Monday's assignment

Monday's assignment

Good afternoon everyone,

In order to get familiar with the Canadian workplace, there are a lot of things we need to consider. 

Here is a list of business idioms that are taken from this website. Please go over them and try to understand each one’s meaning and then follow the tasks below.

Task one: 

Pick five to six of the following idioms and use them in sentences of your own.

Task two:

Compose a short story about any event/meeting that has happened to you at your previous workplace. Use at least five to six from these idioms n your story.

Take three:

Request two from your peers to check and edit your work before you publish it on your blog.

time's up	"Time's up" means that the time for something or someone has ended.	I think his time's up as the CEO. They're going to replace him as soon as they find a suitable candidate.
touch base	To "touch base¨ means to make contact with someone.	Let me make a few phone calls to try to get an answer to your question. I'll touch base with you later today.
twist someone's arm	To "twist someone's arm" means to persuade or convince someone to do something that he or she does not want to do.	The owner thought the advertising budget was a little high. We had to twist his arm to get him to agree to it.
under the table	Something done secretly (and usually illegally) in the business world is done "under the table."	To avoid paying taxes, they paid some of their employees under the table.
up in the air	If something is undecided, it is "up in the air."	We're looking for a test market right now, but nothing has been decided yet. Everything's still up in the air.
uphill battle	Something that is difficult to achieve because of obstacles and difficulties is an ¨uphill battle.¨	Winning the election is going to be an uphill battle. He doesn't have a lot of support at the moment.
upper hand	If someone has an advantage over someone else, he or she has the "upper hand."	He was more experienced and well respected, so he had the upper hand in the argument.
white collar	A ¨white collar worker¨ is someone who works in an office (customer service, management, sales, etc.) The opposite of a white collar worker is a ¨blue collar worker.¨ A blue collar worker is someone who works with his or her hands (manufacturing, construction, maintenance, etc.) ¨White collar¨ (and ¨blue collar¨can also be used to describe a job, position, or place.	There are mostly manufacturing positions here. There aren't a lot of white-collar jobs here.
win-win situation	A "win-win situation" is a situation where everyone involved gains something.	We were happy to get the contract, and they were happy to get such a good price. It was a win-win situation.
word of mouth	If something spreads by "word of mouth," people hear about it by informal conversation with friends, family members, acquaintances, etc.	A lot of local restaurants rely on word of mouth to get new customers.
writing on the wall	The "writing on the wall" refers to the evidence and clues that something (usually negative) is going to happen.	I'm going to get my resume ready. I can see the writing on the wall.
yes man	A ¨yes man¨ is someone who always agrees with his or her superiors.	The company isn't looking to hire someone who is going to try to make a lot of changes. They're basically just looking for a yes man.

1. I had experience on white collar job. I didn't like it very much, because I am a handy person.
2. Each time after work I have to touch base with my employer and give her some information.
3. My husband and kids watched  movie in the mall when I went to shopping. It was win-win situation for us.
4. I planed to participate a very interesting work shop, but date is still up in the air.
5. Anna heard about that job by word of mouth.

Edited by Keith    

1. I had experience on white collar jobs. I don't like them very much, because I am a handy person.
2. I had to touch base with my employer and gave her some information after work.
3. My husband and kids watched  movie in the mall when I was going (delete to)shopping. It was win-win situation for us.
4. I planed to participate a very interesting workshop, but the date is still up in the air.
5. Anna heard about that job from word of mouth

Edited by Rita
      1.

1. I had some experience on white collar jobs. I don't like them very much, because I am a handy person.
2. 
   

Friday Presentations: I am special because ……

I am special because ……

Hi all.

Today I would like to tell you why I (and not only me) think I’m special.

When I was a teen my family had a business. They were dog breeders. My parents were diligent and passionate about their job. They wanted everything to be ideal and flawless. Working with animals requires being patient, disciplined and punctual.

I was helping my parents a lot. They always required me to be responsible and considerate, because animals were dependent and needed lot of attention and proper care.

Besides usual everyday care, like feeding and cleaning or washing,  dogs need personal attitude.

Every individual animal’s character is quite different. A mature dog will have stable character and good behaviour if he has grown up in proper environment.

Besides that, instructing dogs needs to have loyal and methodical approach.

All of that had a huge effect on development of my personal qualities.

Having my parent’s example and that experience in my life I can state the fact that I am excellent in taking care of others who need that.

Now that skill helps me very much in my family and kids, as well as in my job .

Friday's assignment

Friday's assignment

Listen to that video and then answer the following activities:

Listen to the speakers describing their favourite things and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

1. Preparation: matching

Do this exercise before you listen. Match the verb with the correct noun and write a – g next to the numbers 1 – 7.

1……e.. take                                                                                       a. a designer

2……g.. listen to                                                                                b. your scooter

3……d.. watch                                                                                   c. a business

4…….f. stroke (= move your hand gently over something)         d. films

5…….b. park                                                                                      e. photos

6……a.. make it as (= be successful as)                                         f. the cat

7…….c. set up (= start)                                                                    g. music

2. Check your understanding: matching

Match the speakers with their favourite things. Write a – e next to the numbers 1 – 5.

