Ana Bueno - E.O.I. Basic Level 2: January 2013

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Sunday 27 January 2013

New website in the School!


Hi again,

I'm writing now to inform you that we have completely updated the School's website. If you haven't checked it already, please do. Now we believe it is much more intuitive and user-friendly than it was before. There is still some information that needs to be uploaded, but we're already working on it :)




New website in the School!


Hi again,

I'm writing now to inform you that we have completely updated the School's website. If you haven't checked it already, please do. Now we believe it is much more intuitive and user-friendly than it was before. There is still some information that needs to be uploaded, but we're already working on it :)




Units 4 and 5; Useful links

Hi there!

As they say in English... better late than never! :)

In this entry I leave you with some online activities to revise what we do in class, and also some websites that can especially help you with your listening.

When we came back from Christmas we finished Unit 4, where we talked about films, music and TV. About grammar, we learnt how to use the Present Perfect. Here you have a text about Loch Ness that you have to complete using this this tense. Check it out!

And here you have three tests where you can revise the present perfect:

In Unit 5 we've talked about the future (predictions and plans), and we have learnt how to use will, may, might and be going to. Please, revise all the exercises we have done in class, and also do your workbook. Thank you.

USEFUL LINKS

I wanted to tell you that I have just found a very useful website with videos adapted to our level. Here I leave you the first video of the series. I'm sure you can understand a lot!! And, of course, you can continue with the next videos at home!



If you like learning English with songs, there is a website called www.subingles.com. There you can listen to lots of songs with the lyrics in front of you and, besides, many of them also have online activities! You have different songs classified according to their level of difficulty:


When you click on a song, it starts playing and the website also suggests other subtitled songs by the same artist. You also have the possibility of listening to songs with activities.


And, finally, I leave you with another website called www.esl-lab.com, where you can do lots of different listenings. You can choose the type of activity you want (questions or filling gaps), and you have the transcription as well. Very useful!! :)

I hope you've had a very nice weekend, and I'll see you tomorrow in class!
Ana.

Present perfect

Hi there!

As they say in English... better late than never! :)

In this entry I leave you with some online activities to revise what we do in class, and also some websites that can especially help you with your listening.

When we came back from Christmas we finished Unit 4, where we talked about films, music and TV. About grammar, we learnt how to use the Present Perfect. Here you have a text about Loch Ness that you have to complete using this this tense. Check it out!


And here you have three tests where you can revise the present perfect:

In Unit 5 we've talked about the future (predictions and plans), and we have learnt how to use will, may, might and be going to. Please, revise all the exercises we have done in class, and also do your workbook. Thank you.

USEFUL LINKS

I wanted to tell you that I have just found a very useful website with videos adapted to our level. Here I leave you the first video of the series. I'm sure you can understand a lot!! And, of course, you can continue with the next videos at home!




If you like learning English with songs, there is a website called www.subingles.com. There you can listen to lots of songs with the lyrics in front of you and, besides, many of them also have online activities! You have different songs classified according to their level of difficulty:


When you click on a song, it starts playing and the website also suggests other subtitled songs by the same artist. You also have the possibility of listening to songs with activities.


And, finally, I leave you with another website called www.esl-lab.com, where you can do lots of different listenings. You can choose the type of activity you want (questions or filling gaps), and you have the transcription as well. Very useful!! :)

I hope you've had a very nice weekend, and I'll see you tomorrow in class!
Ana.

Units 4 and 5; Useful links

Hi there!

As they say in English... better late than never! :)

In this entry I leave you with some online activities to revise what we do in class, and also some websites that can especially help you with your listening.

When we came back from Christmas we finished Unit 4, where we talked about films, music and TV. About grammar, we learnt how to use the Present Perfect. Here you have a text about Loch Ness that you have to complete using this this tense. Check it out!

And here you have three tests where you can revise the present perfect:

In Unit 5 we've talked about the future (predictions and plans), and we have learnt how to use will, may, might and be going to. Please, revise all the exercises we have done in class, and also do your workbook. Thank you.

USEFUL LINKS

I wanted to tell you that I have just found a very useful website with videos adapted to our level. Here I leave you the first video of the series. I'm sure you can understand a lot!! And, of course, you can continue with the next videos at home!



