Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Weekly PowerpointUnit 7: Mid-Semester Review

Please find below links to Media Fire files for:

1. the Powerpoint for Unit 7 of the textbook
entitled "Mid-Semester Review";
2. The audio for the Unit; and,
3. a pdf of the Powerpoint.

p.s. please note if you are having trouble playing the audio when going through the Powerpoint it is most probably because you don;t have the latest version. I am using Powerpoint 2010 and you will need to use it for the audio to start automatically when you click the slide to move on. You can get it at Extra or any other of the smaller Computer Supplies shops around town.

Links:

Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Weekly PowerpointUnit 6: Leisure Time

Please find below links to Media Fire files for:

1. the Powerpoint for Unit 6 of the textbook
entitled "Leisure Time";
2. The audio for the Unit; and,
3. a pdf of the Powerpoint.

Links:

Monday, 28 November 2011

Weekly PowerpointUnit 5: Daily Routines

Please find below links to Media Fire files for:
1. the Powerpoint for Unit 5 of the textbook
entitled "Daily Routines";
2. The audio for the Unit; and,
3. a pdf of the Powerpoint.

Links:

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

Exam UpdateMid-Term Exam - Questions and Answers

Please find attached a copy of the Mid-Term Exam paper with the correct answers marked in yellow. I have also included the answers of the first part of the writing section plus sample sentences to the second part.

Link:

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Weekly PowerpointUnit 4: Personal Possessions

Please find below links to Media Fire files for:
1. the Powerpoint for Unit 4 of the textbook
entitled "Personal Possessions";
2. The audio for the Unit; and,
3. a pdf of the Powerpoint.

The last file is a zipped file containing ALL the other material for this unit and includes:
- the individual Powerpoints for the Theoretical and Practical Classes,
- Pdf's for all the Powerpoints plus the pdf's on the textbook, the answers and the Unit's Syllabus. Enjoy!!
Links:
Powerpoint: Unit 4
Audio mp3's: Unit 4
Powerpoint pdf: Unit 4
Zipped File all pdf's: Unit 4

Sunday, 16 October 2011

Exam UpdateMid-Term Exam Draft Paper

Dear Guys and gals, please find attached links to:
* a draft copy of the mid-term exam paper,
* details of the speaking exam,
* a pdf of the Powerpoint I presented in class about the exam.
More information will be forthcoming in the next couple of days.

Remember, the first document is just a DRAFT copy of the exam: the questions in the final exam will be similar BUT different!

Links:

Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Examination NewsMid-Term Examination

Dear Guys and Gals, as you might know, the details of the mid term exam are becoming clearer. They will, as you all should know, be held on Monday the 24th of October. and will seek to exam all four skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Needless to say, in order to do each of these, you will have to know and understand the Grammar and Vocabulary that has been covered in each class.

To make sure you don't miss any posts, subscribe to the post by entering your email address in the space provided at the top of the column on the right hand side of the blog.

Specifically:
  • the exam will be worth 40 marks and comprise 20% of your final mark.
  • each skill [Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking] will be worth 10 marks.the Reading, Writing and Listening skills will be examined during the period set for the examination on the 24th of October,
  • the Speaking will be examined separately at a time and place organized between you and your teacher.
  • more information about the questions/activities for each skill will be published on the blog.


Message from SimonBlog Postings

Dear Guys and Gals, I hope all is going well!! Sorry for the lack of posting on the blog lately. I have been waiting until I finished all the classes for Unit 3 before posting anything more. You will notice that I posted all the materils for Unit 3 yesterday , and the material for Unit 4 will posted half way though next week.

Over the next couple of days I will start posting the support materials for the previous units, i will also post re-worded versions of the Powerpoints for the Uits 1 and 2. The links will direct you to sites on the Web where you can practice some of the points that have been covered in the textbook.

