And the winner is...

Mr. Moises Maestro, who will enjoy a year-long stay at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a fabulous mystery prize, to be awarded this Staurday during the break! Congratulations Moises, I know you'll make us all proud!

Last week we:

1. Looked at Unit 20 in your books, using the speaking and reading activities on p. 124-125 as a way to review proper exam strategies. Don't forget to use the tactics on p. 73 of your book to help you make your speaking more fluid!

2. Completed the vocabulary exercises on p. 126, and discussed ways to prepare for the Use of English section of the exam (hint: word families, prepositions, and phrasal verbs).

3. Studied the inversion structures provided in your book on p. 126, and in the Grammar File on p. 174.

4. Did an epic exam review using material taken from your workbook. Use this to study!

Look through your book if you need a reminder of how to approach the different writing tasks that you might see on the exam (information sheet, report, review, essay). You can also use the blog posts from earlier in the year. There are examples of these different forms posted, save the essay and report. I'll provide you with some useful links to help you with those now:

Essay: try this one and this one

Report: check here and here

One last thing: relax! You've worked very hard this year, and now it's going to pay off. So get a good night's sleep on Friday and come ready to kick butt on Saturday.

See you then!

Week in Review: 11/5 and Final Writing Assignment

Hello everyone,

Last week we:

1. Did a progress check on your Workbooks; don't forget to use them as a study aid!
2. Discussed how to compose a personal statement, and wrote one in pairs
3. Explored different persuasive techniques, depending on context (formal or informal)

Your homework for Saturday is to write a personal statement that responds to the following prompt:

Your university has just allocated funding to send one student to study abroad for a year, at an English-speaking university of their choosing. Money is no object, and the university can be in any English-speaking country. The area of study is up to the student to decide; however, it is expected that the chosen field, and the completed year of study, will prepare the student to make a valuable contribution to that field in the future, after their return to Spain. The greater the potential contribution, the greater the chance that you will be selected.

Please compose a one-page personal statement explaining why you are the ideal candidate for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Make sure to include:

• Where you want to go
• Why you want to go there
• What you want to study
• Why you want to study it
• What you plan to accomplish in Spain with the experience of the year abroad

This is your FINAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT. The copy you give to me on Saturday will receive a mark. Make sure you adhere to the guidelines we discussed in class, keeping in mind what type of tone you should take. (Hint: formal.) If you need a reminder of what a good personal statement looks like, take a look here and here. The second link is to examples of personal statements writtten for the prestigous Fulbright Scholarship, which is as open-ended as this assignment. 

Use eveything we've worked on this year to make your final product as strong as possible. Incorporate high-level vocabulary, presuasive techniques, formal writing structures, etc. I want your work at the beginning of class on Saturday, no exceptions. I will announce the winner of this dream scholarship after the break.

See you Saturday!

Week(s) in Review: May Puente

Hello all,

I hope you enjoyed your vacation, and that you come back ready to close out the year strong.

Our last class was on April 27, which feels like forever ago. In case you've forgotten, in that class we:

• Covered Unit 18 in the book, which discusses lying. We talked about situations when lying might be appropriate ("white lies"), and read a text in which the author both criticizes and defends lying in social situations.
• Studied different techniques for making statements more emphatic, and gave particular emphasis to using auxiliary verbs. (Yes, I did just use 'emphasis' while talking about emphasizing!)
• Did listening and speaking activities that demonstrated the unsefulness of being able to think creatively (and perhaps not truthfully) in an exam environment, particularly for a speaking activity. You should try to be flexible with your history and opinions for the exam, since what is being tested is your English, not your honesty. 

Your homework for Saturday is: p. 53-54 in your Workbooks. Only do the Use of English activity on page 53; please complete all of page 54. Obviously, bring your workbooks to class on Saturday. We will check your answers, and I will collect your Workbooks to see if you've been taking advantage of this valuable resourse.

See you Saturday!

Week in Review: 20/4

Hello everyone:

Last week we completed Unit 17 in your books, which focuses on reading, discussing and writing reviews, as well as the correct use of articles. We had a lively conversation about film tastes, particularly in regard to Star Wars, which doesn't seem to have aged very well. Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and we agreed to disagree.

Your homework for this week is exercise 6 on p. 111: write a review about a TV program. Follow the instructions given in your book, and refer back to the unit for help if you need it.

