Practising with reading

Here we have some pages with graded reading exercises but be careful because they're not the same as the ones we have for the exam:

• http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/marketing/sfesl/practicereading.html here you have answer key
• http://www.miguelmllop.com/practice/intermediate/readingcomprehension/readingcompindex.htm : a lot of readings but without answer key
• http://www.usingenglish.com/comprehension/: with on line exercise and 3 levels (beginner, intermediate and advance)
•  http://www.5minuteenglish.com/apr1.htm : a ture/false exercise; a bit simple

Improving your speaking

The only way to improve your speaking is to practise. If you are lucky and you can do it with native speakers, tha's great but most of you can't so you should do it on your own or with your mates.
Here you have some tips to work alone:

• Prepare your speaking before: pay attention to the structures required and the vocabulary (suggestions, advice, explanations, etc.)
• Record yourself while speaking: watch the time and then you'll be able to correct yourself, no only the mistakes but the entonation, fluency, richness, etc.
• Once you've done that, do it again to improve the first performance. You'll see you've done it better.

Here you have a link which has a performace of a student of nivel básico 2. It gives you a clue about what to do to practise on your own:

• https://sites.google.com/site/speakingactivities/basico-2-test-tasks

Improving your writing

When you want to improve the way you write, you should pay attention to the following problems:

• structure of the composition: think that the person who is reading the paper doesn't know what you want to say. Write to be read and understood at first.
• following the line: guide the reader so use linkers, references, examples and so on to let the reader follow you throughout your writing.
• variety: try to avoid repetitions, use synonyms, contraries, different types of sentences to make your writing more interesting
• mind the mistakes: especially with spelling, tenses, adjectives and nouns, singular and plural forms and so on.

To practise with that last part, remember to leave some minutes in the end to check and correct your mistakes. Use these links to help you:

• http://tonigarcia-iesmbv.blogspot.com.es/2011/07/most-common-errors-when-writing-english.html: especially target for Spanish speakers
• 
  

Preparing the certificate exams

Here you have all the sites you can use to prepare the exams. You should look for the language and your level within the page:

• Comunidad de Aragón: http://www.educaragon.org/arboles/arbol.asp?sepRuta=Sistema+Educativo%2F%3Ca+href%3D'%2Feducacion_no_uni.asp'%3EEnse%F1anza+no+Universitaria%3C%2Fa%3E%2F&guiaeducativa=&strSeccion=PPI02&titpadre=R%E9gimen+especial&arrpadres=$Ense%F1anzas+de+Idiomas&arrides=$113&arridesvin=$&lngArbol=1786&lngArbolvinculado
• Comunidad de Cantabria:: http://www.educantabria.es/ensenanzas_de_regimen_especial/ensenanzas_de_regimen_especial/ensenanzas-de-idiomas/pruebas-cer-idiomas-09-10

• Comunidad de Murcia:  http://www.educarm.es/admin/webForm.php?ar=637&mode=visualizaAplicacionWeb&aplicacion=ARTISTICAS_IDIOMAS&web=92&zona=PROFESORES&menuSeleccionado=
• Euskadi/País Vasco:  http://www.eoieuskadi.net/es/pcertificacion.php?pag=modelos
• Comunidad Valenciana:  http://www.eoivalencia.es/es/ultima-convocatoria.html  
• Comunidad de Navarra:  http://irati.pnte.cfnavarra.es/einadisw/examenes.php?conte=exmodelosin&ver=2%20(ingl%C3%A9s)
• Comunidad de Castilla-La Mancha:  http://www.educa.jccm.es/educa-jccm/cm/educa_jccm/tkContent?idContent=60113&locale=es_ES&textOnly=false
• Comunidad de Galicia:  http://www.eoidevigo.org/images/stories/certificacion/2011-2012/probas_eeooii.pdf

