Hanukkah and the Holiday Armadillo

Friends - The One With The Holiday Armadillo from rarethen9 on Vimeo.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. At what time of year does Hanukkah take place?

2. Which religion celebrates Hanukkah?

3. What song do people sing at Hanukkah?

4. Who existed “years and years ago”?

5. What is Hanukkah the ‘festival’ of?

6. What was the miracle that happened?

7. What do they light at the end of the day?

Vocabulary: WORK

In this post I've gathered several exercises and activities to practise the topic of WORK:

1. Practise the vocabulary you learnt with a CROSSWORD

2. MATCH the two halves of several collocations.

3. Play a game of Snakes and Ladders to revise jobs.

4. Short-answer Jobs Quiz.

5. Listening exercises: "Setting up a company"

Innocent drinks

Visit the Innocent Drinks website to practise your reading and learn more about the company we talked about.

Also interesting, and to pratise your listening skills, a 25-minute TV documentary by the BBC to know more about the company, its ethos and how it started: BBC Start Up Stories: Innocent drinks (transcript available at the bottom of the screen)

Housework not good exercise

Housework isn't as healthy as people think... according to Science Daily.

Read it also on Medical Daily and on BBC News.

Now COMPLETE THE TEXT. Full text in the Comments section.

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

A new study suggests housework is not the (1) ____ form of exercise many people consider it to be. The report even went as (2) ____ as saying that those who did the most housework were usually those most overweight. The study is called, "Does doing housework keep you healthy? The contribution (3) ____ domestic physical activity to meeting current recommendations for health". It questions whether physical activities such (4) ____ do-it-yourself, gardening and housework are such good exercise. It acknowledges that (5) ____ activity is better than none, but says, "there is a danger that those undertaking domestic 'chores' may assume that this activity is moderate intensity" and wrongly (6) ____ it as proper exercise.

A total of 4,563 adults participated (7) ____ the survey, which was based on participants' weekly physical activity. The analysis from this research showed that people who included housework as part of their weekly exercise (8) ____ to be heavier. Research leader professor Marie Murphy said: "Housework is physical activity and any physical activity should (9) ____ increase the amount of calories [burnt]. But we found that housework was inversely (10) ____ to leanness, which suggests that either people are overestimating the amount of moderate intensity physical activity they do (11) ____ housework, or are eating too much to compensate for the amount of activity (12) ____."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	quantity	(b)	quantify	(c)	qualify	(d)	quality
2.	(a)	remote	(b)	distant	(c)	near	(d)	far
3.	(a)	for	(b)	of	(c)	from	(d)	as
4.	(a)	like	(b)	being	(c)	as	(d)	things
5.	(a)	every	(b)	all	(c)	any	(d)	much
6.	(a)	count	(b)	chalk	(c)	chart	(d)	clock
7.	(a)	under	(b)	in	(c)	on	(d)	at
8.	(a)	tended	(b)	extended	(c)	intended	(d)	tendered
9.	(a)	theories	(b)	theoretically	(c)	theory	(d)	theoretical
10.	(a)	relating	(b)	relations	(c)	related	(d)	relativity
11.	(a)	though	(b)	trough	(c)	through	(d)	thorough
12.	(a)	overtaken	(b)	mistaken	(c)	partaken	(d)	undertaken

Have something done

Have something done from Maria Hidalgo

And now... PRACTICE GALORE!

1. The Passive Voice: GET/HAVE SOMETHING DONE
2. Have something done: More explanations and a test
3. Five interactive exercises
4. Money, money, money!
5. Type the correct verb
6. Complete the sentences
7. BBC Learning English GRAMMAR CHALLENGE

Love by numbers

Luisa Dillner, former Guardian columnist and author of Love by numbers, discusses the statistics behind love, romance and relationships. 

Audio: Relationship statistics: 'Internet dating works'

You can read the columns she wrote about Love and Relationships in The Guardian.

Finally, also from The Guardian, a debate on love and new technologies. You can post your comments there (or here) giving your opinion, if you like!
Debate: Is Internet dating killing romance?

Break-up stories

Visit boyfriendreplacement.com and read the stories of how people broke up with their exes. Which story do you think is the most amusing, or the most heartbreaking?

