Class 18.12.14

Class 18.12.14

In this class we used the workbook. We read page 73 and did the exercises of page 72: 2a (1-2), 2b and 4

Speaking: 
What I really love/hate about Christmas

Homework:

Write a review (180-200 words)

Choose a book in English for the 1^st class

Conversation strategies:

Here are some useful phrases for discussion that we'll be using in class tomorrow, the 18th.

Conversation strategies:

Not to mention…	That’s exactly what I was trying to get at.
You look dubious.	I’m with ……... on that.
All I’m saying is….	Carry on. You were saying?
Anyway,….	By that you mean……..?
You’ve got me there!	Oh, I don’t know about that.
What were you going to say?	What I’m trying to say is….
To get back to what I was saying, …	Actually, I’m not sure you can say….
What do you mean when you say…?	I’d go along with that.
Well, I can’t disagree with that.	That’s precisely what I mean.

Class 16.12.14

In this class we started Unit 8 SB P.76 - 78

Vocabulary:

Phrases with time.

SB, p.76, Ex.1

Reading:

'One person can make a difference.'

SB p.77

+ SB p.76, Ex. 3-5

 

Grammar:

Past verb forms with present or future meaning.

SB p.78, Ex. 6 and 7.

 

Speaking: 

Phrases with time.

Global warming

 

Homework: WB p.39.

Where's the stress? A pronunciation game.

Match the words to the stress patterns at bottom of page.

Where's the stress - Key

1	Conclusion, conclusive, conviction, convincing, judgemental
2	Prefer, convince, convinced, conclude
3	Preference, preferably, origin, criticise, critical, recognise
4	Really, weaken, weakness, critic, judgement
5	Preference, criticism
6	Conclusively, origínate, original, reality, responsable, responsibly
7	Realistic, recognition
8	Recognisable, recognisably

Word pair definitions (From U.6B)

Word pairs F2F U.6B

I can take it or leave it = Something is not particularly important to me.

On and off = Sometimes.

Hit and miss = Of irregular quality.

Over and over again = Repeated constantly.

Back and forth = Repeatedly moving between two places or options.

To make or break = To mean the difference between success and failure.

Each and every = Every one.

Part and parcel = An integral / unavoidable part of something.

Time after time = Again and again.

In leaps and bounds = To progress very rapidly.

How to write a class report.

Class reports:

To post a class report is simple; you just need to include what we did in class, and what the homework is.

Tell your reader what activities we did: speaking, (including topic), listening, reading, writing, video or exam task. Then, identify the book: SB, WB, SSH or H/O (hand-out), the page number and the exercise number.

See the example below. Feel free to cut and paste this, then change the details if it saves time.

Class 21.11.14

In this class we studied SB P.61 - 63, + 106 & 109

Grammar:

Word building - prefixes.

SB, p.61, Ex.3

+ SB p.106 & 109

Reading:

'Our Digital World.'

SB p.60

Vocabulary:

The internet.

The telephone.

Speaking: 

How we use the internet.

Telephone dialogues.

Using prefixes.

Listening:

Telephone conversations.

SB p.60Ex. 2

Stress and rhythm (3)

SB p.63

Homework:

Class 04.12.14

In this class we have done the following activities:

Speaking: 
Discussing pets: dogs and cats (advantages and disadvantages).

Grammar:

 Review conditionals :  speaking activity .- complete your partener's sentence.

Review adverbs : complete a dialogue with the correct adverb.

Speaking  about crime :

Should the death penalty be used for serious crimes?

Homework: Revise for our exam, see the online activities in the blog.

Class 02.12.14

 

In this class we have checked our homework

Speaking: 
Discussing Bank holiday Monday  dis/advantages.

Speaking and reading about laws in several countries:

Which ones are true?

Review:

Grammar activity with unreal conditionals.

Homework: Revise for our exam, see the online activities in the blog.

Class 2.12.14

In this class we used the material below to review passives, adverbiales and conditionals.
H/w is to review for our exam on thursday 11th. One useful source is this blog, and the links it provides to online theory and practice.

Read this now!

You will shortly be recieving this letter in class with information on an online English programme. Please note that if you do not reply to the letter you will recieve publicity from the online program providers. If you cannot come to class this week, please read the letter now.

Class 27.11.2014

In this class we studied pages 12 & 13 from the Spanish Speakers Handbook.

We did the exercises 1a + 2(b-c) from the reading on page 12. We also did the listening on page 13, where we practiced making our point in discussions.

H/W: Review units 6 + 7. See what you would like to check.
          WB p38  Ex 2(a-b-c)

Writing correction codes.

To correct your writing, you'll need to refer to these codes. 

Writing correction code © BBC | British Council 2007

WW = Wrong word           As our plane flew on the mountains we saw snow.
WT = Wrong time              As our plane flew over the mountains we see snow.
WF = Wrong form             As our plane flew over the mountains we was seeing snow.
WO = Wrong order           As our plane over the mountain flew we saw snow.
SP =  Spelling                    As our plane flue over the mountains we saw snow.
P = Punctuation                 As our plane flew over the mountains; we saw snow.
X = Extra word                 As our plane flew over to the mountains we saw snow.
M =  Missing word            As our plane flew over the mountains saw snow.
R = Register                      As our plane flew over the mountains we observed snow.
? = Not clear                     As our plane flew over the mountains we saw snow.
! = Silly mistake!               As our plane flew over the mountains we seed snow.
RW = Try re-writing         Our vehicle flies, we snow find, over mountains you saw it.

EXAM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11TH.

Our C1.2  progress test will be held on Thursday, December 11th, and will be based on units 6 & 7.

