16/12 Monday - 18/12 Wednesday. Classes 25-26

Hello
I decided to join two entries as both classes we´ve been working on the same topic.
We´ve learnt when we use Present Perfect and Past Simple:
I´ve been to France.
I went there last year. I went with my family. We had a good time.

We´ve practised the phrase: Have you ever been to...? You´ve been talking about your holidays in different countries.

Glastonbury festival

We´ve been pracising Past Participle form of the verbs and talked about Glastonbury music festival (if you interested here´s the link to read more).
We´ve listened to people giving their impressions about the festival.

Also today we´ve found out some incredible facts about the history of Christmas, its origins, celebrations and who Santa Claus is in reality.
You can watch the video again - History of Christmas.

You can also watch different other videos related to Christmas on this website - Evolution of Santa Claus, Origins of Christmas, Strange Christmas Traditions.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
See you next trimester in a new year!

11/12 Wednesday. Class 24

Hello! Have you studied hard? Have you done all your homework?
You see? I´m using ... Present Perfect!

So, today we´ve started a new topic "Going places" where we learn how to speak about our experience on holidays or any other experience.
We´ve learnt some vocabulary to talk about holidays (to take a tour, to relax by the pool, to see the sights, to visit museums) and adjectives to describe things and people (delicious, sandy, cobbled, traditional, friendly, handmade, narrow, quality etc.).

Here´re some links to listen about holidays and travelling - Link 1, Link 2 and Link 3. Listen to conversations and do the activities on-line.

While talking about holidays we need to use Present Perfect together with Past Simple.
We use Pr.Perf. to talk about our experience:
I have read two books.
I have been to nine different countries.
Have you ever ridden a camel?

Practise Pr.Perf. here, ask and answer the questions.

09/12 Monday. Class 23

Hello! Seems you were so busy at the weekend that didn´t entre the blog! Don´t be lazy and find a minute to do it!

So, this class we´ve been practising -ed/-ing adjectives, you know them very well now:
When was the last time you felt bored/annoyed/embarassed/frustrated etc.?
What do you find interesting/boring/amusing/fascinating etc.?
What makes you excited/frightened?

Also we´ve learnt the adverbs (regular and irregular): regular - -ly and irregular (well, early, late, fast hard etc.). Remember, adjectives almost always go before the noun or after the verbs to be, to sound, to smell, to look:
I bought a beautiful dress.
It´s good. The roses smell nice etc.

But the adverbs mostly go after the verb:
He runs fast. I met him unexpectedly.

Here´re some links to the webpages where you can practise adverbs: Link 1 and Link 2.

Watch a short funny video and write out all adverbs that you hear - Video.

Do your homework carefully and slowly. Good luck!

04/12 Wednesday. Class 22

Hello!
Hey, you talked a lot today and IN ENGLISH! It´s very cool!
We did a very nice board game where we practised a lot of speaking using Past Simple.

We also listened to your short biographies of famous people. They were really great! You used a lot Past Simple in them. Remember: to marry smb., to get married to smb.

We also learnt two types of adjectives (ed/ing) and the difference between them: -ed adjectives express the feeling or state of a person; -ing adjectives describe the thing/person.
The film was very boring, I was really annoyed to waste 10 euros on it.

Here´s a couple of links to practise the adjectives - Link 1 and Link 2.
Watch a video "-ed vs -ing adjectives" and learn the new words!
Your homework is to study the copy with adverbs and do the exercises. Have a good long weekend!

02/12 Monday. Class 21

Hello! How´re you?
Today we had "totally English speaking" class. You´ve been practising past tense in speaking.

First, we revised the irregular verbs and played "football". It was really fun! Mind please the pronunciation!

We also did some reading and practised asking and answering questions, then you were using them in your conversations. We played a guessing game:
What did you do yesterday?
Did you go to the concert yesterday?
Did you go to the party? Did you go swimming? etc.

Remember the time expressions we use with Past Simple (yesterday, last week/weekend/month/year, yesterday morning/afternoon/evening, 2 years ago, in 1992/summer/June etc.)


Here´s a link of a webpage where there are lots of exercises with Past Simple in case you want to practise!

Your homework is to write a short biography about a famous person using Past Simple! Good luck!
Here´s the link to the webpage "Famous People" where you can listen to the audio and read short texts about famous people´s biographies.

27/11 Wednesday. Class 20

Hello!
Did you read the blog? Did you write anything? Did you study English?
Did you notice ... I´m using past tense here?

So, we´ve revised Past Simle (regular and irregular verbs) sentences and questions:
What did you do yesterday? - I watched TV.
Did you work last weekend? - No, I didn´t.

