Film Reviews and End -of - Course Test!

Week 23^rd – 25^th June

 Well, we have nearly finished this course!

We’ll have our last class on Monday 30^th June, tomorrow.

In our last lessons we reviewed the vocabulary on films. You told me about the films you had written the review about.

‘Amelie’ is a film set in Paris. The story is about a girl who comes across (finds by chance, unexpectedly) a box with something inside and decides to give it back (return it) to its owner. The feeling is so rewarding (satisfying) that she, then decides to help people.

The reviewer recommends this film because is entertaining and shows that there are good people in the world. And also because of the soundtrack.

‘The Dead Man’s Chest’ is the second film from the trilogy ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ starring Jonny Deep, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. It’s set in the Caribbean in the XVII or XVIII centuries.

In this film, the captain Jack Sparrow has to pay his debt. He had his ship- The Black Pearl - back in exchange of a 100 year- work for his enemy, the captain of ‘The Flying Dutchman’. This will lead him to a big adventure.

The reviewer recommends all of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ films because they are entertaining, the stories are interesting and the films are full of action. He also likes the special effects, make-up and costumes.

‘Three Sixty’ is a Spanish movie set in present time. The action could happen anywhere but it takes place (happens) in Spain. The story starts when a man develops a camera film and sees the image of a friend of his. He starts to investigate and finds himself in the middle of a scheme in organ trafficking. He wants to reveal (tell) everything but his girlfriend is trapped and he has to make a difficult decision. Will he risk the life of the girl by making his findings public or will he remain silent?

The reviewer recommends this film because is an interesting thriller with a realistic end.

Apart from learning to write a review, we studied the third conditional.

We focus on the topic of ‘luck’ to explain this conditional.

Do you believe in luck? Do you think good or bad luck exists?

According to you nothing is a question of luck but decisions you take. For example, losing a match isn’t bad luck but lack of training or wrong decisions. (I must admit that I disagree. I do believe in luck and not only in expertise)

We read two stories. There was a couple. He was sent to Australia on business and she lived in England. After a year they decided to visit each other on the same date without saying anything to the other, as it was supposed to be a surprise. It was a surprise because they couldn’t see each other! When he arrived in England he found out (discovered) that his girlfriend had gone to Sydney to visit him and the same thing happened to the girl in Australia! Good luck? Bad luck? You said it was just a lack of foresight! But if you want to surprise somebody and you arrange it … It isn’t a surprise, is it?

In the second story, a lady was flying to the USA in company of he daughter when she started to feel ill. She had a heart attack. On the plane there was a call for a doctor and there wasn’t a doctor! The plane was full of doctors, cardiologists that were going to a conference. So, they gave her first aid until the plane had an emergency landing. They saved her life! Was it lucky having all those doctors on that flight? Was a question of luck that she survived?

So, this was the third conditional.

Past conditional or impossible.  It refers to something that didn’t happen in the past, that’s why it’s called impossible conditional.

·        If + past perfect ------------------ would / wouldn’t + have+ infinitive

     (had + participle)  ----------------  (past conditional)

If there hadn’t been any doctors on the plane, she would have died. As there were doctors, she didn’t die.

Remember all conditional structures:

·        Zero conditional. (Real situation/ facts)

We use if + present simple                            present simple

If you begin the sentence with “if”, you have to use a comma.

·        First conditional.

·        Possible and very probable situation

We use if + present simple                                     will / won’t + infinitive

If it doesn’t study more, he won’t pass his exams.

·        Instructions

We use if + present simple                                     imperative

·        If you miss the bus, give me a ring (phone me).

·        Second conditional.

·        Unreal situation

If + past simple ------------------ would / wouldn’t + infinitive

                                                 (present conditional)

If I were you, I wouldn’t tell anybody.

(You can use ‘were’ with all persons of verb ‘to be’ in 2^nd conditional clauses)

·        Possible but very improbable situation

If + past simple ------------------ would / wouldn’t + infinitive

                                                  (present conditional)

·        If I won £5,000,000 on the lottery, I wouldn’t tell anyone, except my family.

·        Third conditional.

·        Impossible situation. Something that didn’t happen.

If + past pefect ------------------ would / wouldn’t + have + Infinitive

  (had +participle)                        (past conditional)

·        If she hadn’t been ill, she would have attended the concert.

And we finished the week with an end – of – course- test!

 I’ll give you the results tomorrow. We’ll listen to some songs and we’ll play games! See you!

Flms and Movies!

Week 16^th – 18^th June

 Hello, how’s your weekend going?

 So far, so god! (it goes well for the moment)

There’s very little left for the end of this course. Three more classes to go.

What did we do last week?

