Hello, Class! This is Towako from MEL School.
How are you doing?
This week, we moved up to ELST Listening B1.1! We practiced taking notes while listening and reviewed the conversations carefully to improve comprehension.
In Q Skills, we focused on academic paragraph writing. We learned how to organize ideas using a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
We also discussed how social media influences travel, considering both its advantages and disadvantages. Using information from the readings and videos, we began developing our own opinions in paragraph form.
Remember, good writing is not about using difficult words or writing long sentences. It is about communicating a clear idea with logical organization and specific supporting details.
See you next week!
Towako
<Lesson Review>
ELST Listening B1.1 #1
We practiced listening individually while taking notes, then checked the conversations and reviewed important vocabulary and expressions.
One conversation involved choosing flights to New Zealand, including the differences between direct and connecting flights.
direct flight: A flight without a connection.
connecting flight: A journey that requires changing planes.
layover: The time spent waiting between flights.
We also practiced role-play to reinforce comprehension.
Important: Listen to the conversations again soon after class. Repeated listening and reproduction will help you understand spoken English more automatically.
Record unfamiliar words in My 練習帳.
Q Skills for Success Reading and Writing 1
Unit 3: How does social media change the way we travel?
Writing Skill: Using Correct Paragraph Structure (pp. 57–58)
We studied the three essential parts of an academic paragraph.
1. Topic Sentence (TS)
Introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
2. Supporting Sentences (SS)
Explain the main idea using reasons, details, and examples.
3. Concluding Sentence (CS)
Brings the paragraph to a logical conclusion.
For example:
TS: I enjoy traveling because it gives me new experiences.
SS: First, I can try different kinds of local food.
SS: Second, I can learn about different cultures.
SS: Finally, I enjoy visiting places I have never seen before.
CS: For these reasons, traveling is one of my favorite activities.
We identified these elements in model paragraphs and practiced arranging sentences in a logical order.
Writing Task: Do You Like to Travel? (p. 59)
We wrote a paragraph explaining whether we enjoy traveling and why.
The goal was to support our topic sentence with three clear reasons and finish with an appropriate concluding sentence.
We shared our writing on Google Classroom and reviewed how to improve clarity and organization.
Unit Assignment: How Social Media Affects Travel (pp. 62–64)
We reviewed information from the unit's readings and videos and discussed the positive and negative effects of social media on travel.
Possible advantages:
Discovering new destinations and travel experiences.
Finding useful information from other travelers.
Helping travelers with specific needs, such as wheelchair accessibility or traveling with babies.
Possible disadvantages:
Creating unrealistic expectations about destinations.
Encouraging people to focus on taking perfect photographs rather than enjoying the experience.
Contributing to overcrowding at popular tourist attractions.
We organized these ideas in a Pros and Cons table before developing our own paragraphs.
The important point is to use evidence from the materials to support your opinion, rather than simply listing personal impressions.
Global Skills: Well-Being — Being a Mindful Traveler
We also explored the idea of mindful travel.
Mindful traveling means paying attention to the present experience, appreciating the places we visit, and being considerate of local people and environments.
We discussed how focusing too much on social media can sometimes distract us from the actual experience of traveling.
Lesson Review
