SK8ER BOI by AVRIL LAVIGNE

Real English series: How long does it take? and where do you live?

Last Tuesday my that's english blog published this post. I find it very useful and interesting so, take a look at it and practise. 

In the first video, passers-by answer a difficult question for students in lower levels: How long does it take you to get to work?

It is an impersonal question with the subject "it", so we'll be using auxiliary"does" for the 3rd person singular in the question.

The answers is also a bit funny: TAKE + PERSONAL OBJECT + TIME +TO-Infinitive.
It takes me 20 minutes to get to work.



You can watch the same video with subtitles on the Real English site here, where you can also do an interactive exercise here.

You can also practise this complicated structure with the following questions, most of which are related to household chores:
How long does it take you/your wife to make your bed?
How long does it take you to have breakfast?
How long does it take you to have a shower?
How long does it take you to read the newspaper?
How long does it take you to do the washing-up?
How long does it take you to cook dinner?
How long does it take you to get ready for work/school?
How long does it take you to do your English homework?

The second video is far less complicated, as passers-by answer the question Where do you live?, which also came up indirectly in the previous video. The difficulty here lies in identifying the place names speakers give, which might make it advisable to watch the video with subtitles on the Real English site here.



You can do an interactive exercise on the Real English site here.

Use fillers to avoid hesitation

From ieltsspeaking website comes this video that can help you in your speaking test.

Watch this ’5-Minute Functions’ video below to find out the various fillers you can use to give yourself a split second thinking time.

FILLERS:

• Well let me see
• That's a good question
• Well to be honest
• It's difficult to say
• That's a tricky one
• To cut a long story short
• It's funny you should ask

and now ... practise, practise and practise ;)

GOTYE - SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW

6 minute English - Listening Activity

Have you ever wondered why the news is full of death and destruction?

Kaz and Finn decide to take a look at some good news in this week's 6 Minute English.

Click here to go through the BBC Learning English website and listen to the podcast. You can download the audio file, and also the transcript. In order to do that take a look on the right hand corner on that page.  

Present perfect

St George International School published new series on their blog to tackle basic grammar points. 

In order to revise the present perfect, go through this poster and read the explanations given.

It is an engaging fun way of learning and revising the present perfect. 

So, what do these sentences really mean…?

1. I haven’t bought lemonade since 2003.
2.I haven’t tasted sweet lemonade for almost 10 years!

There is a continuing period of time from 2003 up to now, where he did not drink any lemonade. He is thinking about the past and the present together.

If he was only thinking about the past (and NOT THINKING ABOUT THE PRESENT AT THE SAME TIME) he would say…

PAST SIMPLE: I drank lemonade in 2003

(This is a finished action that is not connected to the present time. He drank that lemonade and it exists no more)

Compare with….

PRESENT PERFECT: I haven’t bought lemonade since 2003. (He is thinking aboutall the time from 2003 until now, 2012)

Now, watch this Video story The Queen and her butler where the differences between the present perfect and the past simple are dealt with.

Transcript

Q = Queen
J = Jeeves

Q: Jeeves, have you polished my crown today?

J: No, Madam. I’m afraid that I haven’t had time to do that yet.

Q: WHy not? Then please tell me what have you done this morning?

J: Well, let me see. I got up at 5am and then the first thing I did was to iron your newspaper.

Q: Good.

J: Then at half past five I took your corgis for a walk. Then at 6 o’clock I took Prince Philip to the bathroom.

Q: Quite right.

J: From 8 until 10, I was cutting out pictures of Prince Harry from the newspapers… for the family album, of course.

Q: Oooh.

J: But then I discovered something in the palace.

Q: Yes, yes. What was it?

J: Well, Madam it is a rather delicate matter. I’m afraid to say that your beloved doggies have done their “toilet business” all over the royal throne.

Q: Oh no!

J: So, Madam, that is why I haven’t cleaned your crown yet. And may I ask your Highness, what have you done this morning? Did you meet the Prime Minister?

Q: No, Jeeves, no. I left the palace at quarter to eleven to go and open a supermarket… and I’ve just arrived back.

J: Well, Madam, you have definitely had an extremely difficult morning.

Q: Indeed, indeed.

CONDITIONALS

Here's a great explanation.

PAST SIMPLE

 Here there are some videos to watch to learn about the simple past regular verb pronunciation (d, t, id)  and irregular verb pronunciation.

SPEAK OUT

In our Speaking lesson on the 8th of February, we will deal with "Cinema". Watch the video and try to answer these questions:

• Do you like going to the cinema?
• How often do you go to the cinema?
• What was the last film you saw?
• What kind of films do you like?
• Who is your favourite actor or actress?Why?
• Which is your favourite film? Why?

SPEAK OUT

In our previous lesson on Speaking, we talked about Holidays. Here you have the podcast seen in class. Watch it again and try to answer also the questions:

• What kind of holidays do you like?
• How many different holidays are mentioned in the video?
• Where did you go on your last holidays?
• How many places are mentioned?
• Did you have a good time? Did the people in the video have a fantastic time?

Tips for your Certificate Exams

Hi there,

I was surfing the net and I came across to English in guía blog where I've found this fantastic document. In the embedded one you can find some useful expressions you can use during your exam. Now, you only have to read as much as possible, listen to English and practise it in our weekly Friday lessons.

  

Besides, in this powepoint you will be able to practise the functional language you need for your speaking test. The structures are very helpful, so REMEMBER them!