Now, let's see if you can guess the classic films referred to in the review excerpts below:


1. Yes, it's very good, but Brando is hardly the reason.

(This film), now and maybe forever at the Chicago Theater, ends with a door being closed in the face of the audience, and it is because we have been behind that door for nearly three hours that the film has such remarkable appeal. To permit us a glimpse at The Mob, with all of its ethnic insularity, is like giving a chronic gambler a chance to wander above the false mirrors that overlook every casino.


2. Watching (this film), you don't just get engrossed in what's happening on screen. You get intoxicated by it — high on the rediscovery of how pleasurable a movie can be. I'm not sure I've ever encountered a filmmaker who combined discipline and control with sheer wild-ass joy the way that Tarantino does. For 2 hours and 35 minutes, we're drawn into the lives of violently impassioned underworld characters — hit men, drug dealers, lethal vamps — who become figments of fury and grace and desire. We're caught up in dialogue of such fiendishly elaborate wit it suggests a Martin Scorsese film written by Preston Sturges, in plot twists — they're closer to zigzags — that are like whims bubbling up from the director's unconscious.(This film) is the work of a new-style punk virtuoso. It is, quite simply, the most exhilarating piece of filmmaking to come along in the nearly five years I've been writing for this magazine.


3. (This film) is an outstanding motion picture, an achievement of big-budget filmmaking that will continue to amaze for decades to come. While some might argue that the story has grown dated over the years, it's hard to deny the quality of the film's pitch-perfect action set pieces, raw emotion and the brilliance of the production itself. (This film) isn't just a great film, it's a magnificent historical record of one of the most unfortunate disasters in the annals of human history.

What do you think?

Week in Review: 13/4

Hello everyone.

Last week completed Unit 16 in your books, focusing on body idioms and hypothesizing, specifically in the context of competitions and laws. We had some very animated discussions, which seems to be par for the course with you guys. (Can anyone explain that idiom to me? It has nothing to do with the body, but that's the only hint you'll get.)

The homework for tomorrow's class is:

1) Re-write your essays following the revisions I marked on the original.

2) Complete the Gapped Text activity on p. 104-105 of your books.

One other important bit of business:  Our Final Exam is fast approaching. I need you to confirm that you will be in class for both days of the exam, May 25 and June 1. If you cannot attend one or both of those days, tell me immediately so we can arrange another testing date.

See you tomorrow!

Week in Review: 6/4

Hello all,

Last week we completed Unit 15 in your books.

1. We talked about how to raise children, parenting philosophies, and how to instill the "proper" priorities in children.

2. We prepped for Part 3 of the Speaking Test by following the schematic on pag 96 of your books. We focused on how to invite responses from your speaking partner using the phrases given in your books.

3. We discussed the correct usage of the infinitive with or without to. For more information on this issue consult the Grammar File on page 171 of your books.

4. We completed the listening activity on page 97, and talked about the quality of TV in Spain. The general opinion was: not great.

Your homework for the week is:

The reading, speaking, and vocabulary activities in the Revision Folder on pages 98-99.

And here's a question to think about for tomorrow's class, and that is related to the reading text in your homework:

How big of a priority is your family to you? That is: is being near to your family something that will affect the decisions you make in the future, specifically in terms of job prospects? Would you consider living abroad for a long period of time if it meant you would only see your family once or twice a year?

See you tomorrow!

Homework Reminder for Tomorrow's Class

Hello everyone, I hope you had a nice break. Sorry to be posting so late in the week, but I want to remind you about tomorrow's homework.

Your assignment is:

1. Exercise 1 on p. 91: the vocabulary gap-fill exercise
2. Exercise 8 on p. 93: the essay writing assignment

Don't forget everything we said in class about building a convincing argument. Follow the tips in the writing folder to help sharpen your essay.

See you tomorrow.

Week in Review and Information Sheets

Hello everyone. Last week we:

1. Read and wrote fables and morals to go with them.
2. Studied past tenses (past simple, past continuous) and the present perfect, p. 84-85.
3. Worked through Exam Folder 6, p. 86-7, discussing strategies for reading themed texts.
4. Worked through Writing Folder 5, p. 80-1, discussing information sheets and how to read and write them.

