12/10/13

WE THOUGHT WE WERE ASLEEP

Today I show you my second book for the English Readers Collection:

We thought we were asleep



LEVEL: A2-B1. 4ESO, 1 Bahillerato.
AUTHOR: Rafael Alcolea Harold 
Author's webpage: www.rafaelalcolea@blogspot.com.es
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult.
Pages: 20
 PLOT:
 
Every year the goverments around the world give us a pill to sleep for some hours. The whole planet remains asleep at the same time, but... What would happen if you realise that you are not sleeping when you are supposed to be?
 The protagonist discovers a terrible secret hidden by the rulers of our world.
Will he escape from his fate?



Link Download for FREE: 
 http://www.bubok.es/libros/227897/WE-THOUGHT-WE-WERE-ASLEEP

Note for teachers: You are allowed to use this material in class.
Aquellos profesores que quieran usar estos materiales en clase pueden hacerlo. Solo deberán indicar la autoría del libro.


19/6/13

THE NEXT VICTIM

Today, we present the first title of our collection of MyPlaceforEnglish's Readers in English:



Title: The Next Victim.
Author: R. Alcolea Harold.
Genre: Mystery, vampires.
Pages: 50.
Level: Intermediate (A2, B1) / Bachillerato (1,2)
Price: 0.89€ / $1.19
Link to buy the Ebook  at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/THE-NEXT-VICTIM-ebook/dp/B00DESIHXC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371597773&sr=1-3&keywords=the+next+victim

This text is appropriate to be used in EFL Classroom. It includes questions for the understanding of the story and further activities to be carried out in class.

También podéis adquirirlo en Amazon España o cualquier país del mundo. Este libro es el primer título de la colección de lecturas para estudiantes de Inglés de nuestra web. Esperamos os guste. Se puede descargar y trabajar en clase por su económico precio.

Enlace de Amazon españa: http://www.amazon.es/THE-NEXT-VICTIM-ebook/dp/B00DESIHXC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371597532&sr=1-3&keywords=rafael+alcolea

18/4/13

Simple plan's SUMMER PARADISE WORKSHEET


Here you are the Worksheet for Summer Paradise song by Simple Plan. The keys are in the second paper, but don't cheat and look before completing the blanks and listen to the song, if you don't have it you can watch the music video in the following link:

http://www.myplaceforenglish.blogspot.com.es/2013/04/summer-paradise-next-song-for-our-class.html

I hope you have as fun as we had today in class!!

(Si estáis aprendiendo Inglés, esta es una buena canción para empezar a mejorar vuestro Listening, y es muy divertida, fácil de seguir. Si no tenéis la canción pinchad en el enlace de arriba y podréis ver el video mientras completáis la letra de la canción. Las soluciones en la segunda hoja.)



15/4/13

Summer Paradise next song for our class



Summer is coming back so we'll practice our listening skill with this song in class. I leave the video as a starter, the lyrics and activities coming soon...


|Simple Plan lyric - Summer Paradise
 

15/3/13

WEATHER IDIOMS

Idioms can be confusing for non-native speakers. Someone might have said to you that you look a bit under the weather. Or perhaps you heard someone say they were snowed under. What did they mean
Well, they definitely weren’t speaking about the weather. They were using an idiom, i.e. a phrase whose collective meaning is different to the meaning of its individual words.
Here are six common weather idioms to impress your friends with.
 
Frases idiomáticas sobre el Tiempo meteorológico.

raining cats and dogs

This is used to describe very heavy rain.
It’s terrible weather outside; it’s raining cats and dogs.

to weather the storm

To get through a difficult time and survive.
The government is in a crisis but they look like they will weather the storm.

to be snowed under

To have too much work or things to do.
Oh, no! Not another new project. I’m already snowed under. I don’t have time to do any more.

every cloud has a silver lining

You can always find something positive in a bad situation.
Don’t worry about losing your job, it might be the best thing that’s happened to you. Remember, every cloud has a silver lining!

stormy waters

To be in trouble. To be going through a period of problems.
The government is in stormy waters over its new transportation policy.
I’m in stormy waters with my girlfriend; I didn’t get home till 2 o’clock this morning.

to be a bit under the weather

To feel ill, sick; not feeling completely well.
I’m taking the day off work today – I’m feeling a bit under the weather.
You look a bit under the weather, John. Aren’t you feeling well?

