English Exercise 4

“All the exercises on this page were created using authoring software created by Martin Holmes of the University of Victoria English Language Centre in Canada. Martin Holmes is from Manchester, England, and after having taught English in Japan, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, now lives in Victoria, Canada, and works at the University of Victoria, where he is heavily involved in developing on-line teaching and learning systems. Any comments (either positive or negative) about these particular exercises should be addressed to me ; any compliments about the software can safely be sent directly to Martin Holmes.

By the way. . . these exercises are provided for you free of charge. If anyone has asked you for money to access this page, please inform me at once, by clicking on my name: Lilliam Hurst“

The above was a message from the webowner/moderator/webmaster.

You can visit this website here at: English Exercises Online

David Hng

Elementary School Students Begin English Language Arts Exams

January 9 2007

After months of preparation, city third, fourth and fifth grade students began the first day of the English Language Arts exams Tuesday.

The tests, which have multiple choice and essay components, can be nerve-wracking for students and parents.

“I think the short answer – second part of the test. That’s what I am more worried about,” said one student, referring to the writing portion of the exam.

For the first time, under the “No Child Left Behind” act, even students whose native language is not English are required to take the test if they have been in school in the city for more than a year. In the past, those students would be exempt from taking the test for up to three years.

Despite all the pressure, at least some students who spoke with NY1 Tuesday morning said they felt prepared.

“My teacher made us do a lot of reading stuff, and we used a laptop and he took us to a website that helped us a lot,” said one student.

“The second part of the test is that you’ve got to listen to it, and then you’ve got to write notes and then you’ve got to answer the questions,” explained another student.

Students in the sixth, seventh and eight grades have a little more time to prepare. They take the ELA exams next week.

The state math exams are right around the corner in March.

David Hng

State Weighs English-learner Settlement

Mary Jo Pitzl
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 10, 2007 12:00 AM State officials were considering details Tuesday of a proposed settlement in the long-running legal battle over adequate funding for English-language learners.

Tim Hogan, a public-interest attorney who has been representing school districts in the lawsuit, made the settlement offer over the weekend, after he and the attorney for state lawmakers were discussing the case during a Friday hearing in U.S. District Court in Tucson.

“I made a proposal, as I was asked to do,” Hogan said, adding that he was asked by the Legislature’s attorney.

The offer included an additional $675 in state funding for each student deemed to need extra assistance in learning English, as well as lifting a time limit on how long a student is classified as an English-learner and a stipulation that federal education dollars not be used to offset the state’s investment in English-learners.

A plan approved by the Legislature in 2006 called for an additional $432 per student. That plan was rejected by U.S. District Judge Raner Collins.

There are nearly 135,000 Arizona schoolchildren classified as needing assistance to learn English, according to the state Department of Education.

Arizona has been under a court order for seven years to do more to help boost these students’ English abilities.

Hogan said he has received no response to his offer, largely because he and the attorneys involved are tied up this week in a related court hearing in U.S. District Court in Tucson.

But Tom Horne, state superintendent of public instruction and one of the defendants in the lawsuit, said that he will back whatever action state lawmakers take on the case.

“If they settle, I’ll settle,” Horne said. “I’ll follow their lead.”

Lawmakers are the ones who have to find a way to pay for the cost of instructing students who are working to learn English, Horne said, explaining why he’ll go along with whatever legislators decide.

Republicans met in executive sessions Tuesday to discuss the proposal; they would not comment, citing the confidentiality required of pending legal matters.

David Hng