My extended sick leave / Replacement?

Dear students,

As I need to rest more time and stay at home, my sick leave has been extended till  January 2010, I will no more be able to have class until the end of this first semester. I will hopefully resume teaching for the second semester.


The administration of the History department and  the HCEAI staff are trying to do their best find someone to replace me but this is not that easy. You will be informed on this blog as soon as someone is found.


Some people may think that I am abusing the system of sick leave and our welfare system and still get paid while I am sick. I would like to clarify that because of my precarious and temporary status at La Sorbonne as "enseignant vacataire", unlike the regularly appointed teachers and professors, I not paid at all for all the hours  I do not teach, nor of course am I paid during the  very long academic holidays. I have been teaching at La Sorbonne for several years and this precarious and temporary status has remained unchanged. I did send a letter of protest to the administration but to no avail so far.

I hope you will continue working on your English (grammar, listening comprehension, vocabulary) from the websites I had indicated and they are still listed on this blog. You are old and mature enough to somehow handle the situation without a English teacher though it is always much better to have an instructor to give you more guidelines and more explanations. Considering the circumstances, try not to be discouraged and keep working!

I also would like to thank those of you who have recently sent me  very comforting letters and their best wishes for a speedy recovery. I apologise for not having not been able to respond to most of them.

I sincerely apologise again for this very unfortunate turn of events.

Very best regards,

MN

My absence until Nov 22

Dear students,

As a result of my sickness, I will be absent until Nov 22.

In case my sick leave is prolonged, check the sign boards at the History department. As I could be hospitalised some time soon, I may not be able to update this website before Nov 22 or to respond to your emails.

In the meantime, keep working on your English as much as you can (grammar, listening comprehension, vocabulary, etc.).

I again sincerely apologise for this very unexpected  and very unfortunate absence.

Best regards,

MN

My absence this second week (Nov 09 to Nov 15)

Dear students,

As a result of my being sick and since I have not recovered, I will not be able to have class this second week again.

I apologise again for my absence but it is completely involuntary.

Everything that was planned for this week is postponed to next week.

M1 groups:

Can you continue working on the grammar exercises and continue listening to audio reports in English from the websites I had indicated?

M2 group:

The test will take place the following week (ie on Nov 17). Can you continue listening to audio reports in English from the websites I had indicated?

Hopefully, see you next week on Tuesday (Nov 17) and on Friday (Nov 20).

Best regards,

MN

My absence this week

Dear students,

I am sick and extremely tired, I am not feeling well at all.  As a result, I will not be able to have class this entire week.

I apologise to the Tuesday group for not having been able to inform them in advance.

Everything that was planned for this week is postponed to next week.

M2 students: the test planned for next week is maintained.

See you next week.

Best regards,

MN

M2 Group ONLY

Dear students, 

There will a short test on November 10: 

 Vocabulary: 

• Dog Serial Killer
  
• Eastwood's movies
• Blood Diamonds
  
• 34 Meet the Press and 35 Prime Time (only the translated parts)
  

Phrasal Verbs: pages 1, 2 and 3

Should you be absent that day, to avoid getting a zero, do provide me with a valid and sincere justification.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

For Oct 30: M1 groups only

There will be a short test next week (Oct 30): 

• Phrasal verbs (pages 1 and 2 ie chapters "4" and "13")
• Vocabulary 

• Government and Politics: the first page (ie pages 294-295)
•  Eastwood's Movies and Dog Serial Killer

Homework for next week (Oct 30): 

- TOEIC Questions: 1 to 20 (find the correct answer and justify your answer)

- Phrasal verbs (page 3 ie "21")

Revisions:

- Learn and revise the grammar exercise and how these sentences could be translated in both languages (Test 1)
- Listen again to the TOEIC Pictures (find the correct answer and justify your answer)

M1 groups ONLY

Dear students,

Last Friday, there were only 5 students in the second group (from 6:30 pm to 8 pm) while there were 27 students in the first group (5 pm to 6:30 pm).

