WEDNESDAY 14 DECEMBER 18 - 20

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. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVXc3VjQ0VVVRZ0U/view?usp=sharing

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

Here you can find a list of irregular verb forms

https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/irregular-verbs-list.htm

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

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVksxcWZ2aFRPYkk/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslUGgxV0JnQXZkZnM/view?usp=sharing

or watch these videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zhFJlCAbGU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNaDvAYC0Jw

WEDNESDAY 14 DECEMBER 16 - 18

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. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVXc3VjQ0VVVRZ0U/view?usp=sharing

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

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslVksxcWZ2aFRPYkk/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslUGgxV0JnQXZkZnM/view?usp=sharing

or watch these videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zhFJlCAbGU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNaDvAYC0Jw

Then complete the questions on Page 3 on this document.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslS3N4cFl2N3VGRlk/view?usp=sharing

There is also the present perfect continuous that we use to highlight the action that continues now and in the future instead of the result.

Read the explanation here and try the exercises here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslR3hnYXh6bmZPOEk/view?usp=sharing

and on Page 1 of this document

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslS3N4cFl2N3VGRlk/view?usp=sharing

 For more practice try the exercises on englishpage.com

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html

This tense is common in job interviews when talking about your current and past work situation.

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5899

MONDAY DECEMBER 12 18 - 20

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 Princess Diana

http://www.macmillanreaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Princess_Diana_chapter_1.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.

We looked at the first page of Princess Diana 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

MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 16 - 18

Today we spoke about sport, which is a very interesting subject because it requires specific vocabulary.

Remember to use Check your Vocabulary for PET. On Page 88 you can find an exercise for learning sports vocabulary.

https://ymerleksi.wikispaces.com/file/view/Check+your+vocab+for+PET+Book.pdf

There is another here

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Df8YlThIrV17yIegVP_H7DoCLfuJNdCa07QL_Tv6nxg/edit?usp=sharing

We also tried the reading exercise on Page 44 of PET Result.
In this kind of exercise it is very important to read the questions, underline the key words and think of different ways of saying the same thing.

For more practice in this type of exercise, see here

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading3.htm

Sport is also a frequent topic for conversation.

Think about your answers to these questions

http://www.esldiscussions.com/s/sport.html

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7 16 - 18 and 18 - 20

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 langauge, 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 in the origianl language can be difficult. 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

DECEMBER 5 2016 18 - 20

Today we looked at another sitaution, that is Asking for and giving Directions.

We looked at some common prepositions of place

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3qW7K8A_sLbMRf_qpSqZCC0QvvY5XqzALFnmMB-9pObbcSqwnHccAPp272QScBeQnLeKZyoIsmk6Ztaw1tEAkTZvv0kXHTeJowvhGgvYhE9LIVS_lg9vhkMJLq1Ehm6u48hxGcIYgGs/s640/prepositions-of-place.png

and used them to describe the location of some places around Caltagirone

http://www.carruggiu-casavacanze.com/assets/base/img/content/map-caltagirone/Mappa_Caltagirone.jpg

You can find some useful phrases for asking for and giving directions here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4EN8MtjAE4ddWpVM3MwWmlGZ2M/view

DECEMBER 5 2016 16 - 18

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.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslV0lLLW1nQnVQTWc/view?usp=sharing

You can try out this skill on listenaminue.com.

http://www.listenaminute.com/a/autumn.html

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 practise predicting and then listening on  Page 41 of  PET Result, exercise 1 and 2. 

The recording contains examples of comparatives and superlatives.

Here is a very clear explanation video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G096Jdl2XVo

Try the exercises on Page 40.

You can use comparatives and superlatives to compare ways to improve your health and fitness on Page 48.

NOVEMBER 30 2016 18 - 20

Listening is a difficult skill but you can prepare for different common situations by learning words and phrases for particular situations. It is also important to predict the phrases and vocabulary you will hear. 

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.

http://it.speaklanguages.com/inglese/frasi/

In Part 1 of the Listening Test you will hear short dialogues or monlogues in common situations.

On this site you can find pdfs that will allow you to learn several words and phrases associated with everyday situations.

http://englishpower.jp/moodle/course/view.php?id=224

In International express you can find useful phrases for talking on the telephone.

On this site you can practice listening to telephone messages and dialogues in other situations

http://www.englishaula.com/en/ket-listening-part-4-exam-1-cambridge-key-english-test-exercise.html

NOVEMBER 30 2016 16 - 18

Listening is a difficult skill but you can prepare for different common situations by learning words and phrases for particular situations. It is also important to predict the phrases and vocabulary you will hear. 

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.

http://it.speaklanguages.com/inglese/frasi/

In Part 1 of the Listening Test you will hear short dialogues or monlogues in common situations.

On this site you can find pdfs that will allow you to learn several words and phrases associated with everyday situations.

http://englishpower.jp/moodle/course/view.php?id=224

Look in particular at the moderate section.

Here is a document about going shopping

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4EN8MtjAE4dbGhXaWl2V3BFOGM/view

On the second page, there are alternative ways to say the phrases in the dialogue.

The writing exercise on Page 35 of PET Result asks you to make a second phrase that has the same meaning as the first.

NOVEMBER 28 18 -20

Today we reviewed what we have done so far by doing some speaking exercises after watching this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNjfWh3uPRs

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIsleWFST3ZsYkc1MU0/view?usp=sharing

Then we did some exercises in the review units for Units 1 and 2 in International Express.

NOVEMBER 28 2016 16 - 18

Look here for a comparison of the Cambridge Preliminary and First exams.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslTEZ5VlhuVENUVDQ/view?usp=sharing

Ask for more exam practice.

The speaking tests for First and Preliminary are very similar.
You can watch videos of the speaking part on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNjfWh3uPRs

You can see an example of the tasks and examiner's words here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslQnVfeUJDTDliRjQ/view?usp=sharing

Another common task is the multiple choice listening task.

Before you listen, it can be useful to think about the situation and predict what words and phrases you may hear. In a listening task, read the questions and think of synonyms or other ways of saying the same thing. This will help you to focus on the right information when you listen.

You can find more information on synonyms here

http://www.flo-joe.com/preliminaryenglish/vocabulary/pet-synonyms.htm