Monday 27th May - our last class

Hi everyone,

Just to remind you that you can see your final grades after June 21^st. by entering matrícula online on the CSIM website: www.ucm.es/info/idiomas

- You can collect certificates (including credit certificates) from the Donoso Cortes office after July 18^th. Certificates will not be sent by email.

 

Also - again a big thank you to you all for your hard work this year - it has been a real pleasure teaching you!

 

Have a lovely summer and good luck with your future plans!

 

All the best,

 

Durga

 

Monday 13th May

Hi,

In class today we did the following:

• We checked the answers for review 12 on page 112 in the student's book.
• We did a short speaking activity using colloquial expressions and words - see number 1 of review 12 - student's book page 112
• We did some exercises to practise the material covered in unit 12 (see me for a hand out)
• We played a game in groups of four to review all the material covered in the student's book - see student's book page 112

Homework

• Correct the exercises you did in class today (see me for a hand out) and review any areas where you have difficulty.
• General course revision.

CSIM Summer intensive courses in July

Enrolment opens today for the CSIM July intensive courses.

Although you have not yet passed the course, the matricula online system treats you as though you have, so you will be able to register for the next level up. If you fail the annual course or get a sobresaliente, you may need to be in a different level, but this will be handled by the office once all the annual course Actas are in.

JULY SUMMER INTENSIVE COURSES

Enrolment opens today for the CSIM July intensive courses.

Although you have not yet passed the course, the matricula online system treats you as though you have, so you will be able to register for the next level up. If you fail the annual course or get a sobresaliente, you may need to be in a different level, but  this will be handled by the office once all the annual course Actas are in.

 

 

 

Monday 6th May

Hi

I hope you all had a good holiday!

For those of you who couldn't come to class today, we did the following:

• We reviewed past forms of modals and related verbs  (speaking exercises)
• We did a reading and looked at some vocabulary connected to ghosts.
• We spoke about ghosts
• We looked at some idiomatic expressions.  (See page 110 in the student's book)

Homework:
Read V12.3 on page 153 in the Student's book.

Monday 29th April

Hi,

For those of you who couldn't make class today, this is what we did:

• Reviewed colloquial expressions and phrases
• Looked at some new vocabulary -news collocations.
• We talked about books, films and TV programmes which talk about Aliens
• We did a reading -The Martians are Coming -  and answered some questions
• We looked at past forms of modal and related verbs and then we did some exercises to practise this grammar point

(see pages 108-109 in the student's book)

Homework

• Read G12.2 on page 154 in the Student's book. Pay special attention to the tips.
• Then do 12B in the workbook INVASION  pages 67/68 .

NEXT CLASS WE ARE GOING TO DO SOME SPEAKING PRACTISE  USING THE PAST FORMS OF THE MODAL AND RELATED VERBS - SO PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU DO THE HOMEWORK BEFORE COMING TO CLASS SO THAT YOU KNOW THE GRAMMAR POINT.

REMEMBER WEDNESDAY 1ST IS A HOLIDAY!

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR ORAL PRESENTATIONS - THEY WERE REALLY GREAT!

Wednesday 24th April

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to thank you all for your presentations today.  They were all very interesting and very good!  I was very impressed!  I realise that it is very difficult to talk in front of a whole group of people so well done.

Anyway, there is no homework this week.  Have a rest and see you all on Monday!

Durga

Monday 22nd April

Good morning!

For those of you who couldn't make class yesterday this is what we did:

• Reviewed the use of modals to make deductions in the present and the in past - we did a speaking activity in pairs and then in groups.
• Prepared our oral projects in groups or pairs.

Homework:

Make the final preparations for your oral project.  REMEMBER:  YOU ARE GOING TO PRESENT THE ORAL PROJECTS THIS WEDNESDAY 24TH APRIL. IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Good luck!

Wednesday 17th April

Hi,

In today's class we did the following:

• looked at making deductions in the past and in the present, using modal verbs. We did both written exercises and also a speaking exercise where you guessed who committed a crime.
• we listened to the stress of modal verbs in the past

Your homework for this week is:
12A in the workbook
The progress check 11 if you haven't already done it.
Prepare your oral projects.  (In Monday's class, I will give you an hour to prepare and practise your projects.)

Monday 15th April

Good afternoon everyone

Thanks to everyone who handed in the writing homework - I will mark them asap and hopefully get them back to you by Wednesdays' class.  Remember all homework  (even those which are not graded - count toward your final mark  - participation-  and give me a chance to give you some personal feedback)

The homework for this week is to make sure you complete the oral project preparation sheet and give that to me by Wednesday (1 per group or pair).  Remember that marks are given for preparation.  Also you need to do the progress check for unit 11.  If you weren't in class today, ask me next class to give you one.


In class today, we did the following:
reviewed discussion language
looked at some colloquial phrases and words (British English)
did a listening and looked at some grammar - modal verbs - making deductions in the past and in the present.

