In class, discuss the following questions:

1. What mistakes do Dimmesdale, Chillingworth and Hester make in the story? Who makes the worst mistakes?

2. Hester says, “One day there will be a new world – a better world for women.” Is the world a good place for women today, do you think? Is Kazakhstan a good country for women? What country is a good place for women?

3. What social issues did the author raise in the story? What do you think about them?

For Tuesday, June 23:

• Read Ch. 1 and 2 in the book entitled “The picture of Dorian Gray” written by O. Wilde, translate the new words (in the text) and prepare 6 questions for the discussion. Please construct 2 questions of fact, 2 questions of preference/opinion and 2 questions of critical reasoning (see Table 1 below). Please also write your own answers to your questions. Type the answers and questions in a separate Word document (like in the table below or in the list format – first question, then your answer below; second question and the answer below, etc), add the heading, print them and bring to the first morning class . If for some good reason you cannot print the task for the first class, then write the questions and answers in your notebook and print the typed version during the long break.

Table1. Three types of questions

Question type	Example	Possible answer
Questions of fact	What is the boiling point of water? What does Basil do? (his profession)	Find a correct answer in the text
Questions of preference	What is your favorite type of food? Do you believe in love at first side like it happened with the characters in the story?	Give a subjective opinion (give your own opinion or suggestion)
Questions of judgement	What is the most important thing we can do to “save” the earth? What is the writer’s moral position in this story?	Give an answer based on the arguments from the text (suggestions by the author) and your own critical thinking

• Follow the links and watch the videos at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebu5MZBWm8w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M37c8SBZVDU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdI5fHG_ft4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMm5k0v_hVc

While watching the video clips, please take notes and then prepare 3 general questions (that require a “yes/no” or a “true/false” answer) and 3 special/specific questions (that need a concrete, detailed answer) for the in-class discussion.

Please also write your own answers to your questions. Type the answers and questions in a separate Word document (in the list format – first question, then your answer below; second question and the answer below, etc), add the heading, print them and bring to the first morning class .

• Print the PDF document about writing a narrative paragraph (narrative-paragraph-example… in the Writing materials), read the information there and do the tasks where necessary.

• Write a paragraph about New Orleans (if you haven’t done it yet) based on the video clips you watched in class, your discussions and sample paragraphs in the narrative-paragraph-example… . Please do not copy and paste the information about the city from the Internet. Write about your own impressions of this city, what you liked and what you did not like about New Orleans, whether you’d like to go there (why yes or no), what you think you can learn about the American culture and people there and similar items.

For Wednesday, June 24:

• Read Ch. 3 and 4 in the book entitled “The picture of Dorian Gray” written by O. Wilde, translate the new words (in the text) and prepare 6 questions for the in-class discussion. Please construct 2 questions of fact, 2 questions of preference/opinion and 2 questions of critical reasoning (see Table 1 below). Please also write your own answers to your questions. Type the answers and questions in a separate Word document (like in the table below or in the list format – first question, then your answer below; second question and the answer below, etc), add the heading, print them and bring to the first morning class . If for some good reason you cannot print the task for the first class, then write the questions and answers in your notebook and print the typed version during the long break.

Table1. Three types of questions

Question type	Examples	Possible answers
Questions of fact	What is the boiling point of water? What does Basil do? (his profession)	Find a correct answer in the text
Questions of preference	What is your favorite type of food? Do you believe in love at first side like it happened with the characters in the story?	Give a subjective opinion (give your own preference, opinion or suggestion)
Questions of judgement	What is the most important thing we can do to “save” the earth? What is the writer’s moral position in this story?	Give an answer based on the arguments from the text (suggestions by the author) and your own critical thinking

• Listen to the story “The Gift of the Magi” written by O. Henry (in our Listening materials folder), take good notes of the story, read and think about the questions below thoroughly and then write your responses based on the story and your personal experience and observations:

A. Jim and Della each made a selfless sacrifice of something of great personal value in order to be able to secure for the other something they felt worthy of being called a gift. Do you think people today (say in your own country) are able to make such personal sacrifices/gifts when a person really cares about another person? Do you know people who make such selfless gifts/sacrifices today? Who are they and what kind of selfless gifts did they give?

B. Did Jim and Della appreciate their gifts to each other? Why “yes” or ”no”? How do you think you would react if you found yourself in a similar situation? What impact do you think this sort of selfless-sacrifice might have on a relationship between a giver and a recipient?

C. Often those who receive gifts are unaware of the sacrifice that the giver makes in order to give gifts. What can we learn from Jim and Della about receiving gifts? About giving gifts?

• Make changes to your narrative paragraph about your trip to another city/country (based on my comments and questions). Print and bring the revised version to class.