- I can speak about past experiences
- I can find specific information in a travel brochure
- I can make an invitation and/or either accept or decline it
- I know several False Friends
- I can perform a hotel situation
- I can make a presentation about Australia and New Zealand
- I can write about a past holiday experience
18/12/2018
Unit 4 - Self-assessment
We reached the end of Unit 4 and now it's time to check what you've learned. Tick all statements that are true for you.
17/12/2018
Unit 4 - Merry Christmas
Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
'Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Christmas (commonly abbreviated as Xmas) is about to come and cities all over the world are already decorated and prepared to celebrate the joy of this special season. In New York, a big Christmas tree is set right in Rockefeller Centre, along with an ice-skating ring (picture above). In London, people can enjoy the special Christmas market in Camden and its traditional hot wine! Families in the English-speaking countries gather to decorate their houses and sing Christmas carols (like the one above), just like families from all over the world do.
Here are some links where you can listen to several Christmas songs in English:
On Christmas Day, Santa Claus comes down the fireplace and leaves presents under the Christmas tree and inside the stockings. On New Year's Eve, people get together to celebrate the beginning of a new year, by, for instance, writing their wishes on pieces of confetti and then throwing them on Times Square (New York), or admiring fireworks next to the Big Ben (London). It's the day for New Year Resolutions, which should (but probably won't) be finally taken into consideration.
Next, you can click on these links to check if Christmas traditions in the English-speaking world are very different from ours or not:
Now, I'd like you to watch some funny Christmas commercials and, later, comment them on our Google Classroom group. Do you live similar situations to the people on the commercials?
See you in class and Ho Ho Ho!
10/12/2018
Unit 4 - Down Under
Did you like the video about Australia we saw in class today? Quite an amazing country, don't you think? It's really worth a visit, but you should probably start saving up, since a return ticket to Sydney can cost around 1,500 €! What was your favourite part of Australia? Sydney? Ayers Rock? The Great Barrier Reef? Come on, feel free to make any comments to this post or in our Google+ circle, so we can all share our ideas about this beautiful country.
If you'd like to know more about Australia, click on this link:
As I already mentioned in class, you have to read a book this term, and there will be an activity in class before Christmas holidays related to this book.
This is the book have to read:
- Christine Lindop,
In this book, we will learn not only about Australia, but also about its neighbour country: New Zealand, the real antipodes of Spain.
If you'd like to know more about this country, click on this link:
Australia and New Zealand are commonly known as Down Under, because of their location at the world's map. At the end of this unit, you're going to make a presentation about one of them, so you can start thinking on what you could mention about these countries!
See you in class
03/12/2018
Unit 4 - Travelling
Today, we started Unit 4, in which we'll be dealing with holidays and travelling. Can you think of any places you'd like to go to? Feel free to make any comments in this post or in our Facebook group about any countries you'd already visited or you'd like to visit in the future, as well as the reasons why.
If you're actually thinking of going somewhere for the following holidays, but you're not sure where, you can check out this website and get some ideas about possible destinations:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/It all depends, of course, on how much money you're able to spend. The Internet is, however, the best place to find cheap bargains:
Flights:
https://www.edreams.es/
Accommodation:
http://www.booking.com
https://www.airbnb.es/
Tours: https://www.civitatis.com/es/
In our next post, we'll be talking about a very attractive destination: Australia. Have you ever been there? Would you like to go?
See you in class
27/11/2018
Unit 3 - Self-assessment
We reached the end of Unit 3 and now it's time to check what you've learned. Tick all statements that are true for you.
- I can speak about what I like/don't like
- I can describe events that are happening at this moment
- I can predict the content of a song
- I can make a distinction between main and supporting ideas in a written text
- I can make good use of both Present Simple and Continuous
- I know about main sports in the UK and the US
- I know about the origins and traditions of Thanksgiving Day
26/11/2018
Unit 3 - Happy Thanksgiving!
Also, you can watch an American guy explaining to you what this holiday means for them and how they celebrate it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moJM5k4PQqU
19/11/2018
Unit 3 - I am a Champion
History of 25th November
There are many songs that deal with this topic. In many cases, we listen to them and sing them without understanding their message. This is the case of the song Roar, by Katy Perry, which we'll soon analyse in class. Another famous song with an important message is I will survive, by Gloria Gaynor. Did you know this? Let's play a little game. Listen to the song and comment on our Google Classroom group what relation you can see between the song and Gender Violence. What story is this song telling, in your opinion?
I will survive
See you in class!
