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.

February: Week 1

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!

February: Week 1

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!

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:

• Test 1
• Test 2
• Test 3

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:

• Test 1
• Test 2
• Test 3

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.

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 5th - 11th November

Hi everyone!

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.

Work conditions; must / have to / don't have to / mustn't

Hi everyone!

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.

Week 5th - 11th November

Hi everyone!

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.

Unit 2: Oct 2012

Hello everyone,

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):

• Was, were, wasn't or weren't?

• Complete the story with verbs in the past continuous

• Put the words in order to make sentences

• Finish the sentences with the correct ending

• Complete the text with the past simple or continuous

On Wednesday we celebrated Halloween. Here you have a powerpoint presentation with a summary of the story we read:

View more presentations from Ana Bueno Amaro

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:

Marking Code



I hope you're enjoying the bank holiday! :)

Unit 2: Oct 2012

Hello everyone,

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):

• Was, were, wasn't or weren't?

• Complete the story with verbs in the past continuous

• Put the words in order to make sentences

• Finish the sentences with the correct ending

• Complete the text with the past simple or continuous

On Wednesday we celebrated Halloween. Here you have a powerpoint presentation with a summary of the story we read:

View more presentations from Ana Bueno Amaro

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:

Marking Code



I hope you're enjoying the bank holiday! :)

Unit 1: Sept - Oct 2012

Hi again!

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 sister   last night.
• Rich bought  a new laptop   in 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.

Subject and object questions from f2teacher

FINDING THINGS IN COMMON

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.

Jobs

FREE TIME

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!