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.

Indian festivals and traditions

Last entry for today, I promise! :)

Next week we're going to have a special activity in the school. We have invited an Indian girl to give us a presentation about Indian festivals and traditions. The session for Basic Level 2 will be Tuesday 13th from 17.00 to 18.15.

I know we don't have class on Tuesdays, but, please, if you can, make an effort to come. I'm sure it's going to be incredibly interesting, and we're going to learn many things!
Poster India

Indian festivals and traditions

Last entry for today, I promise! :)

Next week we're going to have a special activity in the school. We have invited an Indian girl to give us a presentation about Indian festivals and traditions.

• The session for Basic Level 2 will be Tuesday 13th from 17.00 to 18.15.
• The session for the Advanced Level will be on Tuesday 13th, from 19.00 to 20.15

Students from 5º CAL, please, make an effort to stay after your class and attend the session. I believe it is a great opportunity to get closer to this alluring country, and also listen to a different accent. Students from 5ºA, you have class at that time, so by all means I count on your attendance :)

I'm sure it's going to be incredibly interesting!
Poster India

Indian festivals and traditions

Last entry for today, I promise! :)

Next week we're going to have a special activity in the school. We have invited an Indian girl to give us a presentation about Indian festivals and traditions. The session for Basic Level 2 will be Tuesday 13th from 17.00 to 18.15.

I know we don't have class on Tuesdays, but, please, if you can, make an effort to come. I'm sure it's going to be incredibly interesting, and we're going to learn many things!
Poster India

Some pronunciation practice

Hi again!

Do you remember that at the end of unit 1 we saw the differences between the sounds /æ/ and /a:/? Well, here you have two videos to revise those sounds, and practise with some words!

Some pronunciation practice

Hi again!

Do you remember that at the end of unit 1 we saw the differences between the sounds /æ/ and /a:/? Well, here you have two videos to revise those sounds, and practise with some words!

Some pronunciation practice

Hi again!

Do you remember that at the end of unit 1 we saw the differences between the sounds /æ/ and /a:/? Well, here you have two videos to revise those sounds, and practise with some words!

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.

"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!