Isaac Asimov predicting the impact of internet

Dear NI2 students, 

These are some of Isaac Asimov's predictions about the future in 1988. Isn't it amazing how he predicted the future of learning? Thanks to my colleague Susana.

 
How about you? How do you predict the future in 30 years' time? Write your opinion on the "comment". You may find this vocab useful:

In 30 years' time
By the year 2040 people /computers: 

• May/Might 
• Will probably / probably won´t / definitely won´t / will be ….ing / 
• will have + past participle
• Are going to… 
• Are/aren´t likely to

Never give up!

Dear NI1 students,

Find the key to the reading on page 47 from your coursebook:

p. 47. 

Natalie

1. A car hit her when she was going to a training session on a motorbike. 

2. Three months after the accident.

3. Thrilled. It felt like her leg was there.

4. She qualified for the final at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester (for able-bodied swimmers).

5. She hopes to swim faster than she did before the accident. 

Bethany

1. A tiger shark attacked her and tore off her arm. 

2. As soon as she left hospital. 

3. She was so happy she cried.

4. She finished 5th at the National Surfing Championship.

5. She accepts that she will never be world champion. 

True Love

Dear NI2 students,

This Wednesday 13th we are going to comment on this story by Isaac Asimov, True Love. Read it and see how science fiction writers are necessary to predict our present. 

Happy Valentine!

Kelvin Okafor's pencil drawings

Dear NI2 students, 

What do you think of this talented artist from England? Listen to the news from the BBC and try to answer the questions below:

• Where did he graduate? 
• Where does he live? 
• What were his parents' fears? 
• What is speacial about him? 
• What type of art does he make? 
• Which material does he use? 
• How much worth are his paintings?

English Online with UNED

Dear NI2 students, 

Cristina Muñoz sent me this message that she would like to share with you:

Today I have found a course about professional English. I'm pleasantly surprised and I would like that you recommend this to my classemates.

The page is https://unedcoma.es/  You have to register but it is free. Then if you want a diploma, you have to pay, but it isn´t obligatory.

 

If you have any doubt you can ask me.

Inglés Profesional / Professional English

 The course lasts from February untill April!
 Thanks Cristina!

Spoken book review

Dear NI2 students, 

This is an activity to do at home after reading The Curious Incident and thinking about it and commenting about it in class. Record yourself with your webcam or a video camera at home. You can just record yourself with your phone and send it to me for evaluation as well. 

Before recording yourself, you may want to think about: 

• Title and Author 
• Why you decided to read the book 
• How thick is it? How long did it take you to read? 
• State what it is about briefly 
• The characters in the story 
• What you found interesting about it 
• What you disliked 
• A nice quotation that you liked 
• Evaluation of the book 
• Recommend it or not 

 

The power of words

Culture Shock

Dear NI1 students,

 

Find the key to the text on page p. 38 of your coursebook:

 

EX. A

Being polite is very important to the English. If you want someone to do something, you must ask them politely.

 

EX. B

The English and the Russian idea of good manners is different.

 

EX C

1. F (She got angry because of the way he asked her to pour him some tea.)
2. T
3. T
4. F (He was very surprised, i.e. amazed)
5. F (It was disgusting.)
6. F (She was angry.)
7. T
8. T
9. F (They thought she was mad.)
10. T

EX. D

1. step 2. pour 3. make 4. swallow 5. translate

Dreamdate.com

Dear NI2 students,

As you have been required to write down a short story, I'd like you to listen to this too-good-to-be-true story about online dating: Dreamdate.com from Speakup Magazine.

Did you like it? It is an urban legend? What struck you most?

BYOD

noun [uncountable].bring your own device:

The policy of allowing employees or students to bring their own computing devices to work, college etc and use them on the organization's network. Ex:

'Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) has emerged as an institution in corporate America today – but does the acronym stand for bring your own device or bring your own disaster? Surveys show that up to 90 percent of corporations use some form of BYOD, but that up to 80 percent of BYOD activity is "inadequately" managed by IT departments.'