If it is impossible for you to attend class that day, you can request to do the exam with another group at the same level. Exams will be held on December 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th.

Class 25.11.14

In this class we studied pages 73 - 75 & 155

Listening:

An interrogation.

Pronunciation:

Intonation in questions.

Vocabulary:

Questioning

Speaking: 
Innocent or guilty?

Punctiation:

Colons & semi-colons

Homework:

Spanish Speaker's Handbook p.12 Reading.

Colons and Semi colons: Answers to SB p.73 3b

Here are the answers from the Teacher's Book. I hope you find them useful. (The answers are in red.)

Due to an excessive concern for health and safety, there are more and more rules and regulations for drivers; these are supposed to make our roads safer for everyone. This essay will discuss the following three factors: seatbelts, mobile phones and eating or drinking while driving. Some current laws make perfect sense, such as wearing a seatbelt. Children, in particular, are clearly not safe unless they are wearing a seatbelt.

The second issue to be considered is the illegal use of mobile phones: that is, the use of phones to make calls or send texts. As soon as a driver takes their eyes off the road, they are putting lives in danger, so it seems that texting is unsafe. It is claimed that the same danger applies to talking on the phone; however, as long as the speaker’s attention remains focused on the road, they should be able to drive perfectly safely. Nevertheless, the car must be parked in order to have a mobile phone conversation legally; otherwise it is breaking the law.

Class18.11.14

In this class we studied pages 72 & 107 / 108 + 169

Grammar:

Passives

Vocabulary:

Headlines - Phrasal nouns

Speaking: 
Plane hijacking

Fact or fiction?

Grammar:

Passives & Impersonals.

Homework:

WB p.35 Ex.6a & b

Unit 7 Writing - More on colons & semi-colons.

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Home » Handouts » Semi-colons, colons, and dashes

 

Semi-colons and colons.

WHAT THIS HANDOUT IS ABOUT

This handout explains the most common uses of three kinds of punctuation: semi-colons (;), colons (:), and dashes (—). After reading the handout, you will be better able to decide when to use these forms of punctuation in your own writing.

SEMI-COLONS

The semi-colon looks like a comma with a period above it, and this can be a good way to remember what it does. A semi-colon creates more separation between thoughts than a comma does but less than a period does. Here are the two most common uses of the semi-colon:

To help separate items in a list, when some of those items already contain commas. Let’s look at an example, as that is the easiest way to understand this use of the semi-colon. Suppose I want to list three items that I bought at the grocery store:

• apples
• grapes
• pears

In a sentence, I would separate these items with commas:

• I bought apples, grapes, and pears.

Now suppose that the three items I want to list are described in phrases that already contain some commas:

• shiny, ripe apples
• small, sweet, juicy grapes
• firm pears

If I use commas to separate these items, my sentence looks like this:

• I bought shiny, ripe apples, small, sweet, juicy grapes, and firm pears.

That middle part is a bit confusing—it doesn’t give the reader many visual cues about how many items are in the list, or about which words should be grouped together. Here is where the semi-colon can help. The commas between items can be “bumped up” a notch and turned into semi-colons, so that readers can easily tell how many items are in the list and which words go together:

• I bought shiny, ripe apples; small, sweet, juicy grapes; and firm pears.

To join two sentences. An independent clause is a group of words that can stand on its own (independently)—it is a complete sentence. Semi-colons can be used between two independent clauses. The semi-colon keeps the clauses somewhat separate, like a period would do, so we can easily tell which ideas belong to which clause. But it also suggests that there may be a close relationship between the two clauses—closer than you would expect if there were a period between them. Let’s look at a few examples. Here are a few fine independent clauses, standing on their own as complete sentences:

• I went to the grocery store today. I bought a ton of fruit. Apples, grapes, and pears were on sale.

Now—where could semi-colons fit in here? They could be used to join two (but not all three) of the independent clauses together. So either of these pairs of sentences would be o.k.:

• I went to the grocery store today; I bought a ton of fruit. Apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale.

OR

• I went to the grocery store today. I bought a ton of fruit; apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale.

I could NOT do this:

• I went to the grocery store today; I bought a ton of fruit; apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale.

But why I would want to use a semi-colon here, anyway? One reason might have to do with style: the three short sentences sound kind of choppy or abrupt. A stronger reason might be if I wanted to emphasize a relationship between two of the sentences. If I connect “I bought a ton of fruit” and “Apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale” more closely, readers may realize that the reason why I bought so much fruit is that there was a great sale on it.

COLONS

Colons follow independent clauses (clauses that could stand alone as sentences) and can be used to present an explanation, draw attention to something, or join ideas together.

Common uses of colons

To announce, introduce, or direct attention to a list, a noun or noun phrase, a quotation, or an example/explanation. You can use a colon to draw attention to many things in your writing. The categories listed below often overlap, so don’t worry too much about whether your intended use of the colon fits one category perfectly.

• Lists/series example: We covered many of the fundamentals in our writing class: grammar, punctuation, style, and voice.

• Noun/noun phrase example: My roommate gave me the things I needed most: companionship and quiet.

• Quotation example: Shakespeare said it best: “To thine own self be true.”

• Example/explanation example: Many graduate students discover that there is a dark side to academia: late nights, high stress, and a crippling addiction to caffeinated beverages.

To join sentences. You can use a colon to connect two sentences when the second sentence summarizes, sharpens, or explains the first. Both sentences should be complete, and their content should be very closely related. Note that if you use colons this way too often, it can break up the flow of your writing. So don’t go colon-crazy!

• Example: Life is like a puzzle: half the fun is in trying to work it out.