Month: October 2016

What have your ancestors bequeathed to you? – Level 2 – 31st October 2016

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Objectives

  1. American vs British English warmer

  2. Vocabulary review from before half term

  3. National news: the child refugees in Calais

  4. The history of Venice

  5. Francesco’s Venice video & listening

  6. Listening to a woman talk about a family heirloom

  7. Writing about an object of significance for you

1. American English quizzes (just for fun):

http://esl.about.com/qz/British-or-American-Quiz

http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz113979d0e8b0.html

2. Vocabulary review – take a test here – it’s  very difficult!!!

here is the list: Level 2 October 2016 words

here is the test: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/mydictionary/wordlist/1250156/test

3. You need to start reading and understanding more about International and National news. Read about the child refugees in Calais and try to understand the different points of view. Think about opinions and facts:

here in the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3850840/Third-batch-child-migrants-begin-journey-Calais-Jungle-UK-Home-Office-admit-two-thirds-past-children-lied-age-officials.html 

here in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/28/fears-for-calais-refugee-camp-children-who-were-bound-for-the-uk

here on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37654552

4. The history of Venice:

more information here:http://tours-italy.com/venice-tours/venice-travel-guide/history/

5. Francesco’s Venice:

6. A gramophone:

Today’s words:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/mydictionary/wordlist/1762906 – including bequeath & ancestor.

 

 

Reading exam practice & superstitions – Level 1 – 19th October

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Lesson Objectives

  1. Proofreading practice

  2. Homework review

  3. modals game – Barcelona vs Manchester City (City will win!)

  4. Group reading about superstitions on the wall

  5. Reading exam practice – in IT session

City & Guilds Level 1 mock READING EXAM

Today’s words:

decent adjective

B2 socially acceptable or good:

Everyone should be entitled to a decent wage/standard of living.
I thought he was a decent person.
It was very decent (= kind) of you tohelp.
It made quite a decent-sized (= large)hole.
After the recent scandal, the priest is expected to do the decent thing and resign from his position.
tractor:
a tall blonde footballer:

swell verb

UK /swel/ US /swel/ swelled, swollen or swelled

C2 [ I or T ] to become larger and rounder than usual; to (causeto) increase in size or amount:

It was obvious she had broken her toe, because it immediately started to swell (up).
animal fur
children’s slide:
an emergency slide on a plane:
a mobile home:
swollen tonsils:
bottles of red wine:

Grammar schools and used to – what do you know about the British education system – Level 2 – 13th October 2016

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Objectives:

  1. Understand ILP targets.

  2. Discuss grammar schools

  3. Use ‘used to’ to talk about past habits and experiences

  4. What makes a good teacher?

  • Prepare and give a 4 minute presentation
  • Take part in a role play to demonstrate negotiation skills
  • Listen and ask and answer questions about a complex process
  • Take part in a 3-way discussion on a topic of global or national interest

Why does Theresa May want to bring back grammar schools?

Today’s words:

chatterbox noun [ C ]

a person, especially a child, who talks a lot:

Your sister’s a real chatterbox!

abstain verb [ I ] (NOT VOTE)

to decide not to use your vote:

63 members voted in favour, 39opposed, and 15 abstained.

elitist adjective

organized for the good of a fewpeople who have specialinterests or abilities:

Many remember sport at school as elitist, focusing only on those who were good at it.

elite noun [ C, + sing/pl verb ]

C1 the richest, most powerful, best-educated, or best-trainedgroup in a society:

the country’s educated elite
a member of the elite
disapproving A powerful and corruptelite has bled this country dry.

tertiary adjective

tertiary adjective (THIRD)

 

formal relating to a third levelor stage

coeducational adjective

having male and femalestudents being taught together in the same school or collegerather than separately:

Girls tend to do better academicallyin single-sex schools than in coeducational ones.
school assembly:
Image result for school assembly
PhD
In the UK, a PhD stands for ‘Doctor of Philosophy’, sometimes referred to as a ‘doctorate’. It is the highest level of degree that a student can achieve. At some institutions, including Oxford University, a Doctor of Philosophy is known as a DPhil.
A graduate wearing a mortarboard (on his head):
Image result for degree students graduating
free school
noun
 (in England) a school set up by an organization or a group of individuals, funded by the government but not controlled by the local authority.
Academy schools are state-funded schoolsin England which are directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individualAcademy Funding Agreements. Most academies are secondary schools.
How much are Eton fees?
£240,000 for a princely education at Eton. Arguably the most famous of private schools in the UK – both the Princes attended – is Eton. Eton’s schooling costs a whopping £34,434 per year – nearly three times as much as the minimum wage in the UK.

