Wednesday 6 December 2017
Tuesday 28 November 2017
SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2017
When we talk about a past action in a past time, we use the past simple. When we talk about a past action in an unfinished time we use the presesnt perfect have / has + past participle.The uses of the present perfect are
1. To talk about a past action in an unfinished time - I have drunk two coffees today
2. To speak about an experience at an unspecified time of the past - I have been to America
3. To speak about something that started in the past and continues now -I have lived in Italy for 8 years
4. To bring something from the past closer to the present because it is news, or because there is a consequence now.
You have cut your hair!
This is a good book for grammar, Units 7 + 8 and 13 + 14. - http://vk.com/doc8069473_202956457?hash=5ce925651868f7ad3c&dl=aa922cf229371819a9
Irregular verb forms can be hard to remember. You can try putting them in groups of verbs that change in the same way.
Try these worksheets
or watch these videos
Then complete the questions on Page 3 on this document.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslS3N4cFl2N3VGRlk/view?usp=sharing
In English we make a difference between finished and unfinished time. When thinking of the past we must think about the time in which the action happened.
When we talk about a past action in a past time, we use the past simple. When we talk about a past action in an unfinished time we use the presesnt perfect have / has + past participle.The uses of the present perfect are
1. To talk about a past action in an unfinished time - I have drunk two coffees today
2. To speak about an experience at an unspecified time of the past - I have been to America
3. To speak about something that started in the past and continues now -I have lived in Italy for 8 years
4. To bring something from the past closer to the present because it is news, or because there is a consequence now.
You have cut your hair!
This is a good book for grammar, Units 7 + 8 and 13 + 14. - http://vk.com/doc8069473_202956457?hash=5ce925651868f7ad3c&dl=aa922cf229371819a9
Irregular verb forms can be hard to remember. You can try putting them in groups of verbs that change in the same way.
Try these worksheets
or watch these videos
Then complete the questions on Page 3 on this document.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslS3N4cFl2N3VGRlk/view?usp=sharing
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2017
Reading can be an excellent way to learn new words and review grammar in a natural context. However reading a book in the original version can be difficult. There are books, by famous authors or biographies or non fiction books written in simplified English so that they are not to difficult to understand. one publisher is Macmillan.
I have some books in pdf format. Ask me if you are interested.
When talking about the past, as well as the past simple you can use the past continuous and the past perfect to add different levels to your story.
http://www.eltbase.com/quiz/201_02.htm
Two ways to understand these tenses better are
1) reading and
2) using them to talk about your life or experience
Think of year in the past, for example, 2005, and answer these questions thinking about your situation at the time.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVE45VDRIaEk2a0U/view?usp=sharing
Reading can be an excellent way to learn new words and review grammar in a natural context. However reading a book in the original version can be difficult. There are books, by famous authors or biographies or non fiction books written in simplified English so that they are not to difficult to understand. one publisher is Macmillan.
Here you can read sample chapters from their books before you decide what you want to buy.
For example here is the first chapter of Frankenstein
You can but the book with a CD on Amazon
Or you can sometimes find them online.
When talking about the past, as well as the past simple you can use the past continuous and the past perfect to add different levels to your story.
You can read about these tenses here
http://www.vivquarry.com/wkshts/narrative.html
and also on Page 121 of PET Result
There are some exercises on these tenses on Pages 21 and 51 of PET Result.
and also on Page 121 of PET Result
There are some exercises on these tenses on Pages 21 and 51 of PET Result.
and try the exercises on narrative tenses here
Two ways to understand these tenses better are
1) reading and
2) using them to talk about your life or experience
Think of year in the past, for example, 2005, and answer these questions thinking about your situation at the time.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVE45VDRIaEk2a0U/view?usp=sharing
MONDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2017
Watching films is a great way of learning more informal English, that can include -
- contractions e.g. I'm, I'd
- phrasal verbs - get on, get off
- abbreviations - CDs, ATM, ASAP
- informal phrases - catch you later!
- incomplete sentences - got the time?
For more examples of informal language, go to English Club
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/contractions-informal.htm
In the above list, perhaps the most difficult are the phrasal verbs. These are verbs composed of one verbs and one preposition that can have literal or figurative meanings. It is impossible to learn them all, but you can start to understand them better by considering verbs that you can make matching a common verb with different prepositions
http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/take-phrasal-verbs
Or by thinking of verbs to use in common situations
http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/your-english/phrasal-verbs/your-english-phrasal-verbs-in-the-news/551473.article
This is a great book for learning phrasal verbs
https://vk.com/doc177534154_437754297?hash=958f73f9bcc3b17fb3&dl=875b31c6888dbc1d77
Watching films is a great way of learning more informal English, that can include -
- contractions e.g. I'm, I'd
- phrasal verbs - get on, get off
- abbreviations - CDs, ATM, ASAP
- informal phrases - catch you later!
- incomplete sentences - got the time?
