miércoles, 19 de abril de 2017

OPINION ESSAY: Do you think students who skip lessons should be punished?

 Thank you Bader, Andrea, Eva, Thais, Emely and Paola. 😍
EXAMPLE 1

Unfortunately, many young people skip classes. In my opinion, I firmly believe that these students should be punished.

First of all, attending class is important to pass. If we go to school, we will understand better what the teacher explains and we will learn more. Furthermore, if we attend class, we will get better marks and we will find the exams easier. In addition, it is our obligation. People who work don´t get away from work to sleep a little more or to go to parties with friends ( at least not those who want keep the job).

The real problem begins when we start skipping classes. It is really easy for us to get used to it and we can´t afford it. Missing a couple of classes of each subject is not problematic, but the problem comes when we take it as a habit.


In conclusion, there is nothing worse than being reported as irresponsible. The teachers check the list or they remember our faces more than we believe and if they see that we are beginning to be absent, they will think inmediately that we don´t have interest in the subject. Studying, getting good marks and going to class is our job and, such as, we must take it seriously.



EXAMPLE 2


Nowadays, skipping lessons at school is very usual among young people and students. But, is it a punishable conduct?

To begin with, it depends on the school year that you are studying; if you are studying an obligatory school year, you must go to all of your lessons, and if you don´t, that must be punished. Although, in my opinion, when you are older and you are studying because you want to, this should be less strict. I strongly believe that discipline must be learned when you are still young, when you become an adult, you just have to know how you must behave.

To sum up, when you care about what you are studying, you know what you have to do, so hopefully, not punishment would be necessary.



EXAMPLE 3

Should students who don't come to lessons be punished? What should it be done to students who don't attend classes or turn up late? Let's discuss this matter.

First of all, if students don't go to school, it will become a huge problem. Their results will get worse and they won't be able to go to university. Personally, I strongly believe, that we should punish students who don't come to lessons. Besides, students should have an opportunity to explain themselves. Also, as I see it, if the school tried to find a way to encourage the students, attendance would improve and they would be in a good mood. Some ways to encourage them could be: giving them prizes or helping them to get better grades.

To sum up, as it has been said before, schools shouldn't let the student skip class without punishment but students should get at least a second opportunity.


EXAMPLE 4

I think we have all skipped lessons one day, even me. But this doesn´t mean that it seems good to me.

First of all, I believe that students who don´t go to class for that reason should be punished. There are people who skip class one day, but when this becomes routine, it can become a problem. I consider that all teachers will have to remedy this, for example, by motivating the students with some system by which the class would be nicer. However, not everyone would feel like doing this.

To sum up, in my opinion, if we don´t have any problem, we must attend class. Although I have skipped lessons, it seems to me that it was not the right thing to do.



EXAMPLE 5


Have you ever skipped lessons at school? Do you think that students who don't come to lessons should be punished?
 

That students follow the rules is very important and necessary for the school. The rules are the fundamental basis for stability and for the common good of the school.

I think that student who do not follow the school rules should receive a punishment because if they don't receive any punishment they will continue to disobey the rules and then cause disorder in the school. Therefore, it is important to remember that one day we may have a problem that will cause us to miss some lessons, but we must stick to the rules as best as we can.

To sum up, I think that if the rules are not met, you have to find a way to asume the consequences and punishment is a good option.



EXAMPLE 6: FOR AND AGAINST ESSAY (This one is really good!)

What are advantages and disadvantages of being punished when you skip classes? Is it a good or bad idea? Let´s examine both sides of the issue .

On the one hand, some people think that one advantage of skipping classes is that you can make the most of these hours to study other subject. However, when you skip a class you miss lessons that the teacher has explained.

On the other hand, if you don´t attend classes, they can send your absences to your parents and they can also give you written warning if you don´t justify your absence.

