September Speaking Exam Calendar

WEDNESDAY 10^th September

16:00	Isa B	Inma P
	Belén	Patricia L
	Inés	Ana C
17:00	Jorge M	Adrián
	Juanjo
	Jorge D	Marisa
18:00	Toñi	Vicente
	Isabel G	Isabel J
	Marisol	Cristina
19:00	Loli	Vicky
	Ginés	Jose Miguel

The world's strangest hotel requests and complaints

Do you remember when we talked about complaining about the lack of free wi-fi?

Read HERE about the world's weirdest hotel requests and complaints.

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

An international travel site (1) ____ a survey on hotel complaints around the world and found some unusual things. The travel website Skyscanner.net (2) ____ 400 international hotel staff in 39 different countries. It asked them about the strangest things guests had asked for or complained (3) ____. The site said that most of the unusual complaints were about food. Other weird requests were related to the room. Not every hotel room or the services on offer are to everybody's (4) ____, but the complaints in the Skyscanner survey were so strange it makes you (5) ____ how the hotel staff responded. It would be impossible for any hotel in the world to make some of the (6) ____ guests happy.

The food-related complaints were very (7) ____. One guest asked for 16 cucumbers a day, while another requested only the right legs of a chicken. The staff had no (8) ____ why just the right leg, or whether the left leg of a chicken didn't taste as nice as the right leg. One guest asked for something not (9) ____ found on the room service menu – crocodile soup. Other complaints were crazy enough to make staff wonder about the mental (10) ____ of the guests. A man at a luxury hotel in London complained that his room did not have a sea (11) ____. The nearest beach to London is about 75 km away. Other guests wanted the toilet filled with mineral water, a bath full of honey and a (12) ____ because his girlfriend snored.

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

1.	(a)	contracted	(b)	conducted	(c)	condemned	(d)	conned
2.	(a)	survey	(b)	surveyed	(c)	surveying	(d)	surveys
3.	(a)	of	(b)	on	(c)	from	(d)	about
4.	(a)	love	(b)	taste	(c)	want	(d)	liked
5.	(a)	wander	(b)	winder	(c)	widen	(d)	wonder
6.	(a)	complainant	(b)	complained	(c)	complaining	(d)	complaints
7.	(a)	weird	(b)	wired	(c)	weir	(d)	wire
8.	(a)	reason	(b)	thought	(c)	idea	(d)	rationale
9.	(a)	occasionally	(b)	regularity	(c)	usual	(d)	normally
10.	(a)	age	(b)	old	(c)	years	(d)	date
11.	(a)	view	(b)	scene	(c)	see	(d)	scenery
12.	(a)	discount	(b)	tip	(c)	bonus	(d)	deposit

Read more:http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1405/140515-hotel-complaints.html#ixzz32BUpbpLd

Funky phrasals to talk about Health

Check this out!

1. Click on this link from BBC Learning English to find some Phrasal Verbs to talk about HEALTH.
You'll find a conversation to listen to and read, and examples to put these phrasal verbs into practice.
Finally, you'll find a quiz.

2. Also from the BBC, an episode from The Flatmates.

3. Sport and Health Phrasal Verbs

4. Huge list of Health Phrasal Verbs with example sentences.

Carbon footprint

Some of you didn't know what the CARBON FOOTPRINT is.

Here you have the Wikipedia definition.

Now go to myfootprint.org to find out how big is your ecological footprint. (I wasn't happy with my results :( )

36% in UK will never buy own home

Read the report findings at:
1. www.shropshirestar.com
2. www.lloydsbankinggroup.com

Key words and phrases:
house prices / third / a new report / an achievable goal / property ladder / aspiration / statistics / concern / bleaker / capital / social problems / homeowners / standstill

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

House prices in the U.K. are now so high that a (1) ____ of British people believe they will never buy their own home. This is according (2) ____ a new report published by the Halifax Bank. Home ownership was once an achievable goal for generations of Britons. However, rising prices now mean the (3) ____ of getting on the property (4) ____ are on the decline. The report says that one in five twentysomethings has no desire to own their own home. Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at Halifax, said: "We may be (5) ____ towards the point where the aspiration to own a nice home will be replaced by the aspiration to simply live in one." He added: "It seems that people are now beginning to accept a (6) ____ of renting."