On Wednesday, we will look at this more closely and we will also spend some of the class working on your oral projects.

See you Wednesday!

Wednesday 10th April

Hi

In today's class we did the following:

• reviewed advertising vocabulary
• we listened to the vocabulary in context - we listened for gist and for detail
• we looked at some language we use to discuss ideas
• we discussed ideas for a product in groups
• finally we reviewed  the work of unit 11 and we worked on preparing our projects.  pages 102/103 student's book)

Homework is:

• 11D and 11E in the workbook pages 64 and 65.

• Don't forget you also need to do the reading and writing portfolio plus 3 pages 98 and 99 of the workbook.  Please let me have your accommodation review by Monday.

Monday 8th April

Hi,

In today's class we did the following:
Reviewed reporting verbs - speaking activity (you all did the activity very well!!)
Looked at some new vocabulary connected to advertising
Talked about advertising campaigns/slogans etc (see questions 1 and 2 on page 102 in the Student's book)

Homework:

Workbook page 98/99 Reading and Writing Portfolio Plus 3.    Do the exercises and the write a review of the holiday flat  (6b) and give me your writing next Monday or before.  You can send it by email if you prefer.

Wednesday 3rd April

Hi everyone,

Welcome back..I hope you all had a good break!

For those of you who couldn't come to class, here is what we did:  (see student's book pages 100,101)

• spoke about the Easter holidays and about ideas for a restaurant/coffee shop - developing fluency and building on vocabulary
• reviewed reporting verbs
• listened to verbs in context and listened for detail
• Talked about the oral projects - formed groups, discussed ideas

Homework:  workbook page 63

PS.  If you need any help with the projects, please ask me.  I am happy to help you develop ideas, look at any notes you have written, check vocabulary, grammar etc.  I will give you more time in class to develop and practise your projects but you need to do some work outside class as well.

Wednesday 20th March

Hi,

In todays' class we:

• reviewed reported speech
• reviewed business/work collocations
• We began to look at verb patterns with reporting verbs.

The homework for the holidays is:

• Student's book page 101 exercises 3b, 3c and 4.
• Make sure you are up to date with all the homework in the workbook (from 7 to 11b) and bring your workbook to the next class.
• Think about what you might do for the oral project and who you are going to work with. I suggest you work in pairs or threes as this makes it more fun and you can also share the work. Read through the notes I sent you at the beginning of the course about the oral project as this will give you some ideas.  REMEMBER:  the presentation only needs to be approx 5 mins per person and don't make it too technical.  You can involve the audience (us) too if you want.  We will talk more about the project after the break and I will give you some time in class to work on the project.

The projects will be presented in class on WEDNESDAY 24TH APRIL.

Have a good Easter and I will see you all on Wednesday 3rd of April!

PS.  There are still some people who haven't sent me the written homework - the email.  Please send it to me by the end of this week.  Thanks.

Wednesday 13th March

Today we continued looking at reported speech.  We reviewed the grammar rules and we did some exercises to practise.  Finally we played a board game to practise speaking using reported speech.  (See page 99 in the student's book).

Homework

• 11B in the workbook pages 61 and 62
• Reading and writing portfolio 11 on pages 90/91 of the workbook.  At the end of page 91, it asks you to write a short email.  Can you do this and give it to me next Wednesday and I will correct it during the Easter holidays.

PS REMEMBER THERE IS NO CLASS ON MONDAY AS IT IS A BANK HOLIDAY - ENJOY!

Monday 11th March

Hi

In today's class:

• We reviewed the present continuous, future continuous, and the future perfect.
• We looked at some business vocabulary
• We began to look at the grammar rules for reported speech.

Homework:

• Finish answering the questions in the grammar box - reported speech on page 99 of the student's book.  (We will check the answers together on Wednesday.)
• Read the grammar summary about reported speech in the student's book - G11.2 on page 151/152

Monday 4th March

Hi

In class today we:

• looked at phrases which we add at the beginning of sentences to add emphasis to what we are about to say.
• We looked at how we stress auxiliaries when we contradict people.
• We reviewed unit 10

Homework

10D workbook

PS Just to remind you that the end of the course will now be Monday 27th May and the final exam will be Wednesday 22nd May.  This is due to the fact that Monday 18th March is now a bank holiday and therefore an extra class has been added onto the class.

Wednesday 27th February

Hi

In today's class:

• reviewed compound nouns and adjectives
• Spoke about the differences between men and women
• Listened to people talking about the differences between men and women
• Listened to how we use auxiliaries to add emphasis when we contradict someone
• Looked at and listened to some phrases which we add to the beginning of sentences to emphasise what we are going to say next.  (see student's book pages 93 and 94).

Homework:

• Read grammar summay RW10.1 on page 149 Student's book
• Do 10C in the workbook.