In conclusion, as it has been said above, skipping classes has both advantages and disadvantages .As far as I am concerned, teachers shouldn´t take these absences seriously because students could be taking more advantage of studying at home.

miércoles, 5 de abril de 2017

REGULAR PAST PRONUNCIATION



Dear students, 

In this post we are going to practise our regular past (-ed) pronunciation. Spanish people tend to pronounce everything as /id/ but there are 3 different sounds: /t/, /d/ and /id/. Depending on the final sound of the verb in the infinitive, we will pronounce the past simple one way or the other. 
  • If the verb ends in a voiceless sound (first column) we will pronounce the past as a /t/; AUDIO
  • If it ends in -t or -d (second column), we will pronounce it as /id/; AUDIO
  • If the verb ends in a voiced sound (third column) we will pronounce it as a /d/. AUDIO


Let's see some examples:



Now it's your turn to practise!

You should do ONE of the following tasks:
  1. Write sentences using at least 10 regular verbs and record yourselves reading them 
  2. OR
  3. record yourselves reading these sentences.
  • Today in the morning I washed my face, brushed my teeth, helped my mum, and listened to music.
  • After I finished my homework, I decided to make a phone call. I talked to my friend for a while and then I remembered I had promised my mother that I would tidy my room.
  • The criminal admitted taking the money. He wanted to become rich without working.
  • I have traveled to different countries. I started travelling when I was 15. I liked Thailand a lot and I learned to cook pad thai there.

martes, 28 de marzo de 2017

TRAVELLING: PHRASAL VERBS

Dear students,

In this post I want to give you some useful links to work with vocabulary in unit 8 which is about travelling.🚂🚗🌍

As we have seen in class, there are some phrasal verbs that natives use a lot when they travel. Hopefully, you will learn them and use them in your trips!


Get away - to leave to go somewhere often for a break or holiday.
Set off- to start a journey
Look forward to + ing - to be excited about something that is going to happen.
Take off - when an aircraft leaves and begins to fly
Check in - to register at a hotel or airport.
Check out - to leave and pay for your stay at a hotel
Look around - to look at what is near you, in your area.
Get back/Go back -to return.
Drop off - to take someone to a place and leave them there
Pick up - to go and fetch someone from a place and take them somewhere else
Get in - when a plane arrives on an airport
Get away - to leave to go somewhere for a break or holiday
Get on - to climb on board
Get off- to leave a train, bus, plane...
Speed up - to increase speed
Hurry up - to rush and not waste time

Practise these phrasal verbs here: LINK and here: LINK

Here you have a document with three short exercises and their answers. LINK





martes, 21 de marzo de 2017

GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

Dear students,

Today we are going to study when to use gerunds and infinitives in English. It is worth mentioning (merece la pena mencionar) that even when we use a gerund, we are would translate it as an infinitive in Spanish. 

Here you have the Prezi, just in case you want to have a look at it: PREZI

Let's start!

