Going to & Present Continuous for future plans (1)

To learn how to use these future tenses in English, click HERE.

These are some more useful videos which explain how to form and use Going to + Infinitive and Present Continuous for Future plans.

Going to & Present Continuous for future plans (2)

Do you remember what we studied the week before Christmas holiday? Here you can practise Going to+Infinitive and Present Continuous (for future arrangements).

Activity 1: Going to / Present Continuous for future plans
Activity 2: Going to / Present Continuous for future plans

Pronunciation: Videos from the BBC

Now it is time to practise some consonant sounds that we learnt during the first lessons. Let's remember some of them and start with these three ones. Watch these videos and practise at home.

• Click on SHE to watch the video for this sound.
• Click on SELLS to watch the video for this sound.
• Click on ZEBRAS to watch the video for this sound.

The importance of revision

Hey guys! I found a very interesting article and I would like to share it with you. Now it is time for Christmas and a break from your English classes, but read http://elblogdelingles.blogspot.com/2010/12/la-importancia-de-repasar.html and find out (averiguar) why you need to revise during Christmas. Please, do not take a 15-day break... revision is crucial. I am also posting your homework this week. You will need to click on "Homework tab" (pestaña de Homework) to see it. 
That's all for now! I hope you like this article and find it useful.

Christmas Special

This is just to let you know about the Christmas Special Session on Monday, 20 December. I am posting some useful links to an excellent website. All these videos (in English) are divided into two different categories, savoury dishes (platos salados) and sweet dishes. 

Everyone is invited to participate, eat, sing and enjoy the last English class of the year. Here is a list of some possible recipes, although you can prepare different dishes if you want.

CATEGORY A - SAVOURY DISHES

Fish & Chips:
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-english-fish-and-chips-with-beer-batter

Chicken Curry:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-a-chicken-curry-2

Roast Beef:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-roast-beef

Shepherd's Pie:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-shepherds-pie

Irish Stew and Dumplings:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-irish-stew-and-dumplings

Meat and Potato Pie:
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-meat-and-potato-pie

Scampi:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-scampi

CATEGORY B - SWEET DISHES

Chocolate Brownie:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-chocolate-brownies

Apple Pie:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-apple-pie

American Cheesecake:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-american-cheesecake

Pumpkin Pie: 
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-pumpkin-pie  

Chocolate Cake:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-double-layered-chocolate-cake

Carrot Cake:

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-carrot-cake

Original Source: My colleague Sergio Viñals's blog for NB2 students HERE

Surprise your EOI classmates on Monday!

Does it look delicious? Are you a good cook? If so, work on THESE Christmas recipes and bring one of them to school next Monday at around 5.45 pm.

Wear Sunscreen

This is an excellent video for you to look at it. There are very interesting tips which we all can follow in our lives. I hope you like it. It comes with Spanish subtitles and you can also practise imperatives thanks to this video.

Can you dance well? I hope so...

Click on this link to watch a video. Erina talks about dancing. Answer the questions and then click on "Show text" if you want to read the transcript.

Live music (Música en directo)

Practise your listening skills here. Listen to six descriptions of various images and select the best image for each segment. Listen to each description twice and select an image, then move to the next description. Finally, click on "Transcript" if you want to listen and read at the same time.

What's the weather like today?

Do you still remember those words and expressions related to the weather that we studied a couple of weeks ago? Let's revise some vocabulary and learn new words about it. Watch this video twice. First, you will hear some people being interviewed about the weather. Then you will hear the same questions and answers, but now... with useful English subtitles!

Click here to watch the video. I hope you like and find it useful, interesting.

Writing Sample File 1

Good evening everyone! 

Tal y como os dije en clase el jueves, aquí tenéis el Writing del tema 1 perteneciente a alguien de la clase. Con su consentimiento, he decidido colgarlo en el blog. Si os gusta la idea, haremos lo mismo en sucesivos "Writings" para que todos os podáis aprovechar, aprender, mejorar y coger ideas.

 

From: Rosana Marti (rosanamarti@hotmail.com)

To: Rafa Arabit (rafaag@eoimolina.org)

Subject: Hi from Abaran

               Hi Rafa!

              My name´s Rosana Marti. I´m from Murcia and I live in Abaran with my boyfriend, Francis. We bought a very beautiful and small house three years ago. Its name is “Casa Casimia”. 

 I´m 25 years old. When I was very young, I liked dancing, singing…I wanted to be an artist, but my parents didn´t like the idea and I studied very hard. Now, I´m a journalist and I´m studying English in my free time.

  I have a big family. My mother is a retired person and my father died two years ago. I have three brothers. They are 37, 35 and 33 years old. Jose is married to Adriana and they have two sons: Jose and Alex.  Alberto lives in Madrid because his wife is from there. Antonio lives with Maria and she is pregnant with her third baby. The whole family are very funny and happy when we are together. 