Finally, just a reminder that if you need to contact me, you can always send an phone or send an email. Otherwise you can chat with me on Messenger [use my email address] or Facebook [name: Simon.Combe59]. Otherwise, as I have mentioned before, you can always find me most days in the coffee shop on the 30th floor of the Awalif Hotel. Just ask for 'Dr. Simon' and you should be able to get in for free. Just phone me first however to make sure I am there.

[the photo is of me, aged 4]


Monday, 10 October 2011

Weekly PowerpointUnit 3: People and Family

Please find below links to Media Fire files for:
1. the Powerpoint for Unit 3 of the textbook
entitled "People and Family";
2. The audio for the Unit; and,
3. a pdf of the Powerpoint.

The last file is a zipped file containing ALL the material for this unit and includes:
- the Powerpoint for the Whole Unit:
- the individual Powerpoints for the Theoretical and Practical Classes, and the Powerpoints for the Writing, Speaking and 'Homefun' Activities;
- Pdf's for all the Powerpoints plus the pdf's on the textbook, the answers and the Unit's Syllabus. Enjoy!!
Links:
Powerpoint: Unit 3
Audio mp3's: Unit 3
Powerpoint pdf: Unit 3
Writing Homework Unit 3
Speaking Homework Unit 3
Zipped File: Unit 3

Thursday, 29 September 2011

Message From SimonSubscribe to the Blog

If you would like to be notified of new postings to this blog by email, all you need to do is put you email address in the: FOLLOW BY EMAIL box to the right at the top of the blog and follow the links. The process ends by activating your subscription following an email. Its as easy as ABC. As always, if you have problems let me know and I will try to help.

Weekly PowerpointUnit 2: Personal Information

Please find below links to Media Fire files for:
1. the Powerpoint for Unit 2 of the textbook
entitled "Personal Information";
2. The audio for the Unit; and,
3. a pdf of the Powerpoint.

Links:

Sunday, 25 September 2011

From the Newspapers:Recent Articles From The Arab News

One of the best way to improve your English is to read the newspaper in English. This can be a difficult task to do especially when you are busy medical students. What I plan to do is to provide some links to some medical related articles contained in some of the local English language newspapers [e.g. Arab News and the Saudi Gazette]. Hope you find them interesting.

Friday, 23 September 2011

Weekly PowerpointUnit 1: Nice to Meet You

Please find below links to Media Fire files for:

1. the Powerpoint for Unit 1 of the textbook
entitled "Nice to Meet You";
2. The audio for the Unit; and,
3. a pdf of the Powerpoint.

If you place the Powerpoint file in the unzipped folder containing the audio you should find that the audion files play automatically as you work your way through the Powerpoint. if you have any problems or questions, please feel free to phone or email me at the number/address in the column to the left of the posts. If you don't already have a program on your computer to unzip files, try 7-zip.

If you would like to get access to these files every week through Dropbox, please send an email to: simon.combe@gmail.com with the message: "please add me to the Medical English Dropbox"

Links:

Message from SimonTextbook for the Course

The textbook for the first part of this course is entitled English 1A and it has been especially prepared for the students of Taif University by a team from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. The first book will hopefully be available next week and will distributed free of cost.

There will be three other books for this course: English 1B, English 2A, and English 2B. I am not sure whether they will be free or not but, they will be available when the previous books are completed.

The books will start at what is commonly known as the Elementary Level and Conclude at the end of the Pre-Intermediate level. While the material in these books will appear to be very easy for at least some of you, we hope you will use the classes as a chance to consolidate the English you have learned up to now.


Message from SimonWelcome to the Taif University Medical English Page

Dear Guys and Gals,
Welcome to the Taif University Medical English Page! The aim of this blog spot is to provide a means to supply you with resources that will be helpful during the course of your English subjects this year. It is also hoped that you will use it as a means to comment on subjects raised in the course and to also ask questions.

