Monday 22nd Wednesday 24th June

Hello class!! How are you? I hope really fine just waiting for having some free and good time, now that summer is here!!


Today just some lines to thank you for your attendande and attention all along the course. I want you to know that I'm really happy with your job, you have been doing your best week after week, so I hope you can appreciate your improvement as I do.


Try not to stop doing your things, I mean, go on reading aloud and watching movies in English, having a look to the Internet to check and revise and of course, speaking... remember, if you have the chance go for it!! Don't worry if you commit mistakes.


And that's all. I hope you have enjoyed this course as I have.


Have a good time and enjoy your summer. See you!


Kiss, kiss, goodbye

Monday 15th Wednesday 17th June

Hello class! How are you? Thinking about holidays I guess... Well, that's ok, we're almost finishing this course, which has been really productive; it's great your will to learn and even more to practice.



This week we have been talking about festivals and celebrations, we had lots of fun with the quiz last Monday... I bet you discovered many things!! We really had a good time.



On Wednesday after completing some more activities related to this, we went towards the reading section about moving, migration, living abroad... we will continue next day with the text and some more activities, but also with more topics to go on talking.


I wish you a super wonderful weekend, rest what you need... and do not come to class next Monday saying you're tired... you're very young!!


Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Monday 8th Wednesday 10th June

Hi class, how's it going? I hope ok enjoying this wonderful stormy weather...   These days we have talked a lot about many different things, remember that trying to communicate is the best way to improve your English, and you're doing very well!



These days we have been talking alot, and we have completed some listening activities as well. I'm very happy with your job. We learnt many things about Bhutan, among other things, we were talking about the weather and also about a famous festival there.


Taking advantage of this topic we suggested talking about a "different" festival held in Spain, the "tomatina", which is becoming more and more popular... I wonder why.


Anyway, it was a great talk. Let's see if next week all of you can attend to class and we can continue, ok?


Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Monday 25th Wednesday 27th May

Hi class, how are  you? I hope really fine and ready to spend a very nice weekend... especially if you have some plans. If you don't have plans, or you have some time to revise English... it'd be nice if you have a look to the new voc related to weather that we learnt last Wed.


Here you have some voc that may help you

Next day we'll watch some weather forecast.


We went to talk about the weather in relation to a very interesting article about  Bhutan. We read and discussed some ideas and answered some questions about life in that special place. We came to the conclusion that going there could end  up in a cultural shock for both parts, them and us...



Anyway, we were listening to peope talking about the weather and that led us to revise some idioms.. Remember that idioms are common expressions that you shouldn't translate into Spanish; you should learn the meaning and the right situation in which that expression fits. Here you have the video we watched to revise again

We finished the class with a song... also related to the weather... I think we can finish talking about this as soon as we have a look to some weather forecasts next week. Until then... please, relax

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Monday 18th Wednesday 20th May

Hello class, how's it going? I hope everything's fine and all of you're ok too and so on...


These days we have been speaking a lot about living in the jungle, rainforest or whatever kind of different environment for us... in conclusion,we admit we can't from the very beginning... however, maybe if we HAD TO... we could, couldn't we?


We read about that woman, Charlotte Uhlenbroek, and her research and then e completed some activities. Also we went to revise present pefect simple and continuous, and you didn't show any problem. Very good. 



Then we continued with a brief revision of adjectives: -ed vs -ing. Remember:

And remember also you have homework. Have a look to the short notes I gave you in order to write an informal e-mail, right? You will choose one of the situations we saw when listening activity 10. Please, try your best.



I think that's all. I really wish you a happy weekend.



Be good, have fun, see you in class.

Monday 11th Wednesday 13th May

Hello class, how are you? I guess you've been really busy these days... I hope now you can rest and have some fun, especially if you're travelling, if you aren't working next Friday.


We were discussing some questions about EXPLORE, that is the new topic. Then we went on with some listening activities, but the most important, again, was your speaking. I'm really happy because you're always ding your best when talking, even whatever the topic.


Next week we will continue with the reading section on page76. Just for you to have  a look... this is part of Charlotte Uhlenbroek's work:

That's all.


