Ten tips to learn languages

This is interesting... 

Reading and Listening

Some people, like Mónica Oriol, should read articles like this: 
Election in Iceland: Campaigning with nappies in hand.

Not my last goodbye....

Dear All,

Some of you probably already know, and some don't. I've temporarily changed jobs, and I'm currently teaching English to singing students in Madrid's conservatoires. This is a motivating challenge and I'm sure it's going to be a fun and beautiful job. 

I'll be available through the blog and email, if you want to contact me. I wish you the best for this academic year, and I hope our paths cross again at some point  ;-)

Keep learning and keep singing no more guachi-guachis ;-) 

Hugs for everybody! 

European value for EOI Certificates!

If you think that EOI certificates should be recognised not only in Spain, but also in the rest of Europe, please sign the petition in this link:

https://www.change.org/p/ministerio-de-educaci%C3%B3n-por-el-reconocimiento-de-los-t%C3%ADtulos-de-las-escuelas-oficiales-de-idiomas-de-espa%C3%B1a-en-la-uni%C3%B3n-europea

Tainted Love

Hi there again!
This morning I woke up with this song... Hm "Sometimes I feel I've got to run away..." Why such sentence on a day like this? ;-)


Welcome back!

IPA Tweets

Hi there!
I just started following a Twitter account that has all its tweets in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). It's a fun way of practising your phonetics ;-)

You can follow them here or visit their webpage here.

Want to become a cinematographer?

News in English (with subtitles)

Did you know the CNN has a You Tube channel for students? Check this link

Improving your speaking skills

Check this link on typical pronunciation errors by Spanish speakers

Summer Readings (revisited)

Dear All, 

Some of you asked me to recommend some readings for the summer. Sorry it took me a while (the last weeks have been a bit crazy...)

This year we've lost some great authors, so you may want to pay them some tribute by reading one of their books:  
- Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. You can read the first chapter here. 
- Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief (novel) or any of his stories collected in Island. I have both, so let me know if you want to borrow them. 
- Three stories by Ana María Matute translated into English. I found this PDF online; the stories start on page 8, and then you have the Spanish original as well.
- All of the books by Gabriel García Márquez can be found on Amazon in English translation. But if you want to print or read Love in the Time of Cholera online, you can find it here. 

Other books that you may also want to read easily are:
- John Steinbeck's The Pearl
- Any of the novels in the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series that you already know about
- Typical teachers' recommendations include: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The Kite Runner, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, etc. 

Here's a link I found with original books recommended by levels.
And here's another one my colleage Ms Bermejo just gave me, including other non-fiction genres.

A couple of years ago, my NA1 students wrote a review on the books they read during the course. Here's the post where you can read their reviews and see if there's something you'd like.

I hope you can find something to read and enjoy this summer. 
I'll post the call for oral exams next week, so I'm not saying goodbye yet! ;-) 

Summer courses

Summer courses you might be interested in...

Theatre in English

Hi there!
I know that this weekend you'll be preparing for your oral exams, but you may want to take a break and see this play in English. It's a comedy, so I suppose quite different from the one some of you saw a couple of months ago... ;-)

Exam parts and duration

Reading Comprehension: 4 tasks. Total time: 70 minutes
Listening Comprehension: 3 tasks. Total time: 40 minutes (max)
Written Expression: 2 tasks. Total time: 75 minutes
Oral Expression: 2 tasks. Total time: 25 minutes

There will be a break after the Listening Comprehension, so the total time of the written parts is approx. 3.5 hours.

More listening practice

Dear All,
Last week the Mo. & Wed. group did two oral comprehension exercises in class. Here are the audio files in case you want to listen to them again. The Tu. & Thur. group can also do the exercises as exam practice (listen twice and then check your answers).

Ottawa (audio)
Preparing for hurricane season (audio)

Questions Ottawa
Questions Be prepared for Hurricane Season

Key to the exercises

Sample exams

Hi there!
My colleague Mª José has published this wonderful compilation of NI2 sample exams (from other regions in Spain). So check it out and do the practice! 

Key to Reading Comprehension (pp. 94-95)

1 - B
2 - D
3 - A
4 - H
5 - G
6 - I
7 - F
8 - E
The texts contain interesting vocabulary and expressions. Make sure you find and understand the following words in the texts: give in, set out to, stand up for (yourself), steer clear of, put off, when it comes down to it, for the sake of, lose face, tackle, rub up, fall out, go over old ground.

Moving On

Beautiful and moving

Did you understand some of the lyrics?

"Like" and "As"

Several of you have asked me about the difference between "like" and "as". Here are some explanations and examples that can help you to understand that difference better. There is also an exercise you can do.

