Hi:

If you happened to use the platform this semester, you'll have to answer an online survey. It was created in order to know your opinion about the use of the platform and the things you considered useful during the semester.

Thanks for taking the time to answer it!

Just a reminder: Next Monday from 8 to 11 am, same place.
See you there!

Hi, my soon-to-be former students (ha!):

Here are the topics for the Fourth Partial, so PLEEEEAAASSEEEEEE, study them and in case you have any question, let me know:

FIRST PARTIAL
Reported Speech (Unit 5C)
Connectors (Unit 7, page 113)
Relative Clauses (Unit 7C, pages 108- 109))
Noun Clauses (Unit 7B, pages )
Phrasal verbs (page 157, Files 5 and 7)
Idioms (at this stage, a bit much, card up your sleeve, if you are given lemons make lemonade, lead someone up the garden path, new blood)

SECOND PARTIAL
Perfect Modals (Unit 4B)
Mixed conditionals (Unit 4A)
Embedded questions (Unit 1A)
Reduced clauses (Unit 7C, but now reducing clauses eliminating the relavitive pronouns)
Phrasal verbs (page 157, Files 1 and 4)
Idioms (pages 146 and 151)

THIRD PARTIAL
Parallel structure (not in the book, but in exercises on the blog)
Causative form (Unit 6B)
Narrative tenses: Simple Past, Past Perfect, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous (Unit 2B)
Phrasal verbs (page 157, Files 2 and 6)
Idioms (all over town, get out of town, hit town, man about town, paint the town)

FOURTH PARTIAL
Future Perfect and Future Continuous (Unit 3B)
Almost negatives (hardly, all, almost, almost all, just, really, half, most, most of, none)
Prefixes and suffixes (not in the book, but in exercises on the blog and in your notebook)
Phrasal verbs (the ones I already posted)
Idioms (the ones I already posted)

Hi, people:

In addition to the topics we've been studying, we have these phrasal verbs and idioms for this partial, so please don't forget to look up their meaning for the final exam:

Phrasal verbs:

• Do away with
• Break in
• Blow up
• Hand in
• Let (somebody) off

• Get away with murder
• Daylight robbery
• A steal
• Thick as thieves
• On the case

Hi, y'all:

Here are the basic prefixes and suffixes you can study for your final exam (click on each one to open a pdf file with examples):

Hi, there:

The homework for tomorrow is to PRINT AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING PAGE:

Future simple, future continuous or future perfect?

And to practice with these tenses, work with this quiz and this other.

Hi, y'all:

I told you in class to practice with the narrative tenses we'll evaluate in the partial exam, but last week I posted two entries with information and exercises for you to practice... so here they are again:

Narrative tenses (posted on October 29th)

Homework for last Wednesday October 31st

So next time I publish something, PLEASE READ IT!!

If you still need more practice, check these pages out:

Narrative tenses: more explanations

Narrative tenses test

Bye!!

Hi, there:

Happy Halloween and dead related holidays!

I told you in class that you needed to publish your stories by just clicking on the "Comments" link, but I have something more interesting for you: CREATING A PODCAST WITH YOUR STORIES.
This means that you need to actually record your own voice telling the story, so we can all hear it anytime.

These two are my recommendations for you, but there are many other options out there on the Internet:

AudioBoo (it requires a free account, or you can sign up using Twitter. It's also available for Apple, Nokia and Android).

Audacity (you need to install the software, but it's for free!)

When you have your file, you can publish it on AudioBoo (there's a green bar on the right side of the screen, with the option of recording on-line or uploading your files... It has a duration of 3 minutes, so please, be brief).

Hi again:

To practice with narrative tenses, please PRINT AND ANSWER the following exercises:

Narrative tenses 1
Narrative tenses 2
Narrative tenses 3 (use the words in the boxes to complete the exercise, don't drag them as the instructions say).

Hi there:

This is the last topic of this partial. The narrative tenses are used to talk about events in the past and there are basically four of them:

• Simple Past: it is used to talk about past events in chronological order.
• Past Continuous: it is used to talk about events that were in progress at a certain point in time.
• Past Perfect: it is used to talk about events that happened way back in the past (before another event or a definite moment in the past).
• Past Perfect Continuous: it is used to talk about actions that were in progress in the past, for a certain period of time.

Hi:

This material is very useful to learn the pronunciation rules of the final -ed of regular verbs, according to the sound they have.

Dedicated to Shair, here are the rules you need to know and remember.

