Avanzado 1 & Intermedio 2 - short stories for Christmas

Dear students,

As I told you in class, I'd like you to read a short story during the holidays.

Intermedio 2: click here to download it.
Avanzado 1: click here to download it.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

All - 50 things killed by technology

I think this article from The Telegraph is a good read. Do you still do any of the 50 things?

Avanzado 1 - Nick Clegg on BBC

Watch this interview with Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister of Britain, in which he gives his opinion about Britain’s veto to the new EU treaty.

Then, fill in the gaps with an appropriate word or phrase. You can check your answers in the comments. The whole interview lasts about 14 minutes but the actual questions refer to minutes 3.00 to 10:00.


David Cameron couldn’t come back from the European summit ___________(1).
Some parts of the Conservative Party show ________ (2) to all things European.
In Clegg’s opinion, those who think Britain’s refusal to signing the EU treaty is a triumph are _____________ (3).
Things now depend on how Britain ________________(4).
Clegg’s first public comment was that he _______________(5 ) of the summit.
It’s not good for Britain ____________ (6) to be in a position of one versus twenty six.
Britain still has _________________________ (7) of Europe.

all - Christmas story competition

Dear students,

Christmas is round the corner and at EOI Barajas we're holding a writing contest.

If you want to take part, download the layout here. As you can see, the starting line and the last line are given and you have to include all the words in the vocabulary bank. You can send it to my e-mail address before 15th December.

We're looking forward to reading your stories! Good luck!

Avanzado 1 - stative verbs

Hi there,

As the difference between stative and dynamic verbs is not always clear, I hope these grammar notes (Inside Out Upper Intermediate and www.englishclub.com) help you.

Avanzado 1 - letter of application

This document may be useful you when writing your assignment or in the future if you look for a job in an English-speaking country. Hope it helps!

Avanzado 1 - Revise & Check Unit 1

Here are the answers:

Grammar

a 1 though 2 their 3 got 4 there 5 one 6 as 7 herself 8 so 9 have/ get 10 because

b 1 to have them mended 2 If one learns a few phrases 3 despite the hevy traffic/ despite the traffic being heavy/ despite the fact that the traffic was heavy 4 was cancelled due to the fog 5 see each other 6 by themselves 7 haven't seen him since 8 so as not tobe recognized 9 we won't have to do the washing up 10 hasn't got any pictures yet

Vocabulary

a 1 teeth 2 mind 3 run 4 trousers 5 guns 6 terms

b 1 career 2 part-time 3 alike 4 half-sisters 5 take after 6 synonym

c 1 of 2 off, up 3 up 4 off 5 in 6 with, on

d 1 challenging 2 competitive 3 unsuccessful 4 rebellious 5 enjoyable 6 repetitive

Another year

This film, which is on at the cinemas now, has received wonderful reviews.

A married couple who have managed to remain blissfully happy into their autumn years, are surrounded over the course of the four seasons of one average year by friends, colleagues, and family who all seem to suffer some degree of unhappiness.

Whether you want to have a glimpse of contemporary Britain or are just interested in human relationships, it's worth watching.

Intermedio 2 - an audioguide walk

We heard this audio guide about Covent Garden the other day in class. If you want to work on it a bit more, you can listen to the track again and read the transcript.

©2008, IT’s Magazines S.L.

Leonard Cohen's acceptance speech

Listen to the speech given by Leonard Cohen at the Principe de Asturias awards ceremony and answer the questions below. You can check you answers in the comments section.

1. Leonard Cohen is not used to ____________________without an orchestra.

2. Poetry is a territory that nobody can ________________ or ________________.

3. His Spanish guitar stills smells the same as _____________________.

4. Federico García Lorca gave him permission to ____________________.

5. He communicated with the young Spanish man in ___________________.

6. The young man agreed to ____________________.

7. Many flamenco songs are based on a _________________.

8. On the fourth day the young man didn’t come. Cohen found out that he ________.

9. Cohen felt __________________.

10. The basis of his music has been __________________.

Intermedio 2 - Film Festival Season

If you want to listen to this track again, click here. You can also read the transcript.

Intermedio 2 - Mona Lisa or The Scream?

If you want to listen again to the track we heard the other day in class, click here

Avanzado 1 - Discourse markers

If you want to download the exercise we did the other day in class, click here.

EOI Barajas - Welcome!

Dear students,

Here is the information I told you about in class. You can download it by clicking on the name.

calendar

information for students 2011/2012

Avanzado 2 - C1 and C2

For those of you who've passed Avanzado 2 and want to carry on studying, you can find information on two further courses offered at EOI San Blas here.

Avanzado 2 - Summer Reading List

A student asked me for a list of readings for the summer. Click here for some ideas.

Have a wonderful summer and a well-deserved rest!

Básico 1 - Results

Dear students,

Thank you very much for your comments in the teacher assessment's questionnaire. It's been a pleasure to be your teacher.