Mind maps to revise vocabulary

Hi there!
My colleague Mª José has created this mind map on the topic of crime and punishment. You can also create your mind maps about other topics on paper or - if you're more tech-savvy - on your computer. 

Key to Multiple Choice Text

And here's the key to the text I gave you to read as homework (Greeting 'Big Brother' with open arms):

7 - A
8 - B
9 - B
10 - B
11 - A
12 - C

Party vocabulary

Here's the vocabulary I showed in class last week. Remember that it complements the vocabulary exercise you had to do as homework on page 75 of your book. 

Revision - Time Expressions and Verb Tenses

Dear All,
I'm correcting your last compositions and feel very frustrated that certain patterns are still not clear to you, or at least you're not putting them into practice as I expected you would by now. In a text, the way you conjugate verbs says a lot about your level, so you'd better be careful with that aspect of grammar if you want to improve ;-)

Here's a little list of common patterns combining time expressions and verb tenses:

Time expression	Verb tense
Currently	PRESENT
At present
Nowadays / Now
These days
Recently	PRESENT PERFECT
Lately
Over the last … years / months / centuries
In 1973 … (a date from the past)	PAST
On 2nd May, 1808 (a date from the past)
Last year / month / century, etc.
Yesterday
… days / weeks / months ago

Hope that helps!

Health and Medicine

Dear All,

In the next weeks, we'll do a unit on health and medicine. So here's a vocabulary sheet that will complement the vocabulary in your book. Let me ask you to do it as homework ;-)

Femi Kuti

Had a great time seeing this Nigerian musician and his band last night:

Video Show Today

Remember that today we'll show the videos that participated in the contest and will give prizes to the winners!

Click on image to enlarge

Happy Book Day!

Today is Book Day and I'd like to invite you to read a story by Alistair MacLeod, of one of my favourite Canadian authors. He died three days ago, which made me really sad...

I can't post a PDF with the story in the blog, so for now, enjoy his reading (starting around minute 6)

Key to review 2

Dear All,
here's the key to Review 2, the homework you had to do during the holidays. If you have any questions, please ask me in class.

EOIs get out on the street!

Join us tomorrow at noon (12 pm) in Ópera. Here's the programme 

More listening practice

The topic is a bit old for us, because we've already heard about it in the Spanish news. But listen to this program from the NPR, which contains much of the vocabulary we're studying.

1 - Listen to the program
2 - Fill in the gaps

a) The Princess has been accused of fraud and ___________________.
b) Infanta Cristina and Urdangarín got married ___________________ after they met.
c) According to Chislett, the Infanta didn't ask about the origin of the money or _________________ .
d) Urdangarín is accused of _________________ $8 million from a foundation he ran.
e) In the royal palace, the Infanta's husband is now ________________.
f) In the satirical show "Polonia", Urdangarín is turned into ________________.
g) Only the king has ________________ from prosecution.
h) The Princess and her husband could spend six years in prison if ________________.

3 - Check your answers in the comments below.
4 - Read the transcript here.

And here's the British version of the story.

Listening Comprehension Practice

Since we're going to start a new unit, I suggest you do this exercise (9.3) as homework, instead of listening to it in class. Read the sentences from 1-8 on p. 68 of your book and listen to the recording twice. Decide whether the sentences are true or false and check your answers with the transcript.
Click here to listen

April Fools

Yesterday, the Tu.& Thurs. group was fooled from beginning to end ... and we had a good laugh about it... If you want to know more about the tradition, read this article about April Fools

Crime and punishment

Hi there!
For our next topic, here you have a vocabulary sheet that will be very useful.

Love Profusion

Dear All,
this weekend's homework includes singing and paying attention to those sounds we practised in class. You can find the lyrics with some phonetic transcription in this document 

Pronunciation of the past and participle in regular verbs

Since we looked at the pronunciation of -ed endings last week, here's a verb sheet where you can do further practice. (I "stole" it from a friend's blog, so thanks María! ;-)

Dignity

There's a man I meet
Walks up our street
He's a worker for the council
Has been twenty years
And he takes no lip off nobody
And litter off the gutter
Puts it in a bag
And never thinks to mutter
And he packs his lunch in a Sunblest bag
The children call him Bogie
He never lets on
But I know 'cause he once told me
He let me know a secret
About the money in his kitty
He's gonna buy a dinghy
Gonna call her Dignity

And I'll sail her up the west coast
Through villages and towns
I'll be on my holidays
They'll be doing their rounds
They'll ask me how I got her I'll say
I saved my money
They'll say isn't she pretty
That ship called Dignity