Web pages to learn English

The following are some websites that may help you with your process of learning English in a more autonomous manner. I found them at EOI Salamanca and I think they could be useful for you. Let me encourage to check them out in order to see which ones are best for you, althoygh there are many you've already known because we've use them in class or on the blog.
National Public Radio (US) http://www.npr.org
BBC (UK) http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml
CBC (Canada) http://www.cbc.ca
Dave’s ESL Café http://eslcafe.com/
English for Internet  http://www.study.com/
The Internet Public Library http://ipl.org/
Grammar and Writing http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Agenda Web http://www.agendaweb.org
English at Home http://www.english-at-home.com
E.L. Easton’s Page http://eleaston.com
Learn English – British Council http://britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
BBC Skills Wise http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise
Curso inglés http://www.curso-ingles.com
World English  http://www.world-english.org
English learner http://www.englishlearner.com
Auto English http://autoenglish.org
English exercises online http://www.smic.be/smic5022
Vaughan radio station http://www.vaughanradio.com
Online dictionary http://www.wordreference.com
Videos and games http://www.eslvideo.com
Others:
http://www.learning.english.com
http://better-english.com
http://manythings.org
http://mansioningles.com
http://englishclub.com
http://a4esl.org
http://englishaquarium
http://letssingit.com
http://www.stuff.co.uk/english.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com

Official certificate exams in Asturias

These are the certificate exams of Asturias. Have a look and try to practise with them but remember they could be differente from the ones we've got in Madrid.

• http://www.educastur.es/media/publicaciones/apoyo/innovacion/modelos_pruebas_eoi.pdf : this is the link for the exam paper but all the languages and the levels are here so you should look for your basic level (if you feel confident, have a try with the intermediate one)
• http://www.educastur.es/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2708&Itemid=54: this is the previous page and at the end you can find the audios.

Revision of pronouns - introducing relative pronouns

Sometimes it's good to revise things we already know to check we don't have problems. That's the reason why I've seen this presentation really useful. But it introduces something we haven't seen very well and we should revise in class next week: relative clauses using relative pronouns as linkers. Here is the presentation:
http://www.slideshare.net/Marimerry/relative-clauses-6131978
Once you've seen this, go to this other presentation about the relative clauses (oraciones de relativo) but don't worry too much if you can't understand everything because we'll see it in classs next week. About relative clauses go to:
http://www.slideshare.net/mluisavm/relative-clauses-10934852
If you've been able to understand most of the explanation, go to these links to practise but remember you should practise these sentences by saying them aloud to get used to them:

• http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/pronouns/relative_pronouns.htm : to revise relative pronouns
• http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/relative-clauses/exercises?02 : more about pronouns
• http://www.eflnet.com/grammar/relpronoun.php: and some more
• http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/relative-clauses/exercises?07 : how to join sentences; this exercise is more useful for preparing your writing exam
• http://www.esltower.com/GRAMMARQUIZ/intermediate/relative%20pronoun.htm : similar to the previous one but simpler and faster. Good for revision
• http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/relative-clauses/exercises?08 : another one for revision

I hope this entry will help you but I'll revise this in class. However, if you've alredy seen all these explanations we'll do it very quickly. See you.
PD: for those who love exercises here you have a huge amount with different levels
http://www.agendaweb.org/grammar/relative_pronouns_clauses-exercises.html

Someone like you

One of my students asked me about this song and I must say it's one of my favourite ones so here you have an exercise to practise:

• First go to this link as a karaoke:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AW9C3-qWug 
• Try to do this exercise of filling the gaps with the conductor of the programme:

"There's nothing quite like the ___________________ when you listen to the song ___________ by someone you don't know, you've _____________ met but somehow she's managed to _______________ exactly how you've felt in a _______________ moment in your ____________ -

This next artist has __________ able to do this ___________ after ___________. And it's for that ______________ she's carrying number one in astonishingly ________ counties. If you've ________ had a broken heart, ..... (sorry, but I don't understand the last sentence)

• Once you know the lyrics, go to this video and try to understand the conductor and to recognize the words of this song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qemWRToNYJY
• This link is with the lyrics on top of the video and subtitles with the translation into Spanis at the bottomh, just in case you want to know the meaning:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5w5v6jzU0Y&feature=relate

I hope you'll have a good time doing this exercise. See you in class.

Revision of tenses

We've been working with tenses this first week to revise what we've already seen upt ot know. Just in case you want to do some more exercises here you have some links:

• future:  http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_futureforms.htm
• present:  http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpre-prepro
• past:  http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpas-paspro
• conditional:  http://es.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100411140024AAIlwi3 this is an explanation in Spanish but quite clear and extense; have a look and then do these exercises: 

1. http://wwwedu.ge.ch/cptic/prospective/projets/anglais/exercises/condit1.ht
2. http://ies.garciamarquez.madrid.educa.madrid.org/index.php/ingles/ingles-4o-eso/462-first-and-second-conditional-clauses.html
3. http://www.englishtenses.com/exercise/first_or_second_conditional_quiz

