miércoles, 19 de junio de 2013

Politeness and EFL

Are native speakers nicer to non-native speakers or to others native speakers? Very interesting research by Chia Suan to which I would add the question: Are native American English speakers nicer to non-native speakers than British English native speakers. (Gosh, this resulted in a tongue - twister)

In my humble experience, Americans are always way much patient, polite and empathic.

http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2012/sessions/2012-03-19/interview-chia-suan

If you want to read more things by Chia Suan you should check out her blog.It's really thought-provoking.

lunes, 18 de febrero de 2013

Convocatorias FCE 2013

Periodo de inscripción y precios
Sesiones 'Paper Based' Sesiones 'Computer Based'
Fecha del examen
Fecha límite de inscripción
Precio
 Sábado 23 febrero 2013
8 febrero 2013 *
180 €
 Sábado 9 marzo 2013
Sesión disponible en Barcelona,
Mataró, Manresa y Sitges
27 enero 2013
 Viernes 15 marzo 2013
3 febrero 2013
 Jueves 11 abril 2013
21 marzo 2013 *
 Sábado 11 mayo 2013
31 marzo 2013
 Sábado 25 mayo 2013
5 mayo 2013 *
 Sábado 8 junio 2013
Sesión disponible en Barcelona,
Mataró, Manresa, Vilanova i la Geltrú y Vilafranca del Penedès
21 abril 2013
 Martes 11 junio 2013
21 abril 2013
 Sábado 15 junio 2013
26 mayo 2013 *
 Sábado 13 julio 2013
Sesión disponible en Barcelona,
Mataró, Manresa y Vilafranca del Penedès
23 junio 2013 *
 Viernes 26 julio 2013
Sesión disponible en Barcelona, Mataró, Manresa, Sitges y Vilafranca del Penedès
24 junio 2013
Sábado 10 agosto 2013
26 julio 2013 *
A confirmar
 Jueves 22 agosto 2013
24 julio 2013
* IMPORTANTE
Las convocatorias 'Computer Based' tienen plazas limitadas por lo que el periodo de inscripción se cierra automáticamente una vez alcanzado el número máximo de candidatos. Si están interesados en inscribirse en alguna de las sesiones por favor consulten la disponibilidad con nuestro centro.

miércoles, 28 de noviembre de 2012

The truth about singing


How to pronounce SCHEDULE


How to pronounce GARAGE


How to pronounce ORANGE


Adjectives - Nespresso


1. Watch and listen. What are the adjectives used to describe the coffee?
2. Why does George Clooney think the girls are talking about him?

DARK- INTENSE- BALANCED- UNIQUE- MISTERIOUS- DELICATE- SMOOTH- STRONG CHARACTER- RICH- LATIN AMERICAN- DEEP- SENSUAL- DELICIOUS

martes, 20 de noviembre de 2012

PAST SIMPLE

Hi!

¿Todavía no estás segur@ de la forma gramatical del Pasado Simple? ¿Necesitas práctica extra?

Acá te dejo enlances a ejercicios gramaticales en línea. Para abrirlos tenés que hacer un click en las frases en naranja. Cuando los termines, solo tenés que hacer un click en CHECK y vas a ver los resultados.

Espero te sea útil.

See you next class!!!

Simple Past /Pasado Simple


The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of another action.

El pasado simple expresa una acción del pasado que tuvo lugar una sóla vez, nunca o muchas veces. También se puede usar para expresar acciones que tuvieron lugar una después de otra o en medio de otra acción.

Form of Simple Past 

Formas del Pasado Simple

PositiveNegativeQuestion
no differences I spoke. I did not speak. Did I speak?

For irregular verbs, use the past form /Para los verbos irregulares, usá la forma pasada (see list of irregular verbs, 2nd column/ ver lista de verbos irregulares, 2da columna). For regular verbs, just add “ed”/ A los verbos REGULARES sólo le tenés que agregar "ed".

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’ /Excepciones ortográficas al agregar "ed"


 Example
after a final e only add d                                                                 love – loved
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel
or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled
admit – admitted
travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes i hurry – hurried

Después de  una e, agregá solamente d                                         love- loveD
Si la última sílaba está compuesta por                                           admit - admitTED
una consonate + una vocal + una consonante                                travel - travelLED                                   
duplica la última consonante
y después de una consonante se convierte en i                              hurry - hurried

(es por eso que el verbo PLAY sólo agrega la "ed"                        play - played
sin cambiar y por i)

Use of Simple Past / Uso del Pasado Simple

  • action in the past taking place once, never or several times
    Example: He visited his parents every weekend.

    Acción en el pasado que solo ocurrió una vez, nunca o muchas veces.
    Ejemplo: " He visited his parents every weekend." (El visitó/visitaba a sus padres todos los fines de semana"

  • actions in the past taking place one after the other
    Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.

    Acciones del pasado que tuvieron lugar una después de la otra.
    Ejemplo:  "He came in, took off his coat and sat down." ( El entró, se quitó el abrigo y se sentó)

  • action in the past taking place in the middle of another action
    Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.

    Una acción en el pasado que tuvo lugar en medio de otra acción.
    Ejemplo: "When I was having breakfast, the phone rang." (Cuando estaba desayunando, el teléfono sonó)

  • if sentences type II (If I talked, …)
    Example: If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you.

Signal Words of Simple Past/ Adverbios típicos del Pasado Simple

  • yesterday, ayer
  •  2 minutes ago, hace dos minutos
  • three days ago, hace tres días
  • 5 years ago, hace 5 años
  • in 1990 (or any other year), en 1990 ( o cualquier otro año)
  •  the other day, el otro día
  • last Friday, el viernes pasado
  • last week, la semana pasada
  • last month, el mes pasado
  • last year, el año pasado
  • in March (or any other month), en Marzo ( o cualquier otro año)

Exercises on Simple Past / Ejercicios de Pasado Simple

Tests / Evaluaciones

Grammar in Texts / La gramática en textos

Comparison with other Tenses/ Comparación con otros tiempos verbales


lunes, 19 de noviembre de 2012

Test Unit 1: Speaking Part 1

Hello everyone!

Here you have the questions for the speaking part of the test on unit 1. Remember! Study them all but you will be asked only 10 of them. And of course, pay close attention to pronunciation and answer them fully. Feel free to talk!

How will I mark them?

If you answer in a short way : 1 point
If you answer with a complete phrase: 2 points.
If you answer the question in detail and add an extra comment about it : 3 points

10 questions: 30 points

Past Simple

1. When were you born?/ Where were you born?
2. When did you begin studying English here?
3. What did you do yesterday after school?
4. Did you visit your grandma last Sunday?
5. Did you go to a concert last Saturday night?
6. How did you celebrate Halloween?
7. How did you know we were having a test today?
8. Where did you live when you were 4 years old?
9. Was your mother/father a good student when she was your age?
10. Were you a good baby?

Past Continuous

1. What were you doing yesterday at 5.30 pm?
2. What was your mum doing this morning at 8.45 am?
3. Were you paying attention to your teacher when she explained the difference between "when" and "while"?
4. Were you chatting online yesterday evening?
5. What were you doing this time last week?
6. What do you think your grandparents were doing when the man reach the moon?
7. What were your parents doing when they heard the Twin Towers were attacked by terrorist?
8. Where you and your family watching TV when Spain won the World Cup in 2010?
9. "Gangman Style" is one of the most watched videos on YouTube History. What were you doing when you first listened to it?
10. This time last week, were your parents working?