Final exams - good luck!!

- Remember to be there 10 minutes before the time assigned (both for the written and oral exam)
- Remember to bring your ID card with you.
- Once in the classroom, please make sure your mobile phones are switched off.

7C. Switch it off

- Vocabulary & speaking: Television (p. 108)
Useful vocabulary: channels, satellite, cable TV, quiz shows, cartoons, reality shows, comedy shows, chat shows, cartoons, documentaries, drama series, sports programmes, the news

- Phrasal Verbs
. Reading - p. 109 (for homework)
Complete with the following phrasal verbs: look out, sold out, pick up, switch off, look forward to, turn off, find out, pass away.

. Listening - p. 111
Four people are answering te question 'If I had to live without eletricity,...' and complete the chart.

. Vocabulary & Speaking - p. 110

. Phrasal verbs list - p. 155

Grammar points

- Have something done
. to express a service you receive
. examples: I have had my car repaired. / My sister had her hair cut yesterday.


- used to / be used to / get used to
. used to + infinitive: to talk about something your regularly did in the past and you no longer do.
I used to play tennis every day.

. be used to + -ing verb: to talk about something that is familiar and no longer strange or difficult because you've done it for some time.
I am used to getting up early.
My brother is not used to driving long distances.

. get used to + -ing verb: to talk about things becoming familiar.
Mike got used to living on his own.


- Relative pronouns whom / what
. whom: is sometimes used when the object of the relative clause is a person (synonym who)
The person whom the police were questioning is not guilty.

. what: is used without a pronoun in front of it; it means "the thing that..."
The shop didn't have what I wanted.

Homework

- Grammar & Reading exam (to be corrected and commented in class)

- Not compulsory composition: "That music brought back memories of the past, when I ..."

7B. Murder Mysteries

- How much do you know about the story of Jack the Ripper? - Reading & Listening (pp. 104-105)


- Question tags: they are used to get feedback in a conversation, usually to check something you know is true. (p. 142) Check the following examples:
You aren't happy, are you?
He isn't your friend, is he?
They will come to the party, won't they?

Activities: oral practice; exercises 2 & 3 (p. 105)


- Indirect questions: to begin questions in a polite way we use indirect questions (p. 142)
. We start with expressions such as Can you tell me...?; Could you tell me...?; Do you know...?; Do you remember...?

. We add the questions word OR if / whether; plus the usual structure of a sentence:
Can you tell me what the time is?
Do you know what time the shops close?
Could you tell me if this train goes to Victoria?

Activities: oral practice

7A. How lucky are you?

- Questionnarie: "How lucky are you?" (p. 101) & class comment.

- Reading: "Can we make our own luck?" (p. 102)
Useful vocabulary: seem to be, achieve one's ambitions, vary one's routine, bump into an old friend, make an effort to relax, convince yourself.

- Vocabulary: adjectives and adverbs (p. 103)

Homework

- Grammar practice: p. 143

- Writing Task: Write a letter of about 125 words to an English-speaking friend who has travelled around in the USA using public transport. Describe your last holiday and say why you would like something different this year. Tell him/her why you are thinking about going to the USA. Ask for specific information aout his/her trip and ask for some advice.

Unit 7. Can we make our own luck?

- Reading & Listening (p. 100)
What do you think? Can we make our own luck?

- Grammar: Third conditional (p. 142)
. to talk about regrets & wishes in the past
. if + past perfect, would have done (would + past participle)

- Oral practice in groups: finish third conditional sentences with imagined situations

Homework

- Grammar exam practice (to correct on Monday - Tuesday)

6C. Who is your favourite hero?

- Reading: "Heroes and icons of our life" (p. 94)

- Vocabulary: words which tell us what people do
Useful prefixes: -er, -or, -ian, -ist

- Speaking activity: Tell your partner about a famous person you admire. Why do you admire him/her?

