sábado, 26 de abril de 2014

What's Going on? What's Happening?

Week 21st – 23rd

It seems to me you were a bit lazy and that’s why nobody turned up (appeared) on Monday.  I guess (suppose) you were taking advantage of the holidays until the very last moment!

Anyway, we got started on Wednesday.

We finished the crossword with word definitions.

We revised different verb tenses with a communication task.

In one of the pictures, Mari is outside the cinema. She is looking at her watch. She is waiting for her boyfriend. She has been waiting for nearly one hour. She’s sad because she thinks her boyfriend has let her down! (disappointed her, not attending to the date).

In picture 2, Jan has been learning to drive for two months and she’s having her driving test today. Both, she and her driving teacher aren’t looking at the road. Fred is talking to his wife on his mobile. In fact, they are arguing. They’ve been arguing for a long time. He’s crossing the road absentmindedly (distractedly). Fred is going to be run over by Jan!

In picture 4, we can see three men working out (doing exercise) in the gym. Tony’s running. He looks exhausted (very tired). He’s been running for one hour.

·         Have you ever let anybody down? Who was s/he? When did it happen?
·         Have you ever run over an animal when you were driving e.g. a cat, a rabbit, a hare (animal similar to rabbit)?
·         Do you like working out? How often do you work out?

We revised present perfect with a communication task.

·           He has never eaten frog legs.
·           Why hasn’t he eaten frog legs? Because frog legs don’t appeal to him. (He doesn’t feel attracted by that kind of food)
·           I’ve never been to Japan but I’d like to go there.
·           I haven’t been to Japan because I don’t have enough money. I’d like to visit the country because I’d like to see Japanese temples and the cities of Tokyo and Kyoto.

Next week we’ll tell stories using past tenses, past simple, continuous and past perfect.


Have a nice weekend!


lunes, 14 de abril de 2014

A Story: "Love on the Net"


Week 7th- 9th April

Hi! How are you doing?

Fine, aren’t you? Me, too. Because next week is Easter and we’ll be on holiday. After such a long term, we really deserve a holiday; don’t you think?
I’m sorry to hear that Noemi isn’t coming this term, but we wish you good luck at work and with your band. Let us know about your concerts!

We reviewed passive questions. Yes, they are a bit tricky because you have to bear in mind (consider) two things at the same tie. You have to pay attention to the passive structure, using “to be” and also to the word order in questions:

Are bananas grown in Spain?
Was the Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo Da Vinci?
Who was taken to hospital?
Was the room being cleaned when you got to the hotel?

We went through your essays and corrected the mistakes you had made.

You told me Elaine’s story.

Elaine’s talking to her friend on the phone. Her life has changed a lot. She now lives with Shane.
Who is Shane? How did they meet? Is he married? Did Bob and Elaine split up? Why? Who was getting on Elaine’s nerves?

·         You usually keep in touch (communicate with each other) with your friends. Sometimes you can’t get in touch (contact) with them because we are too busy these days!
·         They split up (break up, break a relationship) after ten years of living together.
·         Celebrities often get divorced and they get married again after some time.
·         That horrible noise is getting on my nerves. (I can’t stand it, I hate it)

We worked in pairs so as to complete a crossword by using definitions.

·         It’s a place where you …
·         It’s a person who
·         It’s something you say / do when …
·         It’s the opposite of../ a kind / sort of…
·         It’s made of
·         It’s used for


We also practised making questions and answers so as to fill in the missing information we had on our pieces of paper.
We had to find out (discover) details about Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.

·         When was Keira born?
·         Who really was Orlando’s father?
·         How many films has Keira made since 2001?
·         Why did Orlando have a lot of problems at school?
·         How long has Keira lived in London?

We found out that both of them live in London. Both of them had problems because they’re dyslexic. Keira was born in Teddington and Orlando was born in Canterbury, (beautiful town, by the way); so, both of them are British. Both left school when they were teenagers and concentrated on acting.

If you want to know more about Canterbury, here you have their official website


You can do exercises on this topic on the following link:

jueves, 3 de abril de 2014

"Changing your Life"


31st March – 2nd April

End of term, beginning of term!

We learnt the differences between present perfect simple and present perfect continuous.

Let’s remember the structures:


Present Perfect Simple
Present Perfect Continuous

Affirmative
I’ve tried Japanese food.
I’ve been having lunch since 4.00
She’s worked for the BBC for 5 years.
She’s been working here for ages.
Negative
I haven’t tried Thai food.
I haven’t been studying much lately.
She hasn’t worked for the CNN.
She hasn’t been working here for long.
Question form
Have you tried Mexican food?
Have you been having lunch?
Has she worked for a radio station?
Has she been working here for long?

Present Perfect Simple: Have /has + past participle (-ed/ irregular verbs, 3rd column on the list)
Present Perfect Continuous: Have/has + been + -ing

Uses:
Present Perfect simple

It is used to talk about general experiences without mentioning or asking “when”.

·         She’s been to a lot of Asian countries.
·         Have you ever been to New York?

It is used to connect the past with the present; to talk about duration of events.

·         She has had her house since 2000.
·         How long have you lived here?
·         I’ve known my best friend since we were children.

Contrast



Present Perfect Continuous

I’ve been packing my case all the morning. (I haven’t finished)

She’s been typing emails since 8.00
(Emphasis on duration)
Present Perfect Simple

I’ve packed my case.
(I’ve finished)

I’ve only typed ten emails!
(Emphasis on number)
They’ve been eating the chocolates I bought yesterday.
(There are some chocolates in the box)

They’ve eaten the chocolates I bought yesterday. (They’re finished. The box is empty)

So, we talked about different topics so as to put into practice these structures.

You talked about how long you’ve known your best friend.; where you met; what his/her name is; why you are friends and more questions you could come up with.(think of)
You also told me about something you are learning to do, a sport you do or play regularly, the make of the car you drive and many other things.

We also talked about “Changing our lives”

  • Which country would you like to go to work if you could spend a year abroad?
  • Why?
  • Which difficulties you think you may find there?
  • If you could stay in that country longer, would you?
  • Would you live there for good (for a long time, definitely) or would you come back to Spain?
It seems to me that your main reason for working abroad is to learn English! Look at your choice countries: England, Australia, the USA!

Interesting views, you have!
See you on Monday!


Noemi, we haven’t heard from you! We hope you are OK!