Question tags; line dancing

Hello guys!

I hope you're having a great weekend, although it's apparently going to rain a lot... (fingers crossed!!).

Last week we talked about Easter holidays and we also had a special activity with Chanelle and Lauren, who prepared a quiz about the differences between Canada and the United States. I hope you learnt a lot!!

We also learnt a bit of line dancing. Here you have the video; I'm sure you're dying to show your family and friends! :) It's a bit old, but it's the easiest dance we could find!






In the rest of classroom time, we continued with the topic of crime and we did a listening where a robber tried to stick-up a bank. Click here if you want to listen to it again. We also learnt some colloquial expressions such as chit-chat, get all worked up, cranky, etc. Make sure you study them!

As for grammar, we talked about question tags, which are little question that are added at the end of the sentence to ask for confirmation. Click here for a complete explanation of question tags and here if you want to practise with exercises.

Remember that questions tags can be pronounced with two different intonations (NOTE: this is important!):

With Intermediate E we had time to correct unit 28 about question tags, reply questions and indirect questions; Intermediate F will do it next week. On the other hand, with Intermediate F we did an activity called "In court", where you had to behave as judges and decide the sentence for some criminals. Intermediate E will do it next week.

As for homework, remember that you have to write a formal letter to apply for a job (an application letter or a covering letter). Read carefully the handouts I gave you, and also have a look at page 81 in your books. Write between 180 and 200 words. Deadline: 4th May (Int E) / 5th May (Int F) at 23.59h.

Intermediate E, please, also complete Grammar Bank 7B.

Have a great bank holiday!
:)

The Canterbury Tales

Hello everyone,

During these days I'd like you to read The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer. I know it's a book you have to read for the Escuela, but, please, don't read it with a feeling of obligation: I want you to enjoy the book, and to appreciate the real treasure you have in your hands. It's one of the best works ever written in English, a veritable masterpiece, and don't forget that Chaucer is known as the Father of English Literature.

Some of you might not like reading, but, trust me, The Canterbury Tales has something for everybody's taste: some stories are deep, some others are hilarious, some are a bit bold/dirty, others are a lesson of morale... And they portray a perfect picture of 15th century England.

As I said in class, the context of the tales is that of a group of pilgrims travelling from London to Canterbury Cathedral to visit Thomas Beckett's tomb; they are people from all the levels of society, from a miller to a knight, from a squire to a priest. The original idea was for every character to tell four tales, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. But, instead of 120 tales, the text ends after twenty-four tales.





The original text was written in verse and in Middle English (you'll see how different it is from the English we speak now!!). You can have a look at the original manuscript here. Click here to read part of "The Nun's Priest's Tale". If you know a bit of German, Latin or a bit of History of the English Language, you might be able to understand a few words!

And here you have a video where you can actually listen to how Middle English sounded like!

I've found a website where you can read all 24 tales. The only thing is that they are not adapted, and they're in verse -I'm sorry but I haven't been able to find any adapted version on the Internet-. Anyway, it's a chance to try your hand at something different! :)

Now, here I leave you some links for your stories. Remember that you have to prepare a summary for your classmates, and add any extra information you feel like:

Geoffrey Chaucer and his world: Click here to read about Geoffrey Chaucer, his life, his style and his importance in English literature. Also talk about the context he wrote in.

Thomas Beckett: click here and read the assassination and the legacy.

The General Prologue: Click here for an analysis of the Prologue. When it comes to describing the characters, only pay attention to the 5 in our stories (The Knight, the Nun's Priest, the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath and the Franklin).

The Knight's Tale: Click here and here for some more information about "The Knight's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.

The Nun's Priest's Tale: out of curiosity, click here to have a look at the original; click here for some more information about "The Nun's Priest's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.

The Pardoner's Tale: click here for some more information about "The Pardoner's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.

The Wife of Bath's Tale: click here for some more information about "The Wife of Bath's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class. You can also watch this video of the story!



The Franklin's Tale: click here for some more information about "The Franklin's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.

Fruit and vegetables; dictation exercise on food

Hello guys!!

Lat week we finished Unit 6 correcting some final revision exercises and we started Unit 7 about food! We learnt some vocabulary and also the difference between countable and uncountable nouns. Click here and here to revise some vocabulary about fruit and vegetables. And here you have a dictation exercise about food too.

On Wednesday / Thursday we also played a game to see how good your memory was!! "I went to the supermarket yesterday and I bought..." You all remembered very well!! :)

During these holidays, I would like you to read the book Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, and also to revise Units 1 - 6.

