27 February 2015

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 present 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

Here is an interesting article

http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/a-present-perfect-story-viral-video-has-saved-the-radio-star

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

The present perfect is difficult to use because we look at time differently in English. However it is one of the most important tenses.

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

FRIDAY 26/02/16

Listening can be the most difficult skill. It is important to practice as much as possible.

A great website to help you with this is listenminute.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.

In the lesson we looked at one the texts about travelling.

http://www.listenaminute.com/t/travelling.html

Here you can the worksheets we used.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslTGNaUVpfUEttTWM/view?usp=sharing

You can also mark the text to remember some important aspects of pronunciation, in particular word stress. For more information on this see

https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/

20/02/16

A good way to continue a conversation is to ask questions. We listened to two conversations to find examples of subjects to talk about when you first meet someone.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslS2h4V01BdFNySnc/view?usp=sharing

Here is the tapescript for the audio file

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslclcxMG5ScVNzUVU/view?usp=sharing

Ask me for a copy of the audio file.

We added more questions and then practised asking familiar questions, using exercises 5 and Exam Practice for Part 1 on P77 of Insight Into PET.

Answering familiar questions are the part of the Cambridge speaking tests.

Revise the grammar in this grammar book, Units 2 + 7

http://vk.com/doc8069473_202956457

19/02/16

To start we looked at some expressions that you can learn by heart to use automatically when you meet someone for the first time

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UWv_lXxm7xNRtVLYaUvnw9tXvwa-Sep8zEuHpYCtCoU/edit?usp=sharing

To learn more phrases to use when you meet someone for the first time see here

Greetings power point - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslamZwNkx2MGhoVDA/edit?usp=sharing

Greetings worksheet - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslR0d4WDd4TW1JZlk/edit?usp=sharing

Here you can listen to some phrases - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_B2HZ_bIslbnJJQTI4VXAxWTg/edit?usp=sharing

13/02/16

Welcome to our course. I am sure we will do a good job together.

You can find the Initial Test we did here

 http://www2.klett.de/sixcms/media.php/229/EnglishUnlimited_All_TeachersGuide_EB.pdf

 It is important to listen to and read English as much as possible.

Here are some useful websites for practising.

www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish

www.breakingnewsenglish.com

www.listenaminute.com

www.esllab.com

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/

http://www.manythings.org/

www.elllo.org

http://www.englishclub.com/learn-english.htm

www.englishpage.com

Here you can find a very useful grammar book

Here is the elementary version

https://vk.com/doc8069473_202956457?hash=5ce925651868f7ad3c&dl=aa922cf229371819a9

and here is the intermediate version

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

 dl=5a539c9622c51a9bc2

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Now is the time of year when we look back at the past year and look forward to the new year.

Was 2014 a good year for you? What did you do last year? What was the best and the worst thing that happened to you last year?

What news stories do you remember from 2014?

The Local - Italian news in English has posted the top ten stories of 2014? Do you remember them? Do you agree that they are the top ten? Would you add / remove any stories?

http://www.thelocal.it/20141230/italys-top-ten-stories-in-2014

What are your new year's resolutions for 2015? To talk about your intentions in English, use be going to plus the base form of the verb. For example, in January many people say

I'm going to exercise more.

I'm going to save money.

Here are suggestions for improving your English

Next year I am going to:

Read an English book.
Listen to the radio in English
Watch a movie in English with English subtitles
Watch a DVD in my language with English subtitles
Watch a DVD in English without subtitles
Use an English-English dictionary
Do online chat in English
Write to a penfriend in English
Listen to radio with an English speaking DJ
Listen to English speech radio such as BBC World Service or Voice of America
Meet with a conversation exchange partner
Do an internet search in English
Write emails in English
Read the lyrics of English language songs.
Play language learning computer games
Go through a list of new vocabulary I have learnt
Listen to an English language audio guide in a museum
Sing English language songs
Record myself speaking English

What are you going to do?