HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

A SMARTPHONE USER'S GUIDE TO ETIQUETTE

A SMARPHONE USER'S GUIDE TO ETIQUETTE

(Click on the link above to watch the video)

BLACK FRIDAY - TIME FOR SOME LAUGHS

UPCOMING CULTURAL EVENT

Dear students,

I'm posting to let you know about the next school event on Monday 25th, as I still didn't have this information in the last class we had. There will be an interesting cultural talk at the school auditorium at 6.30p.m.

CURIOUS BRITISH SPORTS AND OTHER COMPETITIONS

From charming to wife-carrying, discover the weird and wonderful competitions of Britain. In addition to these curious competitions, you will learn about traditional British sporting events including cricket, horse racing at Ascot and the Boat Race between the University of Cambridge and the university of Oxford.

Recommended language level: B1-b2

I hope you all can join us!

CARPOOL KARAOKE

When we talked about dangerous things to do behind the wheel in the class, most of you did not consider driving and listening to music particularly hazardous and some of you even found it relaxing.

Apparently many people think driving and listening to music is fun. So do all the fans of James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke. Carpool Karaoke, a segment of James Corden's Late Late Show on CBS, has become an online phenomenon.

In this part of the programme the host drives around in a car with celebrity guests singing their favourite tunes. Some of the biggest names in music and film, including Madonna, Ed Sheeran, Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Céline Dion and Adele have been some of Corden’s passengers.

One of the most popular segments included the then-First Lady singing a song by Stevie Wonder as he drove her around the streets of Washington DC. Thirty-four million people viewed the video of Michelle Obama rocking out to her favourite singer just one week after it first aired.

Watch it and enjoy, but don’t forget to drive safely!

Check the You Tube Channel for other guests:

TOP GEAR CROSS LONDON RACE

Did you enjoy Top Gear's challenge in the class?

Here's a link to the real programme on BBC. Enjoy this international award-winning series about motor vehicles famous for its presenters' quirky humorous style.

BITS - ELL

Dear students,

I'm posting a link one of your classmates shared with me in the class (Thank you, María, this website is a gem!).

BITS is an interesting site loaded with useful reading and listening material. You can find plenty of books to read and listen to but you must be aware they are unabridged. So this can be specially useful for upper-intermediate/advanced students.

Intermediate students can also find other useful resources. I definitely recommend exploring the site.

Got any useful links to share too? Post them in the comments! Cheers! 

B1 FIRST READING ASSIGNMENT

Read a book of your choice and complete THIS SHEET  with information about it. We will use it for a CLASS DISCUSSION of the books you and your classmates have read on JANUARY 13^TH

The book should be FICTION and have at least LEVEL B1 (INTERMEDIATE)

Remember you can borrow a book from the class library or, if you prefer to read it as an ebook, HERE's a site where you can find plenty of graded readers in different digital formats for free.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT B1 - INFORMAL EMAIL

One month ago you moved to London and you have decided to write to an English-speaking friend of yours to tell him/her about your life there and your feelings about the change. 

Length: About 150 words

Deadline: 2nd December

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

NEVER HAVE I EVER

Have you ever played the game 'NEVER HAVE I EVER..."?

It's a great game to get to know your friends and it can be lots of fun, specially if they are honest! In this game players take turns asking other players about things they have done or haven't done.

It is often played as a drinking game in parties and those players who have done the thing take a drink. It can also be played with no alcohol and it will be still be a lot of fun if you ask the right questions and your friends are honest ;)

I'm posting a video from Ellen DeGeneres' show where you can get an idea of how to play the game. I hope you enjoy it while revising your present perfect at the same time!

INTRODUCTION TO MEDIATION

Here's the presentation I used in the class to introduce LINGUISTIC MEDIATION

I hope you found the practice useful and it didn't scare you off  😱🎃😉

Click on the link below to access the PPT file

MEDIATION INTRO

NO-SPEND YEAR CHALLENGE

Here's Michelle McGagh's own account of her no-spend-year challenge

How did you find Michelle's challenge? A no-spend year is surely tough. Have you ever considered a similar challenge? A no-spend weekend would certainly be more achievable and a good start. Here are some ideas. Can you think of any other interesting things to add to the list? I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Dear students,

Next week we'll be revising the use of present perfect, so it might be a good idea to brush up on your knowledge of irregular verbs.

