1s.2 Review units 0, 1, 2 and 3 online!

Use these websites to review units 0, 1, 2 and 3 online. What unit do you prefer? Click on the links.

Unit 0: primary school English (verb to be, colours, days, months, etc.)

Unit 1: family, objects, have got, possessive 's

Unit 2: school day routine, free time, present simple affirmative

Unit 3: work activities, present simple affirmative / negative / interrogative

1s.1 What time is it?

1. Click on this link and play with the clock. What time is it?
 
2. Can you tell the time now? Write these times on the blog.

Example:
Clock 1) 03:00 - Three o'clock.

 

Workshop: "Look who's talking! How to make the most of speaking in large classes" I Apabal convention - 10 September 2012 (Palma, Spain)

Thanks to everyone who attended my workshop on speaking in large groups at the I Apabal convention in Palma. I really hope you enjoyed it and found it useful.

Please, do not hesitate to leave your comments here. Any feedback will be appreciated!

If you missed the convention and would like to receive a handout with the teaching ideas and materials presented in the workshop, write to raulmas.english (at) gmail.com or leave your e-mail address on this blog and I will get back to you.

Best,
Raúl.

Click here to see the convention at a glance

For further teacher training events in the Balearic Islands visit www.apabal.com

2s.7 Robots: a webquest

Exercise 1 In this units we are talking about robotics in class. Listen to a recording about robots and films here. How many of these robots did you know? Answer the questions below on the blog.

a. What is the text about?
     1. The history of TV
     2. Robots from films and TV programmes
     3. Robots in the future

b. Write the names of the characters next to the statements.
     1. The robot is a small metal dog. Dr Who
     2. This robot can talk, but it cant talk.
     3. He's a police officer with a robotic arm.
     4. This robot is half human, half-robot.
     5. He's strong, he's fast and he's bad.

Exercise 2 How much do you know about toy robots? Check out this website and answer the questions on the blog.


a. What does the robot dog behave like?
b. What is Robocup?
c. What is Kismet's most special characteristic?
d. How many facial expressions can Kismet make?
e. What does the robotic head examine?

Exercise 3 To finish, read again this text about Carl's favourite gadgets. Then, take out some of the words. Can you reconstruct the text?

3-4s.1 Getting ready for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

The 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is near and it's high time we got ready for it!

The contest is a good opportunity for you to discover new music every year and have fun at the same time while you practise your English, since most countries decide to send in the contributions in English. It's also helpful to keep up with the European music scene. Did you know, for example, that the Swedish song has been among the top-5 most-played songs on Spotify for the last two months? And the contest hasn't even taken place yet!

You are going to listen to some of the songs participating in this year's competition. Discuss these questions with your partner before:

1. Why do you think many countries give up their languages and send their songs in English? Do you think it's a good idea? In your opinion, should Spain do the same? Why (not)?
2. What do you think most songs taking part in the contest are about?

Here are some of the top favourites to win the competition. Download the activities, put on your headphones, lay back and... place your bets!

Who do you think will win? Who do you think will get the worst place? What do you think their performances will be like? Write your comments below!

Country: Sweden
Artist: Loreen
Song: "Euphoria"

Country: Norway
Artist: Tooji
Song: "Stay"

Country: United Kingdom
Artist: Engelbert Humperdinck
Song: "Love will set you free"

Country: Belarus
Artist: Litesound
Song: "We are the winners"

Country: Italy
Artist: Nina Zilli
Song: "L'amore è femmina (Out of love)"

2s.6 Crime time

The following videos are part of this year's portfolio project in English about crimes taking place at night. Combining writing techniques and storytelling, 2nd ESO students  from IES S'Arenal in Majorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) have recorded in a voiceover their self-penned script of silent cartoon stories originally created by Future Thought. We hope you enjoy the videos and give us feedback! We invite you to write your comments at the bottom of this post.