For more examples of informal language, go to English Club
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/contractions-informal.htm
In the above list, perhaps the most difficult are the phrasal verbs. These are verbs composed of one verbs and one preposition that can have literal or figurative meanings. It is impossible to learn them all, but you can start to understand them better by considering verbs that you can make matching a common verb with different prepositions
http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/take-phrasal-verbs
Or by thinking of verbs to use in common situations
http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/your-english/phrasal-verbs/your-english-phrasal-verbs-in-the-news/551473.article
This is a great book for learning phrasal verbs
https://vk.com/doc177534154_437754297?hash=958f73f9bcc3b17fb3&dl=875b31c6888dbc1d77
SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2017
When talking about the past, as well as the past simple you can use the past continuous and the past perfect to add different levels to your story.
http://www.eltbase.com/quiz/201_02.htm
Two ways to understand these tenses better are
1) reading and
2) using them to talk about your life or experience
Think of year in the past, for example, 2005, and answer these questions thinking about your situation at the time.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVE45VDRIaEk2a0U/view?usp=sharing
When talking about the past, as well as the past simple you can use the past continuous and the past perfect to add different levels to your story.
You can read about these tenses here
http://www.vivquarry.com/wkshts/narrative.html
and also on Page 121 of PET Result
There are some exercises on these tenses on Pages 21 and 51 of PET Result.
and also on Page 121 of PET Result
There are some exercises on these tenses on Pages 21 and 51 of PET Result.
and try the exercises on narrative tenses here
Two ways to understand these tenses better are
1) reading and
2) using them to talk about your life or experience
Think of year in the past, for example, 2005, and answer these questions thinking about your situation at the time.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVE45VDRIaEk2a0U/view?usp=sharing
FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2017
Reading can be an excellent way to learn new words and review grammar in a natural context. However reading a book in the original version can be difficult. There are books, by famous authors or biographies or non fiction books written in simplified English so that they are not to difficult to understand. one publisher is Macmillan.
I have some books in pdf format. Ask me if you are interested.
Reading these books we can learn about the past simple in English.
You can read about the past simple in PET Result page 121.
We also use 'used to' to talk about habits in the past.
Try the exercise on page 99 of PET Result.
Reading can be an excellent way to learn new words and review grammar in a natural context. However reading a book in the original version can be difficult. There are books, by famous authors or biographies or non fiction books written in simplified English so that they are not to difficult to understand. one publisher is Macmillan.
Here you can read sample chapters from their books before you decide what you want to buy.
For example here is the first chapter of Frankenstein
You can but the book with a CD on Amazon
Or you can sometimes find them online.
Reading these books we can learn about the past simple in English.
You can read about the past simple in PET Result page 121.
We also use 'used to' to talk about habits in the past.
Try the exercise on page 99 of PET Result.
Monday 13 November 2017
MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER
Each Cambridge exam has its own handbook
PET (B1) - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/168150-cambridge-english-preliminary-teachers-handbook.pdf
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf
FCE - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167791-cambridge-english-first-handbook.pdf
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf
CAE - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf
You can also find practice tests here
PET - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/preliminary/preparation/
FCE - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/first/preparation/
CAE - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/advanced/preparation/
You can find more practice tests here
https://www.examenglish.com/
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/
There is a lot of speaking and listening practice on Youtube
Listening - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=first+certificate+listening
Speaking - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=first+certificate+speaking
For the PET exam there is are lists of vocabulary that you should know. You can find them here.
Each Cambridge exam has its own handbook
PET (B1) - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/168150-cambridge-english-preliminary-teachers-handbook.pdf
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf
FCE - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167791-cambridge-english-first-handbook.pdf
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf
CAE - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf
You can also find practice tests here
PET - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/preliminary/preparation/
FCE - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/first/preparation/
CAE - http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/advanced/preparation/
You can find more practice tests here
https://www.examenglish.com/
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/
There is a lot of speaking and listening practice on Youtube
Listening - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=first+certificate+listening
Speaking - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=first+certificate+speaking
For the PET exam there is are lists of vocabulary that you should know. You can find them here.
For FCE and other exams, there is no list, but the following books can help you to increase your vocabulary in some common areas.
FCE - http://vk.com/doc243798239_300780464
CAE - http://www.e4thai.com/e4e/images/pdf/Test%20Your...Vocabulary%204%20(Upper-Inter%20to%20CAE)%20-%2049p.pdf
IELTS - http://www.ycdc.gov.mm/download.php?pdffile=ebook-13
Here you can find a vocabulary list per CEFR level.
http://www.englishprofile.org/wordlists
CAE - http://www.e4thai.com/e4e/images/pdf/Test%20Your...Vocabulary%204%20(Upper-Inter%20to%20CAE)%20-%2049p.pdf
IELTS - http://www.ycdc.gov.mm/download.php?pdffile=ebook-13
Here you can find a vocabulary list per CEFR level.
http://www.englishprofile.org/wordlists
SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2017
We started with a general knowledge quiz.
see Unit 29 of this book
https://www.slideshare.net/beathetrix/236901188-rewardelementaryresourcebook
We started with a general knowledge quiz.
see Unit 29 of this book
https://www.slideshare.net/beathetrix/236901188-rewardelementaryresourcebook
All the questions use comparatives and superlatives.