Be good, have fun, see you in class!!

Monday 4th Wednesday 6th May

Hi class, how is it going? I hope everything's right and you can enjoy the  weekend and rest and disconnect and so on... Last class you looked a bit tired.


On Monday we finished the lesson we have been working with these weeks having a look to phrasal verbs with three parts

• catch up with
• get away with
• put in for
• come up with
• cut down on
• look up to
• look forward to
• put up with
• make up for

We completed activities, made some listening and talked, using these verbs in questions like these:

• Is there anything you are really looking forward to doing over the next few days?
• Is there anything you are trying to cut down on at the moment?
• Is there anyone that you really look up to?

Then continued with our chat with the listening section related this time to radio phone-in programmes.

Finally on Wed we introduced our new topic EXPLORE. In the next few weeks we will work with voc related to adventure trips, exploring and things like that; we will revise Present Perfect Simple and Continuous and adjectives with -ed and -ing endings... to start with.

That's all.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Monday 27th Wednesday 29th April

Hello class! How are you? Ready to enjoy this long weekend? Well, I hope you have a really good time here or there... but having a nice time.


Rhese days we have worked with the reading on P110 related to children and "technology". The topic gave us the chance to talk for a while about how technology has become so  important nowadays. You gave very interesting opinions; I really liked it.


Also with this text we saw the difference between HARD and HARDLY.Be careful!! Here  you have some tips to remember:

Talking about grammar we finished the reported speech activities. Well done!


To finish,please, don't forget to write your report. Remember you have to choose some ideas from activity 10 on page 112.To make sure you're doing well, please, have a look to the sample we saw in class, ok?


That's all. 


Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Monday 20th Wednesday 22nd April

Hello class!  How are you? I hope you're really fine enjoying your deserved free time. Just some minutes to read what we did last week.


We worked with intensifiers completing some grammar and listening activities. After that we were revising the most important aspects of REPORTED SPEECH, again with some activities and reading and speaking. In case you have some doubts here you haave this simple chart :

Going on talking about success we listened to a very funny song, I hope you enjoyed the lyrics.


To finish the week we introduced the reading section on page 110, about children and computers... as we spent most of the class just speaking....... we will continue next day, ok? Thanks a lot.


That's all today. Lots of great moments!!


Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Monday 13th Wednesday 15th April

Hi class! How are you? I guess you'e fine but waiting for the weekend, aren't you? You're working too much these days and I'm sure you need a little rest. Well, I hope you can enjoy a relaxing weekend.


This week we have continued talking about SUCCESS in different aspects. We also had a look to some adjectives which describe personality, and your speaking and listening activities were very well done. Here you have some of them:

• outgoing
• open
• proactive
• opinionated
• single-minded
• easy-going
• selfish
• witty
• manipulative
• headstrong

After this voc we learnt (or revised) some expressions to be used when describing people as well:

• to be the centre of attention
• to be a party animal
• to be a complete doormat
• to be down-to-earth
• to be really high maintenance

On Wed we went through page 107. We introduced REPORTED SPEECH  (we will practice some activities next week). In this section we were speaking and listening about feelings and SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY. We practiced these questions:

• What sports do you enjoy playing/watching? How does it make you feel?
• Are you a competitive person? Why (not)?
• Are there any sportspeople that you particularly admire? Why?

Remember to complete page 116 for homework. I know you're very busy so this time it's not too much, ok? Don't forget.

And to finish you showed me about the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, who start every game by doing their HAKA war dance. Amazing. For those who were not in class here you are:

That's all. I really wish you a super happy weekend.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Monday 6th Wednesday 8th April

Hello class!! How are you after these days of holiday?? I hope you have enjoyed and rested and now you're ready to go on working as well as you have been doing these months.


This week we continued where we stopped talking about success. On Monday we had a very long and interesting talk about Leaders, good and bad, and we shared opinions about the skills that a leader should have in order to be successful, as an intro to the reading section. On Wed we read the text and answered the questions. We also completed some listening activities.


