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.

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.