A Bit of Everything: Find the Differences, a Video, a Song ...

Week 23^rd – 25^th February

Hi! How are you?

Last week we learnt about two different past tenses:

Past Simple	Finished / completed actions in the past.	She worked in London for five years.
	Actions that happened one after another.	He opened the door, took off his shoes and sat on the sofa.
Past continuous	To set a story.	The sun was shining and people were happy that spring afternoon.
	An action in progress at some time in the past.	The kids were studying for the exam in the kitchen.

And we practised them with a story.You had to guess how the story went on (continued).

“It was a cold, dark night in November…

…Vanessa was driving out of town but she wasn’t going home.

 Where do you think she was going?

She was driving past some trees when suddenly she hit something in the road. She stopped and got out of the car.

What do you think she saw?

Vanessa was sure the driver of the car was following her because the dog was his.

Why was the car following her?

Now, the driver of the car was flashing his lights.

What do you think Vanessa did?

“The police are (plural) looking for a murderer who escaped from prison last night”, said the news on the radio.

How do you think Vanessa felt now? Why?

Vanessa got out of the car, ran up to the door, rang the bell and shouted, “Martin, help! Help!”

Where do you think Martin was?

Martin got his shotgun and opened the door. The black car stopped next to Vanessa’s car and a tall man got out.

Who do you think the man was?

“No, no! I’m not the murderer”, said the man. “The murderer is in the back of your car”

When did the murderer get into Vanessa’s car?

After the story, we listened to the song ‘Glitter’ by Pink and watch a video segment from ‘Sherlock. It’s the scene of Watson’s proposal (to ask somebody to marry you). We used these exercises to review present perfect. Here’s the link for the video segment. http://anna-edu.com/the-sound-of-present-perfect/

Then, we played a game. Find twelve differences.

We had similar pictures but with twelve differences. We had to ask questions and describe the clothes and appearances of the people in the pictures so as to find the differences. We gave up in the end (we finally surrendered)! There were two differences we couldn’t find!

In one of the pictures there was a woman wearing a short-sleeved sweater and a long patterned skirt. In the other picture, this same woman was wearing a long-sleeved sweater and a plain skirt.

Boy number four was wearing a white T-shirt in one of the pictures while (on the contrary) he was wearing a striped T-shirt in the other. And so on…

Enough of the past, let’s talk about the future!

We finished the week learning the use of ‘going to’ and ‘present continuous’ to express the future.We introduced the topic with some questions:

When was the last time you went to an airport or a train station?

Were you meeting somebody or going somewhere?

These were some of the airport stories we read about:

Rima, 23, from Lithuania.

She is going to look for a job. She’s going to stay for six months. She’s going to live with a friend.

Jonathan, 35, emigrated to Australia.

He’s going to meet his family and friends. He’s going to celebrate his father’s birthday. They’re going to have a party.








Maki, 25 & Koji, 27, Japan.

They are on their honeymoon (trip after a wedding).Everything has been organized! They’re staying at the Hyde Park hotel for two nights. They’re doing a tour of London on a double-decker bus tomorrow. In the evening they’re seeing a show.

Can you spot (see) the difference between using ‘present continuous’ and ‘going to’ to refer to future plans?

We can use both; but present continuous is preferable when we talk about definite arrangements, when everything has been organized; as in the ‘honeymoon trip’

This was the end of our weekly classes and this will be the beginning of our next week class. 

See you then. Have a nice weekend!

Photos and Stories

Week 16^th – 18^th February

We started the week reading and talking about teenage children and problems with them.

The Serrano’s family had problems with their children aged 18 & 20 because they took everything for granted (they thought they could have or do anything they wanted without giving anything else in exchange) without collaborating at home or looking for a job. So, their parents decided to teach them a lesson and take them to court (place where trials take place).The judge (the boss of the court) sentenced them to leave their parents’ home!

In our debate, Violeta and Mónica said they would tell their kids to leave home if they didn’t collaborate. Sometimes it’s good to teach your kids they can’t take everything for granted and they have to respect their parents, keep the rules and try to collaborate at home. Either doing housework or helping to the household (home) economy. On the contrary, Dani seemed reluctant to take such drastic measures! Maybe because he is the only one who has children!

