What would you do?

What would you do in these situations? think about it.

Your friend wants to get a part-time job in the evening but she is afraid of coming home in the dark. Write an email giving her some advice. Use the second conditional.

Judging by appearances

Hi,

These are some questions on profile pictures answered by Evan. Take note of useful expressions you want to use yourself. How about you? what would you say to this?

1. Do you have a profile photo of yourself which you use on social networking sites, or on your ID? Answer 1
2. Why did you choose it? Answer 2
3. What do you think the photo says about you? Answer 3
4. Do you have a picture of you when you were a child? Answer 4
5. Would you use the picture of you and a friend on Facebook or other social networking sites? Answer 5
6. Do you think people hide behind the screen? Answer 6

Updated: 21/04/17

The cinema

I'd like you to think about the answer to these questions. Then, listen to the aswers provided by the native speaker and take note of the vocabulary and expressions he used.

Can you think of a film which ...

• was incredibly funny? Porkey
• you've seen several times? Se7ven or Seven
• sent you to sleep? The last days on Mars is not worth watching
• had a very sad ending? Atonement 1 What is Atonement? Answer
• made you buy the soundtrack? Gladiator's Did you like Gladiator's ending? Answer

Do you prefer ...?

• seeing films at home or in the cinemas? Answer
• seeing American films, Spanish films or films from other countries? Answer
• seeing foreign films dubbed or with subtitles? Answer

Tell me about a really good film you've recently seen.

• Trainspotting 1
• Is it based on a book or on a real event? Answer
• Are sequels worse than the original movie? Answer

Is there ...

Hi,

Let us go back to when we were younger and think about these situations. Listen to the answers Evan gave on these as well:

Is there 

• a kind of food or drink you didn't use to like at all, but which you now like?
• a TV series you used to be addicted to? Why did you like it? Answer 1
• a singer or a kind of music you used to listen to a lot (but you don't any more)? Answer 2
• a sport or game you used to play a lot, but which you've given up?
• a place you used to go in the summer holidays, and you'd like to go back to? Answer 3
• a machine or gadget you used to use a lot, but which is now out of date? Answer 4

Why don't you think about three of the above and record yourself on soundcloud? 

Talk about your close friend

Hi,

These are the aswers Evan provided on the topic of a close friend. Listen to it again and take note of expressions you would like to use:

1 How long have you met your close friend?

2 How did you meet?

3 Why do you get on well?

                               Answer 1

4 Do you ever argue? What about?
5 How do you kee in touch?
                           Answer 2
6 How often do you meet?   Answer 3
7 Did you ever lose touch? Answer 4;
8 Do you think you'll stay friends for ever? Answer 5

VOCAB:

• down-to-earth
• pick up where you left off
• a former classmate

Facebook

After listening to people talking about Facebook, p.51 from the coursebook, think about it and try to answer these questions:

• Do you use Facebook or other social networking site? Answer
• Is using Facebook a way to hide behind the screen? Answer
• How do you feel about it?
• Can you really have 1,000 friends?
• Are social networks making us unhappy? 
• Do you agree with "people who spend a lot of time on Facebook become more dissatisfied with their own lives"? Answer
• Do you think Donald Trump won the election thanks to social media? Answer

Everyday dialogues

Hi,

These are basic dialogues that you may use in your interactions.

Listen to them and take notes:

Speakup everyday dialogues

Reviewing

IN PAIRS, TRY TO GIVE AN ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CLASS READER (20 marks)

1.  Can you name three important landmarks in New York?
2.    Do you remember any important person from Chicago?
3.    Can you name important writers from San Francisco?
4.    What is the nickname of San Francisco? And Chicago?
5.    Who were the first settlers in the USA?
6.    Where can you go for free to the beach?
7.    Can you explain the meaning of these expressions? (1,5 each)

• The roaring twenties
• Melting pot
• The Haight
• The Gold Rush
• The Big Easy
• Creole
• The Louisiana Purchase

8.    Can you place the following places in this map? (0’5 each)

New York                          

Chicago

New Orleans                    

Lake Michigan

San Francisco                   

Mississippi River

Los Angeles

Presentations in class Schedule (Monday & Wednesday group)

Presentations in class Schedule (Tuesday & Thursday group)

How to improve your spoken English!

Here are our 13 top tips for improving your spoken English.

Part I: Preparation
As part of improving your spoken English, you need to get used to producing English sounds. Here’s what you can do.

1 Read aloud
Take a short text (preferably one with an audio file to go with it) and read parts of it out loud. Later, you can compare your version to the original.

2 Repetition
Repeat key sentences and expressions over and over again until they become automatic. Very soon, you’ll have learnt lots of useful phrases you can use in real conversations.

3 Stories
Practise telling your favourite stories or anecdotes. Write them out first. Then, make notes and practise saying them to yourself or a friend. Later, you can use these stories or anecdotes in conversations.

4 Memory
Memorise typical phrases, expressions and sentences. A lot of the language we use when speaking consists of set expressions and chunks of language. For example, “That’s interesting! / I never knew that! / That must have been scary!”

5 Simultaneous speaking
Sing along to your favourite songs, or try to speak at the same time as the character in a video clip or an audio recording you’re familiar with. Simply press play and then start speaking along with the news presenter, actors, singers, etc.

6 Questions
Practise forming questions. Take a piece of text and make questions from sentences in the article or paragraph. For example, “She’s seen it. = Has she seen it?” Asking questions is a good way of participating in a conversation without having to say much.

7 Listening
Work on improving your listening skills so you can follow what people are saying. You can do this by listening to audio files from course books, watching films or TV series, listening to music or watching videos on YouTube. Spend at least 70% of your study time listening to English.

