Students’ Corner: Two Opinion Essays

Students' Corner, Writing skill, ,

There is little that gives more satisfaction than publishing students’ work ;they are  the reason behind all the hard work that means keeping  this blog going.

Thank you very much to Raquel de Paz and Lucía Fernández, from the Intermediate Level (B1)  for sending their essays.

Education is the single most important factor in the development of a country.

By Raquel de Paz 

In my opinion, there is a very important thing in society which helps us to improve: education. A strong education system helps people to improve their knowledge and to be successful in their lives.
Education gives the keys to solve the problems. There is a famous saying which says: “If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, if you teach the man to fish you feed him for a lifetime”. Firstly, education is essential to our life. Again and again we have to call on to our basic knowledge to understand basic daily information about life. We need it to do the shopping, to understand signs and signals, etc.
Secondly, a good education brings a long number of qualified people with a lot of knowledge on a wide range of subjects and, as a result, these people work in different areas improving technologies and techniques supporting the development of a country.
To sum up, education is a very important factor in the development of a country. Education provides experience, training and personal development and, as a result, more skills, better productivity and greater ability to improve living conditions.

Children watch too much television   by Lucía Fernández

Nowadays children spend an excessive amount of time watching  television wherever they are, helped by the Internet and mobile phones instead of enjoying other kinds of activities healthier and more educative .
Although many people believe that watching  television is a good way of learning new things and an  innocent distraction for children, from my point of view,you waste a lot of time doing something unproductive. It’s more like something parents use  so as not to be  bothered by their children in some situations; for example,when a child is nervous, the parents play cartoons on his mobile and the child then  stares at the  mobile screen  for hours as if  he were in another world.
Children should play with each other and develop their imagination in a healthy mood ,but also  their parents should help them to achieve it.
To sum up,I think television is necessary and  complements  other activities, but it should be used with care.

 

Preparing for the Oral Exam? Some Useful Guidelines and Techniques for Describing Pictures

Picture Description, Speaking, , , , ,

For better or for worse the course is coming to an end and exams are just here. I can almost see them beckoning me and you. I am ready, the question is … are you?

In the oral exam you’ll have to  demonstrate your speaking skills as well as your ability to communicate and for this, it is essential that you practise… a lot. 

Here are some Guidelines and Techniques  to help you score a high mark in the Picture Description  Part of the exam. I hope they are helpful!!

♥Click here to download the pdf

♥Click here to see the Slideshare 

♥Click here to see the presentation mode of the Infographic below

 

 

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Some Nice No-Prep Activities to Practise First Conditional

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When we  get back from a relaxing holiday (Easter in this case) it is difficult to just drop everything and go back to routine, back to work, back to studying English without feeling a bit down.

Now, I shouldn’t say this but I’m going to say it anyway. I don’t care if you feel down at work, but not in my classes. Listen, dear students, the course is almost finished and I want you in high spirits and highly motivated!!!

You might think learning, let alone studying  Conditional sentences  is boring. Nothing further from the truth. Trust me! It can be fun, too! Let’s try these activities to get your first conditionals rolling!!

The best about these activities is that they require no preparation, something very much appreciated  when we, teachers, are already  busy writing exams.

THREE NO-PREP NICE ACTIVITIES  

1.SITUATIONS

♥ Situation 1. Tell students they are all 18 (I can almost hear their giggles)  and that you are their mother/father (more giggles). They have a very important date with the girl/boy of their dreams and they really want to impress their date; for this reason, they need to borrow your beautiful back sports car, which you are reluctant to lend as the student has just got his driving licence.

They’ll need to convince you to lend them your car. You’ll lend the car to only one student, provided he offers something good in return. Be prepared for a big round of promises, of which you’ll need to choose the one you like best.

“Mommy :), if you lend me your car, I’ll do the washing up for two months”.

“Mommy, if you lend me your car, I’ll wash your car every week for a year.”

