Looking for materials that some people from 5º CAL had asked me for, especially reading, I have come across a website with several real FCE tests that you can do online (awesome!!).
Because there's quite a lot of material there and I don't want you to feel overwhelmed, I'll regularly make a selection of tests for you to do during the week/weekend, or whenever you manage to put some time aside. Here you have three of them.
Apart from that, I have also visited the website of the EOI in Ciudad Real and they have a list of listenings for B2, classified according to topic. The level of these listenings is not very well measured, and the activities are not exactly exam-like, but they can be good for general practice; you can also have access to the transcription. Click here for the link.
If anyone finds any other interesting website on the Internet, please tell me and I'll post it here so that everybody can use it. Remember that what you do at home makes all the difference :) Thank you!
On Tuesday we discussed some intercultural experiences we had had, either in Spain or abroad, and which provided us with insights into other people's cultures, but also our own.
We also read a poem by John Godfrey Saxe's (1816-1887), a version of the famous Indian legend "The Elephant and the 6 Blind Men".
We also did a FCE listening, which proved to be a bit difficult... And, finally, we corrected the handout on metaphors.
On Thursday we corrected the text "Lonely Planet" and worked with some difficult vocabulary. We then focused on the first grammatical content of unit 3: Noun phrases (remember that complex noun phrases are particularly relevant for your writing). To end with, we corrected the Use of English.
In case you didn't know, Thursday was Thanksgiving. I had prepared an activity, but the projector broke down, so here I post the video so that you may watch it at home. It's from a very big (famous, trendy) programme in the States at the moment, called the EllenShow, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Watch it and try to understand as much as you can.
For homework, do Grammar Bank 3.1 (theory + activities; 5º CAL also 6b in unit 3.1.), and prepare a short presentation about a photograph that is relevant for you. By all means, try to elaborate your language as much as possible. I remind you that we don't have "speaking exam" in December, so I have to evaluate you with the activities we do in class.
As usual, here I post a summary of what we did last week along with some other complementary/extra material that you may find useful.
Last week we started Unit 3. We began talking about places and travelling, and discussed some sights that we thought were overrated. I've found a link on the Internet about the "10 most disappointing Attractions in Europe". Check it here!
We also did a listening about an anecdote on an air taxi (funny, yet still terrifying if we had been there!). On the Internet I found a video of a girl who had another "dangerous" situation with a taxi. Click here to watch it.
As promised, in 5ºA we finished with the song "Set fire to the rain". Here I leave you with a live version at the Royal Albert Hall:
On Thursday 5º CAL had normal class, and we eventually got round to doing the activity on the film "Skyfall". Here I leave you the first video, so that you can watch it again at home.
And here you have the interview with Javier Bardem:
During 5ºA's lesson time we attended a presentation by Susen Ahwulalia, a Londoner from Indian descent. It was absolutely superb, and we all learnt a lot about traditions and festivals in India!
Maybe you'd be surprised to know that she's actually an expert in Indian cuisine! If you are interested in cooking, visit her blog and check out a few Indian recipes! (Be careful not to get a "Delhi belly" though! haha).
The other day we talked about places and discussed sights that had lived up to our expectations, sights that hadn't, and also places we felt guilty about not having visited. Pepe (5º CAL) talked about the Cies Islands, and that reminded Pablo of an article by The Guardian entitled "Top Ten Beaches in the World".
Next week we're going to have a special activity in the school. We have invited an Indian girl to give us a presentation about Indian festivals and traditions. The session for Basic Level 2 will be Tuesday 13th from 17.00 to 18.15.
I know we don't have class on Tuesdays, but, please, if you can, make an effort to come. I'm sure it's going to be incredibly interesting, and we're going to learn many things! Poster India
Next week we're going to have a special activity in the school. We have invited an Indian girl to give us a presentation about Indian festivals and traditions.
The session for Basic Level 2 will be Tuesday 13th from 17.00 to 18.15.
The session for the Advanced Level will be on Tuesday 13th, from 19.00 to 20.15
Students from 5º CAL, please, make an effort to stay after your class and attend the session. I believe it is a great opportunity to get closer to this alluring country, and also listen to a different accent. Students from 5ºA, you have class at that time, so by all means I count on your attendance :)
I'm sure it's going to be incredibly interesting! Poster India
Next week we're going to have a special activity in the school. We have invited an Indian girl to give us a presentation about Indian festivals and traditions. The session for Basic Level 2 will be Tuesday 13th from 17.00 to 18.15.
