Choosing a topic for your oral presentation

This entry corresponds to Advanced Level 1 (B.2.1)

Hi there!

For next Monday (11th November) you have to prepare your first oral presentation. I have given you the choice to talk about any topic you want, but... how do you decide what to talk about?

Normally, students choose the topics based on one of the following criteria:

• They talk about what they think the teacher wants to hear.
• They choose topics that they perceive as easy.
• They choose a topic that inspires or excites them.

In my view, the best results happen when the students choose the third option: they are inspired by the topic.

The truth about your presentation is that if it doesn't excite you, it won't excite your listeners. If you're not fascinated by the content, your insights will be mechanical and unattached. Plus, you'll lose motivation along the way.

So, the next time you ask yourself, "How do I decide what to talk/write about?", start with what inspires you and build from there.

Adapted from www.eslbasics.com

Health; going to the doctor's; good stress; present perfect simple vs. continuous

This entry corresponds to Advanced Level 1 (B2.1)

Hi there!

These days we've been talking about health and eating habits. In one of the first sessions we discussed whether milk was good for the body or not . Here I post the video in case you may want to watch it again. If you open it directly on YouTube remember that you can activate subtitles. However, remember that they are computer-generated, so you may find many mistakes. Still, they are still helpful to follow the main ideas.

We've also talked about going to the doctor's, and we've learnt plenty of vocabulary related to illnesses and symptoms. Below you have two listening exercises about talking to a doctor:

• Talking to the doctor 
• Phoning the doctor 

You might find them rather easy, as they are from the Intermediate level, but still they're good for practice.

We also discussed whether stress was good for you. Well, apparently it is! Check out the video below!



About grammar, we've been revising the differences between the present perfect simple and continuous. Here you have quite a completely summary about when to use each:

Taken from www.ego4u.com

You can practise doing the exercises below:

• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2
• Exercise 3

And that is all for the moment!

Ana.

Revision of tenses; personality adjectives; relationships

Hi everyone!

Here you have the first entry of the year! I'll regularly post a summary of what we've done in class but, most importantly, I'll also post extra material to consolidate and to expand what we do in the lessons.

We've already advanced quite a lot and are almost finishing Unit 1! These days we've been revising tenses, question formation and auxiliaries. As for vocabulary, we've talked about relationships and also personality.

If you want to continue revising English tenses, try the following exercises online:

• Revision of tenses 1: here you have exercises with pairs of tenses (present simple vs. present continuous; past simple vs. past continuous; past simple vs. past perfect, etc).

• Revision of tenses 2: here you have a gapped text which combines all tenses.

• Revision of tenses 3: here you have gapped sentences which combine all tenses.

Below you have some other useful personality adjectives!

Taken from www.englishpage.com

Finally, here I post two listenings about relationships, and also a video about "how to prepare your relationship for a baby":

• Listening 1: First date

• Listening 2: Meeting singles

• Video: Click here for some activities before you watch the video. You mainly have vocabulary and expressions. Then watch the video below and take this quiz!

For next Wednesday remember you have to write a composition:

How has my life changed in the last 10 years? Include aspects related to:

• Appearance
• Personality
• Work or Studies
• Hobbies
• Family & friends

250 words; Times New Roman, 12; 1.5 interlining; deadline 16th Oct 23.59h

Have a nice weekend and see you on Monday!
Ana.

Welcome!

Hi everyone!

I've finally set the blog in motion again! :) Make sure you check the section "How to use this blog" to make the most of it!

I intend to make this blog a place where we can all communicate and share ideas, impressions and materials that may be useful for all of us. Apart from that, we'll try to keep a record of what we do in class every week.

In the following days I'll publish the first entry with a summary of what we've been doing in the first weeks of the course.

Welcome aboard, guys! :)

Infinitive or -ing?

Many of you still have problems with verbs followed by infinitive or -ing.

Click here for a revision and here to do an activity online.

Negative prefixes; why men & women can't be friends

Hi everyone,

Last week we finished Unit 6, and started Unit 7 a little bit.

