Class: 17^th December

Unit 3A: Being confident

Pages: 26 – 27

Grammar: Pronunciation

http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm

http://www.stuff.co.uk/calcul_nd.htm

Vocabulary: masseuse (m.) masseur (f.), snicker, self-aware, self-conscious

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Merry X-mas! My gift to you: NO HOMEWORK.

Extras, if you have time:

Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience vs. memory

http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory/transcript?language=en

John Wooden: The difference between winning and succeeding

http://www.ted.com/talks/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success/transcript?language=en

Glee - Jingle Bell Rock (Lyrics)

Class: 15^th December

Review of the exam

Our last class before the X-mas holiday will be on the 17th of December. 

Grammar: Subject – verb agreement (Excellent if you click on HINT which is the grammatical explanation.)

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/we/ch6/subjverbag.htm?AnswerFile=..%2Fqpserver%2F21a&rad1=a&rad2=a&rad3=a&rad4=b&rad5=b&rad6=b&rad7=a&rad8=a&rad9=a&rad10=a&rad11=a&rad12=b&rad13=a&rad14=a&rad15=b&mark=100

Extras, if you have time:

TED Talks

Michael Green: What the Social Progress Index can reveal about your country
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_green_what_the_social_progress_index_can_reveal_about_your_country/transcript?language=en

Class: 10^th December

Progress Test 1

Extras, if you have time:

Jamie Oliver: Teach every child about food

http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver/transcript?language=en

Class: 3^rd December

Units 1 & 2: Review

Pages: 114 - 115

Grammar: Review - Cleft Sentences, Relative clauses with prepositions, Participle clauses, Adjective word order

All of whom, etc.

http://www.grammarbank.com/whose-of-which-of-whom.html

Vocabulary: Review – high-rise, winding, stunning

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 57 -  59; and, review for the Progress Test

Extras, if you have time:

BBC News - Why people change the way they speak

Class: 1^st December

Unit 2C: Spoilt for choice

Pages: 24 – 25; 114

Grammar: Review

Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Time expressions
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpas-preper http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/presentperfectorpastsimple/menu.php

Vocabulary: steeped in, septic tank, infinity pool

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 84 ex. 1- 4

Extras, if you have time:

TED Talks

Kitra Cahana: A glimpse of life on the road

http://www.ted.com/talks/kitra_cahana_stories_of_the_homeless_and_hidden/transcript?language=en

Dan Barasch: A park underneath the hustle and bustle of New York City

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barasch_a_park_underneath_the_hustle_and_bustle_of_new_york_city/transcript?language=en

The Silk Road and Ancient Trade: Crash Course World History #9

Class: 26^th November

Unit 2C: Spoilt for choice

Pages: 23, 24 - 25

Grammar: Apostrophe

http://www.apostrophe.org.uk/page2.html

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/apostrophe

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/nouns_articles/apostrophe_s.htm

Time conjunctions

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-4103.php

While vs. Meanwhile

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv257.shtml

http://www.engvid.com/while-meanwhile/

Vocabulary: bliss, hustle and bustle, second to none, to wander, to dwell, to sear, strewn

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Composition – Write a for and against essay about Tourism. (180 – 200 words)

Extras, if you have time:

Below I have included a blog about China of one of my colleagues. I hope you are curious.

http://blog.holachina.net/

Spain: Curbing Mass Tourism | European Journal

Spain Tourism

Class: 24^th   November 2014

Unit 2B: Memorable places

Pages: 20 - 22

Grammar: Adjective word order

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/adj_order.html

http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/adjorder.html

Vocabulary: choppy, dinghy, gravel, lodge, tame, to pound, marble, scruffy, superbly

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 75

Extras, if you have time:

Discovery Waterfront Cities of the World Venice 720p

Class: 19^th November 2014

Unit 2B: Memorable places

Pages: 20 – 21

Grammar: Participle clauses

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/es/grammar-reference/participle-clauses

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/participle-clauses.html

http://www.grammaring.com/participle-clauses

Vocabulary: utterly, to cram, weirdo, lagoon, to sip, cluster, to tuck into, to chuck, bullring, boxing ring, curry

Christmas pudding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 11 - 12

Extras, if you have time:

I Left My Heart In San Francisco by Tony Bennett (Subtitled)

Guide to Kerala and South India

The 5 Best Places to See the Northern Lights

Amazing and Mysterious Places You Can't Visit

 

Class: 17^th November 2014

Unit 2A: Exceptional People

Pages: 18 – 19

Grammar: Relative clauses with prepositions

http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/preposition-placement-relative-clauses/

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/preps-placement.html

List of verbs followed by prepositions

http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/verb_preposition_collocations.html

Vocabulary: to carve, to take it out on smo., to melt

Intensifying adverbs

http://quizlet.com/5903106/english-collocations-intensifying-adverb-adjectiveverb-flash-cards/