You can watch the video with regular verbs once again - Past Simple Regular Verbs.

We also revised irregular verbs (you can find the list of irregular verbs in Aula Virtual). Here´re two links to practise irregular verbs - Link 1 and Link 2.

Your homework is to complete the text with irregular verb forms and to practise questions in the past.

25/11 Monday. Class 19

Hello! How´re you?
What did you do yesterday? Yes, we´re talking about the past.
So, we revised the ordinal numbers (one-the first, two- the second, three-the third etc.).

We use ordinal numbers to say the dates: April, 3 (the third of April or April the third) and we use preposition "on" when we want to say that something happened this day:
My birthday is on the first of August.

Practise saying and writing the dates in this website. 

In the class we were talking about different American and British holidays. Here´s a good webpage where you can read about the history of some holidays and watch videos - History of the Holidays.

We also started revising Past Simple with regular verbs. We practised the pronunciation of them:
worked, stopped, kissed, washed - /t/
lived, opened, cleaned, loved - /d/
started, decided, greeted, prided - /id/

For some more pronunciation practice watch the video "Regular Verbs" and repeat the words aloud.

Your homework is to read the text about Oprah Winfrey, complete the questions in the past and revise irregular verbs.

20/11 Wednesday. Class 18

Hello!

Today we´ve been practising asking questions with Past Simple the verb "to be" (was/were):
Where were you yesterday?
Who were you with?
What was the name of the hotel?

We´ve talked about Prodigy Children, your stories were nice and interesting!

Also we´ve learnt that we also use Can/Could for polite requests:
Can I have a coffee, please?
Could you help me, please?

If you want to do some extra practise, watch this video "Polite Requests". Listen and repeat the phrases with Can/Could. Are there any other phrases to express request in the video? Find them!

Practise here more and do the test!

Your homework is to revise the ordinal numbers and how to say the dates in English.

18/11 Monday. Class 17

Hello there! I hope now everybody knows that our blog exists! For some it was good news!

Today we´ve been revising and practising Past forms (was/were and could/couldn´t):
Where were you yesterday? - I was at work.
What could you do when you were 5? - I could read and swim when I was 5.

We´ve been talking about Prodigy Children. Why were they so special? What could they do in their young age? Visit this site "Top 10 Child Prodigies" and find out more about them.

We were also pracritising some pronunciation - compound words (if you want to listen more check the previous blog entry).


Your homework is to investigate about one of the Prodigy Children and find out some info - When was he/she born? Where? What could he/she do and in what age?

13/11 Wednesday. Class 16

Hello there! Hey, you promised to read the blog at the weekend. Hope, you´re doing it now:)

Today we´ve been practising using "can/can´t" in our sentences. We´ve played a game "Guess what?" and done The Most Difficult Questionnaire. It was fun! (I liked the sentences "Can you ride a dog? Can you sing with the closed mouth? and How many aliens do you know?").

We´ve learnt what the compound words (nouns/adjectives) are: sunglasses, railway station, handbag, car park etc. Remember some of them we write in one word - classroom, in two words - car park, or with a hyphen - second-hand.

You can practise compound nouns Task 1 and Task 2.

Here's a video with pronunciation of the compound nouns, watch and practise.

Your homework is to read the texts about a famous family and do the tasks.

11/11 Monday. Class 15

Hello!

Today we´ve done some pronunciation activities (sounds /au/ and /ou/).You can practise listening to and pronouncing sound /au/ here.

Watch a video "Six Sounds of OU. English is Crazy" and practise all the variants of pronouncing OU.

We´ve started a new topic "Super Me" and learnt some grammar (can/can´t expressing ability):
Can you swim? - Yes, I can/No, I can´t.
Remember the pronunciation of "can/can´t" - in affirmative sentences and questions "can" is unstressed, while in short answers and negative it´s always stressed!

Here´s a nice video "What can you do?" where you can listen and practise the "can" expressions.

We´ve also learnt some adverbs that express how well we can do something (not at all, quite well, really well, brilliantly, a little bit, very well).

Your homework is to write sentences about you - What can you do and how well?

6/11 Wednesday. Class 14

Hello!

Your presentations were great (especially about a Royal Palace:))! Those who didn´t do the presentation you have the last chance on Monday.

Today we were struggling with numbers and prices ($1.50, 0.40p, £119.56 etc.). If you want to practise both listening and saying, visit "American numbers and prices" (for the American version) and "Saying Prices" (for the British version).

We´ve learnt different adjectives to express good and bad (excellent, fabulous, awful, horrible, lovely, fantastic etc.) Don´t forget the intonation when we use these phrases:
It´s wonderful! 
She´s awful.
They´re fabulous!