Here's an example:

Wet Rat

I can't believe this really happened. My boyfriend and I had been dating about three years. He lives on a beautiful yacht on the San Francisco Bay. We went sailing all the time and liked to hang out together on the boat. One day I decided to suprise him by visiting him on the boat in the afternoon. When I got there I called out to him as I hoisted myself onto the deck. He came running out of the cabin and looked distressed, instead of happy, to see me. He said, "Please leave, Gen!" I knew something was going on, so I pushed past him and ran to the cabin. He tried to stop me, but I was too fast. Inside the cabin, under the sheets was a woman. I ran back up the steps and started screaming at him. He said, "Get out, I don't want to see you anymore". As he turned to unfurl the mainsail, I stepped towards him and and shoved him over the rail into the bay. Then, as the wet rat was scrambling to get out of the ice water, I went back into the cabin and grabbed the $800 Williams-Sonoma Espresso machine I gave him and threw that overboard, too.
-Genevieve, SF

My recommendation: surf through the website, you might mind some fun and interesting stuff, including some yummy chocolate recipes! 

D is for divorce

Sesame Street tackles a touchy topic...
 
'D' Is For Divorce: Big Feelings on Sesame Street from Tumblr on Vimeo.

You can read the full article from TIME magazine HERE.

Household chores

Finally, here you can listen and practice household chores vocabulary.

Most divorces due to household chores

What do you think are the main grounds for divorce? Infidelity? Money? Children? Boredom? Housework? Violence?

Look at the reports published in The Telegraph and The Daily Mail last week.

After reading, please complete the CLOZE. The full text can be found in the comments section.

Most divorces due to household chores (23rd November, 2012)

Most people believe that the biggest (1) ____ for divorce are either infidelity or arguments over money. However, a new report from British law firm Gateley suggests (2) ____. According to its analysis of 350 divorce cases, seven out of ten divorces occur because of disputes (3) ____ who does what household chores. Twenty per cent of divorces are due to unfaithfulness. Gateley says (4) ____ are the days when the wife did all the cooking and cleaning. Dual income marriages now mean (5) ____ responsibilities for vacuuming, doing the dishes and tidying. Gateley advised couples to discuss who does what before walking down the          (6) ____. A spokeswoman said that, "going into a marriage blind could be a recipe for disaster".
Conversely, a study in Norway suggests that couples who share household chores are more (7) ____ to split up. Thomas Hansen, co-author of the report 'Equality in the Home,' said the divorce rate among couples who shared housework (8) ____ was 50 per cent higher than for those where women did all the work. Mr Hansen said that in Norway women did most of the housework in 70 per cent of marriages, and were "(9) ____ happy" to do so. An adverse side effect of marital (10) ____ is that many families are now "too poor to split up". The U.K. charity Relate said that in many (11) ____-income families, couples stay together because they can't afford to divorce. Relate says this results in a "(12) ____ " home environment.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	grounds	(b)	grounded	(c)	grounding	(d)	grind
2.	(a)	wisely	(b)	other	(c)	otherwise	(d)	other than
3.	(a)	round	(b)	due	(c)	over	(d)	because
4.	(a)	vanish	(b)	history	(c)	finish	(d)	gone
5.	(a)	split	(b)	splits	(c)	split up	(d)	split ends
6.	(a)	gangway	(b)	aisle	(c)	corridor	(d)	path
7.	(a)	likes	(b)	liking	(c)	liked	(d)	likely
8.	(a)	equal	(b)	equally	(c)	equalise	(d)	equality
9.	(a)	largest	(b)	large	(c)	largely	(d)	larger
10.	(a)	harmony	(b)	discord	(c)	vocal chords	(d)	discern
11.	(a)	mean	(b)	richer	(c)	top	(d)	middle
12.	(a)	poison	(b)	toxic	(c)	vaccine	(d)	antidote

50 ways to leave your lover

"The problem is all inside your head", she said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover

She said it's really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued
But I'll repeat myself at the risk of being crude
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover

Just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

Just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

She said it grieves me so to see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do to make you smile again
I said I appreciate that and would you please explain
About the fifty ways

She said why don't we both just sleep on it tonight
And I believe in the morning you'll begin to see the light
And then she kissed me and I realized she probably was right
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover

Just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free 

Break-up lines

Read 10 top break-up lines from a website. Which one do you think is the best / worst way of starting a break-up conversation?

