Christmas is coming! And the weather is not very good. It's raining and raining.

Last week we talked about family members and practiced describing them. Students brought a photograph but finally we did not have time to talk about them.

So please, bring your photograph again next Tuesday.

We also reviewed imperatives and a more polite way to make requests as in:

Can you give me a glass of water?

or

Can you switch on the light, please?

Sorry, I've looking for a video or listening for you about describing people but I did not find anything. So, just do the homework I gave you: asking 10 questions as in this example:

Is Mary thin and tall?

Then answer the questions. 5 of them will be positive: Yes, she is. The other 5, negative as in:
No, she isn't, she is very short and she is heavy.

Sorry it has taken so long, it has been a strange week for me. I'm sure most of you are busy with other things, too.

Last week, we practiced the names of family members and using the possessive 's. Examples:

She is my mother's cousin.

Angy is my brother's wife.

Peter is Nina and Bill's son.

Susy and Tim are my grandparent's friends.

It's still a little difficult for you to use it properly but I'm sure you'll get used to it soon.

We also studied some adjectives so we could describe people.

Tall, short, thin, fat, overweight, blond, dark, pretty, handsome.

If we use this adjectives we use the verb to be.

My son is very tall and thin.

Her children are blond.

She is a pretty woman.

When we describe people we also talk about their hair and eyes. We may use adjectives to describe their hair and eyes. We use the verb have got or have.
Hair may be:

Size: long, short.
Shape: straight, wavy, curly.
Color: dark, blond, black, red, gray, brown, fair.

Example: My sister has got long straight black hair.

This is the preferred word order for adjectives in English: But the order of adjectives before a noun IS NOT FIXED. 

In order to describe eyes we only used colours: black, brown, dark, green, blue.
We mentioned the words mouth and nose, which may be big or small.

When we want a description of Tina's appearance we ask the questions:

What does Tina look like?

Possible answer: Tina is tall and pretty.

That may remind you of the question we ask when we want to ask about the weather:

What is the weather like?

Except that in the first question we use the verb look, which is only for appearance.

If we say What is Tina like? then, the answer may be: She is a very intelligent girl.

For Homework you had to describe some people in your family: I don't remember how many descriptions I asked you to do. Ten? You decide. 

Enjoy your long weekend!

Hello!

This is what we have done this week:

We studied the imperative form of the verb: Sit down, stand up, ask, say, get, be quiet, close the door, listen, etc

The negative form: don't open the window, don't sit down, don't read, don't look, etc.

We also studied how to give instructions or make requests in a  polite way:

Can you open the window?

Can you give me the glue?

Can you spell your surname?

And how to ask for something or ask for permission:

Can I get a glass of water?

Can I borrow your pen?

Can I have a notebook? 


We started learning the names of family members.

HOMEWORK

Write about your family in this way:

I have got two brothers and one sister. My brothers' names are ........... and my sister's name is .....

X is 25 years old, Y is 30 years old and Z is 38 years old. Z has got two children: a son and a 

daughter. Etc.

http://www.manythings.org/b/e/3804/
Here is a video you can watch. After watching ask 5 questions like this:

Example: Who is Sara's mother?

Yesterday all the students read their dialogues in a shop. And they were all well done. Now students are quite familiar with expressions like:

Can I help you?

How much is it? (A book, a particular thing.)

How much are they? (those markers, those notebooks)

Here you are.

Can I have ...( a pen, some paper clips, etc.)?


Later we started a new unit. In this new unit we learn words and expressions we can use in the classroom. All those words and expressions have a verb. And here are the most important verbs for the classroom:

Look
Listen
Say
Ask
Answer
Mean
Go
Get
Give
Read
Write
Open
Close
Put
Understand

We studied how to make the imperative form of the verb, so we can give instructions or directions and we can understand them.
It is very easy:

Positive
Ask a question.
Look at the board.
Open the door.

Negative
Don't ( Do not) read the words.
Don't ( Do not) close the window.
Don't ( Do not) put the paper in your folder.

To make a request we can use a more polite form:

Can you open the window, please?
Can you answer my question,please?

We use the same verb, can, to ask for something and to ask for permission:

Can I go to the toilet?
Can I get a glass of water?

HOMEWORK

Give 10 directions. Use the imperative form of the verb in positive and negative sentences.