Would it be possible for at least 10 students from the first group to join the second group and come at 6:30 pm?

In case this remains unchanged next week, I will have no other option than to impose arbitrarily who is going come to which group (alphabetically for example).

I hope I will not have to resort to this kind of measure.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

M2 group ONLY: new room on Tuesdays (7 pm-8:30 pm)

From next week onwards, we will have class on Tuesdays (7 pm - 8:30 pm) in room F368 instead of amphi Champollion.

M2 students ONLY - Homework for next Tuesday (Oct 13)

• Listen again to the report "Dog Serial Killer"
  
• Listen to the report "Eastwood's Movies" and highlight the main ideas
  
• Listen to the report "Blood Diamonds", highlight the main ideas and check the vocabulary
• Do the Test 1 (grammar exercise) 
• Do the first page of the phrasal verbs ("page 4'')
• Start learning the vocabulary from the handout given before the holidays (only the translated parts have to be known)

You will find these audio reports and transcripts and the phrasal verbs from this link: 

[in case this link does not work, switch to Mozilla/Firefox or to Internet Explorer or email me, I will send the documents and audio reports by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK33284ac8af2b9c708/

Mounir Nassor
(mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in) 

Hours and Class sessions / Attendance rules

Dear M1 and M2 HCEAI students,

Here are the hours and rules for the English class:

M1 students: class sessions on Fridays:

• group 1: 5 pm to 6:30 pm in room F368 (Sorbonne)
• group 2: 6:30 pm to 8 pm in room F368 (Sorbonne)

M2 students: class sessions on Tuesdays:

• 7 pm to 8:30 pm in amphi Champollion (16 rue de la Sorbonne - Institut d'études grecques). The amphi is on 2nd floor in the basement.

Attendance is compulsory for those who are in "contrôle continu": if you are absent 3 times (ie 2+1) for unjustified reasons, if you cannot provide me with a valid and sincere justification, you will be automatically registered in "contrôle final".

Those of you who would like to be in "contrôle final", I recommend that you come and talk to me about this at the end or at the beginning of a class or send me an email about this as soon as possible.

In "contrôle continu", in case you fail to be present at one of the two main exam sessions, you will be automatically registered in "contrôle final" even if you have a valid and sincere justification.

In "contrôle continu", if you have no valid and sincere justification for your possible absence for the short tests and quizzes that will also take place during the semester, you will get a zero.

There will be no catch-up session whatsoever, even if you have a valid and sincere justification.

Class will start from October 05 and unlike last year, instead of 13 class sessions, there will only be 12 class sessions for the first semester and 13 sessions for the second semester.

All my students are required to check this website on a regular basis (at least 3 times per week) and before coming to class. All the homework and assignments and exam dates will be repeated on this website.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

USEFUL TOOLS AND SITES

Online dictionaries:

• English/French - French/English dictionary

Wordreference:

http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/

• English/English dictionaries

Longman: http://www.ldoceonline.com/

Merriam-Webster:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/

PBS (USA) Newshour 

•  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/

ABC (Australia) The World Today

• http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/

BBC (UK) World Service

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/
  

Phrasal Verbs:

• http://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/phrasaldictionary.html

• http://www.eslcafe.com/pv/
  

• http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/
  

BBC Learning English

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
  

BBC Idioms

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/
  

Anglais Facile.com

• http://www.anglaisfacile.com/

Permanent link to the documents and audio reports

Here is the link HCEAI students (M1 and M2 groups) will have to use to find the documents (audio reports, phrasal verbs, vocabulary, etc.) used and discussed during the class sessions:

[in case this link does not work, switch to Mozilla/Firefox or to Internet Explorer or email me, I will send the documents and audio reports by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK33284ac8af2b9c708/

Corrections Holiday Homework

Here is the link for the corrections of the holiday homework:

[switch to Internet Explorer or Mozilla (or vice-versa) in case this link does not work. If nothing works, email me and I will send the material by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK219449b985acad206/

