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Video Time New Frontiers:

Would you say that there are drawbacks to the web?

Do you think the Web is a democratic tool?

Here are some ideas that might reveal useful for an essay on new technologies (ITC)

Advantages of the Web:

Provides infinite possibilities in terms of research, information, communication
Offers a global interpersonal exchange between people
The global village has reduced/broken the frontiers/ cultural barriers
Easy access to information
Press a key to discover the world
A socializing tool
The web has democratized knowledge, formerly reserved to the well-offs.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee conceived the web in 1989 to provide a platform enabling everyone to communicate on an equal basis.
The cyberspace has no frontiers and states and governments hardly control what is available on the web.
A democratic medium
Blogs are democratic because the man in the street has a medium to express his ideas.
Citizens can have their say in the political debate.
The cyber citizen has become more concerned about politics.
The web is a digital Agora, has given a boost to democracy but has also weakened it.
Knowledge is central to our well-being and ICT (information and communication technologies)have empowered people to build this human capital
E-democracy provides citizens with more real power
Many problems of size, space, distances, languages, can be overcome thanks to ICT.

Drawbacks to the web:
Unreliability of data
Unsafe websites
Internet users fooled by hackers
Waste of time for kids
Digital gap between developed and developing countries / between the haves and the have-nots.
Danger of exposing our privates lives
Children: no physical exercise resulting in a rise of the percentage of obese children
Less and less playing outdoors for kids
The web responsible for failure in children's studies (addiction to online video games such as Warcraft for instance)
Cyber-crime criminality (abused children, bank accounts being hacked, etc.)
The web provides tons of ways to waste time or get into trouble
Teenagers are at risk: spend hours multitasking leading to a lower concentration at school
Dangers of chat-rooms, forums
Damages your sight, children get lazy
Too many pop-ups and advertising
Big Brother is watching us: all internet users are spied
Hackers can get into your bank account without you noticing it
Digital divide/gap: ISPs (internet services providers) are not free; they charge customers for access to websites
3.6 % people have an internet access in Africa; nearly 70% in the USA
In totalitarian countries: a tool for propaganda, censorship of the government (China, Cuba for example)

The New Girl by Mark Mitchell in True Tales of American Life (2001)
Expression : subject 2

A suggested correction :
Of course, MLK would be rather satisfied to see how much improvement has been done within less than 50 years. Discrimination was declared illegal by the 1964 Civil Rights Acts and, consequently the US black community has gradually gained victories over racism.
Mark Mitchell's The New Girl, written in the 1970s, clearly illustrates how laws are easier to change than mentalities. Despite the law, a majority of American puritan white middle-class (the WASPs) people are still prejudiced against African-Americans.
Statistics regularly show that black students have a lower access to college. Similarly, surveys highlight a higher unemployment rate for black youngsters. Although the opportunity to climb the social ladder of success is theoretically the same for all American citizens, reality proves different. For instance, it is striking to learn that 1 out of 9 male African-American aged 20 to 34 is in jail in today's America!
Discrimination is likewise insidious on the job market and there is no actual complete assimilation for minorities in the USA.
Nevertheless, a lot has been done to struggle against discrimination and MLK's dream is still alive. For example, it is worth noticing that Affirmative Action in most US states forces authorities or companies to respect quotas of African-American members.
Since the day when Rosa Park triggered the famous Montgomery bus boycott in 1953, the living conditions of Afro-Americans have positively changed. A black middle class has risen in urban areas; today they have reached highly qualified jobs as executive, lawyers, etc.
I would also like to insist on the status of famous black people who behave like role models among the black community: Spike Lee has become a respected film director and is a harsh advocate of equality for all. In 1993, Toni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, thus becoming the first black American woman writer of all times. Examples are plentiful.
Last but not least, Barack Obama is today the epitome of the black challenge against discrimination.
As a conclusion, I would like to add that mixed marriages are also legal today, even though mixed couples may sometimes be looked down on.
Yes, indeed, MLK's dream has partially come true and minorities in the US have never ceased to struggle for freedom and equality. Barack Obama's recent Nobel Prize for peace is the international community's recognition of his strenuous efforts for brotherhood, whatever one's skin colour or social background. (418 mots)

The New Girl in Mark Mitchell's True tales of American life (2001)

Useful list of adjectives and nouns: :

