Institute of Learning

If you love language as I do, you will find the etymology of the following words fascinating. Bankrupt The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, were the original mob bosses. They came to power through their success in commerce and banking in fifteenth-century Florence. Outside Lorenzo de Medici’s palace and every other wealthy Florentine, was a long bench where merchants sat and discussed financial business with their clients. These benches, called banco, later referred to the business themselves — what we call today “banks.” When merchants went out of business, they broke their benches to signify that they were banco rotto — literally meaning “broken bench.” Banco rotto evolved into the English word bankrupt. So if you ever see a broken bench outside your banker’s house, better get your money and run. Editor Writers are familiar with the term “kill your darlings” — the process of cutting precious words from your writing. But editors were advocating bloodshed well befor

Each topic requires a double session of about 2+ hours. Learners are provided with passages to study and exercises to do. 1 Mind mapping How to convert a text into a mind map. Use mind mapping in every day situations. 2 Seeking the truth in the media, in logomachies, in statements 3 The secrets of non verbal communication in class with your peers 4 Memory as a way of knowing. ways of registering ways of recalling 5 Ethics into action what is ethics? Human righs Own responsibility

EXPECTATIONS How often does your teacher make you explain your answers? When you feel like giving up, how likely is it that your teacher will make you keep trying? How much does your teacher encourage you to do your best? How often does your teacher take time to make sure you understand the material? Overall, how high are your teacher's expectations of you? Not high at all Slightly high Somewhat high Quite high Extremely high How much did students in class help each other learn today? What’s the most important thing you learned today? What was your favorite part of class today? How interesting was class today? How clearly did I teach things in class today? What’s the biggest thing I could have done better today? What’s the biggest thing I could do better tomorrow to help you learn? What’s the biggest thing you could have done better today? What’s the biggest thing you could do better tomorrow to help yourself learn

Students love music, and they love doing songs in class. It’s small wonder then that coursebooks are incorporating songs or offering songs on supplementary photocopiable material. However, these are rarely the songs that students want to listen to. Students are far more motivated when the songs they do in class are those which are familiar to them, or at least within a genre which they like. It’s therefore always a good idea to ask students what kind of music they like and what their favourite songs are. You can then use this information to prepare song activities which you know your students are going to enjoy. With that in mind, this time we’re looking at different song activities you can do in your class. Song Bingo This is a really great activity which works really well for getting students to actively listen for detail and specific words. Use the attached template to help you prepare the activity. Before the class, choose an appropriate song and then choose 15-20 words fr