B2 ( Speaking): speaking practice: types of holiday (comparing and contrasting)

Download the speaking card here.
VOCABULARY: TYPES OF HOLIDAY

I CAN EXPLAIN SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES- UNIT 60 OXFORD WORD SKILLS
Remember to use the vocabulary
X and Y are (almost) identical except that/ exactly the same
X and Y are similar except for
The similarity between X and Y is that they both ....
They are alike.
Compared with X and Y, Z is very lazy.
To be completely different from the other two
apart from the fact that s/he's
The main difference is that ...is rather +adj in comparison with ...

WAYS OF COMPARING- Face2Face upper-intermediate- unit 5A

B2.1 FUNCTIONS: GIVING ADVICE

EXPRESSIONS TO GIVE ADVICE

Intermediate

1. ... might work.
2. ... would probably work.
3. ... (always) works for me.
4. If I was/were in your place, I'd ...
5. If that happened to me/In that case/If I had that problem, I'd ...
6. My (main/personal) recommendation is/would be ...
7. You'd better ...
8. In this (kind of) situation, I (would) always recommend/advise ...

Upper Intermediate

1. (If I was/were) in that (that kind of) situation, I'd ...
2. If I was/were in your shoes, I'd...
3. If  I was/were you, I'd...
4. Have you thought about ...?
5. If it was/were me, I'd ...
6. Make sure you (don't) ...
7. The sooner you ... the better.
8. Whatever you do, ...
9. Your only option is to ...
10. You have no choice but to ...

TELLING STORIES AND ANECDOTES. USING COMPARISON.

TELLING STORIES.
TELLING ANECDOTES.
READING STORIES ALOUD.
Past tenses: match sentence beginnings with endings.

LISTEN TO A WOMAN TALKING ABOUT WHEN SHE HAD A TERRIBLE DAY. DO THE TASKS BELOW THE VIDEO.

COMPARISON.
1. Degrees of comparison.
2. Talking about equality and inequality.

WRITING/SPEAKING B1-B2: TELLING STORIES, SEQUENCING YOUR IDEAS

TELLING A STORY: SEQUENCING YOUR IDEAS.
READ THIS USEFUL INFORMATION about the elements, expressions, connectors you need to sequence your story successfully.

B1 EXAM SAMPLES PRUEBAS TERMINALES ESPECÍFICAS DE CERTIFICACIÓN: READING AND SPEAKING TESTS

These are the official EOI tests, specifically, reading and speaking sample tests.

HOMEWORK Reading test: deadline 5 Nov.

COMPRENSIÓN DE LECTURA
How to do the reading:  first make sure you can do it without any interruption. Set a time limit of 60 minutes to do both parts.
Bring your results to class on 5 Nov.

SPEAKING CARDS SAMPLES 2O17
What can I do with the speaking cards? These cards will give you an idea of  the main topics you can find in the first part of the test, the monologue, and some of the most common interaction activities.

• To prepare your monologues you can use mindmaps, topic sentences and support your ideas with examples, justify your answers. 
• Remember that during the test you're not allowed to write and read a whole text in the form of an essay, but just notes, key words and phrases, vocabulary lists or mindmaps. 

Time to do each part:
Monologue: 3-4 minutes
Dialogue: 5 minutes per couple.

Remember: practice makes perfect, checking the pronunciation of words in a dictionary and reading aloud before delivering your monologue will help you feel more confident and pronounce clearly. 

FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE B1-B2: EXPRESSIONS TO GIVE YOUR OPINION ON A TOPIC.

from: http://www.vocabulary.cl/Lists/Opinions.htm

Personal Point of View

We use these words and phrases to express a personal point of view:

• In my experience…
• As far as I'm concerned…
• Speaking for myself…
• In my opinion…
• Personally, I think…
• I'd say that…
• I'd suggest that…
• I'd like to point out that…
• I believe that…
• What I mean is…

Asking for someone’s opinion

Do you agree?
What do you think?
What do you think about ... (this)?
Do you think that’s right?
What’s your view?
Are you OK with that?

General Point of View

We use these words and phrases to express a point of view that is generally thought by people:

• It is thought that...
• Some people say that...
• It is considered...
• It is generally accepted that...

Agreeing with an opinion

We use these words and phrases to agree with someone else's point of view:

• Of course.
• You're absolutely right.
• Yes, I agree.
• I think so too.
• That's a good point.
• Exactly.
• So do I; Neither do I
• I'd go along with that.
• That's true.
• I agree with you entirely.
• That's just what I was thinking.
• I couldn't agree more.

Disagreeing with an opinion

We use these words and phrases to disagree with someone else's point of view:

• That's different.
• I don't agree with you.
• However…
• That's not entirely true.
• On the contrary…
• I'm sorry to disagree with you, but…
• Yes, but don't you think…
• That's not the same thing at all.
• I'm afraid I have to disagree.
• I'm not so sure about that.

1º AVANZADO ( GRAMMAR FILE 1): INDIRECT QUESTIONS EXTRA PRACTICE

DIRECT AND INDIRECT QUESTIONS EXPLANATION.



EXERCISES
PLAY THIS GAME!