And I'm telling this story
In a faraway scene
Sipping down Raki
And reading Maynard Keynes
And I'm thinking about home
And all that means
And a place in the winter
For Dignity

And I'll sail her up the west coast
Through villages and towns
I'll be on my holidays
They'll be doing their rounds
They'll ask me how I got her I'll say
I saved my money
They'll say isn't she pretty
That ship called Dignity

Set it up set it up set it up set it up set it up set it up
Yeah set it up again set it up again set it up again set it up again
Set it up set it up set it up set it up set it up set it up
Yeah set it up again set it up again set it up again set it up again

And I'm thinking about home
And I'm thinking about faith
And I'm thinking about work
And I'm thinking
How good it would be
To be here some day
On a ship called Dignity
A ship called Dignity
That ship

Watch your favourite series

Check this out! It's an amazing compilation of series in English that you can watch with English subtitles.

Train your ears...

British Cemetery

Hi there!

My colleague Mª José told me there are 6 vacancies for a visit to the British Cemetery on 4th April, at 5pm. If you're interested, let me know here in the comments or next week in class. It's around 4 euros, but I can confirm the price next week.

Have a nice weekend!

Spanish and British educational systems

Dear All, 
since we've started a new unit on education and work, here's a chart where you can see equivalences between the Spanish and British educational systems

Vocabulary related to work

Dear All,

here's a vocabulary sheet you have to complete for Wednesday and Thursday as homework.

Click to enlarge

Getting ready for oral exams - Monologues

Dear All, 

Once we have studied the structure of a monologue and the strategies you can use to develop it correctly, I suggest you prepare these two monologues.

Step 1 - are you ready to speak about the topics with sufficient and appropriate vocabulary?
Step 2 - set a time limit of two minutes and organise your ideas in your head
Step 3 - Make sure you start with an introductory sentence that will make clear what you're going to talk about
Step 4 - develop your ideas conscienciously, that is, don't rush from one idea to the next. Develop each idea fully and with examples.
Step 5 - Make sure you make transitions from one part to the next (remember the chain or sewing image). Those transitions should be marked by appropriate connectors. You shouldn't read the points on the card you're given as if they were independent parts.
Step 6 -  Try to finish with a good concluding sentence. Do not add new ideas in the conclusion. The conclusion should summarise the ideas you have developed, preferably with different words.

Remember to record yourself (minimum time: 3 mins; maximum: 4 mins). 

Planet Earth

Dear All, 

Marta (Tu. & Thurs. group) sent me a link where you can see all the episodes of the Planet Earth series. So here it is in case you want to watch more. It's a very pleasant way to be exposed to the language, isn't it?

(With VCL you can watch in English and have subtitles in English. With this type of documentary I don't think you should put on the Spanish ones)

English Immersion

Grants for EOI students in the Intermediate and Advanced levels. Check them out here.

Respect

On International Women's Day, all we ask for is a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Respect so that no more women are battered and killed

Respect so that no more girls are ablated

Respect so that we all have equal opportunities and rights

Respect so that politicians don't treat us as children who cannot make our own decisions 

Listening Comprehension

Spring is coming in my terrace

Dear All,
I may have said it only in one of my groups, but this homework was intended for both groups. So here's the task: 
- Page 52 of your book: Do the vocabulary exercises A and B
- Page 53, Exercise A (7.2 Listening): Read the statements and match them to the texts you hear. There is one you will not need. (Exam-like)

Text 1 
Text 2
Text 3
Text 4
Text 5

And have a nice sunny weekend! 

The Weather - Vocabulary

Since we're starting with a unit about the weather and nature, here's some vocabulary you have to study. Do the exercises and correct them checking the comments below.

Man on Wire

Hi there!

This Friday we're going to show a thrilling documentary called Man on Wire. Click on the poster to see all the info.

If you want to read a review you can find one here.

Theatre Going

If you're interested in going to the theatre in English on Friday 28th March, just bring 8 euros to class before Thursday 6th March.

All the info is on the poster (click to enlarge)

If you want to read the text before you see the play, you can find it here. It's very poetic and the show is a mixture of words and music. Even if you don't understand everything, I think it can be a beautiful experience for your ears. Let yourself get carried away by the sounds of English ;-)

Culture Shock

Hi!

The Tu. & Thurs. group couldn't listen to this programme about culture shock. Read the questions on page 47 and make notes to answer them. 
When you are done with the listening, think about a time when you experienced culture shock, and prepare a mini presentation where you describe what happened and the stages you went through. 
Next week, you'll do your presentations to each other or to the class.