- Practical English: Giving and reacting to news (p. 96)
Useful expressions: You'll never guess who I saw!; Really?; you're kidding / you're joking; I don't believe it!; I'm telling you! it's true!; that's incredible!

Listening mock exam - 22nd & 23rd April

. 3A14 - 22nd April from 14.00 to 15.00

. 3B17 - 23rd April from 18.00 to 19.00

. 3B19 - 23rd April from 20.00 to 21.00 (Sorry!!!)

If, you are not able to attend the listening mock, just note that we'll do another listening exam practice the second week of May (following the tenets of the listening part).

6C. We all need a hero!

- Grammar: relative pronouns and relative sentences (p. 140)
Remember that...
. Relative pronouns: which (=that), who (= that), when, where, whose
. Defining relative clauses: they add needed information; 'which' & 'who' can be substituted by 'that'; 'which' & 'who' can be omitted when the referent of the main sentence and the subject of the relative one are not the same one.
. Non-defning relative clauses: they add extra information; they are used in between commas; 'which' & 'who' cannot be substituted by 'that' or omitted.

- What do you know about.. Che Guevara? - Reading & Speaking (pp. 92- 93)

- Listening: Who is the presenter talking about? (Radio competition)

- Oral activity in pairs: Guess the defined word (pp. 118 & 121)

Homework - 6B

- Worksheet: the passive

- Composition: “My life changed when my neighbours moved in…”

6B. Films and Cinema

- Vocabulary: Cinema p. 154

- Grammar: Passive p. 140
It is used when the active subject is either unknown or the speaker doesn’t want to specify it.
Structure: passive subject + be (takes verbal tense) + main verb (in past participle form)
by: if you want to specify who did the action

- Speaking: Guessing films!
How much do you know about cinema? - group questionnaire

- Listening: Dagmara & Steven Spielberg (p. 91)

Homework - 6A

- Reported speech worksheet
- Reading & Grammar activities (from past exams)
- Composition (not compulsory): "My life changed when my new neighbours moved in."

Unit 6. Love in the Supermarket

- Reading and writing p. 84 (ex. 1)

- Grammar: Reported Speech (p. 140)
. Tenses usually change from
present simple to past simple
past simple/ present perfect to past perfect
will to would
can to could
may to might
must/have to to had to

. Time and place references change to refer to the moment we are talking about.

. Questions are introduced by if/whether for yes/no questions and a wh-word for wh-questions. Moreover, word order for indirect or reported questions remains subject+verb

. Remember reporting verbs structure: said to someone that / tell someone that / asked someone that.

. To report command and order:
tell/told someone to do something: My father told me to do the washing up.
ask/asked someone to do something: My boss asked us not to be late to work.

- Vocabulary: Shopping (p. 85)
. Speaking p. 85
. "Shopping questionnaire" in pairs (extra activity in class)

- Pronunciation (p. 85)

- Listening & Speaking (p. 87) Complaining about bad service.

Homework - Unit 5

- Reading (past exam)

- Composition: semi-formal letter
You have decided to apply for a job as a summer au-pair in Dublin. Write a letter to the family to find out more about the job. You should introduce yourself; say why you think you are suitable for the job; personality; experience; say you can't be there the first week of July and suggest a solution.

Practical English - Giving opinions

- Useful expressions to ask for and give opinions:
. What do you think about...?
. Do you agree with...? Yes, I agree - No, I don't agree
. Do you think this is a good idea?
. I think that... / In my opinion... / I believe...
. I think that's a great idea.
. Actually, I don't quite agree with...
. I'm not so sure about this.
. Yes, great idea!

- Useful phrases:
What's the matter?
It's not a big deal.
You're kidding / you're jocking.
That's really unfair!

- Semi-formal letters:
. Remember to write your address on the top right hand and the receiver's address on the top left hand (just over the salutation).
. If you don't know the person's name, you start Dear Sir / Madam, if you know the person's name, you start Dear Mr / Ms Smith
. Don't use contractions
. Finish the letter with I look forward to hearing from you / Hope to hear from you and Best wishes or Yours faithfully.
. Write your full name under your signature.

