Christmas stories

Christmas stories written by Mari Pino's Upper-intermediate students based on google-docs work.They have done a great job for everyone to enjoy.
Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

Open publication - Free publishing - More stories

If you can't see the stories clearly, click here

A for and against essay

Forandagainst

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Have a look at "blog de cristina"
and Dulce's blog

Thanksgiving day

Some of you had come to me and asked for the photocopies and the listening exercise we worked in class yesterday. Click here for the reading, and here to register for the listening.
Below you have a video with the information of the photocopies.

Voice of America (VOA) has launched The Classroom. It has lot of activities for your intermediate level.
Don't miss the adverb 1 and the adverb 2 , in the intermediate section, if you still have problems with that part of grammar.
Have fun!!!

The Specials

I was surfing the net today and came across The Specials, an online docu-soap series following the lives of a house of young adults with learning difficulties. It has been nominated for an international award.
You can watch all the episodes online with English subtitles. It's worth watching it.

Common mistakes made "for" Spaniards

Fran Casanova, from Intermediate2, Group2, has kindly offered me some material from a course he did , with it I've prepared an exercise with some words and expressions Spanish people have problems with, caused mainly by direct translation.

Click on the image and good luck!

The Force of Circumstance

This is the result of your preferences from the survey carried out in class last week, short articles instead of the complete book. Most of you have found rather difficult to understand the first twenty pages, and have looked up a lot of words in the dictionary; for that reason we''ll stick to the original idea,that is, reading short stories.
So our next story is "The Force of Circumstance" by Somerset Maugham. Below you have the text, but I have omitted the end since I didn't like the writer's much.
How would you end it differently?
Write your own ending for this story (150-200 words).We'll have an oral discussion about it on Friday 26th.


The text

I PHOTO CONTEST AT THE EOILPGC

Dear all,
why don't you take part in our photo contest that is going to be held for the first time this year at our school.
Some of you have beautiful pictures of our stay in France, our bush walking, Lithuania, .....
Come on, participate and win!!!

Photo Contest

YOUR PHRASAL VERBS

Well, here you have the phrasal verbs you have been working with. I couldn't choose all of them, because some were quite similar. Anyway, I know you're going to get all of them right. Click on the pictures to do the exercises. Write about your results in "comments"


.

halloween exercises

Drag the mouse on the pictures until you see a kind of pink circle, click on it and do the exercises.

Agreeing and disagreeing

One of our last topics in class was about how to agree and disagree.
If you want to find out more about how to agree with someone in informal English click on the image. (BBC world service, learning English)

Adverbs

I've come across this absolutely fascinating site with all you need about adverbs . There are the factsheets to study, the worksheets to practice and the quizzes to test your knowledge.
Click on the image and start.

QUESTION FORMATION

Subject

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EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3

Recipes: Final Version

This is the final version

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The landlady

Well here you have the homework for this week .
The first part is the context. You'll have to find some information about the things that were going on in Spain in the final-fifties.
The second part is a pre-reading activity where you'll learn something about the two characters in the story and you'll have to answer some questions.
The third part is the story itself.
The story is also recorded if you want to listen while reading.
Adapted from the story "The Landlady" British Council


The landlady first part
The landlady second part
The landlady third part


listening part 1
listening part 2
listening part3
listening part4

Stereotypes

Patricia Dimargo, your classmate at Intermediate2-2 has sent us this interesting video on sterotypes. It's worth watching it.
Write your composition about sterotypes here in "comments"

What's in a name

Click on the picture, read the text and do the exercises

Recipes

If you want to "delve into" the vocabulary of cooking we are going to work in class, click on the pictures

Practising your speaking skills.

Are you eager to practice your oral with native speakers? Well, Carlos Martin, a colleage and a virtual friend from Los Cristianos has published this on his wall in facebook.

Dickinson College in the United States is seeking native Spanish speakers for our class on Sept 24 from 8:30-9:20 AM New York time (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ for other cities). Our students will have questions prepared for a discussion in Spanish during the first half about the environment. The second half of the exchange will be in English. If you're a native Spanish speaker who would like to practice English via Skype contact us at this time.

Registration will close once the event is full.

First you have to register here

Sign up in this page:http://fb.me/xN4puLFY

You should make every effort possible to find somebody to speak with.

Welcome Letter

Dear Students,

I want to give a warm welcome to all new and returning students. I want you to know how pleased I am with having you in my class Intermediate2. I hope we will have a rewarding and successful year. My goal with this blog is to keep you involved in your learning process.
I encourage to live your comments and suggestions.