I hope this practice will help you to revise tenses. See you in class and 

exams of Comunidad de Madrid

This is the site for the exams. You have to this link:
http://www.educa2.madrid.org/web/eoi/nuevas-pruebas-de-certificacion;jsessionid=56BB085AD71B2ACFF7601F11EF0489AA

Passive voice

In lesson 8 we've stated to use the passive voice. The passive voice is formed in this way:

TO BE (tense)   +   PAST PARTICIPLE (meaning)

We've seen in class that this form is much more frequent in English than in Spanish because it's used instead of impersonal sentences in Spanish. Take into account it's not possible to have a verb without its subject in English so when this subject is not important, not known or not said we should use passive voice. Have a look at these examples:

• Most people say...   =   It is said ...     (Se dice que....)
• We can speak English here   =   English is spoken here   (Aquí se habla inglés)
• They opened a new exhibition yesterday  =  A new exhibition was opened yesterday (Ayer se abrió una nueva exposición)
• Someone sent an email yesterday   =   An email was sent yesterday   (Se envió un email ayer)
• Someone has sent a letter to Susan   =   Susan has been sent a letter  (A Susan le han enviado una carta)

Some other typical expressions or examples of passive voice are:

• This book was published in the UK 
• The conversations are being held in secret (Las conversaciones se están llevando en secreto)
• America was discovered in 1492 (América fue descubierta/se descubrió en 1492)
• The film is directed and starred by G. Clooney 
• I've been told you're getting married next Monday (Me han dicho que te casas el lunes que viene)
• John was given the job after the interview (A John le dieron el trabajo después de la entrevista)

If you want to see a page on the internet explaining the passive voice here you have this link:

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/activepassive.html

To finish with here you are some exercises to practise:

• http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/passiv.htm : this is the exercise we did in class
• http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/passive : here you have a really good explanation of passive and then you can find exercises at the bottom. The level is higher than the one you need but it is very useful.
• http://www.e-grammar.org/passive-voice/ : again exercises and explanation
• http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/esl-passive-voice-exercise2.html

Markets in London

Open air markets are vey typical in London or big cities. Some of them are very famous so if you want to know something about them go to this link.

If you want to practise with the topic of shopping here you have some useful links:

• http://www.elllo.org/search.htm?cx=partner-pub-2937913171317519%3Atohjct-ra9r&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=shopping&sa=Search : here you have some listenings from www.elllo.org with different dificulty.
• http://www.michellehenry.fr/mag.htm : here you have a lot of material and activities
• http://www.headsupenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=173&Itemid=96: this site has loads of questions to practise oral skills. Answer them recording your answers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=cz4ThDI0Qu8 : a listening about what to do when you buy something and you have a problem: how to complain, what to do, etc.
A bit difficult but interesting.

The use of will (lesson 7)

WILL is the typical form of future (simple future) but in Spanish we have a tendency to overuse the form "to be going to". Let's see the difference between them.

We use WILL for:

• predictions
• offers
• promises
• requests/orders

We use  "TO BE GOING TO + INFINITIVE" for:

• plans
• intentions
• it's a similar meaning to "want to" although it's not exactly the same

If you need a longer explanation, go to this link (click here). You'll have a lot of exercises at the end of that page.

Exercises:

• http://www.better-english.com/grammar/willgo.htm
• http://www.englishtenses.com/exercise/simple_future_vs_going_to
• http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/goingtoorwill/menu.php explanation with exercises 
• http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/will_going_to_future.htm

Visiting Alcalá de Henares

Here you have some sites to read and practise with unit 7. I think it'll sound more familiar if we use our own town so you'll have a model to follow when you describe Alcalá. Have a look:

• http://www.articlesbase.com/vacation-rentals-articles/visiting-alcala-de-henares-4297781.html
• http://www.allworldguides.com/alcalaeng.htm

Asking and giviving directions

Orientation is very useful for travelling and you need to ask and to give directions. Here you have some useful links to work with this:

• http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/directions: this is very easy but clear and with exercises
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1212_how_to_instruct/page2.shtml : this is for practising som listening as well.
• http://www.elllo.org/PagesGames/012-Directions.htm : an exercise for listening
• http://www.elllo.org/english/0651/T699-Greg-Travel.htm : this is a much more difficult listening connected with directions but it's just the topic

Using conditional sentences

There are several ways of the conditionals in English. Here you have a diagram:

