File 3A. Grammar: going to & present continuous (future arrangements)

Exercise 1 (going to, present continuous 1)
Exercise 2 (going to, present continuous 2)
Exercise 3 (present continuous for future)

Culture: Christmas in England

Courtesy of Isabel M. Bastida

File 02 Revision. Pronunciation: The Irregular verbs Song

File 2D. Linking words: so, because, but, although

EXTRA ACTIVITIES (so, because, but, although):

Exercise 1
Exercise 2

File 2C. Grammar: Questions without auxiliaries (extra practice)

Hi,

This is just to let you know that I have created a new section on the blog called P.R.O.E. I'll be using this section to add some of your creations and any other extra exercises that for some reason we did not have time to do in class.

To start with, you can download the following document about Questions without auxiliaries and do it at home. I'll give you the answers to this exercise next week.

Download P.R.O.E. activity

Alternatively, you can do these two activities about Questions with or without auxiliaries:


Questions with/without auxiliaries - Exercise 1
Questions with/without auxiliaries - Exercise 2

Song: Imagine

And here's a karaoke version of the song for our John Lennon wannabe ;)

Long weekend homework...

Hi

This is just to remind you all your homework to be done during this long weekend:

- File 02D. One October Evening (page 22):
1. READING (Answers to part a = A3, B5, C1, D6, E4, F2)
2. GRAMMAR (so, because, but, although) + Grammar Bank p.128, exercises a & b
Photocopy: Grammar 2D (so, because, but, although)


- File 02. Writing: The story behind a photo

Correspondencia gramatical

Hi,

Here's the grammar correspondence between the New English File Pre-Intermediate and the Essential Grammar in Use.

http://www.box.net/shared/0dmdy8unkh

Remember that the book Essential Grammar in Use is strongly recommended for those students with deficiencies in grammar.

File 2B. It was a cold, dark night...

Culture: Thanksgiving

Creative writing: A short story

Hi,

Do you remember the following activity we did in class?
 "Write a short story using 15 of the irregular verbs on page 155"

Here are the resulting stories...

Culture & Festivities: Thanksgiving

Hi

This is just to remind you that next Thursday the 25th is Thanksgiving. As you know, thanksgiving is celebrated by Americans of all religions on the fourth Thursday of November.

Remember that some people from your class will do an oral presentation about Thanksgiving this Wednesday/Thursday.

File 02A. Pronunciation: -ed (exercises)

PRONUNCIATION OF PAST SIMPLE -ED: 
EXTRA EXERCISES

1. Classify the following verbs according to their pronunciation in the past simple tense, that is, /d/, /t/ or /id/. There are ten answers for each column.

allowed - asked - cracked - cried - damaged - decided - encouraged - ended - flooded - guessed - included - jailed - killed - landed - loved - missed - mixed - pasted - relaxed - repeated - shaved - slipped - stopped - tasted - visited - wasted - washed - watched - welcomed - yawned

2. Complete the rules for the pronunciation of regular verbs in the past.

a. When the regular verb ends in a vowel sound or voiced consonant sound, the -ed ending is pronounced /_____ /.

b. When the regular verb ends in an unvoiced consonant sound, the -ed ending is pronounced /_____ /.

c. The -ed ending is pronounced /id/ when the verb ends in the consonant sounds _____ and _____ .


In case you need more practice with regular verbs, have a look at this website if you want to test yourself. Remember, try to read out the verbs to practice your own pronunciation as you progress with the exercise:

http://club.telepolis.com/phonetics/afoneticedd.html

Click here for another exercise about the pronunciation of -ed

EXTRA PRONUNCIATION:
Pronunciation (General & -ed)
Pronunciation -ed (Video)

File 02A. Pronunciation: -ed

PAST SIMPLE REGULAR VERBS: /t/


PAST SIMPLE REGULAR VERBS: /id/



PAST SIMPLE REGULAR VERBS: /d/

File 02A. Grammar: Past Simple (regular & irregular)

NEW ENGLISH FILE PRE-INTERMEDIATE (ONLINE)
Lesson A (past simple regular and irregular 1)
Lesson A (past simple regular and irregular 2)

VERB LISTS:
Irregular verb list (from English Grammar in Use)
Irregular verb list (with translations and examples)
Irregular verb list (with phonetic transcription)

GAME:

http://www.verbbusters.com/index_es.php

File 01D. Grammar: Defining relative clauses

File 01D  Extra grammar:


Lesson D defining relative clauses (1)
Lesson D defining relative clauses (2)

Resources: Listening

Hi everyone!

Here are some useful links for you to improve your listening skills during my absence. The links are taken from another useful blog for Basic Level Students called English in Guia Básico.