Today we learnt vocabulary for talking about films.
Watching films is a great way of learning more informal English, that can include -
- contractions e.g. I'm, I'd
- phrasal verbs - get on, get off
- abbreviations - CDs, ATM, ASAP
- informal phrases - catch you later!
- incomplete sentences - got the time?
For more examples of informal language, go to English Club
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/contractions-informal.htm
In the above list, perhaps the most difficult are the phrasal verbs. These are verbs composed of one verbs and one preposition that can have literal or figurative meanings. It is impossible to learn them all, but you can start to understand them better by considering verbs that you can make matching a common verb with different prepositions
http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/take-phrasal-verbs
Or by thinking of verbs to use in common situations
http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/your-english/phrasal-verbs/your-english-phrasal-verbs-in-the-news/551473.article
This is a great book for learning phrasal verbs
https://vk.com/doc177534154_437754297?hash=958f73f9bcc3b17fb3&dl=875b31c6888dbc1d77
Try to describe a film you saw recently in the writing task on Page 43 of PET Result.
Today we learnt vocabulary for talking about films.
Watching films is a great way of learning more informal English, that can include -
- contractions e.g. I'm, I'd
- phrasal verbs - get on, get off
- abbreviations - CDs, ATM, ASAP
- informal phrases - catch you later!
- incomplete sentences - got the time?
For more examples of informal language, go to English Club
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/contractions-informal.htm
In the above list, perhaps the most difficult are the phrasal verbs. These are verbs composed of one verbs and one preposition that can have literal or figurative meanings. It is impossible to learn them all, but you can start to understand them better by considering verbs that you can make matching a common verb with different prepositions
http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/take-phrasal-verbs
Or by thinking of verbs to use in common situations
http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/your-english/phrasal-verbs/your-english-phrasal-verbs-in-the-news/551473.article
This is a great book for learning phrasal verbs
https://vk.com/doc177534154_437754297?hash=958f73f9bcc3b17fb3&dl=875b31c6888dbc1d77
Try to describe a film you saw recently in the writing task on Page 43 of PET Result.
FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2017
When comparing methods use comparatives and superalatives.
http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/what-are-extreme-adjectives
https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/extreme-adjectives
https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/extreme-adjectives-0
Today we talked about our progress so far.
When comparing methods use comparatives and superalatives.
Flo joe has some interesting exercises on this and other points of grammar.
Here is a very clear explanation video
On this site you can learning some more interesting adjectives
https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/extreme-adjectives
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8 2017
To speak English more naturally, it is important to identify and copy phrases that mother tongue speakers use and copy those.
This applies to both written and spoken English.
You can find examples of formal language to use in writing on Page 30 of FCE Result.
To understand some of the characteristics of formal and informal language see this video on Flo-joe.
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/cae/students/writing/formal-language.htm
This site has many interesting resources for exam preparation, including the writing section.
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/index.htm
You can find more phrases for writing emails and letters, as well as Useful phrases for other situations, here.
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/index.htm
Try the exercise on Page 31 of FCE Result.
To speak English more naturally, it is important to identify and copy phrases that mother tongue speakers use and copy those.
This applies to both written and spoken English.
You can find examples of formal language to use in writing on Page 30 of FCE Result.
To understand some of the characteristics of formal and informal language see this video on Flo-joe.
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/cae/students/writing/formal-language.htm
This site has many interesting resources for exam preparation, including the writing section.
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/index.htm
You can find more phrases for writing emails and letters, as well as Useful phrases for other situations, here.
https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/index.htm
Try the exercise on Page 31 of FCE Result.
MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2017
Breakingnewsenglish.com. is a website that everyday publishes an article about something in the news - current affairs, the environment, culture. There are many exercises that can help you learn new words and expressions and very useful to prepare for the PET and FCE exams.
https://eslholidaylessons.com/11/guy_fawkes_night.html
Breakingnewsenglish.com. is a website that everyday publishes an article about something in the news - current affairs, the environment, culture. There are many exercises that can help you learn new words and expressions and very useful to prepare for the PET and FCE exams.
You can find the article here
https://eslholidaylessons.com/11/guy_fawkes_night.html
Scroll down and look for the PHRASE MATCH that can help you to learn the new words in the article.
It is important to know many different ways of saying the same thing for the Cambride exams, because you need to paraphrase questions to find the answers easier.
Some words just naturally go together, like for example fast food, some verbs are followed by prepositions and the next exercise Phrase match can help you with that.
One exercise on the site, Language cloze, is typical in both the PET and the FCE exams.
There is a test with some gaps and you have to chose the right word to complete the phrase.