5/3/13

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS OFTEN CONFUSED

 

10 uncountable nouns / Nombres incontables que solemos confundir :

1. advice
2. news
3.information
4. equipment
5. luggage
6. experience
7. progress
8. traffic
9. trouble
10.accommodation
 
 
 
Before uncountable nouns we often use some or any:
  • I need some advice.
  • We don’t have any news.
  • He doesn’t have much experience.
We can also use a lot of, a little, very little and much:
  • There is a lot of information.
  • They only have a little equipment.
  • They don’t have much luggage.
It is possible to make the following nouns countable by saying:
  • a piece of advice
  • two pieces of news
  • three pieces of information
  • four pieces of equipment
  • five pieces of luggage.
The nouns experience, progress, traffic, trouble and accommodation cannot be made countable in the above way.
 
N.B. Experience also exists as a countable noun, as in this sentence: ‘We had a lot of good experiences on our trip’.

21/2/13

Present Perfect vs Past Simple (Activity)

 
(You'll find the answers in the comments section of this post, but we have to check it in class first)


TIPS TO LEARN PHRASAL VERBS EASIER

Seven tips for making idiomatic phrasal verbs easier to learn:




1. Be careful when checking for meaning in your dictionary – phrasal verbs often have more than one meaning. Study the context of the sentence in which you first saw the phrasal verb. From that context you may be able to tell which definition in the dictionary is the one you need.
 
2. If possible, ask a native speaker about the meaning of the phrasal verb.
 
3. Find out how common the phrasal verb is (again, a native speaker will be a big help). Focus on learning common phrasal verbs, not ones which are seldom used.
 
4. Learn the phrasal verb as part of a sentence or phrase (this helps you to remember it).
 
5. Double check that you can use the phrasal verb correctly. You can do this by inventing your own sentence containing the verb and again asking a native speaker if it’s correct. By doing this, for instance, you will see if you are putting the object of the verb in the correct place. Look at these examples: ‘I invite friends over’ and ‘I invited over friends’ are both correct because the position of the object is flexible with this verb. However, with the verb give up, we can say ‘I gave up smoking but not ‘I gave smoking up’.
 
6. Don’t try to learn every meaning of a phrasal verb: one is enough to start with. Learn the other meanings once you are sure you’ll remember the first.
 
7. Look out for phrasal verbs in your favourite songs. Pop music is full of them, and having a melody makes words much easier to remember.
 
How about starting with the songs at MYPLACEFORENGLISH  ?
 

6/2/13

PHRASAL VERBS WITH VERB "PUT"



Phrasal Verbs 1

Here is a list of phrasal verbs that contain put.
A word in brackets, such as something, means that we can use the phrasal with or without that word.

put something down

To stop carrying something.
Put down those heavy bags you’re carrying and take a seat.
He stopped writing and put his pen down for a moment.

put money down

To pay a deposit on something.
I put a £1000 deposit down on the car.

put money in

To make a financial contribution.
The cost of driving to Paris and back is €400 so we all need to put in 100.

put something off

To postpone or delay something.
She put off telling him the bad news until he was feeling happier.
A procrastinator is someone who is always putting things off.

put off, be put off (something)

To get the feeling that something is bad and consequently to change your mind or plan.
I’d love to try oysters but the look of them always puts me off.
It puts me off my writing if lots of people are talking around me.
I was put off going to India when I read about how many tourists get ill when they go there.

be put off (by something)

To be distracted or disturbed by something else happening.
The footballer missed the penalty because he was put off by the crowd whistling.

put on weight

To get fatter.
He put on a lot of weight after he lost his job and had to stay at home.
No dessert for me, thanks – I don’t want to put on weight.

put something on

To turn on something electrical.
I’ll put the television on – there’s a good film on tonight.
Put the light on! I can’t see.

put someone out

To be upset by something someone has done.
I don’t want to put you out but could you work late tonight?

put up the price of something

To increase the price of something.
The government have put up VAT again.
We’ve put up our prices in order to cover our costs.

put something up

To fix something to a wall.
Why don’t you put a sign up to tell people where the party is.
I’m going to put some more pictures up on the wall.

put someone up

To accommodate someone; to let someone sleep at your house for a night or a few nights.
Can you put me up for a few days while I’m in London?

put up with something

To live with something you don’t like; to tolerate something you don’t like.
I have to put up with my husband’s snoring.
How do you put up with all the noise that your neighbours make?

