About Plagiarism

My dearly beloved students,

It has been a full year of getting to know each one of you, learning your strengths and weaknesses and enjoying a good class. Just in case you have another professor next semester, I would like to discuss a major problem I have noticed, and this a lesson for future generations to come. It is about plagiarism. Professors do check sources from your projects, especially when we notice that the level of English seen on your project and your level of English seen on a daily basis does not match at all!

Plagiarism is stealing another person's ideas and say these are your own ones. Imagine you have been working for years, and you have created an invention and you have not done any patents yet. Suddenly, you see a colleague who sees your work, takes notes, asks you questions and you answer, and the next time around, you have found out this person has just written a book about your invention and has even patented your creation! How would you feel? I bet you'd be frustrated, angry, banging your desk.

Even if you do not know an author, or person, you should not steal someone else's property. Put yourselves into the situation I have given you, have some empathy. Plagiarism is stealing, and it is also punishable: some universities immediately expel you, in other countries, you are expelled, and not allowed to register into any university for a minimum of 3 years, and even get you blacklisted. Is it worth the risk? I don't think so!

Therefore, one piece of advice: Don't do it. I am showing you a video I have found on Youtube on TEN types of plagiarism, and you are going to be surprised!


10 types of Plagiarism

A promised grammar lesson for you

I hope this works for you and to clear any doubts on this Unit 2 lesson.



English 2 Grammar-Leisure Time Unit 2

How to improve your English

This is a very interesting video on how to improve your English. I really liked this video because it gives you ideas on how to improve your English conversation skills. Furthermore, it's a great video, not only for a student, but for a professor, too. However, I can see some problems with the video,  can you tell me the positive and negative aspects about it?


Sit down, get some popcorn, some Moroccan pastries and tea, and watch the video. Give me your opinions.

A brief history of the English Language, according to a Professor-lecturer

I would like to watch and enjoy this professor and his lecture about the history -briefly speaking- of the English Language. It's worth listening and watching.

Part One



 I can't get the full source for everyone to watch it, but you can get the video at youtube, here are the other links for other parts of this lecture:



Part II


Part III


Part IV


Enjoy it!

Unit 4- Holidays (Days and months)

Print the material on the Scribd, read the material and listen the video. It's about Christmas, a well-known holiday for Western Civilization. Enjoy the music and the exercise.

Here's the activity below, make sure you print it:
UNIT 4 Activity
and below is the video of the song "The Twelve days of Christmas", sung by Burl Ives.



Enjoy the activity. It's fun when you sing it very fast, it can also be a tongue-twister if you do so :)

On Unit 3: Health-Showing surprise

Again, I have used some extra material on this: I'm relying again on Schoolhouse Rock (Grammar Rock) on Interjections, my favorite video!! I love classical music, and even though my favorite composer is Mozart, my love Handel's Messiah, the Hallellujah chorus, and this is an educational, yet hilarious way of learning. I have added the lyrics to the "Interjections" song, and the video is below the lyrics. Enjoy!


Schoolhouse Rock Interjections

and now, the video:

More on Unit 1: let's talk about Conjunctions

Since on Unit 1 we also learn some grammar (too, either, and neither) let's add up a little more: let's talk about conjunctions. What better way to talk about conjunctions than singing a song? You might think I'm crazy (sorry, this is the first line of an old 80's song from  The Cars), but I've got another song... When I was very young, I learned some grammar on Saturday mornings while watching cartoons. Yes, while we watched The Bugs Bunny & Road Runner Hour on ABC, there was a program during commercials called Grammar Rock. It was fun to learn grammar with those songs, and nowadays we are lucky to have YouTube to watch these "grammar oldies" of the 1970's, although in my own personal opinion, Grammar Rock is ageless!

Again, I will rely on my friend the "Scribd" to give you the lyrics, in case you don't follow the song, and the YouTube to enjoy the cartoon.

Here are the lyrics: 
Schoolhouse Rock-Conjunction Junction


And the video:




Enjoy it!