Britain's Office for National Statistics earlier this week stated that house prices have risen by 10.5% in the past year. It (7) ____ concern at what it describes as "runaway train" house prices. The average U.K. house was valued at $425,000 in 2013. Things get (8) ____ for house hunters (9) ____ to buy in London. Prices in the capital have risen by 18 per cent in a year to an average of $610,000. The Halifax report writes about possible long-term social problems (10) ____ from, "the division between homeowners and non-homeowners". The report warned that if there are (11) ____ first-time buyers, "the market will come to a (12) ____ ". If this happens, prices will have to come down.

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

1.	(a)	thrice	(b)	thirdly	(c)	third	(d)	third-time
2.	(a)	to	(b)	by	(c)	of	(d)	on
3.	(a)	prospects	(b)	prospective	(c)	prospectus	(d)	prospector
4.	(a)	ladder	(b)	steps	(c)	stairs	(d)	staircase
5.	(a)	backing	(b)	heading	(c)	stomaching	(d)	arming
6.	(a)	living	(b)	lifer	(c)	livelihood	(d)	lifetime
7.	(a)	ushered	(b)	sequestered	(c)	expressed	(d)	fast-tracked
8.	(a)	beaker	(b)	breaker	(c)	blacken	(d)	bleaker
9.	(a)	wishing	(b)	wished	(c)	wishes	(d)	well wishers
10.	(a)	arising	(b)	arousal	(c)	arisen	(d)	arousing
11.	(a)	lesser	(b)	fewer	(c)	smaller	(d)	dearth
12.	(a)	stood	(b)	standing	(c)	standstill	(d)	standard

Read more and find the key at: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1404/140423-home-ownership.html#ixzz31V2Bt2Jd

The Story of Bottled Water

• Where do you get your drinking water from?
• Do you drink tap water or bottled water?
• Is tap water safe?
• Is bottled water better for you than tap water?
• Do you think that there is an environmental impact to bottled water use?

Now watch a very insightful video I told you about. I remembered it when we did that listening exercise about facts and myths about our health...

The following video presentation is made by Annie Leonard, who fights for the environment and leads the movement to change the way we make, use, and throw away Stuff.

For over 15 years she’s been investigating where our Stuff comes from and where it goes when we toss it—along with the environmental and social impacts of that production, consumption, and disposal.
What she found inspired her to create The Story of Stuff Project, which works to give people around the world knowledge to fight for a more sustainable future.

1. According to the speaker, what is a manufactured demand?

2. How does the speaker dispute the statement  ”Bottled water is the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world.” What’s your opinion about it?

3. What solutions does she put forward?

4. Are there any facts that you feel are misleading and you’d like to argue with?

Read some related news from last year: Concord, Massachussets bans sale of small water bottles

Conversation questions

Interesting link!

To prepare your speaking exam, here you have CONVERSATION QUESTIONS on ANY topic under the sun! Ideal for practicing at home, you could choose a topic and a couple of questions and prepare short presentations.

TIP: Record yourself with your mobile and listen to yourself afterwards.

Talk by Jane Cronin

English Language and Culture

By Jane Cronin

English teacher and writer

Thursday, April the 24^th

19.00 hours

Classroom 0.1

More info:

 www.eoilorca.org

Or visit her website: 

http://www.janecronin.eu/

Novelist Gabriel García Márquez dies

Read the news and watch related videos at:

Latino Fox News
BBC News

To find out more about his life and work visit Wikipedia.

How did the work of García Marquez affect you? Some of his readers have shared their stories on the BBC website.

Some useful vocabulary: 
mourning - cremation - pass away - memorial - pay tribute - legacy
readership - Nobel laureate - nonfiction - spark controversy
accomplished journalist - cultured man

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Gabriel García Márquez, one of the world's greatest novelists, has died, aged 87. He passed (1) ____ at his home in Mexico. The official cause of death was a lung infection. The Colombian writer won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982, among many more top (2) ____ awards. The Colombian government has announced three days of national (3) ____. A spokesperson said García Márquez was, "a writer who changed the lives of his readership". His novel ''Love in the Time of Cholera" is the best selling book written in Spanish of (4) ____ time. He also wrote many more classics. Many (5) ____ place García Márquez among the most important writers ever. He helped develop a style of writing called "magical (6) ____ ".