Among the things you will find on this blog are:
1. links to copies of the Powerpoints and audio for each Unit of the textbook;
2. information about assessment items [exams etc..]; and
3. links to websites where you can learn more about and practice some of the vocabulary and grammar items in raised during the course of the classes.
It will also contain, from time to time, links to articles and websites related to medical issues both in Saudi Arabia in particular and the wider world.

This blog is yours as much as it is mine so please feel free to comment and make suggestions as to how it can be improved.

For now, be good and happy,

Simon

Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Exam Update:Final Exam: Explanation of Answers

Dear Guys and Gals, please find below an explanation of the answers in the exam. If you have any more questions please feel free to direct them to Ayana, Mubib and Hashim .

[just joking, direct them to me and I will try and answer them]

Link:
Final Exam Answers: Explanations

Monday, 6 June 2011

Exam Update:Final Exam: Questions & Answers

Dear Guys and Gals, Hope you are well and recovered from your exam today. Please find below a link to the exam paper today. I have marked the correct answers in yellow.

Please note that I have decided to accept both the answers for question 33 ['Ive got a bad cough'. 'You _______ smoke']. The answer is "shouldn't", but I can understand why some of you might think "mustn't" mght be the answer. All other answers are non-negotiable [including Question 2: sorry Sami...]

Please note that Ayana and I can not give the results for the final exams until the examination board of the College allows us to so please don't ask. We will post them as soon as we can.

[sorry, the two earlier version posted had a mistake. Question 10 the answer is 'C' and I will accept answers 'B' and 'D' for question 1 (even though 'B' is the answer for question 4)]

Links:
Final Exam: Questions and Answers


Sunday, 5 June 2011

Exam Update:The Final Post: Modal Verbs

Guys and Gals, this is my final post tonight. I am about to turn off my computer and go to bed [please no more phone calls!!]. In response to the last panicky phone call, the only Modal verbs you will need to know for the exam are:

must, mustn't, has to, have to, don't have to, shouldn’t, should

For now, goodnight and good luck tomorrow.

Message From Simon:Lasange & Pappadams

Dear Guys and Gals, I am having lots of questions about Lasagne and Poppadoms [there are different spellings for the latter]. Both are types of food.

Lasagna (plural: Lasagne) is a very wide, flat pasta (sometimes with wavy edges ). It is typically served in alternating layers with cheese, a sauce, and often other ingredients such as ground beef, sausage, or spinach. Typical of the cuisine of Italy.

Papadum, also known as papad in Norther India , is a thin, crisp Indian preparation sometimes described as a cracker or flat bread. It is typically served as an accompaniment to a meal in India.

This might give you a hint about what the reading in the exam will be about....

Exam Update:Answers to the Sample Questions

Here are the answers to the sample questions I posted earlier this week:

A: Match the questions and answers.
1.Teacher, sorry I’m late. I got stuck in the traffic.
a. Me? Run? You must be joking.
b. It cost a fortune..
c. Mind your own business.
d. Never mind. You’re here now.

B: Put the words in the correct words in the correct order.

2. your forget textbook ? how you did
a. ? textbook your forget you did how
b. How did you forget your textbook?
c. Forget your textbook how did you?
d. Did you forget your textbook how?

C. Match the job names with what the people do.
3. A waiter
a. serves food
b. flies airplanes
c. kills badguys.
d. heals the sick

D: Complete the sentences with the correct adjectives.
4. She’s not careless In fact she's very ___ driver .
a. good
b. reckless
c. fat
d. funny

E: Complete the sentences with a positive or negative auxiliary verb.
5.How long_______ you got left in the country?
a. are
b. does
c. do
d. have

F: Present Simple or Continuous: Choose the correct answer.
6. _______ what I mean.
a. You’re knowing
b. You know

G: Choose the correct modal verb.
7. Did you _______ wake up so late today?
a. must
b. have to

H: Read the text. Are the statements true (T) or false (F).
8. The sun revolves around the earth.
a. True
b. False