It is a good idea to follow this method.
1. First read the text and think what word you would use to fill the gap.
2. Read the options and choose the answer that correspons most to yours.
Practise more here
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/preliminaryenglish/vocabulary/pet-collocations.htm
Practise more here
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/preliminaryenglish/vocabulary/pet-collocations.htm
In the article there are many examples of words that we usually put together - health and beauty, on behalf of, be in the planning stage.
These are known as collocations and identifying and using them can help you to sound more natural in English.
You can read about them here
And in the book English Collocations in use that you can easily find online in pdf version.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 4 2017
Before an important meeting or conversation, we can imagine what type of words or phrases we will hear, for example if you have an interview you can think about the questions the interviewer can ask you and you can prepare some answers. You can use the same skill for English.
Here you can read some information about how PREDICTION can help you to understand better.
You can try out this skill on listenaminue.com. On this website you can find 500 small texts in conversational English. These texts can help you to improve your pronunciation and identify common words and phrases that mother tongue natives use. Learning and copying these can both help you to sound more natural in English.
Before trying the listening gap fill exercise you can guess which words may be missing from the text based on your knowledge of the situation or of grammar and vocabulary.
Then compare your answers with the tape script. You will understand that it is not always neccesary to understand all the words to understand the general sense.
You can also mark the text to remember some important aspects of pronunciation, in particular word stress. For more information on this see
Listening is very difficult. On English club you can find many dictation exercises that start from short phrases and questions. These can help you to understand the difference between how words are pronounced and how they are written.
Try the listening exercise on Page 41 of PET Result.
FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2017
https://is/file/d/0B4EN8MtjAE4dTGprMFBoNldQQ3M/view
Because English and Italian are very different languages, it can be useful to create a phrase book of useful phrases and words to use in everyday situations.
On this website there is also the translation in Italian and audio.
On this site you can find pdfs that will allow you to learn several words and phrases associated with everyday situations.
Here is a document about taking a taxi
Look at this situation related to train travel
Wednesday 1 November 2017
TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2017
Sometimes it is difficult to understand exactly what is happening.
100% - must - He must be a thief
https://fernandamaterial.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/cambridge-grammar-for-first-certificate.pdf
Sometimes it is difficult to understand exactly what is happening.
We can use modal verbs to describe how certain we are about something.
50% / 60% - could - The door could be broken
30/40% - may - The keys may be lost
10/20% - might - He might be a mechanic
0% - can't - He can't be the owner
What do you think is happening in this situation?
You can also use modal verbs to speculate about the past. In this case use the modal verb plus have plus past participle
See here for more examples
and practise here
For more grammar exercises on modal verbs, see this book
MONDAY 30 OCTOBER 2017
A good way to learn new words is to practise describing a photo.
What can you see in the photo?
When describing a photo you can think of different elements.
You can find them here.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIsleU15QlFXakhKSFE/view?usp=sharing
To learn how to talk about position in a photograph see this document, pages 3 and 4
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslMUNSTUZkc2lwcms/view?usp=sharing
To learn how to talk about position in a photograph see this document, pages 3 and 4
When you describe a picture, you can talk about facts ( The sky is blue ) or impressions ( It looks like summer (for more phrases with look ask me for a worksheet)).
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=12141
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=12141
Here are some more ways of talking about your impressions and opinions:
- might e.g It might be someone's birthday
- I think e.g I don't think they're going on holiday
- perhaps / maybe e.g Perhaps she's tired
- probably e.g It's probably summertime
Ask me for worksheets.
Try these strategies to describe the photos on Page 27 of FCE Result.
Ask me for worksheets.
Try these strategies to describe the photos on Page 27 of FCE Result.
SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2017
In the episode of Extra English we saw yesterday Hector did some shopping and expressed quantities of the products he bought.
In English we have two different types of nouns, countable and uncountable. Countable nouns are obkects that can be clearly identified as a single unit and therefore counted, whereas uncountable, or mass nouns are things that are usually in mass and not easily seperated into individual units or that are abstract concepts.
Watch this powerpoint presentation
https://www.slideshare.net/inmadom/countable-and-uncountable-nouns-4008974
This is important because it changes the quantifier used.
Here there is a good presentation in Italian.
http://slideplayer.it/slide/1010697/
You can use this point of grammar in the reading test, try exercise 2 on Page 33.
In the episode of Extra English we saw yesterday Hector did some shopping and expressed quantities of the products he bought.
In English we have two different types of nouns, countable and uncountable. Countable nouns are obkects that can be clearly identified as a single unit and therefore counted, whereas uncountable, or mass nouns are things that are usually in mass and not easily seperated into individual units or that are abstract concepts.
Watch this powerpoint presentation
https://www.slideshare.net/inmadom/countable-and-uncountable-nouns-4008974
This is important because it changes the quantifier used.
Here there is a good presentation in Italian.
http://slideplayer.it/slide/1010697/
You can use this point of grammar in the reading test, try exercise 2 on Page 33.
FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER 2017.
We learnt some vocabulary regarding clothes on Page 35 of PET Result.
The we saw a PowerPoint with some related verbs
https://www.slideshare.net/inmadom/wear-put-on-and-dress
and completed the vocabulary excercise on Page 34.
Watching films in the origianl language can be a good way to learn everyday phrases. Try watching a film that you already know in Italian, or try watching with subtitles in Italian or better in English.
On Youtube you can find a series of 30 episodes, designed for people learning English - Extra English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a339H_aqXx0
You can also find episode summaries, written dialogues and workbooks to accompany the series.
http://www.channel4learning.com/sites/extra-english/english_teachersnotes.html
http://tobeclever.ru/download/1_episodes_1-15.pdf
We learnt some vocabulary regarding clothes on Page 35 of PET Result.
The we saw a PowerPoint with some related verbs
https://www.slideshare.net/inmadom/wear-put-on-and-dress
and completed the vocabulary excercise on Page 34.
Watching films in the origianl language can be a good way to learn everyday phrases. Try watching a film that you already know in Italian, or try watching with subtitles in Italian or better in English.
On Youtube you can find a series of 30 episodes, designed for people learning English - Extra English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a339H_aqXx0
You can also find episode summaries, written dialogues and workbooks to accompany the series.
http://www.channel4learning.com/sites/extra-english/english_teachersnotes.html
http://tobeclever.ru/download/1_episodes_1-15.pdf
WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2017
Continuing from yesterday, we saw that some verbs can be followed by the verb in the ing or gerund form with a difference of meaning. See pages 25 (exercise 2) and 197 (explanation).
We then watched a video about Redcliff Ascent Widnerness Therapy and did the listening exercise on Page 26, remembering to predict and anticipate the words or phrases we might hear.
Continuing from yesterday, we saw that some verbs can be followed by the verb in the ing or gerund form with a difference of meaning. See pages 25 (exercise 2) and 197 (explanation).
We then watched a video about Redcliff Ascent Widnerness Therapy and did the listening exercise on Page 26, remembering to predict and anticipate the words or phrases we might hear.
MONDAY 23 OCTOBER 2017
Today we talked about walking and staying in nature.
We started with a speaking exercise to discuss Useful things to talk with you whilst hiking or trekking.
This exercise corresponds to part of the PET and FCE Cambridge exams. Together with the other candidate you must discuss a situation and find the best solution.
Here you can find some useful phrases.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVjJkUk9GNmZhTFU/view?usp=sharing
Then we read a text about surviving in the Wilderness on Page 25 of FCE Result.
The text contains examples of different verb patterns.
An example of a verb pattern is that some verbs can be followed by another verb in the ing form and other by the verb with to. Like do and make, it can be a good idea to make lists but there is also a generla rule to guide us.
For a good explanation and many examples see here
http://www.myenglishpages.com/bac/Gerund-or-infinitive.pdf
Practise with the conversation questions here
https://www.eslconversationquestions.com/gerunds-and-infinitives/
Then try these exercises that come from Flo joe. com, a great resource for anyone wishing to do a Cambridge certification.
https://flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/strategy/transfrm/verbs.htm
Today we talked about walking and staying in nature.
We started with a speaking exercise to discuss Useful things to talk with you whilst hiking or trekking.
This exercise corresponds to part of the PET and FCE Cambridge exams. Together with the other candidate you must discuss a situation and find the best solution.
Here you can find some useful phrases.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVjJkUk9GNmZhTFU/view?usp=sharing
Then we read a text about surviving in the Wilderness on Page 25 of FCE Result.
The text contains examples of different verb patterns.
An example of a verb pattern is that some verbs can be followed by another verb in the ing form and other by the verb with to. Like do and make, it can be a good idea to make lists but there is also a generla rule to guide us.
For a good explanation and many examples see here
http://www.myenglishpages.com/bac/Gerund-or-infinitive.pdf
Practise with the conversation questions here
https://www.eslconversationquestions.com/gerunds-and-infinitives/
Then try these exercises that come from Flo joe. com, a great resource for anyone wishing to do a Cambridge certification.
https://flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/strategy/transfrm/verbs.htm
Thursday 26 October 2017
SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER 2017
Today we spoke about education and learning, including some strategies for learning and developing your vocabulary and did some exam practice.
Formal learning after school is known as Adult Education. Are you studying anything in your free time?
We looked at different courses with the Lead in exercises on Page 24. This task is similar to the interactive task in the Cambridge Speaking exams. You can find more examples in the Cambridge handbooks that explain each part of the exam in detail
for Preliminary
http://www.liceocrespi.it/Inglese/pet%20handbook.pdf
or First
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/cambridge-english-first-handbook-2015.pdf
We also tried the reading exercises.