U.S. President Barack Obama paid a tribute to Márquez, saying: "The world has lost one of its greatest (7) ____ writers." Former President Bill Clinton said: "I was always amazed by his unique (8) ____ of imagination, clarity of thought, and emotional honesty. He captured the pain and joy of our common humanity in       (9) ____ both real and magical." García Márquez once said he was a storyteller from a young age. He told an interviewer: "I have often been told by the family that I started (10) ____ things, stories and (11) ____ on, almost since I was born - ever since I could speak." Peruvian Nobel prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa said: "His novels will survive and will continue to (12) ____ new readers everywhere."

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

1.	(a)	over	(b)	up	(c)	away	(d)	down
2.	(a)	literary	(b)	literal	(c)	literacy	(d)	literate
3.	(a)	weeping	(b)	mourning	(c)	lament	(d)	morning
4.	(a)	every	(b)	any	(c)	whole	(d)	all
5.	(a)	criticize	(b)	plaudits	(c)	critics	(d)	pundits
6.	(a)	relativism	(b)	realism	(c)	realm	(d)	radicalism
7.	(a)	visionary	(b)	prophetic	(c)	perspicacious	(d)	predicting
8.	(a)	tips	(b)	bonuses	(c)	presents	(d)	gifts
9.	(a)	venues	(b)	locations	(c)	settings	(d)	areas
10.	(a)	practising	(b)	calculating	(c)	adding up	(d)	recounting
11.	(a)	as	(b)	so	(c)	such	(d)	say
12.	(a)	find	(b)	search	(c)	read	(d)	magic

Read more:http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1404/140421-gabriel-garcia-marquez.html#ixzz2zVtagz9R

Google investing $1billion in renewable energy

Read the news

- at CNBC (including a news report on "baby making" on snowy days ;P)

- at RT (including interesting comments from readers)

- at Liberty Voice

Flying penguins found by BBC programme

To start with the topic of environment, I found this interesting piece of news...

Flying penguins found by BBC programme

By Neil Midgley, TV & Radio Editor 1:10PM BST 01 Apr 2014

The BBC will today screen remarkable footage of penguins flying as part of its new natural history series, Miracles of Evolution.

Camera crews discovered a colony of Adélie penguins while filming on King George Island, some 750 miles south of the Falkland Islands.

The programme is being presented by ex-Monty Python star Terry Jones, who said: "We'd been watching the penguins and filming them for days, without a hint of what was to come. But then the weather took a turn for the worse. It was quite amazing. Rather than getting together in a huddle to protect themselves from the cold, they did something quite unexpected, that no other penguins can do."

BBC1 viewers will see the penguins not only take flight from the Antarctic wastes, but fly thousands of miles to the Amazonian rainforest to find winter sun.

"The film reveals nature's stunning glory in exciting and unexpected ways, so much so that it defies belief," said Mr Jones.

"Not only does it create a vivid and emotional experience for the viewer, it also illustrates just how bold and simple Darwin's idea of natural selection was."

Classification-Life-Animals-Vertebrates-Birds-Sphenisciformes-Penguins-Flying Penguins

More Info: Flying penguins are a very recent addition to the penguin family in evolutionary terms. A few isolated species have evolved to make the most of their small wings, allowing them to migrate to warmer climes for the harsh Antarctic winter months. Elusive and secretive, these populations of penguin are extremely hard to locate in the rainforest and even seeing them fly on their migration is a rare experience. Little is yet known about just how these small birds survive flying over such vast distances, or why the anatomical differences they possess enable them to fly when other penguin families cannot.

Scientific name: Volatis

Rank: Genus

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think of this recent discovery? Did you ever expect to hear that penguins could fly?

2. What did you find most surprising about this article? Why?

3. What are some surprising things that other animals can do?

...HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!

Danny Bhoy on Breakfast

A bit of Scottish stand-up comedy...

Council Housing

BEFORE WATCHING:

1. Are there any housing problems in your area? Which?
2. Which social groups are the most affected?
3. Can you give any specific examples? (homeless/squatters etc and their whereabouts).
4. Can you describe the conditions in which these people live?

WATCH THE FOLLOWING VIDEO ABOUT HOUSING PROBLEMS IN THE UK AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Describe Frances and Mandy’s home:

___________________________________________

2. Their health problems: The child’s _______________________

His parents’_________________________

3. Frances puts the problem down to __________________, and thinks they are also responsible for _________________________

4. From the information they give us on the screen we learn that:

Priority over houses is given to immigrants who _________________

The regulation for immigrants also applies for    _________________

5. The numbers last year:

________________ new dwellings were built for social needs

________________ people are still on the social housing waiting lists

6. The government hasn’t come up with either __________________ or with ________________ to build more social houses.

  

DEBATE:

A decent house is a basic need and a right for everyone.