- To agree or disagree with short answers:
agree (+): me too / so + auxiliary + subject
agree (-): neither / nor + auxiliary + subject
disagree: subject + auxiliary

Examples:
My sister likes chocolate. So do I / I don't
My sister can't swim. Neither can I / I can

Remember -- Oral Mock!!

. Remember the oral mock ... from 23rd to 27th March
- be there 10 minutes before your appointment
- bring an identification card with you

Homework - 5C

- Reading p. 78: "From librarian to political reporter... In a month!"
- Grammar worksheet (final exam practice).

5.C. Job Swap

- Verbs and adjectives + prepositions (p. 75)
to talk to a friend about something
to be good at Arts and bad at Maths
to write emails to a friend
to apply for a job
to be interested in fashion
to be worried about global warming

- Vocabulary: Work (p. 76, p. 152)
Think about the differences between the following expressions...
part-time/ full time job
temporary / permanent job
employee / employer / self-employed
qualifications / working experience
resign / retire

- Grammar: gerunds and infinitives (p. 77, p. 138)
Use -ing:
. after preposition: I'm good at remembering names.
. as subject of a sentence: Sunbathing in my favourite activity.
. after verbs which express likes and dislikes (like, love, enjoy, hate, don't mind)

Use infinitive to:
. after adjectives: My flat is easy to find.
. to express a reason or purpose: Mary's saving money to buy a flat.
. after some verbs: He tried to be early.

Use infinitive (without to):
. after modal verbs and auxiliary verbs: He must be at the library.
. after make & let: Let me come with you.

- Listening: "Jessica in The Pretenders" (p. 79)

Homework - 5B

- Reading: Family (File 5)
- Worksheet: articles revision

5.B.Same planet, different worlds

- Revision vocabulary and text p. 70-71: "Slow down, you move too fast"

- Reading: "Five things you don't usually hear a woman say to a man" / "Five things you don't usually hear a man say to a woman" (p. 72)
Do you agree with the text?

- Reading & speaking: "A gossip with the girls?" (p. 73)

- Connectors (p. 73)
whereas: to compare and contrast two facts or opinions
on the other hand / however: to introduce an opposite point of view
also: to introduce extra information
according to: to explain who says or believes something

- Connectors: revision & extension (extra)
. because / so: to express why things happen:
Sue went to bed because she was tired.
Sue was tired, so she went to bed.

. although / but: to express a contrast between two situations.
Although Pete was tired, he didn’t go to bed.
Pete was tired, but he didn’t go to bed.

. because / because of:
Because = conjunction: sentence + because + sentence
We stayed in because it was raining.
Because of = preposition: sentence + because of + noun
We stayed in because of the rain.

. however / although / in spite of / despite: all of them express contrast
Sentence. However, sentence.
It was raining. However, we went to the park.
Although + sentence, sentence
Although it was raining, we went to the park.
In spite of / Despite + noun/-ing verb/the fact that sentence, sentence
In spite of the rain, we played football.
In spite of raining, we played football.
In spite of the fact that it was raining, we played football.

. and / moreover / furthermore: to express addition
My sister speaks French and dances salsa.
My sister speaks French. Moreover, she dances salsa.
My sister speaks French. Furthermore, she dances salsa.

- Listening: "Spas - women love them. Can men enjoy them too?" (p. 74)

Homework - 5A

- Reading & vocabulary: "Slow down, you move too fast" (p. 70)
- Grammar- articles: activities in p. 138

5A. Slow down

- Oral practice in pairs: getting ready to go camping! (photocopy)

- Noun formation (p.71)
. from verbs, adding -ment, -ion, -ation, -al: government, reaction, proposal
. from adjectives, adding -ness, -ity: madness, similarity

- Grammar: articles - a/an, the, no article (p. 72; 138)

- Pronunciation: difference between 'that' & 'wealthy' (p. 72)

Unit 5. Slow down, you move too fast

- Reading (p. 68)
Are you happy with your work - life balance?
How much time do you have for yourself / to do exercise / to see friends / to be with your family?

