QUANTIFIERS

This is the presentation we are going to use today to learn about how to use quantifiers.
We need to count things, we need to say how much or how little we have of something. We can have large quantities, small quantities, more than we need or want, less than we need or zero quantity at all. To say that we use quantifiers.  You can go to 'Grammar' to see, download and/or print the explanation with examples as a document.

And now, time to practise!!!!

- exercise 1
- exercise 2
- exercise 3
- exercise 4
- exercise 5
- exercise 6

SPEAKING

If you need to check the date and time for your oral exam in June, just go to HOME LEARNING. Remember you need a password.

In case you need to change your assigned appointments, just let your teacher know.

Come on, let's go for it, we can!! 

HOW, LIKE, AS

 

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Let's practise relative clauses with these exercises ...

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

STRANGE JOBS AROUND THE WORLD

Are you looking for work and hoping to find something unusual that will pay the bills? Here are eight examples of rather unconventional professions.


LIPSTICK READER

Some people read palms…some read cards…others have a crystal ball. And some people bring a lipstick reader to make their parties a little more interesting. The reader looks at a lipstick imprint on a piece of paper and tells people about themselves, their relationships and their future. 25-30€ per reading.

PROFESSIONAL QUEUER

Are you too busy to waste hours standing in line waiting to get the new iPhone, buy tickets for that Springsteen concert, or renew your passport? No problem: just hire a professional queuer to do the boring part for you! 15-25€ per hour.




QUEEN’S PIPER

Every morning at 9.00, he stands outside the Queen’s window (at Buckingham Palace, Balmoral Castle, Windsor Castle or Holyroodhouse) and plays the bagpipes for 15 minutes. The position is given to a serving member of the Armed Forces and was created in 1843. 60,000€ per year.

GOLF BALL DIVER

Lots of golf courses have lakes and ponds. Lots of golfers hit their balls into that water. The golf ball diver is the person who recovers those balls so they can be re-sold. If you’re not afraid of the dark, can carry a 30kg bag of balls, and don’t mind if there are snakes, turtles and maybe even the occasional alligator around, this might be the job for you!  As much as 100,000€ per year.



BED TESTER

Tired? Fancy a rest? Then why not apply for a job checking mattresses for their manufacturers or beds for hotels? Compare how well you sleep in different conditions (changes in lighting or temperature, after drinking water, coffee or alcohol) and write a blog about the experience. Around 50,000€ per year.

FACE FEELER

Or sensory scientist, if you prefer. If you have sensitive hands, and can tell the difference between baby oil and Vaseline, how about a part-time job feeling people’s faces to test the effect of cosmetic products on people’s skin? 25€ per hour.







TV WATCHER

If you have a degree in TV or film, or at least a lot of knowledge, there may be an opportunity for you at Netflix. The company has 48,000,000 subscribers, so leaves nothing to chance. “Taggers”, as they are called, sit at home watching films and series all day, analyzing and commenting on the content before the rest of us see it.  Pay? Hard to say, but a lot more than we get for watching television!

DOG WALKER

If you like dogs, and walking, this is perfect for you! By working just two weeks a month, and sometimes taking several dogs at the same time, dog walkers in the UK earn 20% more than the national average salary. 13€ per dog per hour.

Source: Oxfordculturemania

THE HOUSE

Vocabulary:

The house           The dining room           The kitchen           Buildings             Rooms in a house


Have you ever thought of matching a house with a celebrity??? Well, many people have done so, read this article by The Daily Mail about houses with a character and you will discover the similarities people find!

And now let's practise some listening. Watch this video about this Lego-style apartment, I'm sure you'll be surprised!

REPORTED SPEECH - Practice

LET'S PRACTISE REPORTED SPEECH!!!

Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3

Reporting Questions
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6
Exercise 7
Exercise 8
Exercise 9

REPORTED SPEECH - STATEMENTS AND QUESTIONS

These are the presentations we are going to use today in our online session to learn about the indirect speech or reported speech in English. You can go through them to know about it before our lesson.


REPORTING STATEMENTS

REPORTING QUESTIONS

GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

Let's revise when to use an infinitive and when to use a gerund. If you want to see, download and/or print a document with an explanation,  just go to 'Grammar'

Do the exercises below. Watch the sentences and the verbs used, it will help you remember when a verb takes the gerund or the infinitive.

Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6
A page with many exercises

INFINITIVE OR GERUND?

This is the presentation we are going to use today to learn about when to use the infinitive and when to use the gerund, the -ING form. You can have a look at it before our online session starts, probably it helps you undestand better.

