NB 2 - Practical English File 1: At a hotel

Dear students & readers of this blog,

In our Basic Level class we have just revised some useful phrases to use when we check in at a hotel. Here you will find a sample dialogue and a few videos you might find interesting. Take a minute or two to have a look!

SAMPLE DIALOGUE:


Receptionist: Welcome to the Wyatt Hotel. How can I help you?
Guest: I'd like a room, please.
Receptionist: Would you like a single or a double room?
Guest: I'd like a double room, please.
Receptionist: May I have your name, please?
Guest: Timothy Findley.
Receptionist: Could you spell that, please?
Guest: Sure! It's F-I-N-D-L-E-Y.
Receptionist: How many are you in your party?
Guest: Just two.
Receptionist: Just for tonight?
Guest: Yes, that's right.
Receptionist: How will you be paying?
Guest: Is Visa okay?
Receptionist: Yes, sir. Would you like a wake-up call?
Guest: Yes, please. At 6.30.
Receptionist: Here's your key. That's room 405 on the 4th floor. The lifts are over there. Enjoy your stay, Mr Findley.
Guest: Thank you!

Here you have some videos you might find useful:




The following video recreates a real check-in situation. (In American English. Please note that the word "guys" is quite informal). Have a look!



And to finish, some humour with Mr Bean:

Breaking barriers: showing the talent of some of our students

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Last year, some students of our school decided to make a short film to participate in a contest promoted by a website which tries to fight against excesive medication of patients. They were awarded de second prize (those alluded, please correct me if I'm wrong!). So they obviously made a good job.

The authors and masterminds of this initiative are in my advanced class this year, and I personally think they did an excellent job. Their film is wonderful and definitely worth watching. So I decided to post their work here, to give you the chance to meet them, and congratulate them if you see them around.

Thanks to Juanjo Alcón, Raúl Rodríguez and Antonio Villafaina (NA2 - group C), for the link.

Enjoy!!

NA 2 - File 1A - What motivates us

Dear students & readers of this blog,

We have finally started our book, and we are talking about MOTIVATION. But what exactly is that?

According to the Business Dictionary online, motivation is:

"Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested in and committed to a job, role, or subject, and to exert persistent effort in attaining a goal

Motivation results from the interactions among conscious and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her significant others." (www.businessdictionary.com)


But what motivates people anyway? Yesterday in class we talked about the different types of motivation:

• Intrinsic: motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure.


• Extrinsic: motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide.


• Integrative: When students want to learn a language to become part of a speech community (integrate). People who immigrate to new countries are some examples of people who may want to identify with the community around them. An important aspect of this form of language learning is using language for social interaction. This form of motivation is thought to produce success in language learners. This is often compared to instrumental motivation.

Is that the truth, and nothing but the truth, about motivation? Here's a video that can throw some light into the issue:

In the year 2005, Apple & Pixar CEO Steve Jobs delivered a speech at the Commencement ceremony at Stanford University that inspired many. Here it is:

Here you can find some comprehension questions on Steve Job's speech:

1- What is the tone Steve Jobs uses in his speech? What kind of language does he use?

2- What are the three stories that he shares with the graduate students?

3- What important topics does he talk about?

(Thanks very much to Elena Rebollo, colleague of the English Department at the Official Language School of  Plasencia for this activity)

 What it is that motivates you, at work in particular, or in life, in general? Go ahead and tell us. Write a comment!

Back to school: the 2013-2014 school year is about to start!!!

Dear students & readers of this blog,

I know, it is not easy to come to terms with the fact that summer holidays are over, and that we have to blow the dust off our backpacks and our notebooks and our folders. Yes, I'm afraid... IT'S TIME TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

So I want this first post of the academic year 2013-2014 to be one of welcome. Both if you have been students of mine in the past, if you are going to be so this year, or if you just happened to pass by, this blog is for you, and intends to be a place of encounter for all of you, somewhere where you can learn new things about English and English-speaking countries, where you can find resources to practise the different skills (YES, WRITING INCLUDED!!), and, as far as my students-to-be are concerned, a place where you can keep track of what we're doing in class.