TYPE	MEANING	IF-CLAUSE	MAIN CLAUSE
Type 0 or REAL	General truth; you can substitute if for when	Present If you boil water	Present it evaporates
Type 1 or  REAL	Possible condition; it is likely to happen	Present If I have time	Future I’ll go to the cinema
Type 2 or UNREAL	Improbable condition; it is very hypothetical this could happen	Simple past If I could buy a new car	Simple conditional I’d take a van
Type 3 (not included)	Impossible conditional; this is referred to the past and it is more connected with regrets	Past perfect If I’d known you were coming	Perfect conditional I would have made your favourite dish
Mixed conditional (not included)	The condition is a regret but the results are in the present	Past perfect If I’d thought about that twice	Simple conditional I wouldn’t have so many problems

When we talk about using present or future, it means that they might be in the simple, continuous, perfect or perfect continuous form, depending on the message.

Now you can do these exercises to practise:

• http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/if.htm
• http://eslgamesworld.com/members/games/ClassroomGames/Billionaire/Conditionals%20Billionaire%20Game/index.html : a funny video to use conditionals. Be careful with the 3rd type or impossible conditional.

You can have a lot of examples of conditional in songs; here you have some:

• UNREAL CONDITIONAL: "If I Were a Rich Man" with susbtitles; click here
•  Another exaqmple: "What if You " click here

Carnival is wonderful celebration, full of musicand fun. Here you have some activities to enjoy this festival.

Dictionary Activity – CARNIVAL - working with words

(taken from OUP: http://promo.oupe.es/carnival/activities/eoi/CARNIVAL_EOI_DICTIONARY_basic.pdf )

1. What are the main ingredients of a pancake?

2. When is Shrove Tuesday?

3. What is another name for Pancake Day?

4. What do people use to throw their pancakes, in a pancake race?

5. A float is a special carnival vehicle. It has other meanings. Which of these people does not use a float:

a. a swimmer                    b. a fisherman                   c. a farmer

6. How do people move in a procession? (an adverb)

7. People wear masks in a carnival. Which of these collocations does not exist?

a. party mask                    b. death mask                   c. oxygen mask                d. face mask

8. How many days does Lent last?

9. What is Ash Wednesday?

10. Is the word carnival pronounced the same in both US English and British English?

A LISTENING ACTIVITY

Go to this video which talks about British Pancake race and fill in the gaps of the activity (intermediate):

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlnAx05v1zo&feature=related

Activity:

1. Lent is a time for _________________ things.

2. Shrove Tuesdays is the day for cleaning out the _________________________.

3. Pancake races appeal to people’s ___________________ nature!

4. Everyone’s got ‘a ___________________ tooth’!

5. People in Britain have been celebrating Pancake Day for __________________ years.

6. The tradition started in ____________________ when a woman ran to church holding a  _________________!

7. Donald O’Kelly is planning to give up __________________________ for Lent.

8. Pancake Day is a time to _________________________.

The answers for these exercises are below these other exercises of listening

Here you have other listening about Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago: http://www.elllo.org/english/0300/347CleAnnCarnival01.htm http://www.elllo.org/english/0300/Q348CleAnnCarnival.htm

Here you have a listening about Venice; there are a couple of exercises to do with it: http://www.elllo.org/yeartwo/Jan10th/venice.htm

ANSWER KEY

Dictionary Activity – CARNIVAL

1. Flour, eggs and milk. Go to this video to make a pancake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayIuoNCaD7I (easy)

Pancakes are thin cakes made from a batter of milk (or milk and water), eggs and flour which is then cooked in a frying pan or on a griddle until golden brown on both sides. You can buy special pancake pans which are shallow and non-stick with curved sides. French pancakes are made slightly thinner and are called crêpes. Scotch pancakes are small and thick, usually cooked on a griddle and sometimes flavoured with sultanas or raisins. American pancakes are normally served at breakfast. They tend to be light and fluffy, served in generous stacks with bacon and maple syrup. There is also the Russian blini, Chinese pancakes served with Peking duck, Italian crespelle and so on. Pancakes are traditionally eaten in the UK on Shrove Tuesday.  ( taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/pancake )

2. The day before the beginning of Lent.

3. Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

What is Mardi Gras?   :   Mardi Gras, also known as Shrove Tuesday, Carnival, and even Pancake Day in the UK, is an annual festival which will be celebrated on 21st February in 2012. Falling just before Lent, it traditionally marks the last opportunity for fun and feasting before 40 days of "self-denial". Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" in French (Remember that meat is forbidden during Lent, at least on Friday).
Festivities begin at the beginning of February, leading up to Mardi Gras day, and consist of parades, dancing in the street, costumes and masked balls. The modern Carnival tradition developed in Europe in the Middle ages, and is celebrated mainly in Roman Catholic communities in Europe and the Americas today. Some of the most famous celebrations are held in Nice (France), Cologne (Germany), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and New Orleans (USA)

Mardi Gras Video  :   Here's our latest video for little kids, with a Mardi Gras mask theme. Can the kids work out who's behind the mask?      Who's Behind The Mask?