FIRST OR SECOND CONDITIONAL?

Do you remember when to use the first conditional and when to use the second conditional? Try these exercises and you will know!

- exercise 1
- exercise 2
- exercise 3
- exercise 4
- exercise 5
- exercise 6

SECOND CONDITIONAL

Often called the "unreal" conditional because it is used for unreal - impossible or improbable - situations. This conditional provides an imaginary result for a given situation. IF + SIMPLE PAST + WOULD

- If I lived in Japan, I would have sushi every day
- If I had the chance to do it again, I would do it differently
- If I were you, I would go

Do these exercises:
- Exercise 1

- Exercise 2
- Exercise 3
- Exercise 4

Go to 'Grammar' to see, download or print a document with a more accurate explanation.

THE SECOND CONDITIONAL

This is the powerpoint we will use in our onlibe session to learn about the second conditional. Why don't you have a look at it before class? I'm sure if you do it might help you understand how and when to use the second conditional in English better.

MURPHY'S LAWS

I'm sure you have heard of Murphy's laws ...

You're sitting in eight lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic. You're more than ready to get home, but you notice, to your great dismay, that all of the other lanes seem to be moving. You change lanes. But once you do, the cars in your new lane come to a dead halt. At a standstill, you notice every lane on the highway (including the one you just left) is moving -- except yours.
Welcome to the aggravating world of Murphy's Law. This idiom says that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. And it may just be right. This isn't because of some mysterious power the law possesses. In reality, it's us who give Murphy's Law relevance. When life goes well, little is made of it. After all, we expect that things should work out in our favor. But when things go badly, we look for reasons.

Here are some of the laws we have built ...


1. If you are in a supermarket and you change queues, the queue you were in before will move faster.
2. If you wash your car, it will rain.
3. If you're looking for something you've lost, you'll find it in the last place you look.
4. If you wear something white, you'll spill wine or coffee on it.
5. If someone near you is smoking, the smoke will always go directly towards you.
6. If you find sthg in a shop that you really like, they won't have it in your size.
7. If you take something that doesn't work back to a shop, it'll start working.
8. If you stop waiting for the bus and start walking, the bus will come.
9. If you arrive at the station and a train is just leaving, it will be your train.

How many more do you know? You can have a look at his site 

SCHOOL UNIFORMS: GOOD OR BAD?

This video is good for speaking practice. It shows you how to express your opinion in English.

EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS IN BRITAIN

Watch the video below to learn about education and schools in Britain. It's good listening practice as well as you can revise your vocabulary and learn about the differences with our system.


SCHOOLS IN BRITAIN (click on the subtitles option on the player if you need it)

TIME CLAUSES

It is possible to use other words instead of if in first conditional sentences:

 

When:  When the “condition” will definitely happen in the future.

Look at the difference between these two sentences:

• If I see Sam, I’ll give him your message. (I’m not sure if I will see him or not)
• When I see Sam, I’ll give him your message. (I will definitely see Sam)

As soon as: To emphasize immediacy.

• My feet hurt! As soon as I get home, I’m going to take off these high heels.
• As soon as we have enough money saved, we’ll take a vacation to Costa Rica. We can’t wait!
• I’ll respond to your e-mail as soon as I can.

Unless: Substitute for “if not.”

• You won’t lose any weight unless you start eating healthier food.
  = You won’t lose any weight if you don’t start eating healthier food.
• I’m not going to dance unless somebody invites me.
  = I’m not going to dance if somebody doesn’t invite me.
• Unless there’s an emergency at work, I’ll be home on time.
  = If there’s not an emergency at work, I’ll be home on time.

- Exercise 1

- Exercise 2

Go to 'Grammar' to get the explanation as a document

FIRST CONDITIONAL

Revise the first conditional and the time clauses with this powerpoint


Now let's practise the first conditional with these exercises

- Exercise 1
- Exercise 2
- Exercise 3
- Exercise 4
- Exercise 5

WORLD BOOK DAY

As you well know, on 23 April, World Book Day is celebrated all over the world. In 1995 UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on 23 April, as the date is the anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, probably the two most aclaimed writers in the world. In a historical coincidence, Cervantes and Shakespeare died on the same date, 23 April 1616.

In Spain this is a day to encourage reading and the enjoyment of literature. Due to this COVID-19 thing, this year it will be different. Neither we will go out to get that book we want as a gift for a beloved one or just for ourselves nor others will do it for us. However, we can still enjoy reading something new without having to leave home. For that, here you have our school magazine, SABIR, on his new edition, which includes the 12 Greek Mythology stories and an African one that you wrote.

