Houses in Britain

Dear NI1 students, 

As you are supposed to be writing about a home to rent or exchange (p 65), you may remember some vocabulary in this video.

For some more vocab reviewing, click here! Listen and repeat!

Work-life balance

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Balancing act: Tips for the self-employed

Breaking away from work is tricky no matter who you are, but for those who work from home can find it exceptionally difficult to carve out personal and professional time.
Kristie Arslan, president of the National Association for the Self-Employed, offered some tips for at-home workers:

• Make a schedule: You have to create your schedule like a normal work day - work from 09:00-17:00, or whatever works for you, and stick to those hours.
• Close the door: When the workday ends, leave your working space - and close it off for the night. Whether it's an office or just a corner of the kitchen, don't use it for anything but work.
• Stick to it: You have to maintain that schedule, because if you don't you fall victim to creep.
• Get out: If it's impossible to feel relaxed at home, seek external office space. Co-working spaces provide both a neutral work environment and "the water cooler experience".

Sound App

Hi!

This is an interesting app for your smartphones. You can download the phonetic symbols and hear how words are pronounced.
From MacMillan

Have fun!

Why women have no say in papal vote

Dear NI2 students,

As these days we are being bombarded with news about the new Pope's election, listen to this CNN video about women being Popes. 

Try to give an answer to the questions below. You may want to read the article as well.

 

1. Who was Pope Joan?
2. Did the story about Pope Joan really happen?
3. Why were Popes made to sit in that peculiar shaped chair?
4. Is it likely that we will see a "Popess" in the future? How do you know, where does is it say in the video?

Weather

Dear NI2 students,

Write a short entry describing what the weather has been like recently. Talk about:

• how it has made you feel and
• how it has affected what you have been doing.

Drop your ideas on the comment section, please!

For Love Nor Money

Next weekend!

The Madrid Players has the pleasure of inviting you to an entertaining evening of songs and sketches, For Love Nor Money

                      

Entrance is just 10€. Buy your tickets on the door

Come along and enjoy a sparkling show in speech and song on:

Friday 15th and Saturday 16th March at 20.00

Centro Gallego;  
C/ Carretas, 14, 3º; Metro - Sol

Living without money

Dear Mª José:

I´ve just read the newspaper (El Mundo) and I've found news about Heidemarie Schwermer, a woman who lives without money. We read about her in unit one (page 22). I was reading this article and I've remembered this text which we read in class. 

I attach the link: http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/03/07/economia/1362667015.html

Best wishes,

Ester

Thanks Esther! 
And what do you think of  this lady who anticipated herself to the crisis? This attitude towards money also implies believing in humankind. She says money distracts us from what it's important. Do you think so?

Another, other, others, the others

Hi!

These are confusing pronouns. Let's have a look at this little text: 

Three of my friends live in Boston. One is a doctor, one is a dentist, and the other doesn't have a job. The friend without a job's name is Craig. Craig needs a job. He also has another problem: he needs a new girlfriend. His last girlfriend left him because she met another man. The other man was rich and handsome. I told Craig not to worry about it; there are many other girls in the world.

Adjectives: another + singular nonspecific countable noun

• "Let's meet another day."
• "I'd like another piece of cake."

 other + plural or uncountable nonspecific noun

• "Other people have problems, too." [people = plural noun]
• "This book has other information." [information = uncountable noun]

the other + specific noun (singular, plural, countable or uncountable)

1. "I have two brothers. One of them lives in Canada. The other brother lives in Japan."
2. "I go to school on Monday and Thursday. I work on the other days of the week.

Pronouns: The others and others

• I love the red jacket, the others are too small. (the other jackets)
• She gave me one book last week and promised to bring the others on Wednesday. (The other book)
• Some students came to the speech on Manchester, others were busy. (other students)  
• Some people prefer a vegetarian diet, while others prefer a meat-based diet.

I'd like you to get extra practice in here:

Exercise 1: english-test
Exercise 2: to learn-english
Exercise 3: ESL quizzes

Duchess's slip of the tongue

Dear all,

Have you heard that the duchess of Cambridge had a slip of the tongue and revealed the sex of their future child? Sandra Cook, 67, said, "The lady next to me gave her a teddy bear and I distinctly heard her say: 'Thank you, I will take that for my d...' Then she stopped herself.

 

Unit 2, What do you remember

Dear NI2 students,

Find the key to the exercises on page 34 and 35 from your coursebook:

GRAMMAR:
1. A  
2. C
3. C
4. B
5. A
6. C
7. B
8. A
9. C
10. B

Europe

Hi!

This is a link to the Community of Madrid's Website where you can find info on studying and working in Europe. Its name is "Comunidad de Madrid - Corazón de Europa". It was created by the organism that gave the speech on the European Union, el Centro de Documentación Europea, www.madrid.org/europa.

You may find "VIVIR EN EUROPA" on the horizontal bar useful, especifically: trabajar / estudiar / derechos / info práctica para viajar.

As for studying this is the most remarkable:

Panorama general e información por países
Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior
Movilidad de los estudiantes en Europa

But also:

• CONOCE EUROPA PAÍS A PAÍS (fichas con información básica)   
• SERVICIO DE INFORMACIÓN EUROPEA (bases de datos y consultas)
• EUROPE DIRECT Y CDE (Centro de Documentación Europea de la Comunidad de Madrid)
• EUROBITÁCORA (blog de Europe Direct)

The House on Mango Street

Dear NI2 students,

This is a video of Sandra Cisneros talking about our next book to comment in class. You may get a pick of the book as well as understand what the author meant when writing it.

  

You may also want to take notes on the following questions about the video. Why not write down the answers on the comment?

Questions

1.    What does the protagonist on The House on Mango Street is searching for?

2.    What is her name?

3.    Does the protagonist identify with the main character in the novel?

4.    Where is the House on Mango Street located? Where did she get her inspiration from?

5.    What attracts people to the House on Mango Street?

6.    What are the heroine’s models? How old do you think she is?

Connectors

Dear NI2 students,

Have a look at these connectors and try to use them in your writings. We'll talk about it in class.

Learn English Apps

Dear all,

This is a free application for mobile phones. It allows you to download different podcasts  every day.   

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/apps

Thanks for this recommendation, Andrea!