Idioms

Idiom of the day:

A sweet tooth.

This idiom refers to someone who really likes sweets and chocolate.

B1 class 30/05/2016

We spent the most part of the lesson correctin the homework from the previous day, the exercises on reported speech.

Then we saw the idiom of the day: a sweet tooth.

And it was time to explain the last piece of grammar in the course: a quick revision of the first and second conditional and then the third conditional. It is used for imaginary situations that refer to the past

And fnally we had a look at two vocabulary exercises, exercise 1 on page 94 with some informal expressions, and the one on page 96 with exressions with get.

For homework students must do exercises 8 and 9 from page 97.

Idioms

Idiom of the day:

To have a green thumb.

This idiom refers to someone who is very good at looking after plants.

B1 class 25/05/2016

This class started checking the homework on phrasal verbs, placing the object in the right position within the phrasal verb.

Then we had a class totally based on grammar. I explained reported speech in different forms: statements, questions, requests, imperatives and reporting verbs.

On the two blackboards next to this we can see how the tenses change in reported seech.

With statements we can either use said or told but after told we must use an object.

With questions we can use a wh- particle, if or whether, depending on the type of question; and then we have the same structure as in affirmative sentences.

For requests and imperatives we use the verbs ask and tell, followed by an object, and to + infinitive.

Reporting verbs have different structures depending on the verb.

After the exlanation we had a look at the idiom of the day: to have a green thumb.

For homework students must do exercise 8 page 87, 6 and 9 from page 89, 2 and 5 from pages 90 and 91.

Idioms

Idiom of the day:

A shotgun wedding.

A wedding arranged to avoid embarrassment due to an unplanned pregnancy.

B1 class 23/05/2016

In this class we checked the homework related to the text about a wedding on page 82, On exercise 2 we had to decide the correct word in each sentence and on exercise 3 we had to find the synonym for each phrasal verb.

The idiom of the day was related to weddings: a shotgun wedding. I'll publish the meaning shortly.

Then I explained the different tyes of phrasal verbs, whether they are followed by an object or not, and what was the position of the object. On the picture a short explanation of the dfferent types of phrasal verbs can be seen.

Then we had a look at the vocabulary about work on page page 86 and we did the listening activity on the same page.

For homework students must do exercise 5 on page 83.

Idioms

Idiom of the day:

Golden touch.

Someone with a golden touch is successful and makes money with anything.

Jim has proved he's got a golden touch again, he's just opened another restaurant and it was completely packed.

Writing tips for certification exams

Yesterday we had a workshop with students from the Centre d'Idiomes where they were given some tips for certification exams such Official School of Languages, PACLE, CertAcles, TOEFL, IELTS, First Certificate and so on.

Here is the presentation used during the workshop which was also accompanied by some exercises done during the workshop.

Writing tips for certification exams from Miguel Angel Cortés Diaz

B1 class 18/05/2016

The start of the lesson yesterday was slightly different. Instead of the idiom we checked the homework on page 78, several expression for contacting people. These include expressions such as lose touch, keep in touch with and get in touch with. Touch in this context just means contact.

Then we saw the idiom of the day golden touch. In this context the meaning of touch is completely different. 

After this we started with unit 10B, we did a revision of vocabulary for describing people, we used that vocabulary to describe the people in the picture on page 80 guessing who we were talking about. 

Related to the picture we did the listening exercise where modals of deduction were introduced and later explained.

With this piece of grammar we did a speaking activity guessing who the items on page 81 might belong to. The purpose of the activity was to make deductions and provide an explanation why we thought that particular item belonged to someone at the party.

For homew
ork students must do exercises 5 and 6 from page 81, and exercises 2 and 3 from page 82.

Idioms

Idiom of the day:

Doctors make the worst patients.

This idiom means that professionals don't usually take advice well since they think they know better.

B1 class 16/05/2016

The idiom of the day for last Monday was Doctors make the worst patients. The last section of unit 9 is related to medicine and illnesses.

We corrected the homework, exercise 5 on page 75 about connectors, exercise 2 from page 76 doctors' expressions, and exercise 7 from page 77 vocabulary.

The we started unit 10 talking about wedding in Spain and we did the listening activity on page 79. In this activity we saw the structures was/were going to for plans we made in the past but didn't happen, and was/were supposed to for things we agreed to do but we didn't do. We practised these structures in conversation in pair.

To finish we had a look at the vocabulary section on page 80, describing people's appearance.

For homework students must do exercise 1 on page 78.

Idioms

Idiom of the day:

To sweat bullets.

To be very worried or frightened about something.
He started to sweat bullets when he saw the lion coming towards him.

B1 class 11/05/2016

Although a bit late, this is the post summarizing what we did last Wednesday in class. We started with the idiom of the day: to sweat bullets.

Then we checked the homework, exercise 9 on page 73. Placing the adverb in the correct position in present perfect sentences active and passive. And we also checked the reading exercise on page 74. 