Additional words for "good" and "bad" adjectives check out here.

Make up your own examples with different synonyms expressing something good and bad. Write in your comments below!

4/11 Monday. Class 13

Hello after a long weekend!

Today we´ve been practising the use of some, any, a, a lot of, much and many. If you feel like practising more, here´s the activity.

Also we´ve learnt some interesting facts about the White House and practised asking questions.

We´ve done some Role Play on the topic "Renting a Flat", asking questions and giving details about the flat:
Where is the flat?
What floor is it on?
What is there near the house? Is there a supermarket, bus stop, chemist´s nearby?
How many rooms are there?
How much is he rent per month?
Is there any furniture in the flat?

Your homework is to do the Project - research about the famous building in your country (palace, house, official building) and prepare the presentation.

30/10 Wednesday. Class 12

Hello! and Happy Halloween!

Today we´ve been revising grammar (some, any, a, a lot of) and demonstratives (this/these, that/those):
This is my jacket. These are my glasses.
That dog is my neighbour´s. Those jeans are expensive.

Watch the video "This, That, These and Those" if you want to practise more.
Now your turn: look at the picture and write the sentences using "this/that, these/those"!

                                                                                                                                                          
We´ve also learnt how to use demonstratives in our daily life - when we go shopping:
How much is this newspaper?
How much are those tissues?
How much is that magazine?
How much are those postcards?

You can play a funny game - "How much is this?"and practise the prices in English.


Also we´ve revised and learnt some new prepositions of place (on, in, above, near, under etc.) and described our street.

Your hometask is to read the text about one of the most famous houses the White House and do the exercises.


And of course, it´s Halloween Time! 

 Here´s a Halloween Quiz, how well you know the history of the holiday.

28/10 Monday. Class 11

Hello!
Hey! I´m still waiting for your comments in the blog:)

So, today we´ve revised some furniture and appliances vocabulary (bookcase, cupboard, wardrobe etc.). Also we´ve practised there´s/there´re phrases to describe the rooms.

We´ve also learnt some grammar - How much...?/How many...?
How much space is there in the flat?
How many chairs are there in the kitchen?

We´ve also revised some/any/a, at home you have to do some exercises to practise it.
There´s some furniture in the living room.
There aren´t any plants in the flat.
Is there any space in the room?

Your hometask is to describe your flat for a rent advert.

We were also listening to a conversation between a client and estate attendant.
What is important for you when renting a flat (price, location, space, equipment)? Write in your comments!

23/10 Wednesday. Class 10

Hello!
Hey, you forget to leave your comments below! I´d appreciate if you wrote the answers for my questions. It´s a good way of communiction!

So, generally we did some revision today and finally we wrote our first Assessment Test in this course. I´m sure you did well!

Also we´ve started a new topic today "Somewhere to live". We were revising some vocabulary (living-room, kitchen, bedroom, furniture, cooker, sofa etc.).
For extra vocabulary practice check please Aula Virtual, there you can find pdf files with the vocabulary.

You can also practise on-line - "Furniture and Rooms Game" .

We´ve revised some grammar (there is/there are).

Your homework is to study this grammar item in detail (affirmative, negative and questions). To get some more practice watch a video "There is/there are".

Look at the picture and compare it with your house/flat. What is there in your house/flat?  
Write your comments below!

21/10 Monday. Class 9

Hello! Glad to see you after the weekend!

Today we´ve practised some pronunciation - letters "ea". Remember there´re lots of ways to read words with "ea". You can practise it with a Reading Game  and other Reading Resources.

We´ve also talked about sports, games and other activities. Do you remember the collocations do/go/play sports? Here are some on-line activities for you to practise: Activity 1 and Activity 2.

We were listening to other people and their preferences:
 He/she likes/dislikes doing smth.
Remember that we use mostly gerund when we talk about preferences.

Your homework is to read the texts and answer the questions! And also prepare for the test!!!


What sports can you see in this picture? 
Can you name them all? 
Do you use play/do/go with them?

Write in your comments!

16/10 Wednesday. Class 8

Hello! It´s the weekend soon! Any plans?

Why am I asking this? ´Cause we were talking about Free-time activities! My favourite topic!

So, we´ve learnt some free-time activities (reading, dancing, going out, playing sports etc.) and our likes and dislikes.

We´ve been listening to other people talking about their free-time and hobbies. Susie was a perfect match for Mark in the show "First Date"!!!

Do you like sports? Here´s a picture dictionary with lots of new sports games and activities.



What do you usually do in your free time? How often do you do the activities? What do you like doing most/least? Why? Write your comments below!

