File 1 extra listenings

Hi there!

Below are two listening activities from file 1 you can do at home. I did both activities in class with group A and the second one with group B too. Now, everyone can do them at home. Click on the links below to download or play the audios. And, as usual, check the key in the comments section in a few days. =]

Oxford food (file 1- listening 1)

1   Listen to a conversation about food in Oxford. Write A, B, C or D after each sentence. You can use a letter more than once.

1   The best pub food can be found _____.      

2   The highest-quality cooking in Oxford can be found _____.      

3   The cheapest food is _____.      

4   The best Thai restaurant is _____.      

5   There are tapas bars _____.      

      A  in the centre of the city

     B  in the north of the city

     C  in the east of the city

     D  outside the city

Chiang Mai Kitchen Restaurant in Oxford

Five conversations (file 1-listening 2) 

2   Listen to five conversations. Tick A, B or C.

1   Todd wanted to watch the World Cup final _____.

     A  in a restaurant with his workmates          B  at home with friends         

     C  in a small café with friends      

2   In the past, Lauren ate or drank _____.

     A  less coffee          B  fewer sweets          C  less tea      

3   Keira doesn’t have any _____.

     A  cousins          B  brothers          C  parents      

4   When he was at school, Johnnie _____.

     A  broke his leg          B  was captain of the team          C  did some coaching      

5   Sophie is _____.

     A  a bit lazy          B  friendly          C  confident      

"The best teacher I've ever had" sample writings

I've decided to publish some of the best pieces of writing from my three groups here so everybody can read them and learn from them. From the entry tests, I've chosen these three. I hope you like them!

 

Last June, in my speaking exam, I spoke about my best teacher. She was my mother and my maths teacher too. Now, I’m going to tell you about another teacher who worked very hard with me in the music school. She was my guitar teacher and she played the guitar like an angel, but now, she can’t play because her ill hands are slow, so now she’s sad.

When I was a child I wanted to be like her, tall and elegant with long fingers, and to play the guitar in concerts.

By Ana Mª Mingorance, from NI1-A

  

The best teacher I have ever had was called José Martínez. He had a long, white, curly beard, round blue eyes, a big nose, a small mouth and a pair of two very small ears.

He used to be always friendly, open-minded and kind to the children, their parents and teachers outside and inside the school.

My favourite teacher taught Mathematics to the children who were in their seventh and eighth years at the ages of thirteen and fourteen years old at the San Juan de las Águilas primary school.

Besides, I liked his classes very much because he explained the theory and practical exercises in a very logical, easy and simple way. Therefore, everybody could understand it.

Finally, I remember that I never spoke or interrupted his classes during his explanations. I would stare at the blackboard and write down all that he wrote for fifty minutes three times a week.

By Mª Mar Menchón, from NI1-B

 

Mrs Leiva has been my best teacher. She was twenty-nine years old when I met her at secondary school. She was very tall and very thin. She had black hair and brown eyes. She was always happy and very optimistic with us. We got on with her very well.

Mrs Leiva taught us History and Geography. I learnt a lot with this teacher. She told us many stories about the Moorish pirates because she loved them. In her classes, we watched films and played games. We went out and took photos too. I had a good time!

By Kenia de Haro, from NI1-C

Sports Listening

Hi there!

Here's the link to the listening from elllo.org we did in class this week where six people of different nationalities talk about their favourite sports.

The questions you had to answer for every speaker were:

1. What's his/her favourite sport to do?

2. What's his/her favourite sport to watch?

3. Write down one more detail about each of the people.

Remember you can always read the transcript of what is said on this website.

Irregular Verb Patterns

I've found this excellent worksheet on my ex workmate and friend Helena Manrubia's blog. I think it can be extremely useful when memorising irregular verbs, because many of them follow certain patterns. You should print it out and complete it. Also, some of the verbs are not in the list in your student's book, so you can include them. Use the dictionary to look up their meanings.

Parts of the body

Hi everyone!

Since we briefly talked about parts of the body when dealing with sports, maybe this advanced video will help you remember the most important ones:

Ok, boys and girls! We're going to sing about some of the parts of our bodies.

See if you can point to the part we're singing about. Once you know the words, sing it with us.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes; knees and toes! x2

Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.

(Repeat till the end)

Bazinga!

I love Dr Sheldon Cooper. :-)

Phrasal verbs about sport

Hi again!
I have this document from Hot English magazine which is about common phrasal verbs used when talking about sports. You may find it handy!! 
(It's on the second page. The first one is about a different topic, but since it's a PDF document, I could not split it. Sorry!).
  
I've also found this Let's talk about sport! worksheet online which I think it's very useful to get you speaking about sport.

Food and eating

Here are some things about food and eating:

Click here to download a couple of listening activities I did in class with group A (not B or C). Now everyone can do them at home. For the audios, click on the links below:

Listening 1

Listening 2

In a few days, I'll publish the answers in the comments section. If someone wants to do it before I do, you're welcome to do so!!!

Now, here's the menu I showed you in class too.

Besides, here's a very useful document dealing with invitations and you can listen to it if you click on the link.

I hope it all helps!!

Entry test listening

Click here for the listening I played in class for your entry test. You can listen to it again or for the first time. I'm pasting the activity here for your convenience as well. You'll find the key in the comments.
Remember to always check the right sidebar to find links to very useful sites, for instance, for listening practice.

Listen to a recording about a woman called Tanya Coles and circle the right option a, b or c:

Example: 0. Tanya Coles is originally from

a)     Jamaica.         b) Haiti.         © Barbados.

1. When she first arrived in London she was

a)     a teenager.      b) 30.           c) divorced.

2. At the beginning she

a)     did the same job for a long time.  b) had to do several jobs.   
c) was unemployed.

3. She got married

a)     before she graduated.     b) after starting a new job.        
c) after she graduated.

4. Her salary is

a)     very high.                      b) OK, but not great.                
c) quite low.

5. She doesn’t mind

a)     looking after her pets.     b) taking care of the house.       
c) looking after her kids.

6. She says people who emigrate to a new country will be successful if they

a)     are optimistic.                b) have good friends around.      
c) are hard-working.

Welcome everyone!

I welcome all my brand new NI1 students at the State School of Languages in Águilas to my new blog! I'll post here different kinds of activities, information, etc that I hope will be useful to you when studying English at home (if Blogger's new interface doesn't drive me crazy first... :S).
However, I hope you participate too so it's interactive!!

This is how the Irish welcome people. I took the photo in Limerick last summer. I love the 'May the road rise up to meet you'. =]

Ready?? Let's get started!!!