- Grammar: quantifiers (p. 138)
. large quantities: a lot of/ lots; much/many; plenty of
. small quantities: little/few; a little/a few; very little/very few
. too / enough
. zero quantity: negative verb & any / no + noun / none

Homework - Composition

Write the following composition (Deadline 26th February)
Imagine you have recently moved house/flat. Tell a friend about your new house/flat and neighbourhood.

Suggested planning:
- Paragraph 1: Brief introduction. What kind of flat is it? Where is it exactly?
- Paragraph 2: Describe the house. What rooms does it have? Does it have special characteristics?
- Paragraph 3: Describe the neighbourhood. How far is it from places of interest; public transport; etc.?
- Paragraph 4: What do you like / don't like about your new house/flat? and your new neighbourhood?

Extra considerations...

- to express habits:
usually + present simple: something you regularly do in the present
used to + infinitive: something you regularly did in the past, but you don't any more
get used to + -ing: something you are trying to do regularly

Examples: can you discern the difference among these sentences?
I usually go to the swimming pool on Mondays.
I used to go to the swimming pool on Mondays.
I am getting used to going to the swimming pool on Mondays.

- to express wishes and hopes:
I wish + past simple: to talk about a wish in the present -- I wish I passed the exam.
I wish + past perfect: to talk about a wish in the past -- I wish I had studied more.

If only + past simple: to talk about a wish in the present with emphasis --
If only I passed my exam!
If only + past perfect: to talk about a wish in the past wish emphasis -
If only I had studied more!

I hope + present simple / will: to express positive feelings
I hope you have a good journey.
I hope we'll see each other soon.

Practical English - Suggestions

- Listening and Speaking p. 64
Suggestions:
Why don't we go for a drink?
How about / What about going for a drink?
How about / What about a drink?
Shall we go for a drink?
Let's go for a drink.

- Social English (An Unforgettable meal) p. 64
Useful expressions: what would you like?; It looks good!; I am allergic to...; Hang on. I have an idea!

- Review and Check p. 66-67

Homework - 4C

- Reading: "Do you need to 'edit your friends'?" (p. 62)

4C. Still friends?

- Vocabulary & Speaking (p. 60)
Useful expressions: argue, close friend, colleague, get on very well, have a lot in common, keep in touch, lose touch, know - meet

Consider the questions... do you have a close friend? / where did you meet? / do you ever argue? what about?

- Reading & Listening (p. 61)
"Friends Reunited website". Carol, from Cromwall, and Alex, from Manchester, met their old friends again... we read and listened to their experiences

- Grammar: used to / didn't use to / did you use to...? = to talk about past habits
I always go to the gym on Wednesdays evening - present habit
I used to go to the gym but not any more - past habit

- Pronunciation: difference between /s/ & /z/ (p. 61)

- How words work... expressions with GET
. get rid of = throw away
. get on with = be friends
. get to know = know somebody little by little
. get to = arrive
. get in touch = make contact with somebody
. get a reply = receive
. get excited / get angry = become

- Listening and speaking (p. 63)
Expressiong opinions - useful language: I agree with that / I think it's true / I don't agree with you at all / I don't think that's true / For example, my friend Paul...

4B. revision...

- Revision and further practice on 2nd conditional (not in book)

1) If you had to choose... what would you prefer...
. to live in a small village or in the centre of a capital city?
. to have as neighbours a couple with five children or a couple with five dogs?
. to live in a fourth floor flat without a lift or in a ground floor flat with a restaurant next door?

2) Worksheet ... second conditional (hypothesis) or first conditional (still possible)?


