Videos with useful phrases according to your level!

Hi there!

Today I wanted to share with you a very useful section within the Inside Out website. It contains videos with useful phrases categorised into different levels: pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate.

Here you  have the first video of the series. Scroll down and continue watching more videos which correspond to your level. I'm sure you can all understand a lot!

I also take advantage of this entry to recommend you another incredibly useful website to do listening at home (audio this time, not video, I'm afraid). It is listed in the resources I recommend for listening (make sure you check that section! --> resources online > skills > listening).

The website is www.esl-lab.com, and all the listenings are divided into different levels. You can choose the type of activity you want (open questions; multiple-choice questions or filling the gaps), and you have the transcription as well. Very useful!! :)

I hope you start using these websites!

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Speechyard.com: learn English from film extracts

Hi again!

Today I'm going to show you a fantastic website to learn English with film extracts: www.speechyard.com. It is brand new and it has tremendous functionalities! Without a doubt, one of the best websites for English learning I've seen in a long time!

You can select extracts from different films, and check the new vocabulary instantly from the subtitles. You can also add the new words to your own library / glossary!

Let me show you better!

1. Enter the website

2. Choose a video from the "Content" page:

2. Click on a word or a group of words to translate it/them:

3. Click on "+" to add a word to your library (= glossary):

4. Learn new words and expression on the "Learning" page:

5. You can practise with other users at the "Community" page:

Check all this on this video tutorial:

I'm sure you'll love it!!

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Exam Practice A2 level (I)

Hi!

The exams are coming closer and I wanted to give you some exam practice to get ready!

These exams are all taken from the Key English Test from Cambridge, which roughly corresponds to a level A2:

READING

• Reading Part 1: signs and short texts
• Reading Part 2: gapped sentences
• Reading Part 3:multiple choice questions
• Reading Part 4: long text with multiple choice questions
• Reading Part 5: text with multiple choice gaps

LISTENING

• Listening Part 1: pictures with multiple choice questions
• Listening Part 2: longer recording and matching
• Listening Part 3: multiple choice
• Listening Part 4: fill in a form
• Listening Part 5: fill in a form

Good luck! :)

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Exam Practice B1 level (I)

Hi!

The exams are coming closer and I wanted to give you some exam practice to get ready!

These exams are all taken from the Preliminary English Test from Cambridge, which roughly corresponds to a level B1:

READING

• Reading Part 1: signs and short texts
• Reading Part 2: match 5 people to 8 texts
• Reading Part 3: text with True/False questions
• Reading Part 4: long text with multiple choice questions
• Reading Part 5: text with multiple choice gaps

LISTENING

• Listening Part 1: pictures with multiple choice questions
• Listening Part 2: longer recording and multiple choice questions
• Listening Part 3: complete notes
• Listening Part 4: true/false

Good luck! :)

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Exam practice C1 level (I)

Hi!

The exams are coming closer and I wanted to give you some exam practice to get ready!

These exams are all taken from the Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English, which roughly corresponds to a level C1:

READING

• Reading Part 1: three themed texts with multiple-choice questions
• Reading Part 2: text with 6 paragraphs missing
• Reading Part 3: long text with multiple-choice questions
• Reading Part 4: Multiple matching

USE OF ENGLISH

• Use of English Part 1: multiple-choice cloze
• Use of English Part 2: open cloze
• Use of English Part 3: word formation
• Use of English Part 4: Gapped sentences
• Use of English Part 5: Key word transformations

LISTENING

• Listening Part 1: three short extracts from conversations with multiple-choice questions
• Listening Part 2: sentence completion
• Listening Part 3: conversation with multiple-choice questions
• Listening Part 4: multiple matching

Good luck! :)

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Exam practice B2 level (I)

Hi!

The exams are coming closer and I wanted to give you some exam practice to get ready!

These exams are all taken from the First Certificate in English Exam from Cambridge, which roughly corresponds to a level B2:

READING

• Reading Part 1: text with 8 multiple choice questions
• Reading Part 2: text with 7 sentences missing
• Reading Part 3: multiple matching

USE OF ENGLISH

• Use of English Part 1: multiple choice cloze
• Use of English Part 2: open close, text with gaps
• Use of English Part 3: word formation
• Use of English Part 4: key word transformations

LISTENING

• Listening Part 1: multiple choice (8 conversations)
• Listening Part 2: open answers
• Listening Part 3: choose the speaker
• Listening Part 4: multiple choice (1 conversation)

Good luck! :)

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Films in original version at www.cuevana2.tv

Hello there!