“We need to talk”

“It’s not you; it’s me”

“When I said I was working late, I was lying”

“Do you remember when I said that everything was all right…?”

“You are like a brother/sister to me”

“I think we’d be better off as friends”

“I don’t love you any more”

“I need some time to be on my own”

“You’re a fantastic person, but you’re too good for me”

“Can I have my keys back, please?”

Doris Lessing dies at 94

Revenge is sweet

"Don't get mad, get everything". 

Ivana, ex-wife of millionaire Donald Trump, giving advice to wronged wives.

Ivana Trump (1949- ) is a Czech-born Olympic skier, who emigrated to the USA where she met and married American property millionaire Donald Trump. When they divorced, Ivana is reported to have won a settlement of more than 20 million dollars.

*mad in American English means angry.

Do you think it is right that spouses of wealthy people often receive huge divorce payments from their ex-partners even when they weren't married for very long?

Look now at some famous sayings about revenge. Whick saying best fits each of the three stories we read in class? Do you agree with any of them?

‘Revenge is sweet’

‘Revenge is a dish best served cold’

‘In revenge, woman is more barbarous than man’

‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’

Family secrets

THE INTERVIEW

Here you have the tracks and transcripts for the listening exercises we did in class.

Part 1. Track 1.15
Part 2. Track 1.16
Trascripts

IN THE STREET
Track 1.18
Transcript

Speaking: Answer he same questions:
1. How much do you know about your family tree?
2. Have you ever researched it?
3. Is there anyone in your family you'd like to know more about?


Read an article: Should family secrets remain hidden?

Take care of yourself

"I received an email telling me it was over. I didn't know how to answer. It was as if it wasn't meant for me. It ended with the words: Take care of yourself. I took this recommendation literally. I asked hundred and two women, chosen for their profession, to interpret the letter in their professional capacity. To analyze it, provide a commentary on it, act it, dance it, sing it. Dissect it. Squeeze it dry. Understand for me. Answer for me. It was a way to take the time to break up. At my own pace. A way to take care of myself."  Sophie Calle.

Here is a video where you can see what the exhibition looked like.



Now watch an interview where Sophie Calle explains what she did and why. You can also see her work. (Warning: She has a very strong French accent)

Breaking up is hard to do

Find the lyrics here.

Past narrative tenses

Narrative tenses from esuarezguillen 

• The past: narrative tenses, used to, and would  
• Gap fill exercise
• Grammar Notes and more exercises

NARRATIVE TENSES

More PowerPoint presentations from eva buyuksimkesyan

How to write a reference letter

According to Wikipedia, an employment reference letter can cover topics such as:

- the employee's tasks and responsibilities
- the duration of employment or tasks/ responsibilities
- the position relative to the author of the reference letter
- the employee's abilities, knowledge, creativity, intelligence
- the employee's qualifications (foreign languages, special skills)
- the employee's social attitude
- reason(s) of employment termination
- some text with the actual recommendation itself (e.g. 'I unequivocally recommend ... [name] as a ... [function/ role] and would be happy to hire him/ her again').

Here you have some useful links to help you write a REFERENCE LETTER:

Sample reference and recommendation letters
Daily Writing Tips
Writing reference letter
How to write a reference letter

Have vs. Have Got

1. Listen and read HERE what the Grammar Girl says: Is "have got" acceptable English?

2. "have" Revision exercise

Baldness treatment a step closer

Let's talk about HAIR...

* How can we look at it better?
* How much of a problem are these situations for you?

Losing hair  -  Greying  -  Dandruff  -  Split ends  -      Bad hair days  -  Hairstyle

*How would you define your hairstyle?

straight  -  closely cropped  -  very long  -  wavy  -  curly  -  shaved  -  punk  -  ponytail

Now read the news:
Baldness treatment a 'step closer' by the BBC
New Hair Loss Treatment by livescience

Finally, complete the gaps: (full text in the comment section)

Help may soon be at (1) ____ (or head) for the millions around the world who suffer from and worry about baldness. Scientists from the University of Durham in the UK, and Columbia University Medical Centre in the USA, say they are close to finding a (2) ____ to grow new hair. This is also good news for (3) ____ victims, who are likely to be those first helped by any new treatment. The scientists have grown new hair follicles in the laboratory. This is different from currently available treatments, which (4) ____ transplant hair from the back of the scalp to cover bald (5) ____ and areas without hair at the front of the head. Unlike transplants, the new (6) ____ will allow the hair to keep growing naturally in the follicle.

