Tag Archives: exam

Picture Description: Fashion

Picture Description, Speaking, Students' Corner, Writing, , ,

Another example of picture description for the Intermediate speaking exams. Thanks to Eloy Menéndez for kindly sending it.

These pictures are related to fashion and clothes.
To begin with, the photo on the left shows a group of young people wearing eccentric clothes, with a very particular style: most in black, large boots, fishnet stockings. Many people would say they look scruffy. Probably, they are in a music festival or in a concert and they seem as if they are having fun. In the other photo, we can see a catwalk, in which high-heeled models are wearing very expensive garments, probably from famous designers. Maybe, such events are more targeted towards shopaholics, who are always trying to be in the limelight and constantly renew the way they dress.
From some years up to now, clothes have become a distinguishing factor.

There are multiple urban tribes, some of them wearing outrageous clothes, others with colourful and bright garments, but each one with its own particularity, and they don’t care what others may think about them. They dress in the way they want. I am more keen on how the “skins” dress: shaved hair, tight jeans, suspenders, military boots. On the contrary, most of the teenagers are very fashionable because they are influenced by the media and constantly being fed with “tips” about what it’s cool to wear or not.

I would say fashion is cyclic and so are trends. Styles from the past are re-invented by designers or they just return in the same way they were many years ago: for that, vintage clothes, patterns, accessories and colours have become trendy nowadays.

One of the most widespread stereotypes is that women pay more attention to their appearance than men do. I think that used to be so in the past, yet today more men are worried about how they are seen by the opposite sex. So therefore, most fashion ads are directed to both sexes.

I believe everyone has to wear those clothes which match their own styles, their thoughts and moral convictions. If you think the most expensive shirt, the old-fashioned skirt or the most ragged jacket fits you, that’s what matters. Dressing well or badly is something subjective and if you feel comfortable with that garment, go ahead.
Eloy Menendez

More Role Plays for Elementary Students

Lesson Plan: Elementary, Role-plays, Slides, Speaking, , ,

Happy Tuesday!!

Hope that if you follow my blog  and you are not one of my students, you still feel the curiosity  to drop by from time to time; although it seems to me that, lately, all my posts have been  fully dedicated to helping my students practise for exams , but what can I do ??? I cannot just rest on my laurels and let them face the music without all the help I can offer them. I have very little time but  I cannot play possum when I know my students need me. I know, I know… I am an angel!!! I hope God will reward me with a cracking summer! Here they are some more role-plays, just cooked! 🙂

GOING TO THE CINEMA

JOB INTERVIEW

INVITATION TO GO TO A PARTY

HOPE THEY ARE HELPFUL!!

Picture Description : Global Warming

Picture Description, , , ,

Are you in exam mood already? I hope you are just with your nose in you books and practising Speaking  in front of the mirror.

Here is another example of picture description at Intermediate level, kindly sent by Fedra Neila Moro. Thanks Fedra, well done!

The first picture shows a group of people sitting on chairs, in the middle of San Marcus square in Venice. The square is full of water, so they are wearing swimsuits. They look pretty funny and carefree, despite being in the water.
The second picture shows a child with his back to us. It looks as if he is staring at the dry landscape in front of him. Maybe, he is worried, thinking about his future and the horrible scenery, although it is difficult to say, because I can’t see his face.
In the third picture I can see a modern city with skyscrapers. It looks like quite a polluted city. Its sky is completely full of thick smog.
Currently, carbon pollution is the main reason our planet is getting hotter, increasing the risk of weather disasters, drought and flood, and damaging our health.
Since the past century scientists are warning us about the dangers of global warming.
In fact, lately, in the north of Spain, winter is being especially hard and extreme. For example, three years ago it was freezing for months with temperatures below six or five degrades. Two years ago it was pouring from November until June, and last winter was very windy and rainy. Even some people, who live on the coast, had to leave their houses because huge waves had flooded them.
Personally, I think that global warming not only affects the climate change but also the economic problems. So far, governments have spent a lot of money dealing with the damages caused by weather disasters. However, the most affected, the poorest countries, hardly ever receive enough help.
To sum up, from my point of view , if we want to stop global warming we should change our life habits, for example: we should share our vehicle, take more often public transport, have a shower instead of a bath, and above all, we should teach the future generations to take care of our environment and to protect it.
Finally, in my opinion, perhaps the most difficult and necessary thing to do is changing how we produce energy. We’d better reduce the fossil fuels and use clean and renewable energies, so that if governments don’t take the climate change seriously, in the future, the earth will end up being a big ball of smog.

Picture Description: Beaches

Lesson Plan: Elementary, Picture Description, Pictures, Speaking, Students' Corner, , , ,

Kindly sent by Carmen Muñiz from the Elementary Level.

Both photos show a beach, but they are very different.
I suppose it’s summer, because the weather is nice and sunny and everyone is wearing summer clothes.
In the photo on the right, the beach is next to the city. There are a lot of people sunbathing. It’s really crowded. In the background I can see many high buildings. The sea is on the left and it’s full of bathers. The sand is on the right and there are a lots of colourful beach umbrellas. I think it’s a modern big city, it seems a lively place.
On the other hand, in the photo on the left, the beach is far from the city, and there are few people. At the back you can see green mountains and some little houses. The sea is on the right, there is no one bathing. On the right corner, there are two women next to rocks, they seem very relaxed, they are sunbathing in sun beds and they are reading a book. They look like friends, it looks as if they are having a great time.
The scene in the photo on the right looks very noisy and it’s packed with people, while in the photo on the left, it looks very peaceful and quiet.
Personally, I prefer the photo on the left, because it looks like a perfect place to spend a summer’s day. I love going to the beach and swimming in the sea, but I don’t like beaches which are close the city, and the crowds.

Picture Description: Jobs

Lesson Plan: Intermediate, Picture Description, Speaking, Students' Corner, , ,

Kindly sent by Ana Suárez Meana from the Intermediate Level.


Well, I have decided to talk about one of the most important topics in our lives, as I consider it is work because it is what drives the way we live every day.
To do this, I have decided to select these two contrasting pictures.
In the first picture, we can see an old man. He looks like a coal miner, although it is difficult to tell because I can´t see much of the background and I can´t really make it out. On the other hand, in the second picture, to our surprise, we can see the image of a woman priest. I think she might be
wearing a costume because it isn´t very common to see a woman priest.
In my opinion, the picture of the man is the image of one of the least common jobs today. In fact, more and more mines are closing down .I think that it is one of the most difficult jobs because they are people who daily risk their lives and whose earnings are low.
In contrast is the image of the woman, whose job I consider more relaxing and less complicated than that of the coal miner, but it is not less important for many religious people in our society and until now, done only by men because many jobs do not welcome women .
Today, there are different types of jobs that a few years ago would be difficult to imagine, because nowadays, more people study than in the past, men and women go out to work, and this often causes that families in their jobs are affected by the serious crisis we are living in our country.