GERUNDS                                                                                                                                  

  • As the subject of the sentence: 
    • Smoking is bad for your health. (Fumar es malo para la salud).💀
  • After prepositions:
    • Matt is very good at cooking (A Matt se le da bien cocinar).🍗🍝🍮
    • I'm thinking about going to Rome in summer. (Estoy pensando en ir a Roma en verano).
    • He is responsible for teaching English (Él es el responsable de enseñar inglés).📚
  • After verbs of liking and disliking (like, dislike, hate, enjoy, detest):
    • I like playing football. (Me gusta jugar al fútbol)⚽
    • I hate cooking. (Odio cocinar)🍟🍔
  • After certain expressions:
    • can't stand/bear (no poder soportar): 
      • I can't stand losing you (No puedo soportar perderte)💔
    • can't help (no poder evitar): 
      • I can't help loving with you (No puedo evitar quererte)😍
    • be worth (merecer la pena) 
      • It's worth seeing (merece la pena verlo)🎥
    • feel like (tener ganas, apetecer) 
      • I feel like eating pizza! (Me apetece comer pizza)🍕
    • be used to (estar acostumbrado) 
      • I am used to reading in English (estoy acostumbrado a leer en inglés)📖
    • get used to (acostumbrarse): 
      • I don't get used to waking up early (no me acostumbro a madrugar) 😴
    • look forward to (estar deseando) 
      • I look forward to seeing you soon (Estoy deseando verte)😎
    • Mind (importar):
      • Do you mind reading the text? (¿Te importa leer el texto?)📘
  • After certain verbs:
    • ADMIT (admitir)
    • ADVISE (aconsejar) 
    • AVOID (evitar)
    • CONSIDER (considerar)
    • DENY (negar)
    • IMAGINE (imaginar)
    • KEEP (seguir, continuar)
    • PREFER (preferir)
    • RECOMMEND (recomendar)
    • SUGGEST (sugerir)
INFINITIVE WITH TO                                                                                                                   
  • After adjectives or adverbs:
    • This book is difficult to read (este libro es difícil de leer)
    • She drove too fast to see the red light. (Conducía demasiado rápido para ver que estaba en rojo)🚗🚦
  • After certain verbs:
    • AFFORD (permitirse)
    • ASK (pedir, preguntar)
    • BEG (rogar)
    • DECIDE (decidir)
    • DESERVE (merecer)
    • HESITATE (dudar)
    • HELP (ayudar)
    • HOPE (esperar)
    • LEARN (aprender)
    • MANAGE (arreglárselas)
    • NEED (necesitar)
    • PLAN (planear)
    • PRETEND (fingir)
    • PROMISE (prometer)
    • REFUSE (negarse a.rechazar)
    • WANT (querer)
    • REMIND (recordar)
  • After an object (tell, advise, warn, promise, teach, order, invite,forbid, permit, encourage...):
    • I want you to study harder.(quiero que tú estudies más)
    • She promised me to call me soon. (me prometió que me llamaría)📞

BARE INFINITIVE (INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO)                                                                     

  • After modal verbs
    • can, must, should, ought to, may, might, have to...
  • After certain MAKE and LET:
    • I made him change his mind (Hice que cambiara de opinión)
    • Let it go⛄
  • After would rather (preferir)
    • I'd rather go to the mountain (Preferiría ir a la montaña).🌄

VERBS FOLLOWED BY GERUND AND INFINITIVE WITH A CHANGE OF MEANING   

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive with to. However, the meaning is different.
  • REMEMBER
    • Remember + gerund: Significa que te acuerdas de algo que ha sucedido en el pasado:
      • I remember studying for hours when I was at school (Recuerdo que estudiaba durante horas cuando estaba en el colegio)
    • Remember + infinitive: Significa que te acordaste de hacer algo que tenías que hacer:
      • I remembered to bring your book, thank you! (Me acordé de traerte el libro, ¡gracias!)
  • FORGET
    • Forget + gerund: Olvidarse de algo que sucedió en el pasado:
      • I will never forget visiting New York (Nunca me olvidaré de haber visitado NY)
    • Forget + infinitive: Olvidarse de hacer algo que tienes que hacer, en el pasado o en el futuro:
      • Oh no! I forgot to lock the door! (¡Oh no!¡Me olvidé de cerrar la puerta!)😰
      • Don't forget to lock the door (no te olvides de cerrar la puerta)
  • REGRET
    • Regret + gerund: Arrepentirse de algo del pasado:
      • I regret not telling her that I love her! (¡Me arrepiento de no haberle dicho que la quiero!)
    • Regret + infinitive: Arrepentirse de algo que va a suceder (normalmente se traduce como "sentir" algo):
      • I regret to tell you that we are having an exam tomorrow (siento decirte que tenemos examen mañana)
  • STOP
    • Stop+ gerund: dejar de hacer algo para siempre:
      • I stopped smoking (Dejé de fumar)
      • Stop talking! (¡Deja de hablar!)
    • Stop + infinitive: dejar de hacer algo para hacer otra cosa:
      • I stopped to watch TV (dejé de hacer lo que fuera para ver la tele)📺

Here you have a web where you can do lots of exercises online: LINK

And here you have worksheets with the answers to practise:


EVALUACIÓN DOCENTE

Como cada trimestre, toca hacer evaluación de la práctica docente. Por favor, pincha en tu curso y completa el formulario. Te llevará 5 minutos y a mi me sirve para mejorar. GRACIAS.