On Tuesday we corrected the photocopy about family and friends, and you discussed some questions in pairs. Apart from those questions, I asked you if you believed that boys and girls could be friends, and just friends.

After that, I told you about a video recorded at Utah State University about this topic ("Why men and women cannot be friends"). It's in English with subtitles in Spanish, so check it out! I'm sure you'll find it very funny :)






On Wednesday and Friday we had your oral presentations. Thank you very much for your effort, and for sharing some important episodes of your life with the rest of your classmates, and with me. It's a real pleasure listening to you :)

On Wednesday we also worked with negative prefixes (prefixes to form opposite words). Click here for an online exercise to praticse a little bit more! And here you have a very good list of adjectives with their corresponding prefix. Very useful! (Note that the adjective "satisfied" can have to opposites: "unsatisfied" and "dissatisfied").

Finally, I wanted to inform you that we've just updated (actualizado) all the useful links in the School's website. Please, find some time to check them and decide which ones work for you. They are clearly organised into different sections, so you can find what you're looking for more easily. Below you have a snapshot (captura de pantalla) of some of them.

You can find all of them on the right, in "Departamento de Inglés", "Recursos en línea de inglés" (the URL address is: http://www.eoiroquetasdemar.org/wp/recursos-en-linea-de-ingles).

See you this afternoon!

FCE Test Practice ONLINE! :)

Hi again,

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.

• Reading Part 3 (Which person...?): Book reviews

• Use of English Part 1: Fill in the gaps with multiple choice

• Listening Part 3: Match Speakers 1-5 with statements

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!

Cultural differences; animated history of Coca-Cola

Hi everyone!

In these last two weeks we've worked with the book, but especially with photocopies. Make sure you revise the vocabulary and grammar carefully.

Last Friday we had class and we watched a video about cultural differences among countries as regards handshaking and other body language. I've just found a video by National Geographic where a group of Africans travel to the United States... You can imagine the cultural shock! Watch the video and you'll see (most of it is subtitled as the African accent is extremely strong):





On Tuesday we watched a video about the history of Coca-Cola. You have the transcription in the copies, so here I post the video so that you may watch it again:


In the second hour, we corrected the copy about the passive voice. Check it carefully at home and ask me next week in case you have any questions. At any rate, we'll practise a bit more next week. For homework, remember to do the two tests (Use of English and Reading).

Finally, in these two weeks we've had two complementary activities: poetry reading and the spring party. Thank all of you for your participation. We also had to say goodbye to Leah... She's been such a good language assistant. Let's hope we are at least as lucky next year!

We'll devote next week to revision, and to answer any questions you may have.

Well, have a nice weekend and see you all on Tuesday!
Ana.

My Sister's Keeper; cloning food

Hi everyone!

I hope you've had a nice weekend! It's been scorching hot, so maybe some of you have already started to enjoy the beach! :)


On Tuesday we started talking about some questions related with science and then we discussed some moral dilemmas. One of them had to do with modifying embryos so that the born child would be compatible with his/her brother/sister. This reminded me of the film "My sister's keeper" (2009), a film I thoroughly recommend. I post the trailer below for you to decide whether you want to watch it or not!






Someone in Avanzado 1 A was also talking about cloning food to feed the world's population. This reminded me of a piece of news back in February: a scientist in Holland was developing a hamburger in a laboratory!! Click here for the article from BBC News. What do you think of this? Feel free to post your opinion in a comment below!

After that we did the test on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and we corrected the activities we had left in the book.

On Thursday you talked about Feng Shui with Leah. If you want to learn a bit more about it, go to this website called Feng Shui Your Life". In my hour we corrected the copy about "Crime and the law". I know there's a lot of vocabulary there, but it will be a lot less if you organise it properly. Remember:

"Work hard but, most importantly, work smart" :)

Homework: On Tuesday we'll correct the text on Nanotechnology (Module 5) and Thursday is the deadline for your composition: How would a day in my life be if I was a man/a woman? Here I give you an opportunity to explore your originality and sense of humour! :)

See you on Tuesday then!

Conditionals; crime; Jack the Ripper

Hi everyone!

I hope your weekend is off to a good start (nice expression to learn!), although the weather is absolutely miserable!! Let's hope this howling wind goes away soon!