The presentation of the course will be 14th of September, that day you'll have the information about the school , books, new projects for this year and our Grundtvig project "Language Unites Europe". One of you could be chosen to go to France next October. Don't miss your first day.

I know with your help we are going to have a great year!!!

Saro Rosales

Fourth of July-US Independence Day

Today is the fourth of July, the day Americans celebrate their National Day.

I´ve received this powerpoint presentation in my mail today about US Independence Day. I think it could be quite interesting to have a look as part of a country related to the language we study.

Independence Day, commonly known as July 4th or the Fourth of July, commemorates the Continental Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The document, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, served as a formal announcement that the 13 American colonies were no longer part of the British Empire and would henceforth be free and independent states. Regarded as the birthday of the United States of America, the day is typically celebrated with parades, fireworks, ceremonies, barbecues and family gatherings.

Fourth of July - US Independence Day

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Your textbook for next year (Intermediate2)

New English File Intermediate Plus
This is your textbook for next year . To know more click on the picture

WE MADE IT THROUGH TO THE QUARTER FINALS!

The "champions are back" the European champions behaved like real "Bullfighters" in beating Portugal.
Taken from the sports daily AS.


Below there are some exercises to know more about football or soccer. Click on the pictures, start with the two vocabulary exercises. I hope you like them

Parts of speech

While having a look at Maria Meneses's blog I found out this powerpoint presentation. It deals with the different parts of speech. Have a look, it's worth it.
parts of speech


Powerpoint presentation created by Elene Sandorff, an English teacher from Morton, Illinois,

Got it? Try the exercise below. Click on the picture

Studying in Summer

Taking an online course during the summer can help you keep your English alive and develop your skills for the next school year.
The web offers thousands of courses, but there are two that I'd like you to recommend as they offer a wide range of resources and ideas.

A different language is a different vision of life.
Federico Fellini

Tips for the Oral Exam

The oral exam is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge, your speaking skills, as well as your ability to communicate.
Before the exam practice working with classmates or practice in front of a mirror, to evaluate yourself.
Maintain your self-confidence and composure.
If you find yourself anxious, take several slow, deep breaths to relax.
Don't talk about the test to other students just before entering the room: their anxiety can be contagious.
Correct yourself if you make any mistakes.
Keep eye contact.
And remind yourself that you are well-prepared and are going to do well.

I have generated a list of questions related to the topics we have studied this year if you want to work with a classmate or with yourself.

VISIT ALSO ENGLISH IN GUÍA -NIVEL INTERMEDIO FOR A LIST OF SITES WITH REAL EXAMS.

Relative Clauses

We use relative clauses to give additional information about something without starting another sentence. By combining sentences with a relative clause, your text becomes more fluent and you can avoid repeating certain words Read more


Reading Exercise (two tasks)

The Passive

Below you have the powerpoint presentation we saw in our last class (thanks Carmen)

Passive Voice

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Click here for extra practice on using the passive.

And here you have a great website with videos and exercises.

Writing formal letters

Click on the image for information and do the homework in our ning.

Practising for the exam

There are only two weeks left for our final exam. You have worked hard and I'm completely sure that most of you are going to pass. As I told you in class on Thursday I'd prepare some exercises for you to do, similar to the ones you are going to take (maybe a little bit more difficult). There are two reading comprehension, two listenings and one about the vocabulary and grammar we have been studying this year (though you neither have a grammar nor a vocabulary exercise in the exam, you know you should try to use both the grammar and vocabulary you have learnt in the composition and the oral)
Have fun
Listening comprehension 1
Listening comprehension 2
Reading comprehension 1 Reading comprehension 2
Grammar and Vocabulary 1
Grammar and Vocabulary 2

Shopping

Click on the picture to do the exercise


Click on the picture to play the game. Click on start, then try to guess which blue dot goes with the word.

Complaining

Study the language of complaining for our next class.

Now try this exercise:

Here you have more exercises about complaining. They are a little bit more difficult, but you'll be surprised at how much you can understand.

"Vale a pena ficar de olho nesse blog".

This is part of an initiative called "Vale a pena ficar de olho nesse blog". The chosen blog has to copy the picture, with a link to the blog from which it has received the award . Then write ten more links to the blogs which are well worth a visit.
Thanks to Carmen Torres for mentioning my blog.
This is my list:
Sweeter Dulce
English in Guia Nivel Intermedio
English in Guía Nivel Avanzado
A clil to climb
ESL bloggers
English in Guía Nivel Básico
Blogging Time
Juan's blog
Carlos' English Corner
Discovering English

REPORTED SPEECH

.We have studied in class that we use the reported or indirect speech when we report other people's words. Those reported words are frequently spoken in a different place and time, and for that reason some changes have to be made ( pronouns, verb tenses, adverbs of time and place....).
Since many of you don't feel quite confident about this new grammar point, and want to know more, here you have some videos where teacher Jennifer explains perfectly the statements and questions in reported speech



You can also have a look at this point in English Grammar in use by Raymond Murphy.

