Raise_vs_Rise
martes, 29 de mayo de 2012
jueves, 24 de mayo de 2012
Report- Writing
We didn't have time to see this in class, but it'd be advisable that you knew the format.
Quick guide to report
- It uses titles and subtitles like an article.
- The structure is the same as any text, namely introduction, body and conclusion.
- Content should include factual information, so objective point of view (use of third person).
- Language is neutral since it's going to be addressed to a superior.
- The fuction is to recommend or make a suggestion, just like in a review (but a bit less enthusiastic a more formal-nuetral).
Quick guide to report
jueves, 17 de mayo de 2012
domingo, 13 de mayo de 2012
How to use Although, in spite of, despite
This connectors are very widely used, and it's important to know how to use them well. You'll find an explanation if you follow the link. Even though it's in Spanish, I reckon it's well explain. Besides, have a look at the blog itself since it's quite good. I hope you find it useful.
although / in spite of / despite
bbc
in spite of / despite - cómo se usan
although / in spite of / despite
bbc
in spite of / despite - cómo se usan
sábado, 12 de mayo de 2012
Bail out
What The Experts Say
John Stepek - Moneyweek. I like to keep an eye on Spain at the moment. It's a bit of a morbid fascination. The economy is in the same or worse trouble than the US and the UK, but it has no central bank to fall back on to bail it out, and it can't devalue its way out of trouble as the US is trying to do.
So what will it do? And what will happen to the eurozone when Spain does finally crack under the pressure? Who will bail it out?
Well, interestingly enough, it seems that Spain's banking system is already being propped up by the European taxpayer, in much the same way as Northern Rock is being propped up by us British taxpayers. The Europeans just don't know about it yet.
Spain might be unable to set its own interest rates, but it does appear that its banking system is being propped up very generously by the European Central Bank, as Ambrose Evans-Pritchard points out in today's Telegraph.
The secret bail-out of Spain's banks
Spanish banks issued a record £39bn of mortgage bonds and other asset-backed securities in the fourth quarter, according to ratings agency Moody's. Now, as you'll no doubt recall, the market for these securities seized up back in July and hasn't really opened up since.
(Incidentally, that's one of the reasons why mortgage rates in the UK aren't really coming down, despite the fall in the interbank lending rate and the base rate. The banks and building societies still can't sell on the loans they make.)
So who is buying all these Spanish mortgages? Well, it seems they are being used as collateral for loans from the European Central Bank. The ECB accepts AAA-rated securities as collateral, apparently unaware that the label AAA carries a lot less weight than it used to.
This has helped Spanish banks avoid the fate of Northern Rock. The Rock, you'll no doubt remember, was brought down when it was unable to sell on its mortgages, which meant it was unable to pay back the money it had borrowed to write them in the first place. It seems that Spain's banks, rather than get a very public loan from the ECB, have instead been quietly dumping their mortgage books onto it.
Of course, no one's overtly admitting to this. And at the moment, the consequences of all this aren't entirely clear. But if the ECB is holding a lot of mortgages as collateral against loans to Spanish banks, and the Spanish property market crashes as badly as say, the US, you do have to wonder just how much of that money the ECB is going to get back. How will German taxpayers feel about bailing out the Spanish? I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.
How the Fed will keep propping up the gold price
Gold hit another fresh record yesterday, while platinum and silver hit new highs too, a 27-year one in silver's case. Power shortages in South Africa have shut down mines in what until recently was the biggest gold producer in the world (last month we learned the biggest is now China).
I'm sure our commodities writer Dominic Frisby will have more to say on gold in Money Morning later this week, but suffice to say, that while South Africa seems to have provided a nice little catalyst to propel gold even higher, it's not the core reason that the yellow metal is climbing.
The Federal Reserve meets tonight to discuss interest rates again and it looks like anything less than a half-point cut will disappoint the thin skins on Wall Street. And we all know there's nothing the Fed cares about more than making sure the boys on the Street are kept happy.