I hope you make the most of these holidays (que las aprovechéis al máximo), in the way you prefer: spiritual, relaxed or simply normal holidays. I'll see you again on the 25th / 26th and we'll have our last push before the final exam!

Jack the Ripper

Hello everyone!

Last week you presented your advertisements in class and, oh boy, how original they were!!! We had a potion to pass English exams, removable heels, products against baldness, hotels, holidays, language courses, books... Great job!!

I said it in class, but I tell you here again: thanks a lot for your effort, and congratulations on your hard work and dedication :) It's a real pleasure to do things with you guys.


On Wednesday/Thursday we talked about murders and Jack the Ripper. After the Easter holidays, we'll continue investigating the case a little bit more, and we'll watch several scenes from the film "From Hell" (2001, starring Johnny Depp). If you want to watch it during the holidays, click here for the link.

As for grammar, we finished reported speech and we corrected some final revision exercises. Please, have a look at them during the holidays and make sure you've got the grasp of it.

I hope you make the most of these days in the way that suits you best: spiritual, relaxed or simply normal holidays. I'll see you all again on the 25th / 26th, and we'll start our final push towards the end of the academic year!

Present simple & continuous; vocabulary "in town"; website for listening practice

Good afternoon!

How are you? Are you enjoying this sunny, warm weekend? :)

Last week we talked about monuments in London and in Granada and we learnt some vocabulary related with places in a town. Here you have some of them:

Then we worked with a map and we learnt how to give directions. Revise the expressions with this exercise and then practise clicking here.

About grammar, we learnt the difference between the present simple and the present continuous. We did a few exercises in class and for homework, but if you want to practise more, you can visit these links:

• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2
• Exercise 3

Finally, we did an exercise about real English sounds! Did you like them? And can you remember any of them?? In class, you can use "ummm", "huh?" and "uh-huh" (no more "eeeees" in the oral exam, please!!), and some others like "yummy!", "ouch!", "oops!"

Here I post a website with lots of listening exercises for your level. Now you have no excuse to practise at home! :)

And here you have the video from the last Wednesday's theatre play: "I'm too sexy!". Some of you appear on the video!!

I hope you have a great weekend!

Reported speech; listening practice

Hi! Good morning everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying this warm, sunny weekend! :)

Here you have the usual summary at the end of each week. We continued with the topic of shopping and we did a listening about a girl who wanted to buy a present for her father. Click here if you want to listen to it again.

We also did an activity about "some real English sounds". I hope you all enjoyed it!! Remember to use "ummm", "uh-huh"and "huh?" in class (no more "eeees" in the oral!!), and of course, feel free to use any others! (yummy!, duh!, ouch!, oops!...).

As far as grammar is concerned, we worked with Reported Speech. The process is actually very mechanic, but I understand it needs practice. If you need to revise the "theory", click here for a very detailed explanation. If what you want is practice, then try the following links:

• Click here to report statements ("normal" sentences).

• Click here and/or here to report questions.

We also learnt the different between say and tell. You can revise the difference here, or... go straight to some exercises!

Finally, we talked about complaining and we listened to three people complaining in three different situations: a taxi, a hotel and a restaurant. Intermediate F practised with Chanelle on Thursday; Intermediate E will do a communicative activity on Monday.

See you all next week! :)

The Simpsons

Hello guys!

How's the weekend going? :)

I hope you are all more relaxed after the exams and receiving your marks (notas)! I'm very happy with the results, but I'm sure we'll all do even better in June :)

Last week we started talking about neighbours, and we watched an episode from the Simpsons: "The Lemon of Troy" (season 6, episode 24). If you want to watch it again, you can download it here. And click here for the subtitles in English.

On Wednesday we went to a theatre play by Andrew Marshall. Could you more or less understand him? And did you like it? I think we all had great fun seeing him dance and doing his work-out!!




Apart from that, we also saw the present continuous. Remember that it's used for actions happening now and there are always two elements: to be + verb in -ing. We will continue with this next week.

Finally, Basic Level D did a "special" activity on Thursday :) Did you like it? Were you suprised at your creativity? :) Basic Level E will do it next week.

Well, that's all for now! I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I'll see you on Monday / Tuesday!

The world of advertising

Hello there guys!