Last week we corrected the unit about "The Natural World". It's a lot of vocabulary, I know, but, remember, take things calmly: sit down, select the words you don't know, copy them in your notebook and check them regularly.


Last week we also started to talk about crime and we learnt some words such as:

On Tuesday we didn't have class because it was a bank holiday, and when we came back on Thursday I gave you back your compositions. I'm very glad to say that I can see a big, big improvement in comparison with the first compositions you sent me. Well done, and keep up the good work, guys. Keep up the good work :)

With Leah you talked about World Book Day and in my hour we corrected the unit about the Conditionals and some exercises which were lagging behind (que se nos habían quedado atrás). If you want to practise a bit more, try doing the following:
Conditionals


This week we also had class on Friday. Thanks once again for all the people that came. I truly, truly appreciate your effort :)

We talked about famous criminals and serial killers, and we focused on Jack the Ripper, who really existed! Below I post some of the newspaper articles that were published after his murders (1888). Really interesting!

We then watched some fragments from the film "From Hell" and with Advanced Level 1 A we also had time to play a game called "Ullaby"... All the suspects were found guilty!! If you're interested in this case, check this website, where you have plenty of information and videos about the mysterious Jack the Ripper.

Have a nice weekend! :)
Ana.

Ku Klux Klan; learning styles; extreme weather conditions

Hi everyone!

This week we've started the 3rd term... Hope you're all eager to start your engines! Only the last months remaining in front of us :)

On Tuesday you told me a bit about your Easter holidays and then we talked about how foreigners, especially those coming from the States, see our Semana Santa. We read a short text about the Ku Klux Klan and we also watched a National Geographic video (original link here). I post it below, with the activities and the corresponding answers.




KKK vs. Semana Santa




The Ku Klux Klan

After that we talked a little bit about Multiple Intelligence Theory and different learning styles. If you want to listen to the audio again, click here. Below you have the transcription.



Learning Styles TRANSCRIPT



Maybe you can use some of these strategies in your own learning! Besides the quiz we did in class, you can learn a bit more about what type of learner you are by doing the quiz here. And here you have some ideas to help you studying depending on your type of intelligence (NOTE: Tactile refers to bodily-kinaesthetic).

On Thursday we talked about extreme weather conditions and we watched a video from the Reuters agency about the tsunami in Japan. Here you have the video and the activity, with the answers (original link here):



Extreme Weather Conditions REUTERS

Remember you can use the REUTERS website for listening practice, since all videos are accompanied by the corresponding script.

For homework, do the copies about "The Natural World".

Easter holidays

Hi everyone!

Wow, so we've come to the end of the term! I can't believe Easter is already round the corner!!

I hope you've all made the most of these nearly three months of class we've had in the second term, and that you come back after Easter with renewed energy and eager to continue learning and enjoying the lessons :)

I don't know your plans for the Easter holidays, but why don't you find some time to watch films in original version or read? I've told you a hundred times in class, but I repeat it again here: reading is by far the best way to improve one's language, both in Spanish and English! It's scientifically proven that people who read a lot learn easier and faster. It might well be the magic recipe you're all looking for!

The library in the Escuela will start running very soon, and then you'll be able to borrow as many books as you want, preferably in original, unabridged version, of course. Meanwhile, why not read newspapers online? Or e-books? I'm sure many of you already have Kindles or e-book readers!

Talking about reading, click here for an article from the New York Times talking about the benefits of speaking two languages. Let's see if it boosts your motivation a little bit!

Have very nice Easter holidays and see you again on the 10th April!

Ways to look; "Falling slowly" (song)

Hello everyone!

Last week we did an interesting photocopy with idioms of comparison (e.g. as fresh as a daisy; as deaf as a post; as blind as a bat, as hard as nails, etc.). Make sure you revise this vocabulary!

We also did a little game in pairs to revise some of the phrasal verbs we have seen so far. As a word of advice, have a separate section for phrasal verbs in your notebook. Apart from the translation (if you use translations), try to think of another synonym verb (e.g. give in - surrender) and always, always include a example to see the phrasal verb in context.