Your classmate, Antonio del Pozo NI1 group 2, wants to share the following links if you want to keep on working on the reported speech. (Thanks Antonio)
Exercises 1
Exercises 2

_____________________________________________________________________________________

HAPPY VIEWING!

Do you sometimes feel frustated when listening to an audio or watching a video, and have the feeling your English doesn't improve ?

Don't get depressed!
It is said that babies spend about two years watching and listening before saying proper sentences.

We learn in a different way, but practising is the first step to master anything. So why don't you start right now?

I have come across a site with English subtitled videos and different levels of difficulty.

First watch, listen and read, then listen again without the subtitles and finally try to tell someone (or yourself in the mirror, in English, of course) what you remember. Another option is, when the video finishes, watch it in "quiz mode" where you'll have to guess the missing words.

Happy Viewing!

CLICK in Class English Central (You have to register in our group and start.... IT'S REALLY EASY!)

___________________________________________________________________

EUROPEAN PROJECT: LITHUANIA

Language Unites Europe
Groups 1 and 2 Intermediate Level
Would you like to be one of the three students travelling to Lithuania from June 30th to July 5th?

If so, write your name and surname in "comments" before April 20th.
The drawing will be held shortly at our school.
If you are lucky, you must sign a document agreeing to pay back the money for the ticket, just in case you are not able to go.

Making suggestions

This is what we studied in our last class
Making Suggestions

Exercise1
Exercise 2

Pronunciation of the final -s

Today’s podcast is about the pronunciation of the final -s.

Pronunciation Of The Final S(2)

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• Then click here to reinforce what you have studied.
  

The French students

Are you still interested in knowing more about the French students who are in our European project (Language Unites Europe) and came to our class?
If so, here you have some information about them.
Why don't you send them an e-mail this Easter and write about yourself and the experience of having them in class?

Games for Easter

Improve your English this Easter and have fun playing.
These games (click on the image) are divided in two categories: "words" (in green) and "numbers" (in orange). The "words" section is for students of English, you can check your knowledge of maths in the "numbers" section, though.


You might also like:

European project

This is one of the exercises we have in our European project. Would you be able to answer the questions without reading the text? Why don't you try?


And what about this reading exercise?

Lemon Tree

This is the song we learnt today. We'll be working with it again on Thursday

New Schools

Watch this video and give your opinion

Songs in Guía

Haven't you visited "English in Guia-Nivel Intermedio" yet?. Well, then it's high time you did it. Eva, one of the English teachers there have published a post "Learning with songs" about practising and having fun with songs in different levels. Don't miss it.

Writing friendly letters

Click on the image to read the document.

-ed/-ing adjectives

Are you bored,boring or both ? Do you feel amazed or amazing? Find the answers to these and other confusing questions here, here and here.

Asking for directions

The last part of unit 3 is about aking for directions. Below you have an exercise to refresh the vocabulary related to directions. There is also a link in the exercise with useful expressions and grammar; and finally another link from the BBC for you to listen.

Asking for and Giving directions

Sunscreen

Someone I am really fond of wanted to share this video with me; now I'd like to share with you. Absolutely delightful

Can, Could, Be Able To

Here you have the link to the lesson we studied in class yesterday.
And you have an exercise below to practise

You can find more information here

Using google docs

Most of you have already read your first compulsory book for this year. The next assignment is to write a summary of it with the people you did your oral test. We are going to work with Google docs.
"What's that???" You may think. Don't panic. Just create a Google account following the presentation below and I'll explain what you have to do in our next as well as any problems you may have.

Practising for the exam

These are some exercises for you. Start with the grammar, click in the centre of the bubble and it will take you to a review of the grammar from the first two units.
Next, do the reading comprehension that consists of two parts (a "matching" to review vocabulary and "a filling the gaps" exercise). It is important to do these exercises previously to get to understand the listening.

Reading While Listening

A form of reading that has been receiving a lot of attention from language teachers and researchers is reading while simultaneously listening. You can build not only your vocabulary but you can see how words are written and pronounced, increasing your listening comprehension, as well as your pronunciation and intonation.
I have come across this website and this one,where you can practise these skills. The first is full of simple stories with some exercises at the end if you want to check your understanding. The second has videos and listenings with subtitles. So stop making excuses and let's get to listen.