Ipad

What adjectives and expressions does Mr Jobs use to present the ipad? e.g. extraordinary, fenomenal, It's unbelievably great, It's awesome to watch, ... what else?

NOW, GIVE YOUR OPINION:
Will you buy an iPad? Why / why not?
Do you think this product will succeed or fail? Why / why not?

Use a different expression each time, do not repeat your partner's words.

- I feel that...

- In my opinion/view...

- As far as I'm concerned...

- As I see it...

- In my view

- I tend to think that

- Generally speaking I think...

- Personally, I haven’t the faintest idea about / whether... (starting with this expression may be interpreted as off-hand and could suggest that you have nothing else to say!)

- To my mind...

- I’d just like to say...

- I’m quite convinced that...(only use this expression to express a very strong opinion!)

- To be quite honest / frank...

- If you ask me...

Ipad

Steve Jobs presents the new gizmo by Apple, the Ipad. How does he present it? What types of comparison does he make with a laptop or a cell phone? What applications does it have? Do you think the ipad adds anything new? Take notes! :)

Don't miss the boat

Don't miss the boat and work on these idioms for the class on March 1st!

Grammar

Let's practice some grammar in these links:

1. Express Emphasis
2. Express emphasis by inversion
3. Gerunds and infinitives
4. Discourse markers
5. Discourse Markers (2)
6. Narrative tenses, used to, would

Advanced Level 2 Exam

Below you can find a model of all kinds of tasks you'll find in the exam in June published by the Community of Madrid:

READING Tarea 1 Tarea 2 Tarea 3 Tarea 4 Claves

LISTENING Tarea 1 Audio 1 Tarea 2 Audio 2 Tarea 3 Audio 3 Claves

WRITING Tarea 1 Tarea 2

SPEAKING Tarea 1 Tarea 2

Toyota Recall reaches Europe

You can listen to the activity we did in class about Toyota Recalls again and review interesting news vocabulary.

29 January 2001
Toyota is to expand a huge safety recall of some of its cars to Europe. It has already recalled 2.3 million vehicles in North America and has suspended production and sales of eight models.

To my dad

You've always been my guide, even when we were far away. You've always set up an example of strong willingness, determination and hard work to follow. I always learned from you.
Your generosity, sense of inclusion, respect for others' decisions will find a way on me.

My words fail to convey the sense of responsibility, loyalty, bravery, and optimism with which you led your life till the very end. I cannot comprehend my whole life without you for I'm part of you and you live through me.
Your candle is burnt out, your legend never will.
I love you!

Language Review, Unit4

KEY TO EXERCISES ON P. 46 FROM THE COURSEBOOK

Ex.1
1. is 2. ever seen 3. was studying 4. read 5. saw 6. were 7. had been wondering 8. had read 9. wasn't 10. realised 11. has always been 12. feel

EX. 2
1. What I hate most is people gossiping.
2. It's being a successful author that he wants most.
3. It was only when I saw the film version that...
4. When I'm on holiday, reading is all I want to do.
5. It wasn't until the end of the story, I realised she was lying.

EX.3
1. flooding 2. blank 3. back 4. brought 5. looking 6. momories 7. vividly 8. nostalgic

EX. 4
1. idiotic 2. traumatic 3. colossal 4. fatuous 5. excruciating 6. tremendous 7. dazzling 8. immense

Neighbours from hell

Hi! Have a look at this video about people discussing about Neighbours from Hell! How do they interact? How do they contribute to the topic? How is a person in the group invited to talk?
You can watch more videos about:
- The secret to exercising more
- Political Protest
- Cooking shows

mai·son·ette n. Chiefly British

2. An apartment occupying two or more floors of a larger building and often having its own entrance from outside.

Suggesting

Listen to this podcast from the BBC about how to make suggestions. This is some info you already know, it's just a reminder that you need to use these expressions when giving options:

I think we should help him write a cover letter.
Why don't we help him make a cv?
Why not introduce him to some well-branched friends?
Perhaps we could phone him!
Maybe we should encourage him to take up a new sport.
Once you've listened to it, don't forget to practice! (Extra quiz in the comentario!)

Everyday Language Strategies

Saying Hello / How are you?
Howdy! Hiya! How're things?
How are you doing?

What's up? / (in short, extra cool!)

Sup? (meaning, Hello, dudes / peeps / guys! What's going on?)

What have you been up to, lately? (Don't use it with people you don't know – to be up to something may indicate some naughty purpose, too!) meaning What have you been doing lately?

What's it like?