Hot off the press, take it as a present from our school on this day and as an invitation to experience the world of letters in a different way.

By Clicking on the top right corner, it will open on an external window. Would you like to have it? Then, get it as a PDF document.

Enjoy!!!

REVISE&CHECK

As you well know, each two units, there's a section in your book called "Revise and check". So we have Revise and Check for units 1-2, for units 3-4, for units 5-6 ... Once, you asked me about this section and I told you not to worry, that one day we would use it. Well, with all this coronavirus thing, we can't use it in the way I had planned. However, we can do it in a different way.

Since I know you are going through everything we have studied so far, why don't you use it on your own? You already have the exercises on your book, so you can do them, and if you go to Exam Practice, you will find the key and the videos needed to work on your own.

Come on, let's go for it! Even in the distance, on a computer, we can do it!!!

MODAL VERBS OF DEDUCTION explained

Although we had already gone through how to express deduction in English, here you have an intertactive presentation for you to review and consolidate what you already have studied. Remember to click on the interactive buttons for more accurate info.

PASSIVE VERB FORMS

You still have some problems with the form of the different verb tenses in active and in passive. Let's review the passive verb forms with this interactive presentation. Click on the + icons for examples of the different verb tenses.

If you also want to review the active verb forms, click HERE.

PRONUNCIATION OF -ED, REGULAR VERBS

You have shown problems when it comes to pronounce the past of regular verbs. To pronounce the past simple of the regular verbs we have to have in mind that it is the sound which is important, not the letter or the spelling. So, how do we pronounce the past of the regular verbs? Remember: in three different ways.

- When the verb ends in sound /t/ or /d/ ------> /id/

- When the verb ends in an unvoiced sound (/p/,/f/,/s/,/sh/,/ch/,/k/ -----> the final sound is /t/

- When the verb ends in a voiced sound (the rest) ------> /d/

	/d/		/t/		/id/
	lived		worked		waited
	arrived		stopped		hated
	played		asked		ended

Now watch the video below to learn and listen to the different sounds of the past of the regular verbs.




Time for you to practise. Next time you have to send a recording to your teacher, pay attention to regular verbs in the past or perfect tenses. Come on, don't be shy, you can do it!!!!! Remember that theory without practice is nothing.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

THE PASSIVE

Passive voice is formed by…

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

Peter builds a house (active)

A house is built by Peter (passive)

Remember passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. Who or what is performing the action is not important ot not known. In the example My bike was stolen, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows, A mistake was made. In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You made a mistake.).

As always, you can go to 'Grammar' to see, download and/or print a document on the passive voice plus an overview on the active/passive 

And now, time to practise!!!!

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4(A page with lots of practice!!!)

Exercise 5

Exercise 6(A game)

THE PASSIVE

A BIT OF HUMOUR!

I just thought a bit of humour at the situation we are living these days would be a bit healing. I hope you have fun with this song. Let's start the week with a smile. Let's not lose our sense of humour!

DESCRIBING PEOPLE

Watch these two videos to learn how to describe people. Not only you'll practise listening and grammar but also you'll learn vocabulary.

Video 1



Video 2

HOW TO FORM VERB TENSES

During our last online session you said you have problems when you have to form the different verb tenses, you said you find it confusing. OK, let's see if this presentation helps! It's interactive, so click on +info to get a more detailed explanation. You can also go through the presentation from the index menu.

HABITS

This is the infographics we will use to learn about how to express habits in English.Have a look at it before our lesson, this way maybe you find it easier when the time comes, It's interactive, if you click on the icons a pop-up window will show up.

SPEAKING AND ORAL MEDIATION

Don't forget you have speaking for homework! Since we can't practice speaking as we usually do in class, it's very important you do the exercises for general speaking and oral mediation you can find in our online lesson planning.

Come on! Don't be shy! I know it can be a bit weird at first but you know you can record yourself as many times as you consider till you are satisfied with the result. Then, send the final file to your teacher.

Remember, the more you try, the more you will learn! 

We can do it, let's go for it! 

WRITING: A NIGHTMARE JOURNEY

Remember you have to write a story.
Go to 'Writing' to get the explanation below as a document. You can also get some samples of nightmare journeys to give you ideas.