A drastic cut looks even more likely after yesterday's dreadful housing data. New home sales fell to a 12-year low in December again showing that there will be no bottoming out in this market for a long time to come.
So the Fed has all the excuses it needs to happily keep undermining the dollar and destroying the savings of those few US citizens who actually have any. A half-point cut tonight would take the key Federal funds rate down to 3.0%. Headline inflation grew at an annual rate of more than 4% in December. The message is pretty plain - saving must be punished. Get out there and spend.
John Stepek - Moneyweek
The secret bail-out of Spain's banks
John Stepek - Moneyweek. I like to keep an eye on Spain at the moment. It's a bit of a morbid fascination. The economy is in the same or worse trouble than the US and the UK, but it has no central bank to fall back on to bail it out, and it can't devalue its way out of trouble as the US is trying to do.
So what will it do? And what will happen to the eurozone when Spain does finally crack under the pressure? Who will bail it out?
Well, interestingly enough, it seems that Spain's banking system is already being propped up by the European taxpayer, in much the same way as Northern Rock is being propped up by us British taxpayers. The Europeans just don't know about it yet.
Spain might be unable to set its own interest rates, but it does appear that its banking system is being propped up very generously by the European Central Bank, as Ambrose Evans-Pritchard points out in today's Telegraph.
The secret bail-out of Spain's banks
Spanish banks issued a record £39bn of mortgage bonds and other asset-backed securities in the fourth quarter, according to ratings agency Moody's. Now, as you'll no doubt recall, the market for these securities seized up back in July and hasn't really opened up since.
(Incidentally, that's one of the reasons why mortgage rates in the UK aren't really coming down, despite the fall in the interbank lending rate and the base rate. The banks and building societies still can't sell on the loans they make.)
So who is buying all these Spanish mortgages? Well, it seems they are being used as collateral for loans from the European Central Bank. The ECB accepts AAA-rated securities as collateral, apparently unaware that the label AAA carries a lot less weight than it used to.
This has helped Spanish banks avoid the fate of Northern Rock. The Rock, you'll no doubt remember, was brought down when it was unable to sell on its mortgages, which meant it was unable to pay back the money it had borrowed to write them in the first place. It seems that Spain's banks, rather than get a very public loan from the ECB, have instead been quietly dumping their mortgage books onto it.
Of course, no one's overtly admitting to this. And at the moment, the consequences of all this aren't entirely clear. But if the ECB is holding a lot of mortgages as collateral against loans to Spanish banks, and the Spanish property market crashes as badly as say, the US, you do have to wonder just how much of that money the ECB is going to get back. How will German taxpayers feel about bailing out the Spanish? I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.
How the Fed will keep propping up the gold price
Gold hit another fresh record yesterday, while platinum and silver hit new highs too, a 27-year one in silver's case. Power shortages in South Africa have shut down mines in what until recently was the biggest gold producer in the world (last month we learned the biggest is now China).
I'm sure our commodities writer Dominic Frisby will have more to say on gold in Money Morning later this week, but suffice to say, that while South Africa seems to have provided a nice little catalyst to propel gold even higher, it's not the core reason that the yellow metal is climbing.
The Federal Reserve meets tonight to discuss interest rates again and it looks like anything less than a half-point cut will disappoint the thin skins on Wall Street. And we all know there's nothing the Fed cares about more than making sure the boys on the Street are kept happy.
A drastic cut looks even more likely after yesterday's dreadful housing data. New home sales fell to a 12-year low in December again showing that there will be no bottoming out in this market for a long time to come.
So the Fed has all the excuses it needs to happily keep undermining the dollar and destroying the savings of those few US citizens who actually have any. A half-point cut tonight would take the key Federal funds rate down to 3.0%. Headline inflation grew at an annual rate of more than 4% in December. The message is pretty plain - saving must be punished. Get out there and spend.
John Stepek - Moneyweek
Fractured Fairy Tales
Do you feel creative? This is an unteractive web in which you can re-write fairy tales. Give it a go!