These days we've been talking about films and you've asked me for websites to watch films (or series) in original version. There are lots and lots of sites you can visit, but today I'm going to recommend www.cuevana2.tv.

There you have all the films and tv series you can think of in original version. The website is very updated: sometimes you can even watch films that haven't been released in Spain!

Most of the films are original version with Spanish subtitles, but you can navigate through the different options for each film/episode if you want other languages or subtitles.

Now, is it better to watch the film with or without subtitles? And should the subtitles be in English or Spanish? Well, first of all, forget the idea that watching films with subtitles is "bad", because it is not. Quite on the contrary, it is very good practice because you associate spelling and pronunciation which, as you know, does not always coincide in English. Therefore, the ideal thing would be to watch films in English with English subtitles until your level is high enough to eliminate subtitles completely.

Finally, very important: choose something that you like. This way, you will focus on what is happening and forget that the film/episode is in English! This favours unconscious learning, which is the one that lasts longer in our memories.

So... what film are you going to watch this weekend? :)

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What podcasts can I listen to?

In the last years podcasts have undoubtedly become one of the most common tools to practise listening, which is probably the most difficult skill to develop. Given their short duration and their wide variety of topics, you can listen to them anytime, anywhere.

In a previous entry (Listening to English at home: podcasts) I talked about what podcasts are and how you can download them using iTunes. Today I give you some recommendations on what podcasts to listen to, categorised by levels.

• Elementary podcasts, by the British Council, for elementary levels:

• 6 Minute English, by the BBC, for all levels:

• Better at English, for intermediate levels and above:

• Splendid speaking, for advanced levels:

• Zapp! Vocabulary and pronunciation

• Pre-intermediate and Intermediate levels

• Advanced level

• Zapp! English colloquial podcast

• Pre-intermediate and Intermediate levels

• Advanced level

• Zapp! English listening podcast 

• Pre-intermediate and Intermediate levels

• Advanced level

By all means, this is only a brief selection of podcasts. If you want to look for others, check the 12 English podcasts every English learner should listen to!

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Love at first sight!

Hello!

I hope you're having a nice day! :) Today we're going to talk about love and relationships! Do you know any expressions? Below you have many! (Remember that "sb" means someone/somebody).

Read the expressions and check a dictionary (for example, www.wordreference.com) if there is any word you don't know. Be very careful with the pronunciation of engaged; listen to it in the dictionary and repeat :)

Now, imagine a "normal" relationship. In what order would things happen?

I would suggest something like this...!

You meet someone for the first time. It was love at first sight! Then you go on a date. You like each other a lot and so you start going out together. After some time, you fall in love, but then you can have arguments and you finally break up... :( However, you get back together again, and you get engaged! You get married and you are happy ever after!

Is your story similar to mine? Please, share it with us in a comment below! :)

Finally, here you have a listening about a girl going on her first date. Click here www.esl-lab.com and listen to it twice; try to answer the questions and then check the transcription. You also have the explanation of some new vocabulary!

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Revision of tenses; personality adjectives; relationships

Hi everyone!

Here you have the first entry of the year! I'll regularly post a summary of what we've done in class but, most importantly, I'll also post extra material to consolidate and to expand what we do in the lessons.

We've already advanced quite a lot and are almost finishing Unit 1! These days we've been revising tenses, question formation and auxiliaries. As for vocabulary, we've talked about relationships and also personality.

If you want to continue revising English tenses, try the following exercises online:

• Revision of tenses 1: here you have exercises with pairs of tenses (present simple vs. present continuous; past simple vs. past continuous; past simple vs. past perfect, etc).

• Revision of tenses 2: here you have a gapped text which combines all tenses.

• Revision of tenses 3: here you have gapped sentences which combine all tenses.

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FCE Test Practice ONLINE! :)

Hi again,

Looking for materials that some people from 5º CAL had asked me for, especially reading, I have come across a website with several real FCE tests that you can do online (awesome!!).

Because there's quite a lot of material there and I don't want you to feel overwhelmed, I'll regularly make a selection of tests for you to do during the week/weekend, or whenever you manage to put some time aside. Here you have three of them.

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Work conditions; must / have to / don't have to / mustn't

Hi everyone!

How was your weekend? I hope you enjoyed it, although the weather wasn't too good!

In this entry I post a summary of what we did last week, and also some extra material you might find interesting.

On Monday we did a little bit of revision and we also started Unit 3 talking about jobs. We did an activity where you had to write a job for every letter of the alphabet. Some letters were a bit difficult, but you almost (casi) completed all the alphabet! :) We also learnt some expressions such as flexible working hours, opportunities for promotion, sick pay, holiday pay, etc. Make sure you learn them!

