Monday, February 4, 2013

Some more links...

Some of you sent me some more interesting links that you would like to share with your group. Here they go:

This one from Luis Gutiérrez:

I´ve found this link about cars. I hope you like it.


http://ebookbrowse.com/ge-capital-safe-driving-top-tips-pdf-d355139933

This one from Oliver Abellán:

I think this post has a quite affordable vocabulary for a non-petrolhead. I hope you enjoy it!


http://www.gtspirit.com/2013/02/02/video-chris-harris-drives-ferrari-458-italia-on-track/

And two more from Nacho Robledo:

Here, I brought two links about two interesting lives. The first man led, the bank where he worked in, to lose a lot of money.


 The second one was a musician who United Airlines broke his guitar to. He fought strong and beated the big and powerful company.
Best regards
http://www.nickleeson.com/biography/index.html

http://bigbreaksolutions.com/about-dave/   Thank you all!!!
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Here's another link from Isabel Carrillo. Hope you enjoy it!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/travel/in-toledo-layers-of-spanish-history.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
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Thursday, November 29, 2012

More links

Loyda sent me this link. I hope you enjoy it!

I found an interesting topic about health, and I think is good for the blog.
 
 
Loyda Caamal - 2 INT - A
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Friday, November 23, 2012

First links

Isabel broke the ice, and sent me the first links for everyone to practise at home. Here it goes:


I found some links about current news. In my opinion these articles are very interesting and besides you can listen to them and read them at the same time.

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Monday, November 5, 2012

Back again...

Hello everyone,

    It's been a long time since I haven't updated this blog. This year, I'd like to keep it updated again, but I won't be able to do that without my students' help. The idea is that you send me your comments or interesting links to practise your English outside school, and I will publish them here so that everyone can have access to them.

     This blog is for you, so I'll be pleased to publish anything you'd like to share. But, remember, that I won't have the time to correct your messages, so there might be occasional mistakes on the posts.

I can't wait to receive your comments!!!

King regards to everyone,

Enrique

Talavera de la Reina - November 2012
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

15 March 2010 - NI2 A

  • Grammar: wish + past simple / past perfect / would + infinitive
    - Too late: 67% - 23%
    - Dissatisfied: 80% - 50%
    - It really annoys me!: 70% - 87%
  • b. 1B / 2A / 3C
  • Grammar Bank - p. 137.
  1. I wish I was / were in Italy now!
  2. I wish it would stop raining!
  3. I wish I'd bought the washing in!
  4. I wish I could afford a holiday this year!
  5. I wish my husband would wash his own shirts!
  6. I wish I hadn't moved to Britain!
  • Speaking - Tell your partner about your wishes...
  • Pronunciation
  • Reading - Why men don't iron- p. 59
  1. Why men and women are so different
  2. Why women are better with words
  3. Why women get lost but are safer drivers
  4. Why men don't iron
  5. Why men can't find things
  6. Why women don't fly planes
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11 March 2010 - NI2 E

  • Reading - Exam practice
  • Writing
  • Listening
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4 March 2010 - NIE

  • Reading - Clothes to die for.
    D.
  1. whereas
  2. banned
  3. led to
  4. put out
  5. put up with
  6. cut to pieces
  7. kneel down
  8. trip over
  9. strangle
  10. it's worth it
  1. roles
  2. feminine
  3. breadwinner
  4. equal rights
  5. feminist
  6. do their share
  7. Ms.
  8. "politically correct"
  9. sexist
  10. new man
  11. partner
  12. macho
  13. sexism
  14. discrimination
  15. divorce rate

B. un- : unambitious, uncommunicative, unfaithful, unimaginative, unreasonable, unselfish, unsociable

im-: immature, impatient in-: inconsiderate, insensitive

ir-: irresponsible

il-: illogical

dis-: dishonest

Un- is the most common prefix. The four adjectives that don't fit in the chart are bossy, vain, jealous, and possessive. The opposites would be expressed with not.