I´m tall and I have short brown wavy hair and dark eyes. I usually wear glasses. I´m medium build. Last summer, I had a beer belly because I drank two or three beers every day! Now, I´m slender and I´m very happy because I weigh roughly 70 Kilos.

I think I´m a positive person. When I have a problem, I know that I´ll resolve it because it isn´t very important and difficult. I´m cheerful and I spend a lot of hours doing things which I like. In short, I´m extrovert and friendly, but I'm also moody when I am very busy.

I like playing handball for the local team. We were champions last year! At weekends, I love going to a restaurant with my friends and, after that, we always go to the discotheque to dance.

Please write soon and tell me about you and your life.

Best wishes,

Rosana.

Living life in peace...

Can you imagine everybody living life in peace? If so, listen to this song and sing at home.

Click on this link to listen to John Lennon's song.

Who can ask questions in English?

Click here for some exercises on questions with and without auxiliaries.

FILE 2D

Do you still have problems with SO, BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH and BUT? Try to complete this activity. Later, check the answers to see if you were right or wrong.

Click here to practise.

Now, anyone can have a bad day... right? Why don't you take this listening activity? To start with, you have to check the Vocabulary. Click on the word to see what it means. After that, you need to click on Take the Test and you will see 5 questions. Read them carefully and then click on Play. If you want to get more questions, just click on Click for more Questions.

Start the listening activity here

Grammar: Past Simple Tense

Two different and not very difficult activities to practise Past Simple with regular and irregular verbs:

1. Click here

2. Click here

VERB LISTS:

Irregular Verb List  ( Here you have an extensive list of Irregular Verbs. This list also has a translation into Spanish, so it is very useful. You can also download the document if you want to keep it.)

Irregular Verb List with Examples  (Here you have the list with some useful examples for each verb)

Irregular Verb List with Phonetic Transcription  (This is great to know how to pronounce them correctly)

GAME:

Once you have worked on these verb lists you are probably ready to play a game. Take this quiz and show what you know about irregular verbs. You only have to click on CUE (in green) and that's it! then you can start the game. Good luck!

Click here to start.

Original Source: My colleague Sergio Viñals's blog for NB2  here

The English language in 24 accents!

Check this out! A British guy tries to emulate 24 different English accents around the world and I think he did it very well. What do you think? Which is your favourite accent? I don't know mine, I like many of them.

Click here to watch the video.

Thanksgiving Day - Tradition in the USA

Hello NB2 students! 

Let's write a little bit about culture in the USA. As you probably know, last Thursday was a special day in that country because they celebrated "Thanksgiving Day" (Día de Acción de Gracias).

Many countries have a day of thanksgiving sometime during the year. In the United States, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in the month of November. Traditionally, this is the day when people get together with family and friends to give thanks for their many blessings including family, health, good fortune, and safety throughout the year. People usually prepare a wide variety of foods including turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, green beans, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. The head of the house often carves the turkey, and the rest of the family sits down to eat when all of the food is ready and set on the table. Often, someone is chosen to offer grace, or a prayer, to thank God for his many blessings. After the prayer is finished, people start passing around the food and helping themselves to the dishes on the table. People usually engage in light conversation as they eat. After the meal is over, pumpkin pie is served, and then the family helps clean up the table and dishes. It is often common for family members to sit and watch American football on TV.

Thanksgiving Day is a celebration marked as a sense of gratitude people feel for all the good things in life. This is done by offering prayers, gifting your near and dear ones. The fourth Thursday in the month of November is marked for the yearly celebration. The tradition of Thanksgiving continues till date.

Family feast is an important tradition during Thanksgiving. The entire family sits at the table during dinner and offer prayer to God for his continuous grace. It is a time for relatives living in different places to come together and celebrate. 

The traditional stuffed turkey adorns every dinner table during the feast. Pumpkin pie, Cranberry sauce, Corns are some of the dishes cooked everywhere. Although historians don't have an evidence to prove that turkey was eaten during the first Thanksgiving dinner, the thanksgiving celebration will be incomplete without it.

The traditional Thanksgiving parade probably started with President Lincoln proclaiming it an official day. The full-dress parade is a way to display the country's military strength and discipline. The main aim of such parades is to lift the spirits of the spectators, provide them with wholesome entertainment. In the present day, parades are accompanied with musical shows and celebrities.

Watching NFL football on TV during Thanksgiving is a popular tradition. The traditional game between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers continues. One of the most memorable games having been played on this day.

Laying the table at Natalie's house

Picture from the Internet

Matt is carving the turkey

Mmm... Yummy, Yummy! I'm ready to eat!

At the table with some American friends

Hi gators! Welcome to our Basic Level 2 blog!

Hi everyone!

How is it going? Are you OK? I hope so!

This blog is for Basic II students at the State-run Language School and I really hope you enjoy it a lot and find it extremely useful to improve your English. You will find interesting information regarding the contents covered in class so that you can reinforce them or expand.

I hope you visit this blog very often and make the most of the different resources I am offering you here.

That's all... we are taking off!

Rafa Arabit