We also continued with the book and corrected the exercises on pages 68 and 69. The one about "ways to look" was a little complicated, so I gave you a handout with their explanations.
















On Thursday Leah talked about alternative ways to travel: WWOOFing and Couchsurfing. What do you think of them? Would you consider practising them?











Finally, we corrected a photocopy about words easily confused, such as journey, trip, travel, etc. Here you have it in case you didn't come to class:

This week we celebrated Valentine's Day watching the film entitled "Once". It has received numerous awards, specially because of its original soundtrack. Below I leave two of the more famous songs, one of them called "when your mind's made up"



On Thursday you worked with Leah on some sayings and proverbs about love. In my hour, we revised modal verbs in the past and corrected the exercises on pages 70 and 71. And today... I can't wait for your oral presentations! :)

For homework, please complete the photocopy about inversion and question tags.

Have a nice weekend!
Ana.

Verb + -ing; English cream tea; creatures in the ocean

Good morning!

Last week we started talking about the ideas we have of different countries (stereotypes) and we saw that more often than not they are overgeneralisations that do not correspond to reality. You worked in groups and thought about the stereotypes we have of the British, the Americans, the Germans and the Spanish. Then we worked with a text called "What every visitor to England should know".

After that, we learnt the different uses of the -ing form of the verb and we practised with several exercises:

Uses of verb in -ing

During the break we had a small tea party and I told you about the typical English Cream Tea. Here you have a picture of a scone which, remember, you fill with butter, marmalade and whipped cream... delicious!!

On Thursday you watched an awesome video with Leah and you talked about the incredible creatures living in the ocean. Here I post the video, in case you want to watch it again:

You can go to the original website to watch it with subtitles.

In my hour we learnt some idioms of comparison, e.g. as deaf as a post. Hope you remember some of them next week!!

In Avanzado 1 A María del Mar did her presentation about her year in the USA (thanks!), and at some point she talked about Halloween and Halloween candy. That reminded me of a video I watched last Christmas: there's a famous TV presenter in the States at the moment called Jimmy Kimmel and he always asks people to do something strange or funny, record it and send it to the programme.

During Halloween, he asked parents to tell their kids they had eaten all the Halloween candy and video-tape their reactions. Here you have the results! (the recordings start at second 38):

He did something similar during Christmas: this time he asked parents to give their kids a terrible present... some of the children are absolutely hilarious!!

Talking about oral presentations, last week I forgot to post a video I had in mind. Ana Belén Muñoz, from Avanzado 1 A, talked about New Zealand and she mentioned the dance that All Blacks do before every match (Haka War Dance). Here you have it in case you've never watched it. It also includes some information about the dance and the translation of what they shout!

Amazing! I feel bad for the opponents though!

"Invictus"; Events and celebrations

Good morning everyone!

Last week we continued with your oral presentations, which were incredibly well-prepared and enjoyable to listen to. Thank you once again for your hard work.

In Avanzado 1 A Luisa talked about South Africa, and I couldn't help but think about the 2009 film Invictus, which relates South Africa's story in the last days of the Apartheid, with Nelson Mandela becoming its president after gaining freedom from prison. Soon afterwards, the 1995 Rugby World Cup took place, and South Africa won, erecting itself as a new and strong nation where blacks and whites could life together.

It was just a sports competition, but it became a symbol meaning that South Africa was once again back in the world, and that difficulties, obstacles and injustice can be surmounted.

I watched the film not long ago, and I looked for information on the Internet to see how much of it was true. I was amazed to see how faithful it was to reality. I post a video below, which is 100% represented in the film. It might not mean much to you now, but if you watch the film, it will certainly send shivers down your spine:







Apart from your oral presentations, on Tuesday we also corrected some homework that were lagging behind and I asked you to write a complaint letter. Please, make sure you revise the expressions on pages 52 and 53.