HOMEWORK FOR SATURDAY:  Ex. 5, p. 81. Write a contribution to the brochure introduced in task D on the same page. Don't forget that how you organize the information is crucially important for this activity. Make sure it is clear, and that it communicates everything that it needs to.

If you are unsure about how to write for a brochure, here is an example. It's a brochure for the Melanoma International Foundation:

I think this brochure does some things well, and some others not so well.

Given what you already know about information sheets:

What do you like about this brochure? 

What do you think could be improved?

See you Saturday!

Short Story Assignment

Last week we:

1. Completed the speaking activity on p. 73, and discussed strategies for making the exam's speaking tasks less daunting. 
2. Completed the listening activity on p. 78, and discussed strategies for approaching listening for specific information. 
3. Completed the grammar on p. 78 concerning the use of -ing forms, and discussed their typical usage patterns. 
4. Completed the reading and listening activity on p. 82-83. We discussed the meaning of the short story, and ways to interpret fiction. We then wrote our own short stories in groups. 

This Saturday we'll do some more work with short stories. With that in mind, your homework is to read and react to this story, by the American author Mark Twain. The title of the story, which was first published in 1891, is "Luck." It is supposedly based on a real, though unknown, British general. 

I would like you to read the story and then respond to it in the comment section of this blog. This is your only homework for the week, and it is obligatory. 

In your response avoid simple and obvious reactions ("I liked it," "It was boring," etc.) and try to be as specific as possible.Compare it with the story we read and listened to in class last week. If you weren't in class last week, focus on an aspect of the story that you find particularly interesting or problematic.  I would like at least one or two good paragraphs from you. 

Here are some topics to get you started:

• How is luck presented in the story? That is, is luck something a person is born with, is it a product of other people's behavior, or is it an expression of resentment against the successful?
  
• How is the soldier's luck in this story similar to the woman's dream in the story we read and listened to in class last week? 

• How are these stories different in style? Which style do you prefer? 

I'm publishing this post earlier than normal in order to give you time to read the story, post a response, then read the responses of your classmates throughout the week. Feel free to respond to other people's thoughts; there's no limit to the number of comments you can make. I want to see everyone post something, and not just the diligent few. If you enjoy reading fiction and would like me to include more of it in the future, demonstrate your enthusiasm by knocking this out of the park. 

Looking forward to your comments!

Week In Review

Last week we:

1. Completed the reading and listening in Unit 11.
2. Worked on the reported speech component of that unit.
3. Did the Exam Folder at the end of the unit, and reviewed ways to improve the sentence transformation task of Use of English. 
4. Reviewed the Progress Exam, focusing on Use of English .

Your homework for this Saturday's class is to:

1. Re-write the writing task from the exam using my comments to help you.
2. Complete ex. 2, p. 72 in your books. In addition to what the book asks you to do, write one sentence for each of the phrases given. 

For this week's blog, I'd like you to comment on last week's blog. Provide me and your classmates with strategies you think will help you improve your score on the Use of English section of the exam. Don't repeat what I've already said. Think creatively, and be honest if you feel unsure about what to do. 

About last week...

Let's start with the good news:

1. This is the pre-CAE class. That means you aren't expected to be able to pass the CAE yet. If you keep coming to class, completing the homework, and working on your progress on your own, you'll be in better shape by the end of the term. Imagine how much you'll improve if you take the CAE class afterwards.

2. The point of the Progress Exam is exactly that: to test your progress. By considering your performance on the exam, what you did well and what you need to improve upon, you'll be better equipped to strategize your studying. That means focusing on specific weaknesses and determining how you can best address them.

3. The same applies to me. After reading your suggestions and marking your exams, I have a clearer idea of what skills we need to emphasize in class.

SO, with that in mind...

TIPS FOR CONQUERING USE OF ENGLISH

I'm not going to go too deep here, since we'll talk about this in class. However, a few things:

• OUTSIDE EFFORT : This is huge guys. No matter how much work we do in class, we will never cover all the possible things you will encounter on the exam, especially in Use of English. Vocabulary and usage issues are a question of exposure and practice; you get both in class, but you need much more to excel on the exam and (let's not lose sight of this) in an English speaking culture. So, what are some ways to improve on your own? Let's hear some ideas. I can offer a few: vocabulary notebooks, word wheels (look in your book, p. 44 if you don't know what I'm talking about), reading English newspapers/magazines/etc., websites like this one...WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO??
• ORGANIZATION: An extension of what I said earlier. Figure out exactly what you need to work on, and, more importantly, WHY. What mistakes do you keep making? This means correcting yourself, which means being your own teacher. 
• USE WHAT YOU HAVE: While it's true that the burden of improvement lies on you, CSIM and I have provided you with a lot of useful resources. The workbook is one example (bring it Saturday!); this blog is another. It's important to bridge the outside learning you do with what we do in class. That's what the blog is for. It's up to all of us to make it serve its purpose.

