F2F Class Notes (Raph)[S]

Vocabulary

Factual (adj): 1- using or consisting of facts.
E.g.: She gave a clear, factual account of the attack to the police.

Joint Venture (n): 1- a business or business activity that two or more people or companies work on together.
E.g.: The website was a joint venture between him and his partner.

Algorithm (n): 1- a set of mathematical instructions or rules that, especially if given to a computer, will help to calculate an answer to a problem.
E.g.: Music apps use algorithms to predict the probability that fans of one particular band will like another.

Pilot (n): 1- a person who flies an aircraft.
E.g.: He works as a pilot for Emirates.

Pilot (adj): 1- a program that is made to introduce a new radio or television series and test how popular it is. 2-A pilot plan, product, or system is used to test how good something is before introducing it.
E.g.: If you’d seen the pilot, you’d know why they decided not to make a complete series of programs!
E.g.: If the pilot program is successful, many more people will be interested in the new service.

Arachnid (n): 1- any of a group of small animals, similar to insects but with four pairs of legs, that include spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites.
E.g.: I am scared of all kinds of arachnids.

Amplify (v): 1- to make something louder.
E.g.: The room amplified the sound of his voice.

Camouflage (n): 1-  he use of leaves, branches, paints, and clothes for hiding soldiers or military equipment so that they cannot be seen against their surroundings.
E.g.: Camouflage print clothing is very popular right now.

Applause (n): 1-  the sound of people clapping their hands repeatedly to show enjoyment or approval of something such as a performance or speech:
E.g.: His speech was met with (= received) loud applause.

Reading

Sesame Street and IBM make vocabulary app
(Source: breakingnewsenglish.com/1706/170611-vocabulary-app.html)

Sesame Workshop (the company behind the hugely successful children’s TV show Sesame Street) and IBM have teamed up to create a revolutionary new app for kids to learn vocabulary. The joint venture has created the first vocabulary learning app powered by IBM’s artificial intelligence software. The app discovers for itself a child’s current reading level and vocabulary range, and then uses its algorithms to challenge the child with appropriate, new vocabulary to improve the child’s skills. It personalizes the learning experience for children. As the child continues to use the app, it will ensure he or she has learned and understood the new words before introducing additional, tailored vocabulary items.

IBM says it has just completed a pilot program testing the app. It collected 18,000 multiple-choice assessments given to kindergarteners over a two-week period. The researchers said the results were very promising. They said the kids learned words like “arachnid,” “amplify,” “camouflage,” and “applause,” which are typically learned at a much later age. The children could also use these words in context. Sesame Workshop CEO Jeffrey Dunn said: “We expect to develop the next generation of tailored learning tools….Educational technology like the platform we’ve created…is a promising new channel for learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom, and we’re excited to explore it further.”

Grammar

In the noon. – At noon.

We were in the forty three floor. – We were on the forty-third floor.

Pronunciation

Decade: /dekˈeɪd/

Sesame: /ˈses.ə.mi/

Arachnid: /əˈræk.nɪd/

Create: /kriˈeɪt/

Camouflage: /ˈkæm.ə.flɑːʒ/