How's the weekend going? I hope you're all feeling more relaxed after the exams and, especially, after your marks! I'm relatively happy with the results, but I'm sure we can all do better in June :)

The most problematic area continues being the "listening", so we'll continue doing as much practice as we can in class, but it's of the utmost importance that you also listen to English at home. Please, have a look at the labels "videos", "listening" and "words of advice"; you'll find very useful practice there. And remember that it's better to listen to 5-10 minutes of English a day, rather than spending a whole evening doing listening practice. Languages, like sport, are a matter of perseverance (constancia).

Last week we started the topic of shopping and supermarkets. On Monday / Tuesday we talked about advertising and we discussed the following commercial from Sussex Safer Roads:

And now it's your turn to show me your creativity and originality! In groups of 4-5, you have to design your own commercial/ad for a product of your choice. You can do it in video format, or prepare a "printed version" (e.g. an ad on the newspaper). You'll present it in class on Monday 11th / Tuesday 12th April. Remember that you have to cover the following points:

• Say what you’re advertising
• Explain the elements in the ad and why you’ve chosen them
• Say why you think your ad will be effective
•  Make a quick reflection about the effect of advertising on shopping/buying.

On Wednesday we had a "theatre play" by Andrew Marshall. I hope you managed to follow him, although it's true he had a broad Cockney accent. At any rate, I think we all had fun doing the "work-out" before his performances! hahaha.

During the rest of class timetable, we learnt some vocabulary relating to shopping, we did a listening about a new supermarket who had just opened, and Intermediate F also did a role-play which I think you enjoyed a lot! Intermediate E will do it next Monday.

And that's all for now!

Feel free to post any comments! :)

Irregular verbs (downloadable pdf)

Hello everybody! :)

Last week we finished unit 5 correcting some revision exercises and having a look at the list of irregular verbs I gave you. I post it here in case you don't have it.

Irregular_verbs.pdf by ana_uk877884

Los verbos irregulares tienen la dificultad de que tienen que aprenderse de memoria, pero, como vimos en clase, no son tan irregulares como parecen: muchos de ellos pueden clasificarse en grupos que presentan exactamente la misma irregularidad tanto en ortografía como en pronunciación. Veréis cómo os resulta mucho más fácil aprendéroslos así.

On Wednesday / Tuesday we started Unit 6, and we learnt a lot of useful vocabulary about houses and rooms in a house. Then we listened to a couple visiting a house: there was something "strange" with one of the bedrooms, but they decided to rent the house! Finally, we learnt the structure there is (+sing) / there are (+plural).

With Basic Level E we had time to see a photocopy about prepositions; Basic Level D did a dialogue in a gift shop (page 60).

Next week we'll continue with Unit 6, and we'll revise for the exam.

Have a nice weekend! :)

The past simple / -ed pronunciation

Good afternoon everyone,

I'm sorry I didn't update (actualizar) the blog last week, but I didn't have Internet access during the bank holiday... So here you have the summary of weeks 21 and 22!

First of all, we talked about travelling, and we read a story of two friends who wanted to fly to Sydney, Canada, but they arrived in a different place...! We also listened to a couple filling out a complaint form because their holidays were not good. In fact (de hecho), they were awful!

About grammar, we saw the past simple of the verb to be, regular and irregular verbs. Click here for a very complete and clear explanation of the past simple. We did a lot of practise, but here you have some more. You can do all the exercises, or select the most interesting for you:

• Was or were?
• Exercise on past simple
• Exercise on questions
• Exercise on interrogatives with a question word
• Text about Chicago
• Text about Oxford

Remember that in regular verbs, the pronunciation of the -ed is very important. Raquel Marín, from Basic Level E, gave me this link (thank you). I hope it helps you!

We also read and listened to the stories of three girls that had a night out in Moscow, Beijing and Rio. Was your last night out similar to theirs? Would you like to post a comment telling us about your last night out?? :)

Finally, last Wednesday/Thursday we read a story about a murder... Can you remember who the murderer was?? I still can't believe it!! Then, in Basic Level D we played a very funny game called "Alibi". Basic Level E will play it next week!!

I hope you have a great weekend!

Ana.

Retro back (Mª Carmen Rodríguez, Intermediate F)

Hi everyone,

Today I post some information about a festival of classic films that's taking place in Granada (Retro back). All the films are in original version with subtitles, so why don't you talk to your classmates and arrange to watch one or two??

Here you have the complete programme -thanks to Mª Carmen Rodríguez, from Intermediate F, for the information:
Retro_Back

The festival has been going on since the19th February, but I haven't been able to post the information until now. Anyway, there are films on until the 27th.