  • Speaking
    Generally speaking
    In general
    Nowadays
    Most
    All
    The average (= a typical man)
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

3 March 2010 - NI2 A

  • Reading - Clothes to die for.

D.

  1. whereas
  2. banned
  3. led to
  4. put out
  5. put up with
  6. cut to pieces
  7. kneel down
  8. trip over
  9. strangle
  10. it's worth it
  1. roles
  2. feminine
  3. breadwinner
  4. equal rights
  5. feminist
  6. do their share
  7. Ms.
  8. "politically correct"
  9. sexist
  10. new man
  11. partner
  12. macho
  13. sexism
  14. discrimination
  15. divorce rate

B.
un- : unambitious, uncommunicative, unfaithful, unimaginative, unreasonable, unselfish, unsociable
im-: immature, impatient
in-: inconsiderate, insensitive
ir-: irresponsible
il-: illogical
dis-: dishonest
Un- is the most common prefix. The four adjectives that don't fit in the chart are bossy, vain, jealous, and possessive. The opposites would be expressed with not.

Speaking

  1. Generally speaking
  2. In general
  3. Nowadays
  4. Most
  5. All
  6. The average (= a typical man)
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2 March 2010 - NI2 E

  • Correction and revision of the exams.

I gave you some information about the standardized regional exams (the famous 'pruebas unificadas' or 'exámenes de la consejería'), and we made some comments about the most common problems and mistakes you are having when facing this type of exams.

For further information, check the following link:
http://www.educa.jccm.es/educa-jccm/cm/educa_jccm/tkContent?pgseed=1256648761501&idContent=60108&locale=es_ES&textOnly=false

There, you will find a detailed description of the exams, as well as the evaluation criteria and some past papers.

I know some of you were a bit discouraged by your results, are having a hard time to move on to a higher level, and are feeling a bit 'stuck' at the moment.

Cheer up and keep up the hard work, because practice (the more you practice, the more you will learn!) is the only secret to learn a foreign language. And even if you feel that you aren't getting immediate results or that you are not learning at all, you will see these results some day if you keep up the hard work.

I would like to take the opportunity to apologise for having been 'away' from the blog for quite a long time, and overall, I would like to invite you to make use of the blog by adding your comments, writing on it, or sending interesting links, web pages or other documents in English.
Remember that this blog is yours as much as mine (if not more!), so feel free to use it the way you want and find more useful. For example, you could use it to practice your writing skills, and write a post about the topics we're using in the class, or any other way that comes to your mind.

I hope to read your comments here soon!

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1 March 2010 - NI2 A

  • Correction and revision of the exams.

I gave you some information about the standardized regional exams (the famous 'pruebas unificadas' or 'exámenes de la consejería'), and we made some comments about the most common problems and mistakes you are having when facing this type of exams.

For further information, check the following link:

http://www.educa.jccm.es/educa-jccm/cm/educa_jccm/tkContent?pgseed=1256648761501&idContent=60108&locale=es_ES&textOnly=false

There, you will find a detailed description of the exams, as well as the evaluation criteria and some past papers.

I know some of you were a bit discouraged by your results, are having a hard time to move on to a higher level, and are feeling a bit 'stuck' at the moment.

Cheer up and keep up the hard work, because practice (the more you practice, the more you will learn!) is the only secret to learn a foreign language. And even if you feel that you aren't getting immediate results or that you are not learning at all, you will see these results some day if you keep up the hard work.

I would like to take the opportunity to apologise for having been 'away' from the blog for quite a long time, and overall, I would like to invite you to make use of the blog by adding your comments, writing on it, or sending interesting links, web pages or other documents in English.

Remember that this blog is yours as much as mine (if not more!), so feel free to use it the way you want and find more useful. For example, you could use it to practice your writing skills, and write a post about the topics we're using in the class, or any other way that comes to your mind.

I hope to see your comments here soon!