I'm posting a link to an older post on the blog to help you:

LEARNING IRREGULAR VERBS

Apart from the ideas suggested in the post you can also use QUIZLET to test yourself. Here's a link to a sample study set:

IRREGULAR VERBS QUIZLET STUDY SET

Quizlet can also be a great tool for you to learn about other topics.  As well as having access to the hundreds of word sets which have been created by learners and teachers around the world, you can also create your own sets.

Make using Quizlet part of your daily routine to keep your English vocabulary fresh. For example, it’s easy to use the app when you’re commuting – just a few minutes every day on the bus or train will help you learn new vocabulary.

Check it out!

B1 - WRITING ASSIGNMENT - DESCRIPTION OF A PERSON

Write a description of a person following the instructions on page 187 of your textbook (Exercise e). Write an email answering Angela’s email and describing a friend of yours.

Length: About 150 words

Deadline: 28th October

6 MINUTE ENGLISH PODCAST - THE FUTURE OF FOOD

After dealing with the topic of food and cooking in the class I thought you might be interested in listening to the following podcast:

This episode deals with the future of food, but if you want to improve your listening skills, listening to this podcast regularly might be a good way. The BBC offers other podcasts specifically designed for students of English but you can also find podcasts for many different kinds of audience, they cover any and every topic under the sun.

What is great about podcasts is that you can download them to your computer or your mobile phone,  and then listen to them whenever you want. So you can easily fit them into your busy schedule. What's more, if you choose a topic you are interested in, you will probably find it engaging and will be looking forward to the next episode. You will be learning and having fun at the same time. So why not give it a try?

Click here for a good selection of podcasts for native speakers.

BREAKFAST AROUND THE WORLD

I bet you were surprised with the things people have for breakfast around the world. Did you feel like having a taste? 

I thought you might enjoy watching some kids actually tasting foreign breakfasts

The following video is for those who missed Spanish food in the tasting session ;)

NEW SCHOOL WEBSITE

We've got a brand new school website!!!

Click on the pic to check out the new look and explore the site!

I'm including a link to it in the blog sidebar too.

B1 - COURSEBOOK 2019-2020

Dear students,

This is the coursebook we will be using, make sure you get a copy of the FOURTH EDITION, which has just come out this year. In this new edition the student's book and the workbook are combined and the workbook pages are interleaved with the student's book file by file, in other words, you've got both books in one.

WELCOME!!!

Hi everyone!

Welcome (back) to my blog!

I am really excited to be teaching back in Rivas and to welcome you to a new school year! I am looking forward to meeting new faces as well as catching up with familiar ones. I hope you all had a wonderful summer holiday and are ready for a productive academic year.

This year I'll be teaching Level B1, so the contents on the blog will be primarily addressed to my students in that level. Here you will find many resources to help you with your English. I'll also be including all the information posted on the notice board in the classroom for those students who missed a lesson (reading and writing assignments, upcoming events, tests, etc). It goes without saying that my old students are more than welcome to visit the blog. Feel free to browse and explore!

For those new to the blog I recommend you follow it by email. Enter your email address in the corresponding box (find it on the right-hand sidebar), click 'submit' and you will get a message in your inbox every time there is a new post.

I can't wait to start working together to make this a fabulous academic year!

Here are some great tips (not just for beginners!) to begin with

READING ASSIGNMENT - B2.2

Dear students,

I hope you enjoyed your Easter break! Mine was very good, I was able to refresh and recharge before heading into the end-of-the-year sprint.

I hope you also had a little time to enjoy your reading of Wonder. I wanted to remind you that we will be having a class discussion session on the 24th/25th. I'm looking forward to sharing our ideas about the book! I hope you found it as thought-provoking and inspiring as I did.

I'm posting the handouts we will be using for the class discussion. They contain some of the topics we will discuss. You will work in small groups and try to describe some of the most relevant characters (click here to download the handout) and their role in the story. Then we will use the questions in the handouts (click here to download the handout) as a springboard for discussing the most important themes of the book.

I'm sure we will learn a lot from each other's ideas and reflections.

See you in class!

