Doubts for the final test

Dear all (levels 2&4),

I wish you all the best in your finals. Should you have any questions about any of the topics in the course, please feel free to post your questions and I'll reply with resources for you to prepare.

See you around,

MAC

This race is about a rise... fantastic lesson for life!

Dear all,

I found this video and I said to myself "you have to share it with the guys". It made me think of the times when things don't go as planned... try to keep this example in mind and remember life is about not giving up!

English 2. Unit 7 Advertising

Go to this video and be surprised about the way our braing picks subliminal advertising! Were you surprised? Write your comments!

English 4. Unit 7. How to prepare for a job interview

Would you lie in a job interview if you think that will help you get the job? Write your comments here!

English 2 Unit 5 Comparisons

Dear all,

As mentioned yesterday, here's your activity for today's class, since I won't make it. My boy has scarlet fever, not the chickenpox, so YOU'RE ALL SAFE. Scarlet fever is not as contagious, but still contact should be limited within the first 2 days. He's doing great, it's just that fevers are higher today, so I have to take better care of him. Enjoy your luch today!

By the way, keep in mind the difference between

FURTHER: to a greater extent

FARTHER: more distance

Both of them are comparatives to FAR, but with different applications, although in SOME American English texts they are both used the same.

Exercise 1 This website offers explanations, and in the top click on the Comparison of adjectives activities for practice.

Exercise 2 This one includes "translation" activities, from Spanish to English, just to make sure we do get the structure and we have the words needed to express our ideas in English.

Video I know it's simple, but it's clear crystal if you're interested in a basic review.

But like I said, this is not only about simple and limited transformation exercises, we want to be able to use comparative and superlative forms in context, so here's a writing activity. Prepare a mind map and draft on ONE of the following situations:

· Your parents are going to buy a new car. They still have some doubts about their choice. There are two most acceptable options: Ford Explorer and Jeep Cherokee. You are willing to help your parents, as you can benefit from it to some extent. Compare and contrast these two cars by their price, size, performance and mileage.

· You and your friend constantly surf through the Internet in search of the information, but use different search engines. You had a bet about what search engine proves to be better: Google or Yahoo. Compare and contrast these two search engines and show your friend the objective picture of how the things are.

· You are about to enter the university. You've visited a lot of open days and you are not quite sure about your ultimate decision. There are two major universities you like most. Compare and contrast everything you've heard and everything you know about these two educational establishments.

· You are going to your summer vacation. You've already chosen a gorgeous resort for your vacation, but hesitate about the kind of transport you'll take for your trip. You are not quite sure what way of traveling is more comfortable and suitable: a bus or an airplane. Compare and contrast these two means of transportation.

· You are going to study in the USA. You don't know anything about the educational system in this country. You decide to approach to this question seriously, as your future depends directly on your choice. You try to get to know more about the educational system in the USA. You haven't decided yet whether you are ready to leave your native country. Compare and contrast educational systems in Mexico and the USA.

· Your parents will get you a computer and your two options are: a laptop or a pc. Compare and contrast characteristics of these two options and decide which one is best for you.

· Your parents are going to move to the country. You strongly object to it. For this purpose you make the comparative and contrast analysis of living in the city with living in the country.

SOURCE: http://www.goodessaytopics.com/compare-contrast-essay-topics.html

We're going to use the mind map and draft in class to prepare an essay, A good mind map and a draft are both important in the process of creative writing. Challenge yourselves in the use of English!!!

See ya on Wednesday in class.

English 4 Unit 4 TOGETHER

Based on our discussion in class, choose any of the topics on page 41 and share your opinion. Yopur text should be around 80-100 words and remember to use a topic sentence for every paragraph and appropriate supportive sentences. Examples are always helpful in writing. The topics are:

• People have children too young - before they know whether their relationship is "right".
• Single-parent families can't bring up children as well as traditional families.
• Families where both parent work have some advantages.
• Divorce is not necessarily bad for children.

Please do not change the topics, just choose one and develop your idea.

THIS ACTIVITY IS DUE FEBRUARY 25TH.

English 2 Unit 4 MEMORIES: My first...

Share with the group a nice memory. Think of your...

• first day at shool
• first date
• first job
• first trip without your parents
• ... or any other first anything.

THIS ACTIVITY IS DUE FEBRUARY 23RD.

ENGLISH 2&4 BBC Top Gear on Mexican sportscar

Read this article published yesterday by the magazine The Economist. In case you're not familiar with what happened, click here to see the video (January 30th). What do you have to say about this?

English 4. Unit 2. If only...

This is your opportunity to share a story of regret. Think of a situation, remember that decision you made and he negative consequences you later had to face. Or think about a mistake and the consequences you are still facing at the present time. Make sure you use both structures "if only..." and "I wish..." in your text. This has to be something really worth reading, so think thoroughly.This activity is due February 7th.

English 2. Unit 2 The World Is Fat

Read the article in this website. Read also the comments and then prepare your own and share it here. This activity is due January 31st.

English 4 Unit 1 Autobiography

Share a bit of your life here and include a fact that is not true (don't make it so obvious for others to say "oh, come one!, you're pulling my leg!") DO NOT GIVE YOUR NAME, WE WANT TO GUESS!!! Use 100 words, deadline Friday 28 Jan 11. Have fun writing you!

English Grammar Secrets e-book

Dear all,

Surfing the net, I found a useful link I want to share with you. This e-book shows in a simple way the most common aspects of English grammar studied in class, so if you ever want a quick reference, here's an option. Thanks to Caroline and Pearson Brown... click here.

English 2 Unit 1 Describing where you live

After brainstorming in class and preparing your draft, use this space to publish your description. The deadline is Monday January 24th, after that day, the activity will not be taken into account for participation.