Cheerful: joyeux enjoué
Disconcerted: décontenancé
The unrest: le malaise
Deprived: malheureux, démuni
Disdainful =contemptuous, haughty: dédaigneux, méprisant, hautain
Downcast : découragé, abattu
Downhearted : qui a le cœur gros
Depressed= down : déprimé
Libellous : diffamatoire
Unstrung : désemparé
Dashed : maudit
Disillusioned : désabusé
Startled : surprise
Idyllic= delightful, charmingly serene
Harsh: sharply disagreeable : cru, severe, dur
Disrespectful: irrespectueux
Coward: lâche
Carefree: insouciant
Hateful: haïssable
Excluded, rejected: rejeté
Be remorseful: avoir des remords
Loathsome: détesteable
Awesome: genial super
Casual: décontracté (clothes)
Laid-back: relaxed: décontracté (person, atmosphere)
Disrupted, upset: bouleversé
Sultry: étouffant (chaleur)
Amazed: stupéfait

T ES3 : American Culture, Writer's corner, page 25.
A suggested correction.

Comment upon the following statement; (250 words)
“The US has become the most powerful, significant world force in terms of cultural imperialism and expansion. The areas that particularly spring to mind are Hollywood, popular music, and even literature.”

Ian Ralston's statement cannot be denied; the US has had an overwhelming influence over the world since the turn of the 20th century. Either cultural supremacy or economic power, the US rules over the world and can actually be compared to an octopus reaching out its tentacles to get a grip on the whole world.
The USA has had an ever-growing influence worldwide on the cinema, music and literature. Other fields of entertainment have also spread round the world: sports, TV series, and food habits.
The US is made up of immigrants from all over the world who have brought their customs and traditions in their luggage. For instance, the Blues finds its roots in the cotton fields of Louisiana where slaves would sing chain-gang songs to cheer them up. Similarly, rap music was born in ghettoized black neighborhoods. Rock music also symbolizes the powerful and widespread influence of American entertainments. Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson or Madonna are world icons and have conveyed the American dream through the whole world.
Most human beings on earth have at least once drunk a can of coke, children from the global village have all ordered a big Mac at Mac Donald's: junk food as well as many other American practices have often wiped out minorities' traditions in some third world countries. In other words, the American worrying supremacy has invaded countries where people struggle against the standardization of their economy, tastes and entertainment.
It has become difficult for countries worldwide to assert their identity because of the omnipresent domination of US customs. Such an overpowering impact can be regarded as a threat to the diversity of cultures through the world.
I think people might share an international language such as English (or Globish), common values of freedom and tolerance, without necessarily giving up their traditions. (297 words)

2nde 1/3: due on Monday 9 November 2009: Zoom out 1 page 55
1ère L: due on Thursday 5 November 2009: High Hopes, Training time page 46-47
Tle L: due on Friday 6 November 2009: Spanglish, writing time D, page 43.
Tle L: due on Friday 13 November 2009: The personal touch, questions 1 to 5 page 39-40
Tle ES3: due on Tuesday 10 November 2009: Spanglish, Key questions C1,2,3 page 43
Tle S2: due on Monday 9 November 2009: Spanglish, Key questions C,2,3 page 43
Tle S3: due on Monday 9 November 2009: Spanglish, Key questions C1,,2,3 page 43

Tle STG 1/2: due on Thursday 5 Monday 9 November 2009: English test, check your key words page 44

Enjoy your holidays, see you back to school
your devoted teacher
M. Boudier

Would you like to be part of an Erasmus exchange programme?

I would definitely like to share a year with European flatmates. I think I would go to Rome, in Italy, for two main reasons: both my parents have an Italian background and most of the artistic treasures of European culture and history are on display in this museum-like city.
To me, the idea of fleeing my monotonous daily routine in order to live abroad with new friends strongly appeals to me.
Living in Rome for a year would enable me to both improve my spoken Italian and my knowledge of Italian painters.
I am convinced that sharing a flat with students my age would help me become self-reliant, more open-minded and tolerant.
What matters is the philosophy of Erasmus exchanges. The idea is to reinforce togetherness and brotherhood among young European people. I wish I could discover how people live and think in Europe thanks to my new foreign friends.
I would also like to leave the beaten tracks for a year so as to experience a unique crossing of cultures.
To conclude, it would help me make up my mind about my professional future which is still vague and uncertain. I would thus become mature enough to fly the nest.

One of my colleagues found this wonderful site which is a real mine for teachers and learners.
Have a look and surf from one exercise to another.
devote half an hour everyday to English before your exam.
thanks to Mme F. , the gold digger.
your devoted teacher

all kinds of exercises whatever your level of English is.
Just have a try!

your devoted teacher

improve your writing skills through exercises and their corrections.

your devoted English teacher