Wanna Be a Filmstar?

Dear All (present and former students),
one of your schoolmates, a student from the Advanced 1 level, has had a wonderful initiative: to record a video of our neighbourhood (Embajadores-Lavapiés) to show other people the many interesting places there are to see. The participating students would explain the history of buildings, squares, or other places in front of the camera (needless to say, in English). This has to be done outside the class hours, but I'm sure some of you will be interested to take part. Please contact me via this post or Santiago (Mo. & Wed. 15:30-17:30, Room 6).

Shopping Spree

This evening we'll have our class in the computer room. This is the activity we're going to do.

You have a £1500 voucher to spend on the Harrods Web Page, but you have to agree with a partner on what to buy. The items you buy may range from a handbag to a sofa. Your partner and you are friends or relatives. Just imagine situations in which these items would be necessary / could be bought for a third person.

Discuss, compare, and decide which items you would buy, and prepare a description of those items to be published in the comment section below.

Eg. We’ve decided to buy a smart black leather handbag for our mum, because the one she had was stolen in the underground last week.

Advertising

Hi there!
Since we're going to be talking about advertising in class, I thought about a little exercise you may enjoy doing: pay attention to the ads you see on TV and spot the mispronunciation of words in English. (There are plenty, believe me!)
You can write your finds in the comments below. I'll give you a classical example: "Just for men"

February Exams

Dear All,

the February exams will take place between Feb 22nd and 25th. The exam will have four parts: Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Written Expression, and Oral Expression. We will discuss the dates for the Oral Expression part in class.

Key to "Review 4" (Student's Book, p. 159)

Ex. 1.
1. was thinking; 2. turned; 3. did I hear; 4. needed; 5. was looking; 6. rang; 7. met; 8. was flying; 9. saw; 10. was having; 11. was staying.
Ex. 2.
1. wanted; 2. was watching; 3. agreed; 4. was sitting; 5. had answered / answered; 6. had; 7. was; 8. was wearing; 9. had; 10. had come / came.
Ex. 3.
1. S; 2. D; 3. S; 4. S; 5. D; 6. S
Ex. 4.
1. Both of them like a bit of a gamble; 2. Neither my friends nor my family think it's against the odds; 3. Neither of us feel like giving it a go; 4. We both want to try our luck; 5. There's a lot at stake for both the company and the workers; 6. They both think it's a lottery.
Ex. 5.
1. e; 2. a; 3. f; 4. c; 5. d; 6. b.
Ex. 6.
Your own answers (You can write them in the comments below).
Ex. 7.
1. sprained; 2. black; 3. bleeding; 4. shock; 5. bruise; 6. scratch; 7. unconscious; 8. ankle.

Next Written Assignment

Dear All, your next written assignment is "Lottery Winner." This time, you have to read the text, do the exercises on pp. 70-71 of your Workbook, and write a story as indicated in exercise 2. Since we have revised narrative tenses, so you should be able to demonstrate that you can use the Simple Past, the Past Continuous, and the Past Perfect well.
Write about 150 words. Divide your information into appropriate paragraphs, and check the spelling and basic grammar errors before you hand in the text.
Deadline: 8/9 February. This was announced last week in class, so I'm giving you ample time. Please do not hand in compositions after these dates.

Pain / Ache / Hurt

Now that we're dealing with injuries, doing this vocabulary exercise might be a good idea!

Other / Another

Hi there!

Here's some practice on the use of other / another. Hope you do well!

Key to "Review 3" (Student's Book, p. 158)

Ex. 1.
1. c; 2. b; 3. a; 4. a; 5. b; 6. b.
Ex. 2.
1. had to give; 2. allowed to wear; 3. didn't let; 4. could; 5. couldn't.
Ex. 3.
1. Could you possibly leave your dog outside?; 2. Do you mind if I open the window?; 3. Do you think you could pick us up at 8 o'clock?; 4. I wonder if I could invite a few friends for dinner.; 5. Is it all right if I leave work early tomorrow?; 6. Would you mind passing the mayonnaise?
Ex. 4.
1. Yes, of course; 2. No, not at all; 3. Yes, no problem at all; 4. I'm sorry, but I'm busy tonight; 5. Yes, that's fine; 6. Yes, here you are.
Ex. 5.
1. e; 2. c; 3. a; 4. b; 5. d; 6. h; 7. g; 8. f.
Ex. 6.
Your own answers (You can write them in the comments below).

Web Research

Here's a short list of traditional British food. Why don't you choose a dish and research a bit on the web to find out about the ingredients and how it is made? Then you can write about that dish in the comment section below. (Do not copy all the ingredients / recipe, just give a general idea of the most important things).
- Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
- Haggis
- Cornish pasties
- Steak and kidney pie
- Toad in the hole
- Fish and chips
- Mulligatawny soup
- Shepherd's pie
- Jellied eels
- Sausage and mash
- Ploughman's lunch