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

M1 group: second semester average grades

Average grade: 12.35 /20
Min: 03.7/20
Max: 17.9/20

12.6 NFSS Prr
16.8 NMTH Sph
5.7 YZ phl
15.1 BRTT Ll
11 BLNG rl
6.7 BSST Mckl
15.7 BRN Chrstn
15.8 CLLT Lcll
16.9 CHRSTINS Bnt
9.4 CNDM Jltt
13 DSJRDNS rl
16.8 DLL Slmn
12.5 DMR Chrltt
8.5 GRD Vnn
11.6 GRFT lss
15.2 GRN nn-Lr
13 LLQR Pln
17.7 KRDLS Ccl
11 KHDBKHSH Lrs
13.7 LB Blthzr
3.7 LNKWCZ lxndr
17.9 LPNT Thms
10 LRX Mxm
12.7 MNGML Sndrn
8.5 MNDNç Vln
13.1 MR Rbc m
13.2 MNTFRT strd
13.7 PHLPP mln
9.1 PTR Jn-Bptst
11.3 PLTN L
13 RBH ch
13.5 RJPM nk
12.1 RFF CMS Cln
15.2 SGN Mln
13.5 SMH Glls
11.5 SWD Mrn
16.5 SM-LS Lm
11.3 TNN Lc
7.3 TT Zka
8.9 VTRS Clr

Should some of you would like to get back their last paper, email me so that I can tell you when and where we can meet.

On our last class/exam session, a handout was distributed as holiday homework, all the vocabulary has to be learnt, all the exercices to be done and all the grammar rules to be known.

There will be a test on them for the M2 students on week 2 or 3 when the university resumes some time in September or October 2009. The corrections will be posted some time soon.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

M1 section: Catch-up session on June 11 (Thursday) from 6 pm to 7:30 pm

Vianney, Ophélie, Leila, Aurélie, Lucie, Pierre,

For the catch-up session, it will take place in the History department's director's office from 6 pm to 7:30 pm on June 11 (Thursday).

There will be no second catch-up session whatsoever!

The office is just close by the secretariat's office.

In case you don't see me, come and see me in room Chastagnol (just one floor below).

Do not forget to bring the justification for your absence on June 05, otherwise you might get a zero.

Regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Corrections of the grammar exercises

Here is the link for the corrections of the grammar exercises (Unit 7 to 16 and Unit 80 & 81):

[switch to Internet Explorer or Mozilla (or vice-versa) in case this link does not work. If nothing works, email me and I will send it by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK219449b985acad206/

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

M1 students: Exam on June 05 instead of June 26

Dear students,

I have just been told by the deputy-director of the History department (Prof. Romanacce) that for the M1 students we should have exams earlier than Friday, June 26, as earlier announced to you by myself last Friday.

We need to report your grades to the administration much earlier than June 26 and several foreign students and other students have asked me to have an exam earlier because they would not be available on June 26.

I was told that this is not in contradiction with the exam session that should start from June 22 because this is only applicable for the Licence level students. For Master's students, the exams should be held earlier.

As a result, our exam scheduled for June 26 will take place next Friday (June 05) in our "regular" room F 368 on our "regular" hours that is:

• M1 (1st group): 6:30 pm 8:00 pm

• M1 (2nd group): 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm
  

Revision program (reminder):

• the article "What Clash of Civilisations" by Amartya Sen (vocabulary and comprehension - you might have to write a short essay based on this article)
  

• Vocabulary "Government and Politics" (the entire handout - except the section titled "Sentences")
  

• Grammar: Present Perfect / Preterit / Possession: 6 handouts of exercices and explanations have been given to you and we checked last Friday that you had them all). Students who were absent last Friday and in case they do not have them all (or some of them), they are required to come and see me next Tuesday (tomorrow) or next Wednesday morning (from 9am to 1 pm) in room Chastagnol so that I can give them.
  