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Subject questions; jobs; free time

Hi again!

In this entry I'm going to post some information to revise Unit 1, and then I'll do the same with Unit 2.

At the beginning of the course we did several activities to know each other (some of you met for the first time!), and in the third week you did your first oral presentations. In groups of 3, you talked about someone important from an English speaking country. Thank you once again for your truly great effort :)

Below (abajo) you have a brief summary of the main grammar and vocabulary we have seen in the unit, so that you can revise at home and do some activities on-line:

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My Sister's Keeper; cloning food

Hi everyone!

I hope you've had a nice weekend! It's been scorching hot, so maybe some of you have already started to enjoy the beach! :)


On Tuesday we started talking about some questions related with science and then we discussed some moral dilemmas. One of them had to do with modifying embryos so that the born child would be compatible with his/her brother/sister. This reminded me of the film "My sister's keeper" (2009), a film I thoroughly recommend. I post the trailer below for you to decide whether you want to watch it or not!

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Conditionals; crime; Jack the Ripper

Hi everyone!

I hope your weekend is off to a good start (nice expression to learn!), although the weather is absolutely miserable!! Let's hope this howling wind goes away soon!

Last week we corrected the unit about "The Natural World". It's a lot of vocabulary, I know, but, remember, take things calmly: sit down, select the words you don't know, copy them in your notebook and check them regularly.

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Ku Klux Klan vs. Spanish "Semana Santa"; learning styles

Hello everyone!

Last week we came back from our Easter holidays. I hope you come full of energy! We only have the last months of the course in front of us!

On Monday you told me about your holidays, and then we talked about the similarities between our nazarenos and the members of the Ku Klux Klan. We read a text that told us that there wasn't any relationship at all between them. After that, we learnt about different Easter traditions in other countries in the world.

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Listening to English at home: SONGS

Hi there!

I take advantage of this post to tell you about a very useful link with songs in English: www.subingles.com. Here you can listen to plenty of songs with the lyrics in front of you!

You have different songs classified according to their level of difficulty (you'll see that the website is extremely updated):

When you click on a song, it starts playing and the website also suggests other subtitled songs by the same band. You also have the possibility of listening to songs with online activities.

So this is yet another possibility to listen to English outside the classroom! :)

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Listening to English at home: PODCASTS

Hello again,

As promised, here I post some information about podcasts!

In case you have never heard of podcasts, it's a digital media which consists of an episodic series of files (audio or video) to which you can subscribe. This means that every time there is a new podcast, they will tell you. Normally they last between 2 and 10 minutes, although there are some which are longer.

The best way to find podcasts is using the programme iTunes, which you can download from the Apple Store (it is compatible with both Windows and Mac). Once you install it in your computer, open it and on the left side you'll find something similar to this:

Click on iTunes store, and then select the option "podcast". You'll find a screen similar to this:

There you have a very complete list of podcasts you can choose from. If you already know what you are looking for, you can search according to category, choose if you want video or audio podcast, look for a specific one, etc.

When you find a podcast you like, click on it and then on "subscribe/subscribirse". Everytime there is a new one, it will automatically download to your iTunes.

To listen to your podcasts, simply click on Library --> Podcasts (left column). You can also copy the podcasts to your iPod, MP3 player, a CD, etc.

Try it: you'll see that it's not difficult at all, and it's incredibly, incredibly helpful. Besides, you can learn English while listening to something of your interest!

What else can you ask for? :)

If you want some recommendations, check What podcasts can I listen to?

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Listening "going shopping"

Good morning everyone!

Last week we revised the past continuous: you had to write 5 times and ask your partner what s/he was doing at that time.

• - What were you doing at 8.45 in the morning yesterday?
• - I was going to work.

After that we watched a video from the BBC where a journalist visited Barcelona. It was an original video (not adapted), but you did the activities very well! Congratulations! :)

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English and American English

Hi everyone,

How's your Sunday going? Here you have the usual summary after each week, plus some extra material. On Tuesday we corrected the unit on Indirect Speech -only two exercises left to correct-, and we worked with a handout about the differences between British (BrE) and American (AmE) English. We saw two different phenomena:

• Two words, same meaning: underground vs. subway
• One word, different meaning: bill exists both in AmE and BrE, but the meaning is different. 

Finally, I gave you a copy on the use of punctuation. Make sure you read it carefully at home, and, most importantly, check it if you have a doubt when writing a composition.

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