1…a….. Speaker                   A a. a tablet

2…e….. Speaker                   B b. a sewing machine

3…c.. Speaker                   C c. a scooter

4…b.. Speaker                   D d. a set of knives

5…d.. Speaker                   E e. a cat

3. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Write the word to fill the gaps.

A. My favourite thing has to be my new tablet. It’s really light and quite ___small__________, so I take it with me everywhere. I’m always writing to friends and it’s big enough to do college work on it too. It takes really good ____photos_________, and I play games and listen to ___music__________ on it as well, of course. I often download ___films__________ onto it, and watch them in ___bed__________. My mum says I’m ___addicted__________, because I’m always on it. I even read things on it at breakfast time. I’m not allowed to at ______dinner_______ time, though. I have to be ___polite__________ and talk to people then. “Welcome back to real life,” my mum says.

B. My favourite thing? Does my _____cat________ count as a thing? She’s not really a thing, but anyway. She’s a really _beautiful____________ little cat. I’ve had her since she was _____four________ months old. You know how some cats are really ____independant_________ and hardly talk to you? I know cats don’t really talk, but you know what I mean. Well, she’s not like that at all. She’s really __affectionate___________ and comes up to me as soon as I get home, purring away like mad. She makes a lot of ___noise__________ for a tiny thing. She loves being stroked and comes and curls up next to me when I’m on the ___sofa__________. She’s great __companion___________.

C. My new scooter! It’s quite small, but __fun___________, and just what I needed for getting around the _____city________. I used to have quite a long walk to the ____metro_________, then a longish walk at the other end to get to ______collage_______. But now I can just whiz there on my ____scooter_________. And there’s no problem parking, there’s always ___space __________ for it. You have to be ____careful_________ with the cars and _____lorries________ – they don’t always see you – and when it rains the surface of the road is _____terrible________, it gets really slippery. But in general it’s perfect for me, and I can fit a ___friend__________ on the back too – I’ve got an extra ___helmet__________ for a friend. It’s great. Riding along makes me feel so free.

D. This might sound a bit old-fashioned, but my sewing ____machine_________ is my favourite thing. I’m studying _____fashion________ and love making things, as well as designing them. I also love ___clothing_________ myself and often buy second-hand clothes – everyone loves the “vintage” ____look_________ at the moment – and then I adapt them to my ____size_________. It’s much easier using a machine to do that than doing it by _____hands________. I do alterations for my mum and my sister too. If I don’t make it as a ___designer__________, I suppose I can always set up my own alterations and customising ____business_______. Customising clothes, by taking things off and adding things on, is actually very __creative___________, so I wouldn’t mind that.

E. My set of Japanese knives. That sounds a bit sinister, doesn’t it, but I’m not a ____murderer_________ or anything. They’re chef’s knives and the best ones come from ____Japan_________. Cooking is my new hobby. I got into it when I started watching Masterchef on TV. Then I went to an evening __class___________ for

beginners, and I haven’t looked back since. I try and have a ____dinner_________ for between four and eight___friends__________ every two or three ____weeks_________. That gives me something to work towards and I

always do new _____dishes________ so they can try them out and give me feedback. It’s quite an___expensive __________ hobby if you use good __ingredients__________, but now my friends help towards the___cost__________. They still get a good _____meal________ for a very low price.

4- What’s your favourite thing?

My favorite thing now are my new tools for polymer clay.

5- Why is it important to you?

They are important, because before I got them I used not professional tools. Now I felt different between old and new ones.

6- Vocabulary Box: Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson.

affectionate

helmet

alteration

look back since

towards 

lorries

Wednesday's assignment

Wednesday's assignment

Good morning everyone,

We are still trying to assess our skills and part of that is to identify your soft and hard skills.

Task 1:

Sort the following skills into two categories as soft or hard skills. Write SS for soft skills and HS for hard skills:

1. Patience SS
2. Proficiency in a foreign language HS
3. Leadership Skills SS
4. Persuasion SS
5. A degree or certificate HS
6. Typing speed HS
7. Time Management HS
8. Machine operation HS
9. Teamwork SS
10. Computer programming HS
11. Communication SS
12. Flexibility SS
13. Motivation SS

Task 2:

Now click on this link and decide which of these skills are soft and which are hard skills. 

Task 3: 

Think of two or more of your hard skills and soft skills, then write them down, and provide one example for each skill as how you have demonstrated this skill on the job.

One of my hard skills is my technical education, because it help me to get simple and right way to make technical education now, second hard skill is I able to work with different materials such as clay, tired, leather, epoxy using special tools.

My soft skills are patience and attention to details. Those are very important skills to getting high quality product.

Monday's assignment

Monday's assignment

Good afternoon everyone,

Our theme for this week is ''Know Yourself.'' Based on that, we need to know our strengths and weaknesses in order to better evaluate ourselves and set our goals.