B1 speaking interaction exam video: organising a party

In this video you'll see two students doing the oral interaction part corresponding to a B1 level, in which they have to organise a party.
Note down the expressions used to keep the coversation going under the following headings:

1. Suggesting:
2. Accepting or/and refusing a suggestion or idea:
3. Reaching an agreement:

TOPICS FOR THE MONOLOGUES

DOWNLOAD YOUR TOPICS HERE.

FILE 5B: VOCABULARY AND SPEAKING: LOVE RELATIONSHIPS AND DATING

Here are some extra voabulary activities on dating and St.Valentine's Day.
Dating scene 1: clip.
Dating scene 1:activities. You will also find some functional language to give advice and persuade.
Dating scene 2 : clip
Dating scene 2: activities
Wedding


 

FILE 5B: VOCABULARY AND SPEAKING: PHRASAL VERBS FOR ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS

This lesson is about love.

In this lesson, you'll learn the most common expressions used by native speakers when it comes to love and relationships, it's everyday English. Have fun!

LISTEN TO THIS CONVERSATION. DOWNLOAD YOUR LESSON AND ACTIVITIES HERE.

HAPPY ST VALENTINE'S DAY!

SPEAKING: ABOUT MONOLOGUES AND INTERACTION SAMPLE MATERIALS

Here's a link of a page in which a student delivers a monologue about eathing habits.
To listen to the monologue click here.
You can also read the tapescript and the teacher's comment.

To read about monologues and interaction activitites, click here

NEW DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST US OFFICIAL TRAILER

TOPIC: CONVERSATION QUESTIONS ON BEAUTY http://tigertesl.blogspot.com.es/2007/06/beauty.html


1, Who do you think is the most beautiful person in your country?
2. Who do you think is the most beautiful person alive today?
3. What personality trait is the most important for inner beauty?
4. How do you define beauty, using your own words?
5. Would you ever date someone who was not conventionally attractive?
6.  What makes one person more attractive than another?
7. Do you think people from different countries than you see attractive the same way?
8. Is there someone famous that is considered beautiful, that you think is not?

9. Are beauty pageants good or bad? Should children be entered into beauty pageants?
10.  Do you think one gender or group worries more about beauty than another?
11. Would you want your children to be beautiful or talented?
12. What are some of the negatives about being beautiful?
13. What are some examples of social pressures to improve on natural beauty? For example, lipstick, haircutting, shaving, ...

 14. Does beauty affect one's success in life?
 15. Is it better to be physically attractive or intelligent?
 16. Is it better to be physically attractive or wealthy?
 17. Is beauty related to power?
 18. Can you think of anyone who is in a position of power that is not physically attractive?
 19. Do people spend too much time and money on beauty?
 20. How much time should be spent on making yourself look better each day?

•  Do you think people should have cosmetic surgery to enhance their looks? If so what is the minimum age when someone should have plastic surgery? 
• How popular is plastic surgery in your country? 
• What is the most popular feature for cosmetic alteration?

•  What do you think of the proverb, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder?" 
•  Do you have any proverbs or idioms from your country that relate to beauty? 

•  Do you think people with many tattoos can be beautiful?

•  Would you ever get a tattoo? 
•  Do you have a tattoo?
•   Do you think people with many piercings can be beautiful? 
• What kind of body piercing, if any, do you feel are acceptable? 

B2 ( Writing strategies): Portfolio 1- Topic and supporting sentences

Writing strategies writing paragraphs from Elena Gómez

 Practice

FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE: OFFERS, SUGGESTIONS.

USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR: OFFERS, SUGGESTIONS. ( Accepting and refusing offers)



Watch this clip from the film " The King's speech" and pay attention to the use of Shall I?

Mind mapping to start writing/speaking

What is mind mapping?

Mind mapping examples
1. Shakespeare
2. Suffixing rules

3.HOW ICT CAN ACCOMMODATE LEARNING STYLES

To learn more click here.
mind-map tools

B1 ( Speaking + Vocabulary) : Complaining about something you've bought and everyday problems

What's the problem? My computer...

the BBC Learningenglish- Complaining in a shop

You can complain when something you've bought or a service you've used isn't as good as you expected it to be. You can do this in writing or by speaking directly to the person or company. 

In English, we tend to soften our language (often by apologising for disturbing the person we're talking or writing to) before we start complaining. Then we make our complaint and finally we ask for some kind of compensation for our inconvenience or help with our problem. 

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Listen to the episode.

2. Do the activity below.( matching the verb and object) 

3. Read the language point.

4. Do the quizz.

Links: Complaining ( speaking) – episode ( spoken complaints, ways of saying something's not working, asking for action) + language point+ quizz

Ways of saying something's not working or not in good condition: 

OBJECTS: Here's a list of objects that can can break or malfunction.

anything with batteries or that uses power 

a computer 

a lift, a car, a machine,        

a machine where something (e.g. paper) moves through it

a communal or public machine (e.g. a photo-copier, a lift)

glass, china, pottery 

Match the verb list below+ the thing that's not working. ( Check your answers in the language point)

VERBS

1. to break - 2. to break down - 3. to be out of order -  4. to stop working -  5. to crash -  6. to jam -