CARTOON STORY #1 "THE GIFT"
By Jorge Soler and Irene Vilardell

CARTOON STORY #2 "PAINT JOB"

By Juanfran Mojer and Irene Armenteros

CARTOON STORY #3 "SLEEPWALKER"

By Noelia Sánchez and Jorge Fernández

CARTOON STORY #4 "ELECTROPHOBIA"

By Ángela Guijarro and Xisco González

CARTOON STORY #5 "HAVE A BLAST"

By Luna Arnal and María Cardell

CARTOON STORY #6 "THE BANK ROBBERY"

By Tfarah Ehmetu and Alicia Maura

2s.5 A virtual visit to the Sherlock Holmes museum in London

At the moment we are talking about Sherlock Holmes in class and reading one of his interesting cases. Today it's time for a virtual visit to the Sherlock Holmes museum in London!

Click on http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/home.htm and answer the questions below on the blog:

A. Imagine you and your family are in London and you want to visit the Sherlock Holmes museum.

     1. Where in London is the museum? Write the address.

     2. How many people will visit the museum? How much will the tickets cost for all of you?

     3. A complete visit to the museum is approximately 2 hours long. You arrive at the museum at 4.30 p.m. Can you finish your visit? Why (not)?

     4. What is the only day of the year when you CAN’T visit the museum?

B. Now click on “Museum Tour” and skim the text. Can you find this information?

     5. The period of time when Sherlock Holmes and Watson lived in the house (according to the story).

     6. A special place where visitors can pose for photos.

     7. The floor Dr. Watson’s room is on.

C. Look at the picture of Sherlock Holmes's study.

     8. Write a short paragraph about the study answering these questions:
         
          What can you see? Describe it.
          Do you think this study reflects Sherlock Holmes's personality? Why (not)?
          Compare it with the living room at your home. What is similar? What is different?
         
          Remember the structure of sentences in English: SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECTS
     
 
    

2s.4 A video about Sherlock Holmes

Here you are the video about Sherlock Holmes we watched and talked about yesterday in class. Below you can also find the worksheet about the video for those of you who didn't come to class. Remember you must study the information in the chart (exercise 1) for the exam!

2s.3 / 4s.1 A commercial break

At the moment we are talking about the importance of advertising in class. Companies create new successful brands, creative slogans and impressive logos to sell their products. What do you know about advertising? Could you create the perfect ad for a product?

ACTIVITY 1 (15')

To start with, have a look at this advert and answer the questions below on the blog:

1. What product is it advertising?
2. When the ad starts, it suggests the woman and her daughter are in a very particular place. Where?
3. Where are they actually? What is the woman doing?
4. What image of housework is this ad presenting?
5. Is this a sad or a funny ad?
6. Do you think it is a good ad? Is it memorable? Why (not)?


ACTIVITY 2 (5')

Discuss these questions in pairs:

1. Do you like watching ads on TV?
2. Which is your favourite ad on Spanish TV at the moment? Why?
3. In your opinion, what is the perfect recipe to make a successful ad? (E.g. good music, famous people, etc.)


ACTIVITY 3 (10')

Humour in ads is a way of getting your attention and making you remember the product. Watch these ads. Which do you think is the funniest?



Apart from humour, the three adverts above include other elements that make them memorable. Match the following elements with each advert:

stereotypes - children - references to important moments in history or film scenes
sex - unexpected twists - catchy music - happy feeling

ACTIVITY 4 (10')

Advertising is everywhere - and that can be a problem! Sometimes we are not conscious that a picture in a magazine or a film scene includes advertising. Click on this link and show you are a good detective! Can you find the hidden ads?


ACTIVITY 5 (55' + presentations)

How much have you learnt about advertising? It's time to make your own advert and present it to the class! In pairs, choose what you want to advertise: a drink, a holiday, your school...

Instructions for your presentation:

1. What product are you going to advertise? Think of a brand, a logo and a short and memorable slogan. Your teacher will give you card of different colours to present your product visually.