Write 5 questions using can as in the examples above. 

This time I am writing your blog first so you have plenty of time to read it. Students in this group are so hardworking!

I saw a great improvement on your use of have got yesterday. Everybody seems to be getting the knack of it.

On Tuesday we were practicing What have you got in your bag? in real life, with a bag and lots of objects inside. Our dialogues included the words also, keys, sunglasses, mobile phone, pen, papers, pencil case, rubber, ruler, etc.

We also asked question using other persons, as in What has she got in her bag? or What have I got in my bag? 

Most students are getting used to place the adjective before the verb: I've got an expensive mobile phone. This is different from saying: Is your mobile phone expensive? or Your mobile phone is expensive. In the last sentences the adjective is an attribute, it goes after the verb.

Yesterday we started a new unit. In this new unit we learn how to ask for the price of an item in a shop. We say:

How much is that book?    SINGULAR

or

How much are these scissors?   PLURAL

The answer can be: It's € 1.50.  It's one fifty or 1 euro and 50 cents. 
Other currencies used in English speaking countries  are the dollar ($) and the pound (£). 

When you go into a shop the shopping assistant usually says:

Can I help you?

And when you have decided what you want to buy you say:

Can I have (a red folder, a ruler, a pencil, etc.)?


We were also working on the pronunciation of plurals: there are 3 different possibilities.  The s may be pronounced /s/, may be pronounced /z/ or may be pronounced /iz/. 

/iz/: watches, glasses, sentences, cases, buses, brushes, horses, houses. Remember, this is the group of plurals I really want you to pronounce correctly.

Finally we studied some prepositions of place: in, on, under, in front of, behind, next to, between.

HOMEWORK  

1.Write 10 questions starting with How much?

2. Prepositions. Look at picture of a classroom in your book, at the end of the unit, and make 7 questions such as:

 Where is the clock?

And answer according to what you see in the picture..

The clock is on the wall.

Good morning.

It's cloudy today. It's an autumn day.

Last week we studied a lot of things. The most important thing we studied was the verb have got.

I have got

You have got

He/She/It has got

We have got

You have got

They have got


We use it to talk about possession.

If we ask questions with this verb we change the order of the words and say:

Have I got?

Have you got?

Has He/She/It got?

Have we got?

Have you got?

Have they got?

We studied some classroom objects which most students already knew and practiced questions and answers with the verb have got. We practiced the first (1st) and second (2nd) persons.

Have you got an old car?  And giving short answers: Yes, I have, or No, I haven't.

And the singular third (3rd) person.

Has Puri got a red person? And giving short answers: Yes, she has, or No, she hasn't.

We read a conversation aloud. Everybody read it twice. It was about the things Carol had in her bag.

Adjectives we have studied are: small/big, long/short, old/new, heavy/light. It's important that you remember that adjectives never take a plural form and are always used before the noun.

This is my new bag.  If you say  This is my bag new ,  it's very difficult to understand what you are saying.

HOMEWORK

I already asked  you to do an exercise from the book. You need to write the given sentences in the plural.

Extra homework: 

Here are some nouns: scissors, bag, computer, mobile phone, chair.

Here are some adjectives: old, new, heavy, light, hard, soft, cheap, expensive, good, bad.

Make 5 sentences: choose 1 or 2 adjectives for each noun and make a sentence.

Ex: I have got a new and cheap computer.

Hello!

Last week we reviewed all the units we have done so far.

Introducing yourself and somebody else:

Hello, my name is Mark, this is my friend Sue.

My name is Ben, nice to meet you.

Saying your surname, spelling it, saying how old you are,  telling your adress.

We studied how to ask about somebody's job and how to answer:

What do you do? or what's your job?

I am a journalist.

Using the 3rd person: he is a journalist.

Using the plural (without the article): they are journalists.

Asking questions with the verb to be: Is he a journalist? Are you a journalist?


We were practicing the vowel sounds /i:/ and /I/, long sound and short sound. Here is a link where you can listen to these sounds. http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-vowels Listen to the first 2 sounds.

In the new unit we started after the review we are studying this and these: 
this is my friend, 
this is a pencil, 
these are pencils. 
See that we don't use an article with the plural form?

