Fourteenth week

Hello everyone,

Last week we learnt many things:

- We read about and listened to travelling experiences
- We learnt new comparative structures like "The sooner the better" or "The more money you earn, the more money you need".
- We learnt to stress compound nouns like speed limit, or parking fine(the stress is on the first word)
- We spoke about dangerous things that people usually do while driving.
- We did some vocabulary activities related to transport and travel (although we did not have enough time to check it).
- We wrote a rough draft of a for and against essay about "Online Shopping" to learn how to do it and went through the four sheets of handout 21.

For homework, you have to do the activities in handout 21 and give them to me after Christmas.

You also have handout 22 to practice comparative structures.
You can practice speaking saying your opinion about the statements at the end of unit 2C.

The writing activity in unit 2 in your book is about a Narrative text. It will be a good idea if you do those activities and analyse the structure of the narrative text: introduction, background, problem, resolution (and in this case, there is no conclusion).

You also have two pages of revision at the end of unit two

Don't forget to revise as much as you can for the exams on the 14th and 18th of January.

Thirteenth week

Hello everyone,

Last Thursday Loli was talking about India, explaining the socioeconomic problems in that country. Thanks a lot Loli!

We were revising Present Perfect Continuous and we learnt "strong" adjectives: filty, great, starving... etc. Click here to download a crossword on extreme adjectives.


We were also revising comparatives and superlatives. We did the speaking activity on page 30 (exercise c) and we learnt some new comparative structures, like "The sooner the better", "The more I know her, the more I like her", "Things are getting better and better", etc. Here you have the key to handout 20. This is all new for you, so do not hesitate to ask in class next Tuesday if you have any problem.

For homework, you had to finish handouts 19 and 20 and read the text and do the exercises on pages 28 and 29.

I hope more people give me the formal email to a health magazine next week (or send it by email), and do not forget to complete your workbooks!

This is the program for our Christmas Party on the 21st and 22nd of December. I hope you all come:

Christmas hamper draw: 17.30
Gastronomic contest 17.45-19.00 (Prize to the best recipy will be given at 18.00)
Karaoke 19.00-20.30 (Prize to the best singer at 20.30)

See you in a couple of days!

This week we have been revising Present Perfect Simple, Continuous, and Simple Past.
We were also talking about how misleading translations from Spanish can be.
We did a listening activity about a news bulletin, and another about a woman who took a year out in Beirut. I think they were quite easy!!

Here you have a bbbeeeeaaauuuuutiful song which contains the present perfect continuous:

We also talked about recent activities which we have been doing and for how long.
We learnt the differences between for and during (we will practice more about this next week).

We gave our opinions about some "myths" related to money.
We learnt to stress certain words in a sentence (content words) to emphasize them.

And now... homework for next Thursday:
- Grammar on page 133
- Reading on page 26
- Update the Workbook
- Write an email to a health magazine. This is your problem: "I am stressed, I suffer from anxiety and I spend too much money" .

Don't forget to take into accout the structure and register of formal emails.

Paragraph 1. Introduction: who you are and what your problem is.

Paragraph 2: Your background: your habits so far.

Paragraph 3: What you want to get, how you would like to change.

Paragraph 4: Conclusion and asking for advice.


Here you have a list of Health Magazines in case you want to have a look. Some of them even include podcasts.
http://www.world-newspapers.com/health.html



Changing topic, on Saturday night Antena 3 is broadcasing Jane Eyre. It would be a good idea if you can watch or record it so that you can compare it with the book later!!

Don't forget to use your TDT option to watch it in English. You can add Spanish Subtitles on teletext page 888.

Have a nice bank holiday!!

Eleventh Week

Hello everyone,

Last week we talked with Verónica about Sunbeds. Here you have a link to the activity.

We were also talking about Violence Against Women, analysing its causes, proposing solutions and giving our opinions. Thank you everybody for your contributions.

We also checked the reading on page 22 in your book and were talking about the possibility of living without money.

On Thursday, we did a Listening Test (which was a bit complicated, I know), we learnt some complicated numbers and figures and WE CELEBRATED THANKSGIVING!! Thank you, Taran, for your explanations and everything. It was a pity we had some technical problems, but in the end I think we had a good time together.