 Keep track of the posts that will be published in the main body of the blog. But also, very important, don't lose sight of the SIDEBAR. Right there is where you will find, apart from information on the weather in Plasencia and in London, or a converter for measure, speed, distance and so on, PERMANENT LINKS  to online dictionaries, to sites like the BBC or the British Council, or to different resources to practise your skills. You will also find links to different resources like newspapers, magazines or such things as the Shakespearean insulter (yes, you read well).

Please take some time to have a look and...enjoy. Welcome to my blog!!! And...

OFF WE GO!!

BEST OF LUCK ON YOUR EXAMS!!!!

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Believe it or not, we've come to the end. It seems like yesterday when we started our classes, and when we met for the first time. Now we've been together for eight months, and the time is come to show what you can do.

This is just a short message to wish you the best of luck on your exams. I know it is easy to say, but you have to do your best to keep cool and try to show what you have learnt and what you can do. I'm sure you'll do it.

As far as I am concerned, and in spite of what it might have seemed at times, I'm really happy to have had you as my students, this year or in the past. I hope to have contributed to your understanding and command of the beautiful English language.

See you soon!

Class Diary week 29 (20-23 May 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

This is what we did last week in class:

2º NB

Contents:

- Grammar: 'Be going to' for predictions

- Grammar: Introduction to the present perfect tense.

- Talking about experiences in the past: have you ever...?

Students' book:

- pp. 142-143: 'Be going to' for predictions

- p. 93, ex. 3 a, d; ex. 4 a, b, & c

Homework:

- Watch short film on i-tutor: The history of the sandwich

Photocopies:

None

Videos/games/listening:

- p. 83: Can you understand these people?

- Listening practice

2º NA

Contents:

- Word building: prefixes

- Talking about education

Student's book:

- p. 70 ex. 4 a, b & c.; ex. 5 a, b.

- p. 71 ex. 5 c & d

 

Homework:

- Search QI's website

Videos & interactive games:

- Listening practice: The five-second rule (gap-filling)

Photocopies:
None

NA Listening Practice - BBC Podcasts: The five-second rule

Dear students & readers of this blog,

As listening practice for the exam, last week we watched a podcast from the BBC on the so-called 'Five-second rule'. But what is it about?

According to the wikipedia, 'the five-second rule' states that food dropped on the ground will not be significantly contaminated with bacteria if it is picked up within five seconds of being dropped.'

A BBC correspondent gets to work to show how this is a myth. Here's the video. You'll find its corresponding exercise for practice below:

Listening practice. Fill in the gaps:

• We all have been there. You _______    _________late, you are cooking a meal, your child is hungry.
• The five second rule is if they ___________their food I think you’ve got about five seconds  to sort of ________it __________
• I’m gonna ______________the five second rule
• We are gonna drop them on different ___________and see what different types of _________ we can actually detect
• Back on the lab we’ve got three ___________ ready to put them under the microscope
• It’s covered in bacteria and some are __________ bacteria and some of them are not. I _____________ wouldn't eat it.
• Nice fresh fruit no real ___________ surface but still picks up lots of bacteria
• So the moral of the story is if you drop it, __________  it
• So no matter how quickly you pick it up, still going to be ______________

Deeply grateful to my colleague and friend Laura Parrilla, an English teacher at the EOI Constantina (Sevilla), for passing this on to me. Cheers!

Class Diary Week 28 (13-16 May 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

This is what we did last week in class:

2º NB

Contents:

- Grammar: to be going to for future plans 

- Making suggestions

- Advice: should

- Revision of superlatives

Students' book:

- p. 78 ex. 1 a, b & c, ex. 2 a, b, c & e + pp. 142-143

- p. 79, ex. 5 a, b

- pp. 105-110 (making plans) 

- p. 79, ex.4, a, b & c; ex. 5 a & b + making suggestions + should

Homework:

- Writing: an informal email

Photocopies:

- Listening practice

- What do you know about the UK? Photocopies

Videos/games:

None

2º NA

Contents:

- Talking about addictions and obsessions

- Grammar: expressing permission, obligation and necessity

- Talking about laws and regulations

Student's book:

- p. 63, ex. 6a, b & c (speaking)

- p. 68, ex. 1a, b & c 

- p. 69, ex. 1 e, f , ex. 2a, ex. 3

- p. 70, ex. 4b, c., ex. 5a, b

Homework:

- Check the website www.dumblaws.com

- Look for info on the BBC TV programme QI

Videos & interactive games:

None

Photocopies:
None