(Your friend is in NYC)

What's it like? (What's it like in NYC?) meaning, What is NYC like? (more detailed description) What did you do? Did you enjoy it?

(Your friend went to a party) What was it like? (meaning, How was that? (good/bad)

Me suena... (I think I know that...)

(You see someone, you don't remember who it is, suddenly you realize who it is! And that you know this person) I knew you looked familiar!

(Do you know "The Dangerous Kitchen"?) It (actually) rings a bell... (I must’ve heard about it, I may actually know about it but I can't remember just now)

It sucks – That sucks (Meaning I don't like it)

That is really bad / crappy / lousy...

That rocks – You rock (my world) (Meaning I love it!)

That's/You're really cool / You're so very important in my life...

Are you in? (Te/os apuntáis? Are you joining in?)

I'm In (me apunto)

Is it on? (Shall we do it? Have we got a deal here?)

It's on! (Hace! OK, then -- we've got a deal! We'll do it!)

I'm out of here! (I'm leaving right away!)

Get me out of here! (Help me escape!)

I want Out! (I want to leave right away!)

I want In! (I want to be part of that)

Generation Disappointment

This weekend you should be reading the following text as we will comment on it in class on Monday 8th.
The Broken Hopes of a Spanish Generation from the Time Magazine.
Find the questions on the text, here!

Lorena Dominguez, 23, is a former automobile worker who lost her job when the local Peugeot-Citroen car plant shut down in her home town of Vigo, Spain

Do you think the article reflects what is happening to young people nowadays? Do you identify with the people depicted? Are there any chances of recovery from the current economic crisis?
What's your opinion? Feel free to post your comments!

Agreeing

 It's a good idea to vary your expressions when agreeing. Here you can find a few ones to use in dialogues:
I entirely agree
I absolutely agree (on that)
Definitely!
You’re right.
You’re absolutely right.
I think you're right!
I think that's a really good point Sure
That’s a good point
That makes sense
Yes, that sounds sensible
I really liked what you said about…
I'd definitely agree on that (notice "would") I suppose your right!
I wouldn't argue with you on that! :) That's precisely my point
That's exactly my point! I don't quite agree with you on that
I don't quite agree on what you said about
I don't quite agree on the part about...

Reaching an Agreement

Dear all,

By now you must have already received your dialogues on a school magazine on your emails.
I'd like you to take note of the following expressions you should try to learn when reaching an agreement:

So we agree on that, then.
Great! / Yeepee! / Well done!
We need to celebrate
Shall we move on to the next point?
Now we need to agree on (pending issue)
Now we need to solve (whichever problem)
So that's decided, then. Any other pending question?
So that's decided
Anything else to deal with?
Anything else to talk about?
I have a proposal/suggestion?
I have an idea!

Invictus

Hey the class! What do you think of this movie? Have you seen it?

Making logical comparisons

You can find the exercises about "Making logical comparisons" here. We read that in class some days ago. Once you've worked on it, you can check the aswers in this link.

Monday 28th

For those who were not in class the last day, you can find the text ("Look for the latest victim of Spain's overheated economy: the ham") we'll be dealing with here. And the questions here.

Key to Salman Rushdie's speech

Eventually, I'm posting the key to the fill-in-the-blank activity on Salman Rushdie. Click here to correct your notes.

Jan 22 and 24

Dear all,

I'm afraid I won't be able to attend class on Monday and Wednesday. My dad has been operated again and he needs a lot of help.
In the meanwhile, I suggest you work on the book on the following activities and we will go over them in class:
- Narrative tenses, p. 40, ex. 2 and 3
- P. 41, ex. 1
- Powerful Adjectives, p. 44, ex. 1,2,3 and 4 and Speaking, prepare exercise 5 Persuade another student to read a book you know.
- Emphasis with what, all and it, p. 44, ex 1, 2, 3, 4 and prepare exercise 5.
Prepare a talk about things that irritate you; your perfect weekend; a frustrating day; your views on television; the worst film/book you have ever seen/read.
- P. 46 ex. 1,2,3 and 4

Inviting people to talk

As we said yesterday in class, it's a good to allow and even invite other people to talk, specially if you are in a party of three. Here you can learn useful expressions to carry out this function:

Inviting People to Speak

So what do you think?
Do you like that?
Do you agree with that?
Are you OK? Are you alright?
Would you like to say something? (Using "anything" would be less welcoming)

We're running out of time and X hasn't had the chance to speak yet.
Listen to X, please.
Are you following?
Would you like something to drink?
What's wrong?
Anything wrong?

Hey, we're not allowing X to speak! Come on...

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