Talking about Grammar

 Either we like it or not, it is a fact that grammar is essential in communication (written or oral). Consider for example the following:

At the same time it is also true that even after years of learning it, grammar is just one of these things people still mess up.

If you are one of those who feel that they would like to brush up their fundamental grammar skills, why don’t you join the “Grammar and Punctuation” MOOC, offered free of charge by University of California, Irvine? Through video lectures, quizzes, and games, this course will help you to identify the correct verb tenses to use, as well as utilize commas and many different sentence types. This course is suitable for learners at B level (B1-B2), but it could also be used as a refresher, independently of your level in English.

If you are interested in getting more involved, you could also try Verb Tense tutorial or attempt grammar and vocabulary quizzes for ESL students. Don't forget to have a look at LearnEnglish: Grammar & Vocabulary.

Exploring English: Shakespeare

2016 marks the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The British Council invites all learners of English language to join for events and activities celebrating Shakespeare’s work.

A new free online course  (MOOC) starts on January 11 2016. This six-week course looks at the life and works of William Shakespeare and takes you from his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon to the Globe Theatre in London, from where he secured his central place in English literature. 
The course looks at five of Shakespeare’s plays with the help of actors and experts from around the world. They will explain and explore the universal themes Shakespeare addressed in his work. Also, the video tutor will guide you through the course and look at some of the words and expressions that Shakespeare introduced to the English language.

For more events and activities you can take a look at ShakespeareLives website.

New MOOC: Exploring English language & culture

In a previous post we were presented with the idea of attending MOOCs as an excellent way to practise English language skills. However, the Advanced fluency level demanded by the majority of these courses was a deterrent for many of you. Fortunately, the British Council is offering a MOOC aimed at non-native English speakers (approximately at intermediate (B1) level). “Exploring English: language and culture” looks at British culture and examines English in use so as to help you improve your language skills. If you want to learn more details you can visit Futurelearn/Explore English language & culture

The course starts on  1st September and you can join for free. In order to register you should give your name and email. Will you take up the challenge?

MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses

Have you ever thought about studying abroad, joining a course offered by a prestigious university like Harvard, MIT or Yale (just to mention a few from a really long list) but you feel too busy or too old, or simply you cannot afford it? Well, here is the answer to your problem. The latest trend in education is called MOOC. Education is just a click away!

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an online course aiming at large-scale participation and open access via the web.  In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for the students, professors, and teaching assistants. MOOCs are a recent development in distance education and often use open educational resources. 

Are you looking for a massive open online course? In this case you should have a look at the following addresses.

https://www.coursera.org/

https://www.edx.org/
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/upcoming

https://www.udacity.com/

http://www.mooc-list.com/

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/50-top-sources-of-free-elearning-courses/

Note, however, that Udacity differs from Coursera and edX in that it does not have a calendar-based schedule (asynchronous); students may start a course at any time. While some MOOCs such as Coursera or edX present lectures online, typical to those of traditional classrooms, others such as Udacity offer interactive lessons with activities, quizzes and exercises interspersed between short videos and talks.

All these organisations profess to provide world-class education to everyone, everywhere. And from my own personal experience, being an edX/Harvard student, I admit that it is worth every minute (in my case long hours) spent on it, since it is an excellent way to learn. Of course, as everything else, MOOCs have come in for a lot of criticism as well. If you feel sceptical about joining one of the courses, perhaps you could have a look at the following article from the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/opinion/sunday/grading-the-mooc-university.html?pagewanted=all

Or maybe you could benefit from Jonathan Haber’s experiment and experience of MOOC world.

http://degreeoffreedom.org/

Whatever your opinion, such courses are an excellent way to practice your language skills and communicate with people all around the world, within an academic context. What do you think? Would you give it a try?

Please, let us know about your own experience as a MOOC student.