The grammar point that day was connectors that express contrast: although, even though, despite, in spite of and however. I've sent the students an email with an explanation on how to use them- For homework students must finish exercise 5 from page 75.

Then we discussed some aspects of lying: when it is ok to lie, how we can spot liars, if we are good liars...

And to finish we saw the vocabulary related to illnesses on page 75 exercise 1.

A letter to the Mayor of Valencia

Mayor Joan Ribó

1 Municipal Square

Valencia, 46002

            Dear Mayor Ribó,

            My name is Mayte Álvarez resident of Valencia. I’m writing with some complaints about traffic jams at in the town center of Valencia and about the municipal rules, which regulate the interrelations between people and animals.

I appreciate the development projects the city has taken on in the past few months, but I consider they there are two importants aspects to take into account for the municipal government team since they aren’t trivials problems.

In the first place, I want to refer to the problem of traffic jams and, from my point of view, the use excessive use of cars to get around the city. I think that some of the actions that could be considered to relieve the traffic in the city center and to reduce the pollution are to cut off the circulation in the town center allowing only the traffic to the residents and suppliers. Another of the measures would be to increase the frequency of the bus, underground and tram and to make electric bus stations in a the Parterre bus transfer to go to the town center. The electrics buses are littler smaller than the nine-diesel bus line and less polluting.

As well, it would be necessary to increase the number of bicycles and improve the route bike lane. Likewise, it’s important to finish the Central Park, with the arrival of the AVE to the center and therefore we would put an end to the separation of the city and we would recover an area very big in the town center of Valencia. I think that all the measures we carry out for to stimulate the use of public transportation will get better improve the quality of life that the city offers to their citizens.

In addition, I believe it’s necessary to take into account measures of control for the owner pet behaviour, so that they would be sanctioned in case of if they don’t pick up the poop. Besides, I think pets can use the underground for instance, setting up the last train car, by timetables and with lead and with muzzle for the risk-bearing races. Moreover, it will be very necessary to set up more gardens and green spaces that promote coexistence.

Thank you so much for your time.

Sincerely,

           Mayte Álvarez

Well done Mayte!! very good composition. Despite the mistakes, it's a great piece of writing. Very good structure and well-developed arguments.

Idioms

Idiom of the day:

Save it for a rainy day.

Put aside some money and save it for the future when you may need it more than now.

You don't need to buy such an expensive motorbike, save the money for a rainy day!

B1 class 09/05/2016

After a really hectic week in which I attended a series of conferences related to language testing and assessment I'm back at work and ready to publish a new post explaining what we did yesterday in class.

We started the lesson as usual with the idiom of the day: save it for a rainy day, a very appropriate idiom since yesterday it was raining all day. Some of the students actually guessed what this means.

After this students described in pairs a couple of the pictures on pages 72 and 73, in particular the one where some people are demonstrating and another one where you can see some antique jewellery. Then we did a listening activity which consisted on some pieces of news and students had to complete them with specific information. The activity served as an introduction

to explaining the Present Perfect Simple for recent events in active and passive voice.

Students did exercise 8 on page 73 in which they had to complete the paragraphs using the verb in Present Perfect and deciding whether to use active or passive voice.

Finally they discussed the meaning of the verbs on page 74 related to the body.

For homework they must do exercise 9 from page 73 and number 2 from page 74. For next Monday they must write a newspaper article choosing the section of the newspaper they are more interested in and using the passive voice, present perfect and past simple, relative pronouns... 

Composition 9 A letter of the Mayor

Composition 9. A letter of the mayor

Dear Mayor of Valencia:

I write this letter so as to complain about social matters I think social sevices should change in order to improve the lives of the citizens. I hope you can read my suggestions.

One issue I am worried is about high prices of public transport. I suggest reducing the prices so as to provide resources to people without a vehicle. In addition to this, if society use the underground we will cut down the pollution of the environment.

An other trouble is picking the rubbish. I see rubbish out of containers because there are so many. People generate a lot of rubbish in the streets. One option can be to increase the number of containers in our city.

To sum up, I believe everybody should contribute so as to improve conditions of Valencia. I express your gratitude for reading my suggestions.

Idioms

Idiom of the day:

Have bigger fish to fry.

This idiom means to have other things to do or other problems more important to solve.

B1 class 27/04/2016

We started the lesson with the idiom of the day: bigger fish to fry. As we were talking about beach and sharks the previous day this idiom is related to the sea.

Then we checked the homework on page 67; prefixes and suffixes and their meanings.

After this we discussed camping trips, whether we liked them or not, what to wear, what to take with us and a experience we had.

This serve as an introduction for the listening activity in which two girls are discussing what one of them needs for her hiking trip. This listening activity was related to the functional language we have seen in this unit: giving advice and warnings.

For homework students must do exercise 5 and 6 from page 69, and exercise 3 from page 70.