Monday 25th February

In today's class we:

• reviewed quantifiers
• looked at compound nouns and adjectives
• Read an article about women's roles and we read for gist and for specific meaning
• We dicussed in groups if we thought that women's and men's brains were different and if so, in what ways.  (See pages 92 and 93 in the student's book)

The homework is to read the grammar summary about compound nouns and adjectives which is on page 147 in the student's book V10.3

Wednesday 20th February

In today's class we looked at:  Quantifiers.  See student's book page 91.

Homework:

• Read G10.2 on page 149 in the student's book.  This gives a summary about quantifiers.
• Do 10B in the workbook - pages 56 and 57

Don't worry if you are finding this grammar point a little tricky.  It is quite complex and requires practise. After doing the homework, if you still feel you need more help, ask me and I will give you some more exercises to do.

See you next Monday.

Monday 18th Feb

For those of you who couldn't come to class today, this is what we did:

• Reviewed household job vocabulary
• Reviewed get/have something done, get someone to do something, to something yourself
• Looked at some new vocabulary:  male, female and neutral words
• We read an article "Men in th 21st century" and we talked about "new men".

Homework is to read through V10.2 on page 147 of the Student's book.

See you Wednesday.

Durga

Wednesday 13th February

Hi

In today's class we looked in more detail at the following structures:

get/have something done
to get someone to do something
to do something yourself.

We did various exercises both written and spoken - see page 89 in the student's book for some of the work we covered.

Homework:

• Read G10.1 on page 148 in the student's book. This gives a good summary of these three grammar structures.
• Do 10A in the workbook.  Here you will find exercises related to the above grammar points and also some vocabulary exercises which practice the vocabulary connected to household jobs.

See you Monday - enjoy the weekend!

Monday 11th January

Hi

Welcome back!  I hope your exams have gone/are going well!

In yesterday's class we revised ways in which to make and respond to suggestions. 

We then looked at the Student's book page 88 and we learnt some vocabulary connected to household jobs. 

Finally we did listening and then looked at the grammar section on page 89 (have/get something done).

Homework:  Read G10.1 on page 148.

On Wednesday we will look more closely at this grammar point.

Something to cheer you all up

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/15/watch-spanish-flash-mob-lightens-mood-at-local-unemployment-office/?xid=newsletter-europe-weekly

Wednesday 23rd January

In class today we revised the vocabulary and grammar in unit 9 - page 85 in the Student's book.  Some of you were having problems with the passive, so try to find time to review the passive.  If you need any help, please feel free to ask me.

We also did some revision in groups - a game which revised everything which have studied since the beginning of the course.   Making wishes in English were still causing some problems, so again use this time to review wishes  (Look at the language review on page 144 of the Student's book)

Homework.

• Check your progress - do the progress portfolio on page 95 of the Student's book.  Give yourself a mark out of ten and work on the areas which you feel are weak.  Again, if you need an extra help, ask me.
• Doprogress test 9.  (For those of you who were not in class today, I will give you one next class - ask me for one).

Finally, just to remind you all that there will be NO ENGLISH CLASSES FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.  CLASSES START BACK ON MONDAY 11TH FEBRUARY.

Good luck with your exams!

Durga

Monday 21st January

On Monday's class we did a collaborative writing task - see the work book pages 86 and 87.   I will give you some feedback from this written task today.

Homework was to read the Language Summary for unit 9 which you will find on page 145 in the Student's Book.

Wednesday 16th January 2013

Good afternoon!

In today's class we:

•  Reviewed  homonyms
• Looked at ways to make suggestions and ways to respond to suggestions - real world.

The homework is: 

• Workbook pages 53 and 54
• Bring the workbook to class on Monday as we are going to do something together from the workbook.

Monday 14th January 2013

Hi

In today's class, we gave our opinions about works of art, we looked at homonyms and we also looked at phrasal verbs with set, turn, put, and give.  (Student's book page 83+ hand out)

Homework:  Workbook page 52.

See you on Wednesday

Wednesday 9th January

Happy new year to you all again!

In today's class, we began by talking about Christmas and New Year.  We then did a quick review on so, such, such as and like which we studied at the end of last term.

We then discussed the topic of art - giving our opinions on a variety of artists and their works of art.  We also did a listening about art and we then looked at words which are often missed out in informal spoken English.  Finally, we read an article about an artist's artwork.  (Student Book pages 82,83)

The homework is to write a title for this article. We will be discussing the titles at the beginning of next lesson, so please be prepared to talk about your title.  If you weren't in class today, can you please read the article and write a title of your choice. The article is on the right hand side of page 83 in the student's book and is about an artist called Michael Landy and his art work called Break Down.

Have a nice weekend and see you all on Monday!

Best Durga

P.S.  If you haven't handed in your written project, can you please do so on Monday without fail.