Bye!

Hi, there:

For tomorrow, here and here are the exercises you need to print and bring to class.

Bye!

Hi, you all:

Today we had the quiz, because it was the last day we had to do it. I know some of you won't come to class on Wednesday, but on Thursday we have composition, so I can't postpone this any longer.

The exercises you need to PRINT AND BRING (NOT ANSWERED) TOMORROW ARE:

Will or Be Going to

Future mix

Bye!!

Hi, you people:

As you requested this last partial, here are some short readings you can do to practice your reading comprehension skills.

They include multiple choice questions or gap fill exercises, so you can identify your knowledge and understanding.

Dig in!

"Television" - High Intermediate. 10 questions. 217 words.

"Cacti" - High Intermediate. 10 questions. 248 words.

"Space Exploration" - High Intermediate. 10 questions. 235 words.

"The Fastest Dinosaurs"

Hi again:

This is a short explanation about causative form in its two forms: active and passive. Please watch the video first, and then read the examples. If you want, you can take the quiz that goes along with the explanations.

Tomorrow you'll answer more exercises like the ones you saw in these materials.

Enjoy!!

Hi:

Please watch the following video about the causative form. It will give you an idea about the grammar you'll learn tomorrow. Don't forget you also have to print the exercises that were posted yesterday on this same blog.

Hi, people:

How are you? This exercise is for you to bring NEXT FRIDAY OCTOBER 19th. You have from today until next Friday to print it. DON'T ANSWER IT, you'll do in class as usual.

Thanks!

See you next Monday!

Hi again:

I hope you enjoyed your weekend. These are the exercises I told you about. They have an interactive version with explanations, so you can see how well you answer them (or why you didn't):

Exercise 2   Exercise 3   Exercise 4   Exercise 5   Exercise 6

Hi:

Here's the PDF file you need to print. If you want to keep the whole exercise print the two pages, if you already have the first one then just print THE SECOND ONE.

Bye!!

Hi!:

If you want to know more about parallel structure and practice with it, here's something you need to read before anything else:

Parallel Structure 1 

Parallel Structure 2

Hi:

Here are the answers to the exercises we answered today in class. If you haven't done them yet, please don't check the key before doing them...

Bye!!

Hi, there:

I know I said "after 4", but well, 6:09 is indeed "after 4".... ha!

Here are the exercises you need to answer for tomorrow.

See you in class!

Hi, you there:

The topic today was reducing relative clauses. You'd better check this page out, in case you need any further explanation.

To practice with the topic, here are some interesting exercises as well.

Hi again:

For Monday, you have to print the following guide, as a review of this partial (we'll answer it together in class):

Second Partial Review (Resources/ Second Partial/ Printable Exercises/ Grammar review 2nd partial.doc)

Bye!!

Hi, class:

As I told you in class today, here's the homework for next Friday 28th. JUST PRINT THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES, DON'T ANSWER THEM YET.

Exercise 1: Simple Past 1 and Simple Past 2

Exercise 2: Telling the time

Exercise 3: Numbers

Bye!!

Hi, people:

As I told you today, the homework for this Thursday is this one:

PRINT THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES AND BRING THEM TOMORROW:

Noun clauses: embedded questions

Grammar practice: embedded questions (just the exercise, not the video!)

Bye!!

Hi, there!

• one after another or at the same time: Exercise 1, Exercise 2
• new or already in progress: Exercise 3, Exercise 4
• just mentioning or emphasising progress: Exercise 5, Exercise 6

Hi, people!!

Here's the homework for tomorrow Friday. JUST PRINT THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES, DON'T ANSWER THEM!!!:

EXERCISE 1

EXERCISE 2

Bye!!!

Hi, people:

The copies you need to bring tomorrow to be checked before the quiz are the same we were supposed to answer last week... Anyway, we'll do it tomorrow, so bring them:

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Bye!!

Hi, it's me again:

The homework I was talking about in class, is to print AND ANSWER (handwritten) the following exercises:

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

See ya!!

Hi, students:

The homework for tomorrow Thursday Monday will be to bring all these exercises AND ANSWER THEM, because we are going to check them in class:

English test on simple past

See you tomorrow!!

Hi:

Here are your partial grades, check them out!

Hi:

Here are your partial grades, please check them out!

Hi, y'all:

This is the video I was talking about... What would you do in an emergency like this??? What wouldn't you do to avoid something like that?

Comments welcome!!