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22 to 25 Februray 2010 - ALL GROUPS

  • February Exams - Reading, listening, writing, speaking and conversation.
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18 February 2010 - NI2 E

  • New File...Clothes to die for...
  • Listening - Fashion... Princess Mary and Tito Lombardo. B. Transcript - p.126.
  • Vocabulary Bank - p.151. 1. Fashion and shopping
  1. department store
  2. mail order
  3. window shopping
  4. latest fashion
  5. smart
  6. casual
  7. designer clothes
  8. sales
  9. bargains
  10. discount
  11. out of fashion

2. Items of clothing

Women's fashion: a blouse - a dress - a skirt

Menswear: a shirt - a tie - a waistcoat Footwear: sandals - slippers - trainers

Sports clothes: a running vest - a sweatshirt - a tracksuit

Underwear / nightwear: a dressing-gown - pyjamas - tights Accesories: a cap - gloves - a handkerchief

3. Materials and adjectives describing clothes a patterned

  1. silk scarf - 4
  2. a plain wool scarf - 2
  3. a V-necked cotton T-shirt -7
  4. a long-sleeved striped shirt - 1
  5. a short-sleeved checked blouse - 3
  6. a loose linen jacket - 8
  7. a tight lycra jacket - 5
  8. high heeled leather boots - 6
  • Pronunciation
  • Grammar - Adjective order
  1. ...a very attractive jacket - Adjectives go before nouns
  2. ...different ways - Adjectives are never plural
  3. ...much longer - The comparative of long (and other one syllable adjectives) is longer, not more long /more longer. Much is an extra intensifier here
  4. ....the most beautiful boots - The superlative form of long adjectives is the most + adjective.
  5. as nice as - The other way of expressing a comparative is (not) as (+) adjective + as
  6. ...too tight - We use too + adjective, too much + uncountable nouns.
  7. ...the most practical
  8. ...big enough
  9. ...the prettiest
  10. ...the same as mine. B. a long checked dressing-gown a new cotton t-shirt

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11 February 2010 - NI2 E

  • REVISE & CHECK - p. 51.
  • GRAMMAR

A.

  1. realized / had been stolen
  2. was listening / was talking
  3. hadn't heard
  4. arrived / had been waiting

B.

  1. had known / would have phoned
  2. wouldn't have married him / had realized
  3. hadn't seemed / wouldn't have trusted
  4. had invited / would (you) have gone?

C.

  1. I must have left my jacket at the restaurant
  2. They might have got lost
  3. You can't have forgotten it's our anniversary
  4. You can't have seen Simon
  5. She might not have seen you if she didn't have her glasses on

VOCABULARY
B.

  1. delighted
  2. furious
  3. terrified
  4. freezing
  5. brilliant
  6. filthy

C.

  1. civil war
  2. defeat
  3. reign
  4. surrender
  5. general election
  6. Prime Minister

D.

  1. dictatorship
  2. marriage
  3. politicians
  4. historical
  5. accidentally
  6. amazing
  • A story - p. 50

B.

  1. straight
  2. especially
  3. desperately
  4. At the moment
  5. In a panic
  6. fortunately
  7. quickly
  8. suddenly
  • Homework - Write a story which begins 'When Chris saw the car parked outside his/her house his/her heart started beating faster...'.
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10 February 2010 - NI2 A

  • New File...Clothes to die for...
  • Listening - Fashion... Princess Mary and Tito Lombardo.
    B. Transcript - p.126.
  • Vocabulary Bank - p.151.
    1. Fashion and shopping
  1. department store
  2. mail order
  3. window shopping
  4. latest fashion
  5. smart
  6. casual
  7. designer clothes
  8. sales
  9. bargains
  10. discount
  11. out of fashion

2. Items of clothing
Women's fashion: a blouse - a dress - a skirt
Menswear: a shirt - a tie - a waistcoat
Footwear: sandals - slippers - trainers
Sports clothes: a running vest - a sweatshirt - a tracksuit
Underwear / nightwear: a dressing-gown - pyjamas - tights
Accesories: a cap - gloves - a handkerchief