When writing a short story, LANGUAGE is very important:

• Use past continuous for background information. For example – It was raining heavily as we left the house….
• Use past perfect before the main events of the story. but Anne had kindly lent me her umbrella.
• Use simple past for the main events. There wasn’t a single person on the street.

Include some of the following phrases to highlight the different parts of your plot and to help your reader follow the storyline:

Time phrases:  It all began… Shortly afterwards, Meanwhile, Some time later, Finally, In the end, Eventually,	Phrases for dramatic effect:  Suddenly, Without warning, Out of the blue, Just at that moment, Quite unexpectedly, As if from nowhere,
Concluding stories:  When it was all over, Looking back now, In the end,	Direct speech:  “…..”, said Fred “..…”, shouted Fred ”…..”, thought Fred

Now, it’s your turn… think of/invent a nightmare journey and include the following information:

- When was the journey?

- Where were you going? Who with? Why?

- What went wrong? What happened?

- What happened in the end?

KIND REMINDER

This is just a kind reminder, don't forget to often visit our HOME LEARNING page above for updates to go on improving your learning.

Together we can!! 

NEW PLANNING DUE TO COVID-19

As you well know due to the spread of COVID-19 our school is temporarily closed. However, does it mean we must stop our learning process during this period? Absolutely NOT!

What's the plan?Easy, I'll upload our lessons (plans, explanations, exercises with key...) and you will work from home.

Where can I find the lesson plans? You are already used to this blog, let's go on using it. Notice there is a new page above called 'HOME LEARNING', it's there where you will find the lesson plans and any extra materials needed. You will need a password, use the password you already have. If you have forgotten it, don't worry, just tell me and I will email the password to you.

What about the blog entries? Don't worry, I will go on writing posts as usual.

What happens if there's something I don't understand? Just email me with any question you have, no worries!

Present circumstances have forced us towards a new kind of teaching/learning process. You have my word I will do my best, do I have your word as well?

Together we can! Let's go for it!

CAMPANYA DE DONACIÓ DE SANG

 

La jornada de donación de sangre sigue adelante pero, debido a la suspensión de las clases presenciales dentro de las actuaciones de contención del COV-19, cambia de lugar. Ahora será en: 

ANTIGUO HOSPITAL DE CAN MISSES

Antigua àrea de urgencias

Martes 17 de marzo de 2020

de 17:00 a 21:00 h.

La donación de sangre es necesaria

La sangre es absolutamente necesaria para el organismo, es la encargada de transportar, a través de los vasos sanguíneos, todos los elementos necesarios para realizar las funciones vitales.

La sangre es necesaria para realizar intervenciones quirúrgicas, para atender accidentes de tráfico, para tratamientos contra el cáncer, para realizar transplantes y para curar otras muchas enfermedades.

La sangre no se puede fabricar y solo puede obtenerse de otras personas.

Cualquier persona sana, entre 18 y 65 años y que pese más de 50 kilos puede donar sangre.

Actualmente en las Islas Baleares cada día se necesitan más de 200 donaciones de sangre.

Es un placer informarte de la próxima campaña de donación de sangre:

ANTIC HOSPITAL DE CAN MISSES

Antiga àrea d'urgències

Dimarts 17 de març de 2020

de 17:00 a 21:00 h.

Ajudan’s a difondre aquest missatge. Una donació, 3 vides.

Si aquest  día no pots venir, també pots realitzar la teva donació cada dijous en el punt  fixe  de la Fundació Banc de Sang i Teixits de les Illes Balears, Hospital Can Misses Vell (antigues Urgències) de 10 a 14 i de 17 a 21 hores.

Contacta:  www.donasang.org ,  infodonant@fbstib.org  o   971302468

 

CHEATERS vs INSPIRING PEOPLE

Cheaters never win, and winners never cheat ... unless you are one of these athletes. Who are some of the biggest cheaters in sport history? Have a look at this video and you will discover! You will also find the stories you read in class, and probably, a surprise at the end of the video!

 

Fortunately, there are some inspiring people, like Rick Hyot and his father, Dick. What makes them especial is the fact that Rick suffers from cerebral palsy since birth. They have competed together in several events, including marathons and triathlons. During competition Dick pulls Rick in a special boat as they swim, carries him in a special seat in the front of a bicycle, and pushes him in a special wheelchair as they ran. The Hyots did not finish the 2013 Boston Marathon, the last marathon they have run together. They had about a mile to go when two bombs exploded near the finish line, and were stopped by officials along with thousands of other runners still running the race. They were not injured.

