Class Notes, Wednesday, 15 October, 2015

1 Speaking

We started off class today by doing the conversation activity 3e on page 5.

Here are some doubts that came up:

*Do you have vs Have you got:

-> Remember, we can use both forms of the verb. "Do you have" is increasingly common. Remember that in the first case "do" is the auxiliary verb and in the second case "have" is the auxiliary verb:

"Have you got a car?"  "Yes, I have."
"Do you have a car?"  "Yes, I do."

"I haven't got a car."
"I don't have a car."

*I don't have vs I have no

We can use the word "no" for negation in some cases:

"I don't have any money."
"I have no money."

"We didn't see any cars."
"We saw no cars."

We usually use this structure with transitive verbs.

*Programación infantil

We can say "Children's programmes" or "programmes for children."

2 Numbers Review

Let's go to page 5 and do exercises 4c and d. 

d Listen and write the numbers:

1 Gate 40
2 181 miles
3 Tel. 07929618847
4 Population: 2,500
5 6.15 pounds

*Remember, we don't use and when talking about thousands.

ex. 1,500 -> One thousand five hundred

*Remember, commas and periods are switched (cambiados) in English.

*We can express numbers from 1100 to 9900 as "eleven hundred" and "ninety-nine hundred." This is most common when talking about dates, as in 1995 "Nineteen ninety-five" or when talking about money.

3 Listening

Let's go to page 6. Listen to track 1.9 and decide which picture is the man's girlfriend.

(It's picture 1)

*What's she like vs What does she look like?

We use "What's she/he like?" to ask about personality.

We use "What does she/he look like?" to ask about physical appearance.

4 Vocabulary

Let's go to page 150.

1 Appearance Apariencia física

1. She has big blue eyes. Tiene grandes ojos azules.
2. She has curly red hair. Tiene el pelo rojo y rizado.
3. She has long straight hair. Tiene el pelo largo y liso.
4. He's bald. Es calvo.
5. He has a beard and moustache. Tiene barba y bigote.
6. She has dark wavy hair.  Tiene el pelo moreno y ondulado.
7. He's very tall and thin. Es muy alto y flaco.
8. He's medium height and quite slim. Es de estatura media y bastante delgado.
9. He's quite short and a bit overweight. Es bajito y tiene un poco de sobrepeso.

*Hair colour

blonde  rubio
brown  moreno
black negro
red rojo
grey gris
salt and pepper canoso (negro y blanco)

She's a redhead.  Es pelirroja
She's a blonde.  Es rubia.
She's a brunette.  Es morena.
She's got fair hair.  Tiene el pelo claro.
She's got dark hair.  Tiene el pelo moreno/oscuro.
She has dyed hair. Tiene el pelo teñido.

Her hair is long. Tiene el pelo largo. / Tiene melena.
Her hair is short. Tiene el pelo corto.
Her hair is shoulder-length. Tiene el pelo por los hombros.

*Body Type

Fat -> gordo (muy negativo)
Overweight -> sobrepeso
Chubby -> rechoncho
Thin -> delgado/flaco
Slim -> delgado
Skinny -> flaco

He's got an average build. -> Tiene una complexión media.
He's got a strong/heavy build. -> Tiene una complexión fuerte.

*Skin

Fair complexion -> Piel clara
Dark complexion -> Piel morena/oscura

freckles -> pecas
spots -> granos
wrinkles -> arrugas

2 Personality (opposites)

1 A person who is open and warm is friendly. (unfriendly)
2 A person who talks a lot is talkative. (quiet)
3 A person who likes giving people things is generous. (mean)
4 A person who is friendly and good to other people is kind. (unkind)
5 A person who doesn't want to work is lazy. (hard-working/active)
6 A person who makes people laugh is funny. (serious)
7 A person who is quick at learning and understanding things is clever. (stupid)
8 A person who can't talk easily to people he/she doesn't know is shy. (extrovert)

*Remember, fun means divertido and funny means gracioso. Don't confuse them! It is a common error.

*Kind has two meanings 1) nice, good person  2) type, sort

*Mean has three meanings 1) significar 2) mezquino 3) tacaño

5 Reading

Let's go back to page 6. Let's read the first paragraph of the text and answer the questions in 2b.

1. What is the idea of the experiment? 
Charlotte's mother and her best friend will try to choose a boyfriend for her.
2. Who is Charlotte? 
She is a 25-year-old web designer.
3. Who are Alice and Katie? 
Alice is Charlotte's mother and Katie is her best friend.
4. What do Alice and Katie have to do? Then what happens?
They each choose a man for Charlotte. Then she goes on a date with each of them.