Thinking about synonyms, or paraphrasing, are also very important in the Cambridge exams and are a good way to expand your vocabulary.
http://esl.about.com/od/learningtechniques/a/Synonyms-Antonyms-ESL.htm
Today we spoke about education and learning, including some strategies for learning and developing your vocabulary and did some exam practice.
Formal learning after school is known as Adult Education. Are you studying anything in your free time?
We looked at different courses with the Lead in exercises on Page 24. This task is similar to the interactive task in the Cambridge Speaking exams. You can find more examples in the Cambridge handbooks that explain each part of the exam in detail
for Preliminary
http://www.liceocrespi.it/Inglese/pet%20handbook.pdf
or First
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/cambridge-english-first-handbook-2015.pdf
We also tried the reading exercises.
Thinking about synonyms, or paraphrasing, are also very important in the Cambridge exams and are a good way to expand your vocabulary.
http://esl.about.com/od/learningtechniques/a/Synonyms-Antonyms-ESL.htm
FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER 2017
There are couples or sets of words that we usually put together like 'fast food' or 'science fiction'. Knowing these can help you to sound more natural in English.
For more information see here
Here, on Page 2, we first looked at some common verbs in English
Then we put these verbs together with certain nouns, on page 3.
We looked at these verb - noun collocations in the text 'My working day' on Page 5.
Then we looked at adverbs of frequency using the exercises on page 26 of PET Result.
For more practise with adverbs of frequency, see here
Thursday 19 October 2017
MONDAY 16 OCTOBER 2017
Today we did the listening exercise on Page 14 of FCE Result.
As we said last week, before listening you can prepare for whatt you might here by thinking of paraphrases for the words in the questions, or rather different ways of saying the same thing.
Look at these phrases from the questions and the answers in the audio
According to some scientists there is still a lot of disagreement
may exist within 30 years perhaps less than 30 years away
they are beginning to understand scientists are coming to understand why our bodies
why and how our bodies change deteriorate with age
overcrowded too many people
Learning synonyms is great way to increase your vocabulary.
Try the exercises on Page 16.
We then tried another paraphrasing activity all together.
Be careful, these are difficult! (Page 5)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslbFhvRkZ1eU9vbVk/view?usp=sharing
Today we did the listening exercise on Page 14 of FCE Result.
As we said last week, before listening you can prepare for whatt you might here by thinking of paraphrases for the words in the questions, or rather different ways of saying the same thing.
Look at these phrases from the questions and the answers in the audio
According to some scientists there is still a lot of disagreement
may exist within 30 years perhaps less than 30 years away
they are beginning to understand scientists are coming to understand why our bodies
why and how our bodies change deteriorate with age
overcrowded too many people
Learning synonyms is great way to increase your vocabulary.
Try the exercises on Page 16.
We then tried another paraphrasing activity all together.
Be careful, these are difficult! (Page 5)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslbFhvRkZ1eU9vbVk/view?usp=sharing
SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER 2017
We can also use the present continuous to talk about tendencies in society, when things increase, decrease or stay the same.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslTno2RlJPcXQ5VFk/view?usp=sharing
We learnt some words for talking about education on Page 28 of PET Result.
You can put the words into different sub categories as we did before with the holidays and travel words.
A good way to learn new words is to practise describing a photo.
When describing a photo you can think of different elements.
You can put the words into different sub categories as we did before with the holidays and travel words.
A good way to learn new words is to practise describing a photo.
When describing a photo you can think of different elements.
You can find them here.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIsleU15QlFXakhKSFE/view?usp=sharing
To learn how to talk about position in a photograph see this document, pages 3 and 4
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslMUNSTUZkc2lwcms/view?usp=sharing
To learn how to talk about position in a photograph see this document, pages 3 and 4
For more information on how to describe a photo see PET Result Page 28, Speaking exercises 1 to 3.
You describe what the people are wearing, what they are holding and what they are doing. You can use the present continuous., formed by
am/is/are (not) + verb + ing
The students are doing research.
One boy is raising his hand.
You describe what the people are wearing, what they are holding and what they are doing. You can use the present continuous., formed by
am/is/are (not) + verb + ing
The students are doing research.
One boy is raising his hand.
We can also use the present continuous to talk about tendencies in society, when things increase, decrease or stay the same.
See here for more examples.
Use these pictures to describe other trends in society.
FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER 2017
We started talking about holidays and travel
Which ways of travelling do you use most often?
When do you use them?
Which forms of transport have you never used?
Which would you like to try?
Where you do you prefer to stay on holiday?
What do you enjoy doing?
Tell your partner about somewhere in your country that is popular with tourists.
https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/
You can also try the dictation exercises here
https://www.englishclub.com/listening/dictations-short.htm
We started talking about holidays and travel
Which ways of travelling do you use most often?
When do you use them?
Which forms of transport have you never used?
Which would you like to try?
Where you do you prefer to stay on holiday?
What do you enjoy doing?
Tell your partner about somewhere in your country that is popular with tourists.
Listening can be the most difficult skill. It is important to practice as much as possible.