• Audio report: listening comprehension and expression: you will hear a short (unknown) audio report (3 to 5 minutes ) and you will have to answer specific questions on this report. To improve your listening comprehension skills, listen as much as you can from PBS / VOA / ABC / BBC. I will return the few remaining papers on the previous take-home exercice you had dome on Australia in room Chastagnol from 9 am to 1 pm next Tuesday and Wednesday (June 02 and 03).
  

• Should there be students who really cannot come next Friday (June 05) for the exam, they must have a valid and sincere justification and they are required to email me as soon as possible so that we can organise a specific catch-up session for them.
  

Since I do not have all the students' email addresses, can you please tell them about this? Thanks in advance!

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
email: mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in

Screening of the movie Parzania by Rahul Dholakia next Tuesday (June 02) in amphi Milne Edwards

Dear students,

You are all invited for the screening of the movie Parzania by Rahul Dholakia at La Sorbonne (amphi Milne Edwards) next Tuesday (June 02) at 7pm.

Check the following link for further information on this movie (trailer, articles and other links):

http://m1englishclass.blogspot.com/2009/05/screening-of-movie-parzania-at-la.html

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

M1 students: possible early exams for specific students for exceptional reasons

Dear students (M1 groups),

Those students who cannot be there on Friday (June 26) for valid and sincere reasons for the exam are required to email me as soon as possible so that we can find arrangements for them to have an exam some time next week or the following week at the latest.

As I told you yesterday, they have to provide me with their airline tickets and medical certificates or any other genuine documents (research activities, etc.). I have to submit these documents to the higher authorities and the more genuine these documents will be, the easier it will be to schedule early exams for them.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Precisions / Clarifications

Dear students,

There was a mistake on my previous email. The exams must take place on the week starting from from June 22.

As far as we are concerned (HCEAI - M1 students), the exam must take place during the "regular" official" class hour ie on Friday, June 26, from 6:30 pm to 8 pm (first group) and 8 pm to 9:30 pm (second group) except for those students who have a valid and sincere justification and cannot be there on June 26 (for that too I need to get more precisions...).

Like so many students as well, I very much would have like these exams to be held before...but it seems it is not possible as I was told several times.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Message for all sections and groups (M1 and M2)

Dear students,

We will have class tomorrow on our "normal" hours like they used to be before the strikes ie in room F368 as follows:

• M2 group: 5 pm - 6:30 pm
• M1 group: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
• M1 group: 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
  

M1 students:

Because of the latest resolutions and decisions by the highest authorities at La Sorbonne - Paris IV, it will not be possible to have an exam next week (ie on June 05) as I had planned and as I had told you last week. According to these resolutions and decisions (confirmed by Professor Griset), all exams must take place from June 22 to 27.

Since we only have class on Friday, our exam will have to take place on June 27. More precisions on the content of this exam will be given to you tomorrow.

Needless to say that I would have liked everything to be over by the end of next week but, unfortunately, this is not possible at all and this is mainly to avoid students challenging their (low) grades and exam results and also to avoid the exam to be cancelled and rescheduled to September.

Students who cannot sit the exam on June 27, if they have a valid and sincere justification, they will be allowed to have an exam earlier. These students are required to email me as soon as possible before they leave the country (for example) or to set a date for an exam before June 27.

M2 students: Professor Griset has confirmed that there will be no assessment nor grade in English for the second semester. As a result, tomorrow will be their last class.

Very best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Latest decisions and measures by the administration at La Sorbonne

Dear students,

To my utter dismay and anger and disgust, most of the class sessions we have had together in rooms outside our "normal" / "official" classroom, which is F366 at La Sorbonne, are considered as "non valid" (terminology and definition from the latest communiqué by President Molinié and the central committees) and this concerns everything (ie class, tests and exams, etc.) done either in room Chastagnol (teachers' room), at Bibliothèque Boutruche or at Institut de Géographie.

This results from the decisions of our most brilliant, most excellent, most competent and most conscientious top managers and "leaders" at La Sorbonne who held central meetings and committees some time around the middle of the past week. I was then confirmed these decisions by our History department that, as far as we are concerned, everything done outside our "normal"/"official" classroom is "non valid".