Fractured Fairy Tales
Fractured Fairy Tales
Verb Patterns: to-infinitive and gerund
We've seen in class that there're different verb patterns, and that some verbs can foolow two patterns, but depending on the meaning, we'll use to-infinitive or gerund. We already know five of them: remember, forget, regret, stop and try. Well, mean another one. Here is what Michael Swan says about it:
to-infinitive or gerund: mean & help
Mean in the sense of 'involve', 'have as a result' can be followed by an -ing form.
If you want to pass the exam it will mean studying hard.In the sense of 'intend', mean is followed by an infinitive.I don't think she means to get married for the moment.
These two links have more information about the topic:
Verb patterns: different meaningto-infinitive or gerund: mean & help
miércoles, 9 de mayo de 2012
martes, 8 de mayo de 2012
IBI in English?
These three terms seem to be used to refer to the Spanish IBI (Impuesto Sobre Bienes Inmuebles). If you click on the following links you'll fing more information. Real Estate Tax seems to be more used in the US.
Property tax
ad valorem
Real Estate Tax
Property tax
ad valorem
Real Estate Tax
lunes, 7 de mayo de 2012
Crime Vocabulary
Here you have a slide presentation with vocabulary related to crime. You can find an exercise at the end.
CrimeVocabulary
CrimeVocabulary
miércoles, 18 de abril de 2012
Grammar movies
Improve your grammar skills with LearnEnglish Grammar, the number one
educational mobile app. LearnEnglish Grammar is the best way to improve
your English grammar at home, on the move, anywhere!
mobile-learning/learn English-grammar
mobile-learning/learn English-grammar
Grammar videos
martes, 17 de abril de 2012
Improving your listening skill - Intermediate 1 EOI
Hello Everyone,
I'm terribly sorry it took me so long to write this post, but it's better late than never. So many of you have asked me how they could improve your listening skill, so that you can pass your final exam. I'm going to list different sites and apps I've found; all of them may not help you, but find one or two that are helpful for YOU (we're all different so those that help you might not help your classmate, and that's completely normal). Therefore, let's start up with simple tips:
Tip
#1
- You can change the audio setting/language of your tv and listen to some English for 15-20 minutes every day.
#2
- Watch films in English, with English subtitles
#3
- Listen to songs: you can either listen to songs you like, reading the lyrics at the same time as you're listening (and looking up the words you don't know), or you can practise with this site Songs to learn English Intermediate
#4
- You can listen to the cd that comes with the books we've got for you to borrow at the school. You can play it while you're driving, or upload it on your mp3/mp4 player or smartphone, and listen to it while you're running/jogging/waiting. You may even connect your smartphone to the car speakers and listen to an English radio station.
#5
- Listen to English news radio stations, and choose pieces of news you've already heard in Spanish, just to check how much you undertand from a topic you already know what it is about.
VOA - Voice of America
Words in the News BBC Learning English (you can download the podcasts)
breakingnewsenglish Do level 5. Choose a piece of news, and once you're on the page, go to LISTEN and click on "mp3", right below the heading. Then choose the speed (medium).
- TheNewYorkTimes - videos
#6
- Follow a series that you like, and watch it in English (if you can watch it with English subtitles, even better).
And now I'll list some websites that may help you:
- Better at English - real English conversations This website has got podcasts (that you can download) and they come with the transcription. The author tries to use idioms and phrasal verbs in them.
- saberingles Listening exercises taken from news on VOA.
-Listening exercises with The Simpsons
- elllo Choose level 4, but if you find it difficult start with level 3. However, if you find it easy, try level5.
- Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab Try "Medium" level.
- ompersonal - video
- ompersonal - audio
- englishclub - news They publish a new audio every week, so keep it as one of your favourites and check it every week; make it a routine. That's the only way to see an improvement, being constant.
- manythings Many different topics, with transcriptions.
