What are your family doing at the moment?

My husband is working at the moment. Perhaps he is sending an email or talking with a client. My children are playing with their toys in the living-room.

My parents are in their house and I'm sure they are watching TV while my sister and my brother are working.

What are your family doing???

Tell me in a comment ;-)

Remember to use the present continuous to talk about actions that are happening at the moment we are speaking.

Take a seat & make a friend

I came accross this video on the internet and I remembered we talked about friends in unit 1. Here you have a new way of making friends...

What do you think about it?

TOPIC: FRIENDS

You have many things to practise the topic of Friends. On my blog you can find the following:

1. A video podcast talking about friends and how we keep in touch with them.

2. An entry with two different videos of people answering the quesion: "What makes a good friend?"

3. A short video about best friends.

4. A video with an original idea to make friends.

5. An entry called "A friend in need is a friend indeed"

6. The best moments of the TV series Friends

Lots of resources to practise your listening. I hope you find it useful.

TOPIC: FAMILY

To practise the topic of family you have the following resources:

1. The song "We are family"

2. A video to revise family vocabulary

3. An entry on the TV series Modern Family

4. The podcast : Richard's family

5. An entry about the British Royal Family

6. A listening about British Royal Family

Oral Presentations

When we make an oral presentation the planning time is vital. If you use your time correctly you will be prepared and relaxed for speaking.

In your planning time you will plan:

1. The structure

The structure will always be the same:

• introduction (OR opening paragraph)
• body
• conclusion (OR closing paragraph)

2. The content

The content will vary according to what you are asked to speak about, but alway think about what you are going to say and organise your ideas.

Write key words to help you develop your ideas later. Do not write full sentences, that is a waste of time and they will confuse you when you are speaking.

3. The language

Think about useful vocabulary, expressions, verb tenses, etc. you will need according to what you are going to say.

If you don't know a word, look for a synonym or try to paraphrase it. 
If you don't know how to say something, change your information or omit that part.


For homework you have to talk about your favorite photo. 

Your notes should have an aspect similar to this:



STRUCTURE & IDEAS

Introduction

photo with my husband & daughters

in the swimming pool at Costa Los Gigantes 

Body

long weekend with the family

games with the children in the swimming pool

meal all together

great time

Conclusion

no special place, on my laptop

love it, smiley faces, happy photo, fantastic weekend


USEFUL LANGUAGE

there is/ there are

adjectives to describe the physical appearance

present tenses: past simple & continuous

prepositions of place

Prepositions of Place: practice

1. Complete the sentences with in / at / on.

1. Don't sit _______ the grass. It's wet.
2. What have you got _______ your bag?
3. Look! There's a man _______ the roof. What's he doing?
4. There are a lot of fish _______ this river.
5. Our house is number 45 -the number is _______ the door.
6. Is the post office near here?     Yes, turn left _______ the traffic lights.
7. It's difficult to park _______ the city centre. It's better to take the bus.
8. My sister lives _______ Brussels.
9. There's a small park _______ the top of the hill.
10. I think I heard the doorbell. There's somebody _______ the door.
11. Munich is a large city _______ the south of Germany.
12. There are a few shops _______ the end of the street.
13. It's difficult to carry a lot of things _______ a bicycle.
14. I looked at the list of names. My name was _______ the bottom.
15. There is a mirror _______ the wall _______ the living room.


2. Complete the sentences with in / at / on.

1. Helen is studying law _______ university.
2. There was a big table _______ the middle of the room.
3. What is the longest river _______ the world?
4. Where there many people _______ the concert last night?
5. Will you be _______ home tomorrow afternoon?
6. Who is the man _______ this photograph? Do you know him?
7. Where are your children? Are they _______ school?
8. Gary is coming by train. I'm going to meet him _______ the train station.
9. Charlie is _______ hospital. He had an operation yesterday.
10. How many pages are there _______ this book?
11. Are you hungry after your journey?    No, I had something to eat _______ the train.
12. I'm sorry I'm late. My car broke down _______ the way here.
13. Is Tom here?      No, he's _______ his brother's.
14. Don't believe everything you see _______ the newspaper!
15. I walked to work, but I came home _______ the bus.











ANSWER KEY:
1)

1. on 2. in 3. on 4. in 5. on 6. at 7. in 8. in 9. at 10. at 11. in 12. at 13. on 14. at 15. on, in

2)

1. at 2. in 3. in 4. at 5. at 6. in 7. at 8. at 9. in 10. in 11. on 12. on 13. at 14. in 15. on. 

  

Prepositions of place: in, at, on

Prepositions of Place At_on_in by LauGalindo

Complete the sentences with the correct preposition in, at, on.