• 250 words
• Times New Roman 12
• 1,5 interlining
• Deadline: Tuesday 31st January 23.59h

On Thursday we had one hour with Leah and we learnt about Mississippi's state fair. Extremely interesting!! And completely different to how we celebrate here! The food part was rather shocking, and here I post some information about deep-fried Mars, which is very typical in Scotland.Would you like to try some? :)

After that we continued talking about events, celebrations and festivals, and we learnt about extreme/strong adjectives. I post the copy below, in case you don't have it:

Events and Celebrations

For homework, remember to do the last exercise of this copy.

See you all tomorrow!
Ana.

The best job in the world; modals in the past

Hello everyone!

On Tuesday we talked about ideal jobs and we practised the vocabulary on page 44. After that, we watched a Sky News video about what some people called "the best job in the world" (I'm afraid you can listen up to second 56; there's no sound afterwards).







Here you have a video about the people that submitted their applications to the official website and managed to get to the final:



Eventually, the winner was Ben Southall. For all the information about him and this project to take care of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, please click here. Finally, if you want to check Ben's weekly blog and photo gallery, visit the official website www.islandreefjob.com. I strongly recommend you to have a look around!

On Thursday we had one hour with Leah. You played a game called 'telephone', and it was real fun! After that you read a text about gliding and you did an interesting exercise in groups to check your pronunciation. I hope you learnt how to pronounce quite a few of the difficult words!

In my hour, we starting correcting the photocopy about modal verbs in the past. I know the handout is a bit dense, but don't worry; we'll practise more in class. For the moment, here you have a straightforward explanation of modal verbs, and you can do an online exercise here.

On Friday we started with your oral presentations. Thanks very much for all the effort and time you've put into it. We all enjoyed what you had prepared, and we learnt quite a few things as well!

Juanjo (Avanzado 1 A) talked about Iceland and he mentioned the famous volcano that made most European airports close. Can anybody remember the name of that volcano? I guess you don't! It was "Eyjafjallajökull". Many journalists had problems pronouncing it, and I remembered a CNN video called "Name that Icelandic Vocano". Check it out below:



After that we continued correcting some homework from the previous day, and we listened to the song "What makes you beautiful", by One Direction:



Here you have the activity we did in class (to correct it, simply click here to have the complete lyrics)

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

See you all tomorrow!

Future continuous and future perfect

Hello everyone!

Well, the first term seems to be coming to an end!

On our last days of class we finished correcting a few exercises that were lagging behind. We did a mock test so that you could have an idea of what to expect in the one we do tomorrow, and it also helped you learn some useful vocabulary, collocations and prepositions.

We also corrected the photocopy about future tenses. It was pretty much of a revision, but there were two new things: the future continuous and the future perfect.

Exercises 1 and 2: Future continuous I and II
Exercises 3 and 4: will vs. present simple; will vs. will be +ing (future simple vs. future continuous)
Exercise 5: Future perfect





We also learnt some vocabulary related to food, and Leah brought some Christmas recipes! Why don't you try preparing one of them for the Christmas party at the school (21st December)? :)

Finally, here I post the key to exercises 1, 2, 3 on page 16. It's strange because some people have it corrected, and some don't. At any rate, here you have the key, just in case:

Exercise 1:

1. directed
2. cast
3. plot
4. played
5. masterpiece
6. audience
7. sensational
8. miss

Exercise 2:

1. reputation
2. shoot
3. supporting
4. adaptation
5. estimated
6. enjoyed
7. part
8. set

Exercise 3: (Here I write the odd word out)

1. live
2. beatiful
3. modern
4. large
5. ugly

English and American English

Hi everyone,

How's your Sunday going? Here you have the usual summary after each week, plus some extra material. On Tuesday we corrected the unit on Indirect Speech -only two exercises left to correct-, and we worked with a handout about the differences between British (BrE) and American (AmE) English. We saw two different phenomena:

• Two words, same meaning: underground vs. subway
• One word, different meaning: bill exists both in AmE and BrE, but the meaning is different. 

Finally, I gave you a copy on the use of punctuation. Make sure you read it carefully at home, and, most importantly, check it if you have a doubt when writing a composition.