- Khan Academy In the Khan Academy you've got a wide range of topics, and also, you can find texts to improve your vocabulary. It's probably a bit complecated, since it's what students in the US use to study. However, it may help people interested in specific topics related to science or history, and it may come in handy in Intermediate 2 and above. Go to the upper left side of the page, click on "subject" and choose the one of your choice.
- National Geographic This could be difficult, but some of you could be interested in these topics/videos, and it's also important that this is fun for you, otherwise you'll give up really quickly.
You can also give it a go to Dictation:
- ompersonal -dictation
- dictationsonline Start up by Pre-intermediate and go on form there.
- learnenglish.de - dictation
And finally, here you have two apps you can use to improve and listen anywhere:
- english_conversation_app
- voicepaperapp As far as I know, this one is only for iPhone (sorry!). There must be one also for Android, I haven't found it yet.
Try to download the audios or podcasts, it may be useful to have them on your mobile.
I'm terribly sorry it took me so long to write this post, but it's better late than never. So many of you have asked me how they could improve your listening skill, so that you can pass your final exam. I'm going to list different sites and apps I've found; all of them may not help you, but find one or two that are helpful for YOU (we're all different so those that help you might not help your classmate, and that's completely normal). Therefore, let's start up with simple tips:
Tip
#1
- You can change the audio setting/language of your tv and listen to some English for 15-20 minutes every day.
#2
- Watch films in English, with English subtitles
#3
- Listen to songs: you can either listen to songs you like, reading the lyrics at the same time as you're listening (and looking up the words you don't know), or you can practise with this site Songs to learn English Intermediate
#4
- You can listen to the cd that comes with the books we've got for you to borrow at the school. You can play it while you're driving, or upload it on your mp3/mp4 player or smartphone, and listen to it while you're running/jogging/waiting. You may even connect your smartphone to the car speakers and listen to an English radio station.
#5
- Listen to English news radio stations, and choose pieces of news you've already heard in Spanish, just to check how much you undertand from a topic you already know what it is about.
VOA - Voice of America
Words in the News BBC Learning English (you can download the podcasts)
breakingnewsenglish Do level 5. Choose a piece of news, and once you're on the page, go to LISTEN and click on "mp3", right below the heading. Then choose the speed (medium).
- TheNewYorkTimes - videos
#6
- Follow a series that you like, and watch it in English (if you can watch it with English subtitles, even better).
And now I'll list some websites that may help you:
- Better at English - real English conversations This website has got podcasts (that you can download) and they come with the transcription. The author tries to use idioms and phrasal verbs in them.
- saberingles Listening exercises taken from news on VOA.
-Listening exercises with The Simpsons
- elllo Choose level 4, but if you find it difficult start with level 3. However, if you find it easy, try level5.
- Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab Try "Medium" level.
- ompersonal - video
- ompersonal - audio
- englishclub - news They publish a new audio every week, so keep it as one of your favourites and check it every week; make it a routine. That's the only way to see an improvement, being constant.
- manythings Many different topics, with transcriptions.
- Khan Academy In the Khan Academy you've got a wide range of topics, and also, you can find texts to improve your vocabulary. It's probably a bit complecated, since it's what students in the US use to study. However, it may help people interested in specific topics related to science or history, and it may come in handy in Intermediate 2 and above. Go to the upper left side of the page, click on "subject" and choose the one of your choice.
- National Geographic This could be difficult, but some of you could be interested in these topics/videos, and it's also important that this is fun for you, otherwise you'll give up really quickly.
You can also give it a go to Dictation:
- ompersonal -dictation
- dictationsonline Start up by Pre-intermediate and go on form there.
- learnenglish.de - dictation
And finally, here you have two apps you can use to improve and listen anywhere:
- english_conversation_app
- voicepaperapp As far as I know, this one is only for iPhone (sorry!). There must be one also for Android, I haven't found it yet.
Try to download the audios or podcasts, it may be useful to have them on your mobile.
lunes, 16 de abril de 2012
Watch, Practise and Learn about almost everything
A free world-class education for anyone anywhere.The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We're a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.