1. The children are playing _____ the park.
2. I love having lunch _____ the garden.
3. I'll wait for you _____ the bus stop.
4. I love that painting _____ the wall.
5. There too many things _____ that cupboard.
6. I think I left my mobile phone _____ my desk, but I can't find it.
7. My bags are _____ my bedroom.
8. I met him yesterday _____ the cinema.
9. I'll pick you up _____ the airport at six.
10. We live _____ the second floor.


Click here if you want to practise a bit more.




















ANSWER KEY:

1. in
2. in
3. at
4. on
5. in
6. on
7. in
8. at
9. at
10. on

Present Continuous

Present Continuous

The importance of writing

Hello everyone,

This is a quick post about writing to remind you about its importance. 

In class we normally focus on speaking and listening because these are the skills you need the most. However, we cannot overlook the importance of writing.

You normally practise writing at home when you do the grammar activities, answer the reading comprehension questions or when you do a composition. In class we hardly ever write and, when we do, is normally very small things. For this reason you need to write more. You need to find opportunities to learn new things and revise the language you already know and writing is a good method.

Writing gives you a good opportunity to learn new words, revise the words you already know and expand your knowledge of them. Writing also helps you to practise grammar structures and patterns studied at the previous lessons. In addition, the more you practise the better you write. By practising writing your reading, listening and speaking skills also improve.

All the works you hand in are marked and corrected very accurately for you to learn from your mistakes, but sometimes you need to write just for the sake of writing and communicating and this is what you need to do more. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes, it doesn't matter if your text isn't perfect, the simple fact of writing will activate your knowledge and this will help you learn and fix the structures in your brain.

Try to find opportunities to write (and therefore learn):

1. Write your shopping list in English

2. Write your "To do list" in English

3. Text or whatsapp your friends in English

4. Write the comments in our Facebook group in English

5. Write comments to my blog entries (this is particularly useful because you always have a writing sample that you can copy so it's an excellent opportunity to revise the language we've seen in class)

Can you think of other ways of improving your writing?

Do you reckon you will start writing more in English from now on?

Present Simple

Let's start the year by making sure we all know how to speak about our daily routines. For this, we need to use the present simple. You already studied the present simple last year in Basic 1, but let's refresh it, study the notes and watch the videos below.

Present Simple

Present Simple for routines

How to make questions in the present simple

Now practise your grammar by writing a comment to my post What do you usually do on Saturdays?

What do you usually do on Saturdays?

I don't work on Saturday, so I like to have a lazy morning on Saturdays. I usually get up about 8 o'clock when my children wake up ;-P . I give them their breakfast and my husband goes to buy some bread. We have breakfast together and then I cook some lunch while I listen to music and my husband does some housework. Then, we always go for a walk or we take the kids to the park. 
We feed the kids and then we have lunch around 2 pm, while the girls sleep we watch a film. We often have lunch with our family. In the afternoon we go to the swimming-pool or to the beach. We sometimes meet our friends or invite them to have dinner at home.




What do you usually do on Saturdays???

Tell me in a comment :-)


Remember to use the present simple to speak about routines and use the frequency adverbs to say how often you do something.

Liverpool Football Club

A few days ago in class we listened to a podcast about Liverpool Football Club. You can download the podcast and the activities here so you can practise at home.

Do you like football? Do you ever watch football on TV? What about Liverpool FC? Do you know anything about them?


We will now do a little activity about Liverpool FC so you will have to look for some practical details in their website.

First all go to their website and familiarise with it. On the top menu, go to the "Team" section.

Can you find the following information?

1. How tall is Steven Gerrard?

2. How heavy is Henderson?

3. Where about England was Lambert born?

4. Which position does Jones play?

5. When was Lucas born?

6. What nationality is Allen?

7. How many goals has Johnson scored?

8. Who is the manager?

9.What is Can's first name?

10. What is Borini's squad number?




Do you follow the Premier League? Do you know any other English teams?

Tell me in a comment ;-)






ANSWERS:
1. 1.83 m
2. 67 kg
3. Kirkby
4. Goalkeeper
5. 09/01/1987
6. Welsh
7. 8
8. Brendan Rodgers
9. Emre
10. 29

Coffee OR tea??

What do you prefer coffee or tea?


Listen to some people answering this question:

I'm a coffee person! I like drinking my coffee every morning in front of the computer, but sometimes I also enjoy a nice cup of tea.

What about you??

Personality Adjectives

What do you call a person who....?