- Revision and further vocabulary on houses and living:
Do you live... on the outskirts of town / in the suburbs / in a residential area / quite close to a public building / right in the centre?

Other useful vocabulary: on the ground floor/ lift / flights of stairs / fence / steps vs. stairs / draughty / to heat your house

It is different... you own a house - the house belongs to you / a dark room - a light room / noisy flat - quiet flat / a house in good condition - in bad condition / tiny rooms - enourmous rooms

Homework - 4B

- Reading p. 58: "Houses you'll never forget. Casa Azul (The Blue House)"

4B. In an ideal world...

- Getting personal... (p. 56)
What would you choose... speaking and class discussion:
. if you could live in another period of time for its fashion, when would you choose and why?
. if you could come back in another life, who (or what) would you like to be?
. if you could change one part of your body, what would it be?

- Grammar: "If I won the lottery, I would get a new house"
Second conditional: if + past simple, would + infinitive (p. 137)
. for hypothetical situations: if I had more time, I would learn French.
. to give advice: if I were you, I would take the job.

- Vocabulary: Houses (p. 151)
& discussion... what's your dream house? / what special features would it have?

Unit 4. Back to school!!

- Your Education: Speaking
We considered the following questions:
. What kind of secondary school did/do you go to? Did/do you like it?
. How many pupils were there in each class?
. How much homework did/do you have?
. Was your discipline strict?

- Vocabulary: (p. 52)
Do you know the difference between...
a boarding school - a public school - a private school - a state school
pass an exam - fail an exam
pupil - student
teacher - professor
term - timetable

- Pronunciation: (p. 52)
Why do we say a university and an umbrella?

- Reading: "So school these days is easy? Think again"
Damian Whitworth went back to school at 35!
Useful vocabulary: do up, in return, spreadsheets, give it in, slightly dazed

- Grammar: First conditional & future time clauses (p. 136)
1st conditional (still possible): If (or unless) + present simple, will/won't + infinitive

Future time clauses: remember that we don't use 'will' after as soon as / when / until / before / after
As soon as I get home, I'll call you.
After I finish university, I'll probably take a year off and travel.

- Listening: Charlotte and Viktor have just take important exams. Will they pass? When will they get their results? What will they do if they pass? (p. 54)

Practical English - Unit 3

- Practical English: Renting a flat (p. 48)
Useful expressions: How do I get to…?; Where do I get off?; How long does it take to get there?; I’ll give you a lift.

- Revise & check: What do you remember? (pp. 50-51)

- Mock writing: narrative & letter.

Homework - 3C

- Worksheet on modals of ability and possibility & on -ed/-ing adjectives
- Remember to revise for the Writing mock! (21st & 22nd January)

3C. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again

- -ed/ing adjectives (p. 46)
. My boss is boring. = person (thing) that casues de feeling
. My boss is bored. = person that has the feeling

Consider the questions (class discussion):
What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?
Which do you find more tiring, travelling by car or by public transport?
Are you frightened of any insect?
What music do you listen to if you feel depressed?

- Listening: a psychologist talking about succeding at learning something new (p. 46)
Useful vocabulary: take up (start something new), give up (stop, abandon), carry on (continue).

- Reading: Natalie and Bethany have never given up! (p. 47)

- Song: You can get it if you really want.

- - How words work... (p. 45)
so - as emphasizer: It's so frustrating!
so - to connect a cause and a result: The classes were free, so I joined.

3C. If at first you don't succeed...

- How does the saying finish? Does it work for you? (p. 44)


- Reading: "I'm a failure! I've never been able to..." (p.44)
Remember... be able to is "to have an ability, opportunity, time,..."


- Grammar: modal verbs of ability and possibility - can, could, be able to (p. 134)
Can you play a musical instrument?
Would you like to be able to dance salsa?
Could you swim when you were four years old?



Check out the following activity and practice further on the uses of can/could/be able to :