♥ Situation 2. Tell students they are all 12 ( this time they are roaring with laughter- remember I teach adults)  and that you, as their teacher, are really disappointed with their behaviour in class. Tell students you have no other option but to inform their parents. On the other hand, students  do not want their parents to get upset, especially because there is a great party this weekend and they don’t want to be grounded. They need to convince you not to phone their parents.

“Teacher, if you do not tell my parents, I will do my homework every day”

“Teacher, if you do not phone my father, I’ll sit still during the rest of the term”

2. MURPHY’S LAW.

Ask students if they have ever heard about Murphy’s Law. Explain that Murphy’s Law states that if something bad can happen, it’ll happen. Elicit an example of Murphy’s Law .

Example: what happens if you are in a supermarket waiting to pay and you change queues? The queue you were in before will move faster.

Divide the class into two groups and ask the group to write five sentences using the first conditional in the humorous context of Murphy’s Laws. Allow 5 minutes for this step.

Groups take it in turns to read the beginning of their sentences Ex “If I don’t take an umbrella, ….”. The other group has to guess the words to complete the sentence (they have two opportunities). If they do, they score one point.

You, as a teacher, can also take part in the game reading your own sentences and asking both groups to try to guess the ending and so getting more points for their team .

 3. ELECTION TIME

I don’t know about other countries but here in Spain, elections are a month away and candidates for the different political parties are busy making promises.

Divide the students in groups of three or four students and ask them to write their election promises  using the First Conditional in sentences such as

If I am president, I will

If  you vote for my party , we will…

A spokesperson for each of the groups is asked to stand up and read their promises to the rest of the groups. The audience is encouraged to ask questions to the candidates or challenge them by asking questions such as …. Yes , but what will happen if ….?

When all the promises are heard, they will need to vote for a candidate which will be different from their own.

 Learn English and Have Fun!

Picture Description: Homes 2

Picture Description, Speaking, , , , , ,

In this post you’ll find some  material to practise describing two pictures about Houses/Rooms in a House. There is some useful vocabulary  and expressions as well as  two different sets of pictures  with some questions that might give you some ideas of what you need to talk about in this part of the exam. Remember that you’ll  need to practise describing , comparing and giving opinion . Download the pdf here

To see an example of two students doing this exercise, go to Pictures Description Homes : Part 1. 

For further practice, visit the Picture Description Section in this blog.

Step1. Study this vocabulary and expressions before you start describing.   Useful Expressions:

  • It is too expensive for me to rent/buy a house
  • decorate in my own taste
  • a place of my own
  • live on my own
  • can’t afford to rent
  •  crowded with furniture
  • the room is airy and light

Special Attention to Prepositions:

  • live in a city/the country
  • live on the outskirts of a city
  • live on the north coast
  • live on the second floor

Types of Houses

  • a detached house
  • a semidetached house
  • terraced houses
  • cottage
  • bungalo
  • block of flats
  • a motor house
  • skyscraper
  • a mansion
  • a house boat

Step 2. Practice 1: Describe, compare and give opinion Some ideas to help you:

  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a house or a flat?
  • How many different homes have you lived in? Which did you prefer?
  • What do you think about people keeping big dogs in flats?
  • What is your relationship with your neighbours?
  • What is your general feeling about the architecture in your local area?

  Step 2. Practice 2: Describe, compare and give opinion   Some ideas to help you:

  • Do you have a lot of decorations in your home or is it bare?
  • What would you say the decoration style of your home is?
  • What would your ideal house or apartment look like?
  • Is your home clean? Are you a very organized person?

 

Picture Description: Homes 1

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Resting on your laurels? No way!  Finals are fast approaching!! Time to give your English a final push!

Here you have another example of picture description. This time the theme is Houses.

Remember that in the  Oral Exam you’ll be shown two ( sometimes three) theme-related photographs ( eg types of houses). You’ll be asked to describe and compare them and to talk about them in relation to yourself for a short time (approx 3 min.)

More examples and practise here

 

 

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