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ESL forum >
Concerning worksheets > EDITING THE MATERIALS THAT WE ARE GOING TO POST
EDITING THE MATERIALS THAT WE ARE GOING TO POST
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Ture
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EDITING THE MATERIALS THAT WE ARE GOING TO POST
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Dear Colleagues, I think we should edit what we have posted or what we are going to post.Otherwise it might lead to some unwanted consequences since it is not only the teachers who make use of these exercises but also some new learners. therefore it is really necessary that we do edit our material before we post it.I have recently come across a noun clause exercise in which I happened to see some deadly mistakes.
Here it is:Noun Clauses Activities�
Exercise 1: Change the questions to a noun clause.
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2. Why don�t they like go dancing?
Why they don�t like go dancing is a mystery.
3. Who left open the door of the car?
He doesn�t saw _______________________________________________
Answer Key�
Exercise 1: Change the questions to a noun clause.
3. Who left open the door of the car?
He doesn�t saw who the door of the car let open.
4. Who is the lady in the black dress?
I wonder to know who the lady in the black dress is.
5. ......................................
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21 Nov 2010
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magneto
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Hi, Ture!
You �re right. We should edit the material we have posted/ are going to post. It is true that sometimes we see some really inexcusable mistakes - and I �m not talking about typos.
BUT: a) Because not all contributors do that, it is our duty, as teachers, to review the material we download and make any necessary changes before we use it in class.
And b) I think it �s better to advise the author of his/ her mistakes by PM (pointing out the mistakes, and asking them to 1. correct them/ update the material and 2. post a message on the forum informing those who have already downloaded it) , rather than just link directly to their work as an example of mistaken material...We wouldn �t want anyone to embarrass us that way, would we?
Just MHO, though. Nothing personal here. Hope you get my point.
Have a nice day
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21 Nov 2010
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manonski (f)
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I want to truly believe that when people upload their work, they think it is mistake/spelling free. Sometimes we spend so much time working on something that we can �t read it properly anymore. So, yes, it is our job to proofread but last I checked, no one is perfect. Further more, we all don �t have the same proficiency in English.
Secondly, I always do the exercise before handing it to my students. You should do the same. Doing this enable me to edit and adapt to the level of my students. If you don �t want unwanted consequences for your learners, it �s the best thing to do.
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21 Nov 2010
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MoodyMoody
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I �ve noticed this before also. As His Mightiness the archvillain magneto suggests, I try to PM the author and suggest corrections.
However, living up to my moniker, it also irks me when I see mistakes in the worksheet writeups as well. I can forgive the occasional typo or subtle grammatical error, but repeated misspellings or mistakes in basic grammar bother me. (And I don �t consider non-American spelling a mistake since this is an international site.) I honestly believe the uploader doesn �t know English very well, and that makes me much less likely to download his/her work.
Remember that you can change the language of your Word or Power Point easily and change it back to your language when you finish. I forget how to do it with Word/Power Point 2003, but in 2007, go to the Review tab on the ribbon. Click on Language, and change to your preferred dialect of English (US, UK, Aus, Can, etc.) Now you can spell check and grammar check in English, and that should help pick up some (not all) of the mistakes. Change back to your language when you finish. |
21 Nov 2010
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edrodmedina
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I find that sometimes proofreading my own ws doesn �t work out so well. Since I wrote it, unless it �s glaring mistake, I �ll not see it. My 2 cents. Ed |
21 Nov 2010
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zailda
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I agree with edrodmedina (any typo till this point?), I �m only able to correct the mistakes after printing the ws. Unfortunatelly sometimes I prepare 2 or 3 ws to be used in the same day, so I don �t have the time for it. In those occasions I ask my ss to pay attention and let me know about any mistakes / typos.
Most of the times I mispell words or add / drop words so the sentences don �t make sense. Of course I check and read the ws when I upload it here, but as said before, sometimes it doesn �t work.
I always let a warning in my wss description: "completely editable / correctable", because I think people will adapt for their students needs or - at least - read it before printing.
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21 Nov 2010
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magneto
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@ Zailda: There was a phrase in your post (quote: "(any typo till this point?)") that made me think you may have misunderstood my phrase: "and I �m not talking about typos."
I may have misunderstood your words, of course, but, just to be clear, this is exactly what I meant, too: I do not think typos are inexcusable mistakes - we all make them, after all.
What I meant by "inexcusable mistakes" are mistakes that are very obviously not typos or, so to speak, "a slip of the tongue", but clearly indicate that the person who has created the contribution at hand doesn �t have a very good grasp of the language.
Still, even if that �s the case, I do not think that exposing that person on the forum is the solution. It can only hurt their feelings and discourage them from ever producing anything again or make them aggressive towards others. I believe a pm pointing out those mistakes to them and suggesting some corrections (perhaps even explaining the mistake to them if necessary) is a much better solution and more likely to produce a positive result.
That �s all...Just wanted to be clear
Sorry for the long post.
Cheers!
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21 Nov 2010
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zailda
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@magneto, I was asking if there were any typos because I was addressing to a member who has a long nick and I was not sure if I had written it correctly. Just a joke, you see?
I second your words and think there are better ways of helping (if that�s the intention when correcting) the person, and exposing other person�s mistakes is not nice � to say the least.
If we want to avoid embarrassing situations in class we should print and edit the ws we download from other member. A ws will rarely fit perfectly to our students� needs, so changing some words or expressions for others they had already learned or are familiar with is always necessary. While we edit we can also correct the ws and if we find it necessary, we can contact the ws owner and send him the result of our proofreading. However, we have to be sensitive enough to OFFER our help before starting sending corrections; no one likes suggestions that were not asked for.
I won�t say: �sorry for my long post� because since I was a kid I�ve never been a person of few words, I can�t speak / write less than �tons of�. When I say: �I�m all ears� nobody believes me � including myself.
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21 Nov 2010
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