I know we don't have class on Tuesdays, but, please, if you can, make an effort to come. I'm sure it's going to be incredibly interesting, and we're going to learn many things! Poster India
Do you remember that at the end of unit 1 we saw the differences between the sounds /æ/ and /a:/? Well, here you have two videos to revise those sounds, and practise with some words!
Do you remember that at the end of unit 1 we saw the differences between the sounds /æ/ and /a:/? Well, here you have two videos to revise those sounds, and practise with some words!
Do you remember that at the end of unit 1 we saw the differences between the sounds /æ/ and /a:/? Well, here you have two videos to revise those sounds, and practise with some words!
How was your weekend? I hope you enjoyed it, although the weather wasn't too good!
In this entry I post a summary of what we did last week, and also some extra material you might find interesting.
On Monday we did a little bit of revision and we also started Unit 3 talking about jobs. We did an activity where you had to write a job for every letter of the alphabet. Some letters were a bit difficult, but you almost (casi) completed all the alphabet! :) We also learnt some expressions such as flexible working hours, opportunities for promotion, sick pay, holiday pay, etc. Make sure you learn them!
In this link you can do a listening about working conditions. Listen and do the activity. When you finish, go to the bottom of the page and read the language tips (consejos) for grammar and vocabulary.
On Wednesday we worked with the structures have to/must; don't have to/mustn't and we wrote "A class contract", with rules for the students and also for the teacher. You can do a little quiz here to revise. In the second hour we did the test.
Finally, I post another listening called "What's your ideal date?". Click here to listen to what some people in London answered! You can go to the bottom of the page (el final de la página) to see the answers from more people!
For homework, remember to do the copy about the articles (a(n) / the) and about have (got) to. You also have to correct your composition and give me your final version.
How was your weekend? I hope you enjoyed it, although the weather wasn't too good!
In this entry I post a summary of what we did last week, and also some extra material you might find interesting.
On Monday we did a little bit of revision and we also started Unit 3 talking about jobs. We did an activity where you had to write a job for every letter of the alphabet. Some letters were a bit difficult, but you almost (casi) completed all the alphabet! :) We also learnt some expressions such as flexible working hours, opportunities for promotion, sick pay, holiday pay, etc. Make sure you learn them!
In this link you can do a listening about working conditions. Listen and do the activity. When you finish, go to the bottom of the page and read the language tips (consejos) for grammar and vocabulary.
On Wednesday we worked with the structures have to/must; don't have to/mustn't and we wrote "A class contract", with rules for the students and also for the teacher. You can do a little quiz here to revise. In the second hour we did the test.
Finally, I post another listening called "What's your ideal date?". Click here to listen to what some people in London answered! You can go to the bottom of the page (el final de la página) to see the answers from more people!
For homework, remember to do the copy about the articles (a(n) / the) and about have (got) to. You also have to correct your composition and give me your final version.
How was your weekend? I hope you enjoyed it, although the weather wasn't too good!
In this entry I post a summary of what we did last week, and also some extra material you might find interesting.
On Monday we did a little bit of revision and we also started Unit 3 talking about jobs. We did an activity where you had to write a job for every letter of the alphabet. Some letters were a bit difficult, but you almost (casi) completed all the alphabet! :) We also learnt some expressions such as flexible working hours, opportunities for promotion, sick pay, holiday pay, etc. Make sure you learn them!
In this link you can do a listening about working conditions. Listen and do the activity. When you finish, go to the bottom of the page and read the language tips (consejos) for grammar and vocabulary.
On Wednesday we worked with the structures have to/must; don't have to/mustn't and we wrote "A class contract", with rules for the students and also for the teacher. You can do a little quiz here to revise. In the second hour we did the test.
Finally, I post another listening called "What's your ideal date?". Click here to listen to what some people in London answered! You can go to the bottom of the page (el final de la página) to see the answers from more people!
For homework, remember to do the copy about the articles (a(n) / the) and about have (got) to. You also have to correct your composition and give me your final version.
Can you remember that the other day we came up with different expressions using colours?
To feel blue
To be green
To see red
Well, Elena from 5ºA has found this fragment from an episode of "Big Bang Theory" (hilarious series, by the way! Highly recommendable!), where they talk about the colour of lonely.