1º Bachillerato A

1º Bachillerato B

2º Bachillerato

domingo, 5 de marzo de 2017

PASSIVES

Dear students,

Today we are going to speak about passives. 

Links to the Prezi presentations:

Prezi 1 (class)
Prezi 2 (video)

We use the passive voice when the performer of the action is not relevant. The important thing is the action, not the subject.

To write passive sentences, we need a SUBJECT+ TO BE+ P.PARTICIPLE (+BY+ AGENT).

Let's see some examples:


We look at the TENSE (tiempo verbal) and we "give" it to the verb to be. Then, we take the main verb (in this case "write"), and we use the past participle (-ed for regular verbs; 3rd column for irregular verbs). You can get a copy of this grammar worksheet here.

PRESENT SIMPLE
Students study English

English is studied (by the students)
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Students are studying English

English is being studied (by the students)
PAST SIMPLE
Students studied English

English was studied (by the students)
PAST CONTINUOUS
Students were studying English

English was being studied (by the students)
PRESENT PERFECT
Students have studied English

English have been studied (by the students)
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Students have been studying English
English have been being studied (by the students)
PAST PERFECT
Students had studied English

English had been studied (by the students)
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Students had been studying English

English had been being studied (by the students)
FUTURE SIMPLE
Students will study English

English will be studied (by the students)
GOING TO
Students am going to study English

English is going to be studied (by the students)
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
Students will be studying English

English will be being studied (by the students)
FUTURE PERFECT
Students will have studied English

English will have been studied (by the students)
CONDITIONAL
Students would study English

English would be studied (by the students)
CAN
Students can study English

English can be studied (by the students)
MUST
Students must study English

English must be studied (by the students)
SHOULD
Students should study English

English should be studied (by the students)


PASSIVE WITH TWO OBJECTS:

When we have a DIRECT object AND an INDIRECT object, native speakers prefer to put the INDIRECT object as the subject of the passive sentence. The rest remains the same as in a "normal" passive.

They gave me a present  →  A present was given to me → I was given a present.


IMPERSONAL PASSIVE

For verbs of thinking and saying we can write an impersonal passive. We need to write IT as the subject of the passive.

They say he is very good-looking.→ It is said that he is very good-looking.

We can also write the subject of the second sentence as the subject of the passive and then use one of the four types of infinitive forms:

They say he is very good-looking.
→ It is said that he is very good-looking.
→ He is said to be very good-looking.

IDEA OF PRESENT OR FUTURE: present infinitive (to be/to play/to study)
IDEA OF PRESENT OR FUTURE (CONTINUOUS): (to be playing/to be studying...)
IDEA OF PAST: perfect infinitive (to have been/ to have played/to have studied)
IDEA OF PAST (CONTINUOUS): (to have been playing/ to have been studying...)

HAVE/GET SOMETHING DONE

When we talk about a service performed for us, we use the structure HAVE/GET SOMETHING DONE. Note that get is more informal.


We use the verb HAVE/GET in the appropriate tense, then the thing and then the verb in the PAST PARTICIPLE.

Te has cortado el pelo (pero has ido a la pelu): You had your hair cut.
Me van a pintar la casa: I am going to have my house painted.
Me arreglaron el coche la semana pasada: I had my car fixed last week.


PRACTICE:

active to passive 1
Active to passive 2
Passives with two objects
Impersonal passive
Impersonal passive 2
Passives
Have something done
Have something done2

Here you have the video I have recorded with such love for you, specially for Bader 😂


See you in class!

Natalia

miércoles, 1 de marzo de 2017

MODAL VERBS

Dear students,

here you have the link to the Prezi presentation and the video with explanations in Spanish:

modal verbs presentation



Please, for next week you must download this document because we are going to use it in class. You don't have to print it, with you mobile phones is enough.

Worksheet modal verbs


I also attach some worksheets to review modal verbs, they include the answers so I think it is good practice,

can, could, be able to

may, might, could

must, have to, need to, ought to, should

perfect modals

review modal verbs


Natalia