Making Descriptions Longer

Wednesday 26^th March

Hello Isabel!

How was your weekend?

Was it relaxing, amusing, disappointing?

·           Exam results can at times be disappointing. But you shouldn’t be disappointed because next time they’ll be better.

·           Challenging jobs are really interesting.

·           If you don’t feel challenged, you run the risk of feeling bored at work.

·           Holidays should be relaxing, but whenever I get back from a holiday I feel absolutely exhausted!

Remember, you feel “-ed” because something or somebody is “-ing”. Present participles, “ing” have an active meaning; whilst past participles       “-ed” have a passive meaning.

We learnt how useful adjectives, adverbs, present and past participles can be when making descriptions longer.

“A woman was sitting in her garden”

“A beautiful young woman, lost in her thoughts, was sitting in her country garden watching a bee, lazily going from rose to rose gathering honey.”

The second one is an improvement, isn’t it?

·         I’m looking forward to our next class so as to hear your extended versions of:

·         “Ann Croft, the actress, was seeing having lunch in a restaurant.”

·         “The holiday was a disaster.”

·         “A boy found a wallet in the street.”

On Wednesday, we’ll also have a listening on “Extreme experiences.”

See you!

Landslides- Video

The Coldest and Earliest Place on Earth!

Wednesday 19th

Hi, Isabel? How is it going?

After nearly six months of class, I think we can address each other in an informal way, don’t you?

What did we do in class last week?

We read and talk about “The coldest and the earliest place on earth!”

I thought it was in Greenland, I couldn’t think of a more remote place up to the north!

Actually, you don’t need to get that farther. It’s in Russia and it’s called Chukotka. I should think that -42º is really cold -freezing, in fact -

…and falling!

It’s also the earliest place because “It lies right behind the International Dateline, where yesterday collides with today.”

How do the inhabitants of this place get through (survive)? They seem to live on vodka and remain home most of the time.

But this place caught the attention of the billionaire Roman Abramovich, who was named governor of this province and has been investing money in this province. He built a supermarket and  a cinema. He modernized the airport. He has rebuilt the hospital and the school. And he owns a house in there, which he visits once a month.

His interest in Chukotka doesn’t seem so altruist, though. It seems that this place has vast natural resources, which include 1.2 billion tons of oil and gas and the second largest gold reserves in Russia.

In any case, the arrival of Abramovich in Chukotka meant changes and progress which should be taken advantage of whilst it lasts!

What do you think?

·         What would you find the most difficult if you lived in Chukotka?

·         What are the advantages of living in such a place?

·         Why do you think people live in a place like that?

·         Are there any cold places in the world you have visited or would you like to?

I know you would like to visit Canada. But, as you remarked “to visit” not much interested in living in cold countries. Me, neither!

Tomorrow we’ll do some listening comprehension.

See you!

The Five Coldest and Hottest Places on Earth!

Relative Clauses and Heroes

Wednesday 12^th

Hi again!

Not much to add, except that we went on talking about relative clauses. We practised them with grammar exercises and also in conversation.

You told me about a place where you would like to go. Despite the cold weather, Canada, where you have never been to, is a place you would like to visit.

You like number 13, which is a number connected to you in a certain way. You live at 13, for example.

You couldn’t think of a specific song that brought back special memories. There are so many songs you enjoy… Maybe the soundtrack which was composed for the film “Out of Africa.”

It’s the same with photos. Your favourite photos are photos which show family and friend meetings, outings or reunions.

And we listened to and did exercises on the song: ‘Holding out for a hero’, which was written for Bonnie Tyler.

Did you know that a version of this song was the theme song for ‘Shrek 2’?

Neither did I!

Remember:

·         A streetwise is a person who’s used to living in the streets and who is more than capable of looking after himself / herself.

·         A fiery steed is a wild horse.

·         To sweep me off my feet means (away or off) to overwhelm emotionally: she was swept away by his charm

I also like Bonnie Tyler!

Song

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Heroes and Relative Clauses!

Wednesday 5^th

Hi Isabel! How are you doing?

Well, let’s get into business!

Your essay was very good! Well done! Yes, I agree with you. The most difficult thing to do is thinking about what to write!

Your choice to write about “diets” was really witty! (clever, ingenious).

We learnt about relative clauses.

And in doing so, we based the grammar on the topic of modern heroes; on the persona of “Che Guevara”, to be precise.

Che inspired the movie “The Motorcycle Diaries”.

·         The film, whose theme song won an Oscar, is based on the motorbike journey that Che made with Alberto across South America.

·         It was the poverty that he saw on his trip which made him decide that revolution was the only answer to South America’s problems.

·         The people who wear Che T-shirts tend to be people who don’t conform.

·         The photo, which was taken in 1960, is probably one of the best-known photos in the world.

There are two types of relative clauses: defining and non-defining, also called extra information clauses.

Defining relative clauses are essential for the meaning of the whole sentence. Extra information (non-defining), can be omitted without affecting the meaning of the sentence. They just “add” information.

Bear in mind (pay attention to)these differences:

Non-defining relative clauses.

·         They go between commas.

·         The relative pronoun can’t be left out (omitted).

·         “That” can’t be used instead of which or who.

Defining relative clauses.

·           “That” can be used instead of who or which.

·           The relative pronoun can be left out as long as it is the object of the sentence; that is, when it goes after the subject of the sentence.

Compare:

·           The girl who (that) is speaking is my neighbour’s daughter.

·           Is that the dog which (that) your brother gave you at Christmas?

·           Is that the dog your brother gave you at Christmas?

·           (no relative because the subject of the clause is “your brother”)

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·      Sue, who(that, is not possible) is speaking about the environment, is my neighbour’s daughter.

·      Mike’s new Mercedes, which (that is not possible; nor can it be omitted) he bought last year, is very elegant.

Talking about “heroes”; we started having a look at Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding out for a hero” but as we ran out of time, we’ll continue next day.

Hope you enjoy the rest of this sunny weekend!

Reading Comprehension on "The Environment"

Relative clauses

Wednesday 26^th

Hello Isabel!

You were happy because you didn’t have homework, weren’t you?

Even though, I can see you revised last weekend.

In our class today we worked on reading comprehension. I can see it’s not exactly your cup of tea (not your favourite).

The reading was about “How to improve your prospects at work.”

The article looked at how you can climb up the employment ladder.

We had the following key words, which are near synonyms, braggart, conceited, cocky, bragging.

·         Braggart: the person who boasts.

·         Conceited: excessively proud of yourself.

·         Cocky: similar to conceited. Thinking very highly of yourself.

·         Bragging: to boast about achievements or possessions.

Some of the tips the article provided were:

·           Focus on specifics

·           Present accomplishments as company victories, not your own.

(look out for the pronunciation of the word “present” /ˈprɛzənt/ when it’s a noun or adj. or /prɪˈzɛnt/ when it’s a verb(mainly tr))

·           Be persistent.

And we discussed advantages and disadvantages about email.

This was a way of getting ready for writing a “For and Against Essay” in which to discuss pros and cons.

You can follow this lay-out:

·           First paragraph: Introduce your topic briefly.

·           Body of the essay: you can divide it into two columns under these headings “On the plus side”, state some advantages and give examples. “On the minus side”, note down (write down) some disadvantages.

·           Last paragraph: conclusion. Sum up (summarize) the reasons and give your opinion on the topic.

And of course, don’t forget to use different connectors.

Sequencing: first of all, firstly, a second point, secondly, another point, last but not the least, a final and very important point.

Contrast: not only…but also, in addition to, although, in spite of, despite, on the other hand.