Sunday 29 November 2009

NI 1: Module 6. Lesson 5: The Best of friends

*** Writing
lesson 5: The Best of friends: 30th November week
(Suggested writing: "My ideal friend" or "My best friend")


(Courtesy of owner: AngineCora)

*** Do you want to see what we have from last year?
CLICK HERE


*** Queen: You are my best friend

*** Don Williams: You are my best friend

NI 2: Module 8. Lesson 4: We came to America


The Mayflower

Read this text and choose the best answer for each gap:

The Mayflower brought the first group of Pilgrims to North America 1)________1620. The Mayflower got under way from Plymouth, England, 2)_______ September 16, 1620. The ship was headed for Virginia, 3)_________ the colonists had been authorized to settle.
4)________ a result of stormy weather and navigational errors, the vessel failed to make good its course, and finally, the Mayflower rounded the end of Cape Cod and dropped anchor off the site of present-day Provincetown, Massachusetts.
No 5)_________ knows exactly what the ship looked like, but it was probably about 27 m (90 ft) long, had three masts and two decks, and probably weighed about 180 tons.
On December 21, an area having 6)___________ selected, the Pilgrims disembarked from the Mayflower near the head of Cape Cod and founded Plymouth Colony, the first permanent settlement in New England.

1. A. after B. in C. before
2. A. on B. in C. at
3. A. which B. whose C. where
4. A. For B. As C. In
5. A. people B. persons C. one
6. A. been B. being C. be

The ship above is the Mayflower. Click on the word if you wish to read about its history and you can also check your answers there or below.


Key: 1. B (in) 2. A (on)3. C(where)4. B (as) 5.C (one) 6.A (been)



*** Now, you can have a look at what we have from last year.


CLICK HERE


*** Suggested composition:
Writing: "What do you know about America and its people?"

*** Listening:
http://gloriafeoi.blogspot.com/2009/11/unit-4-we-came-to-america.html

*** Grammar:
MODAL VERBS

*** Modals: ability

*** Modals - Probability and Certainty

*** Modals - Possibility

More interesting things at http://thelecturette.com/

Sunday 22 November 2009

NI 2: Module 8. Lesson 3: Many people, many backgrounds


*** First you can have a look at what we have from last year:

CLICK HERE



*** Listening. Fill in the gaps of this extract from the BBC as you listen to it. First, select, copy and paste the exercise into word, or open a new window of the blog so that you have one window with the audio and another with the exercise:

1) Both the authorities and human rights groups have ____________that .....

2) ... the local governor has blamed the unrest on _______________.

3) His remarks are ___________to be welcomed ...

4) Last week, two local men were _______________ in a brawl.

5)...went on the rampage attacking businesses ______________ to traders from the Caucasus.

6)..... the tension is ________________to other parts of the region.

7)White supremacist groups in Russia have openly ______________ attacks ....

8)... but the numbers _________________ in the latest unrest appear....


NOW LISTEN HERE


Now, you can listen to it and read the transcript in its original source. You can also read and learn more about the vocabulary he uses. First, you can check your answers below:
KEY: 1)warned )migrants 3)likely 4)killed 5)belonging 6)spreading 7)encouraged 8)involved

CLICK HERE




*** Mixed race:Watch this documentary in the BBC. You can also read the comments below the video.

*** Pangea Day -- May 10th 2008


*** More about it:
http://www.pangeaday.org/pangeadayFilms.php

NI 1: Module 6. Lesson 4: Stereotypes

*** First, you can have a look at what we have from last year.

CLICK HERE


*** More practice to describe people.

CLICK HERE


*** Listening. listen to Richard Cook talking about stereotypes:
Relationships

*** Now, listen again and fill in the gaps of these uncomplete sentences with the exact word he says:

STEREOTYPES
(by Richard Cook)

1) .... we end up ____________ action based on them before we find out.....

2) Stereotypes tend to be ______________ and rather broad.

3)... you will find that _________________ the majority of the population ...

4)But there will always be people at the _______________ who will be ....

5)I think probably the best ___________ to say is to make broad generalisations

6)... because ______________ is fluid, it changes ....

7) ....they may spend periods of time ___________ themselves.

