Group 802 2015

 

Hi beautifuls! How are you doing? I hope just fine and not down in the dumps, since your exams start next Friday ( oral exam) Anyway, as I have told you, you will have to make a video as part of your oral exam, so to do it I'll give some topics and indications, you have to choose just one.

1. Music. You will have to talk about this topic, including the vocabulary seen in class about instruments and musicians, adjectives to describe music such as moving, catchy, monotomous, etc. and also some idioms ( music to my ears, out of tune, etc. Make sure to include linking words such as: and, but, because, however, on the other hand, etc. Also some phrasal verbs. In order to help you talk about it, I have include some questions that can guide your speech.

What kind of music do you like? Why? Where do you usually listen to music?
How does this kind of music makes you feel?
How does music affect your emotions?
Do you play a musical instrument? Would you like to learn?
Is there any kind of music that you definitely don't like to listen to? why?

Example: 

I have always liked pop music in English and Spanish as well as romantic music, because they have moving lyrics and rhythm. I also like pop music in English since I can improve my listening skill. Theses kinds of music make feel sadder when I am going through a bad experience or when I have had my heart broken. When I feel like dancing or singing I fancy listening to pop music artists such as:OV7, Yuri, etc.    I learnt to play the flute when I was at primary school, but now I can't play it. Sometimes when I have made a terrible mistake I have had to face the music and be responsible for my acts, it's when I feel depressed and want to hear something even sadder like an opera or classical music...

2. Past habits. If you choose this one your will have to describe your past habits and also talk about the things that you have had to get used to and now you are used to. You also need to include information about your sleeping habits.

Example: When I was a child I remember watching TV for more than 4 hours, I used to play in the street with my friends for hours and I didn't use to have a mobile phone. Now I can´t imagine my life without a mobile phone. When I was doing my degree, I used to be sleep deprived because I used to sleep less than 7 hours everyday during exams. Now I am used to sleeping less than 7 hours and that makes feel exhausted at times. One thing that was very difficult for me was to get used to taking care of a baby and doing the household chores, after a while I got used to it and now I find it easy to do it although sometimes I fall asleep while watching the TV...

The grade will be given according to the performance of the student according to the accuracy in grammar and vocabulary, vocabulary range, content, coherence and the correct pronunciation and intonation of the oral production.

Don't read what you are about to say, it must look natural. 
You have to make your video using your cellphone, camera, Ipad or any other electronic appliance. It must have a duration of maximum 2 minutes and you have to decrease the resolution of your video so that it is not too heavy, please the size of your video must be less than 20 megas (ideally) so you can send it to my mail or via bluetooth next Monday.

See you and take care! 

6th level Students 2015

 

Hi dear students, as all of you know, we are about to start our exams, and next Friday your English Oral exam starts, so to have a more objective evaluation you will have to make an individual video about one of the following topics:

1. Yes, appearance matters:

• How important do you think appearance is for a singer or  doctor? Choose one. Do you think it is right their appearance matters?

 Example: I think that appearance is extremely important for a doctor, because they have to look clean, formal and serious to make people feel comfortable, that's why wearing a white coat must be essential for their appearance... However, I don't think their appearance should be the most important, I think their attitude must be the most important because I have known some....

Remember in this task it is important to give reasons, to express your opinion clearly and reach a conclusion

2. Shot on location

• Describe a film, saying where it was set, what it is based on, who it was directed by, and what you thought of it. Include an image of the film if it's possible.

Example: One of the most satisfying films I've ever seen was "The pursuit of happiness" which was starred by Will Smith in the role of Chris Gardner and produced by Gabriele Muccino. This movie is a drama based on a true story of self-improvement. It was set in San Francisco in the 80's and it is about the story of a struggling salesman who has to....

Remember in this topic it is important to include all the aspects required when we describe a film, such as the use of proper adjectives to describe films like: violent, funny scary, moving, etc or adjectives to describe the kind of film such as: action film, thriller, horror film, etc. You also have to include vocabulary about the people and things involved in the making of a movie ( subtitles, audience, extra, soundtrack, etc)

Don't read what you are about to say, it must look natural.
You have to make your video using your cellphone, camera, Ipad or any other electronic appliance. It must have a duration of maximum 2 minutes and you have to decrease the resolution of your video so that it is not too heavy, please the size of your video must be less than 20 megas (ideally) so you can send it to my mail or via bluetooth next Monday.

The grade will be given according to the accuracy in grammar, vocabulary range according to the level you are in, and the correct pronunciation and intonation patterns. You also have to do exactly what you are asked

See you and take care! If you have any doubt, let me know and I'll help you.

Group 902

Listening and Pronunciation tips

 

Hi everybody, how are you feeling? I hope just fine and ready for your next exams. I hope you have learnt a lot since we started the semestre, because as far as I'm concerned I have! and it's because I have  learnt a lot from you. I have noticed that in this level it's a bit difficult for some of you to give the correct intonation and rhythm to the expressions and words that we use, and this has a lot to do with word stress, sentence stress and intonation patterns, that's why I have some activities for helping you to cope with this a bit challenging task.

To begin with, let's see some information on word stress, go to the following link and check all the information you will find there, at the bottom at that page you will find more links, check them all and finally do the word stress quiz, take a picture of your score and take it to class next Friday.

Word stress

Then click on the following link and pay attention to the video, it will also help you to identify content and function words which are a key aspect to improve our pronunciation and listening.

Finally, watch this last video on stress and rhytthm in English pronunciation,where you will have the opportunity to listen to American pronunciation so that you can compare and have further practice. When you finish, make a recording with your voice of the last four sentences that you will hear from the minute 5:34. Use your cellphone, Ipod, Ipad, digital camera or whatever you find useful. Bring your recording to class on Friday or sent it to my mail.

Feel free to drop a comment on this blog to tell me your opinion about these activities, to share any other exercise or to suggest any other thing you would like to learn and practice. See you and take care!