WRITING ASSIGNMENT - EMAIL TO A NEWSPAPER - B2.2

You have read an article in your college magazine about the effects of the internet on studying. The article focuses on the negative effects, in particular the influence of social-networking sites. You feel the article has too negative a view of the way students use the internet, and decide to write a letter to the editor explaining your opinion.

Length: about 200 words

Hand in before: April 24^th

WRITING ASSIGNMENT - REVIEW OF AN EVENT - B2.1

Write an online review for an event (a concert, a musical, a performance, a 

theatre play, an exhibition, a festival… etc.) you have been to recently. Include 

information about the following:

- Introduction giving information about the event (Name, type of event, location, …)

- Why you attended this event

- Description of the event

- Highlights of the event

- Criticisms (if any)

- Recommendations

Length: about 175 words

Hand in before: April 4^th

WRITING ASSIGNMENT - OPINION ESSAY - B2.1

Write an opinion essay about the following topic:

Strict punishments for driving offences are the key to reducing traffic accidents.

Organise it into four or five paragraphs including:

- An introduction describing the current situation and stating your opinion

- Reasons to support your opinion

- A conclusion summarizing your views

Length: about 175 words

Hand in before: March 21^st

WRITING ASSIGNMENT - REPORT - B2.2

Write a report following the instructions on page 121 of your textbook.

Length: about 200 words

Hand in before: March 14th

SECOND READING ASSIGNMENT B2.2

Read the following book:

Wonder  (R.J. Palacio)

We will be holding a book discussion

on April 24^th /25^th.

Make notes while you read it to be able to discuss the topics in the handout you will be given in class.

SECOND READING ASSIGNMENT B2.1

- Write a BOOK REVIEW of a book of your choice for a magazine for students of English.

Don’t forget to include the following points:

- Background information (title, author, type, setting…)

- Main points of the plot

- General comments on the plot, the main characters, the writing style…

- Your recommendation

* But do not reveal the end of the story!

- LENGTH: 180 -200 words

- HAND IN BEFORE: 11th APRIL

The book should be FICTION and have at least LEVEL B2 (UPPER-INTERMEDIATE)

COLLOCATIONS - B 2.1

Dear students,

Are you planning to focus on collocations in your next writing assignment?

I'm posting a link to a free online collocations dictionary that might come in handy.

You can also watch the following video lesson to learn more about collocations:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT - AN OPINION ESSAY - B2.2

Write a discursive essay about ONE of the following topics where you take one side of an argument.

1. Watching sports in one's free time is just a waste of time

2. Children’s free time must include educational activities

 You should include:

- An introductory paragraph presenting the topic and stating your opinion.

- Two (or more) paragraphs giving reasons

- A paragraph stating a common counter argument.

- A conclusion stating what your arguments have shown.

Length: about 200 words

Hand in before: February 28^th

IMPROVING YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

Dear students,

I'm posting the links to the two websites I recommended visiting in the class.

Both VIDEOJUG and HOWCAST contain how-to videos on every imaginable subject, so you are sure to find a topic of your interest.

VIDEO JUG is a British website and HOWCAST is American, so you have a choice on the variety you prefer.

I hope you find them useful!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

LET'S START THE YEAR WITH A GAME

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Some ideas for your New Year resolutions

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WELCOME BACK!

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WELCOME BACK!

Did you have a good Christmas? I hope you really enjoyed your holidays.

Have you made any New Year resolutions? I’m sure you have included “I’m going to learn more English” on your list. So I guess it’s about time to get down to work if you want to keep your resolution. ;)

Here’s a little reminder of the reading assignment for this month, just in case you forgot over the holidays. I know how absorbing Christmas celebrations are… On January 21st/22nd we will be holding a class discussion of the books you all have read. You will present the book you chose to a small group of your classmates. You will need to complete a worksheet with notes about the book to help you in your presentation. If you still don’t have the worksheet, ask me for one or dowload it here and print it. I will collect the worksheets you have completed after the discussion.

I hope you found the book you chose interesting and you are excited to share it with your classmates. If you didn’t enjoy it, though, don’t be afraid to be critical, we all would like to know your real opinion. Your classmates will find your recommendations very useful when choosing a new book to read.

See you soon in class!