Here you have a video that Taran wanted to show. It is from the film the Addam's Family Values, and it shows a play about Thanksgiving.



Here you have the script in case you don't understand something:

Amanda/Sarah Miller: I am so glad we invited the Chippewas to join us for our holiday meal. Remember, these savages are our guests.
Amanda/Sarah Miller: We must not be surprised at any of their strange customs. After all, they have not had our advantages, such as fine schools, libraries full of books, shampoo…
Wednesday/Pocahontas:: How! I am Pocahontas, a Chippewa maiden.
Mr. Buckman: An Indian.
Mrs. Buckman: Enough said.
Joel/Running Bear: And I am Running Bear, betrothed to Pocahontas. Only in the play.
Stella: Twenty grand for summer camp, he’s Mr. Woo-woo.
Wednesday/Pocahontas:: We have brought a special gift for this holiday feast.
Pugsley/Turkey:: I am a turkey. Kill me!
Amanda/Sarah Miller: What a thoughtful gift! Why, you are as civilized as we, except we wear shoes and have last names.
Amanda/Sarah Miller: Welcome, to our table, our new primitive friends!
Wednesday/Pocahontas:: Thank you, Sarah Miller! You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. Your hair is the color of the sun, your skin is the color of fresh milk, and everyone loves you.
Amanda/Sarah Miller: Stop! Sit!
Wednesday/Pocahontas (losing her smile and suddenly changing to her old voice): Wait.
Amanda: What?
Wednesday/Pocahontas:: We cannot break bread with you.
Amanda: Huh? Becky, what’s going on?
Becky (whispering): Wednesday!
Wednesday/Pocahontas:: You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now, my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans and drink highballs. We will sell our bracelets by the roadsides. You will play golf, and enjoy hot hors d’oeurves. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will have stick shifts. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They have said, “Do not trust the Pilgrims – especially Sarah Miller.”
Amanda: Gary, she’s changing the words.
Wednesday/Pocahontas:: And for all these reasons, I have decided to scalp you, and burn your village to the ground.
The Indians yell battle cries, and two on each side swing down on ropes. They grab Amanda while the others run around stage, setting fire to the Pilgrim houses.
Becky: Children! Campers!
Gary: Stop it! You’re destroying my text!
They pay no attention. They continue to burn houses, shooting flaming arrows into the roofs. The parents look at each other, wondering what’s going on. The Indians tie Amanda to a stake. In the audience, Joel’s parents discuss him.




My special thanks to Tíscar, whose pie was delicious. Tíscar, you are an extraordinary cook!

As homework, you have to continue studying the Present Perfect Tense with handouts 15 and 16 and with the activities in unit 2A in the workbook. You can also do the activities on page 133 (2A). Try to write your own rules which explain the difference between present perfect and past simple tenses.

See you on Tuesday!

Tenth week

Hi there again,

Last week we were revising quantifiers.We were talking about ways to improve our city, and we made four different political parties in class. You made political campaings. Congratulations to Auxi and Verónica, who will be excellent mayoresses. They promised to soundproof all pubs and bars in the city among other measures.

We finished unit 5A, so now you can finish all the activities in the workbook.
We also started unit 2A in the book. We revised vocabulary related to money as well as the phonetic transcriptions of some words (Book, page 147).

We introduced the differences between the Present Perfect Tense and the Past Simple tense.

Homework: - handouts 15 and 16 to practise present perfect.
- reading on page 22.

Next week, on Thursday, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. If you like history, here you can read about the origins of this celebration at the beginning of the 17th century. It is about the relationship between the Puritans and the native Americans. I recommend you to read it, as it is quite interesting!

See you in class next Tuesday!

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Hi everyone,

Next Wednesday we celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Here you have a listening activity related to this topic.

Ninth week

Hi everyone,

This week we revised personality adjectives with Taran, and we studied quantifiers. How are you getting on with them?

Here you have the key to handout 14 and Revise and Check Unit 1 (the green pages (18-19) in the book.

You have a quiz on quantifiers here.

For homework, you had to do handout 14, pages 18 and 19 in the book, and exercises in the workbook related to quantifiers (Unit 5A)

See you in class!