Here is a brief (and perhaps temporary...) summary of the decisions taken by the central committees at La Sorbonne by our most excellent leaders:

• the semester is prolonged to June 20
• only the class sessions (and for that matter the tests and exams) that took place and will take place in our "official"/"normal" classroom and with a "significant " ("their" terminology) number of students will count (which in our case was not possible since the rooms were locked during this semester...though we had our "significant" number of students...I would even go further, we had most of the students...)
  
• the rooms are supposed to open "at the latest" (communiqué by President Molinié and the central committees) next Monday, May 25.
  
• the exam will be based on whatever will be done from May 25 to June 20 in our "normal"/"official" rooms
  

As a result, technically speaking, all the grades we have had so far are "not valid" and will not count because they were done in places and circumstances that were not "official"/"normal" ("official classroom", bla bla bla.)

To avoid our semester course in English being canceled and/or challenged by some students (specially those who had or could have very low grades), this explains why we could not have an in-class exam yesterday (May 22) because the content is based on something done outside our "official"/"normal" classroom which is room F366 at La Sorbonne.

• Since the rooms will be opened or are supposed to be opened "at the latest" (communiqué by President Molinié) next Monday, May 25, we will have class at our "normal"/"official" room for a couple of weeks (if not more...) and the exam will be based on whatever will be done during that time and it will be held some time in June (or the end of June...) since the semester is now prolonged till June 20.
• So far, I have decided that we will have class at La Sorbonne next week (May 29) and there will be an exam the following week (June 05) based on whatever will be done next week (May 29). I hope that this will not be challenged by the administration...
  

Needless to say that all this angers and upsets me tremendously about how out top administrators and so-called "managers" and so-called "leaders" at La Sorbonne have handled this situation and have then decided all these measures and instructions.

During that very tense and stressful period, it was so difficult to maintain a modicum of class sessions, finding rooms after hours spent on the telephone, getting harsh and mean remarks either by some strikers (students as well as teachers) because of my maintaining the class sessions wherever it was possible to have them, provided they could be held in decent places and conditions (either at Institut de Géographie or in the History Department's Director's room or in the Teachers' room for example). But I made sure that we would not have to resort to have class in the corridors or cafés or Jardin du Luxembourg or Arènes de Lutèce, etc.

So far, despite all this, along with a handful of other teachers, I was able to have most (if not all) of the class sessions of this second semester and I could have class sessions, exam papers and tests held in decent places, all this now is considered as "non valid" ie totally useless, just good for the dustbin...Needless to say that after all this, I am exhausted and completely disgusted...

In case these rooms do not open from next Monday, then it is possible that your semester will be gone or cancelled or rescheduled to September or later...if we are still around, if there is still a place called Université de La Sorbonne...

Very best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

For next week (May 22) / Training Exercise on Listening Comprehension

Dear students,

Here is an audio report to work on as a mock test/ training exercise for next week. We will do something similar next Friday and it will be graded but, of course, it will be another report and on something different.

M2 students will hear it twice and M1 students will hear it three times. I will pause for one minute between the listenings. Do not spend more than 20-25 minutes for this exercise. Try to do this in same conditions.

Only check the transcript after the exercise is finished. There are more instructions on the file "Australia Stolen Generations Questions".

Here is the link for this training exercise:

[switch to Internet Explorer or Mozilla (or vice-versa) in case this link does not work. If nothing works, email me and I will send it by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK219449b985acad206/

As said before, there will be a vocab test and there will a few questions on the Present Perfect/Preterit (see revision program below).

Revision Program (reminder) :

• Vocabulary from "Government and Politics" (5 pages - the entire handout except the "sentences")
  

• Vocabulary from "The Brain Drain from Africa"
  

• Vocabulary from "What Clash of Civilisations"

• Present Perfect / Preterit (grammar)
  

• Listening comprehension: a short unknown report (like the one given here)

Reminder: Next week (May 22), we will have class at Institut de Géographie in room 402.

