Hotel stuff. At the airport. Dates and big numbers.

Hello

Here´re some useful links for listening and vocabulary:

At the hotel Video 1
At the airport Video 2

Big numbers in English Video 3
Saying the dates in English Video 4

Days and Dates in English - Practice and Listening

Hotels Exercises:
Task 1

Hotels and Airports:
List of exercises


Enjoy!!!

02-04/06. Tuesday-Thursday

Hey! It´s been a long time I last saw you, guys! As we´re not progressing, I can´t post any useful material for you.

So, anyway, here´re some good links to practise your listening skills:
Around the World BBC link
Pronunciation Link

One more link of UK - it´s climate and geography:
Video Link

Some grammar - here´s a link with some exercises on the topic - Comparative Structures:
Grammar Link

Enjoy!
Hope to see you all this week!!!

Tuesday-Thursday 19-21/05

Hello

This week we learnt the names of the animals (wild, farm and pets). Let´s revise their names:
Names of the animals Video

Also we learnt their parts of the body:
a beak, antlers, horns, paws, claws etc.
Animal Body Video

Listen to the description of the animals and guess what animals they are:
Listening animals

What is your favourite animal? Why? Can you describe it? Listen to some people talking about their favourite animals:
My favourite animal Listening

We also watched a short video about an Animal Shelter in London. Watch the video again and do the online exercises:
Animal Shelter Video

This week we also started a new topic "Protecting the Planet" and learnt some new vocabulary:
recycling, decompose, battery, methane, landfill, greenhouse effect etc.

Some grammar questions: comparative structures (as...as, not as/so ...as):
Ben is as tall as his brother.
Madrid is as beautiful as Barcelona.
Jane is not so clever as her sister. (Her sister is cleverer than Jane)

(much + comparative + than):
Dogs are much friendlier than cats.

Grammar Exercise

Tuesday-Thursday 5-7/05

Hello

We´ve started a new topic "The World Around Us" and learnt a lot of new words (a mountain, a cliff, a stream, an ocean, a sea, a swamp, a lake, a hill, a desert etc.)

Let´s revise the vocabulary! Watch a video and repeat the words:
Video Link "Nature"

We watched a short video about Natural Parks in Britain.
Here´s a link:
Countryside is Great Video

If you´re interested in practising some more listening on the topic - here´s part 2 of the video:
Countryside is Great Video 2

We learnt some new adjectives to describe nature landscapes: majestic, scenic, rolling, sweeping, fantastic, peaceful, lovely etc.

As for grammar - we talked about article "the" with geographical names:

Exercises to practise:
Grammar Link 1
Grammar Link 2

Trimester III. Tuesday-Thursday 14-16/04

Hello!

This week we´ve started a new topic "Weather" and learnt a lot of new words:
sunny, hot, rainy, foggy, windy, drought, flood, thunderstorm, warm, showers etc.

What´s the weather like today?
It´s sunny and warm.
There are no clouds in the sky. 
There´s a thunderstorm.

Practise with the video "Weather" and online exercises 
Link 1 and Link 2.

What´s the weather like today? Cold and sunny...


We also read and listened to the weather forecast. Do you remember parts of the world (north, south, east and west)?
Look at the picture.

We usually say:
in the east/west/north/south of Spain...

Here are some new words and expressions we learnt:
dry spell (a period of dry weather)
sunny spell (a period of sunny weather)
wet spell (a period of rains)
heavy showers/rain
strong wind etc.

Watch these short videos and pay attention to the weather words:
Video 1
Video 2 + exercises
Exercise on weather forecast

We also started a new topic "Future Life". What will life in future be like?

We did some predicitons using the expressions some words:
air cars, nutrition pills, space station vacations, smart fridge etc.

Here we´re talking about future and for that we need to use Future Simple. 
We form it with the help of the verb "will" + Infinitive:

I will (I´ll) have a car in 10 years.
 
You will (you´ll)
he/she/it will (he´ll/she´ll/it´ll)
we will (we´ll)
you will (you´ll)
they will (they´ll)

Visit this page and do the exercises with Future Simple.

Classes 18-20. Tuesday-Tuesday 10-17/03

Hello

These weeks we continued talking about clothes, shopping and wearing clothes. We learnt some useful expressions like phrasal verbs, in this topic we have plenty of them:
put on
take off
try on
throw out
wear out etc.