Hi again!:


Here are some exercises for you to practice for your exam. Good luck!!

Simple present

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/pres.htm  http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/pres1.htm
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/presnq.htm http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/presnq1.htm 
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/presnq2.htm


Present progressive

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/pcont.htm  http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/pcont1.htm
http://ww2.college-em.qc.ca/prof/epritchard/partypcf.htm
 http://ww2.college-em.qc.ca/prof/epritchard/pcvspsqk.htm


Information questions

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/presnq3.htm  http://www.eflnet.com/grammar/whquestionspresent.php http://www.etweb.fju.edu.tw/yueh/toeic/practice/part_2/01_02.htm
(listen to the questions, and choose the best answer...) 

  Verb "To Be" all forms

http://www.eclecticenglish.com/grammar/PresentSimpleToBe1A.html  http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/be2.htm http://www.eclecticenglish.com/grammar/PresentSimpleToBe1C.html
http://madridteacher.com/Activities/Wh_to_be.htm (drag the boxes on the right to the questions on the left)

  Prepositions of place

http://www.1-language.com/englishcourse/unit6_grammar.htm  http://www.1-language.com/englishcourse/unit6_grammar_exs.htm


There is/ there are

http://a4esl.org/q/h/9807/km-thereisare.html  http://perso.wanadoo.es/autoenglish/gr.there.i.htm (practice with questions: there is/ is there? or there are/ are there?)


Directions

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=1434

Subject and object pronouns

http://www.musicalenglishlessons.com/grammar-pronouns.htm  (only read the chart)
http://www.eflnet.com/grammar/pronouns.php
http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zy11mzs.htm
http://perso.wanadoo.es/autoenglish/gr.pronoun.i.htm 


Possessive adjectives

http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz18mdf.htmhttp://a4esl.org/q/h/fb005-bp.html  

Check out this game... it's a fun way to practice with reporting verbs.... Just make sure you remember the structures you play with...

Enjoy!!

And if you're into studying for your exam, don't miss these other pages:

Reporting verbs
Clauses of contrast and purpose
Relative clauses

(Taken from www.oup.com/elt/englishfile/upper-intermediate)

See ya!!!

Hi again:

Here are the answers to the exercises we did in class today...

Exercise 7B

a.
1 despite
2 even
3 to
4 as
5 order
6 spite
7 that
8 Although
9 for
10 Despite

b.
1 we wouldn't be late
2 she earns a fortune...
3 the terrible reviews/ the reviews being terrible/ the fact that the reviews were terrible
4 the fog was very thick
5 not to offend her
6 to explain the new policy

Exercise 7C

a.
1 correct
2 incorrect (it) that goes
3 incorrect (that) which was absolutely true
4 incorrect (that) who es very tall
5 incorrect to (who) whom
6 incorrect (that) what I cook
7 correct
8 incorrect (who) whose suitcase
9 incorrect what I just said
10 incorrect (what) that I bought last week

b.
1 His girlfriend, who is an architect, is very intelligent. (His girlfriend, who is very intelligent, is an architect).
2 They gave us a present, which was a complete surprise.
3 I didn't understand what he was saying.
4 The car which/ that crashed into mine was a Mini.
5 The police officer (who/ that) I spoke to was working on the reception desk/ The police officer to whom I spoke...
6 Our computer, which we bought two months ago, keeps on crashing.
7 The things (which/ that) I left on the table aren't there anymore.
8 It's too hot in my flat, which makes it impossible to sleep.

Hi there:

There's been a confusion about the phrasal verbs and idioms for this partial, don't ask why, when or who... but here's the list of the new ones:

Idioms
AT THIS STAGE
A BIT MUCH
CARD UP YOUR SLEEVE
IF YOU ARE GIVEN LEMONS, MAKE LEMONADE
LEAD SOMEONE UP THE GARDEN PATH
NEW BLOOD

Phrasals
CHEW ON
DO WITHOUT
GOOF AROUND
HUNT DOWN
LOOK ON AS
PILE UP

Find the meaning of them, because tomorrow we'll work with them.... Tonight I'll post the answers to the exercises 7B and 7C...

Thanks!!

Hi!

Just in case the platform is a little bit slow and you can't access the exercises, here are the links to the exercises for tomorrow:

Simple Present VS Present Progressive 1

Simple Present VS Present Progressive 2

Remember you need to print  AND ANSWER THEM!!!

Bye!!