3. Materials and adjectives describing clothes
a patterned silk scarf - 4
a plain wool scarf - 2
a V-necked cotton T-shirt -7
a long-sleeved striped shirt - 1
a short-sleeved checked blouse - 3
a loose linen jacket - 8
a tight lycra jacket - 5
high heeled leather boots - 6

  • Pronunciation
  • Grammar - Adjective order
  1. ...a very attractive jacket - Adjectives go before nouns
  2. ....different ways - Adjectives are never plural
  3. ...much longer - The comparative of long (and other one syllable adjectives) is longer, not more long /more longer. Much is an extra intensifier here
  4. ....the most beautiful boots - The superlative form of long adjectives is the most + adjective.
  5. as nice as - The other way of expressing a comparative is (not) as (+) adjective + as
  6. ...too tight - We use too + adjective, too much + uncountable nouns.
  7. ...the most practical
  8. ...big enough
  9. ...the prettiest
  10. ...the same as mine.
    B.
    a long checked dressing-gown
    a new cotton t-shirt

    Further practice...
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/ask_about_english/080624/
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1428_adjectives
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode42/quiz.shtml
    http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm
    http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/words/activities/adjective_order01.html
    http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/adjord2.htm
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?quiz=1131_quiznet
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYzGLzFuwxI&mode=related&search=
    Communication - Fashion show - Describe the models and find the differences...
    A. Male model: short curly blond hair, blue jacket, red striped tie, loose trousers, black and white striped trainers. B. Male model: short blond hair, black jacket, red checked tie, tighter trousers, plain white trainers. A. Female model: short brown hair, blue scarf, long-sleeved pink top, short black skirt, short black boots. B. Female model: long brown hair, grey scarf, short-sleeved pink top, longer black skirt, long black boots.

- Vocabulary http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/clothes.htm#Mens http://www.languageguide.org/im/clothes_men/eng/ http://www.learnenglish.de/Games/MatchIt/MatchItClothes.htm http://www.english-zone.com/vocab/warm.html - Listening http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-fashion.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/britain/081118_what_to_wear.shtml http://www.elllo.org/yeartwo/feb14th/uniforms.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/multimedia/london/unit4/index.shtml http://www.soundguideweb.com/soundguide/spip.php?article99 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJZow4hr5_s&feature=related - Reading http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/kids/quizzes/fashionquiz.htm http://esl.vcc.ca/eslvoc/ESLWEB/readclth.htm http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/0709/070915-fashion_models.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A6380895 And after the hard work...a good laugh to relax http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckUqQaF_pc4

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9 February 2010 - NI2 E

  • HENRY VIII's wives - Listening
  1. Catherine of Aragon: Kind, religious a girl (Mary) 22 years divorced
  2. Anne Boleyn: attractive, clever, ambitious a girl (Elisabeth) 3 years beheaded
  3. Jane Seymour: not beautiful, Henry's favourite a boy (Edward) 2 years died
  4. Anne of Cleves: intelligent, Henry thought her ugly no children (less than 6 months) divorced
  5. Katherine Parr: mature, intelligent, married before no children 4 years survived
  1. do me a favour
  2. fill in a form
  3. make a phone call
  4. send a fax
  5. sign your name
  6. book a table in a restaurant
  7. leave a message
  8. check into/ out of a hotel

3. Reading - The perfect hotel... A - 2 / B - 3 / C - 4
4. MAKING REQUESTS

- Usual

R. Could I have your passport, please?

R. Could you sign here, pleases?

G. Can you put it on my bill, please?

- Very polite

R. Would you mind filling in this form?

G. Do you think you could send this fax for me?

  • c. Who would you say them to? 1. waiter 2. taxi driver 3. shop assistant 4. hotel receptionist.
  • You should be very polite for 1a, 2a, 3b, and 4a. Would you mind asking... / Could I have... Would you mind keeping... / Could you take... Can you take... / Do you think you could hurry... Do you think I could change... / Could you order...
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8 February 2010 - NI2 A

  • REVISE & CHECK - p. 51.
    GRAMMAR
    A.
  1. realized / had been stolen
  2. was listening / was talking
  3. hadn't heard
  4. arrived / had been waiting

B.