12/11/2018
Unit 3 - Cricket
Today, we started Unit 3, in which we'll be speaking about popular sports in the English-speaking countries. We all know about football, baseball, rugby or basketball. However, there are other sports which are not so well-known worldwide, and one of them is cricket. Please don't confuse this sport with the one the Queen of Hearts and Alice practiced in Alice in Wonderland, since that is crocket! Cricket is a very popular sport in the UK and it's somewhat similar to baseball. If you'd like to know more about this sport, you can click on this link:
Cricket has many fans in the UK and other countries of the Commonwealth, like India. People from these countries like watching the games on TV and gambling about winners and final scores. One can check cricket games results on-line any time:
Here's a clip from a cricket match, so you can have an idea of what it looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VlaARSDrzM
See you in class!
06/11/2018
Unit 2 - Self-assessment
We reached the end of Unit 2 and now it's time to check what you've learned. Tick all statements that are true for you.
- I can describe myself and others
- I can make suggestions
- I can ask for the description of things
- I can understand specific information in a song
- I can understand the gist of a written text
- I know about Halloween's origins and celebrations
05/11/2018
Unit 2 - Halloween
Happy Halloween!
This is a worldwide famous holiday and we already talked in class about how Americans celebrate it. But, do you know what its origins were? Here's a link where you can find out all about this tradition:
http://www.halloween-website.com/history.htmPretty interesting, don't you think? How about watching a video in which we can see a lot of Halloween symbols? It's the the opening scene of the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. Follow this link if you want to watch the video:
After watching the video, can you go to Google Classroom and comment on all the Halloween symbols you could see?
Thanks and see you in class!
29/10/2018
Unit 2 - Speed dating
Do you remember what we read about in class today? Speed dating is becoming more and more popular, as people are too busy with work and have less time for longer dates.
Click on these links if you want to find out about people who have experience in speed dating:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/lifestyle/2003/09/speed_date.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2004/07/29/speed_date_feature.shtml
See you in class!
22/10/2018
Unit 2 - Ed Sheeran
Did you like the song that we listened to in class today? We all know Ed Sheeran, don't we? He's one of the top singers in the whole world now, and she's just 27 years old!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Sheeran
Her last album "Divide" was a great success all over the world. Sheeran was also one of the winners of 2018 Grammys, taking home 2 of the most important awards.
About the song Perfect, it was the third single of his album Divide and, as all his other songs, was entirely written by him. Here's a lyric video with the song, in case you feel like singing along:
See you in class!
15/10/2018
Unit 2 - Modern Family
Today, we started Unit 2, in which we are going to speak about relationships, like the ones we have with our family and friends. And talking about family, have you heard of the famous TV series Modern Family? It's about the funny adventures of 3 different families which are interrelated. One of the most interesting facts of this series is that it breaks with the image we all have of the "traditional family" and its characters are really diverse, in terms of age, ethnic origin and sexual orientation. Also, it's really funny!
It was on for about 15 years in a row and it's considered one of the most successful shows in the history of TV. Friends even had an impact on the English language, with so-called Friends "so".
E.g. Monica: That attitude is so Ross! (Both Ross and Monica are characters in this show). What Monica meant was that attitude was very typical of Ross. That expression was so repeated in the show that became part of the English language and people say it nowadays in colloquial environments. Interesting, isn't it?
Now, we're going to watch a short scene from Modern Family and, after watching, I'd like you to comment Google Classroom the different kinds of families that you saw.
See you in class!
08/10/2018
Unit 1 - Self-assessment
We reached the end of Unit 1 and now it's time to check what you've learned. Tick all statements that are true for you.
If you ticked them all, congratulations and keep it up! If not, don't give up and keep practicing!
If you ticked them all, congratulations and keep it up! If not, don't give up and keep practicing!
01/10/2018
24/09/2018
Unit 1 - Google Classroom
Today, we talked in class about the web tool Google Classroom and I advised you to create a Gmail account, in case you don't have one. I created a group for people from the course, so we can comment on interesting topics and practice English, and I encourage you to do the same. It's very easy!
A first step to be on Google Classroom is having your own Gmail account. Most of you already have one, but, in case you don't, you can click on this link and check how easy it is:
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/56256?hl=en
Next step is joining our group on Classroom. It's super easy; I'll send you an email and you'll have to click on it and follow the instructions. Really simple!
Once you're part of the group, we can comment on the topics that we see in class or share any interesting information relevant to the course.
Thank you and see you in class!
17/09/2018
Welcome!
WELCOME TO THE BLOG!
I welcome you to the course blog of Basic Level 2. Here, you will find interesting links related to the topics we see in class, which will provide a great chance to practice your English! So please don't hesitate to surf around!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISIT AND SEE YOU IN THE CYBERSPACE!
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