This week we talked about famous photos.

We described and commented three photos by Harry Benson.

There was a photo of The Beatles when they were in a hotel room in Paris. Nothing much was happening, but suddenly they found the inspiration for the song “I feel fine.

 In another photo we can see a lot of people attacking (they were attacking) the wall with stones. It was the knocking down of Berlin Wall in 1989.

The third photo was taken in 1974. President Nixon was saying goodbye to his cabinet after the “Watergate” scandal.

 Then, you told me about your favourite photos.

Dani’s favourite photo was the one that shows the two Gasol Brothers, the popular Spanish basketball players, diving (jumping) in the air so as to hit the ball. That was the starting off the NBA basketball tournament. Dani likes it because it’s part of the history of sports.

Violeta and Mónica, on the other hand, prefer more personal photos. Violeta likes a photo where she is with her boyfriend enjoying the snow in the mountains. As for Mónica, she likes a photo on the beach. She is with her dog. She likes this photo because it feels calming and relaxing. A walk on the sand near the sea with her dog.

As for me, I like the photo above.

 Africa through the view of a photographer. Listening

And we finished with a story.

The story of a girl that went out with her friends one Saturday. They went to a disco. The DJ fell in love with the girl in the yellow dress and they started going out together.

They met in a café every evening when she finished work. One evening she was driving very fast because she was in a hurry. She didn’t see a man in a dark coat that was crossing the road. She ran the man over but she didn’t realize.She waited for her boyfriend in the café but he didn’t turned up (appeared) so, she went home.

While she was watching TV the doorbell rang. It was a police officer. She told her that her boyfriend had an accident and was in hospital. A woman driving a white car ran over him but she didn’t stop to help.

Who do you think ran over the boy?

Remember the use of so, because and but.

Reason: because. It answers the question ‘Why?’

Result: so. The consequence of something.

·         She was driving very fast because she was in a hurry. (Why was she driving fast?)

·         She was in a hurry, so she was driving fast.

And that was all!

Clothes! Going Shopping!

Week 9^th -11^th February

Hello!

Another week went by (finished)

Last week we read about the founder of Zara shops.

According to the text, the reason for the success of these shops is that the store reacts quickly to the latest designer fashions. They can produce fashionable but inexpensive clothes. Zara can make a new line of clothes in three weeks. Besides, they change the clothes from week to week.

But, to be able to do this, it’s necessary to have a good team behind - according to Raquel.

According to Juan, the reason for their success is that Amancio Ortega had a good idea and he was able to put it into practice becoming an entrepreneur. And working hard!

We read about clothes with a tradition.

·         Do you know what a ‘balaclava’ is? It’s a woollen hat.

·         Did you know where it got its name from? From the battle of Balaclava, in the Crimea war.

·         What did you know about ‘wellies’? Not much; but now you know that they are the traditional rubber boots that we wear when it rains. And that they are named after (had their name from) Wellington, a British soldier.

·         What’s a ‘cardigan’? It’s   a short woollen coat with buttons. It got its name after another British soldier, Lord Cardigan.

Do you want to learn more about fabric(textile) materials?

 Click here: Clothing Materials              

Remember

·        Wear. You wear clothes, glasses, make-up and jewellery(a ring,a watch, bracelets, a necklace, earrings…)

·        Carry. You carry objects (an umbrella, a book, a bag…)

·        Hold. You hold something in your hand.

We went shopping for clothes.

Buying a T-shirt

C: Hello!

S: Hi! Can I help you?

C: Yes, please. Do you have this T-shirt in blue?

S: What size are you?

C: Medium.

S: yes. This is a Medium.

C: Can I try it on?

S: Of course. The changing rooms are over there.

________________________________________

S: How is it?

C: It’s fine. How much is it?

S:It’s £24.99

C: Here you are.

S: Your change. Thank you.

C: Bye.

Buying a pair of trainers

C: Hello!