• M2 group: from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
  

• both M1 groups: from 6:30 pm to 8 pm
  

Reminder: The Institut de Géographie closes at 8 pm, this explains why both M1 groups will have class together.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Message for all groups / May 22 class and test

Dear students,

For very different reasons, several students have asked me to postpone to next week the test scheduled for today.

As a result, we will not have a test today but next week (May 22) at Institut de Géographie (same hours as today) in room 402.

• M2 group: from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
  

• both M1 groups: from 6:30 pm to 8 pm
  

Reminder: The Institut de Géographie closes at 8 pm, this explains why both M1 groups will have class together.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor
(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

Message for all groups : next Friday (May 15)

Next Friday (May 15)

Dear students,

Since the situation at La Sorbone remains very unstable and the rooms very often (if not always...) locked, we will have class at Institut de Géographie in Nouvel Amphi (ground floor) as follows:

• M2 group: from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
  

• both M1 groups: from 6:30 pm to 8 pm

M1 groups: it was not possible to have a room after 8 pm since Institut de Géographie closes at 8 pm. As a result, both groups will have class together.

M2 group: (Reminder of the previous message)

• Vocab quizz: add 2 more pages of vocabulary from the handout "Government and Politics" + Brain Drain + What Clash of Civilizations
• Listening Comprehension Test: you will hear a short (unknown) audio report twice and you will have to answer 5 questions
• Very short test on grammar: present perfect (simple and progressive)/preterit

M2 group: (Reminder of the previous message)

• Vocab quizz: add 2 more pages of vocabulary from the handout "Government and Politics" + Brain Drain + What Clash of Civilizations
• Listening Comprehension Test: you will hear a short (unknown) audio report three times and you will have to answer 5 questions
• Very short test on grammar: present perfect (simple and progressive)/preterit

Reminder: Should you be absent that day, to avoid getting a zero, you are required to provide me with a valid and sincere justification.

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

PS: Since I do not have all the students' email addresses, could you please quickly inform the rest of your classmates and friends about this? Thanks in advance!

M1 students: assignment for May 09 on "Australia"

Answers the questions on the report on "Australia" (see the handout for the questions on this report) and send your answers before Saturday, May 09 (8 am).

Here is the link in case you need this handout again:

[switch to Internet Explorer or Mozilla (or vice-versa) in case this link does not work. If nothing works, email me and I will send it by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK219449b985acad206/

Instructions :

• Deadline: Saturday, May 09, 8am.

• I will remove 3 points per day if the work is sent after this deadline. I will not accept papers after Monday (May 11), 8 am, thereafter, it will be zero.
• double spacing, font 12 (- 2 points if you do not follow this guideline)
• your attached file must be either in RTF format (Rich Text Format) or just cut and paste your answers in your email itself if you do not know how to make an RTF format file (unlike Word or Open Office files, the RTF format is a basic format most softwares can read and open).
  

Deadly mistakes: -2 points for each mistake

• no plagiarism: use quotation marks if you cite someone in your paper or if you use specific words/expressions used in the report
• capitalization rules on nationalities and religion (adjectives and names of the religion : «Australian» not « australia», « Jewish » not « jewish »)
• no basic grammar mistakes: agreement rules (examples : « he goes » not « he go », « they were» not «they was »; « there are two students » not « there is two students» etc.), irregular verbs, other basic grammar rules
• no contracted forms (contracted forms are not allowed in academic/formal papers: can’t > cannot / isn’t > is not, etc.
• spelling mistakes on basic words (which / witch), use a spellchecker (« correcteur d’orthographe »), change the language from French to English in your software
  

Make sure you get an email from me confirming that I have received your paper. If I do not confirm, this means I did not receive your paper. Wait 24 hours before sending me a reminder.

M2 students: assignment for May 09 on "The Cost of Cotton"

Instructions :

• Deadline: Saturday, May 09, 8am.