BYOD is an abbreviation for bring your own device, and refers to the idea of people bringing their personally-owned computing devices, such as laptops, tablets or smartphones, for use at their place of work. Though it commonly refers to employees bringing along their own devices to the office in order to access corporate networks and business data etc, the term is also used in academic environments when institutions allow students to use their own mobile devices to access school and college networks.For more info, visit this

Mean

This week from Mcmillan Dictionary some advice about the verb mean:

When you want to say what something involves or what its result is, use the verb mean followed by the -ing form. Don’t use an infinitive:

✗ Being tolerant prejudiced means not to be prejuciced.
✓ Being tolerant means not being prejudiced.
 ✗ Reversing these changes would mean to challenge the power of the government.
✓ Reversing these changes would mean challenging the power of the government.

Use mean with an infinitive when you want to say that someone intends to do something:

They intend to pour cash into the health service, but they also mean to reform it.
In this sense, mean is often used in the passive:
Taking children into care is meant to be in the interests of the children, not the state.

In and Around London

Dear NI1 students,

These is the key to exercises from our reader "In and Around London".

p.125, ex 1
a. Westminster Pier
b. 50 minutes
c. The Houses of Parliament
d. A pink obelisk dating from 1500 BC. It's a gift from Egypt in 1872
e. Shakeaspeare's Globe Theater.
f. A street and had wooden houses on either side. They exibited the heads of the executed people there. 
g. Hay's Galleria
h. An exhibition on the technology used to lift the drawbridge.
i. in the area called Docklands
j. Canary Warf Tower

Podcasts

Dear all,

M.ª Jose from NI1, left me a pen drive with wonderful short dialogues ideal for your level. So I suggest those of you interested in listening to extra English bring your pen drives to the classroom next week.

Thanks a lot!

Stonehenge

Hi there!

This is the video about Stonehenge. Why don't you listen to it and try to answer the following questions?

• Who built it and when? 
• Are the stories about the Romans or King Arthur true? 
• Why was it difficult to build it? 
• Is it a small or big construction?
• Where are the stones from?
• How did they transport the stones?

For further signification of Stonehenge, watch this National Geography documentary.

Do you dare to dream?

Hi! 

What do you think of the message in this video? What's your comfort zone? By learning English you are already on your learning zone, How big is your learning zone? Are you ready to leave your comfort zone to fulfill your dreams? 

Manchester Speech

Hi! 

I'd like to inform you that there will be a speech on Manchester on Wednesday 16th and Monday 21st at 18:30 at our school. Don't miss it!

'Here Comes the Sun' Unemployment Office Flash Mob

Few places need cheering up more than the unemployment office. With that in mind, Spanish Flash Mob crew, Carne Cruda 2.0, decided to bring some extra sunshine and a little hope to the people at the unemployment office, surprising them with a rendition of The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun.

The Curious Incident

    Hi!
   How are you doing with the reader for Wednesday 16th? Listen to this report about the author of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” and choose the correct statement: a) or b). We will correct it in class.

Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday. October 12, 2003. Npr.org

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1463595

1.

a) The author mentions Asperger´s syndrome at the beginning of the novel.

b) The author never mentions Asperger´s syndrome in the novel.

2.   Mark Haddon uses Christopher´s voice because

              a) it´s neutral and toneless.

              b) it´s sentimental and explains things in detail.

3.

a) Mark Haddon thinks “normal people” would never be obsessed with colours and food.

b) Mark Haddon thinks “normal people” also do strange things.

4.  

a) The novel shows how disabilities can limit your life

b) The novel is about realizing how limits aren´t necessarily so restrictive.

5.    Mark Haddon is surprised the novel has become a best-seller because

              a) there’s no sex or action.

              b) it’s about a disabled boy.

Random acts of kindness

Schoolchildren took part in an experiment to see what effects being kind would have in the classroom

How do you feel when someone does something nice for you, like sharing their food or giving you a cuddle? Does it feel better if you're the person performing the kind act?

Listen to this week's 6 Minute English, Jen and Callum talk about an experiment in America which asked children to carry out three random acts of kindness every week to see what effect it would have on their lives.

This week's question: What is the most commonly broken New Year's resolution?

1. stopping smoking
2. losing weight and getting fit
3. travelling

Check up vocabulary as well!

Happy New Year 2013!

Dear all,

Welcome back to the English classes! I hope you had a wonderful vacation time. Mine was great and full of African adventure. I wish you all a very happy new year full of good New Year's Resolutions.

I also wanted to publish the video recommended by Mariola from NI1. Her son and his high school classmates formed a band and won a competition with this song in English. 
Well done and congratulations!