All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.
Khan Academy
All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.
Khan Academy
sábado, 14 de abril de 2012
Queekypaint
Queeky - draw online!
Queeky is an online drawing community with special drawing tools and creative users from all around the world.
Create animated drawings or visit the huge galleries and learn from the creation process of your favourite art.
Create animated drawings or visit the huge galleries and learn from the creation process of your favourite art.
queekypaint
viernes, 13 de abril de 2012
miércoles, 11 de abril de 2012
Relative when, where and why
When and where can introduce relative clauses after nouns referring to time and place. They are used in the same way as preposition + which.
I'll never forget the day when I first met you. (=... the day on which...)
Do you know a shop where I can find sandals? (=... a shop at which...)
Why is used in a similar way after reason.
Do you know the reason why she doesn't like me? (=... the reason for which...)
Taken from Practical English Usage by Michael Swan
I'll never forget the day when I first met you. (=... the day on which...)
Do you know a shop where I can find sandals? (=... a shop at which...)
Why is used in a similar way after reason.
Do you know the reason why she doesn't like me? (=... the reason for which...)
Taken from Practical English Usage by Michael Swan
Turn one's nose up - keep sb on his/her feet
A student asked yesterday if idioms are informal. Well, here you have a video in which Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister uses to idioms. Therefore, you can see they could be used in a neutral-formal situation.
Clegg in 'energy deal guarantee'
turn one's nose up at sth Definition
Keep somebody on his toes Definition
Clegg in 'energy deal guarantee'
turn one's nose up at sth Definition
Keep somebody on his toes Definition
martes, 10 de abril de 2012
Bring somebody down
To bring somebody down Energetic song in order not to feel down, or rather, not to let people bring us down.
Or do you prefer Christina Aguilera?
Or do you prefer Christina Aguilera?
Run out
Time is running out A song in which run out is used. In the song you'll see that you can run out of time, but in the pictures you'll also check that you can run out of petrol or money.
run out of / run out / to be out of / to be short of Finally, here's a link to the explanation of different expressions that have similar meanings.
Fortnight
Related to yesterday's class, we can find in our dictionaries fortnight translated as quincena, dos semanas, and the question is ' is it fourteen or fifteen days?' Well, if we go to the etymology of the word, and being absolutely precise, it used ton mean 14 nights.
http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=fortnight
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/fortnight
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fortnight?q=fortnight
http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=fortnight
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/fortnight
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fortnight?q=fortnight
lunes, 9 de abril de 2012
Discovering Britain
History, landscape and more. For those who like travelling, here you can also travel with your imagination.
http://www.discoveringbritain.org/walks/landscapes/view-all/
http://www.discoveringbritain.org/walks/landscapes/view-all/
viernes, 6 de abril de 2012
Urban Dictionary
You may find that certain expressions aren't on a regular dictionary. That's because it's slang. So here you have a link for those times when wordreference is not enough.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/
http://www.urbandictionary.com/
About writing - Very useful material
I've found this list of files that I reckon are really useful in order to prepare for the written part of the exams. You have some layouts for different types of letters, and also check lists and words of advice.
http://blog.educastur.es/awweoio/downloads/
http://blog.educastur.es/awweoio/downloads/
Listen and Read Along
On this site, you can read and at the same time you can read what is being said.
http://www.manythings.org/listen/
http://www.manythings.org/listen/
domingo, 25 de marzo de 2012
sábado, 24 de marzo de 2012
Prepositions of Time
Here you have the game we played in class the other day. If you don't understand the answers, try playing with unit 29 of the Grammar book (Language Practice) beside you. Enjoy!
http://eslgamesworld.com/members/games/grammar/walk%20plank/prepositions%20of%20time/prepositions%20of%20time.html
http://eslgamesworld.com/members/games/grammar/walk%20plank/prepositions%20of%20time/prepositions%20of%20time.html
jueves, 15 de marzo de 2012
domingo, 11 de marzo de 2012
Wake up and Smell the coffee
This is link to BBC learning English, where they explain the meaning of this idom in a context.