Related to the listening mentioned, we had a look to the grammar section. We revised the use of IT'S TIME, 'D BETTER, 'D RATHER. Next week we will complete a couple of activities more to check if everything is understood. If not, please, ask everything that is not clear, right? Here's one example:

To finish, remember you have homework. You will write the bio of someone considered a leader (good or bad, doesn't matter) in around 3 or 4 paragraphs including:

• First years
• Why he/she became a leader
• Late years

That's all.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye

Monday 23rd Wednesday 25th March

Hello class! How are you? We are on holiday!! I hope you enjoy these days and the time we have to rest and relax to come back with lots of energy to face the last term. These months you have worked very hard, so you deserve some days to disconnect for a while.


These days we have introduced a new lesson in which we will revise reported speech among other things. We were talking about success saying different ideas related to this concept. We also covered some listening activities, especially connected with common expressions used when describing both successful or unsuccessful situations. And to finish we introduced the reading section which refers to the skills that make a good leader. We will start with this when we come to class again, ok?


Then, on Wednesday we were watching a very interesting video about a different way to celebrate Easter. We discovered that the origin of this celebration, once again, is not Christian but pagan... very interesting!! So from now on we can celebrate the coming of spring, don't you think?? Well, as we said... it's up to you.


Remember I asked you to write a composition about Easter. I don't mind if you prefer writing about Easter itself or about your plans, or what you have done, ok? Just organize your writing in different and well separated paragraphs and use the appropiate verbal tense: GOING TO to talk about plans, PAST SIMPLE if you tell about what you have done or PRESENT SIMPLE if you want to talk about general ideas about this festivity.


That's all, class.


I really hope you have a great time.


Be good, have fun, see you in class (6th April)

Bye

Monday 16th Wednesday 18th March

Hi class! How are you? I hope you're enjoying these days if  you have some "extra" holiday... anyway, Easter is coming so we can rest a bit. I think we need since we are working very very hard, with few games or songs... I know. I promise a more relaxed week, ok?

These days we have been working with passives, with all the structures, and you have done a very good job, so maybe you need a little rest. We have worked with lots of listening and many activities as well.

Last Monday we were watching a very interesting video about Saint Patrick's Day, and we learnt many facts that we didn't know. Then we read about some legends and traditions related to this important celebration.

Then on Wednesday we finished our topic with more listening and voc activities.

Remember to finish the activities you have on page 102 in order to revise what we have been doing these weeks, ok?

That's all.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye

Monday 9th Wednesday 11th March

Hi class! How's it going? You're a bit tired, you told me, and waiting for holidays... I know. Fortunately we're enjoying wonderful weather these days and it doesn't feel like staying at home! At last!


Ok. These days we were working a bit more with passive sentences and we revised the structure HAVE SOMETHING DONE. Here you have some short notes, just in case. Also we were doing some exercises in order to have this clear. And even you could play a game and you did really good. I hope you liked. This week I tried to make this things more often since you have been  really hard-working, I thought you deserved this kind of class once in a lifetime!


We were reading and talking about pets when talking about excess again. Remember this is the main topic in this lesson. We had lots of fun and we laughed a lot. Also we learnt some common expressions that use animals to convey a different meaning. Very interesting, don't you think?

And to finish I'll remind you to do your homework: Please, complete the activities you have on Page 108, the ones that revise all the contents in this unit, and some passive activities, too, ok?


That's all.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye!!

Monday 2nd Wednesday 4th March

Hi class! How's it going? I hope you're enjoying a very nice weekend now that the weather is good and holidays are near... I also hope you can have a little time to revise passive voice, since that was the grammar section we worked with last class. To do a good job with this it's important to review the past participle, especially of the irregular verbs.

These days we completed more listening activities and we worked with the letter of complaint. Remember that it's homework, to write a formal letter as we saw in class. You can write it here or in your notebook, it's up to you; and it should look like the one we took as an example, right?

Next week we will work with the next section: reading. And we will learn idioms and other expressions related to animals... Very interesting, you'll see.


Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye!

Monday 23rd Wednesday 25th February

Hi class! How are you? I guess you're ok ready to enjoy this weekend. I hope you have a good time... no excess!