On this website you can find 500 small texts in conversational English. These texts can help you to improve your pronunciation and identify common words and phrases that mother tongue natives use. Learning and copying these can both help you to sound more natural in English.
In the lesson we looked at one the texts about travelling.
Here you can the worksheets we used.
In the text we looked at you can find many verbs expressing likes and dislikes.
See here for more
You can also mark the text to remember some important aspects of pronunciation, in particular word stress. For more information on this see
You can also try the dictation exercises here
https://www.englishclub.com/listening/dictations-short.htm
WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2017
We started discussing the advantages and disadvantages of modern technology and took the technophile, technophobe quiz on 129 of FCE Result.
The quiz contains examples of conditional structures. In English we have 4 types of conditional from 0 to 3.
0 - always true in a condition situation or condition
When you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils
When I eat nuts, I am sick
if / when + present simple, present simple
Try the quiz here
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/0cond1.htm
1 - real possibilties or alternatives for the future
If the weather is good on Saturday, I will go to the sea
If + present simple, will + future
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/1cond1.htm
2 - imaginary or not very likely situation in the present or future
If I won a million euros, I would travel
If + past simple, would + base form of verb
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/2cond1.htm
3 - alternative for the past
If I had known you were sick, I would have visited you
If + had + past participle, would + have + past participle
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/3cond1.htm
In all cases it is possible to invert the order of the phrases, so start with the condition and then the consequence, or the consequence and then the condition
PHRASES SEPARATED BY COMMA NO COMMA
When I eat nuts, I am sick I am sick if I eat nuts
If I won a million euros, I would travel I would travel if I won a million euros
If I had known you were sick, I would have I would have visited you if I had known you were sick
visited you
In the 0, 1st, 2nd, 3rd conditionals, you can substitute will with may, might, can, and would with might, could or should to express different degrees of certainty.
will / would = 100% certain
can / could = 50 / 60%
may / might = 20/30%
Unreal conditionals (types II + III) sometimes can be mixed, that is, the time of the if clause is different from the one of the main clause.
Read more about conditionals on Page 174 of FCE Result. There are also exercises on Page 133.
We started discussing the advantages and disadvantages of modern technology and took the technophile, technophobe quiz on 129 of FCE Result.
The quiz contains examples of conditional structures. In English we have 4 types of conditional from 0 to 3.
0 - always true in a condition situation or condition
When you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils
When I eat nuts, I am sick
if / when + present simple, present simple
Try the quiz here
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/0cond1.htm
1 - real possibilties or alternatives for the future
If the weather is good on Saturday, I will go to the sea
If + present simple, will + future
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/1cond1.htm
2 - imaginary or not very likely situation in the present or future
If I won a million euros, I would travel
If + past simple, would + base form of verb
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/2cond1.htm
3 - alternative for the past
If I had known you were sick, I would have visited you
If + had + past participle, would + have + past participle
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/3cond1.htm
In all cases it is possible to invert the order of the phrases, so start with the condition and then the consequence, or the consequence and then the condition
PHRASES SEPARATED BY COMMA NO COMMA
When I eat nuts, I am sick I am sick if I eat nuts
If I won a million euros, I would travel I would travel if I won a million euros
If I had known you were sick, I would have I would have visited you if I had known you were sick
visited you
In the 0, 1st, 2nd, 3rd conditionals, you can substitute will with may, might, can, and would with might, could or should to express different degrees of certainty.
will / would = 100% certain
can / could = 50 / 60%
may / might = 20/30%
Unreal conditionals (types II + III) sometimes can be mixed, that is, the time of the if clause is different from the one of the main clause.
Read more about conditionals on Page 174 of FCE Result. There are also exercises on Page 133.
Wednesday 18 October 2017
MONDAY 9 OCTOBER 2017
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslM2xEYVZjMXFlaUU/view?usp=sharing
There is an explanation of talking about the future on P165 of FCE Result and some exercises on pages 12 and 13.
There are two other tenses for talking about the future which are the future continuous and the future perfect. You can read about these here.
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/futurecontinuous.html
In this grammar book you can find a good exercise that makes the difference between the tenses clear.
Unit 24 exercise 24.1
https://vk.com/doc8069473_207129479?hash=94cd970d0d980ac461&dl=5a539c9622c51a9bc2
When we talk about future plans we use different forms.
You can read about these here
and click on the link for the quiz.
Look at these questions about future forms.
There is an explanation of talking about the future on P165 of FCE Result and some exercises on pages 12 and 13.
There are two other tenses for talking about the future which are the future continuous and the future perfect. You can read about these here.
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/futurecontinuous.html
In this grammar book you can find a good exercise that makes the difference between the tenses clear.
Unit 24 exercise 24.1
https://vk.com/doc8069473_207129479?hash=94cd970d0d980ac461&dl=5a539c9622c51a9bc2
Thursday 12 October 2017
SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER 2017
How do you learn new words?