KEY:
1)taking 2)outdated 3)broadly 4)edges 5)thing 6)culture 7)abroad

*** Check this link: SPANISH STEREOTYPES
(http://mariajesusbfe.blogspot.com/2009/11/spanish-stereotypes.html)

Saturday 14 November 2009

NI 1: Module 6. Lesson 3: Gossip


*** First, you can have a look at what we have from last year.
CLICK HERE


*** Fancy watching the official trailer of "Gossip girl"?

NI 2: Module 8. Lesson 2: Earth matters



*** First, you can have a look at what we have from last year:

CLICK HERE

*** Watch: A BBC documentary about our planet

*** Watch: The Eden Project
Click here to see and/or print a transcription of the video.

*** Listening. Fill in the gaps: Recycling in Britain

*** Listening/Reading: The green party (You can read the text while you are watching the video)

*** Writing: Composition for this week

Monday 9 November 2009

NI 1: Module 6. Lesson 2: Food and diet

First, have a look at what we have from last year:

*** Food and diet

*** Have you ever heard about "teachers.tv"? If you have to teach your subject in English (P.E.,Maths, Geography, ICLT (Information Communication Learning Technologies), Science, English, etc.), you will find this page very useful. You can visit their main page:
http://www.teachers.tv/

Today, as we are dealing with "food", I have decided to include a link to a video about a chef and its students. Interesting to watch!
Have a look at it!


*** Are you a healthy eater?
Read the opinions and listen to the included BBC podcast. You can also read the tapescript (Remember that the opinions may be in broken English and that the tapescript is not 100% exact in correspondance to what the speakers say!)

PHOTOCOPY GIVEN IN CLASS

*** What is a low-carb diet?
Listen to this BBC podcast. Learn the new vocabulary. You can also read the tapescript (Remember that the tapescript is not 100% exact in correspondance to what the speakers say!)

*** Fit or fat?
Doctors in Britain are warning of an obesity time bomb, when children who are already overweight grow up. So, what should we do? Exercise more? Eat less? Or both? The government feels it has to take responsibility for this expanding problem.

Does this problem also happen in Spain? Discuss it in class. First, read the opinions of people who took part in the task at BBC web page. You can also search through the given related links.

HAVE A LOOK AT THIS PHOTOCOPY IF YOU CAN'T COME TO CLASS, but you'll need to go to the sources so as to listen to it. Try not to read the text before doing the listening task!
Original sources:
- Mediterranean diets keep you happier
- Fast food restaurant
- Joe's hamburger restaurant

NI 1: Module 6. Lesson 1: Holidays

First, have a look at what we have from last year:

*** Weather forecast

*** Travelling to India
( I just include a link to part one. There are several parts of this documentary, which you can go on watching if you fancy doing so!)

*** Listen, speak and write about Holidays (Several activities to do in class and/or on your own)

*** Madonna in the eighties!





You can fill in the gaps in this song:
(PHOTOCOPY GIVEN IN CLASS)

"Holiday"

Holiday Celebrate
Holiday Celebrate

[Chorus:]

If we took a holiday
Took some time to celebrate
Just one day out of 1)_______
It would be, it would be so nice

Everybody spread the 2)_______
We're gonna have a celebration
All across the 3)_________
In every nation
It's time for the good 4)_______
Forget about the bad times, oh yeah
One day to come 5)__________
To release the 6)____________
We need a holiday

[chorus]

You can turn this world 7)_________
And bring back all of those happy days
Put your 8)__________down
It's time to celebrate
Let love 9)________
And we will find
A way to come 10)_________
And make things better
We need a holiday

[chorus]

Holiday Celebrate
Holiday Celebrate

[chorus]

Holiday Celebrate
Holiday Celebrate

Holiday, Celebration
Come together in every nation

(Source:http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/madonna/holiday.html)

KEY: 1)life 2)word 3)world 4)times 5)together 6)pressure 7)around 8)troubles
9)shine 10)together

Wednesday 4 November 2009

NB 2: Correcting mistakes

As I told you in class, I have typed both your mistakes and their corrections, so that everybody can practise and remember what we did during that lesson we went through your compositions. Click on the image and you will see it in a bigger size!




If anybody wants to see it more accurately, or even print it for other students, I uploaded it: you can see the file below. (Or you can also click here to go to the page where I uploaded it: scribd.com):

Correcting Mistakes Oct09

You can also have a look at the corrections of more compositions, which were written by second year level students last year:
*** Click here.

Or watch it here or below:
Correct the Following Mistakes


You can also get started for lesson number 2:
*** Watch the video!

*** Sing this song and do the task in the photocopy I gave you in class!


Monday 2 November 2009

NI 2: Module 8. Lesson 1: Consumerism

Listening: Shopaholics

Activity about it in class. For those who didn't come to class yesterday, you can do it here:
Fill in the gaps as you listen to it. Look up the words you don't know:

SHOPAHOLICS

Kate: Hello and welcome to this week's 6 Minute English where and I'm joined again by Rebecca. Hi Rebecca. Well, when it comes to subject of money and shopping most of us have been 1) _______________ our belts over the last year or so. This is a phrase that means that we’ve been trying to spend less money than before.