Find ways of fighting the problem of homelessness. Choose the best.

Childcare fees higher than housing costs in UK

Read about this report and watch a video on BBC News and answer the following questions:

1. RAISING CHILDREN: How can parents make savings? Complete this table:

	Savings	Easy or difficult (and why)
Education
Food
Toys
Going out
Childcare
Entertainment

2. EXPENSES:Rank these. Put the things kids can most do without at the top.

• sports equipment   • mobile phone   • brand clothes   • candy and soda

• video games   • music   • club activities   • parties

3. LANGUAGE CLOZE

Families in the U.K. now pay more on childcare than on their mortgage. The (1) ____ costs of raising children are now (2) ____ yearly housing loan repayments. This is according to a survey conducted by Britain's Family and Childcare Trust. The organization says that in some (3) ____ of the country, nursery fees have risen by 13 per cent in the past year. The cost for babysitters and child-minders has risen by an average of four per cent. The report's author Jill Rutter told the Nursery World website that her (4) ____ showed that childcare in the U.K. is becoming (5) ____ and less affordable for families. She also said an insufficient (6) ____ of places in nurseries shows the U.K.'s system isn't working.

The report could well make would-be parents think (7) ____ about starting a family, or about the number of children they have. A family of four with one child (8) ____ a nursery and another in an after-school club spends an average of $12,571 a year. This compares to the average yearly housing loan payments of $12,000. Families are now spending (9) ____ quarter of their income on childcare. This does not include the costs of (10) ____, clothing and entertaining children. There are also the costs of toys, books and electronic gadgets on (11) ____ of that. The chief executive of the Trust warned that when many parents have to spend more than a quarter of their income on childcare, it's clear that the system "isn't fit for (12) ____ ".

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

1.	(a)	annulled	(b)	analysis	(c)	annual	(d)	annul
2.	(a)	outstripping	(b)	outstanding	(c)	outsourcing	(d)	outstaying
3.	(a)	parties	(b)	parts	(c)	partners	(d)	departs
4.	(a)	proof	(b)	doodles	(c)	scribbles	(d)	findings
5.	(a)	fewer	(b)	smaller	(c)	less	(d)	lower
6.	(a)	palette	(b)	number	(c)	criteria	(d)	flow
7.	(a)	twice	(b)	too	(c)	few	(d)	second
8.	(a)	attendant	(b)	attends	(c)	attendance	(d)	attending
9.	(a)	the	(b)	two	(c)	a	(d)	full
10.	(a)	foodstuffs	(b)	foodies	(c)	fodder	(d)	feeding
11.	(a)	place	(b)	top	(c)	list	(d)	demand
12.	(a)	purpose	(b)	reason	(c)	excuse	(d)	rationale

Read more:http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1403/140306-childcare.html#ixzz2xZChacIu

Cultural Awareness

Here you have some fun adverts from a bank to see the importance of cultural awareness.


Never underestimate the importance of local knowledge!

Useful vocab: get some some shut eye --- be frowned upon


The one with the eels in China:

The one with the commuter:

The one with the chrysanthemum in Italy:

Housing Vocab and Listening

Some LISTENING EXERCISES for you to practice:

1. Housing (you can find extra listening in the Follow-up section)

2. Homes and mortgages (More exercises can be found at the bottom of the page)

How clean is your house?

Watch again (if you're strong enough) the first part of the show HOW CLEAN IS YOUR HOUSE?

To find out how he learn to clean watch PART 2

Finally, watch the results in PART 3

A history of British homes

From the first Georgian townhouses to back-to-back Victorian terraces - and from 1960s towerblocks to sprawling modern estates - British homes have changed their shapes and sizes, and changed with the times, through the past 250 years.

Read more and watch the video of this exhibition here.

After that, surf the net for more related videos and articles.

Travelling - Listening practice

A vocabulary lesson on TRAVEL

Other listening and vocabulary exercises:
1. Utah Travel Ad
2. Hotel Check-In
3. Airport Announcement
4. Travel Log

Managing Diversity

Here you have an online Listening Exercise by the British Council.

Managing Diversity

Listen to an Interview on how companies manage diversity, then do Task 1 for General Comprehension Task 2 for Specific.