We finished seeing the movie, as planned. It’s a pity Alberto couldn’t come to class and missed the end. Of course you can finish watching it on the net.

Do you remember the question made at the beginning of the film?

“Why does a dog wag (move) its tail? Because the dog is more intelligent that its tail”.  We can read between the lines (assume) that If the tail were more intelligent, it’d wag the dog. Then, why do you think the title of the film is “Wag the dog”?

 Wag the Dog

As we had been seen the film, we learnt some vocabulary and expressions related to movies.

·         What’s the word that means ‘the story’ of the film?

·         How do you call ‘the dialogues or the words’ of the film?

·         Who’s the actor in the most important role?

·         How are the rest of the people who take part in a movie called?

·         If you don’t shoot a movie in a studio, you shoot it  _______?

·         Sometimes films are based _____ books or real facts.

·         We say that a movie is ______    _______ a certain period or place.

We talked about your favourite types of films.

Some of you like science fiction movies, specially the “Star Wars” saga. Others prefer thrillers. Some like horror movies, others don’t. We aren’t very keen on westerns, in this group. And one of us loves American noir films, gangsters and crime. You seem to enjoy fantasy and adventure movies, as well.

And we agree that sequels are most of the times worse than the first film made. Basically because most of the times, the sequel is just an excuse to go on (continue) making money out of a successful film. And in many cases they try to stretch the story so much, that it burst in the end (finally), making absolutely no sense at all!

We learnt how to write a review of a film. (And that’s your homework for Monday)

Don’t forget the first rule of any essay or composition you write. It’s like a sandwich!

First you have an introductory, opening paragraph (the first slice of bread in the sandwich). Then, the body of the composition neatly organized in paragraphs - one, two or as many as you like – (the filling of our sandwich) and finally a conclusion (the other piece of bread)

A review of a film

In the first paragraph write the details of the film: title, director, the stars, type of movie, if it has any award. Where and when it was set in.

In the second paragraph summarise the plot. And in the last paragraph tell your opinion about the film and say if and why you would recommend it or not.

Useful phrases:

It’s about… It’s set in …  It’s based on … My favourite scene is …  It starts when … It was filmed on location… It stars … and ….  It was directed by …

Well, see you on Monday, then!

Buying a House.

 Week 9^th – 11^th June

 Hello!

Gema, welcome back! It was nice to see you again.

We started the week checking our revision exercises.

 Tense review:

Present perfect simple vs present perfect continuous.

Jane’s hungry. She hasn’t eaten anything for six hours.

She is tired. She’s been studying for hours.

I don’t want to see that film. I’ve already seen it twice.

Sandy has been teaching English for years.

Past simple vs. past continuous.

My friend was walking home from school last week when she heard a loud bang. Some men were robbing a bank. She quickly ran to a telephone and rang the police.

Used to

When I was a little girl, I used to be very unhappy, but I’m not now. I didn’t use to have many friends and I used to cry a lot. I didn’t use to talk to anybody, but I do now.

Will, shall and going to.

We also revised comparative & superlative adjectives.

We revised possessive adjectives and pronouns.

We did a communication activity.

We had to choose a way of life. We chose a job, how many children we wanted to have, what kind of education we wanted to give them, the type of holiday we’d like to have and where we would like to live. Then, we chose among different houses the house we were going to buy. We calculated our income (the money we earned) according to our new ‘lifestyle’ and checked if we could afford it.

There were different types of houses.

A penthouse, a semi-detached house, a detached house, a terraced house, a flat in a block in downtown, a manor (Victorian) house and even a bungalow!

As Alberto couldn’t afford to buy the house he wanted to and didn’t want to ‘kill’ one of his kids, so as to save £1,000, he decided to go for a cheaper house, farther from the city centre but he could keep both cars! And both kids!

Types of Houses

Then, on Wednesday we started to see the film ‘Wag the Dog’. We’ll finish it tomorrow.

See you then!!!

Money and the Weather ...

 Week 2^nd– 4^th June

Hello!

Where was everybody last week?

Actually, (in fact) I know the answer. Sergio and Jorge had morning shifts and they attended in the evening. Elena was playing handball in Greece! In fact, she was coming back to Madrid on Monday. Her team played very well but they didn’t have very good luck and were beaten by the opponents just for 1 goal! Anyway, 2^nd position in the European Championship is really good! Well done and congratulations!

But, what about Gema?

So, this is what Alberto and I did on Monday; talking about how Elena’s tournament had been going on (the development of it).

Vocabulary on Handball                       

And then …we made small talk, (unimportant issues for conversation) we talked about the weather! (I know. Usual topic at the bus stop or in the elevator).

