Week 12 9th - 15th December 2013

Hello class!

This week we have learnt to express instant decisions, plans, arrangements, predictions, offerings, promises, actions in progress in the future and fixed events in the future and talked about plans decisions, arrangements, predictions, etc at work:

- Instant decisions: "This pen is broken. I will buy a new one".

- Plans: "I am going to visit my family next month".

- Arrangements: "I am meeting my manager on Tuesday at 5 pm.

- Predictions based on evidence: "It is cloudy. It is going to rain this evening".

- Predictions based on no evidence: "Arsenal will win the Champions League next year".

- Offerings: You look tired. "I will carry your bags".

- Promises: "I will love you for ever".

- Actions in progress in the future: "Tomorrow morning I will be working".

- Fixed events in the future: "The train leaves at 11.30 pm on Wednesday".


This is a link you may find useful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uPizZpX0OE

Thank you for your participation and effort. You did really well!

Week 11 2nd - 8th December 2013

Hello!

 

This week we have studied modal verbs (can, cannot, could, ought to, to be able to, may, might, must, mustn’t, should, shouldn’t, have to, had better…) We have used them to express abilities, needs, probabilities, and we have given advice and asked for permission in both formal and informal ways. We have also discussed about rules at work and used modal verbs as if we were in a working environment. We have also talked about production processes, reports, etc.

This is a link you may find useful to revise modal verbs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpA_McVjorM

Thank you everyone for coming every Monday and Wednesday after a long day at work. I really appreciate it. Thank you also for your involvement and participation. You are doing really well!

Week 10 25th November - 1st December 2013

Hello class!

This week we have learnt different forms of expressing future (will, going to and present continuous) and how to use them in the business environment, alonside with some phrasal verbs and expressions.

Homework: Remember your presentations for the next lesson.

This is a link you may find useful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP2OZc5vqL8

Thank you for your commitment and effort. You are working really well.

Week 9 18th – 24th November 2013

This week we have revised the “past simple” and “past continuous” tenses and worked with them, mainly through conversations related to the business world, describing how it was before and how it is nowadays, making comparisons. We have also studied vocabulary on selling and buying and phrasal verbs “in context” (thank you, Mar).

This is a link that some of you will find particularly interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHXqOvMntc0

Thank you all for coming every evening. I know you have long days at work and I appreciate your effort, interest and participation. You are doing really well! Thanks!

Week 8 11th – 17th November 2013

This week we have studied the “past simple” and “past continuous” tenses, how to use them, and how link both tenses using “when” and “while”. We have also studied vocabulary on IT technologies and the enterprise and discussed on how communication were business before the internet.

This is a link for you to revise the pronunciation of the “past simple” of irregular verbs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRsLLGnYhJ0

Thank you for your participation. You did very well!

Week 7 4th - 10th November 2013

This has been our first lesson! We have known each other, revised the present tense and how to express likes and dislikes. We have also discussed on the things we like and dislike in the business world and why.

Wednesday 30th October

This week we have seen some future forms: present continuous for arrangements, going to for plans and predictions and will for predictions and spontaneous decisions.

And yes, finally I found all the listenings! All done!

Have a nice long weekend!

What can we say about someone we admire? Someone we like can be friendly, generous, cheerful, sociable, easygoing, charming, witty and bubbly. We usually don't people who are smug, pretentious, hypocritical, shallow or pushy.

Some people can give the impression of being rude, but most time it's a consequence of being shy. It's not that shy people are not interested in other people, is only that they don't dear to ask! We have learnt today that Bob Dylan, Kim Bassinger and Eric Clapton are extremely shy people.

And finally, a bit of grammar: gerunds and infinitives (again)
Remeber these rules:

- The verbs like, love, hate, prefer, begin and start are usually followen by a gerund, but an infinitive can also be used with little or no difference in meaning

- The verbs enjoy, detest, don't mind, imagine, feel like, suggest, practise, miss and can't stand must be followed by a gerund

- The verbs refuse, hope, promise, ask, learn, expect, decide, afford, offer, choose, and want must be followed by an infinitive

- The verbs stop and remember can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive, but the meaning is different.

- We use try + gerund to say that somebody does something to see what wil happen
- We use try + infinitive to say that somebody makes an effort to do something

Here you have a few games so you can practise the infinitives!

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/ingform/exercise5.swf

http://www.carmenlu.com/first/grammar/verbs_ing1b.htm

Today we have started working on how to write a CV and a covering letter in English.

Don't forget to bring your own CV on Monday, so we can work on it!

We have reviewed some time expressions and some grammar, including when we use the present simple or continuous. Well done, by the way!

Here you have this week's olympic games:

GAME 4: PRESENT SIMPLE OR CONTINUOUS?

 16 OCTOBER 2013

PLAYER 1	------------
PLAYER 2	8 POINTS
PLAYER 3	8 POINTS
PLAYER 4	------------

 I so love Frank Sinatra! Now that you know the lyrics, I'm leaving My Way here for you to sing with him :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E2hYDIFDIU

Have a nice weekend!

Today we have been talking about the present perfect simple and the present simple continuous.
He have also seen some time expressions and how they relate to the different tenses. Here you have the grammar:

Past simple
          I lived in Chicago for six years
          I saw Jack two days ago
          They met during the war
          She got married while she was at University

Present perfect
           We've been married for 10 years
           They've been living here since June
           She hasn't been working since their baby was born

Future
            We are going on vacation for a few days
            The class ends in 20 minutes
            I'll be home in half an hour

Prepositions with dates, months, years, etc:

IN September, 1965. summer, the  holidays, the 1920s, the 20th Century

ON Monday, Monday morning, 8 August, Christmas Day, holiday

AT 7 o'clock, the end of May, Christmas, the age of ten, dinner time

See you again on Wednesday!

Talking about towns and cities... this is your homework for next week: listen to the recording and take the comprenhension test. How did it go?

http://www.elllo.org/english/0001/021-Steven-Home.htm

GAME 3:

COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE.

7 OCTOBER 2013

PLAYER 1		8 POINTS
PLAYER 2		8 POINT
PLAYER 3		7 POINTS
PLAYER 4		------------

Gerunds (-ing) and Infinitives (to) are great fun! Don't you believe me? Well, check this then! ;)
http://www.eslgamesworld.com/members/games/grammar/En%20garde/gerunds%20infinitive/gerunds%20or%20infinitive.html

OLYMPIC GAMES:

GAME 2: COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

2 OCTOBER 2013

PLAYER 1	7 POINTS
PLAYER 2	8 POINT
PLAYER 3	6 POINTS
PLAYER 4	4 POINTS

That's another hard day over!

Some verbs can be followed by gerunds or infinitives, but with a change in meaning:

FORGET, REGRET and REMEMBER: when these verbs are followed by -ing, they refer to something that happened before a certain time; when they're followed by to they refer to something that happens at or after a certain time.

What's the difference?

                    I'll never forget going to Japan
                    Don't forget to meet me at 5 o'clock

                    I don't regret leaving my job
                    We regret to inform you the interview was cancelled

                   I remember meeting you last year
                   Please remember to close the door

Stop + -ing means to interrupt an activity in order to do something else.
Stop + infinitive means to interrupt an action

Can you think of an example for each situation?

Try + to means to attemp doing something
Try + -ing means doing something as an experiment

Think of an example for each situation

See you on Wednesday!

Olympic games week 1

PLAYER 1	7 POINTS
PLAYER 2	8 POINT
PLAYER 3	8 POINTS