On Thursday we had one hour with Leah, where we talked about going to the doctor's -below you have the handout she worked with, in case you don't have a copy-. Surfing the Internet I've found this listening about making an appointment at the doctor's. Click here to listen to it and do a multiple choice exercise. If you prefer completing gaps, try this exercise instead. Finally, I leave you with the transcription and a vocabulary exercise.
Going to the doctor's

After that, we did a listening about differences in tipping in the US and the UK and we saw some pronunciation features of both accents -click here for a revision of the aspects we commented on in class-. Sometimes, it might be a bit difficult to calculate a 15% tip in your head, but I found this easy trick to do it relatively quickly (click on the image to enlarge it):

Does any of you have any better ideas?

In 4ºA, Leonor and Mª Carmen did their presentations about eating disorders and vegetarians, respectively. Thanks both of you for your effort.

For homework, I'd like you to do exercises 1, 4 and 8 on pages 36 an 37.

Collocations dictionary; tipping in the US; Guy Fawkes

Hello everyone!

First of all, I'm awfully sorry I haven't updated the blog before, but I've been up to my eyes with work during the whole weekend. At any rate, better late than never! :)

On Tuesday we corrected the text on pages 34 and 35, where we learnt some vocabulary and idioms (make a big deal of sth, come to terms with sth, etc). After that, in groups we worked on a handout about collocations and how to use a collocations dictionary. We saw a few examples, and you looked up quite a few words, so I hope it was useful for you!





Remember that you can find the Oxford Collocations Dictionary online at this website. When I corrected your compositions I found some examples where you could use it. See if you can improve the following structures!

• The film was throughly wonderful
• The plot was utterly entertaining
• They were trying to hatch a plan

Please, feel free to post a comment with your suggested answers.

After that, we talked about restaurants and we "visited" 6 of the most famous restaurants in London. After listening to three people discussing where to go (you can find it in ex 2, p. 48), you also discussed it with your partner using some expressions to agree and disagree. Here you have the handout, in case you don't have a copy:

Restaurants

On Tuesday I gave you back the first version of your corrected compositions and then we corrected a few exercises in the book. In 4º CAL we also had the pleasure to listen to three classmates talking about different aspects related to food; thanks Ramón, Mª Ángeles and Alicia. In 4º A we did the listening about safe drinking water in Africa, and we'll do the presentations on Tuesday.

Finally, we had one hour with Leah, who talked about vegetarians (I didn't know there were so many different types!).

For homework, please complete the handout about indirect speech and remember that the deadline to give me the final version of your composition is Thursday.

To end with, here I leave you with a video about Guy Fawkes, which is celebrated on the 5th of November in England.  Do you know anything about this celebration? Well, this video will explain everything!

Halloween; language learning strategies; vocabulary for films

Good afternoon everyone!

Here you have a summary of last week. Due to the bank holiday we didn't have class on Tuesday, but we still had two sessions: Thursday and Friday - thanks to all the people that came on Friday; I truly appreciate your effort.

On Thursday we had an hour with Leah and we watched the Halloween video form National Geographic (this time it worked!!). I post it here in case you want to watch it again.

Here you also have the activities with the answer key. If you didn't come to class, make sure you do them at home.

Halloween

Then we discussed the concept of "being healthy" and we saw that different people have different interpretations of what it means to be healthy. Finally, 4º CAL did a listening about safe drinking water in Africa (4ºA will do it on Tuesday), and with 4ºA we did an activity about the differences between make and do and vocabulary related to health (4ºCAL will do in on Tuesday).

On Friday we did an interesting activity about the strategies you use to learn English. For homework, I asked you to prepare a document listing all the tips you would give to a person who wants to improve his/her English. I'll put all your ideas together and send them to you in one single document. I'm sure you can learn a lot from it! :)

Language Learning Strategies

Then we saw some useful adjectives you can use when describing a film (or a book!). Make sure you use some of them in your composition!

With 4ºA we had time to correct exercises 6 and 7 on page 17. We'll correct that on Tuesday with 4º CAL.

For homework, apart from the document with your strategies, please also complete exercises 2 and 6 on pages 34 and 35. AND, if you have a collocations dictionary at home, please bring it to class on Tuesday. We're going to do an activity with it to learn how to use it :)

See you in two days!