To improve your English it is important to learn new words. To remember new words it is important to be organised. Putting words into categories according to subject or word type can help you to find the words again, and memorize them through word association.
Try to put these words into categories and then add more words to each category.
You can do this in a list form or in a more visual way, like the example with travel we saw yesterday
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslazd5c1ZFX0pTN0k/view?usp=sharing
In the first chapter of the book, PET Result, you can learn some vocabulary about Holidays and Travel.
There are lists of vocabulary in categories from Page 113.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslazd5c1ZFX0pTN0k/view?usp=sharing
In the first chapter of the book, PET Result, you can learn some vocabulary about Holidays and Travel.
There are lists of vocabulary in categories from Page 113.
For the PET exam there is are lists of vocabulary that you should know. You can find them here.
For FCE and other exams, there is no list, but the following books can help you to increase your vocabulary in some common areas.
FCE - http://vk.com/doc243798239_300780464
CAE - http://www.e4thai.com/e4e/images/pdf/Test%20Your...Vocabulary%204%20(Upper-Inter%20to%20CAE)%20-%2049p.pdf
IELTS - http://www.ycdc.gov.mm/download.php?pdffile=ebook-13
Here you can find a vocabulary list per CEFR level.
http://www.englishprofile.org/wordlists
CAE - http://www.e4thai.com/e4e/images/pdf/Test%20Your...Vocabulary%204%20(Upper-Inter%20to%20CAE)%20-%2049p.pdf
IELTS - http://www.ycdc.gov.mm/download.php?pdffile=ebook-13
Here you can find a vocabulary list per CEFR level.
http://www.englishprofile.org/wordlists
Friday 6 October 2017
FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER 2017
To start we looked at some expressions that you can learn by heart to use automatically when we meet for our lessons
Try to match the questions to the answers
1. Good afternoon
2. Sorry I'm late
3. I'm...
4. Come in
5..Have seat
6. Thank you
7. How are you?
8. Goodbye
9. See you later
10. Have a good evening
A. See you
B. Don't worry
C. Thank you
D. You're welcome
E. You too
F. Nice to meet you
G. I'm fine thanks
H. Thank you
I. Good afternoon
J. Bye
But that is the easy part. After that you need to continue the conversation. A good way to do that is to ask questions on personal information. The exercises here can help you learn some important words and questions.
https://sirteachenglish.wikispaces.com/file/view/M01_LPD_WKS_GLB_5650_PDA.pdf
You may have to spell or ask for the spelling of some words. To do this you can use the police or international alphabet.
http://www.englishgratis.com/1/risorse/corsodibase/0-scheda-spellingtelefono.htm
Here are some common acronyms
http://reallifeglobal.com/acronyms/
Can you spell them?
Here are some tips for reading website and email addresses
http://www.londonschool.com/language-talk/language-tips/signs-and-symbols/
To start we looked at some expressions that you can learn by heart to use automatically when we meet for our lessons
Try to match the questions to the answers
1. Good afternoon
2. Sorry I'm late
3. I'm...
4. Come in
5..Have seat
6. Thank you
7. How are you?
8. Goodbye
9. See you later
10. Have a good evening
A. See you
B. Don't worry
C. Thank you
D. You're welcome
E. You too
F. Nice to meet you
G. I'm fine thanks
H. Thank you
I. Good afternoon
J. Bye
But that is the easy part. After that you need to continue the conversation. A good way to do that is to ask questions on personal information. The exercises here can help you learn some important words and questions.
https://sirteachenglish.wikispaces.com/file/view/M01_LPD_WKS_GLB_5650_PDA.pdf
You may have to spell or ask for the spelling of some words. To do this you can use the police or international alphabet.
http://www.englishgratis.com/1/risorse/corsodibase/0-scheda-spellingtelefono.htm
Here are some common acronyms
http://reallifeglobal.com/acronyms/
Can you spell them?
Here are some tips for reading website and email addresses
http://www.londonschool.com/language-talk/language-tips/signs-and-symbols/
WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER 2017
Before an important meeting or conversation, we can imagine what type of words or phrases we will hear, for example if you have an interview you can think about the questions the interviewer can ask you and you can prepare some answers. You can use the same skill for English.
Here you can read some information about how PREDICTION can help you to understand better.
You can try out this skill on listenaminue.com. On this website you can find 500 small texts in conversational English. These texts can help you to improve your pronunciation and identify common words and phrases that mother tongue natives use. Learning and copying these can both help you to sound more natural in English.
Before trying the listening gap fill exercise you can guess which words may be missing from the text based on your knowledge of the situation or of grammar and vocabulary.
Then compare your answers with the tape script. You will understand that it is not always neccesary to understand all the words to understand the general sense.
You can
also mark the text to remember some important aspects of pronunciation, in
particular word stress. For more information on this see
Listening is very difficult. On
English club you can find many dictation exercises that start from short
phrases and questions. These can help you to understand the difference between
how words are pronounced and how they are written.
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