Hi:

I found these exercises, pretty useful to reinforce these concepts:

Read this first, and then answer this.

Then continue with this practice (at the bottom of the page).

See ya!

Dear all:

Here's a very important piece of info about reporting verbs... Please take a few moments to read it and to practice with it.

I'm afraid you didn't do very well on your quizzes :(

See you later!

Hi, there:

As I told you in class today, next week we have to work with relative clauses and finish with expressions of contrast and purpose.

In order to get ready for the new topics, please check out the following pages, and answer the exercises that go along with the explanations:

Relative clauses: defining and non- defining clauses

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Contrast and purpose clauses: Exercise 1

Exercise 2

And finally, the topic of the oral evaluation next Tuesday... In teams of three, prepare a situation in which you talk about people or other things, BUT USING REPORTED SPEECH AND RELATIVE CLAUSES. Max 5 mins. per team.

See you next Monday!!

Uff...

I'm having serious problems with my super slow computer... I've been processing this document since earlier this evening, and it's almost nine and I'm sending it until now!!!

Well, finally here are the pages you need to print for tomorrow IN CASE YOU STILL DON'T HAVE THE BOOK... but seriously guys.... do you really want to print pages forever???

See you tomorrow!

Hi, guys:

Here are the exercises you need to print and answer for tomorrow.

And here are the other ones you only need to use as practice:

http://www.1-language.com/englishcourse/unit6_grammar.htm
http://www.1-language.com/englishcourse/unit6_grammar_exs.htm

See you tomorrow!!

Hi there:

Sorry about the delay, but I had some problems with my computer... Here are the pages you need to print for tomorrow...

See ya!!!

Hi, there:

Here's your homework for tomorrow:

Watch the following video (it's the full movie, but you need to watch the segment between 20:43' and 27:48', so fast forward it).

When you finish with this, answer the following worksheet, sections B and C.

See you!!

Hi, people:

As I promised, here are your videos with your final presentations. Enjoy them!!

See you on the 18th.

Persuasive speech: Online college education

Political speech: Accepting a candidacy

Informative speech: Emotional intelligence in business

Political speech: Responding to a fraud accusation

Informative speech: How to deal with annoying people

Political debate: Presidential debate

Political debate: Class president

Hi:

I came across these useful tips for you to remember before the day of your final presentation. They were written by Naomi Rockler-Gladen, an instructional designer and a freelance writer, who has a lot of experience with public speaking classes.............................................................................................................................................................

Fear of public speaking: Overcome speech anxiety in your public speaking classSo how can students get over their fear of public speaking and enjoy their public speaking class (or at least not dread it with every ounce of their soul)? Here are a few tips that have been helpful to my students over the years.

First, make sure you are well prepared. No matter how much your prepare, you're going to be nervous standing in front of the class. However, you're going to be a whole lot less nervous if you know you've put a good deal of work into this speech. If you write a speech at the last minute, you're going to be nervous about standing in front of the room and because you're about to bomb an assignment. Here are some important ways to get prepared:


•Make sure you understand the assignment completely. Talk to your instructor if you have any questions.


•Make sure you do plenty of research on your topic and can talk about it comfortably. (Here's some ideas for persuasive speaking topics.)


•Make sure your note cards (or whatever you use to deliver the speech) are in order and very well organized. Number each card. If you have to fumble around looking for card #4, you're going to be way more nervous than if you know everything is in order.


•If you're using Power Point or other technical equipment, make sure it's working. Talk to your teacher ahead of time about how to set everything up properly. If you're especially nervous about the equipment, consider making your speech more low-tech. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and other great speakers throughout history did not need Power Point, and neither do you.


•Practice. Practice often, and preferably in front of an audience of sympathetic friends. (If this makes you too nervous, practice in front of a mirror.) If you give your speech for the first time in class, you're going to be way more nervous than if you've practiced.


•When you practice, time yourself and make sure your speech is within the prescribed time limit. If it's not, tweak the speech until it is. If you have no idea how long the speech will be, you're going to make yourself way more nervous than necessary.



Second, when you speak, pretend that you are confident. Pretend that you belong up there in front of the class. You own the class, baby. Trust me. You'll be surprised how much more confident you actually feel when you pretend. Besides, projecting confidence is an important part of public speaking, so these are good things to practice. Here are some ways to project confidence:


•Speak loudly.


•Speak slowly.


•Stand up straight (but not too rigid, or you'll look like Al Gore). If you have a podium, don't lean on it.