He looked for weather terms in a word square.

·         Gale is a kind of strong wind. It’s stronger than breeze.

·         Icy is the adjective from ice.

·         Mild temperatures aren’t either cold or hot.

·         When the sky is cloudy, it’s overcast.

·         The projection of objects or bodies is shadow. The shade is the dark part where the sun doesn’t reach. It’s too hot, sit in the shade or you’ll get sunburn!

We listened to the song ‘It’s Raining Men’ by Geri Halliwell.

The song was first recorded by “The Weather Girls”. Geri Halliwell  recorded it again and her version was used on the soundtrack of the film ‘Bridget Jones Diary’

You can listen to both versions. Which one do you like best?

It's Raining Men     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geC2gHZ6m2g&feature=kp

 I prefer Geri Halliwell’s!

Then, on Wednesday we talked about money.

If you are short of money you can borrow money from a friend. But if you need bigger amounts, a bank will lend you some money. Providing you can pay it back later! In that case you’ll get a loan to spend on whatever you want to buy. But if you want to buy a house, then you’ll have to ask for a mortgage to the bank.

Some people put aside (save) money for a holiday or a whim (something which isn’t really necessary). You can put in money on your account at the bank or take it out (withdraw). You can withdraw money in your bank office (branch) or from a cash machine, also called ATM, which stands for Automated Teller Machine.

But, what’s your attitude towards money?

You did a questionnaire choosing a response out of three given ones.

You see a beggar in the street. Would you

a)    Give him/her everything in your wallet?

b)    Give him /her some change?

c)    Say you have no change?

Your teenage son is living at home with you. You ask him to clean up his room  and wash your car. Would you

a)    Pay him for both jobs?

b)    Pay him for the car but not for his room?

c)    Expect him to do the jobs for nothing?

And so on… I’ll give you your results tomorrow.

Take care! See you tomorrow!

What Would you do if you Won 5Million Pounds on the Lottery?

Week 26^th – 28^th May

Hello!

How are you doing?

I hope you are ok! Elena, how is it going? You must be very tired.

How were your matches like? And what about Greece?

Did you have time to go sightseeing? I don’t think you did. Anyway, tell us when you come to class!!

Last week we finished talking the topic on conditional clauses. Actually, we only explained 1^st and 2^nd conditional as well as the Zero conditional.

We finished our ‘Slogan competition’

Don’t forget:

If you want to have sunny days, have ‘Sun Flakes’ cereals for breakfast. It’ll never rain on you!

Feel the power! Feel the Speed! Feel the wind in your face! If you ride a ‘Top Speed’ Motorbike, you’ll be able to feel everything!

·         Zero conditional. (Real situation/ facts)

We use if + present simple                            present simple

If you begin the sentence with “if”, you have to use a comma.

·         First conditional.

·         Possible and very probable situation

We use if + present simple                                     will / won’t + infinitive

If it doesn’t rain on Saturday, we’ll go for a walk.

·         Instructions

We use if + present simple                                     imperative

·         f you can’t attend to the meeting, email us in advance.

·         Second conditional.

·         Unreal situation

If + past simple ------------------ would / wouldn’t + infinitive

(present conditional)

If I were you, I wouldn’t wear these shoes with that suit.

(You can use ‘were’ with all person of verb ‘to be’ in 2^nd conditional clauses)

·         Possible but very improbable situation

·         If + past simple ------------------ would / wouldn’t + infinitive

§  (present conditional)

·         If I won £5,000,000 on the lottery, I wouldn’t tell anyone, except my family.

·         …and that is exactly what you did!

Do you remember the game we played?

You had been awarded £5,000,000 on the lottery and you had to make a series of decisions.

The goal of the game was trying to find out (discovered)if you would be happy with your money or, on the contrary, this winning would make you miserable (really unhappy).

Although you took different paths, you ended up (have as a result) being happy and fulfilled (satisfied).

Well played Jorge & Alberto! Sensible (appropriate decisions)

And we also compared ‘used to’, ‘be used to’ and ‘get used to’

We came across (mention by chance) this subject when talking about pets.

·           My dog didn’t use to be very friendly. (habit, behaviour in the past)

·           We bought a cat and the dog got used to living with it. (started to become familiar; get accustomed to)

·           Now, my dog is used to living with my cat. (It’s natural for him). They’re the best friends in the world!

Used to +infinitive: repetitive actions or states in the past that are no longer true.

Get used to + -ing: starting to familiarize with something.

Be used to + -ing   become familiar with something.

Finally, we learnt vocabulary about money. We’ll revise it in our next lessons!

Money, money

More on Money and Banking!

And so, our weekly lessons finished.

See you tomorrow!