This is the topic we are working with these days. Last week we have been doing lots of listening and speaking activities. We have revised countable and uncountable nouns while reviewing voc related to food. Last week we saw this short video which showed us the excess in relation to food. Supersize me. This week we discussed excess when talking about money and items people can get in an auction house

We worked with this voc

• to bid
• a bargain
• a discount
• to haggle
• not worth
• memorabilia
• can't afford
  

We will finish the listening activities next week and revise passive sentences.

Remember your homework:

Choose one of the things in the list below. Think about how it is prepared and cooked.

1. your favourite dish
2. the last meal you made for visitors
3. a traditional dish in your country
4. a dish you used to love as a child
   

You'll tell the class next Monday, ok?

That's all.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye!

Monday 16th Wednesday 18th February

Hi class! How's it going? I guess you're still thinking about this word EXCESS and the things we have said. I think these days we have had really interesting conversations. This topic is really enjoyable and you have done your best in speaking activities.

Also listening  and reading activities have been very very good. I'm really happy. Believe me.

We  had a great debate about excess, health, obesity ... especially after watching the  1st  part of the documentary "Super Size me".

I think it could be a good idea if you go on watching the rest of the documentary. Next day we will continue working with the text and will finish the questions. We'll have a look to grammar revising countable and uncountable. And also we will work with voc and more listeniing activities.

As I said before, I'm very happy with your performance.. I hope you go on like this.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye

Monday 9th Wednesday 11th February

Hi class! How are you? Waiting for this special Saturday with so many things to celebrate?. I hope you have lots of fun no matter what you decide to do.

These days have been more "thematic" than others because of these two celebrations. On Monday you showed your presentations about Carnival or Mardi Gras in different places in the world; I want you to know that you did a very good job. Two of you did your best and that makes me very happy, also because after your presentations you were speaking for a long time about all the info you had.

On Wednesday we had a very good time, really funny, when presenting the topic aboutValentine's. We had lots of fun when speaking about the origin and the business and so on and so forth. Well, we had a very good time.

We learned lots of voc related to these two topics this week, but the most important thing has been your speaking. And also that we changed the routine, don't you think?

So, for next day I'd like you to translate the text we worked with and no more. You deserve to enjoy.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye

Monday 2nd Wednesday 4th February

Hello class, how's it going? I'm sure you're fine enjoying some free time, having a rest or maybe looking for interesting things about Carnival in differents places of the world. You haven't written any word here yet; doesn't  matter, as I told you last Wed you can write here or show your presentation in class next day. But just for you to know, here you have the topics chosen:

• New Orleans: Elena
• Venice: Alberto
• Cadiz: Fidel

So, "rest of the class", if you want to join us next class with a presentation about Carnival or Mardi Gras in some other places, we also mentioned Rio de Janeiro,Tenerife, and Veracruz (Mexico). Last class we introduced this topic just talking about this celebration in different cities, its origin, its symbolism, and so on and so forth.

Also this week we have talked about alternative technologies and we had a very interesting debate. I'm really happy when I hear you speaking, believe me. Maybe for this reason I ask you to prepare some kind of presentation from time to time!

I think this one is going to be very interesting, since carnival represents this feeling of joy and happiness and party!!

I'm sure you'll do your best.

That's all

Be good, have fun, see you in class!!

Monday 26th Wednesday 28th January

Hi class! How's it going? I hope everything's ok enjoying some free time... maybe you're going to watch Frankenstein since we couldn't do in class because I couldn't play the movie in English...

Anyway, these days we had a look to the -ing vs -ed ending of adjectives and what's more, subordinate clauses with these structures:

• Do you know the girl talking to Tom? (-ing clause)
• The man injured in the accident was taken to hospital (-ed clause)

We said that we use -ing clauses to say what someone or something is or was doing at a particular time; however we use -ed clauses with a passive meaning.

We explained the form and use and then completed some activities about these kind of clauses, You seemed to understand perfectly!