Watch a video where a girl is talking about her free time? What does she like doing?

Enjoy!!!

14/10 Monday. Class 7

Hello!

Today we were talking about housework and who does what in the family. We´ve learnt the phrases of likes/dislikes:
I like cooking.
I love going shopping.
I can´t stand cleaning the bathroom.
I hate ironing.

Remember that we use gerund here!

Also we´ve learnt how politely ask smb to do smth for us:
Can you...please?
Could you .... please?
Would you mind + ing?

You can listen to the requests and practise them with Listening game.

We have also revised how to tell the time and listened to different people telling what time they get up and go to bed. You can listen again and do the exercises - "What time do you get up and go to bed?"
Your hometask is to prepare a short story about your daily routine, what time you do different activities. Here´s a video where you can practise it! "Telling Time".

09/10 Wednesday. Class 6

Hi there!

Today we´ve talked about daily routine at work and read a text about Babur and his teaching career.

We´ve started talking about daily activities (get up, have lunch, work out in the gym, catch a bus to work etc), free-time activities (go to the cinema, read a book, go jogging, play sports) and chores (take out the rubbish, vacuum the floor).

Watch a video where the teachers are talking about their Daily Routine. What´s your favourite part of the day? What would your dream day be?

Do you like doing household chores? Probably, not a lot! Here is a video to practise vocabulary on the topic "Chores".

We like to do some things more than others. Watch another video where a couple is talking about what they like and dislike doing around the house - "Household chores".

What do you like/hate/can´t stand doing around the house? Write in your comments!

07/10 Monday. Class 5

Hello again!

Today we were talking about what people do at work (look after sick people, change tyres, cut hair, design buildings etc.)

We´ve revised Present Simple (its spelling and pronunciation) and its use (daily routines, permanent states etc.).

The best way to learn grammar is with songs. Here is a video with different songs in Present Simple.
Can you think of any other song with Present Simple Tense? Write a link in comments when you find one.

Our Olympic Games results:

Yovanna - 0 points
Francisco - 4 points
Monica - 7 points
Ana - 0 points
Jessica - 4 point
Marta - 4 point
Miriam - 4 points


To practise pronunciation of the endings "-s/-es" for the third person, watch a video here.

02/10 Wednesday. Class 4

Hello

Today we´ve been talking about different jobs (waiter, policeman, firefighter etc).
We´ve learnt how to describe jobs and what qualities people need to have to do these jobs (creative, skilful, patient etc.)

We´ve talked about routines (work shifts, wear a uniform, get a good salary etc.).

What jobs can you see here? Can you name them? Write in your comments.

Are you happy with your job? No? Then it´s time to change for one of the ten happiest jobs. You can see Ten Happiest Jobs here.

What are top ten happiest jobs in your opinion? Leave your comment below.

Hey, to practise different jobs and their work let´s sing a song "People in my Town".
Ufff, you have plenty of homework for the weekend (all-in-all it´s going to rain:)) Enjoy!

P.S. Olympic Games results:
Yovanna - 1 point
Francisco - 2 points
Monica - 0
Ana - 2 points
Jessica - 1 point
Marta - 1 point
Miriam - 2 points

30/09 Monday. Class 3

Hi there!
So, today we´ve done some pronunciation drilling with sounds (a, e). I think you did very well!

We´ve practised how to ask for and give personal information (home address, phone number, e-mail etc.)

We´ve started talking about different jobs and routines.
To revise different types of jobs, watch the video "Jobs".

You could also practise what people do at work, their routine - video "What do you do?"

Now your turn: What is the best/worst job for you? Why? (write in the comments below).

25/09 Wednesday. Class 2

Hello
So, today we´ve "suffered" a pronunciation attack:) and learnt how to pronounce short sounds (a, e, i, o, u). I recommend you to practise those with the video "Short Vowels and Words" and "Extra Practice Short Vowel Sounds". 

Also today we´ve revised how to ask questions and had Olympic Games competition for the first time. 
Here´re the following results:
Yovanna - 3 points
Francisco - 3 points
Monica - 5 points
Ana - 4 points
Jessica - 4 points
Marta - 6 points

Hey, don´t worry! We´ll keep on practising asking questions through the course.

Now, here´s your task: make up one question of each tense we learnt.

23/09 Monday. Class 1

Hello!
I´m happy to see you, guys, at my classes. Good to see my "old" students and new ones as well.
At our first class we revised how to introduce ourselves and how to ask questions.

 Here are Test 2 and Test 3 to practise questions.

Also, we tried to read big numbers. If you forgot  how to do it or just want to practise it again, click here.

In your comments below write please several sentences about yourself: What´s your name? Where do you live? etc.