• talks a lot
• is quick at learning and understanding things
• doesn't want to work
• is open and warm
• doesn't talk much
• who works a lot
• isn't friendly
• doesn't like sharing things with other people
• makes people laugh
• can't talk easily to people they don't know

Check your notes and correct your answers ;-)

Word order in questions

Hello everyone,

Next week we will work on Unit 1A. To get ready for that this is what I want you to do:

• Go through the notes below about Word order in questions
• Do the activities on the document
• Do the activities from the Student's Book page 5, excercise 2a and 2b.

Word Order in Questions by LauGalindo

We will practise in class once you have studied the grammar at home.

Have a nice weekend!!





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I'm Yours - Jason Mraz

Hi,

This is the song we listened to in class the other day, maybe you felt like singing along in class ;-) Well, this is your opportunity, get the activity we did in class so you have the lyrics and watch the video.

Pay attention to how he pronounces the words and enjoy the song!!!!

Time to sing!!!!

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English File Third Edition Pre-Intermediate, Oxford

Hi everyone,

Just a quick post to let you know the book we will be using this year, English File Third Edition, Pre-Intermediate, Oxford.

In class we'll mostly use the Student's Book, but you have much more material to work on. 

The textbook comes with a workbook full of activities. I will tell you work on the workbook at home every time we finish a file (unit). 

You also have an Entry Checker to revise the grammar from the previous year, Basic 1 level. Click here to download the audios for the Entry Checker activities. Click here to download the answer keys for the activities so you can correct them at home.

Besides, you have the iTutor, a DVD cointaining all the material you see in class which means if you miss a lesson you can review everything at home and you can even download some of the content.

On top of all the previous material you have Oxford's website which you can visit if you still want supplementary material.

To finish, you have a learning record and a vocabulary calendar so you can follow up your learning progress.


I hope you find all this information useful.



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I am what I am - Gloria Gaynor

1. Watch the video and listen to Gloria Gaynor singing I am what I am.

2. Now listen again and complete the blanks with a word from the list. 

Listen to the song twice and try to fill in all the blanks.

 strong     needs (x2)     think      true     sometimes (x2)     want     open     somebody     see 

I am what I am
I don't want praise I don't (1)________ pity
I bang my own drum
Some (2)________ it's noise I think it's pretty
And so what if I love each sparkle and each bangle
Why not try to (3)________  things from a different angle
Your life is a shame
Do you can shout out I am what I am
Do you can shout out I am what I am

I am what I am
And what I am (4)________  no excuses
I deal my own deck
Sometimes the aces (5)________  the deuces
It's one life and there's no return and no deposit
One life so it's time to (6)________  up your closet
Life's not worth a dam till you can shout out
I am what I am
I am what I am

I am what I am
And what I am (7)________  no excuses
I deal my own deck sometimes the aces (8)________  the deuces
It's one life and there's no return and no deposit
One life so it's time to (9)________  up your closet
Life's not worth a dam till you can shout out
I am what I am

I am I am (10)________ 
I am I am strong
I am I am somebody
I am I do belong 
I am I do belong 

I am I am useful
I am I am (11)________ 
I am I am worthy
I am as good as you
I am as good as you

I am I am good
I am I am strong
I am I am (12)________ 
I am I do belong

2. Now check your answers in this video where you can read the lyrics.

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Who's your teacher? ;-)

By now, you must be wondering who is my teacher??



Well, I started teaching when I was 21. I have always worked with adults. First, I I worked in the Academy of the Civil Guard in Madrid and after that I worked in a private academy teaching courses in-company for professionals and militaries.

I have been teaching at EOIs for six years now and I have worked  in different Schools. 


This is my third year in EOI La Orotava. In landed here by chance because I was offered to be the Head of Studies. After that I became the Director of the School. I could not refuse this opportunity and I am happy it has given me the chance to settle down in a school, take on new challenges and develop new projects. The Official School of Languages of La Orotava it's a nice place to work and study. I hope you enjoy it!


I am looking forward to knowing what this school year holds for me and I am very happy to be where I am now.

I hope you enjoy the lessons as much as I do!!

COURSE OBJECTIVES

BÁSICO 2 (Nivel A2 del Marco Común Europeo)

Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).

Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.

Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate basic need.

Listening

I can understand phrases and the highest frequency vocabulary related to areas of most immediate personal relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local area, employment). I can catch the main point in short, clear, simple messages and announcements.

Reading

I can read very short, simple texts. I can find specific, predictable information in simple everyday material such as advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables and I can understand short simple personal letters.

Spoken interaction

I can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar topics and activities. I can handle very short social exchanges, even though I can’t usually understand enough to keep the conversation going myself.

Spoken production

I can use a series of phrases and sentences to describe in simple terms my family and other people, living conditions, my educational background and my present or most recent job.

Writing

I can write short, simple notes and messages relating to matters in areas of immediate need. I can write a very simple personal letter, for example thanking someone for something. 

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