To finish with our novel we listened to the final chapter in which both Victor and his creature die. After that we watched a very interesting documentary about the times in which the novel was written by Mary Shelley. We knew about the writer and her backgroung in order to understand the power of the novel better. I found it very interesting, I hope you too. If you liked it, I encourage you to go on investigating and discovering so fascinating things.

That's all by now.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye!

Monday 19th Wednesday 21st January

Hello class!! How are you? I guess you're  fine since it's nerly weekend and you can rest and relax... and maybe take  little time to work with the things we practised in class these days! As you can see through this photo we said this and some more examles of disasters caused by the hand of man. Well, this was part of the things we were working with, comparing man-made disasters and natural ones

To go to the end of this topic I askedyou  to speak or write about something of this kind answering these questions:

1. How can you help after a natural disaster? If you could volunteer to help after a natural disaster, what would you do?
2. If you had the chance to stop a natural disaster happened in the past, which would you choose? Why?
3. Do you know any true story related to this? (hurricane, earthquake, tsunami...) Tell us about it

Remember that this is homework and I asked you to prepare a speaking or a writing, I don't mind, the activity you prefer, it's up to you, ok? But try to use conditionals, as it has been the main topic these weeks, and voc related to it.

Next week we'll finish talking about disasters and we'll have a look to more phrasal verbs, right? I consider that our work with conditionals is done, don't you think? So we'll move to some other things. 

These days we have listened to the 9th chapter of the novel Frankenstein, it's only one more to finish and then I hope we can watch the movie; of course as I told you, after watching it we'll work on some questions and revision and maybe we can include some info about the gothic novel. Well, we'll see!

Also we revised the form and use of the gerund or -ing form. That's something we use everyday so I hope if you have any question or doubt you'd better ask me for more activities or deeper explanations. It's something so common that I want you to understand and use in the right way, ok? Do not hesitate in case things are unclear. The same happens with phonetics and pronunciation. I know I'm very repetitive week after week with the -ed ending, but it's very important.

As I'm so repetitive.... I wanted you to have a good time last class and taking advantage of the gerund we listened to a funny song full of   "-ings". It was so good that we even have time to have a look to the video... what a classic! Here you have

That's all. Thanks for your attention.

Be good, have fun, see you in class!

Bye!

Village & City Life

                             VILLAGE & CITY LIFE

Many people decide to move to the city nowadays, there is a tendency to abandon the villages and migrate to big cities looking for work and study opportunities. However, both lifestyles have advantages and disadvantages.

   

I would like to start with the aspects of living in the villages. First important thing is related to the healthy life because countryside is not polluted so you can breathe fresh air and enjoy with the beautiful landscapes and green zones. Countryside is not crowded of people, there are not traffic jams, therefore it is very easy to find peaceful and silent so that you can relax at any time of the day. In addition, living in the countryside can be considered safer than living in a big city, the probability of a burglary is lower, and the level of confidence in your neighbours and other citizens are higher. The most serious problem of living in a village is the unemployment, there are not enough companies or factories to offer jobs. Majority of people in the countryside works as farmers, it is a hard lifestyle that let them being self sufficient as they are able to grow what they need to survive.  Other important disadvantage is the lack of universities, public transport and hospitals which restrict the opportunities of studying, moving and heath cares.

The other hand is to live in a big city, as in the case of the village, living in a city has a lot of advantages, the most significant are the variety of work, studies, recreational activities, transport, etc. The city offers many chances of work and you can obtain a good salary and more interesting jobs. Also there is a wide offer to spend your free time, you can find a lot of museums, theaters, cinemas or restaurants, so you will enjoy your free time, that usually is very short, doing entertaining things, including going to the gym or going shopping. Also noteworthy the public transport, you have much more ways to travel, you can pick what is the best transport to travel. However, there are negative aspects of living in a city, cities are very crowded so you can find traffic jams, long queues, long waits, and summing up, more stress. As it is known the level of pollution is higher, so your health can suffer from it, and the landscapes are based on flats and more flats, skyscrapers and vehicles. 

Although the number of disadvantages of living in a city are pretty high, I will always prefer living there because the positive things that a city offers us are more important for living your life, but that is my personal opinion.

MARTA