Researcher Colin Jahoda did not give a (7) ____ in which his research will be commercially available. He said: "It's closer, but it's still some way (8) ____ because in terms of what people want (9) ____ they're looking for re-growth of hair that's the same shape, the same size, as long as before, the same angle. Some of these are almost engineering (10) ____." He did assure those with receding hairlines and those thinning on top that there is hope. He said: "I think baldness will eventually be (11) ____, absolutely." Professor Jahoda's colleague Angela Christiano was equally positive, saying their research could "revolutionise" hair-loss treatment. She said: "The first step is actually (12) ____ that it can be done."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	face	(b)	back	(c)	hand	(d)	hair
2.	(a)	solution	(b)	solvent	(c)	solved	(d)	salutation
3.	(a)	burns	(b)	burning	(c)	burnt	(d)	burn
4.	(a)	simply	(b)	easily	(c)	justly	(d)	costly
5.	(a)	circles	(b)	spots	(c)	lines	(d)	hairs
6.	(a)	pedicure	(b)	promiscuity	(c)	procure	(d)	procedure
7.	(a)	timely	(b)	timepiece	(c)	timeframe	(d)	time-to-time
8.	(a)	around	(b)	ajar	(c)	afar	(d)	away
9.	(a)	cosmetically	(b)	beautifully	(c)	prettily	(d)	outwardly
10.	(a)	solved	(b)	solutions	(c)	solvents	(d)	soluble
11.	(a)	treatise	(b)	treatable	(c)	treated	(d)	treating
12.	(a)	proofing	(b)	growing	(c)	showing	(d)	lengthening

The Family of Charles IV

The Family of Charles IV by Francisco Goya in 1800

The man in the shadows in background at left is Goya himself. Others, left to right (all dates are birth-death): Carlos Maria Isidro (1788-1855); the future Fernando VII (1784-1833); Maria Josefa (1744-1801), sister of Carlos IV; an unknown woman; María Isabel (1789-1848); Queen Maria Luisa (1751-1819); Francisco de Paula (1794-1848); King Carlos IV (1748-1819); Don Antonio Pascual, brother of the King (1755-1817); Carlota Joaquina (1775-1830, only part of head visible); Don Luis de Parma (1773-1803) and his wife Maria Luisa (1782-1824), holding baby Carlos Luis (1799-1883), the future Duke of Parma.

Video commentary of the painting.

Track and Transcript of the listening we did in class.

Family Vocabulary

Here you have some exercises to revise Family Vocab: 

1. Crossword

2. Lexis in context

3. Idioms

WHAT DO YOU CALL...

1. a person in your family who lived a long time ago?
2. your grandparents' parents?
3. something shocking, embarrassing, etc. that has happened to you or your family in the past and that you want to keep secret?
4. a woman on her wedding day?
5. a man on his wedding day?
6. a diagram that shows the relationship between members of a family over a long period of time?
7. the study of family history?

(Answers in the Comments section)

Bonfire night

On the night of November 5th, throughout Britain, the capture of Guy Fawkes is commemorated with bonfires and fireworks.

Learn more about it with this video.

Real beauty sketches

The video we saw in class...


And here you have the article about it.

Lou Reed dies at 71

Read what the wikipedia says about Lou Reed and the obituary at Rolling Stones Magazine.

Now a version of his song Perfect Day performed by various artists in 1997. See how many you can recognize.



You can find the lyrics of this song here.

Happy Halloween!

Here you have some interactive listening activities about Halloween:

Halloween in the USA

Spooky Travel Destinations

And also a video with some Easy DIY Ideas for Halloween party snacks!

The world's most typical person

Before watching the video...

Do you consider yourself typical? average? 
What characteristics make us special or different? What make us ordinary?

