Sri Lankan Snaps #40

KITE RUNNERS

TEFL: Concept Questions; Tips and Advice

TEFL: Concept Questions; Tips and Advice



'Concept questions' are a method of checking your students' understanding of a certain language point and its essential meaning (concept), such as a grammar structure or recently introduced piece of vocabulary. The following are some basic tips and advice to follow in the formulation of concept questions in the EFL classroom.

1) Avoid using the grammatical form that you are testing in the concept question.
2) Avoid lengthy questions and unnecessary language; keep concept questions simple and to the point.
3) Avoid questions that move away from the essential meaning of the language point.
4) Avoid questions that require lengthy answers; aim for simple yes / no responses.
5) Avoid ambiguity.
6) Make concept questions a part of your lesson planning; have them prepared in advance.
7) When formulating concept questions, interrogate the language's essential meaning and function within the given concept, turn this essential meaning into clear statements and then create simple questions from these statements.
8) It's always worth checking that students understand the time frame of the language point; try asking whether the event / action etc. took place in the past, present, or future.

The MOC - Meridional Overturning Circulation

MOC – THE ATLANTIC MERIDIONAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION

 “One of the most counter-intuitive projected impacts of global warming is the possible plunging of temperatures throughout north-west Europe as the warm Atlantic current popularly known as the Gulf Stream stutters and slows down.”

Mark Lynas, Six Degrees

 What is the ‘MOC’?

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (the Atlantic MOC) is a network of currents operating in the Atlantic Ocean, an example of thermohaline circulation (‘thermohaline’ referring to the combined effects of temperature – ‘thermo-’ and salt content – ‘-haline’ – on water density). Such systems are considered to have an immense impact on the Earth’s climate. One well-known component of the MOC is the Gulf Stream, a warm oceanic current which flows from the Gulf of Mexico (around Florida’s tip), up the east coast of the United States towards Newfoundland, and on towards the west coast of Europe, having an effect on the climate of these areas and, on a larger scale, that of the Earth in general.

 “At the end of the last ice age, 12,000 years ago, just as the world was warming up, temperatures suddenly plunged for over a thousand years...The period is named the ‘Younger Dryas’...”

Mark Lynas, Six Degrees

Some scientists have related this rapid temperature drop and the subsequent ‘Younger Dryas’ period to the shutting down of the Atlantic circulation. The effects were not limited to the Atlantic alone; dramatic climatic destabilisation took place across the globe.

So here’s another potential forecast for the future of the Earth’s climate. A slowing down of the MOC looks likely, but what are the chances of complete collapse and a scenario comparable to that of the last ice age, 12,000 years ago?

Sri Lankan Snaps #39

ASHBURNHAM TEA ESTATE
A few images that only begin to hint at the true beauty of Ashburnham Tea Estate - a tea plantation cum boutique guesthouse situated in the pristine hills of Elkaduwa, north of Kandy. The guesthouse is managed by two very good friends of mine, Carrie and Andy, (who do a fine job of making sure their guests have the best possible time during their stay) and owned by another couple who are very close to me, David and his wife Indee. Needless to say, each visit I made will remain in my memories: three-course dinners on the veranda, trekking down to the waterfall in the rain, sipping tea on the balcony at sunset...the kind of place that gets you drooling travel-mag cliches.
Ashburnham Tea Estate

Sri Lankan Snaps #38



RICE 'n' CURRY
Where would Sri Lanka be without its fantastic staple dish? Rice 'n' curry. I say 'dish' but it's almost wrong to put the myriad of flavours at your fingertips (literally, as Sri Lankans eat with their hand) under one label. The above rice 'n' curry spread was my first encounter with Sri Lankan culinary excess, experienced in Negombo at the beginning of December 2011. All the favourites are there: dahl, a hearty vegetable curry, poppadoms, sambol, brinjal curry...and, of course, a plate piled high with fluffy white samba rice.   

MWP - The Medieval Warm Period

MWP – The Medieval Warm Period

"Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones."

John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

“In a world that is less than a degree warmer overall, the western United States could once again be plagued by perennial droughts – devastating agriculture and driving out human inhabitants on a scale far larger than the 1930s calamity.”

 “This historical evidence indeed suggests that even tiny changes in temperature could tip the whole region back into a hyper-arid state.”

 Mark Lynas, Six Degrees

 What is the ‘MWP’?

Although associated primarily with a period of warming in North America and the North Atlantic region, the ‘Medieval Warm Period’ denotes a general alteration in the world’s climate that took place between the 10^th and 13^th centuries AD (or during the ‘Middle Ages’ in Europe). It is considered to have been followed by a spell of cooling, known popularly as the ‘Little Ice Age’, which occurred between the 15^th and 18^th centuries and marks the coldest period of recent history. Unsurprisingly then, the MWP has often been compared to our current period of rising global temperatures.

            Various scientific studies have come to different conclusions about the reality of the MWP, but some research has suggested that during this era the western United States experienced extreme drought, capable of wiping out the most advanced civilizations of the epoch. We need only to think, as Mark Lynas argues in Six Degrees, of the 1930s ‘Dust Bowl’ to understand the shattering effects of drought – or perhaps we can think of the hardships suffered by the characters in John Steinbeck’s novels (The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men...): literature set in the past with an even more pertinent message for the present than we might have previously thought.

Scott Thornbury's Blog; An A-Z of ELT

Scott Thornbury's Blog...

an excellent resource for EFL teachers, outlining an A-Z of ELT covering a whole range of crucial terminology and aspects of the profession.

Sri Lankan Snaps #37



MOON MEDITATION
This is a piece of wood-burning by a very talented friend of mine who lives in Wattegama, Central Province. He's an English teacher, an artist, Tai Chi guru and musician. The above is a sample of his work that I particularly liked. He uses the natural grain of the wood as a starting point and allows his imagination to create the rest of the image. So, as you might be able to deduct from the photograph, this picture sprung from the rings emanating from that moon-like notch in the top-left corner and the 'energy waves' curving around the seated monk.  

Sri Lankan Snaps #36



ALUTHGAMA
For a couple of weeks this was the humble road leading to my home in a four-house village on the Aluthgama - Mathugama stretch. Palm-fringed. Always empty. The final hundred yards before jumping in the pool after class.  

Sri Lankan Snaps #35

RAMBODA
Mist-drenched vista of the waterfalls at Ramboda, on the Kandy - Nuwara Eliya Road. Just look at all that green. This is a great place to go for long walks in the hills and the elevation makes the climate perfect for walking. To get there, simply ask to be dropped off at Ramboda on the Nuwara Eliya bus route; you can flag down buses bound for Kandy / NE to get back to civilization - but don't leave it too late... 

Sri Lankan Snaps #34

HUNASGIRIYA
The waterfall at Hunasgiriya in the Central Province, on the road to Elkaduwa. There's a small village located here; the way of life is very 'rural' and based on agriculture. The population is primarily Tamil. The people are, however, accustomed to foreigners passing by as this is this scenic walk leads up to Hunas Falls Hotel, an eco-lodge which offers a range of outdoor pursuits in the surrounding countryside, luxury facilities and gourmet food with (all the vegetables grown on-site using organic methods).
http://www.hunasfalls.com/

View of the lake at Hunas Falls Hotel