/i/ vs. /i:/; possessive adjectives & pronouns; at a clothes shop

Good morning (almost afternoon!)

As usual, here you have a summary of last week:

On Monday / Tuesday we continued talking about films and you read your summaries (which were very good!!). Then we did an exercise on pronunciation to learn the difference between /i/ and /i:/. For some of you this exercise was a bit difficult, so click here if you want to practise a little bit more.

About grammar, we revised object pronouns and we learnt possessive pronouns. We worked with a photocopy to revise how to express possession in English: possessive 's, possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns. Click here and here to do some more activities related to this. Remember to visit New English File online too and to complete the workbook :)

On Wednesday / Thursday we listened to two film critics talking about 5 different films. I know it was a bit difficult, but you did very well! So... congratulations!! :) We also learnt expressions to use in a clothes shop. Click here if you want to revise this.

Remember to bring the book England to class on Monday / Tuesday. Thank you.

"The Birthmark", by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hello guys,

Just as we did with "Young Goodman Brown", we're going to work a little bit further with the second short story: "The Birthmark". I'm going to post several links below and, after reading/watching them, I'd like you to prepare the questions at the end of this entry:

Original story: here you have the link to the original story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Remember that it was written in the 19th century, so the English language has changed a lot since then.

Plot: here you have a summary of the story. You can either read this document, or watch the trailer below (or both!):



Character analysis: click here for analysis of the two characters in the story: Aylmer and his wife Georgiana.

Symbolism: finally, here you have some information related to the main topics and symbols in the story. This might probably be the document you find most useful.

After you read these documents (they're really short), I'd like you to think about the following questions:

• How does the character of Georgiana evolve during the story?

• What made her want to remove her birthmark?

• Where should the limit between science and nature be?

• How much would you be willing to pay for perfection?

• Can we find representations of this story in our everyday lives today?

We'll discuss all this next Wednesday / Thursday in class.

Thanks beforehand for your time and effort.

Consonant sounds; clothes; songs

Hello guys!

Last week we talked about the differences between men and women related to shopping and we learnt the pronunciation of the sound /ŋ/ - click here to revise some of the consonants we know. We learnt vocabulary about clothes and how to say what we are wearing. You can revise clothes here.

On Wednesday / Thursday we started to talk about films. We read a summary of the film Ghost, and we learnt "object pronouns", which are used to substitute nouns and after prepositions. Revise Grammar Bank 4C and practise with the Workbook.

Por último, dejo aquí tres canciones con un enlace al videoclip subtítulado y actividades para hacer online. Elegid la que más os guste, o haced las tres! :)

• "Change the world", by Eric Clapton

• "Sick of Love", by Robert Ramírez

• "1973", by James Blunt

"Young Goodman Brown", by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hello everybody,

I've just finished reading your comments on Hawthorne's short stories. Thank you for all your contributions. I must admit I've been surprised by the depth of some of them. Well done! I didn't know some of you were such literary critics! :)

Once you've read the stories, reflected on them, made a comment and read your classmates' contributions, I think it's time to discuss the real meaning and symbolism of the stories in class. We'll start with "Young Goodman Brown", which is undoubtably the most obscure and difficult to understand.

I'm going to post several links below. I want you to read the information carefully and prepare the answers to some questions: I want everybody to participate when we discuss the story in class.




The original story: Rubén was suggesting it would be a good idea to have the original story: surely the characters and events will be described better. Click on Download PDF and it will automatically be saved in your computer. Don't forget that the story was written in the 19th century, so the English used is slightly different from contemporary English.

The plot: if you don't have time to read the whole story again, or simply if you prefer to read something slightly different, read this summary of the plot. You can also watch the silent film below:



Character analysis: here you have an analysis of the three main characters in the story: Goodman Brown, Faith and the Old Man.

Symbolism: click here for an explanation of the main themes, motifs and symbols in the story. This might be the most interesting document.

Now, I'd like you to prepare an answer for the following questions:

• Who do you think the dark figure in the forest was? Can the dark figure be any other of the characters in the story?

• What did Goodman Brown learn in the forest?

• Why do you think Goodman Brown didn't speak to the people of the town the next day?

• Why do you think Goodman Brown's "last hour was very sad and hopeless"?

• Why do you think Hawthorne called Goodman Brown's wife Faith?

• The story was written in the 19th century, but do you think it can still have present-day relevance? If so, in what sense?

• Can you think of a different interpretation of the story?

We'll discuss this in class on the 9th/10th February, so you have a whole week to read the documents and prepare your answers :)