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!

Phrasal verbs; FCE practice

Hi everyone,

Last week we finished Unit 5 and started Unit 6 (only 5ºA). On Tuesday we worked with phrasal verbs (or multi-word verbs). Below I post a mind-map that can help you remember them. The phrasal verbs thereby included are somewhat easy, but what I want you to see is a possible organisation for the new phrasal verbs you learn. Remember that the way you organise your vocabulary is as important as the time you spend studying it.

In this blog entry I also leave you with three exam practice activities.

• Reading Part 2: place the sentences in the correct gap.
• Use of English Part 3: word-formation
• Listening Part 2: open answer

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

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

For CAL students, your links have also been updated. Find them in "Departamento de Inglés", "Recursos CAL" (The URL address is http://www.eoiroquetasdemar.org/wp/recursos-c-a-l/)

See you tomorrow in class!

Wikileaks; Bowling for Columbine; Sicko; Gandhi quotes

Hi everyone!

Last week we continued with Unit 5 and we've practically finished it by now.

On Tuesday we talked about Wikileaks (Unit 5.3. in your books). Click here for a newspaper article from The Guardian in which Assange, the founder of the website, criticises and attacks the new WikiLeaks film which is to be released shortly.

For the students in 5º CAL,  here I leave you with the link to the CLIL (AICLE in Spanish) materials I showed you in class. I hope you find them helpful and manage to implement them in your classrooms:

http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/educacion/webportal/web/aicle/contenidos/

On Thursday I gave you back your compositions which, as I said in class, were astoundingly good this time. Congratulations on your work. The example of a problem-solution essay that you had in your books was about "gun control". Below I post the documentary "Bowling for Columbine" (2002), by Michael Moore, which explore the causes for the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and other acts of violence with guns. It's veritably insightful (rated with an 8,0 in IMDB).

The video is in English with subtitles in Spanish:



There is an even more interesting documentary by Michael Moore about the American health system (rated with an 8,1 in IMDB). It is entitled "Sicko", a wordplay between the words "sick" and "psycho". I strongly recommend you to watch it, as it offers a comprehensive overview of how the health system currently functions in the US. You can watch it online by clicking on the link below:

http://www.documentarywire.com/sicko

And, finally, here I leave you with some famous Gandhi quotes. As  you know, the 30th of January is the International Day of Peace, a date which was precisely chosen to commemorate Gandhi's death. We had some time to work with them in 5ºCAL, but not in 5ºA, so here you have them:

Mahatma Gandhi Quotes by ana_uk877884

For homework, remember to do the Grammar Bank corresponding to the passive voice (Unit 5.2.) and the section devoted to phrasal verbs/multi-word verbs.

Enjoy your weekend :)

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".

• The Wall Street Journal, which is moderate-right and strongly pro-business.

3. News channels:

• Reuters
• CNN
• BBC

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:

Introductory it from Ana Bueno Amaro

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! :)

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).

• Reading Part 1 (Multiple choice): "Social networks"

• Use of English Part 2 (gap-filling): "The Goulburn Valley"

• Listening Part 1 (8 conversations, multiple choice)

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 :)

www.eoiroquetasdemar.org

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

Be happy, be good.

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!

Week 19th - 23rd November: Culture; Thanksgiving

Hi everyone!

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.

Have a nice weekend!

Week 12th - 16th November: reading, videos and Indian cuisine; Skyfall

Hi there!

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).

"Top Ten Beaches in the World" - thanks to Pablo Suárez

Hi everyone,


I hope your week is off to a good start! :)

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".

Here you have the link.

Check out for number one! :)

Thanks for sharing, Pablo.

"Big Bang Theory" - thanks to Elena Cavero

Hi again!

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!

Thanks, Elena!

Week 5th - 11th November: Child prodigies; Españasmus

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!

Videos so far: Baumgartner; Bullying; "Friends"

Hi again!

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!

Blog 2012 - 2013 starts

Hi everyone!

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.

Well, let's see how the year goes! :)