I'm not allowed to embed it here, but here you have the link. I hope you enjoy it!
Hi! How's the weekend going? I hope you are making the most of it! :)
In this entry you have a brief summary of what we've done in class this week, together with some other interesting material you might find useful. This week we've mainly focused on speaking and listening, although we've done a little bit of grammar as well: like and as and collocations in 5º CAL; expressing opinion in 5º A. (Please, note that I cover the same areas with both groups, but sometimes on different days).
On Tuesday we "played" a funny game where you had to decide who had to jump from the hot air balloon. I can't yet believe some of you even volunteered!! haha. On Thursday we also started with a speaking activity with cards. Some of the questions were rather controversial, and we held a heated debate on some of them.
On Thursday we also discussed the topic of nature (/ˈneɪtʃə(r)/) vs. nurture (/ˈnɜːtʃə/) and we watched a documentary about Vanessa-Mae, a child prodigy with the violin -remember that you can watch it again at home with the CD at the end of your book-.
The other day I watched this video about three brothers who are undoubtedly gifted in instruments as well! "The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys" they're called. Check it out!
Finally, here you have a newspaper article from the magazine "TIME" entitled "The downside of being a child prodigy". Do you agree with what it says?
As for Friday, thanks so much to the people that came. I truly appreciate your attendance :) In both groups we worked in a writing workshop, which we'll finish next Tuesday. Little by little during the year we'll do different types of exercises to help you with the difficult task of writing.
In 5º CAL we worked with a song, and in 5ºA we did an activity about "Skyfall", the last Bond film. I'll post the videos next week, when I've done the two activities in both groups :)
For homework, do the copy about "metaphors" and the FCE reading.
Finally, today I wanted to post this video that a friend shared on Facebook the other day. It's a Vodafone commercial based on how the Spanish get on with the Erasmus students.
To be honest, I find the video quite funny, but... isn't it time we broke the stereotype that the Spanish can't learn a foreign language? Please, feel free to post a comment below with your impressions. Thank you!
I've been thinking and I don't consider it worthwhile to post everything we've been doing during the past few weeks, but at least I wanted you to have the videos we've watched in class, so that you may watch them again at home.
The first one we saw was the one about Felix Baumgartner. Click here to watch it online.
The other one we have watched so far is the one about bullying. Click here to watch it again.
Finally, for Halloween we watched an episode from "Friends". It was episode 6 from season 8. You can watch it online at www.cuevana.tv.
From now onwards I'll do my best to write regularly and provide you with extra material to reinforce, complement and expand what we do in class. And, as I said in my previous entry, you're more than welcome to contribute as well :)
Enjoy what is left of the bank holiday and see you on Tuesday!
At long last I have found some time to start the blog! I know it's taken me long but, as they say in English, better late than never! :)
Here I'll regularly try to post the most important things we do in class, interesting things I come across, and news related to the School. By all means, I encourage you to contribute as well by either commenting on what I write or writing entries yourselves (in the second case you have to send me the information via e-mail and then I'll post it). That way we'll all build the blog, making it richer and more entertaining.
In the previous entry I posted some information to revise Unit 1. Here I do the same with Unit 2!
In this unit we have talked about fast food, first meetings, love and relationships, stories and how to start and finish a conversation!
About grammar, we revised how to form the past simple and the past continuous, and when we use them. Be very careful with the pronunciation of the -ed past. The rule "PoKaSH FiCHaS Te Doy" can help!
Here you have the uses of the past continuous, so that you can revise them (if you want to see it bigger, go to the original page, but only look at uses 1 to 4):
If you want to practise a bit more, here you have some exercises (from easier to more difficult):
And here you have a video to learn how to carve a pumpkin!
Basically, what you need to do is to remove the top of the pumpkin and take out all the seeds (semillas). Then draw a face on the pumpkin and cut it with a knife. Finally, put a candle inside! If you try to make a jack-o-lantern, please bring it to class the next day! :)
Finally, I gave you back your informal letters and I gave you a copy with some of the symbols I use. Here you have it, in case you don't have a copy:
In the previous entry I posted some information to revise Unit 1. Here I do the same with Unit 2!
In this unit we have talked about fast food, first meetings, love and relationships, stories and how to start and finish a conversation!
About grammar, we revised how to form the past simple and the past continuous, and when we use them. Be very careful with the pronunciation of the -ed past. The rule "PoKaSH FiCHaS Te Doy" can help!