12/1/13

GOALS AND TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR IN CLASS

 
( THE GUIDE BELLOW IS FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS, I'M SORRY STUDENTS, NEXT POST WILL BE FOR YOU)

Goals and Techniques for Teaching Grammar

The goal of grammar instruction is to enable students to carry out their communication purposes. This goal has three implications:
  • Students need overt instruction that connects grammar points with larger communication contexts.
  • Students do not need to master every aspect of each grammar point, only those that are relevant to the immediate communication task.
  • Error correction is not always the instructor's first responsibility.

Overt Grammar Instruction

Adult students appreciate and benefit from direct instruction that allows them to apply critical thinking skills to language learning. Instructors can take advantage of this by providing explanations that give students a descriptive understanding (declarative knowledge) of each point of grammar.
  • Teach the grammar point in the target language or the students' first language or both. The goal is to facilitate understanding.
  • Limit the time you devote to grammar explanations to 10 minutes, especially for lower level students whose ability to sustain attention can be limited.
  • Present grammar points in written and oral ways to address the needs of students with different learning styles.
An important part of grammar instruction is providing examples. Teachers need to plan their examples carefully around two basic principles:
  • Be sure the examples are accurate and appropriate. They must present the language appropriately, be culturally appropriate for the setting in which they are used, and be to the point of the lesson.
  • Use the examples as teaching tools. Focus examples on a particular theme or topic so that students have more contact with specific information and vocabulary.

Relevance of Grammar Instruction

In the communicative competence model, the purpose of learning grammar is to learn the language of which the grammar is a part. Instructors therefore teach grammar forms and structures in relation to meaning and use for the specific communication tasks that students need to complete.
Compare the traditional model and the communicative competence model for teaching the English past tense:
Traditional: grammar for grammar's sake
  • Teach the regular -ed form with its two pronunciation variants
  • Teach the doubling rule for verbs that end in d (for example, wed-wedded)
  • Hand out a list of irregular verbs that students must memorize
  • Do pattern practice drills for -ed
  • Do substitution drills for irregular verbs
Communicative competence: grammar for communication's sake
  • Distribute two short narratives about recent experiences or events, each one to half of the class
  • Teach the regular -ed form, using verbs that occur in the texts as examples. Teach the pronunciation and doubling rules if those forms occur in the texts.
  • Teach the irregular verbs that occur in the texts.
  • Students read the narratives, ask questions about points they don't understand.
  • Students work in pairs in which one member has read Story A and the other Story B. Students interview one another; using the information from the interview, they then write up or orally repeat the story they have not read.

Error Correction

At all proficiency levels, learners produce language that is not exactly the language used by native speakers. Some of the differences are grammatical, while others involve vocabulary selection and mistakes in the selection of language appropriate for different contexts.
In responding to student communication, teachers need to be careful not to focus on error correction to the detriment of communication and confidence building. Teachers need to let students know when they are making errors so that they can work on improving. Teachers also need to build students' confidence in their ability to use the language by focusing on the content of their communication rather than the grammatical form.
Teachers can use error correction to support language acquisition, and avoid using it in ways that undermine students' desire to communicate in the language, by taking cues from context.
  • When students are doing structured output activities that focus on development of new language skills, use error correction to guide them.
Example:
Student (in class): I buy a new car yesterday.
Teacher: You bought a new car yesterday. Remember, the past tense of buy is bought.
  • When students are engaged in communicative activities, correct errors only if they interfere with comprehensibility. Respond using correct forms, but without stressing them.
Example:
Student (greeting teacher) : I buy a new car yesterday!
Teacher: You bought a new car? That's exciting! What kind?