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 9

Extras, if you have time:

Meet Your Master: Getting to Know Your Brain - Crash Course Psychology #4

Wendy Chung: Autism — what we know (and what we don’t know yet)

http://www.ted.com/talks/wendy_chung_autism_what_we_know_and_what_we_don_t_know_yet/transcript?language=en

Class: 12^th November 2014

Unit 2A: Exceptional People

Pages: 15 - 17

Grammar: Relative clauses with prepositions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv286.shtml

http://www.grammaring.com/prepositions-in-relative-clauses

Vocabulary: feat, warp, shrouded, spatial, plausible, lucky charm, leprechaun, security blanket, coalesce, literacy, illiterate, torch, to fit in with

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 10

Extras, if you have time:

Arthur Benjamin: A performance of "Mathemagic"

http://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_does_mathemagic/transcript?language=en

The Boy With The Incredible Brain - Documentary

Class: 5^th November 2014

Unit 1C: Favourite Sayings

Pages: 13 -15

Grammar: Explaining and paraphrasing

About which is to say:

http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/18412/what-is-meant-by-the-phrase-which-is-to-say

http://es.bab.la/diccionario/ingles-espanol/which-is-to-say

Linking expressions:

http://www.engelska.uu.se/writing/guide/linking

Vocabulary: underscore, to engage, to gage, backward/forward slash

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(punctuation)

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg 8.  ; Writing – Cover Letter

http://careers.theguardian.com/covering-letter-examples

Extras, if you have time:

Top 10 Job Interview Questions and Answers - Common Interview Questions You NEED to be Prepared For

Spanish Proverb: Tell me with whom you walk...

Class: 3^rd November 2014

Unit 1B: Friends – the new family?

Pages: 11 - 12; 13

Grammar: Easily confused words
http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/confused_words_english.html

Vocabulary: awash, give way, at arm’s length, amid, drift, nurture, shallow, busyness, fallow, domestic violence, henpecked, loose change, busyness, to stick up for smo.

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 6 ex. 1 &2; Course book – pg. 13 ex 3b, ex. 4a &b

Extras, if you have time:

George Carlin - I Like People

Class: 29^th October 2014

Unit 1B: Friends – the new family?

Pages: 11  

Grammar: Cleft Sentences

http://web.educastur.princast.es/eoi/eoimiere/myweb/blog/wp-content/uploads/cleft_sentences.pdf

http://www.scribd.com/doc/12881488/Cleft-Sentences-Exercises

Vocabulary: water cooler, friending, keep up with (the Joneses),

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_up_with_the_Joneses

Main vs. Principal – the following is the best answer I found on Word Reference

In some cases, principal is a little more formal while main is more informal.
The principal cause of the economic crisis is inflation.
The main cause of the economic crisis is inflation.
The main reason I've called you here is... (spoken by the coach)
The principal reason I've called you here is... (spoken by the university president)

In other cases, there are common phrases that usually take one or the other.
The main idea of the story is.... (yes) ("main idea" is a set phrase)
The principal idea of the story is... (no)
The main method that was used in the study... (no) ("main method" is unnaturally alliterative)
The principal method that was used in the study... (yes)
The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. (yes)
The rain in Spain falls principally on the plain. (no)

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 7 ex. 5, 6a & b; Worksheet I gave you in class

TED Talk

Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?

https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together/transcript

Extras, if you have time:

You might enjoy watching the first few minutes of this British series (first 4 mins. or so)

Keeping Up Appearances s01e03 Stately Home (Full Episode)

Also, here is the link to the article I mentioned in class about writing.

La letra, con ‘smartphone’, entra

http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2014/10/27/actualidad/1414400894_999475.html

Class: 27^th October 2014

Unit 1B

Page: 10  

Grammar: Cleft Sentences

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv149.shtml

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/sent-cleft.html

Vocabulary: launch, snatch, giggle, get into a flap

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Course book – Read the pertinent Grammar Section on pg. 136; Workbook – pg. 6 ex.3; pg. 7 ex 4

Extras if you have time:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Official Trailer [1956]

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) - Trailer

Class: 22^nd October 2014

Unit 1:

Pages: 8 - 9

Grammar: Time expressions with Present Perfect and Past Simple

http://speakspeak.com/resources/english-grammar-rules/conjunctions/as-soon-as

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/present-tense/present-perfect

Vocabulary: hardware store, haberdashery (Pontejos), lingerie shop, cobbler

To review definitions given in class and see further examples, click on the following link:

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

OR simply look them up in Google.

Homework: Workbook – pg. 5; Worksheet I gave you in class

Extras if you have time:

Monty Python - Cheese Shop

Hungarian Phrase Book - Monty Python's The Flying Circus