process noun [ C ]

B2 a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result:

the peace process
Increasing the number of women in top management jobs will be a slow process.
This decision may delay the process of European unification.
The party has begun the painful (= difficult) process of rethinking its policies andstrategy.

negotiation noun [ C or U ]

The agreement was reached after a series of difficult negotiations.
The exact details of the agreement are still under negotiation.
Negotiation for the pay increase is likely to take several weeks.

educated guess noun [ C usually singular ]

C2 a guess that is made using judgment and a particular level ofknowledge and is therefore more likely to be correct

Persuasive writing – being an estate agent – Level 1 – 12th October 2016

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Objectives

  1. Prepositions of time review – matching game.

  2. Past tense questions – online team game.

  3. Cat flap instructions sequencing

  4. Homework review

  5. Persuasive writing – describing a house for sale

  6. Canvas online VLE & BKSB review

Prepositions of time link: http://www.englishlearnsite.com/vocabulary/prepositions-of-time/

preopositions-of-time2

Today’s words:

comprise verb [ T, L only + noun, not continuous ]

C1 to have as parts ormembers, or to be those partsor members:

The course comprises a class book, apractice book, and a CD.
The class is comprised mainly ofItalian and French students.

Test the size of your vocabulary & your knowledge of the weekly news – Level 2 – 3rd October 2016

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Objectives

  1. How big is your vocabulary? Watch the infographic video and work it out.

  2. Then test your vocabulary knowledge with the quiz: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zs8xj6f

  3. This photo is from a newspaper, what is the story? Download the Guardian app & read it daily.

  4. How much do you know about the news? Where do you get your news from? What is happening in the world this week? What is the news in the UK this week?

  5. Complete the news quiz and find out what you know: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37501123 For the exam you NEED to know what is going on in the UK and the world. You need to be able to join in an intelligent Level 2 conversation about matters of world and international interest.

  6. If you do nothing else – watch a summary of the news – EVERY DAY! http://news.sky.com/video/a-round-up-of-the-top-stories-10493578 

  7. Discuss giving a  presentation in class and tell Mark what date you are going to give a presentation and the topic.

Guess the famous person

Students’ writing using adjectives to describe someone. Can you guess the person? Can you see any mistakes? How can these sentences and descriptions be improved? Could you add a new sentence to sum the person up more succinctly?

  1. He is very hilarious in very clever way. He is likeable from youngs and adults in every way. He usually makes disasters but at the end everybody thanks him. He is generous British actor, he is very funny. He is cheerful and adorable. He is usually playing comedy movies, he is famous for his role in Black Adder.
  2. He is a talented football player, who currently plays for Real Madrid. He is one of the best players in the world. Last year he was capable to win the UEFA Champions League and the Golden Ball.
  3. He is a lawyer. He is a peaceful man and brave at the same time. He was able to bring to his country independence from colonisation. He is a patient man. He makes new methods to fight colonising known as non-violence.
  4. She was a famous actress in 1950-1960s. She was married six times and she was married twice with one of them, whos name is Richard Burton. She had four children and one of them was adopted girl. She was a very strong willed personality and amazing actress. She started acting from her childhood and became very popular later.
  5. He has a calm deep warm voice who has great experience in making documentaries about nature and animals. He is a well-known person on BBC TV, knowledgeable, productive, skilful, curious about animal life, and sometimes energetic and sensitive.

Today’s words:

succinct adjective

said in a clear and short way; expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words:

Keep your letter succinct and to the point.

personality noun (FAMOUS PERSON)

 

B2 [ C ] a famous person:

The show is hosted by a popular TV personality.

capable adjective

B2 able to do things effectively and skilfully, and to achieveresults:

She’s a very capable woman/worker/judge.
We need to get an assistant who’s capable and efficient.

capable of sth/doing sth

B2 having the ability, power, or qualities to be able to do something:
Only the Democratic Party is capable of running the country.
Answers to descriptions:
1. Rowan Atkinson
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Mahatma Gandhi
4. Elizabeth Taylor
5. David Attenborough