Congratulations to those of you who have passed the exam! If you have to retake some parts in September, check the date, time and room on the noticeboards.

Enjoy your summer and keep practising your English!

Avanzado 2 - cloze tests

Here is a very good page ( by Cristina Díaz Vaillagou at EOI Santander) where you can find loads of cloze tests.

Avanzado 2 - Vocabulary answer key - Units 7-9

And ... these are the last answers: unit 7, 8 and 9.

Avanzado 2 - Vocabulary answer key - Units 4-6

Here are the answers to the exercises of units 4, 5 and 6. There was a mistake in the answers to unit 1, check them out in the comments of the post below.

Avanzado 2 - Vocabulary answer key - Units 1-3

Here are the answers to the vocabulary exercises of units 1, 2 and 3.

To be continued...

Básico 1 - listening exercises

Here are the listening tracks I told you about yesterday.

Neil and Emma

Barbara's day off

Martin and Shona

Kelly's job interview

Click on the comments to get the answers.

Avanzado 2 - Talk Club

You've got one more chance to join our Talk Club this week. Click here for further details.

Básico 1 - Listening practice

Hello everyone,

One of my students (thank you, Mª José) has sent me this link that can help you practise your listening online. You need to register. Check it out!

Avanzado 2 - Inversion answer key

You can download the answer key here

Avanzado 2 - Squatters in Spain

This is the video I was telling you about yesterday. You can write your opinion in the comments.

Avanzado 2 - Discourse markers

Here are a few pages that may help you: an exercise and the translation into Spanish.

All - Reportaje sobre el Centenario de las Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas en Informe Semanal

Hi everyone,

Some of you may have seen it already, but in case you haven't, here is the link for you to watch the report.

Happy Easter!

Avanzado 2 - Writing an essay

Have a look at the 'comments' section if you want to have the answers to the exercises on pp. 136 and 137.

Avanzado 2 - Review Unit 7

Here are the answers:

1 1 A popular television actor convicted of dangerous driving

2 John Hope, known to television viewers as 'Pricey'

3 leaving a trail of destruction

4 Hope, said to be depressed

5 causing extensive damage to the property

6 suffering from multiple fractures

7 when arrested by police

8 shouting

9 (When) Passing sentence

10 Having heard the evidence

11 Speaking to journalists after the trial, Hope's Lawyer announced

2 1 orderly 2 rowdy 3 disruptive, lenient 4 best, foul, serious

3 1C 2 D 3C 4B 5 A

4 The following words can be omitted:

A Would you B I A Is there B I've got, It A Have you B I'm A It B I A Is there B Have you A Are B I was

5 1, 8, 10, 4, 7, 2, 9, 3, 5, 11, 6

Avanzado 2 - Cloze test

You can find a challenging exercise here related to the topic we're dealing with in class. Once you've filled in the blanks, check your answers and then click OK on the message 'Your incorrect answers have been left unchanged' so that you see your score and try to correct your mistakes. If you need some help ask for a letter of the word. The answers are in the comments section below.

All - Spring book sale

If you're interested in buying second-hand books, you may find this information useful:

Spring book sale (variety of languages, mostly English and Spanish)

April 2nd 11:00 - 16:00

American Women's Club

Plaza de la República del Ecuador 6
Metro Colombia

Básico 1 - People's houses

If you want to practise your listening and revise the topic of houses, try these exercises.

Avanzado 2 - Review Unit 6

Here are the answers:
1 1 well 2 less 3 longer 4 good

2 1 teeth 2 nose 3 feet 4 stomach 5 eye 6 ear 7 nose 8 hand

3 1 breakthrough 2 turnout 3 downpour 4 outlook 5 outburst

4 1 is thought (by police) to be living in Argentina
2 alleged to have been bribed by Dee
3 was claimed by the newspaper to have been dating the supermodel for over a year
4 was believed to be planning to kidnap the heiress
5 had our flat raided by the police at the weekend
6 needs cutting/ to be cut
7 made to rewrite the essay (by the teacher)

5 1 pierced 2 burst 3 picks 4 burp 5 checkout 6 laughing 7 bullying 8 taken 9 breakdown 10 pushchair 11 throws 12 smacking 13 yell 14 coming 15 mark

Talk Club

Dear students,

A new activity is starting at your EOI!

If you are in an Avanzado course and want to get some more speaking practice, check the new link on the right: Talk Club.

Student grants

The Ministry of Education gives some grants to attend courses of English in Spain and abroad.

There's one which you can apply for if you're between 16 and 30 and another one if you're a teacher or studying to become one. Click here.

Read the details carefully.

Avanzado 2 - Cloze test on adoption

As we won't have time to be dealing with this topic in class, why don't you do this exercise? You can find the answer in the comments.

Fill in the gaps with the following words. You don't need all of them.