Expressing surprise

Here you can find some common expressions used to express surprise. Use them to react to these comments:

I'm getting married.

I passed all my exams.

That costs 300 pounds.

I lost my phone yesterday.

I saw your girlfriend kissing another guy yesterday.
I'm going to have a baby and it's yours.

1. That's amazing, impressive!
2. You're the best
3. Awesome (informal)
4. Wow!
5. Oh my god! (OMG)

EXPRESSING SURPRISE AND DISBELIEF
6. Unbelievable!
7. Incredible
8. Are yoy serious?

INFORMAL
9. Come on!
10. Are you kidding me?
11. Are you pulling my leg?
12. Is that a joke?
13.I can't believe it!
14. Really?
15. That's ridiculous!

Speaking

Why not think of a memorable meal? Prepare to talk about a meal you'll never forget

• Was it something you prepared or was it somebody else?
• When was it?
• Where?
• Who were you with? A family gathering? a friends' meeting?
• How was it cooked? 
• Describe the taste, smell and color

You may be inspired by this conversation about a Thanksgiving meal in Canada at elllo.org

For specific vocabulary visit these Language Guide links 

• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Food
• Food II
• Herbs
• Drinks

Talk about your job

Hi,

Here you can find some questions and expressions that may help you prepare for the speaking exercise in class on Thursday 7th and Monday 11th.

1. Do you have a job?

 If so:
 - What do you do in your current job?
 - What kind of job is it?
 - How did you get this job?
 - Is your job competitive ?
 - What opportunities does your job give?
 - Do you like your job?
 - Do you like your boss?
 - Do you like your colleagues?
 - Do you like the atmosphere in your workplace?
 - Is your job stressful?
 - Would you like to change anything in your job?
 - Do you have to work overtime? How often? Does your boss pay you more for overtime work?
 If not:
  - What was your last job?
 - What kind of job was it?
 - How did you get this job?
 - Was your job competitive?
 - What opportunities did your job give?
 - Did you like your job?
 - Did you like your boss?
 - Did you like your colleagues?
 - Was your job stressful?
 - Why don’t you work there anymore?
 - Are you looking for a new job?

2. At what age would you like to retire? What would you like to do after the retirement?

4. What was your first job? Did you like it?

5. When you were a child, what was your dream job?

6. What is your dream job now?

7. What do you think is the worst job?

8. Do people usually get jobs related to their educational background? How about you?

9. Does a university degree guarantee success in the future career?

10. What is the most important in your job?

11. Would you like to run your own business?

12. Is it better to work for someone else or be self-employed?

Speaking pairs for February exam

Monday and Wednesday group

Monday, February 22nd
18:30 Carmen P - Belén M

Wednesday, February 24th
18h      Gabriel G - Petra P
18:30   Pilar S  - Esther R

Monday, February 29
16:30  Violeta P - Gema C
17h     Carlos A - Antonia M
17:30  Mariano V - Jara Q
18h     Sandra P - Aser V
18:30  Soraya G - Vicente P

Wednesday, March 2
16:30  Juan Carlos C - Jesús G
17h     Juan Carlos M - Carmen G
17:30  Yolanda R - Alejandra G
18h     Cristina R - Manuel R
18:30  Cristina G - Agustín S

Tuesday and Thurday Group

 Thursday, Feb 25
18h      Sonsoles A - Olivier S
 18:30  David C - Matías M

Tuesday, March 1
16h     Inés G  - Horacio G
16:30  Eloísa D - Sheila R
17h     Pablo E - Alfonso P
17:30  Jorge G - Carolina D
18h     Maite G - Zarko J
18:30  Eva M - Margarita R

Thursday, March 3
16:30  Irene V - Marta M
17h     Marta Mayo - M.ª Luisa R
17:30  Kelly A - Laura G
18h     Asier M - Asunción E
18:30  Ana B - Gloria C

11 top tips for making small talk in English!

You may be able to give expert speeches, wonderful presentations and professional talks on topics of your choice, but can you make small talk*? There are times in life when you need to chat and make casual conversation. For example, as you’re waiting to be served in a shop, while you’re travelling in a bus or train, or while you’re sitting in the waiting room at a dental clinic. And in business, the social aspect of a business relationship is often as important as the professional one. Here are our top 11 tips for making small talk.

1. Listen!
The number-one rule when making small talk is to listen. Make a conscious effort to remember what the other person is saying. Then, you can use this information to generate more conversation.

2. Ask questions!
In order to keep the conversation going, ask lots of open questions with question words such as who, why, what, when and where. For example:
■ What did you think of the conference?
■ Where did you go for your last holidays?
■ Who did you see at the party last week?

How to complain in English

Hi,
In this sheet you can learn how to complain in English. You may listen to it as well.
Source: Hot English

Where Are We?

For today, a joke. Could you retell this joke below to someone? Take your time for it, practice, try to change voices.


Location of Louisiana in the US

A husband and wife were driving through Louisiana. When they were close to a town called Natchitoches, they started arguing about the pronunciation of the town.
After a while of arguing, they decided to go to a local restaurant and have lunch. The husband could not wait to know the correct pronunciation, so he asked the blond waitress at the cash desk.
“Before we order, could you please pronounce where we are very slowly?”
“Burrrr-gerrrr Kiiing.”

Source: Jokes in levels Level 3 

How to speak so that people want to listen

Have you ever felt like you're talking, but nobody is listening? Here's Julian Treasure to help you fix that. As the sound expert demonstrates some useful vocal exercises and shares tips on how to speak with empathy, he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.
Source: TED Julian Treasure

English is the queerest language

Hi,

I'd like to wish you all good luck tomorrow 9th at the exam. In the meantime, this poem will entertain you with some pronounciation reflections.