wake up and smell the coffee
The Cranberries - Wake Up and Smell The Coffee Even The Cranberries have a song with this idiom
wake up and smell the coffee
The Cranberries - Wake Up and Smell The Coffee Even The Cranberries have a song with this idiom
lunes, 5 de marzo de 2012
Irish Legends
Since St Paddy's Day is coming, we can read and listen to different Irish legends in these two links below.
http://www.carlingfordandmourne.com/myths-and-legends/the-tain-b%C3%B3-cualigne-the-brown-bull-of-cooley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwvvkCM7mcY&feature=related
http://www.carlingfordandmourne.com/myths-and-legends/the-tain-b%C3%B3-cualigne-the-brown-bull-of-cooley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwvvkCM7mcY&feature=related
sábado, 3 de marzo de 2012
miércoles, 29 de febrero de 2012
Ropa de marca
This is how you could say "ropa de marca" in English:
Designer clothing
Brand clothing
Designer-brand clothing
Designer clothing
Brand clothing
Designer-brand clothing
martes, 14 de febrero de 2012
FCE Flo-Joe
This web gives tips to prepare for Fisrt Certificate. You can even subscribe and you'll receive emails with their updates. (NI2)
Flo-joe
Flo-joe
Listen a minute
You may find some of the links a bit easy, nonetheless, if you choose the topic well, it can be of great help. Besides, it comes with exercises. If you think your listening is weak, try one a day. (NI1)
http://l.wbx.me/l/?p=1&instId=ac7e799d-f7a4-40a1-ac1b-9b4900a09810&token=980192325cb184ca91fb2923bfc19928ea9603ac000001357b237e47&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.listenaminute.com%2F
http://l.wbx.me/l/?p=1&instId=ac7e799d-f7a4-40a1-ac1b-9b4900a09810&token=980192325cb184ca91fb2923bfc19928ea9603ac000001357b237e47&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.listenaminute.com%2F
domingo, 12 de febrero de 2012
jueves, 9 de febrero de 2012
miércoles, 8 de febrero de 2012
Inside Job
I recommend this film not only so practise listening and in order to widen your range of vocabulary, but also because of the quality of the film in itself. I think it's information we sould all know. (NI2)
http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/
http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/
jueves, 2 de febrero de 2012
lunes, 30 de enero de 2012
miércoles, 11 de enero de 2012
Learning process awareness
Some of you have express you're feeling that last year you were learning more and this year you're not learning that much. Well, in the learning process, in order to acquire the next level, those described in
The Common European Framework of Reference, you'll need double the time you invested in the previous year. So be aware that, in order to learn as much as you did last year, you'll basically have to study more hours.
I've attached two documents that explain this idea. One is from the Cambridge University, the other from the Cervantes Institute. In the second document, pay attention to question number 3, in how many years they divide each level, and the hours each year would consist of.
All my point is that, in the intermediate level it's important to be aware of this not to get discouraged.
http://research.cambridgeesol.org/fitness-purpose/cambridge-esol%E2%80%99s-common-scale-levels-and-cefr
http://pekin.cervantes.es/es/Informacion_util/preguntas_frecuentes_ic_pekin.htm
The Common European Framework of Reference, you'll need double the time you invested in the previous year. So be aware that, in order to learn as much as you did last year, you'll basically have to study more hours.
I've attached two documents that explain this idea. One is from the Cambridge University, the other from the Cervantes Institute. In the second document, pay attention to question number 3, in how many years they divide each level, and the hours each year would consist of.
All my point is that, in the intermediate level it's important to be aware of this not to get discouraged.
http://research.cambridgeesol.org/fitness-purpose/cambridge-esol%E2%80%99s-common-scale-levels-and-cefr
http://pekin.cervantes.es/es/Informacion_util/preguntas_frecuentes_ic_pekin.htm
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