March 25th, Class

First of all good morning to you all.

I hope that you have completed and saved your worksheets with previous activities.

To start today, I invite you to take a Simple Past vs Past Continuous Quiz online. See how it goes.

https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/past-simple-vs-past-continuous

Let's continue with vocabulary on Travel Items (items is another word for things)

This is a list of words in your book page 50:
1. suitcase
2. notebook
3. digital camera
4. souvenirs
5. waterproof clothes
6. dictionary
7. walking boots
8. sun-hat
9. backpack
10. money belt
11. binoculars
12. map
13. umbrella

LISTENING COMPREHENSION PRACTICE.

Listen to Recording 5.3 in book page 50. Take notes in your worksheet.

GRAMMAR - VERB PATTERNS

Verb patters refer to the way in which we combine two verbs together in English.

There are two ways to combine them:

VERB1 + VERB+ING        EXAMPLE: LUCY LIKES SHOPPING

The second possible combination is:

VERB1 + INFINITIVE VERB (TO+VERB)   EXAMPLE: THEY AGREED TO SIGN THE CONTRACT 

Some verbs are used with a gerund verb, some others are used with an infinitive verb and there are verbs that can combine with gerund and infinitive, for example:

I hate working late     -   I hate to work late.

In the CLASS MATERIALS folder you will find a list of verbs used with gerund and verbs used with an infinitive. Check it.

Now, watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mugmmgjwwc

Go to book page 50, do exercises 4A and B.

In exercise A, read the sentences and underline the verb combinations you find. The example in number 1 is expect to hear. It is a verb + infinitive combination.

After you underline the verb combinations, you will have to put them in the correct column in exercise B.

In exercise C place the verbs in the box in the correct column.

Watch this video and observe the verb combinations in red letters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-S9FNz1ZRA

Finally, go to page 136 in your book. Read the explanations and then do exercises 5.2 A and B. I will send you answer keys.

SPEAKING

Record an audio message answering the questions in exercise 7 page 51. There are four questions. 

WRITING

Remember!!  To show the order in which things happen in a story we use words such as: First, then, next, after that, after a while, finally.

Read an email in book exercise 8A, page 51. In your worksheet write down the good things and bad things about the trip.  Underline the phrases that show the sequence.

In your worksheet write an email describing a trip or a weekend away to a friend using the words you underlined in the exercise 8A.

That's all for today!

For homework do Workbook pages 30-31.

See you on Friday!

Use of articles A/An; The

To help you clarify the correct use of articles in English, here is a link to a video which you may find useful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seg9jEcWIo4

Here are some links to games that will help you practice the use of articles:
a,an, or nothing?

https://www.quia.com/rr/100966.html


Pronunciation practice:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/tims-pronunciation-workshop-ep-1

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/introduction

More information about the use of articles:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1647_gramchallenge23/

Pronunciation Practice

When we are learning English, it is very important to start practicing pronunciation since the very start. I have found it very useful to record my speaking and then listen to correct my pronunciation mistakes.

English is spoken with a different rythm and entonation than other languages. Singing songs in English is an excellent way to start acquiring fluency. I think this song is great for beginners as it is slow and the pronunciation is quite clear. Also, the grammar structures are very simple. You may want to try it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWEsPbA4NtQ

It is also a good idea to start getting familiar with the phonetic alphabet. The CD included in your book has one which also contains the audio for each sound.

At the top of this page you will find a "Useful Links for Elementary and Pre-Intermediate Levels" section. It includes links to practice speaking, vocabulary, writing, pronunciation. You will be able to access a couple of videos, one explains the phonetic alphabet and how it works. You may try it.

Also, here I include some other internet sites which you might find useful and interesting:

This page contains an explanation or description for the different ways in which sounds are joined or omitted in American English pronunciation.

http://pronuncian.com/Linking/default.aspx

The BBC link below is excellent, it includes 3 Programmes about pronunciation topics, you may practice listening comprehension as well. Listen to Programme 1, which talks about linking letters in English. It also includes a variety of interesting topics.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/features/connected.shtml

Here is another page which explains the different letters in English and the ways in which they are linked.

https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/linking.htm

and some practice at..

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/oct8.htm

You may also practice learning some tongue twisters, it is challenging and fun!

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/tongue-twisters-for-adults.html

http://bestforpuzzles.com/word-play/tongue-twisters.html

Tourist don't know.

»Ice cream shop-Pola-
It is (next to the) in Merida center. It's a hippie place. (Have) They offer flavors like flan, black forest,etc. It's really fun because you can take (a) great photos in the photos room  and maybe in the bathroom too, I have one there.

»Aleman's Park.
It is in the northeast of Merida. I went there because (I have a) you can find a lot of food stalls and (games) rides.You can eat marquesitas,I remember that in one part of the park you can (went) go with your plastic car or moto .It's really (a funny) an amusing place.

»Punto Cafe.
It's two blocks (of ) from the center.
You can find a (very) large variety of flavors of Tea and coffee.
Taking one picture there is very nice, they have good light.

My trip with friends and my girlfriend to the Guns N 'Roses concert in Mexico City

Hello, I'm Max ... And today I want to tell you about a trip I had last year with my friends and my girlfriend ... (To the place I went),  I went to the Guns N 'Roses concert in Mexico City .. I have to say that the concert was great, to the extent that it was the best thing I have ever experienced in my life. Now, since we went to the Merida airport for the first time, it was worth it because the landscapes (of) during the trip was very beautiful. After (2) a two-and-a-half-hour journey (of travel), we arrived at my grandmother's house, which is (somewhat) rather close to ( the university city) Ciudad Universitaria (about an hour); We arrived at around 6:00 p.m. On Tuesday, (then) I wanted to eat something because I was starving ( dying of hunger), but my friends did not want to go because they were tired from the trip, so I went to dinner with my girlfriend ... The next day, we woke up very early to be able to make the most out of the day and be able to visit some places. Some time later, at around 3:15 p.m., we had to go back to my grandmother's house so we could start preparing to go to the concert; Finally, we arrived at around 5:30 pm.  It is worth mentioning that we were late and that there was not much time to prepare our things, so we had to hurry (and) to be able to arrive at least an hour and a half before (to) so we could get  (have) good places, but in the end , as always, we all arrived late, because of the traffic (of) in the city and mainly of my girlfriend ... However, at last ( I'm done), we were able to get to the concert, where Axel Rose was great singing my favorite songs.

My first trip in English by Alejandra Calderón

My first trip in cruise was in 2016; ( it is ) its name (are) is Monarch and the ship had ten floors.  Each floor had a different activity (diverse): casino, theatre,  cinema, restaurants, bar, lobby, rooms, pools, disco and one site where the people (can saw) could see all the sea and pretend to be ( a) the Captain (to) of  that ship.

The travel was for seven days and we visited: Cayman Island, Belice, Roatan and Cozumel; but the most beautiful place for me was the Cayman Island. The water (on the beach) in the sea was crystalline and the sand on the beach (was) felt so soft (than) as I stepped on it.

In Roatan I visited (at) a Safari and lookout in (a) the middle of the rainforest but the ( hot) temperature was amazingly hot.

The best trip until now in my life because I (knew) visited more places and countries than I could see in my life (can see).

TRAVEL WRITING

If you like travelling, you will enjoy this interview with a famous travel writer. Watch and listen and try to take some notes so you also practise your English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH_3ocmRRBY 

You may also want to visit Dawn Jorgensen's blog page where you will find articles about her different travel experiences:

http://theincidentaltourist.com/