Here is an interesting video about what is the most typical person in a world of 7 billion people.



Please do not hesitate to leave any comments!

Children worrying about their body image

This is the article we saw in class...

...as seen by Sky News.

...as seen by the BBC News. It includes a short video interview with Natasha Devon, body image campaigner.

Appearance and Personality

Adjectives describing appearance and personality from Ljubica Ruzinska

Appearance Vocabulary

More practice on the vocabulary to describe people's appearance:

1. Describing people: age, build, colouring, face, being tactful...

2. Adjectives: Definitions and examples

3. Listening exercise: Body Image Survey Results

On public schools

"When I was a boy on the Mississippi River there was a proposition in a township there to discontinue public schools because they were too expensive. An old farmer spoke up and said if they stopped building the schools they would not save anything, because every time a school was closed a jail had to be built."

Mark Twain American humorist, writer and lecturer. 1835-1910

Present and Past Habits

Clink on the following links to practice the many ways to express Past and Present Habits.

* Habits: Grammar notes and useful links
* Modals to express habits
* Grammar Notes and Practice of Past Habits
* Grammar Test (and other you might find interesting)

How do you feel today?

Personality Types

Here you have a link to practise some vocabulary about Personality Adjectives and their pronunciation: PERSONALITY TYPES

The Logical Song

Maybe Supertramp's most popular song...

You can check the lyrics here.

Now you can practice on Lyrics training.

What do you think is the message of the song?

A Grammar Quiz

Here's a quiz to revise and test your knowledge of English grammar.

Keep a note of any mistakes you make, and check with your me if you want after you have finished.

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/quiz.html

No class on Wednesday 16th October

Dear students,

Due to a compulsory training course I have to attend, there will not be class on Wednesday 16th October.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Conchita

Ps. I'll make it up to you with lots of homework ;)

Olga's Conversation classes

Besides Olga's visit once every two weeks, you will have more chances to practise English with her on the following dates:

TUESDAYS from 18-19h

15th October, 29th October

12th November, 26th November

10th December

7th January, 21st January

18th February

18th March

1st April, 22nd April

6th May, 20th May

The Spanish language school that delivers lessons on a budget

Here you have the original news article of The Guardian about our Spanish State-funded language schools.



What's your opinion? Do you agree with the entire article?
Which words or expressions did you learn from it?

Relaxing cup of café con leche

Would she pass an Advanced 2 exam?



Now Prince Felipe's speech, which starts at 1:40. Sorry I couldn't find it any louder!



And finally, Pau Gasol's and his fantastic American accent!


These last two would definitely pass! but who do you think would get a better mark?

Speed dating

If you only had one minute to introduce yourself to a would-be partner, would you also use it to talk about your profession or social success? Is that what people are interested in?

Watch here a funny fragment from an episode of the TV series "Sex and the City", about speed dating (a technique used to meet many people in a short period of time and decide if you like any of them).

How does she finally make a guy be interested in her?

PRNs 2013-14

Las Prácticas de Refuerzo de Nivel Avanzado de este año tendrán el siguiente horario:

NIVEL AVANZADO 2

LUNES DE 18H A 19H AULA 1.5. INMA MURCIA*

MIÉRCOLES DE 18H A 19H AULA 1.4. – ANA GÓMEZ*

JUEVES DE 17H A 18H AULA 1.21 – AINOA AGUILERA

*Las profesoras Inma Murcia y Ana Gómez no tendrán ningún inconveniente en que entréis a clase a las 18:30.

Easy Virtue

The Film Club is back!

Every Thursday at 16:30 a film will be shown in Room 1.20

This week's movie is Easy Virtue. Watch the trailer!

EOI Corner

Os presento un proyecto creado por la profesora Elena García, profesora de la Extensión de Mazarrón que he añadido a Websites of Interest.

Se llama the EOI Corner (www.eoicorner.com) y es una plataforma virtual abierta destinada a los alumnos de inglés de todas las EOIs de la Región de Murcia. Es un punto de encuentro y de trabajo colaborativo, un lugar donde compartir recursos, proyectos, inquietudes y estrategias. Es la plataforma ideal para aquellos alumnos que quieren ir más allá de las clases. Especialmente para aquellos que siendo conscientes de la importancia del aprendizaje autónomo desean compartir y maximizar recursos. Todo ello mediante un trabajo cooperativo y sin necesidad de conocerse físicamente. Los alumnos deben ser los principales creadores de contenidos. 