*Remember: She is 25. OR She is a 25-year-old. OR She is 25 years old.
                   NOT: She is 25 years.  She is a 25-years-old. She is 25-year.

Class Notes, Wednesday, 7 October, 2015

1. Conversation

We started class by asking the questions from the 1A Grammar worksheet.

2. Vocabulary and Speaking: Common Verb Phrases Review

Let's turn to page 4 and do exercises 1a, b and c.

1 HOME AND FAMILY

• Where are you from?
• Where were you from?
• Where do you live?
• Do you live in a house or flat?
• Do you have any brothers or sisters?
• Do you have any pets?

2 JOB / STUDIES

• What do you do?
• Where do you work?
• Do you like your job?
• What school/university to you go to?
• What year are you in?
• Can you speak any other languages? Which?
• Where did you study/learn English before?

3 FREE TIME

• What kind of music do you listen to?
• Do you play a musical instrument? Which?
• Watch TV programmes do you watch?
• Do you do any sport or exercise' What?
• How often do you go to the cinema?
• What did you do last weekend?

We talked about the questions from 3 in small groups.


*Here are some doubts that came up:

- las noticias -> the news (siempre con artículo)
- hago bici -> I go biking / I ride my bike
- novela negra -> thriller / crime novels / detective fiction

3. Grammar word order in questions

Let's go to page 5. Do activity a.

a. Re-order the words to make questions.

1. Where were your parents born?
2. Where is our teacher from?
3. How do you spell your name?
4. Did you go out last night?

Now, go to page 126 and review word order in questions.
*Remember, we put the verb "to be" or the auxiliary verb BEFORE the subject in questions in English.
*We put question words at the beginning.
*In questions with "who", the question word "who" represents the subject:
  - Who is your favourite actress?

Now, let's do the exercises on page 127.

a Put the word or phrase in the right place in the question.

1. Where do you come from?
2. Where is the train station?
3. How often do you read magazines?
4. Where are your friends from?
5. Why didn't you write to me?
6. Do you often go to the cinema? 
7. What does this word mean?
8. What time did your friends arrive?
9. Does the class finish at 8.00?
10. Where were you born?

b. Put the words in the right order to make questions.

1. Do you have a car?
2. Is your brother older than you?
3. How often does he write to you?
4. What time does this class start?
5. Is your friend from Brazil?
6. How many languages do you speak?
7. Where was she born?
8. Where did you go last summer?
9. Is your father a doctor?
10. Did you come to school by bus?

Let's go back to page 5. We did conversation activity 2c.

4 Pronunciation

Now, let's practice pronunciation. Let's go to page 5, exercise 3a.

Listen to track 1.5 and match the sounds to the pictures. 

ei -> train
i: -> tree
e -> egg
ai -> bike
əʊ-> phone
u: -> boot
ɑ: -> car

Next, match the letters to the sounds in the circles in exercise 3c.

ei -> A, H, J, K
i: -> B, C, D, E, G, P, T, V
e -> F, L, M, N, S, X, Z
ai -> I, Y
əʊ-> O
u: -> Q, U, W
ɑ: -> R

5 Spelling Practice

Let's go to exercise 4a. Listen to track 1.7 and write down the names you hear.

Next, we did the communication activity on pages 100/106.

Welcome Back!

Wednesday, 1 October, 2014

Dear Students,

Welcome back to class!

Your textbook for this year is English File 3rd Edition Pre-intermediate.



Today in class we did some review activities of basic questions.

1A COMMUNICATIVE Student Profile

1. What is your name?
2. What is your surname?
3. Where are you from?
4. Where do you live?
5. What is your email address?
6. What do you do?
7. Where were you born?
8. What languages do you speak?
9. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
10. Which social networking sites do you use?

1A GRAMMAR word order in questions

1. What's your name?
2. How are you today?
3. Where are you from?
4. What year were you born?
5. Where do you live?
6. Do you live in a flat or a house?
7. Di you have any pets?
8. Can you speak any other languages?
9. Why are you studying English?
10. What programmes do you watch on TV?
11. How often do you use a computer?
12. What kind of magazines do your read?
13. What did you have for breakfast?
14. Did you do any sport yesterday?
15. Where were you last night at ten o'clock?

Remember to bring the worksheet to class on Monday so that we can continue with the activity!