• I will remove 3 points per day if the work is sent after this deadline. I will not accept papers after Monday (May 11), 8 am, thereafter, it will be zero.
• double spacing, font 12, around 150 words each section +/-10%. (- 2 points if you do not follow this guideline)
• your attached file must be either in RTF format (Rich Text Format) or just cut and paste your answers in your email itself if you do not know how to make an RTF format file (unlike Word or Open Office files, the RTF format is a basic format most softwares can read and open).
  

Deadly mistakes: -2 points for each mistake

• no plagiarism: use quotation marks if you cite someone in your paper or if you use specific words/expressions used in the report
• capitalization rules on nationalities and religion (adjectives and names of the religion : « Chinese » not « chinese », « Jewish » not « jewish »)
• no basic grammar mistakes: agreement rules (examples : « he goes » not «he go », « they were» not «they was »; « there are two students» not « there is two students» etc.), irregular verbs, other basic grammar rules
• no contracted forms (contracted forms are not allowed in academic/formal papers: can’t > cannot / isn’t > is not, etc.
• spelling mistakes on basic words (which / witch), use a spellchecker (« correcteur d’orthographe »), change the language from French to English in your software
  

Make sure you get an email from me confirming that I have received your paper. If I do not confirm, this means I did not receive your paper. Wait 24 hours before sending me a reminder.

Questions:

1/ Explain/discuss in around 150 words why, for Gérald Estur, a freelance international cotton consultant, « the competition African farmers are facing on the world market is very difficult ».

2/ Listen to the following section (from 13 minutes to 14 minutes 26 seconds ie from “I’ve been in all the different types of sizes …” to “their conditions are bad.”) and explain/discuss in around 150 words what Pietra Rivoli says about the coastal regions in China.

3/ Listen to the last part of the report (from 19 minutes, 40 seconds ie from “Most consumers don’t really think…” till the end) and explain/disuss this part in around 150 words.

Message for all groups

Dear students,

The transcripts of the reports "Australia" (M1 and M2 groups) and "The Cost of Cotton" (M2 group only) are available from the link below.

[switch to Internet Explorer or Mozilla (or vice-versa) in case this link does not work. If nothing works, email me and I will send them by email]

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK219449b985acad206/

Message for all groups: class cancelled today (April 10)

Dear students,

I have just returned from Malesherbes and like a couple of M2 students I met there, when we arrived there at around 4:45 pm, we discovered that the center was closed…

Before leaving La Sorbonne at 4 pm, I did try to double-check whether or not Malesherbes was open. Nobody answered the phone calls there, the « Portail étudiant » had not been updated and there was no information whatsoever. The History department had no confirmed information and they knew next to nothing. But, the officer in-charge at the information desk at the main entrance at La Sorbonne told me that the center was open…However, to my utter dismay and immense frustration and anger, it was not!...

Are we really in the 21st century and in the age of high-tech super mega speed technology where information is supposed to be almost instantaneous and immediately available to everybody??...

Well, it’s almost 6 pm and I’ve just returned to La Sorbonne to the teachers’ room (room Chastagnol) to leave all the handouts I had prepared and brought for you.

As far as your homework is concerned, to sum up, everything that was supposed to be done for today is postponed for the first Friday after the holidays, there will be a the vocab quizz for the M1 and M2 groups as indicated earlier. But, there will be no listening comprehension test nor grammar tests on the first Friday, they are postponed for the following Friday. As indicated earlier, add two more pages of vocabulary from the handout «Government and Politics».