Have a nice weekend!

Personality Adjectives

Hi everybody!
In yesterday's class we looked at the structure and characteristics of a personal statement. One of the things you have to do in such a text is "sell yourself". So here's a list of personality adjectives, which is meant to help you choose those you could use to describe yourself. You don't have to learn all of them, of course!

Modifiers and adjectives

A couple of links to practice a bit more with gradable and non-gradable adjectives:
1) exercise
2) explanation

Getting ready for oral exams - Interaction

Dear All,

"Conversation", by Jason Schultz

here's the first part of the strategies you could use to prepare for oral exams. For any topic we deal with in class, or for any topic of the possible ones included in the curriculum for your level, you should try to imagine situations where you have to speak about the topic.

Step 1 - brainstorm vocabulary about the topic (make sure you don't use the same vocab. you could have used two years ago).
Step 2 - brainstorm questions and answers you could make / give in that situation. Make sure that you can orally phrase questions with all their elements and in the correct order. Here's the example I showed you in class.
Step 3 - make sure you know appropriate structures to fulfil different functions (suggesting, comparing, giving opinions, reacting to suggestions, agreeing with people, disagreeing, describing, expressing lack of understanding, asking for clarifications, etc.)
Step 4 - meet a classmate (or find somebody at home or among your friends) you can practise with. Set a time limit between 4-5 minutes to rehearse this interaction task. Record the conversation.
Step 5 - listen to your recording and be your own examiner. Pay attention to the grammar (verb tenses, concord, lack of subjects, etc), vocabulary, functional phrases you used, pronunciation, whether you interrupted your partner, whether you followed up on your partner's questions / statements.

Give this a go and let me know how you feel about it. 

Job or Work?

I keep posting this entry with an exercise to differentiate between "job" and "work"... 
Check it out here

June and September exams

Dear NI2,

I've just received the dates for the written parts of the June and September exams:

2 June 2014, at 15:45

11 Septemeber 2014, at 15:45

We still have to do the complete calendar with the dates for the oral part. I'll keep you informed.

Despite / In spite of / Although / Even though

Dear All,
since this is something many of you seem to have problems with, here's a link to some "despite / in spite of" exercises to help you understand and form correct sentences using these prepositions.
Then you can also check another link to the conjunctions "although / even though / even if"

Happy Valentine's! - All Shook Up

Blogger betrayed me last weekend, because they didn't publish my programmed entries... A bit late to post this now, but anyway...

How do you feel when you're in love? Do any of the things Elvis mentions in the song happen to you? You can leave your comments with more being-in-love signals

Ruth and Idgie

Warning: this video may not be suitable for delicate sensibilities (like my partner's) ;-)

Listen to this video about Idgie and Ruth and decide whether the sentences below are true or false. The answers are in the comments:

1. The cat (Ruth) and the dog (Idgie) were found in a trash can

2. The dog shares everything she gets with the cat

3. The cat protects the dog against other dogs

4. At the centre, they're waiting for somebody to adopt Ruth and Idgie

5. Customers wanted to buy Ruth and Idgie to give them as Christmas gifts

Relax after your exams!

Video Contest

Dear All,

Click to enlarge

here's the poster for the video contest I told you about. Have you started thinking about your individual or group proposals?

Narcissus and Cupid

Hi there!
Here's a short by La Tramoya acting company, the only exception I make to publish in Spanish in this blog ;-)

Congratulations, Almudena, on the great job you do!
You can see these fabulous actors at the Plot Point theatre. Check their programme!

Verb patterns

Hi!

Here's a Michael Jordan quote with interesting verb patterns:

want + object + to infinitive
wish + subject + would + infinitive
make + object + bare infinitive

Key to the Cloze "Body Image"

And here's the key to the cloze I gave you as homework:

1. shown; 2. going; 4. Similarly; 5. higher; 6. concerned; 7. which; 8. compulsive; 10. lack; 11. from; 12. enough; 13. least; 14. on; 15. spokesperson; 16. believed; 17. another's; 18. growing; 19. shape; 20. average; 21. males; 22. while; 24. over; 25. than.

(I'm sorry, I must've been hungry and ate some numbers... ;-) There were only 22 gaps, then...)

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Morning!

Here's the video of the pilot episode of the series based on the booked we've read. It's almost two hours long, but I guess you can watch it as you would watch any other movie over the weekend ;-) You're going to enjoy it, since you'll recognise many moments.

And here's the complete interview that we partly listened to:

Past modals Songs

This weekend's songs are... 