ASSIST, ATTEND, BACKGROUND, COUPLES, DOMESTIC, EXPAND, INVESTIGATION, JOURNEY, NEEDS, ORIGIN, PARTNERS, PROGRAM, RESEARCH, SHARE, STAGES, STEP, STRETCH, TRIP, VOYAGE.

Adoption is just one of several ways that you can build or __________ (1)your family. When deciding to embark on your adoption __________ you’ll need to answer a number of questions which will help you determine which direction is best for you and your family.

In the beginning ___________(2) of research, you’ll want to ask yourself some important questions. For example, is it important that the child we adopt share our racial or ethnic __________ (3)? Have we done fact-based __________ (4) regarding the different types of adoption? Are we drawn more to __________ (5)infant adoption, adopting an older child from foster care or adopting an infant or older child from abroad? Are we interested in being able to __________(6) information about or build a relationship with our potential child’s biological parents? Have we researched the different avenues of adoption, such as using an agency, attorney or adoption facilitator?

International Adoption is just one of several ways to build your family. In most cases, international adoptions are finalized in the country of __________(7), so once you come home with your child, he or she is already legally yours. There are a number of countries that work with U.S. __________ (8) hoping to adopt, so identifying which country works best for your family is usually the first _______(9) you would take when moving forward.

Things to consider when adopting internationally are: age, gender, race and medical __________(10). If you’re unsure about what would work best with your family, a qualified adoption professional should be able to __________(11) you in identifying the most important requirements, which will ultimately help you decide what country __________ (12)will work best for you.


© http://a2cristina.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/adoption-2/

International Women's Day 2011

Happy women's day, everyone!

Básico 1 - Language practice

Have a look at this page if you want to listen to some basic conversations in English. You can hear them at normal speed and then at slow speed. You can read the transcript too.

Mr Tickle and the British Library

The British Library is holding an exhibition on the English Language called Evolving English: One language, many voices. They're asking people from all over the world to record their voices reading out a children's story Mr Tickle or a list of six words. If you add your voice, you can help linguists with their research.

Why don't you take part?

Avanzado 2 - Keeping fit

Click here if you want to download the audio track we heard yesterday.

And here is the transcript

Avanzado 2 - Review Unit 5

Here are the answers:

1 prototype 2 logo 3 return 4 idea 5 business plan 6 backing 7 supplier 8 deal

2 1 sorely/ accutely disappointed
2 practically impossible
3 pitifully/ acutely inadequate
4 fiercely competitive
5 vehemently/ fiercely/ fully opposed
6 perfectly/ fully capable
7 acutely embarrassed
8 fully aware

3 1 If he'd said
2 If only you had/'d come
3 If it hadn't been for that hold-up
4 Had he given
5 Imagine/ Supposing
6 we'd have been able

4 1 why 2 what 3 which 4 who 5 whose 6 where 7 which 8 when 9 which 10 where 11 which/ that 12 which

5 1f 2h 3d 4c 5e 6a 7g 8b

Básico 1 - Daily schedule

Dear students,

Click here and listen to the conversation. Then you can do the comprehension exercise and the vocabulary activities.

Avanzado 2 - Review Unit 4

Here are the answers:

1 1C 2A 3B 4D 5C 6D 7A 8B 9C 10D 11D 12C 13A 14A

2 1 might/ may not have understood you or might/ may have misunderstood you
2 couldn't/ can't have been speeding
3 could have saved a piece of cake for me
4 may/ might as well throw it away
5 could have danced all night
6 might want to live in a flat but I don't

3 1 asked to be moved
2 insisted on buying
3 suggested (that) we (should) leave or advised/ recommended us to leave
4 refused to buy him
5 admitted to stealing
6 denied having

4 Possible answers:
2 I'm sorry I lost your raincoat. Let me buy you another one.
3 You'd better not go out on your own at night. If I were you, I'd leave my valuables in the hotel safe.
4 We're not going to buy you a mobile phone. It will damage your health.
5 You must tell the police that it was you who stole the computer.
6 I don't have any connection with the robbery and I want to speak to my lawyer now.

Básico 1 - Object Pronouns

If you want to do some online exercises on object pronouns, click on this page. When you finish, click on next page - dialogue exercises and do those too.

Avanzado 2 - Reading pp. 40-41

Here are the answers to the comprehension questions:

1 b Our fascination with awards ceremonies

2 1 superficial aspects
2 overemotional
3 have a tendency to cry
4 annoyance
5 the broad appeal of such events
6 took things very seriously
7 become the focus of attention

Avanzado 2 - The King's Speech

I can't help posting the trailer of the film everyone's talking about: Don't you think it fits exactly with what we've been working on in class? Write a review in the comments if you've already been to see it.

Básico 1 - Exercises with CAN

If you want further practice with the verb CAN, try these exercises.

Avanzado 2 - The homeless man with a golden voice

Hi!

I guess you've heard this story but if you want to watch it in English, click here .

How hopeful are you about Ted Williams's future?