If I were a boy

Do you like Beyoncée? Watch the video of the song we sang in class.

The passive voice

Dear NI1 students,

As we are studying the passive voice in class, how about some extra practice on these sites?

- Englisch-hilfen.de

- Saber Inglés

- ESL.go.com

An inconvenient truth

Dear NI1 students,

Now that we're dealing with the environment, why don't you watch a short 10-minute summary of Al Gore's documentary An inconvenient Truth?
Our classmate Carlos sent it to me, thanks a lot!

For the whole documentary, click here.

A note

Dear NI1,

For this weekend I'd like you to write down two notes. Choose from these ideas:

1- You are going on holiday and a friend is going to feed your cats. Write instructions on how often s/he should feed them, where the food is, etc.

2. Write instructions for using a computer program you know.

3. You have a new flatmate. S/he is moving in while you are on holiday. Write some instructions for her/him about general things s/he needs to know.

Have also a look at pages 82 and 83 from your workbook.

Do footballers get paid too much?

What do you think? Do footballers get ridiculously high wages? Are footballers current heroes in our society? Do they deserve to be paid that much?

Or do you think that they are to be compensated for body injuries? Are they worth because of their short careers? Do they contribute to the economy of countries? How?

Let us know what you think.

Dr House

You can listen again to the document about Dr House we worked on last week. It was retrieved from Speak Up magazine.

And how about you? Have you ever watched this series on tv? Do you like it? Why? What do you find appealing? Do you like Dr House character?

What should I do?

Imagine you are Agony Aunts working for a magazine. What would you tell these people asking for advice?

1. I work with a colleague who has bad breath. It's difficult for me to talk to him face to face. What should I do?

2. My friend asked me for some money. She is going to renovate her apartment and she says she needs the money. I have some but not much. I may also need that money for later on. What should I do?

3. My son wants to learn a language. I think English is a good option. What should I do?

Renting a house

You will hear John who is calling about an advertisement he saw in the newspaper to rent a house.

You can listen to the dialogue again and check your answers in this link.

I hope both Pilar and Trini are feeling better and they come back to the class soon. We all miss you! Get well soon!

A good impression

There is an expression in English: You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

But what makes a good impression on you? Tell us. Write down your opinion in the "comentarios" section.

Time to talk

Would you like to improve your speaking skills? Join students from our school to talk in English in Aula de desdoble (first floor).

Drop by on:

- NB1, Mondays at 16:30

- Tuesdays & Thursdays from 18:30 to 19:30

- Mondays & Wednesdays from 17:30 to 18:30

You may ask the janitors for a box with speaking activities for your level.

At the restaurant

Dear NB1,

Why not practice at the restaurant? Listen to this dialogue at a restaurant from esl.about.com and asnwer the following questions:

1. What did the man have the last time?
2. What would the woman like for her first course?
   
3. What would the man like, but can't have, for a first course?
   
4. What will the man have for a first course?
5. What does the woman want for a main course?
   
6. What would the woman like with her main course?
   
7. What would the man like for a main course?
   
8. What would the man like with his main course?
   
9. What will they drink?
   
10. Why can't the woman have dessert?
    
11. What would the man like for dessert?
    
12. Would they like some coffee?

You may need the following vocabulary:
prawn cocktail
roast beef
roast potatoes
lamb

Liz Taylor

Dear NI1 students,

Just a little homage to Lyz Taylor who died on Wednesday 23rd with this video from newsy.com. You may read the transcript here.

Dr Wiseman

Ana from NI1 sent me this link to Dr Wiseman's blog. As we saw in class, he believes that you can work on being lucky and having a positive attitude towards life.
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/

And the interview of Dr Wiseman with Punset in Redes para la Ciencia is to be found in Spanish :-( in this link!
It starts in minute 4.

A simple dish

Dear NB1 students,

I would like you to write down a simple recipe in English. You can have a look at how to cook St Patrick's Day cookies in this site to cook with children, circletime kids.

Eye on parenting

In this video you've got a few ideas on how to be a good parent. Do you agree with all of them? Did you have any experience similar to the ones told in this video? Tell us!

As for helicopter parents, watch this longer video! Are you one of them?

Some vocabulary you may need to understand the videos in this post is:
practice what you preach
spouse
hover

An article

Our next writing assignment is an article about what being a good parent means. What should good parents do? How different are parents nowadays from before? Are parents today too protective?

You can go through a few tips on how to write down articles here.

Why don't you drop your articles in the "comentarios"

Conversation Exchange

Dear NB1,

Next Monday, March 14th, at 16:30 there is an exchange of conversation English and Spanish in the study room at our school. You just have to ask at the entrance.
Come and join!

Some reviewing

Dear NI1 students,

Why don't you practice some grammar and vocabulary in the British Council web page? Have fun!

- Past Perfect
- Future Plans
- be used to + Ving and used to+inf
- Question tags
- Past continuous and past simple
- Conditionals 1
- Comparisons
- Make vs do

California private investigators to search for U.S. student in Spain
By Al Goodman, CNN

March 8, 2011 2:22 a.m. EST

You can read the news about the American guy who was doing an exchange program at Carlos III university and disappeared in Madrid.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Austin Taylor Bice, 22, was last seen outside a Madrid disco February 26
• Friends have put up missing-person posters around Madrid
• Bice's father has come from the U.S. and says he plans to stay "as long as I need to"

Shopping habits

In Expotv site you can watch different videos where common people talk about how they are adapting their shopping habits to a more efficient purchase.

Here there are a few words that you may not understand:
Coupon
Gas prices soaring

And how about you? How and where is the economy affecting your shopping habits? How are you affected by the recession in your shopping habits? Are you doing anything different from before?