Rebecca: Yes, but unfortunately many people have found this very difficult for various reasons and find themselves buying more than they can 2)___________ on a regular basis. In today's programme, we're going to try to understand why we spend money, our emotional response to it and the first step in how to control it.

Kate: So, how about you Rebecca – do your emotions control your finances or are you quite restrained in your spending?

Rebecca: Well, I'm quite good with money usually. But sometimes buying a new pair or shoes to make me feel better when I'm a bit 3) ______ or depressed.

Kate: Shopping can be a great way of forgetting our troubles. This is something which is sometimes called retail 4)_____________– shopping to make ourselves feel better. This is great when we have the money to spend freely but what happens when our spending gets out of control?

Rebecca: Well, we develop a debt culture. This is when people live off credit. They spend money they don’t actually have by using credit cards and 5)_______________ from the bank. Of course when people don’t have the ability to pay the money back then it can cause real problems.

Kate: Yes, sometimes people who spend a lot of money on things they don’t really need or can't afford are called shopaholics – these are people who are 6)______________ shoppers and simply can't stop themselves buying things…. which leads on to my question for this week. According to some sources, what percentage of the population are shopaholics? Is it:
a) 1%
b) 10%
c) 50%

Rebecca: answers

Kate: We'll check your answer at the end of the programme. Now we're going to here from a real shopaholic. She's called Helen Macnallan and when she lost her job, she found that her spending got out of control. Let’s listen to the type of things she bought:

Extract 1
At first I would buy expensive suits because I was 7)_____________ to get back to work. Then it went on to antique furniture for our house… that didn’t even fit in the house and that was £25,000 in a day. Then I bought diamond earrings which were £10,000. It was money we didn’t have. I feel sick thinking about it now but at the time I didn't realise why I was doing it.

Rebecca: Goodness – she said she bought expensive suits, antique furniture (that didn't fit into her house) and diamond earrings!!! And she said she didn't realise why she was doing it.

Kate: So why was she doing it? In the next extract she mentions the word selfesteem.What does this mean?

Rebecca: Self esteem is how you feel about yourself. If your self-esteem is high, then you feel good about yourself as a person and if it's low then you have a poor or a bad opinion of yourself.

Kate: And mood?

Rebecca: mood is the way you feel at a particular time.
Kate: Let's listen to the next extract. Try to listen out for the reasons why Helen
bought so many things?

Extract 2
There seemed to be a 8)_________________ between how down I was feeling and how much money I would spend. My shopping was a way of controlling my mood. My self-esteem was extremely low. We're all bombarded these days with pictures of happy successful, beautiful people with the latest handbag…the latest shoes and I thought that if I bought the same stuff as they were buying, then I would have that same happy, successful, beautiful feeling. But that feeling lasted for about as long as it took to pay for the item, to get it home and unwrap it.

Rebecca: She said shopping helped her control her mood. She felt 9)____________________ by pictures of happy successful people everywhere and thought if she bought the same things as them then she would be as happy and beautiful as them. But then unfortunately the feeling would only last until she got home! Oh dear!

Kate: I’m sure this feeling is very common. So if we’re guilty of doing this, how do we manage to stop and prevent ourselves spending more money that we should or indeed have?! Let’s listen to what a professional, Dr Graham Lawlor has to say. He uses the word leakage which means something which we lose or which disappears without us really noticing. What advice does he give?

Extract 4
You have to manage very, very carefully and you have to categorize what you're spending your money on and I recommend you literally go out with a piece of paper and a pencil and you write down everything and that way you can track the leakage. Because the majority of people are leaking 10)__________ and they don’t know where it goes and unless you record that, you're never going to know.

Rebecca: Mmm - some good advice there. He recommended that we write down everything we spend and then you can track where all your money is going.

Kate: We’re nearly at the end of our programme so now to the question I asked you earlier. What percentage of the population is a shopaholic?

Rebecca: And I said 50%.

Kate: Thankfully the answer is actually 10% which is still quite high. Moving on, let's go over some of the vocabulary we've heard in today's programme.

Rebeca: First we had the expression, tightening our belts, then retail therapy, debt culture, shopaholic and self-esteem, mood, and leakage.

Kate: Thanks Rebecca. Well, I’ll certainly be getting that pen and paper out next time I go shopping! What about you? That's all we've time for today. Thanks for joining us and until next week. Goodbye!

(Source: bbcenglish.com)
KEY:
1) tightening
2) afford
3) down
4) therapy
5) borrowing
6) compulsive
7) desperate
8) correlation
9) bombarded
10) cash



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