Lastly: English is hard. It's hard to become competent, and exponentially more difficult to be become proficient. It's important to stay positive and keep working regardless of "setbacks," since there's really no such thing in language learning. It's all an opportunity to improve. 

Maybe you've seen this poem before. It sums up pretty well some of the frustrations English learners have...and it doesn't even touch on phrasal verbs. See you Saturday. 

Study Tips and Request

This Saturday you will take the Pre-CAE Mock Exam. 

Here are a few tips for you to consider as you study:

1. Revisit the strategies we studied for each exam task. For example: for the listening section, try to anticipate what you will hear before you hear it; for the writing task, make sure your sentences are clear and concise, and not overly complex; for reading, use context clues to help you understand the meaning of words you don't know. Refer back to the Use of English exam we did at the beginning of the year for help with that section, and consult the Exam Folders in your book for techniques to use for each task.
2. Determine what exam task is the most difficult for you, and practice that task. The Workbook is an excellent resource for this, especially if you need help with listening. 
3. Review the writing activities we've done in class, and try to anticipate mistakes you could make. Many times we commit the same writing errors; hopefully you should be able to identify your particular problems by now. 
4. Try and get a good night's sleep on Friday!

One more thing:

Before we begin the exam on Saturday, I will ask you to submit to me, on a piece of paper,

Two things about the class you like 

and

Two things about the class you think could be improved

These opinions are to be given to me 

ANONYMOUSLY

so DON'T write your name on your paper!

(If you want to type up and print out your opinions before class, even better!)

I will use your responses to plan for the rest of the year, so give this some serious thought!

GOOD LUCK!

Comparing Great Speakers

On Saturday we:

1. Checked/discussed Exam folder 4, p. 56-57
2. Read/listened to/discussed Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech in Unit 9
3. Studied speaking techniques in different speaking contexts
4. Studied future forms, p. 60-61
5. Worked in groups to discuss education cuts, ways forward and ways to persuade those who need persuading, then presented our conclusions to the class for discussion
6. Homework for Saturday: Re-write transport reports; Unit 9 in your workbooks, p. 29-30

BRING YOUR WORKBOOKS TO CLASS ON SATURDAY!

In light of recent events and our topic from class, I'd like you to take a look as these two speeches:

And this one:

The first is Malcolm X speaking at the Oxford University Student Union in Oxford, England, on December 3, 1964. The second is Martin Luther King Jr., giving his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C., on August 23, 1964. These two speeches were among the most famous given by these two men, who had such a tremendous impact on the civil rights movement in the United States and elsewhere. 

Maclom X and MLK had very different ideas about the best way for African-Americans to achieve their goals. However, no one can deny they were both very powerful speakers. 

How are their speaking styles similar?

How are they different?

What rhetorical techniques do they use (look on p. 59 for a reminder)?

Now, take a look at Barrack Obama's inaugural address from this Monday, MLK day:

What techniques does he use? Is he more similar to MLK or Malcolm X?

(In case you aren't sure, read this article from the New York Times; you should recognize the quote at the end!)

Transportation Report

Hello everyone. I hope your winter break was great, and that you'll be ready to go this Saturday morning.

Reminder: 

Your homework for Saturday is to write the report for question 5 on p. 51 of your books.

Since the topic is public transportation, let's get some discussion going on that topic.

Watch the video below. It's totally subjective and I disagree with it almost completely (starting with the title, which is a disaster), but I'd like to hear your opinions.

Do you agree with this list? Where should Madrid's public transportation in general, and its metro specifically, rank on a global list? What do you like about it? What do you dislike? Why?

These are the things you should include in your report for Saturday, so use your classmates as critics for your ideas, and for your vocabulary. Don't be afraid to make mistakes! A few comments on the blogs will make a big impression on me.