Remember! We can use an object between the verb and preposition or after them if it´s a noun:
Can I try a jacket on? or Can I try on a jacket?

But: If it´s a pronoun, we always use it between the verb and preposition:
I´d like to try it on. Throw them out. 

We also watched a video about Camden Market in London and revised some vocabulary. You can watch all parts of it and study the Language Focus as well:
Camden Market Video

Also we learnt some grammar - Comparative and Superlative degrees of the adjectives.
Here´s a list of exercises, choose any you´d like to practise and do them online:
Comparatives and Superlatives

In our dialogues we were using one and ones, we also revised this/that and these/those:
One/ones exercise

Here´re some more listenings that could be useful for you - Shopping for Clothes and Comparing places.

Have a nice weekend and enjoy tomorrow´s day off!!!

Classes 16-17. Tuesday-Thursday 3-5/03

Hello

It´s been some time since I posted a blog for you. So, here we go!

We´ve started a new topic "Shopping for clothes" with our new super book!

We learnt some vocabulary related to Clothes/Accessories: shorts, a skirt, a slip, high heeled shoes, panties/knickers, pants/trousers, socks, flip flops, a nightdress/gown, a jacket, a sweater etc.

Watch these videos, repeat and learn the words:
Video "Clothes"
Video "Clothes Vocabulary"

Check this list of exercises and do those you like.

What do you usually wear when you go to the party/work/beach?
I usually wear a dress and high heeled shoes ...
I usually wear trousers and a blouse ...
I usually wear a bikini and flip flop sandals ...

We´ve also been practising different expressions "Buying at the clothes shops". We´ve learnt some useful phrases:
Can I have ..., please?
I´d like ... .
Where can I find ...?
I´m searching for/looking for ... .
Can I help you?
Would you like anything else? etc.

We practised them in different shopping situations. Watch the videos and practise saying the phrases:
Video "Shopping for clothes"

Also we learnt some expression "Agree", "Disagree" and "Not sure":
Hmmm, I´m not sure.
Absolutely!
No way! etc.

Here´s a link with some expressions and listening. There a lot of them, write out those you like, repeat them with the speaker:

Listening Expressions

Do your homework and enjoy your weekend!

Classes 12-13. Tuesday-Monday 17-19/02

Hello

These two weeks only two students were present at the classes. Hope you´re ok and going to continue.

So, we practised mainly Present Perfect:

We learnt some new adverbs that we use with Present Perfect - since and for:
I´ve lived here since last winter (Christmas, 1998, I was four, Monday etc.).
He´s known his friend for years and years (ages, three years, a week etc.).

A small exercise for you to practise for and since. 

Also we practised different expressions and questions:

How long have you worked here?
How many books have you read?
It´s the best film I´ve ever seen.

But: When did you go to Paris?

Practise more:
Exercise Present Perfect

Also we learnt some collocations with TAKE and GET:
Take a taxi, take an exam, it takes a long time, take photos etc.
Get wet, get married, get cold, get on/off the bus, get to work etc.
Common Collocations

You can choose from the list the exercises you want to practise:
Present Perfect 

We also started talking about travelling exeperience and learnt some new expressions:
to stay in a hotel, to relax by the pool, to try local food, to do the tour, to see the sights etc.

Your homework is to revise the vocabulary and grammar, finish all the exercises.

Classes 8-9. Tuesday-Thursday 03-05/02

Hello

We´ve learnt when we use Present Perfect and Past Simple:
I´ve been to France.
I went there last year. I went with my family. We had a good time.

We´ve practised the phrase: Have you ever been to...? You´ve been talking about your holidays in different countries and experiences.



We´ve been pracising Past Participle form of the verbs. We still have some problems with the pronunciation.

Here´s a video, watch a repeat after the speaker the irregular verbs. Pay attention to the pronunciation:
Irregular Verbs Video


And we learnt a new thing related to Present Perfect: yet, just and already.
Have you packed your suitcase yet? - Yes, I´ve just done it.
Have you cleaned your room yet? - No, I haven´t done it yet.
I have already sent an e-mail.

If you would like to practise more visit this site.


Your homework is to read the text about the Glastonbury Festival and do the exercises in the copy.