2. Your presentation must include a description of the product you are advertising. Think of the language you can use:

Direct speech: "Sarah, do you like...?"

Imperatives: Buy one, get one free!

Superlatives: It's the best / the fastest / the cheapest...
Adjectives: New, modern, clean...

Typical phrases in advertising: (Up to) 15% off, offer ends on 15th March, save €50, half price...

3. Bring your product to class (for example, a new type of chocolate) and present it to your mates!

Before you start, answer these questions to help you plan your presentation:

1. What is your product? Think of a memorable brand name.

2. What is your target audience (for example, old people, teenagers...)?

3. Brainstorm at least 10 words related to your product. Can you build a slogan and draw a logo based on these words?

4. Describe your product. Explain what it is like and why it is better than the rest. (2nd ESO: approx. 60 words / 4th ESO: approx. 100 words).

Now check the elements and the description included in your presentation:

1. Does it include a brand name, a slogan and a logo? Yes / No.
2. Do you explain what it is like? Yes / No.
3. Did you use all the recommended language listed above at least once? Yes / No.
4. Is the ad memorable (for example, it is funny or it includes an unexpected twist)?  Yes / No.

If you answered "No" to one or more questions, your task is not complete!

2s.2 Eurovision Song Contest 2011: Azerbaijan wins

Last Saturday, the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 took place. As we learned in class, the show was held in Düsseldorf because Germany won last year. After the very exciting voting, Azerbaijan won with the song Running Scared. Italy and Sweden were also very close to winning - they came 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Unfortunately, Spain only came 23rd out of 25 countries. No wonder - the song was crap!

Have a look at the top three performances and answer the following questions on the blog:

1. What do you think about the top three songs?
2. What performance do you like best? Why?
3. In your opinion, which is the catchiest song?
4. Who do you think is the best artist?
5. What do you think about the different song presentations (staging, lighting, camera shots, etc.)? Describe your favourite presentation (number of people on the stage, clothes, choreography, musical instruments, props, etc.)

1st place: Azerbaijan
Artist: Ell and Nikki
Song: Running Scared
Points: 221

2nd place: Italy
Artist: Raphael Gualazzi
Song: Madness of Love
Points: 189

3rd place: Sweden
Artist: Eric Saade
Song: Popular
Points: 185

One of my favourite songs was Finland. It only came 21st out of 25 but it is a very pleasant ballad about a topic you know a lot about: the environment. Watch the video, read the lyrics and answer these questions:

1. Who is Peter? Why is he worried?
2. Why does Peter visit the King and parliament?
3. Why won't people listen to him?
4. The title of the song, Da da dam, is a metaphor - it's got a secret meaning. Peter doesn't want to be da da dam. What do you think it means?

Peter is smart, he knows each European country by heart -
He likes to sit under an apple tree on his yard
And wait for an apple to fall.

When Peter is nine,
His teacher tells him that this planet is dying,
That someone needs to put an end to it all
And so when Peter comes home
He tells his mom:

CHORUS
'I’m going out in the world to save our planet
And I ain’t coming back until she’s saved;
I’ll walk my way to see the King and parliament
If they don’t help I’ll do it by myself...
I don’t wanna be
Da da dam, da da dam
Da da da da da da, da da dam.'

Peter is young
He tries to talk but no one listens to him -
Everybody’s busy living and dying,
Not thinking about what they’re doing.

But look at the boy who...
Went out in the world to save our planet
And he ain’t coming back until she’s saved
He walked his way to see the King and parliament
But they all turned their heads and walked away,
Singing
Da da dam, da da dam
Da da da da da da, da da dam.

And now I’m going out in the world to save our planet
And I ain’t coming back until she’s saved;
I’m walking in the footsteps that young Peter made
And everybody is welcome to join
And sing with me
Da da dam, da da dam
Da da da da da da, da da dam...