S: Hi! Can I help you?

C: Yes, please. I’d like a pair of trainers.

S: What size are you?

C: 39.

S: What colour would you like?

C: White

S: These are Nike, these ones are Adidas. Which ones do you prefer?

C: Nike, please.

S: How are they?

C: They’re fine. How much are they?

S: they’re £49.99

C: Here you are.

S: Your change. Thank you.

C: Bye.

Click here for Kinds of Shops

We also described people. Go to this link for a review on appearance vocabulary. Physical Appearance

 

We finished the week reading about famous photos.

Do you have a favourite photo? Why is it your favourite?

 Find one of these favourite photos and

 be ready to talk about it tomorrow.

Carnival Traditions

And that was it! Enjoy your weekend!

We're off to Cairo! And Now, Let'sTalk about Clothes!

Week 2^nd – 4^th February

Hello everybody! How’s your weekend going?

It looks nice because it’s sunny, but don’t let it take you in (to be fooled)…it’s freezing (very cold)!

We have a new student. Her name is Violeta. Nice to meet you!

Last week, we finished the arrangements for our trip to Cairo.

We decided to organize our trip. Each one of us had a list of four things to do. We ticked (ü) two (things we had already done) and crossed (û) the other two (things we hadn’t done yet) and then we had to phone each other asking about the arrangements of our trip.

We finished talking about present perfect, so this is the summary:

1.    Use present perfect for general experiences without saying asking “when”
Have you ever been to New York?
She’s been to China twice.

2.    Use present perfect to link past with present. To say how long something has been happening or to talk about duration.

     I’ve known my best friend since we were children.(We met when we were kids- past. We know each other- present)      I’ve lived in Madrid for ten years.

3.    To talk about actions recently finished.
He’s just left the office, sorry.
I’ve already fed the dog. 

Remember:

•  He’s gone to London. (He hasn’t come back yet)
• He’s been to Paris. (He went there and he’s back)
•  I’ve been in Madrid for 10 years.(I am in Madrid now)

We also reviewed vocabulary on clothes.

And that was it! See you tomorrow!

Have you Packed your Suitcase Yet?

Week  26^th – 28^th January, 2015

Hello again!

It was nice to see Mónica again. It’s good to see that you have got over (recovered) from the flu (typical winter illness)

Last Monday we continued talking about ‘present perfect tense’.

We revised the use of present perfect for experiences. And follow-up questions in the past, because we mentioned ‘when’.

·         Dani has been to a concert. He went to Sabina’s concert last December.

·         Mónica has also been to a concert. He went to Duncan Dhu’s  concert last October. But it rained and they couldn’t act.

Mónica and I haven’t eaten raw (without cooking, uncooked) fish. Mónica is a vegan, she doesn’t eat any animal products. As for me, I don’t like fish! Dani has eaten raw fish. He likes sushi.

Then, we studied the use of already,just, yet with present perfect.

Already and yet have the same meaning, but their position in the sentence is different. Yet, goes at the end of the sentence whilst already has a mid-position, that is, it goes before the main verb – the same position as adverbs of frequency. (We are studying standard British English. There are some changes in US English)

Study these sentences:

·         ?   Have you finished the exercise yet?

·          -    I haven’t finished yet.

·         +    I’ve already finished.

The structure, to have + just + participle refers to an action that has been completed a short time ago.

 I’ve just arrived home. (Right now. A short time ago)

·        Try this exercise Click here Still/ Already/ Yet/Just

Last week we did a listening comprehension. It was a phone call between two friends.

One of the friends, Mel is going to work in Cairo and her friend called her to ask about the preparations for the journey.

·         Mel has already sold the car and she’s already transferred the money to her bank.

·         She has already renewed her passport but she hasn’t got the visa yet.

·         She’s already booked the hotel room for the first week but she hasn’t packed her suitcase yet. She’s going to pack the cases on the same day of her departure.

 Tomorrow, we’ll finish the topic of present perfect and we’ll move on (continue). We’re going to meet a new class mate.

See you tomorrow and enjoy your Sunday!

Bye.