Task 1:

Essential Skills refer to the nine skills and abilities that are essential to success in Canadian occupations. The Government of Canada has compiled detailed lists, called Essential Skills Profiles (ESPs), of how workers in hundreds of jobs use these nine skills.

Write down next to each skill which one best describes you better:  expert - good - intermediate - beginner -  no knowledge

Nine Essential Skills:

• Reading Text intermediate 

• Document Use intermediate

• Numeracy expert

• Writing beginner

• Oral Communication beginner

• Work with Others good

• Thinking Skills expert

• Computer Use good

• Continuous Learning expert

Task 2:

Complete an Essential Skills self-assessment:

Strengths: I am confident that I can ...

Numeracy

Work with Others

Thinking Skills

Computer Use

Reading Text

Weaknesses: I feel I struggle with …

Oral Communication

Writing

Document Use

Areas for Improvement: I would like to improve my ability to/on …

Reading Text

Document Use

Writing

Oral Communication

Computer Use

Wednesday's assignment

Wednesday's assignment

Good afternoon everyone,

Today, we have talked about the “Unwritten rules of Canadian manners”. Now, you are required to write a letter to a friend back home, who he/she is planning to move to Canada soon, and give him/her some advice on how to adapt to the Canadian culture, also tell your friend some tips on the most important Canadian unwritten rules, from your perspective, to avoid embarrassment.

Ask one or two of your peers to edit for you. 

Hi Anna, I am very happy to hear that you will live in Canada. You can call me any time for some help or some information. In Canada many things are quite different than in Armenia, for example when you go to someone's home for diner you can not bring flowers, because here people bring flowers only to someone who in hospital or on funeral. A lot of other thing too, you have to say sorry 100 time per day, you have to say ''Good morning'' to strangers and say "Thank you" each time when you leave a bus. Here people very open, you must have eye contact with the person with whom you talk, otherwise he or she can thing that you lie or hide something or even worse that you don't respect him. One thing I like very much, you can ask any question, you can ask for explanation or advise, most of people very-very kind and will help. I am sure you will like this part of world. See you soon darling. Hugs and kisses, Verginia.

Monday's assignment

Monday's assignment

Happy Canada Day to everyone,

 Let’s start our class today by listening to this video.

Task one:

Try to list down at least three misconceptions about Canadians that were mentioned in the video and write them down.

 1. All Canadians are lumberjacks.

2. All Canadians are fur traders. 

3. Canadians live in iglu.

4. All Canadians have dogsled. 

5. All Canadians know each other.

6.All Canadians saw Canadian flag in their backpacks.

Task two:

Check with your partner what he/she has come up with, and come up with the common ones to be shared with the rest of the class.

Task three:

Classroom Needs Assessment

Personal Information

1.      Email address   :  __vergine.tumanyan@gmail.com________________________________________

2.     What country are you from?  ___Armenia _______________________________

3.     What is your first language?  __Armenian________________________________

4.     What other languages do you speak?  ______Russian___________________________________

5.     How long have you been in Canada?  ___One year__________________________________

6.     Are you working right now? 1Yes  1 No         If yes, what is your job? ________________

7.     What is your profession?  ___Mechanical engineer and Creative jewelry designer____________________________________

8.     What was your job before you came to Canada? 1. I worked as_customer care advisor._

                                                                                              2._I had own  creative jewelry design_business________________________

9.     What is your highest level of education? 

1 university  1 technical college  1 secondary school   Degree? _Two bachelor degrees_______________

10.  Did you study English before you came to Canada? 1 Yes  1 No. If yes, so for how     long? ____7 years____________

11.  Have you studied in ESL classes before in Canada?  1 Yes  1 No

12.  What are your 4 CLBs?        L    6                     S     6          R       5        W   5

13.  What language skill is the easiest for you? Please order from 1 (easy) to 4 (difficult).

1. reading   2.listening   3. writing   4. speaking

14.  List three goals or/and reasons for you taking this program.

…I get information…………………………………………….

…I improve my language skills

…I have the ability to communicate with people of other nations…………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

15.   Which skill(s) do you want to work on in this class: speaking, listening, reading, or writing?

………Speaking and Writing…………………………………………………………………………………

16.  What do you need to learn in this class? Choose the most important 5 things and write them in order in the opposite column.

Skills/Topics
ü  Assessing your long and short term goals ü  Assessing your skills ü  Understanding the workplace culture ü  Resume and cover letter writing ü  Obtain a LinkedIn account ü  Pronouncing English clearly	1.Practise presentations 2.Learn grammar 3.Improve skills 4.How Canadian society works 5.Canadian culture
ü  How Canadian society works
ü  How to understand speakers
ü  Starting small talks in English
ü  Improve writing skills
ü  Talking on the telephone
ü  Improve listening skills
ü  Practise job interviews
ü  Practise presentations
ü  Learn how to speak at work
ü  Learn idioms
ü  Learn grammar
ü  Canadian culture
ü  other (specify)