If you like learning English with songs, there is a website called www.subingles.com. There you can listen to lots of songs with the lyrics in front of you and, besides, many of them also have online activities! You have different songs classified according to their level of difficulty:


When you click on a song, it starts playing and the website also suggests other subtitled songs by the same artist. You also have the possibility of listening to songs with activities.


And, finally, I leave you with another website called www.esl-lab.com, where you can do lots of different listenings. You can choose the type of activity you want (questions or filling gaps), and you have the transcription as well. Very useful!! :)

I hope you've had a very nice weekend, and I'll see you tomorrow in class!
Ana.

Introductory "it"; India; How can you tell if someone is lying?; "Imagine Dragons"

Hi everyone!

Since we came back from Christmas we've practically fully covered Unit 4, related to crime and punishment.

One of the first days we watched a video about the dramatic news of the incident occurred in India. If you wish you watch the video again to practise your listening, I post it below. Remember that you have the whole transcription, so you can check it as you listen, if necessary.






I'm pretty sure that most of you regularly check newspapers online, even if it's only for 10 minutes to check the headlines (titulares). Well, why not do so in English? Simply by flipping through the website you'll be doing 5-10 minutes of reading in English every day. Below I post several links to different newspapers and news channels online, also indicating if they are more oriented towards the left or the right wing. None is better than the other; simply choose the one you like best, or decide to check a different one every day, as you prefer:

1. Newspapers in the UK:
  •  The Guardian: generally leftish and considered a serious newspaper.
  •  The Times: it is the most varied newspaper in terms of political support. Many columnists are connected to the Conservative Party, but there are also more left-wing ones. In a 2009 national readership survey The Times was found to have the highest numbers of readers in London of any of the "quality" papers.
  • The Independent: although it claims to be neutral, it is said to be a bit influenced by left-wing ideology. Some say that it is a serious rival for The Times.
  •  The Daily Telegraph: it is considered the most openly right wing serious paper. It costs less and sells twice as many copies as any other paper. Its readers are frequently conservative.
  •  The Daily Mirror (tabloid): it was the first paper to present strip cartoons. Ideologically, it showed a tendency to criticise the government in office at any time.
2. Newspapers in the USA:
  • The New York Times, which has a moderate-left stance. Although its primary audience has always been the people of New York City, it has gradually become the dominant national "newspaper of record".
3. News channels:
As far as grammar is concerned, in this unit we covered "introductory/anticipatory it" and the perfect aspects. Please, remember that you have extra practice in your workbook, but here I also leave you with a powerpoint presentation which I'm sure you'll find useful:



Last week we started Unit 5, about secrets, lies and truths. So far it's turning out to be quite an interesting unit! Below I post the video we watched about "how to spot a liar". Be careful! Your body might give you away!



Finally, on Friday we devoted the session to talking about "time", "time bandits" and expressions related to time (make sure you get the copies). We ended the lesson with a song entitled "On top of the world", by Imagine Dragons. Quite uplifting!! Here you have it for those who couldn't come to class!


Keep up the good work, guys! :)

Wednesday 2 January 2013

Idioms; FCE exam practice

Hi everyone!

Happy New Year!! I hope you've all started 2013 in high spirits, full of energy and eager to launch new projects! Since it's a fresh new year, here you have some idioms about new beginnings!





I take it for granted that you've taken advantage of these days to read Starting Over. It's true that the vocabulary is pretty colloquial and idiomatic at the beginning, but don't despair. Remember that you are reading the book for general meaning (that's called 'extensive reading'), so you don't have to look up every single word in the dictionary (but you can if you want to, by all means!). Besides, once you get used to Parsons's writing style, the reading is a lot smoother, and the vocabulary becomes increasingly easier.

I'm confident you've also been busy completing the vocabulary unit about transport and travelling, and writing the composition (remember this one has to be between 125 and 150 words!). Please, have everything ready for the 8th January (the deadline of the composition is extended till 23.59h).

Apart from that, with the advent of the New Year I also wanted to provide you with some exam practice material for you to do at home. If you can't get round to doing it these days, that's fine, but make sure you do it as soon as you find a window (hueco).


Finally, I wanted to inform you that we have completely updated the School's website. If you haven't checked it in these days, please do. We believe we've made it much more intuitive and user-friendly than it was before. There is still some information that needs to be uploaded, but we're already working on it :)



And that's all for the moment! See you again on the 8th!

Be happy, be good.

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