Mind Your English!

Hi, there!

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while, but it's been a very busy week. So, where are we? We are learning more about the present perfect simple with already, just and yet. We also learnt more verb collocations about work and adjectives and phrases about personality.

Extra grammar:
Present perfect+already,just,yet (1)
Present perfect+already,just,yet (2)
Present perfect+already, just, still, yet

Extra vocabulary:
Personality adjectives
Appearance and personality adjectives game

Extra listening:
Personality traits (multiple choice quiz) / What are you like? (with transcript)
Good qualities (multiple choice quiz) / Good qualities (with transcript)
Best quality (multiple choice quiz+transcript)
Worst quality (multiple choice quiz+transcript)
Signs from the Stars (multiple choice quiz) / Signs of the Stars (with transcript)

And finally I told you to write 3 sentences describing the most important qualities needed to do your own jobs and explaining why for homework. Use the words and phrases in the horoscope on p 71 of your Student's book. For example, I think that "Good teachers have a lot of patience because students often ask teachers to explain the lesson over and over again".

Have a nice weekend!

Published by Mariluz en 4:50 PM Comments

Hi, guys!

Well, yesterday we started a new unit about jobs. We learnt some vocabulary related to work and listened to a radio talk show about people who have met celebrities to introduce the present perfect simple.
Now watch this video to see how people use this verb tense:


Exercise about Ann
Exercise about Jim and Robin
Video transcript

Extra grammar exercises:
Present perfect (form)
Present perfect (uses)
Present perfect or past simple?
Present perfect or past simple? 1, 2
Game: past participles

Extra vocabulary exercises:
Jobs
Jobs and work
Work and working conditions
Office jobs, relationships
Life events, professions
Job families. Can you find your job?

Extra listening:
What was your first job?
Game:Job center

For homework tomorrow, please do the exercises on this worksheet.

Cheers!

Published by Mariluz en 3:17 PM Comments

Hi, there!

I hope you all had a very nice Easter break and are refreshed and ready to begin work again. On Wednesday we finished unit 6 by listening to a man making a restaurant reservation and practising the language used by customer and assistant in a fast food restaurant. Then we watched Jamie Oliver cook a barbecued salmon. Here you have the video to watch it again and here you have the transcription.

Extra listening:
At the restaurant
Restaurant review
A Cuban recipe
An omelet recipe
A spaghetti recipe
A dessert recipe (see transcript here)

Finally, I asked you to write your next assignment: a recipe. Follow the instructions, read the sample recipe (here you can watch the video) and keep it simple. Please, hand it in or send it as an attachment by e-mail (DOUBLE SPACE, please!) before the end of Wednesday, April 21st.

To revise this unit, download these files:

Unit 6 test
Unit 6 test (answer key)

You can also do the Revision test of unit 6 on page 153 of your Student's book and check your answers here.

See you next week, have fun!

Published by Mariluz en 4:35 PM Comments

Hi, there!

Well, Easter holidays are round the corner and I guess you are packing your luggage for your trip to the beach or thinking about staying at home and relax. I thought it would be interesting for you to tell us what you are planning to do at Easter or whether there are any traditional activities you are going to take part in, or any special food you are going to eat, etc..... You can use the comments to do so or write a new post if you are one of the contributors to the blog. I am waiting for you to drop a line or two......don't be lazy! ;-)

And now, let's get down to business: yesterday we basically talked about your coffee drinking habits and learnt how to form superlatives. Here you can find more exercises to work on them:
Superlatives (1)
Superlatives (2)
Game

Now, watch this video and complete the sentences below:

(See transcript here)

Extra listening:
Do you prefer coffee or tea? (with video)
Coffee song

And that's all for now, folks! Enjoy your Easter holidays and mind your English!!!

Published by Mariluz en 7:55 PM Comments

Hey, foodies!

Well, yesterday we basically talked about your eating habits and listened to a radio programme about slow food as opposed to fast food. If you want to know more about this topic, read this text about fast food facts and try to answer the questions.

Now, we also learnt about how to make comparative adjectives. Here you have exercises to practise:
Comparative adjective 1
Comparative adjectives 2
Comparative adjectives (game)

Extra vocabulary:
Food
Vegetables
Fruit
The big food quiz

Extra listening:
Daily Diet
Making a sandwich
Favorite fruits
Food and Health
Do you eat much fast food? (with video)
Fast food factors

Extra reading:
McDonald's + matching exercise + general comprehension exercise

For homework, please do exercises 1 and 2 of the Grammar section on p 59, read the text "Coffee break" on p 60 and do exercises 1,2 and 3 on the same page.

Enjoy your meal!

Published by Mariluz en 9:29 PM Comments

Hi, guys!

Just in case you didn't know, today is Father's Day in Spain (in English-speaking countries they celebrate it in June), and to celebrate it I want to share two of my favourite songs with you: the first one is Father and Son, a beautiful song where the father gives advice to his son about what he's going to face in life, by British singer Cat Stevens, and the second one is Tears in Heaven, which Eric Clapton wrote for his 4-year-old son Conor, who died when he fell out of a 53rd floor window in the apartment where his mother was staying in New York City. I hope you like them!





BTW (=by the way): I just found this fantastic site where you can read and listen to real English. It's called LingQ. Registering is free, so once you register you can jump right in and start lessons. Lessons are short little dialogues, or sometimes short descriptions that link every word to a dictionary, so you can build vocabulary and pick up grammar on your own. You can also write things and have them corrected by a tutor, and also speak in English with a tutor, but this isn't a free service.

Published by Mariluz en 9:21 PM Comments

Hello everyone!

Yesterday we finished unit 5 by reading about different kinds of holiday. Surfing on the net I found the Poseidon Undersea Resort website, a really different sea holiday experience!

We also learnt some verb patterns and practised speaking with a travel agent-clients role play.

Now, watch this video to learn more about verb patterns (people in this video are American, that's why they usually say "like to do" instead of "like doing") :

Exercises about the video
(Video transcript)

Finally, I asked you to write your next assignment: an e-mail to arrange a trip (exercise 6 only). Try to include the verb patterns studied in this unit and the language expressions used in any formal e-mail. Please, hand it in or send it as an attachment by e-mail (DOUBLE SPACE) before the end of Friday, March 26th (before Easter).

To revise this unit, download these files:
Unit 5 test
Unit 5 test (answer key)
You can also do the Revision test of unit 5 on page 152 of your Student's book and check your answers here.

Extra listening:
Great places (+multiple choice quiz)
Resort game
Vacation game
New York (+cloze exercise)
New York City Top 5 Things to Do (+cloze exercise)
California (+cloze exercise)
Adventure game (+multiple choice quiz)
Immigration and customs (+multiple choice exercise)

Extra vocabulary:
Holiday crossword game
Holiday wordsearch game
'Journey', 'travel' and 'trip' quiz

That's all for now, see you tomorrow and
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Published by Mariluz en 6:51 PM Comments

Hi, there!

Just a quick post to tell you about the grants that the Ministry of Education is offering to study English abroad.  Don't miss this opportunity and apply for the ones you like, some are really interesting. And be quick, the deadlines are near!

Published by Mariluz en 12:30 PM Comments