Tag Archives: B2

Working with “work”

Lesson Plan: Advanced, Listening, Resources, Students' Corner, The English language, , , , ,

and so that’s it, “literally”. In the advanced level we’ve been working with the semantic field “Work” .

This is the pdf with all the work-related expressions and collocations  you helped me build on the blackboard and also the exercises created with your own contributions. Thanks to you all!!

I also nicked and adapted from the Internet some tips about Job Interviews. I’m afraid I can’t name the source as I did it a long time ago and it was never my intention to get it published. My sincere apology !

There are also two video-based activities. The first one from an outside source www.eslvideo.com, which I highly recommend,  and the second one  created by me.

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Having fun with my computer

General, In the Computer Room, Listening, , ,

‘Cause this is what it is for me… fun!!!!
If you have read my previous post ,Becoming a housewife, you’ll by now know that I was left in the lurch … yes ,because this is how I felt , by my darling Carmen. And now that we are on that subject I have to confess that although I have been happily married for 17 years , it’s now that I understand that what makes me really happy is having Carmen by my side…(I hope my husband never reads this post). By the way, Carmen has returned home …it finally dawned on her that her place is by my side taking care of me and my family. God bless her!!!

Anyway, ‘cause I feel I might be boring you to death with my domestic problems let’s get to the point. What I wanted to share with you is that , apart from spending the summer cooking and cleaning, I also had some fun exploring a new programme (new for me , at least) which I think has lots of potential for my classes. I am just beginning to produce some videos and they have been a lot of effort but I also think it’s been worth the while.

First and taking as a sample a video from YouTube I had already used in my classes ,I produced a listening comprehension and uploaded it to YouTube. In fact, there were two videos and so you had to watch one and then see the answers and then the other one and see the answers too, which was quite an achievement but now I have managed to create a menu where you can choose what you want to see.
The first ,uploaded to you tube, is just below. The other one with the menu is here.I know it needs a lot of polishing but it is the first one  … I am still learning.

As we are learning about the weather..

In the Computer Room, Lesson Plan: Advanced, Listening, ,

As we are learning about the weather …I thought it might be a good idea to teach with rhythm.
It’s Raining Men was originally recorded by The Weather Girls ,who were the duo formed by Martha Wash and Izora Rhodesand. The song went number 1, selling over 6million copies worldwide. Barbara Streisand and Diana Ross were both offered this song and turned it down, I guess they are still regretting it.

 

Geri Halliwell, formerly a member of The Spice Girls, also recorded this song in 2001. Her version was used on the soundtrack to the movie Bridget Jones’ Diary. When released, the single shot straight to number 1 for 2 weeks.
If you want to do the listening we did in class, click here https://www.cristinacabal.com/advanced/itsrainingmen1.htm

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Memories to Share

In the Computer Room, Lesson Plan: Advanced, Listening, Music, ,

Good memories, bad memories but memories anyway.

Only this week I asked my students to reminisce about the past and, because we are on the lucky side of the world, all their memories were great. Most of them remembered their childhood with nostalgia, which is a good thing to do.
They remembered and talked about memories they will always cherish: about fighting with siblings, wonderful holidays when the family used to stick together, inventing tall stories to tell your parents so as not to be grounded, giggling with your classmates after mocking the teacher… you have given me lots of material to bribe you with.
We all have memories that are persistent throughout most of our life. Sharing them provides others a precious window to who we are.

Now, I have found and done with my students this song by James Morrison Once When I was Little, food for thought I should say, which both fits the grammar we have been studying to refer to the past, namely : “would” and “used to” and also the topic “Memories”.

I hope you enjoy it!. If you want to see the Lesson Plan , click here

Have you got any memories to share? So, come on, send them!!

Improving your writing skills

Lesson Plan: Advanced, Resources, Writing, , , , ,

You know that I have been for some time now trying to improve your written work making you aware of the fact that you always tend to use the same simplistic words when you write, even though we both know that you have a wider range of vocabulary. So why not use it? Look at this text and try to replace the verbs “say” and “look” with some others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here when you finish to see my suggestions.

“Watch out” ! I said at the top of my voice; but it was already too late. Jim and I both stood there looking at the cyclist flying off his bike and hitting the enormous hole in the road. “Is he hurt?” Jim said quietly, trembling with fear. “I don’t know” I said softly. At that moment the young man slowly lifted his head and looked at us in confusion. “What happened?” he said, in pain. “Where am I?”

Here’s another one. This time replace the words underlined to make it more interesting to the reader. Click here when you finish to see my suggestions.

It was a nice sunny morning when we set off on our journey. The sky looked very blue with only a few small clouds on the distant horizon. The ship we travelled on was big and had good cabins. We must have been halfway there when I was roused from my nap by a bad scream. It took me a while to come to my senses, but then I saw a small woman in front of me, looking very scared.

And now an entertaining task online that shows you how you can develop a simple sentence like ‘I made tea.’ into a detailed text. Go to the website: http://www.telescopictext.com/. You will see the sentence with shaded words, click ing on a shaded you’ll see that part of the sentence expand. Read the new sentence and then choose another part to click on

Homework: Create your own detailed sentences from one of these:
– I went to the beach.
– I saw a film
Once you have finished your sentence you can post it in the comments below and I’ll publish it.