Para participar en el proyecto: debéis mandar vuestra contribución a eoihelen@gmail.com, indicando nombre, escuela, nivel y la sección y tarea correspondiente, para que se pueda publicar en la sección adecuada. 

De parte de Elena: "Mil gracias por vuestra ayuda y espero que os guste."

The book for this year

This year there is no classbook as such. However, the book for you to work with will be Grammar for CAE and Proficiency

This book won't be used in class, however we (the teachers) have come up with a year programme so you can do the Grammar units at home at a good pace. You can see it and download it from here.

Multiple Intelligences

“Intelligence is the capacity to do something useful in the society in which we live. Intelligence is the ability to respond successfully to new situations and the capacity to learn from one’s past experiences.”

—Dr. Howard Gardner, author, Frames of Mind and Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice

Dr. Howard Gardner, a professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, developed his theory of multiple intelligences twenty years ago. Simply put, Dr. Gardner posits that people employ several different types of intelligence, rather than one general type.

Find your strengths!

http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

Información de principio de curso

Aquí tenéis la información administrativa de la que os hablé en la presentación del curso. 

CAMBIOS DE GRUPO: Se podrá realizar en secretaría a partir del 7 de octubre. Si no hay huecos en el curso deseado habrá que acudir al cartel de Permutas de la planta baja en cuanto esté disponible.

ASISTENCIA: Se va a llevar seguimiento RIGUROSO de todos los alumnos. La falta de asistencia no justificada puede dar lugar a baja y a la pérdida de derechos de matrícula. No obstante, el alumno podrá interrumpir su matrícula mediante uno de los siguientes procedimientos:

INTERRUPCIÓN DE MATRÍCULA

1º Renuncia voluntaria. Los alumnos podrán renunciar a su matrícula durante los primeros 15 días del curso solicitando un modelo al efecto en secretaría. No necesitan presentar justificación y no consta en el expediente ni computa a efectos de permanencia, pero tendrán que pasar por un nuevo proceso de admisión cuando deseen volver a matricularse en la EOI.

2º Anulación voluntaria justificada por motivos médicos o laborales hasta el 30 de abril. En este caso sí consta en el expediente, pero no computa a efectos de permanencia. En este caso los alumnos no tienen que pasar por el proceso de admisión de nuevo. IMPORTANTE: sólo podrán solicitar la anulación dos veces por nivel.

PÉRDIDA DE DERECHOS DE MATRÍCULA (lo que supondrá la baja del alumno). Dos posibles motivos:

1. Si no se ha incorporado el día 15 de octubre

2. por ausencias que superen el 30% de las horas lectivas del curso, lo cual equivale a unas 19 faltas. Antes de causar de baja, el centro publicará en los tablones y en la página web el listado de alumnos a los que se vaya a dar de baja y dará tres días hábiles para que soliciten la anulación de matrícula mediante la presentación de justificantes, si se tienen. Después habrá una resolución.

En ninguno de los casos se devuelven las tasas de matrícula.

• MENORES DE EDAD: Necesitarán una autorización firmada por los padres siempre que falten o necesiten salir o entrar antes de la hora establecida.

• EVALUACIÓN. Habrá una evaluación de progreso en febrero, una evaluación final en junio y otra extraordinaria en septiembre. A lo largo del curso, se realizarán diferentes pruebas de las distintas destrezas para la evaluación de progreso individual de cada alumno y se llevará un registro de las mismas mediante una ficha que guardará el profesor. Se evalúa por destrezas: Comprensión Escrita, Comprensión Oral, Expresión Escrita y Expresión Oral y, para ser considerados Aptos y poder pasar al curso siguiente, se necesita obtener la calificación de Apto en cada una de las cuatro destrezas. Si en junio se obtiene No Apto en alguna de las cuatro destrezas, no hay que volver a examinarse en septiembre de todas las destrezas, sino sólo de aquellas en las que obtuvieran la calificación de No Apto.

