You found this amazing blog - that’s a good start. To answer the question above:

No, we aren’t there yet.

This blog will be continued and updated whenever necessary to give you an idea of what happens in my English lessons. This may be an advantage if you just pretend to be attentive and want to have a little nip during school time. Then you’ll have to have a look at this amazing blog…

If you just want to get some ideas for topics, projects or are bored and do not know how to spend your leisure time in a more sociable way you are just as welcome.

For those who are fed up to turn the pages of their dictionaries, try the links below. They are for free and can save you a lot of time you could spend reading more interesting things or having a nice time with your friends.

http://dict.leo.org  or www.pons.de  

For monolinguistic matters you may find all you need at www.yourdictionary.com or www.m-w.com (Merriam Webster’s online dictionary). All these dictionaries are free; you do not have to pay for them.

For all those who have to do with chemistry there is a list of about 29 pages that can be found at http://vocabularylist.blog.com/ . There you will find technical terms that are in some cases quite specific and not necessarily in your dictionary. I hope you’ll find everything you need.

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Two projects which were carried out by chemical laboratory assistants and the BOS Vz last year can be seen when you use the links below.

The “Dead Poets Society” that is not as dead as one may think…

A project on the “Dead Poets Society” started in winter last year and is still carried out at the moment (i.e. 2006). Like to have a look?

http://bridgingcultures.blog.com
http://bridgingcultures1.blog.com (Background information)
http://bridgingcultures2.blog.com (The ideal teacher?)
http://bridgingcultures3.blog.com (The characters in Dead Poets Society)
http://bridgingcultures4.blog.com (Examples from the classroom-test)
http://bridgingcultures5.blog.com (Evaluation of the project)

Because of a severe lack of time we had no chance to have a look into Individualism versus Conformity and into Poetry in Dead Poets Society which may be done at another time in another class.

Project of the BOS 07 Vz on renewable energies (2007)

New term, new project, this time an ecological topic with a scientific touch - one on renewable energies. Let’s see, if we can make it different from other projects on renewable energies. Beginning in October 2007 the BOS 07 Vz carried out this project which shall sharpen the perception of the student’s personal living space, induce conscious dealing with present energy resources and create an understanding of the controversial issue of renewable energies - hopefully accompanied by finding their own point of view on this topic and probably changing old and dear habits…

For more information see…

http://renewables.blog.com (About the project)
http://renewables1.blog.com (The planning stage)
http://renewables2.blog.com (Solar energy)
http://renewables3.blog.com (Wind energy)
http://renewables4.blog.com (Biomass)
http://renewables5.blog.com (Hydropower)
http://renewables6.blog.com (Geothermal power)
http://renewables7.blog.com (Conventional energies)

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Hello and welcome to the new term of 2008/2009!

I hope you used the summer holidays for thorough recreation and have all the motivation you need for school. Here you can find useful information for whatever is to come. Just take your time and investigate what might help you to survive my English lessons….

New term, new project: This time one on arguable topics you will choose for yourself in order to brush up our pool of suitable topics for tests or examinations. This is not only profitable for us, but also for you, as you do not necessarily have to be bored (as you are so often) when you have to jot down version 26 of the same topic (as you already did in your German lessons, your French lessons or at any school you visited already). The project is called

Controversy Proclaimed

and leads to a few things you might not even notice:

• You choose an electrifying topic anybody ever thought about.
• You collect information from books, magazines, grandparents, friends, the Internet and any other source. This keeps you in touch with many dear relations and furthermore forces you to read, understand, translate, summarise and structure the information you gained.
• You prepare a comprehensible short presentation and use all the media you need (and we can offer to you).
• All the others worked out a lot of background information, which means that you do not have to find out yourself about those things.
• You will discuss topics in class, in smaller groups and find out about your classmates’ point of view.
• You will find you handout on the Internet (legal and absolutely for free), which makes you proud if you did good work or makes you feel embarrassed if you didn’t which in contrast will make you work harder next time.
• You will find topics in your next test, which are hopefully more interesting and catered to your needs.

The first thing that can be relevant for the guys who visit Lernbaustein 4 in their third year of apprenticeship (Ck or Cl ‘06) are the handouts for their oral presentations. Those will appear here as soon as I receive them.

Just to remind you:

The presentations should be on a controversial topic of your choice. Of course they should be reasonable. I still wonder about the deeper philosophical implication of the all-embracing question: “Caramel on cheese cake - yes or no?” Well, someone will have all the answers…

The handout should not be longer than one page and contain

a) Important background information
b) A statement
c) At least three pro and three contra arguments
d) Your conclusion and of course
e) Some relevant vocabulary.

The presentations as such should not take more than five to ten minutes (i.e. the time you speak).

All the supporting material you need should be at hand and checked when you do your presentation, e.g. if you want to use PowerPoint check at least two days before if the computer and the beamer are working and if your system is compatible with the one the school uses (You know: Murphy rules…).

All the topics you can find here can be topics of the next classroom-test as well as the vocabulary can be the foundation of many positive, mark-improving vocabulary-tests. So it will be quite smart to have a look at least at some of the handouts. I will not give you the handouts in class, because I think it is easier for you to find everything you need on this page instead of rummaging through 2.8539 kilograms of paper of questionable relevance. Furthermore it saves a lot of native sylvan resources.

DONE! The first handouts are published to give you an idea what will expect you when you listen to the oral presentations. Just have a closer look below…

THE PRESENTATIONS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO ACHIEVE THE ADVANCED TECHNICAL COLLEGE ENTRANCE QUALIFICTION: Your presentations are published at http://something-worth-knowing.blog.com/ .

Enjoy it!

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Hello again to the new term 2009/2010!

I hope you enjoyed the summer holidays and returned healthy and relaxed.

As the BBS Naturwissenschaften joined the project schools “Medienkompetenz macht Schule in Rheinland-Pfalz” (http://medienkompetenz.rlp.de/gehezu/startseite.html ) there might be a project that deals with this topic this year or the next.

You all use media, especially the Internet, without even thinking about the implications, chances and risks. Normally the development that you undergo reaches the schools five to ten years later so that you are the ones who have profoundly more experience with these media than your teachers do. But experience without reflection is just doing things by halves. This is where the teachers can help to channel what you know already and try to make this information specifically accessible to others. This is just what the project tries to achieve: To gather relevant information and individual experience and share it with others who might benefit from it or just have the opportunity of personal exchange.

Furthermore the project tries among other things to improve the quality of the lessons by using new and varied media, offer further education, expand the protection of juvenile users, provide relevant soft- and hardware, and create projects together with external partners (http://medienkompetenz.rlp.de/10-punkte-programm.html ).

For all those who have problems with communities, mobbing on the Internet or addiction to online games try https://www.klicksafe.de/ to find help there.

In spite of swine flu, tests and bad weather I wish you a Merry Christmas and a jolly good time at home with your family. Those who have their final examinations right now…

… keep a stiff upper lip - it will all work out fine!!!

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If you take part in the “Höherwertiger Lernbaustein” (The guys who know this mystic term are those I mean) there will be some examples of the advanced technical college entrance qualification exam (Fachhochschulreifeprüfung) at

http://english-for-runaways.blog.com/fachhochschulreifeprufung-20042005/
http://english-for-runaways.blog.com/fachhochschulreifeprufung-20052006/
http://english-for-runaways.blog.com/fachhochschulreifeprufung-20062007/
http://english-for-runaways.blog.com/fachhochschulreifeprufung-20072008/

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And remember: The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn. (Alvin Toffler)