4. A frying pan. Here you have a Pancake race : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlo3yuhOSlI

5. (c) a farmer

6. slowly; instead of “procession” it is more usual the word “parade” (desfile)

7. party mask

8. 40 days; Lent means “Cuaresma”

9. The first day of Lent

10. No   /ˈkɑːrnəvəl / (American English);   /ˈkɑːnɪvəl/ (British English) But none of them is in plural.

A LISTENING ACTIVITY

1. giving up           2. fridge                 3. quirky                4. sweet                5. five hundred          6. 1445 / frying pan              

7. pancakes          8. Indulge   (Loolk up the words in a dictionary if necessary)

The difference between BEEN TO and GONE TO

Here you have a useful presentation on powerpoint about the difference between BEEN TO and GONE TO when you use present perfect. I think it's quite clear and you can  have some practise as well. Click on the link

Hope it helps you!

Preparing certificate exams

Some people are looking for exams to practise with in order to prepare your final exam to get the certificate of "nivel básico". Here you have the links to take the sample exam in Euskadi. Remember it's not the same as the one we have in the Community of Madrid but it helps to practise.

·        

1.      Text of the exam: http://www.eoieuskadi.net/datos/gestion_modelos/fichero36/INGLES_NIVEL_BASICO_EJEMPLOS_DE_%20TAREAS.pdf

2.      Listening task 1: http://www.eoieuskadi.net/datos/gestion_modelos/fichero37/Tarea_1_CAR_CHAOS.mp3

3.      Listening task 2: http://www.eoieuskadi.net/datos/gestion_modelos/fichero38/Tarea_2_UNCLE_BEN.mp3

4.      Listening task 3: http://www.eoieuskadi.net/datos/gestion_modelos/fichero38/Tarea_2_UNCLE_BEN.mp3

5.      Answer key: http://www.eoieuskadi.net/datos/gestion_modelos/fichero13/INGLES_NIVEL_BASICO_(A_2)_CLAVE_RESPUESTAS.pdf 

New Seminars

Today there has been published some news about seminars in English on the noticeboard of the class (you have a copy below). They are partly paid by the European Union and if you want to know more about it you must go to the links or ask at Vicedirección:

TALLERES Y SEMINARIOS EN EL EXTRANJERO SUBVENCIONADOS POR EL PROGRAMA EUROPEO DE ACCIÓN PERMANENTE GRUNDTVIG ( 2011-12) PARA PERSONAS ADULTAS.

PARA QUIÉN	NOMBRE DEL PROGRAMA	FECHA INSCRIPCIÓN	DURACIÓN	FINANCIACIÓN
Personas adultas ( * 18 años) *Consultad bases.	Seminarios Grundtvig sobre cualquier tema: arte, salud, lenguas, etc.	Fecha límite propuesta por el organizador.	Entre 5 y 10 días. Fechas según organizador, entre el 1/09/12 y el 31/08/13	La ayuda se ingresa a la institución organizadora, y cubre viajes, alojamiento, manutención y costes del seminario.

 No hay límite en cuanto a número de seminarios o talleres a solicitar.

 No hay que solicitar subvención. Los interesados presentan solicitudes directamente a la institución organizadora.

Prioridad a personas de grupos sociales desfavorecidos.

El Catálogo de talleres y seminarios está por publicar (Catálogo´12) no obstante se puede consultar el del año pasado porque todavía hay talleres que se pueden realizar en el 2012. En el enlace: http://ec.europa.eu/education/grundtvig/doc/catalogue11_en.pdf 

Consultar todas las bases en: http://www.oapee.es/dctm/weboapee/documentacion/2012/parte-iii.pdf?documentId=0901e72b81091ae7

Para más información dirigirse a Vicedirección en esta Escuela Oficial de Idiomas en horario de tarde Miércoles de 18.00 a 18.30 y de mañana Jueves de 11.30 a 12.00 h o al personal de Programas Europeos en la DAT ESTE (Calle Alalpardo s/n).