Here you have the uses of the past continuous, so that you can revise them (if you want to see it bigger, go to the original page, but only look at uses 1 to 4):
If you want to practise a bit more, here you have some exercises (from easier to more difficult):
And here you have a video to learn how to carve a pumpkin!
Basically, what you need to do is to remove the top of the pumpkin and take out all the seeds (semillas). Then draw a face on the pumpkin and cut it with a knife. Finally, put a candle inside! If you try to make a jack-o-lantern, please bring it to class the next day! :)
In the previous entry I posted some information to revise Unit 1. Here I do the same with Unit 2!
In this unit we have talked about fast food, first meetings, love and relationships, stories and how to start and finish a conversation!
About grammar, we revised how to form the past simple and the past continuous, and when we use them. Be very careful with the pronunciation of the -ed past. The rule "PoKaSH FiCHaS Te Doy" can help!
Here you have the uses of the past continuous, so that you can revise them (if you want to see it bigger, go to the original page, but only look at uses 1 to 4):
If you want to practise a bit more, here you have some exercises (from easier to more difficult):
And here you have a video to learn how to carve a pumpkin!
Basically, what you need to do is to remove the top of the pumpkin and take out all the seeds (semillas). Then draw a face on the pumpkin and cut it with a knife. Finally, put a candle inside! If you try to make a jack-o-lantern, please bring it to class the next day! :)
Finally, I gave you back your informal letters and I gave you a copy with some of the symbols I use. Here you have it, in case you don't have a copy:
In this entry I'm going to post some information to revise Unit 1, and then I'll do the same with Unit 2.
At the beginning of the course we did several activities to know each other (some of you met for the first time!), and in the third week you did your first oral presentations. In groups of 3, you talked about someone important from an English speaking country. Thank you once again for your truly great effort :)
Below (abajo) you have a brief summary of the main grammar and vocabulary we have seen in the unit, so that you can revise at home and do some activities on-line:
SUBJECT QUESTIONS
In Unit 1 we revised how to form normal questions. Remember the word QUASI (QUestion word + Auxiliary + Subject + Infinitive).
Imagine I have the following sentences:
Josh met my sisterlast night.
Rich bought a new laptopin the supermarket.
I can ask a question for the underlined elements using the QUASI structure:
QU
A
S
I
...?
Answer
Who
did
Josh
meet
last night?
My sister.
When
did
Josh
meet
her?
Last night
What
did
Rich
buy
in the supermarket?
A new laptop
Where
did
Rich
buy
the laptop?
In the supermarket
But we saw that we can also ask about the subject of each sentence (Josh or Richard). In this case, the structure of the sentence changes:
QU
A
S
I
...?
Answer
Who
ø
ø
met
my sister last night?
Josh
Who
ø
ø
bought
a new laptop?
Rich
These are called "subject questions". Below I post a powerpoint presentation I found on the Internet. Maybe it helps you! And click here for an online exercise when you can practise.
We have also learnt how to express that we have things in common:
So + aux + I (when we have something positive in common)
A: I am Spanish.
B: So am I!
Neither + aux + I (when we have something negative in common)
A: I don't like baked beans.
B: Neither do I!
If you want to practise a bit more, click here for an exercise online.
PARAPHRASING We also learnt what we can do when in the middle of a conversation we don't know a word that we need. Make sure you revise those expressions! It's someone who... It's a place where... It's a type of... It's the opposite of... It's similar to... It's how you feel when... Etc. WORK
We also learnt how to talk about jobs and the world of work. Be careful with the following expressions because they are different in Spanish.
A: How long does it take you to get to work?
B: It takes me around/about 20 minutes.
If you want to practise the vocabulary a bit more, below you have a listening activity with some jobs (the answers are at the end). Click here for the audio.
We also talked about what the Spanish and the English do in their free time, and we revised vocabulary related to sports and also adverbs of frequency. If you want to revise the position of frequency adverbs in the sentence, click here.
Here you have a listening about students going to the USA to travel and/or work. Try to complete the gaps in the conversation.
WRITING
In Unit 1 you wrote two compositions: your profile (page 7) and an informal letter (Porfolio 1). Please, learn the structure of an informal letter and the useful expressions you can use.
So there you have the basics of Unit 1! I hope the links help you to revise a little bit and to practise your listening!