• Ello:  Here you have audio and text together. You can choose to show or hide the text while you listen. There is a great variety of topics! For example, Tai Chi, living a long life, how to break up a relationship, expensive cities, etc.
• Real English for beginners: in this website you have lessons with videos, examples and exercises. It’s very interesting! They are all native speakers of English, and you can also speak yourself.
• AudioEnglish: in the beginners section you have mainly pronunciation practice with audio, but there are also some tests.
• Masion Inglés: again, a lot of listening exercises divided into different topics and levels. Both British and American English accents!
• Cyber Listening Lab: you have listening exercises of different levels (easy, medium and difficult). Click on any, listen to the text and test yourself. If you click on “Quiz Script“, you can also read the text at the same time. Finally, you have Vocabulary Activities at the end of each exercise. Very complete!

Hope you like them!

Culture: Halloween

File 01D. Resources: Reverso Dictionary

Hi

I just found a useful and quite handy online dictionary: 
 

(Click to access)

This website includes other useful tools (translation, conjugation, etc.) that you can use to satisfy your learning needs.

I hope you like it.

File 01C. Grammar: Present Continuous

File 01 B Extra grammar:

Lesson C present continuous (1)
Lesson C present continuous (2)

File 01C. Powerpoint presentation: The Human Body

File 01B. Grammar: Present Simple

Hi

Here's some extra practice for the grammar contents of this file:


a. PRESENT SIMPLE. What is the correct 3rd Person Singular form of these verbs? Make full sentences:

Example:
read -reads  He reads newspapers and magazines.

go - explain - know- carry - have - do - prefer - meet - talk - choose - organize - finish - dry - forget - dress - ask

goes - explains - knows - carries - has - does - prefers - meets - talks - chooses - organizes - finishes - dries - forgets - dresses - asks

b. PLURALS. The plurals below are spelt incorrectly. Read them and then write the correct plurals:

watchs - bookes - knifes - mans - diarys - addresss - persons - scarfs - citys - childs

watches - books - knives - men - diaries - addresses - people - scarves - cities - children

EXTRA EXERCISES:
Lesson B present simple (1)
Lesson B present simple (2)

File 01B. Vocabulary: personality adjectives (expansion)

Hi

Here's a powerpoint presentation with some personality adjectives:

And now, here's a link with 50 other words to describe personality in English:

http://www.lingolex.com/personalidad.htm

File 01A. Vocabulary (Revision)

Hi everybody!

Here are some exercises so that you can practice the vocabulary seen in File 1A:

Classroom language:
Crossword
Wordsearch

File 01A. Grammar: revision

File 01 A Extra grammar:
Lesson A word order in questions (1)
Lesson A word order in questions (2)
Lesson A word order in questions (3)

File 01A. Introductions

NB2 Recommended reading: British and American Festivities

Hi!

British and American Festivities (Green Apple/Black Cat) is the recommended reading book we have chosen  for this year. The book also includes lots of pictures, exercises and an audio CD for your convenience.

You will have to do some oral presentations in front of the class about each of the different important dates of the British/American calendars, so you can start reading the book as soon as possible.

File 01. Micro-challenge: The expression What's up?

The expression What's up? was one of Bugs Bunny's most well-known catchphrases.What's up? has replaced 'Hello' or 'Hi' as the most popular form of casual greeting.

But... what do people usually answer when somebody says 'What's up?'? Do some online research and post your findings in the Comments section.

First day questionnaire

INITIAL ASSESSMENT: NB-2 First Day Questionnaire

Use the Comments section of this entry to answer the following questions:

  

1. What is your name? What is your class group?

2. Why are you studying English?

3. What skills are you good at? (SPEAKING/LISTENING/WRITING/READING)

4. What skills are you bad at? (SPEAKING/LISTENING/WRITING/READING)

5. What are your favourite activities? (e.g. songs, games, listening, speaking tasks, etc.) 

6. Are you in contact with English outside the classroom?  

7. As a student, what are your good points? (eg. I am a hard-working student, I am good at grammar, etc.)  

8. As a student, what are your bad points? (eg. pronunciation, listening, etc.)  

9. Write a brief summary about your English learning trajectory. 

10. What do you expect from this course?

Class material and other recommended resources for NB2

Hi everybody!

These are the books we'll be using this year:

New English File Pre-Intermediate (Oxford)
Student's Book + Workbook (with key)

This book includes some extra online material. You can do the suggested activities as we progress in the course. Visit this link to see the New English File Pre-Intermediate online resources.


Recommended grammar: Essential Grammar in Use (3rd Edition with answers and CD) (Cambridge)







There are also some recommended books for those students with difficulties in pronunciation. If you are interested, you can buy the New Headway Pronunciation Pre-Intermediate (Oxford). The book includes a CD with audio tracks for your convenience, but it not obligatory.

See you soon!

Welcome to my Basic Level 2 blog!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my Basic Level 2 Blog!

This blog has been conceived as a complement to my on-site sessions at the EOI Torre-Pacheco. Here you will find extra material to work online and will allow you to expand your knowledge of the language any time you want.

I hope you find this blog useful and enjoy this online experience as much as I do.

See you around!

Sergio