My favourite Moloko song:

Some of you will already know there's no place to go
This is the modern man, as good as I am
Here in the heart of the sun my memory melts
Swellegant, elephant pain, he never forgets
Should've been a beautiful thing
Could've been a beautiful thing

Pull over to the side of the road, let the bold be bold
Luxury at a low introductory price, now wouldn't that be nice?
A happy little family puts you in a trance meanwhile back at the ranch
Insatiable hand-held flexible friend, why not give him a chance?
Could've been a beautiful thing
Should've been, could've been a beautiful thing

Promises of pleasure mesmerised, but how far can we get?
At least here in the eye of the storm I won't get my hairdo wet
Some of you have already foreseen yourself undone
Some of you seem to believe you've only just begun
Try a little perjury, get rich quick
My eyes are bigger than my belly is, and it makes me sick
Attitude, so much to prove, should've been a beautiful thing
Some of you will already know, and I'm still wondering
Should've been a beautiful thing
Could've been a beautiful thing
I could've been, should've been, could've been a beautiful thing
Could've been a beautiful thing
Should've been, would've been a beautiful thing

(How we love to disguise)

One more for the "Should've"form:

How many things did the guy do wrong?

Now, another one where the lady is certain that she loved the guy, and we've heard it sooooo many times on the radio, we're also sure it was love ;-)

This song opens a new section in the blog I already told you about. It's the section called "From guachi guachi to real English", a section dedicated to those old songs you've been singing for ages, not knowing what you were saying. It's high time you knew, don't you think?

Grammar practice

Morning!
Here's a couple of links to extra grammar practice I think you should do:

1) link to Mª José Bermejo's blog with passive voice exercises
2) so / such ... that
3) Present perfect simple and continuous
4) Present modals (there are four pages you have to check here)
5) Past modals

Enough for now!

Man leaps to his death

Hi! 
here's the video we saw in class, in case you want to see it again with the questions I gave you in the tiny handout ;-)

Teeth

Just for fun...

But if you want to use it s an English exercise, can you tell the story in your own words?

Word missing

I'm sorry but there is a word missing in the cloze text I gave you as homework for next week...

Here's the sentence and the word missing (underlined):

"It ___[4]___ seem improbable, but he says we can build up our muscles simply ___[5]____ thinking about exercise."

Twisted and Sick

This weekend's song is .... one by Marlango where you can recognise the grammatical construction we studied last week: The more ... the more... ;-)

The more you see
The more I hide
The more I show
The more I lie
Or maybe
The more I hide
The more you see
The more I lie
The more I show
But I'm twisted & sick so that's fine with me
Cause I'm twisted & sick so that's fine with me

Te more I show
The more you see
The more I hide
The more I lie
Or even the more you see
The more I show
The more I lie
The more I hide
But I'm twisted & sick so that's fine with me
Cause twisted & sick so that's fine with me

I'd love to need you
But I don't
And I want to miss you
But I don't
And I need to want
And I miss your wanting
And I want your loving
But I'm twisted & sick so that's fine with me
That's fine with me

(Bridge)

Cause I'm twisted & sick so that's fine with me
I'm twisted & sick so that's fine with me

Until I finish what i have to do
I can't start doing what i should do
I'll have to do this
I'll have to say that
I'll have to go beat
Out all of the crap
I'll have to sit still
I'll have to fulfill
Those stupid ideas
They have about me
But I'm twisted & sick so that's fine with me
I'm twisted & sick so that's fine with me
That's fine with me

Key to the used to - be used to - get used to exercises

Hi!

Here's the key to the exercises I handed out to you this week. I realised there were repeated sentences only after I had given the photocopy to you, so I hope the key is not too misleading, since I have eliminated those repeated sentences in it. 

Exercise A)

1 - to getting; 2 – to read; 3 – to like; 4 – to stay; 5 – to drinking; 6 – used to go; 7 – I’m used to saying; 8 – is used to driving; 9 – used to wear; 10 – used to be; 11 – used to get on.

Exercise B)

1 – I’m used to sleeping on the floor; 2 – get used to living; 3 – get used to + your choice, which should be a verb in the –ing form; 4 – drink; 5 – eating; 6 – having / working in; 7 – being told; 8 – be; 

Ain't Got No

Hi there!

Since I forgot to post a song last weekend, here's a suggestion from one of your classmates that I like a lot, too ;-)

Listening Comprehension, p. 34 Student's Book

Hi!
Here's the listening comprehension exercise you have to do to complete the review of Units 1-4. (Instructions on p. 34 of your book)

Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Speaker 3
Speaker 4
Speaker 5

Have a nice weekend!

I did my homework...

Did you?

Happy 2014!