Classes 6-7. Tuesday-Thursday 27-29/01

Hello! Have you studied hard? Have you done all your homework?
You see? I´m using ... Present Perfect!

We also learnt two types of adjectives (ed/ing) and the difference between them: -ed adjectives express the feeling or state of a person; -ing adjectives describe the thing/person.
The film was very boring, I was really annoyed to waste 10 euros on it.

Here´s a couple of links to practise the adjectives - Link 1 and Link 2.
Watch a video "-ed vs -ing adjectives" and learn the new words!

We started talking about "Experiences" in our lives. We need to use Present Perfect to talk about the exeperience we´ve had or done.

We are NOT interested in time, rather in the fact of something that happened (WHAT not WHEN).

That´s why the time is usually not stated.

I´ve ridden an elephant. I´ve been to Guatemela etc.

We use Pr.Perf. to talk about our experience:
I have read two books.
I have been to nine different countries.
Have you ever ridden a camel?

Practise Pr.Perf. here, ask and answer the questions.

We need to know well the Past Participle of the verbs (especially irregular verbs).

Here´s a list of the exercises to practise Past Participle:

Past Participle Exercises

Your homework: study the copy with grammar and do online exercises.

Classes 4-5. Tuesday-Thursday 20-22/01

Hello! How´re you?

Today we had "totally English speaking" class. You´ve been practising past tense in speaking.

So, we´ve revised Past Simle (regular and irregular verbs) sentences and questions:
What did you do yesterday? - I watched TV.
Did you work last weekend? - No, I didn´t.

We also revised the irregular verbs and played "football". It was really fun! Mind please the pronunciation!

We also did some reading and practised asking and answering questions, then you were using them in your conversations:
What did you do yesterday?
Did you go to the concert yesterday?
Did you go to the party? Did you go swimming? etc.

Remember the time expressions we use with Past Simple (yesterday, last week/weekend/month/year, yesterday morning/afternoon/evening, 2 years ago, in 1992/summer/June etc.)

You can watch the video with regular verbs once again - Past Simple Regular Verbs.

We also revised irregular verbs (you can find the list of irregular verbs in Aula Virtual). Here´re two links to practise irregular verbs - Link 1 and Link 2.


Here´s a link of a webpage where there are lots of exercises with Past Simple in case you want to practise!





We revised the ordinal numbers (one-the first, two- the second, three-the third etc.).

We use ordinal numbers to say the dates: April, 3 (the third of April or April the third) and we use preposition "on" when we want to say that something happened this day:
My birthday is on the first of August.

Practise saying and writing the dates in this website. 

In the class we were talking about different American and British holidays. Here´s a good webpage where you can read about the history of some holidays and watch videos - History of the Holidays.




Your homework is to write a short biography about a famous person using Past Simple! Good luck!

Here´s the link to the webpage "Famous People" where you can listen to the audio and read short texts about famous people´s biographies.

Classes 2-3. Tuesday-Thursday 13-15/01

Hello there!

This week we´ve been revising and practising Past forms (was/were and could/couldn´t):
Where were you yesterday? - I was at work.
What could you do when you were 5? - I could read and swim when I was 5.

We´ve been talking about Prodigy Children. Why were they so special? What could they do in their young age? Visit this site "Top 10 Child Prodigies" and find out more about them.




We also started revising Past Simple with regular verbs. We practised the pronunciation of them:
worked, stopped, kissed, washed - /t/
lived, opened, cleaned, loved - /d/
started, decided, greeted, prided - /id/

For some more pronunciation practice watch the video "Regular Verbs" and repeat the words aloud.

Your homework: to do grammar exercises and revise irregular verbs.

Trimester II. Thursday 08/01

Hello
I´m happy to see you again at our classes. Hope you had some rest and enjoyed your holidays!

We´ve started a new topic "Super Me" and learnt some grammar (can/can´t expressing ability):
Can you swim? - Yes, I can/No, I can´t.

Remember the pronunciation of "can/can´t" - in affirmative sentences and questions "can" is unstressed, while in short answers and negative it´s always stressed!

Here´s a nice video "What can you do?" where you can listen and practise the "can" expressions.

We´ve also learnt some adverbs that express how well we can do something (not at all, quite well, really well, brilliantly, a little bit, very well).

Your homework is to write sentences about you - What can you do and how well?