• OBJETIVOS y CRITERIOS DE CALIFICACIÓN: Consultad  la programación en la página web de la EOI, sección del departamento de inglés. 

Welcome!

Dear ADVANCED LEVEL 2 students of EOI Lorca,

We are pleased to welcome you to this new class blog, your blog, as a meeting point for the class this year.

In this space you will mainly find extra material and activities related to what we do and see in class, as well as, hopefully, some fun stuff that might as well amuse you while practising your English.

However, the most important thing: feel free to participate with your comments and ideas and start using your English effectively. It's your blog after all! Remember that together we can make the course more interesting and fun.

Have a great year!

Conchita

Conversation questions: Money & Shopping

A few questions for inspiration...

http://iteslj.org/questions/money.html

You can find more questions on every topic under the sun here.

Online shopping

Article: Top 10 benefits of online shopping.

Activity: Train your accent. Read, listen and practise pronunciation by copying the intonation. Why not also tape yourself?

I wish I could go travelling again

Song facts:
Thos song is sung byStacey Kent, an American jazz singer. The lyrics were written by Kazuo Ishiguro, the Japanese/British writer, most famous for the novel The Remains of the Day.

+ Listen to the song once and tick the travel-related problems that the singer mentions.

Feeling tired after a long-haul flight     Losing a suitcase   Being robbed    Rude waiters    Flight overbooking Almost missing a flight     Being irritated by a travelling companion     Disappointing food    Bad weather    Unsatisfactory accommodation     Crowded beaches



Here you have the lyrics to check your answers.

+ Find words in the song which mean:

1. sunglasses (informal)
2. drink, taking very small amountseach time
3. a sheet of strong cloth that stretches out from above a door or window to keep off the sun or rain.
4. to become lost / stolen (idiom)
5. not impressed, excited or worried about sth, because you have seen or experiencec it many times before.
6. go somewhere suddenly and quickly.
7. not perfect; not working correctly
8. too expensive; costing more than it is worth.
9. --- of sth, completely lacking in sth.

Answers can be found in the comments section.

Acupuncture good for a bad back

Complete the gaps

Many people think (1) ____ about doctors sticking needles in them. However, research into acupuncture might change people’s opinions. A new study (2) ____ this ancient Chinese therapy shows it is better than usual hospital treatments at relieving back pain. The research team found acupuncture is “better” for a bad back than the (3) ____ given in the West. This may be good news for millions of people who suffer from back pain. (4) ____ to 85 per cent of us will experience a painful back at some time in our life. The research team surveyed 638 patients with (5) ____ back pain. Researcher Dr Daniel Cherkin said all the varieties of acupuncture in the study “had beneficial…effects” when compared to usual treatment. He said acupuncture was (6) ____ safe and effective.

Acupuncture is growing (7) ____ popularity around the world. It is a technique in which very thin needles are pushed into specific points on the body. Experts say each point has (8) ____ to a special energy flow. The needles can stop the flow of energy that causes pain. They also say acupuncture is (9) ____. Western doctors do not understand how or why these lines of energy (10) ____. The WHO recommends acupuncture for over 20 different medical problems. Dr Cherkin’s study showed acupuncture worked. After eight weeks, up to 69 per cent of the test patients (11) ____ acupuncture said their back pain improved. This compares (12) ____ just 39 per cent for the patients who received conventional care.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	paired	(b)	double	(c)	two	(d)	twice
2.	(a)	into	(b)	onto	(c)	out of	(d)	on
3.	(a)	cares	(b)	care	(c)	cared	(d)	caring
4.	(a)	At	(b)	Down	(c)	Up	(d)	On
5.	(a)	lowly	(b)	low	(c)	lower	(d)	lows
6.	(a)	bother	(b)	both	(c)	booth	(d)	bothersome
7.	(a)	on	(b)	an	(c)	of	(d)	in
8.	(a)	access	(b)	excess	(c)	assess	(d)	axis
9.	(a)	pained	(b)	painless	(c)	pains	(d)	painfully
10.	(a)	workaholic	(b)	workable	(c)	works	(d)	work
11.	(a)	had	(b)	has had	(c)	having	(d)	has
12.	(a)	to	(b)	by	(c)	at	(d)	of

The key can be found in the comments section.