Finally, I found out another great article, published by Saro Rosales. A list of possible topics and useful expressions are included. So, don't miss it! ;)

The Flatmates

From the BBC LEARNING ENGLISH comes this serie THE FLATMATES. As I told you in class, it is very funny to learn new vocabulary and new expressions. Apart from the episode you can do the quiz to check your understanding.

Meet the Flatmates. These are the characters:

• Tim: Tim's ambitious and very competitive. He'd like to start up his own business and is always on the lookout for people and ideas that can help him make his dream a reality. Until recently, he was working as an assistant manager in a department store, selling jewellery. 
• Helen: Helen was born in China but has lived in Britain since she was 12. She is at university studying politics and economics. Helen is worried about her exams. She wants to get a good degree but doesn't study as much as she should. Khalid: Khalid was born in Bahrain, but he is studying English at a language school near the flat. He is also a part-time business student at the University. He loves sport, especially football, and is interested in music and fashion too. here
• Alice: Alice is a nurse from London. She loves her job and gets a lot of satisfaction helping people get better. She wants to get married and have kids but she never seems to meet the right man. 
• Michal: Michal is Tim's cousin from Poland. He came to Britain to improve his English. He was a student in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) school. At first he was shy and he missed Poland a lot. 

You can choose the episode, click here to go through the archive.

Then, when you watch the episode you can go through the language point or the quiz.

VOSCREEN

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo's blog I came across a site called Voscreen. After signing-up and choosing your native language from a list of nine, you’re shown a series of very short video TV/movie video clips where a phrase is said. Then, you have a choice of either clicking “I understand” or “Show Me The Script.” If you clip “Show Me The Script,” you’re shown two versions in your native language, and you have to choose which one is correct. Click on one and it shows if it’s the right one or not and then you can move to the next clip. If you clip "I understand", you're shown two versions in your native language, and you have to choose which one is correct, too. It is shown with green colour. 

This site Voscreen is free, you can sign up, access through your Facebook account or start as a guest.

EXTRA ENGLISH SERIES

Extra English episode 1 Hectors arrival (part1)

This is the story of Bridget and Annie, who share a flat in London. They have a neighbour, Nick. Nick fancies Bridget. But Annie fancies Nick. That’s the way it is until Bridget gets a letter from Argentina. Stand by for Extra.

Extra English lessons are very useful for beginner and intermediate English learners. These videos have subtitles, so you can read the text while your are watching Extra English episodes.

Extra English episode 1 (part 2)

These episodes ,suitable for you, are quite funny and you really like them! I think they are easy to understand thanks to the subtitles. Watch them, you will find more in youtube channel and in power-english.net

LET'S SPEAK!

Next Friday 26th,we will deal with health and eating habits in our speaking session.
I have come across a presentation by Kirsti Dyer, Live a healthy life. 

The 35 slides tell us about all aspects of our lives: diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation, health, fun, friends.

Live a Healthy Life - Original from Kirsti Dyer MD, MS

Compare your lifestyle with the ideas put forward by Dr Dyer. In preparation for your speaking session try to answer these questions.

• Do you have a healthy lifestyle?
• What do you usually do to stay healthy?
• Do you think your diet is generally healthy?
• Do you take vitamin supplements ? What vitamin supplements do you use?
• How much of your diet consists of prepackaged food?
• How often do you eat junk food?
• What do you do if you are ill? 
• How often do you go to the doctor's to get a regular check up?
• Have you ever been on a successful diet?
• Have you ever tried yoga?
• Have you ever used a personal trainer?
• What do you do to keep fit?
• What other things would you like to do to keep fit?
• Do you do anything that is unhealthy?

Watch this video and note down the answers speakers do about their healthy lifestyles. 

WITHOUT YOU BY DAVID GUETTA

Enjoy this fantastic song by David Guetta. I really love it! It makes me feel alive! Let's dance.
Moreover, this site lyrics training is brilliant for listening to music while practicing your English. You can choose your level from beginner to expert, and then you should fill in the blanks. You can stop the music and repeat, take your time and write it down. It's a cool way to improve your English.

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/9879/david_guetta_usher/without_you

Wouldn't it be nice by Beach Boys

Enjoy this song!

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES (intermediate students)

Conditional

View more presentations from Desiree Bosca Tornero.

DANCING QUEEN

You can 1_____, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that 2______, 3_______ that scene, dig in the Dancing Queen.


4_______ night and the lights are 5_______
Looking out for the 6______ to go
Where they play the right 7______, getting in the swing.
You come in to look for a 8_______
Anybody could be that guy
Night is young and the music's 9_______
With a bit of rock music, everything is fine.
You're in the mood for a 10_______
And when you get the chance...


You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only 11_________
Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine.
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your 12______.
See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the Dancing Queen.


You're a teaser, you turn them 13_____
Leave them burning and then you're gone.
Looking out for another, anyone will do
You're in the mood for a 14_______
And when you get the chance...


You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen.
Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the Dancing Queen.


Key lyrics:


1.dance 2.girl 3.watch 4.friday 5.low 6.place 7.music 8.king 9.high 10.dance 11.seventeen 12.life 13.on 14.dance

Have fun!

I have chosen some of the posters that I have found from busyteacher.org, I think that they are quite fun. When  I read them, they always make me smile :)

Smile on PhotoPeach