You can check your answers online and download both the transcript and the podcast.

And when you finish... Why not surfing the web to look for more?

Fawlty Towers

Watch some clips from Fawlty Towers, the best British sitcom ever.

The Language Lesson


The speaking moose


And finally, a customer with some complaints

Great Places to Look for Listening Exercises

1. ESL Cyber Listening Lab, with quizzes that are divided into Easy, Medium and Difficult. Each quiz comes with a pre-listening activity, a multiple-choice quiz based on the listening and post-listening activities that include vocabulary exercises.

2. Newsy, featuring short news segments across a variety of topics from business to entertainment, international to US news. Each video is posted with a transcript of the news report.

3. Voice of America News, a multimedia platform that delivers news to English learners across the globe. The site features MP3 audio and video that are public domain, which means you may download them. Each video is less than three minutes long and comes with subtitles.

4. Talk English, has listening lessons for Basic, Intermediate and Advanced students.You have the possibility to listen to a conversation, complete a multiple choice quiz and read a script of the audio.

5. Elllo provides a wealth of listening exercises in video or audio format. You can sort search results by level, topic, country or media (games, audio or video). All of the exercises come with vocabulary lists, additional exercises or quizzes, as well as download links. Unlike the other websites, this one includes audio with English speakers of different nationalities.



Adapted from busyteacher.org

The art of choosing

Watch the first 2'45'' of this TED talk about choice. The first part is about an anecdote related to cultural differences. Then answer the following questions.

)

1.    Where did the story take place?

2.    What did she want?

3.    What did she get? Why?

4.    What would have happened if she was in the USA?

OVER TO YOU NOW...

1.    What would happen in your country?

2.    What choices do you make every day?

3.    Have you ever made a difficult choice?

4.    What don't you have a choice in?

5.      What would you prefer?

For full transcript go to the TED talks page.

U.N. ‘very sorry’ as Syria talks end in failure

News from 18th February, 2014


Read the news at the Japan Times, at Dawn.com and The News.com.

Key words and expressions: Peace envoy, to reach a deal, death toll, warring parties, break-off, breakdown, setback, regime, to undermine, to baulk, besieged city, stalemate, to chastise...

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

The man in (1) ____ of the Syrian peace talks has apologised to the Syrian people. Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations' peace envoy to Syria. His job was to help the two sides in Syria's civil war (2) ____ peace. Syria's government and Syrian rebel leaders are in Geneva to try and find a way to end the war. It is the second time they have sat (3) ____ together. There are many difficult problems to discuss. The Syrian people are hoping the two sides can reach a (4) ____. They are tired of the fighting. More than 140,000 have died in the three-year war and three million need humanitarian (5) ____. Mr Brahimi said: "I'm very, very sorry. I think it is better that every side goes back and (6) ____, and accepts their responsibility."

The two sides in Syria's peace talks ended their discussions being (7) ____ with each other. Mr Brahimi asked them if they really wanted the peace talks to continue or (8) ____. They did not set a date for future talks. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the (9) ____ of the talks was very sad. He said it was "a serious setback in the search for peace in Syria". Syria's opposition leader (10) ____ Syria's government for the failure of the talks. He said: "The regime is not serious….I'm very sorry to say there is (11) ____ positive we can take from this." Syria's government team said the talks failed because the opposition people were "amateurs". Mr Brahimi was still hopeful and said: "I very (12) ____ hope there will be a third round."

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

1.	(a)	change	(b)	char	(c)	charge	(d)	chore
2.	(a)	make	(b)	take	(c)	fake	(d)	sake
3.	(a)	down	(b)	in on	(c)	in	(d)	on
4.	(a)	deal	(b)	seal	(c)	real	(d)	meal
5.	(a)	stuff	(b)	aid	(c)	assist	(d)	tents
6.	(a)	pictures	(b)	images	(c)	mirrors	(d)	reflects
7.	(a)	be	(b)	were	(c)	being	(d)	was
8.	(a)	non	(b)	no	(c)	never	(d)	not
9.	(a)	breakdown	(b)	accident	(c)	stall	(d)	obstacle
10.	(a)	said	(b)	blamed	(c)	pointed	(d)	apologised
11.	(a)	not	(b)	nothing	(c)	never	(d)	none
12.	(a)	many	(b)	most	(c)	much	(d)	more

Read more:http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1402/140218-syria-peace-talks.html#ixzz2uzJBiOQD