•Make strong eye contact with your audience. This is one of the more difficult parts of public speaking, but do the best you can.


•Project enthusiasm. Don't be afraid to go a little overboard. Think of how much more credible your enthusiastic professors sound than your bored ones.


•Never giggle. Ever. Well, maybe if you're giving a speech about giggling, but even then, giggle in moderation.


•Avoid disclaimers. Disclaimers are statements such as, "I know this is a really dumb topic, but..." or "I know this isn't a very good visual aid, but..."


•Dress nicely. A business suit is probably not necessary for a public speaking class, but be sure to dress like you take yourself seriously. No baseball caps, ever. Even if you're giving a speech about baseball.



Finally, relax. This is easier said than done, I know. But here are some ways to psyche yourself out to get rid of some of the anxiety.


•Take deep breaths. You'll be surprised at how well this works. If you know some special breathing techniques, use them, but all you really need to do is breathe deeply in and out for awhile.


•Do some simple stretching exercises before class.


•Avoid caffeine or any food or drink that makes you jittery. Drink something that relaxes you, like decaffeinated tea.


•The night before, close your eyes and visualize yourself giving the speech and everything going well.


•Make friends with your classmates, and you'll feel better about speaking in front of them. Make friends with your teacher too.


•Keep things in perspective. You do much more dangerous things every day, like driving a car or crossing the street. Chances are you've already gone through some stressful or dangerous experiences in your life, and you made it through, right?


•Keep in mind that everybody is nervous. You're not alone.


•Keep in mind that you rarely come across as nervous as you really feel. Unless you're shaking and stammering, the audience probably won't know how nervous you are.


•Just do it. Speak. Speak more. The more experience you have with public speaking, the less nervous you will feel.


Read more at Suite101: Fear of Public Speaking: Overcome speech anxiety in your public speaking class
Suite101.com http://suite101.com/article/fear-of-public-speaking-a11665#ixzz1wY4n1qzl

Hi:

To sum up all the presentations and material I gave you in class, here's a list of ppt and articles for you to keep for further reading and preparation:

• How to write an informative speech
• How to write a persuasive speech
• How to write a political speech
• How to debate
• Visual aids
• Biased statements
• Know your audience before speaking to a group

Hi:

Here are your final grades so far...

Bye!

Hi again:

Here are some examples of debates. Check them out as a preparation for our own in a few days.

The candidates speak for their records

Southern Republican Presidential Debate (January 19 2012) Check out the way they introduce themselves.

British political debate on immigration

The first Kennedy/ Nixon Presidential Debate (1960)

Presidential debate in Mexico 2012 (Part 1)

See you!

Hi there:

Here's and interesting article on how to speak and write good political speeches... it's part of what we've discussed so far in class.

Read it here and get ready to discuss it in class next Thursday.

Greetings!!

Hi again:

Here's another example of what we talked about this morning. The sections we mentioned are clearly defined here, in a speech delivered in February 2007.

Barack Obama's Official Announcement of Candidacy for the United States Presidency
(transcript)

Check it out and good luck with your own!
See you tomorrow!!

Hi there:

As I told you in class this morning, here are just four speeches from hundreds of famous ones in history. Listen to them and try to analyze what is mentioned in them, as well as the type of message it's delivered each time. To help you with this task, I'm including the transcripts.

Enjoy!

Martin Luther King, Jr. "I have a dream" (transcript)

Malcolm X "The Ballot or the Bullet" (transcript)

John Fitzgerald Kennedy "Inaugural Address" (transcript)

Richard Milhous Nixon "Resignation Address" (transcript)

Hi:

Check out the following videos, analyze them and then be ready to share your comments next Monday.

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Josefina Vazquez Mota

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Enrique Peña Nieto

Gabriel Quadri

Hi:

Here´s a list of some topics you can use. Narrow them down to 3 ideas and decide on one. Remember it should be something you feel identified with, so you can transmit your emotional charge to your audience.

Persuasive speech ideas for 630+ speechwriting presentations:

20 Policy Questions
25 Opinion
30 Speech Class
15 Serious
20 Current
15 Fact or Value
15 Common
15 Cool
29 Popular
36 Original
32 Exciting
16 Strong
31 Easy
25 Possible
23 Unusual
36 List
38 Different
18 Light
17 Top
12 Ready Made Statements
How To Make The Overused Interesting
18 on Health
23 on Education
18 Environmental
25 Policy
16 Sports Related
13 Motivational