitor
explosives
noteworthy 

Questions
How will this robot move around?
What will it do when there is a bump in the road?

What will these robot security guards do? 

What functions would you like them to do?

What would the laser beams do?
What kind of natural calamities could the robot deal with?

How would  the face scan information be used?
How would they alert people about a security problem?
What potential problems do you see with the use of these robots?
Would a robot like this be useful for your place of work?
What other types of robots would you like to have at home?

Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English Teacher 

Greetings in English - English lesson

It is very important to vary how you say hello in English. Most English speakers don't use the same phrase all the time, unconsciously they change according to the situation, or the person they are speaking to.

Read this article and discus it with  your English teacher

http://www.fluentu.com/english/blog/english-greetings-expressions/

Key Terms
slang expressions
casual
formal
informal
uncommon
jokingly


Questions
Which phrase do you use most often?  Wny?
Which phrase was new to you?
Will you use this new phrase more now that you have learned it?
Do you use formal English or slang most of the time? Why?
When you speak, do you plan out your speech ahead of time?
Do you usually "think on your feet?"
How do you practice speaking with a teacher or a friend? Why?
How far ahead do you plan what to day when you are in a business meeting?
Is this different when you are with friends?





Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English teacher

IELTS, TOEFL. and Bagrut Spelling Tips! When to write on L and when to write 2 LL

If you are preparing for any type of writing test, then you have to know how to spell very well.  This can be difficult to prepare at the last moment, so take time before the test to go over all types of spelling rules.  It can be very difficult to remember when to write one l or two, so here are some spelling tips for you.

If you have a word, that ends in the l sound, and it is one syllable, then you need to put two ll

full, all, bell, tall, till, ill, still

But if you add another syllable to the word, and the l sound is at the end, then you only put one l

careful, cheerful, until

If you have a word that usually has two ll  like all and well  and you add another syllable after it, then one l is dropped

already, also, although, always, welfare, welcome,

Some words with one l get another when an additional syllable is added:
cancelled, cancelling, signalling, metallic.

But there is always an exception in English:  signaled has only one l

One word that has a   difference between American usage and British usage is

traveller, is the UK spelling with two ll and traveler is the USA spelling.



Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English teacher

Couple 'fined" 100 Sterling for bad review on a website! Business English

Business runs on good referrals and satisfied customers.  I even heard in a store here in Jerusalem yesterday the maxim "The customer is king!"   This was very heartwarming, as I come from a business background of customer service at JCPenney, where I trained sales people to give good customer service.  But this incident of bad service shocked and surprised me. 

Read this article and discuss it with your English teacher 
http://news.sky.com/story/1376057/couple-fined-100-by-hotel-for-bad-review 
Watch the video as well. 

Key Terms 
fined
muppets
accommodation
to charge
booking document 
scrap the policy 
public protection 
come across
out of the ark 
fortnight
integrity
run a hoover
didn't expect the Ritz

Questions 

What is your definition of good customer service? 
Does this vary according to which industry?
How could this hotel have provided better customer service, without spending lots of money? 
What do you think about their policy of adding 100 Pounds if people write a negative review? 
What happens if you receive faulty goods or bad service?
Do you complain or write a negative review?
Tell me about a time that you wrote a complaint letter about bad goods or services.  What happened? 
What did you mention in your complaint?
Do you feel we all have the right to complain without reprisals?
What do you think about this couple who went to the business websites to advertise the bad service that they received? 
How should have the hotel respond to this complaint? 
What is Trip Advisors'  policy about bad service? 
Have you used Trip Advisor's to see hotel ratings? 
Do you feel that the comments are fair? 
How do you deal with an angry customer? 
Has the level of customer service risen or fallen since the economic crisis?
Has the quality of goods risen or fallen recently? 
Are there still "Premium" customers?  Do they care about price? 
What do you think about price controls? 






Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English teacher