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in

A communiqué from the History department

Motion des professeurs, maîtres de conférences, PRAG, ATER, Allocataires-moniteurs et chargés de cours de l’UFR d’histoire de l’Université de Paris IV-Sorbonne

7 avril 2009

Les enseignants-chercheurs de l’UFR d’histoire :

1° expriment leur très vive inquiétude devant la gravité d’une situation dont les conséquences sont, d’ores et déjà, après huit semaines de désorganisation, très lourdes pour l’avenir de la formation et de la diplômation des étudiants ;

2° appellent chacun à l’esprit de responsabilité et au respect de la liberté de travail afin que tous les enseignants puissent, en conscience, assumer leur mission de service public ;

3° demandent instamment au président Georges Molinié de rétablir effectivement les conditions concrètes du fonctionnement de l’Université. Il s’agit aujourd’hui d’une reprise immédiate des cours sur tous les sites de la Sorbonne afin de préserver le contenu réel des enseignements et rendre encore possible la validation du second semestre de l’année 2008-2009. Les conditions d’évaluation (contenu, modalités) relèveront exclusivement de l’appréciation des enseignants responsables. Il y va désormais de l’image et de la crédibilité de l’Université de Paris-Sorbonne.

Votants : 62 ( +2 partis avant le vote et 1 arrivé après = 65 présents)

OUI : 41 ( + 2 oui partiels : 1 aux points 1 et 2 – 1 au point 3) – NON : 6 – Abstention : 13

approbation de la motion par 66 à 70 % des participants au vote et par 87 à 91% des suffrages exprimés

Next Friday (April 10)

Dear students,

It was not possible to have a room at Institut de Géographie again but I managed to find one at Centre Malesherbes (108, boulevard Malesherbes, 75017 Paris / Métro : Malesherbes ou Villiers).

So we will have class as follows in room 125:

• M2 group: from 5 pm to 6:30 pm
  

• both M1 groups: from 6:30 pm to 8 pm

Best regards,

Mounir Nassor

(email : mounirnassor@yahoo.co.in)

PS: Since I do not have all the students' email addresses, could you please quickly inform the rest of your classmates and friends about this? Thanks in advance!

Message for all groups: for next Friday (April 10)

Dear students,

I will indicate by next Thursday (April 09) where and when our next class on April 10 will take place.

Here is the link to get the handouts and the audio reports:

http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK219449b985acad206/

M2 (next Friday, April 10)

• Vocab quizz on the first 4 pages of the handout "Governement and Politics" and "The Brain from Africa"
• Reading Comprehension: the handout was given today, this is a training exercise (ie not graded), we will correct the answers next week
• Audio report titled "Australia": the handout was given today, this is a training exercise (ie not graded), we will correct the answers next week
• We will start discussing the report from the BBC "The Cost of Cotton"
• Do let me know if you had problems with the some words or expressions from What Clash of Civilizations by Amartya Sen

For the first Friday after the holidays:

• Vocab quizz: add 2 more pages of vocabulary from the handout "Government and Politics" + Brain Drain + What Clash of Civilizations
• Listening Comprehension Test: you will hear a short (unknown) audio report twice and you will have to answer 5 questions
• Very short test on grammar: present perfect (simple and progressive)/preterit

M1 (next Friday, April 10)

• Listening Comprehension (the handout was given last week and it was due for today (April 03) but bring the handout and we will rapidly correct the answers)
• Reading Comprehension: the handout was given today, this is a training exercise (ie not graded), we will correct the answers next week
• Audio report titled "Australia": handout given today, this is a training exercise (ie not graded), we will correct the answers next week

For the first Friday after the holidays:

• Vocab quizz: add 2 more pages of vocabulary from the handout "Government and Politics" + Brain Drain + What Clash of Civilizations
• Listening Comprehension Test: you will hear a short (unknown) audio report three times and you will have to answer 5 questions
• Very short test on grammar: present perfect (simple and progressive)/preterit

Reminder: to improve your listening skills and achieve the objectives of this course based (among others) on "academic" listening comprehension and expression, it is very important that you listen and watch "academic" reports in English. You can download for free thousands of audio reports (most of the time, the transcripts are availiable, except for the BBC World Service):

• BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/

• PBS (USA)

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/

• ABC (Australia)

http://www.abc.net.au/

• Useful Online Dictionaries via Lexilogos

http://www.lexilogos.com/anglais_langue_dictionnaires.htm

• Wordreference

http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/