23 APRIL

Some verbs are followed by another verb that can be in the gerund or in the infinitive form, depending on the order of events.

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-lesson-gerund-infinitive.php

There are some common examples on page 109 of Insight into Pet.

We then used them in a conversation.

To report what someone has said, use reported or indirect speech.

See here for an explanation.

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech

A good way to practise is to read or watch an interview and report what is said.

You can find an interview to report on page 86 of Insight into PET.

See here for a video interview.

http://www.eduhi.at/dl/RSListen2_1.htm

22 APRIL

What word can we use use to complete ALL three of these phrases?

Do you _________ if I smoke?

- Which do you prefer? Tea of coffee? - I don't _______.

- Sorry I can't come. - Never ______. Maybe next time.

Many words in English have more than one meaning. so it can be interesting to focus on one word and investigate it's different uses.

See here for more examples with mind.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslcV9Yd2JUUEpBZW8/view?usp=sharing

See here for another example with the word change.

http://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/TP_All-Change.pdf

Mind is also used in many idiomatic expressions.

See here for more examples

http://recursostic.educacion.es/multidisciplinar/wikididactica/images/Idioms_mind.pdf

Knowledge of common phrases and idioms are tested in PET Writing Part 1 and FCE Reading and Use of English Part 4 Key Word Transformation.

16 APRIL

When learning a new language, it's always a good idea to identify words and phrases that mother tongue people use and copy them. This will help you to sound more natural.

We looked at some phrases in exercise 1 on page 48 of Insight into Pet and tried to adapt them to make them true for us.

Then we had a closer look at comparative and superlative forms on page 109.

Comparative and superlative forms are useful in the interactive task of the speaking test, where you are given a situation to discuss with the other candidate. You must talk about the possible solutions and choose the best one.

Look at page 79 exercises 3 and 4 to practise.

Comparatives and superlatives are also tested in the sentence transformation part of the writing test. 

Try exercise 3 on page 39 of Insight into Pet.

You can find exercises of this type on pages 25, 46, 68 and 90 of PET extra. Ask me for the answer sheets.

15 APRIL

We started reviewing tenses with exercise 2 on page 48 of Insight into PET.

When we talk about future plans we use different forms.

You can read about these here

http://esl.about.com/od/grammarstructures/a/future_forms.htm

and click on the link for the quiz.

Look at these questions about future forms.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslM2xEYVZjMXFlaUU/view?usp=sharing

There is another explanation and some exercises on page 107 of Insight into PET.

SATURDAY 9 APRIL

 English and Italian are very different so translating from one language to the other often doesn't work. Instead, it's much better to identify words and phrases that mother tongue people use in different situations and copy them, in speaking and in writing.

You can find some more phrases to use in social situations here.

http://yasemintasbasi.jimdo.com/english-resources/social-expressions/

There are some examples of different functions and corresponding phrases to use on Page 42 of Insight into Pet, exercise 2. You can try to use these phrases in writing short messages in exercises 3 and 4.

There are more phrases for letters on Page 47, exercises 4 and 5.

Why not try to use some of these phrases to write a letter in exercise 6?

FRIDAY 8 APRIL

In the written part of the exam  a common task is to right a story or letter referring to a past event. This is your opportunity to show all the best vocabulary, phrases and grammar that you know and it is these extra elements that will get you higher marks.

After you write your first draft it is a good idea to leave it to one side for at least an hour and then go back and see if you can spot any obvious mistakes.

Try exercise 4 on Page 51 of Insight into PET to practise noticing mistakes in punctuation and spelling.

In excerise 5 there is a check list with questions that the examiners use to evaluate your writing.

Points 3 and 5 refer to the organisation of the writing and the vocabulary used.

You will get better marks if you sometimes join two sentences with a linker or use phrases to order the events.

Look at the information on linking words on Page 108 and try exercises 10 and 11.

Many people say they don't have time to practise English outside of the lessons, but it is very important to keep English phrases and words present in your mind as much as possible. Why not try an app that you can have with you all the time? Try the BBC 6 MINUTE ENGLISH app?

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/learning-english-for-6-minute/id1035251420?mt=8

We  listened to, read and discussed this programme.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/150122

FRIDAY 2 2016

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.

http://www.macmillanreaders.com/resources/sample-chapters

For example here is the first chapter of Frankenstein

http://www.macmillanreaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Frankenstein.pdf

You can but the book with a CD on amazon

http://www.amazon.it/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=macmillan+reader&tag=slhyin-21&index=stripbooks&hvadid=24992154275&ref=pd_sl_1rlmfv3k54_b

Or you can sometimes find them online.

http://mggu-sh.ru/sites/default/files/frankenstein.pdf

I have some books in pdf format. Ask me if you are interested.

Looked at the first page of Frankenstein to identify regular and irregular verb forms.

You can try some exercises on affirmative, negative and question forms in the past tense in the grammar book, Units 11 + 12.

https://vk.com/doc8069473_207129479?hash=94cd970d0d980ac461&dl=5a539c9622c51a9bc2

We then discussed childhood memories.

You can use the past simple in the part  of the writing test.

Try task 2 on Page 27 of Insight into Pet, or for first ask me for another task related to childhood memories.