Writing advices

Please review the following file for improving your writing exercies :

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By2Yjhpech7rM0F6RzA4bGtjVG8/view?usp=sharing

Kind regards :-) 

Web English Area

If you have doubts, you want to learn and practice vocabulary, grammar, and so on........this is an excellent English resources Web.

Please take a look:

http://www.english-area.com/

Used to, be used to and get used to

Hi!

You can find a good explanation in the following link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By2Yjhpech7rOHUzY2xnc24zSDQ/view?usp=sharing

Practice

Past simple

 The aim of this file is to help you improve and master the main verbal tenses in the past so that you can effectively NARRATE events in the past, reporting what happened in the past , that is, how a series of events took place at a particular moment in time.

You can download the file here: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By2Yjhpech7rSEhHb0RxMlRLN28/view?usp=sharing

Learning a language

Please watch the video, click on the link to watch it and click on subtitles on a right link if you need help to understand it.

https://www.ted.com/talks/jay_walker_on_the_world_s_english_mania/  (link video)

https://www.ted.com/talks/jay_walker_on_the_world_s_english_mania/transcript  (link transcripción)

QUESTIONS ON THE VIDEO

 1. Do you agree with the title? Is English really a mania?

2. Do you believe "English will end up washing away other languages”?

3. Why is the world pulling (not pushing) the learning of English as the main language worldwide?

4. Why do you think the author states "English represents hope for a better future”? Do you agree with this statement?

CAREFULLY READ THE QUESTIONS BELOW AND PREPARE YOUR ANSWER FOR DISCUSSION IN THIS BLOG.

 1. How did you learn your second language?

2. What's the best way to learn a foreign language?

3. What methods do you use to remember vocabulary better?

4. Why do some people have more difficulty than others when learning a

language?

5. To what extent do you agree that it's better to learn language as a child? Why or why not?

6. To speak its language well, how important is it to know something about the culture of a country? 

Specially vs especially

Dear students,

I have noticed several mistakes when it comes to using these 2 adverbs. take a sneak peek at this.

These two adverbs are often confused and can sometimes be used with the same meaning.

specially - for a particular purpose

Specially is its adverb form.  it means "particularly, in a disintguishing manner, or for a particular purpose.":

• This shower gel is specially designed for people with sensitive skins.
• This computer programme is specially for children with learning difficulties.
• My father made this model aeroplane specially for me.

especially - particularly / above all

We tend to use especially for emphasis, meaning particularly or above all:

• These butterflies are particularly noticeable in April and May, especially in these meadows.
• You'll enjoy playing tennis at our local club, especially on weekdays when it's not so busy.

Before adjectives, meaning particularly, especially is more usual:

• The road between Cairo and Alexandria is especially dangerous at night.
• It is a bit nippy, but it's not especially cold for this time of year.

special - especial

Note that the adjective especial is rarely used nowadays. Its use is confined to particular contexts where it collocates with particular nouns, e.g. especial interest, especial value when we want to emphasise the exceptional nature of this interest or value:

• The police took especial interest in his activities and watched the house continuously.
• The Koh-i-noor diamond, now among the British crown jewels, has especial value as its history dates back to the 14th Century.

In all other cases and contexts, when it means important or different from normal, special is preferred:

• You're a very special person in my life - never forget that.
• On special occasions we have wine with our meal, but certainly not every day.
• In special cases, prisoners are allowed out on day release twice a week.
• He has such ability, I think he'll be the next special adviser to the President.
• The special effects in the Lord of the Rings films are quite mind-blowing.
• The grapes at the supermarket are on special offer - less than half price.

Inversion

To write

Estimad@s alumn@s,

Me ha parecido oportuno dedicar un apartado gramatical al uso del verbo WRITE tras comprobar en las actividades que much@s de vosotr@s no lo usa de forma adecuada.

WRITE es un verbo llamado ditransitivo. Quiere decir que tiene dos objetos: OI y OD (indirecto y directo). Por ejemplo: I am writing you a letter (donde you seria el OI y a letter el OD).
También puede usarse con sólo un complemento: I am writing a letter (OD).
PERO (en inglés Británico de la BBC) si quiero usarlo con el OI entonces pongo la preposición to: I am writing to you. De igual forma tengo que poner la preposición si utilizo los 2 complementos pero al revés, es decir, primero el OD y luego el OI: I am writing a letter to you.
En inglés Americano NO se usa el to: I am writing you....
NO me importa que uséis al forma Americana, pero recordad que si luego os enfrentáis a un examen de Cambridge no os lo aceptan, por lo que en las correcciones de las actividades lo doy por mal si no me ponéis el to.
Os paso un link de un Sr muy simpático (es Papa Noel camuflado...hehehe) que explica en un correcto acento británico el uso correcto de write.

http://youtu.be/jCFjLapSkt4

British Council

Hi, everyone!
En este foro, trataremos cualquier tema relacionado con el contenido de la web oficial para aprender de inglés online del British Council.(https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/es)

¿El British Council?

Probablemente a muchos le suene a chino. Así que para que todos sepamos de qué estoy hablando:

The British Council is "the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities."
O lo que es lo mismo: "la organización internacional del Reino Unido dedicada a la educación y a las relaciones culturales, esto es, la creación de oportunidades y vínculos internacionales para los ciudadanos británicos y de otros países."

Podríamos decir que es el equivalente británico a nuestro Instituto Cervantes, para aquellos que lo conozcan.

¿Por qué es interesante esto?

En su web vais a poder acceder de forma completamente gratuita (por ser un organismo público) a juegos, cuentos, actividades para escuchar y ejercicios de gramática en inglés (entre otras cosas). Puede servir como complemento ideal a nuestro curso. Me parece una fuente fiable y en constante actualización.

Os proponemos

Que si le echáis un ojo de vez en cuando y encontráis contenido interesante que compartir con los demás, ¡no dudéis en hacerlo!

La idea es, como ya hemos dicho, dar vida a este espacio. Exponer dudas, opiniones, debatir. En resumen, aprender juntos.

Mi papel en todo esto es el de moderar, orientar, y guiaros en el proceso de aprendizaje.

Regards,