  1. had known / would have phoned
  2. wouldn't have married him / had realized
  3. hadn't seemed / wouldn't have trusted
  4. had invited / would (you) have gone?

C.

  1. I must have left my jacket at the restaurant
  2. They might have got lost
  3. You can't have forgotten it's our anniversary
  4. You can't have seen Simon
  5. She might not have seen you if she didn't have her glasses on
  • VOCABULARY A.
  • B.
  1. delighted
  2. furious
  3. terrified
  4. freezing
  5. brilliant
  6. filthy
  • C.
  1. civil war
  2. defeat
  3. reign
  4. surrender
  5. general election
  6. Prime Minister
  • D.
  1. dictatorship
  2. marriage
  3. politicians
  4. historical
  5. accidentally
  6. amazing
  • A story - p. 50

B.

  1. straight
  2. especially
  3. desperately
  4. At the moment
  5. In a panic
  6. fortunately
  7. quickly
  8. suddenly
  • Homework - Write a story which begins 'When Chris saw the car parked outside his/her house his/her heart started beating faster...'.

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5 February 2010 - NI2 A

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4 February 2010 - NI2 E

  • Speaking - "word families" - Shifting stress.
    1. history - historian - historical
    2. politics - politician - political
  • Speaking - oral discussion about history and politics...
  • Grammar.
  1. Excalibur: King Arthur's sword which he is supposed to have pulled out of a stone.
  2. Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII's second wife.
  3. The Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur's 12 most trusted men, who in many adventures search for the Holy Grail, the cup which in Christian legend was used by Jesus at the Last Supper.
  4. Lancelot: King Arthur's best and bravest knight.
  5. Guinevere /ˈgwi-nə-ˌvir/: King Arthur's wife and Sir Lancelot's lover.
  6. The Pope: The head of the Catholic Church and the man who refused to give Henry VIII a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Henry broke his relations with the Catholic church to get what he wanted, and this led to the Anglican (Protestant) Church becoming the official religion in Britain.
  7. Thomas More: A Catholic scholar and Henry VIII's chancellor. He disagreed with Henry's decision to break with the Pope in order to divorce his wife and was executed.
  8. Camelot: King Arthur's castle.
  • b. King Henry (H) or King Arthur (A)?
  1. A
  2. A
  3. H
  4. A
  5. H
  6. A
  7. H
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3 February 2010 - NI2 A

  • Speaking - "word families" - Shifting stress.

1. history - historian - historical

2. politics - politician - political

  • Speaking - oral discussion about history and politics...
  • Grammar.
  1. Excalibur: King Arthur's sword which he is supposed to have pulled out of a stone.
  2. Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII's second wife.
  3. The Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur's 12 most trusted men, who in many adventures search for the Holy Grail, the cup which in Christian legend was used by Jesus at the Last Supper.
  4. Lancelot: King Arthur's best and bravest knight.
  5. Guinevere /ˈgwi-nə-ˌvir/: King Arthur's wife and Sir Lancelot's lover.
  6. The Pope: The head of the Catholic Church and the man who refused to give Henry VIII a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Henry broke his relations with the Catholic church to get what he wanted, and this led to the Anglican (Protestant) Church becoming the official religion in Britain.
  7. Thomas More: A Catholic scholar and Henry VIII's chancellor. He disagreed with Henry's decision to break with the Pope in order to divorce his wife and was executed.
  8. Camelot: King Arthur's castle.
  • b. King Henry (H) or King Arthur (A)?
  1. A
  2. A
  3. H
  4. A
  5. H
  6. A
  7. H


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB0JdVzMTIY - Just for laughs...

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