This is their official page 

 Watch the video to know more about them, even though it's in original it has subtitles, remember that this is good listening practice!

SPORTS

Let's learn some vocabulary about sports. Watch this video and practice pronunciation at the same time that you learn how to name different sports. You can also go to 'Our Bits and Bobs' to see, download and/or print a document with sports vocabulary and exercises.There is listening too!




And now you can practise some listening on sports.

Listening 1 - You can read the transcript below the exercise, don't cheat!!!!

Listening 2 - You can read the transcript below the exercise, don't cheat!!!

MORE PAST TENSES PRACTICE

You seem to need more practice with the past, no worries, here you have more exercises!

Exercise 1 - past simple or past continous? A story

Exercise 2 - Past simple or past continuous? A story

Exercise 3 - Past simple or continuous? - sentences

Exercise 4- Past simple or past perfect? - sentences

Exercise 5 - Past simple, past continuous or past perfect? Sentences

Exercise 6- Past simple, past continuous or past perfect? Sentences

Exercise 7 - Past tenses - sentences

Exercise 8 - Narrative sentences - A story

ALEX RAWLINGS

Do you remember the video we saw in class? Here you will find more information about Alex Rawlings and some tips he gives for you to be more motivated and sound more fluent. If he can do it, you can do it, Go for it!!!

Alex is a citizen of the world. He was born and grew up in London, UK. As a child, he spend long summers in Greece, visiting family and wondering why he couldn’t understand anyone. He quickly realised that if he could learn to speak other people’s languages, rather than waiting for them to speak English, life would be much more interesting.

After misspending his adolescence learning languages like Dutch, Catalan and Hebrew, in 2012 he was named Britain’s most multilingual student after being tested for fluency in 11 different languages. His studies of German and Russian at Oxford University led him to study in provincial Russia and work in the Press Office of the Greek Embassy in Berlin. After graduating, he packed his bags and took a one-way flight to Budapest, where he studied Hungarian for a year before living in Spain, returning to London in June 2016.

He moved to Barcelona in November 2018.

Now having studied more than 15 languages, Alex spends his time writing about languages, intercultural dialogue and multilingualism. He lives in Barcelona, but you’ll also find him passing through Johannesburg, London, Athens, Budapest and Berlin, and other parts of the world.

IRREGULAR VERBS - PRONUNCIATION

One of your classmates asked me for some audio to improve the pronunciation of irregular verbs. I've tought this might be interesting for most of you, so here you have a video. I hope this helps!

MODALS OF DEDUCTION

We use modal verbs to say how sure we are about something.

1 must

We use must when we feel sure that something is true because there’s very strong evidence.

• He must live near here because he comes to work on foot. We don’t know where he lives but we’re sure it’s not far away.
• Come inside and get warm – you must be freezing out there.
• You’re a zookeeper? That must be very interesting.

Notice that must is followed by an infinitive without ‘to’.

2 might, may, could

We use might, may or could to say that we think something is possible but we’re not sure.

• Did you hear that? I think there might be a burglar downstairs. She’s not sure there’s a burglar but she thinks it’s possible.
• We’ll try to get there early but we may arrive late if there’s a lot of traffic.
• Don’t put it up there. It could fall off and hit someone.

Might, may and could are also followed by an infinitive without ‘to’.

3 can’t

We use can’t when we feel sure something is not true.

• It can’t be a burglar. All the doors and windows are locked. He doesn’t know it’s not a burglar but he feels sure it’s not.
• It can’t be far away now. We’ve been driving for hours. Where’s the map?
• Really? He has to work on Christmas Day? He can’t feel very happy about that.

Like the other verbs, can’t is followed by an infinitive without ‘to’.

Remember that all of these modal verbs – must, might, may, could and can’t have other uses.

LET'S PRACTISE PAST TENSES!

Don't forget that 'practice makes perfect'!  and you seem to have some problems using the different past tenses together in the proper way so, why don't you try these exercises? Remember that the best way to learn is practice, practice, practice ;)

In case you are stuck or just want to have a look at how to use them before trying, just go to 'Grammar' to see, download and/or print the theory.

Good luck!

Exercise 1 - Past simple or past continuous? A story

Exercise 2 - Past simple or past continuous? A dialogue

Exercise 3 - Past simple or past continuous? A story

Exercise 4 -  Past perfect or Past simple? Sentences

Exercise 5 - Past perfect or Past continuous or Past simple? Sentences

Exercise 6 - Past simple or Past Perfect? Matching exercise