Lizzy sent this question, and I'll try to present a simple and clear explanation to it.

The words that, who, whom, whose, which, where, when, and why are RELATIVE PRONOUNS. They are used to join clauses (part of a sentence that contains a subject and a verb) to make a complex sentence.

So, instead of saying:

I told you about the woman. The woman lives next door.

Do you see the cat? The cat is lying on the roof?

He couldn't read. The fact that he couldn't read surprised me.

Do you know the boy? The mother of the boy is a nurse.

I was invited by the professor. I met the professor at the conference.

I don't like the table. The table stands in the kitchen.

We can make a complex sentence by using relative pronouns like this:

relative pronoun		use	Example
who		subject or object pronoun for people	I told you about the woman who lives next door.
which		subject or object pronoun for animals and things	Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?
which		referring to a whole sentence	He couldn't read which surprised me.
whose		possession for people animals and things	Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?
whom		object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)	I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
that		subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)	I don't like the table that stands in the kitchen.

Source: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/relative-clauses#h02

 

Here are some useful tips that can help you identify what relative pronoun to use:

Subject

It comes before a verb:

The chef who
won the competition studied in Paris.

The building which
is across from the park will be the new library.

She bought a car which
costed her a fortune!

Object

It is followed by a verb+noun:

The book which
Rick bought is really interesting.

_{*For people see WHOM}

Possessive

It comes before a noun and (obviously) denotes possession:

Whose phone is this?

I'm not sure whose bag that is, why don't you take it to the office and wait for someone to ask for it.

The case of WHOM

Just like the case of objects, it is not followed by a verb, but by a subject+verb, and it ALWAYS refers to people:

I ran into a friend whom I hadn't seen in years.

Whom are you going to invite to the party?

Whom is more often in written English, and American English tends to substitute it with who.

I ran into a friend (who) I hadn't seen in years.

 

WHOM vs. WHO

Check these examples:

Mrs. Dimwit consulted a cardiologist whom she met in Seattle. (She met him in Seattle=object)

Jones is the man whom I went fishing with last spring. (I went fishing with him=object)

Joyce is the girl who got the job. (She got the job =subject)

He's the one
who knows the answer. (He knows the answer=subject)

 

Get some practice here, and here, and over here too! :

 

Relative pronouns can be DEFINING or NON-DEFINING... but we'll leave that for another post!

Make vs. Do

Here's one of those eternal questions... what should I use, MAKE or DO?... how can I tell? Let's admit it, Spanish only uses HACER, so that makes this decision a bit hard... but you have to try and do your best. Some links that you may find helpful:

What's the difference? How do you mean?
When to use Make?
When to use Do?
Another reference list

Practice 1
Practice 2
Practice 3
Some more practice, remember practice makes perfect!
Try one more time before feeling bored with it.
Tired? Don't give up, here's another one. (The book they refer to is available in CAADI)

Thanks Alba for sending your doubts...

English 2. Experiences

Share the story of a memorable experience... here's mine to begin with.

Have you ever been camping?

When I was younger I used to go camping quite often. About 13 years ago I went with a group of friends to a place called "El Cielo" in Tamaulipas. We had everything prepared to stay there for two nights. We had our camping equipment, food and some water. We didn't know the place well, so we got lost on the way up. It was late, and it was getting dark, we could hear the coyotes howling. We were a bit worried because we couldn't find a good place to set our tents. Then, out of the blue, two pick-up trucks and a jeep passed by... there were lost (and a little drunk too), and they offered us a ride back to the camping site. It was risky to accept the ride in the back of a pick up truck driven by a stranger, who was also drunk, but in that moment we thought it was better than staying there in the middle of nowhere. So we jumped in the back of the pick up and prayed for a safe drive down the hill!! Fortunately, we made it safe and sound... we were really lucky. The next day we ran out of water, so we had to drink from a spring where cows and other animals also drank. At first it was disgusting, but we were so thirsty that we didn't care much. Same thing with the food, so we had to eat beans with some soil too, hehe. Anyway, the place was really beautiful and we had a great time. My friends and I still remember that trip as one of the most fantastic and fun camping experiences ever!

To all English levels: BUILDING UP YOUR VOCABULARY

Dear all,

As we have learned in class, vocabulary is a huge area of opportunity to improve your learning. I'm listing here some links with useful resources to help you work on this area.

1. How to learn new vocabulary. It's important you develop a technique to transfer new vocabulary to your long term memory. There are some websites with ideas that may help you.

2. What vocabulary to learn? It always depends on your personal database of words, your interests and your needs. It's a good idea to learn vocabulary from a text, so you can connect the meaning to the context and remember the meaning easily. However, there are some high frequency words that you'll find in most texts and have been put into lists, so it might also help you learn some of those words too. Find examples of lists here . Again, be careful with lists, since the words are totally out of context and may not be useful to your needs. Other interesting ways to buid up your vocabulary include a subscription to "Word of the Day" and some word games.

3. How about TOEFL vocabulary? You can try with sites that offer some of the most frequent words in the test.

English 2. Activity 2 TV in Mexico

This activity corresponds to Lesson 2, Unit 7, Exercise 5. After exchanging ideas with your classmates, write a short paragraph (6-8 sentences) with your opinion about TV in Mexico. Make sure you use in your paragraph some verbs to express likes and preferences (lesson 1), vocabulary about TV shows (lesson 2) and the grammar from lesson 2.
This activity will be checked in class on Thursday March 25th.
Note: All students should study lessons 1 + 2 on you own. Class on March 25th is subject to the condition mentioned in the classroom today.

English 2. Activity 1. The most... sport

Use this space to publish your paragraph, due Monday March 8th.

English 4, exercise 5. Reported Speech

Dear guys,

Spend some time checking this website, to reinforce the grammar on Reported Speech. Practice exercises can be found here.