We learned a few adjectives: old new, long, short, big, small. Adjectives in English do not take a plural and are used before the noun: Ex: These are long rulers. This is a long ruler.

HOMEWORK
1/ Write 10 sentences using this and these, an adjective and the appropriate form of the verb to be. Ex: This is an old book.

2. Make 10 questions. Remember the order of words: verb + subject + XXXX? Unless you have to use a question word like who, what, where.

Examples:
Is the pencil on the table?

Who is this man?

Are the notebooks new?

Where are the big scissors?

Hello!

I just realized that the clock was changed last night. So now it's 1 hour earlier than I thought.

But you don't know how to tell the time yet in English.

You know quite a bit about jobs, though.

And you remember that if you want to know about somebody's job you may ask 3 different questions:

What do you do?

What's your job? 

What's your profession?

Remember also that when you answer that question you have to put the article before the job as in:

I am a nurse 

or

I am an architect.

In our lesson students read a conversation several times and then role played it.


HOMEWORK

Check this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uibpkMMRpkg

Answer this questions:

What's Nicola's job?

What's Harry's job?

What's Stu's job?

Notice that the 1st 's is the contraction of the verb is  while the 2nd 's is the possessive.

You also have to write some questions ( I don't remember how many) using the possessive: Ex:

What's Nicola's job? or Is this Marta's house?

See you Tuesday!

Hello again!

The question Where are you from? is a bit strange for Spanish people because it has got the preposition at the end and not at the beginning, so we had to practice it a lot to get used to it.

We studied the names of countries: Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Greece, Australia, China, the US, Canada, etc.

And nationalities and languages (sometimes they do not coincide): Spanish, French, Swiss (nationality), German, British (nationality), Irish (Irish is a language too, although they speak mostly English), Italian, Russian, Greek, Australian (nationality), Chinese, American (nationality), Canadian (nationality), etc.

We can ask: Where are you from? and get 2 different answers: I am from Spain or I am Spanish.

We can also say: Where is this flag from? It's  from Greece.

If somebody asks me Where is Dublin? I 'll answer: it's in Ireland. Or, Where is the Alhambra? I'll say: It's in Granada, Spain.


Homework

Here is the link to the video about dates. http://www.real-english.com/reo/8-d/unit8d.asp

After listening 2 or 3 times, write down 5 dates you heard.

Also, if you have the time answer these questions:

1. Where is the Prado Museum?

2. Where is Paris?

3. Where is the Big Ben?

4. Where are the Alps? (Alpes)

5. Where are the Pyramids?

See you Tuesday.

Hi! How are you doing? (another informal way to say "how are you?)

Last week we finished Unit 2 and started Unit 3.

Now you able to give a lot of information about yourself: your name: Michelle, your surname: Barnard your age: I am 20 years old and where you are from: I am from France. You can also spell your surname: B-A-R-N-A-R-D, introduce your friends to another person: Jenni, this is my friend Marie and ask questions to get all that information: What's your name? What's your surname? How do you spell it? or Can you spell it? How old are you? Where are you from?

Last week we  studied some of the possessive pronouns: my, your, his, her, our.
Ex. Our country is Spain. 
We have learned some names of countries and their matching adjective, which we use for the language (not always) and nationality. France/French, Italy/ Italian, Germany/ German, Spain/Spanish, Russian/Russian, etc.

Notice that the adjective or name for a nationality or language is written with a CAPITAL letter: it is Spanish, not spanish. This is important for English speakers.

Last week students practiced plenty of dialogues using the questions mentioned above. They are doing quite well with spelling and with numbers.

Pronunciation: we've contrasted some sounds: /v/ and /b/, /v/ and /w/.

We've practiced pronouncing the sound/ð/ in words such as this, these, there. Students practiced recognizing the difference

 between the words this and these and they were quite successful. We used the classroom

 vocabulary to practice those sounds: we asked question like: What is this? It's a sharpener
and What are these? They are chairs. 

I am sorry, I don't know what's happening with the format of this entry, it has just gone 
crazy.

Homework

Besides what I told you in class, doing the exercises from the book, Unit 3, go to this

link and listen to the interviews. http://www.real-english.com/reo/2/unit2.asp

Then write: 5 countries mentioned in the video (Ex: Canada), and 3 cities mentioned in the video (Ex.
New York).

The Unit we have been working on this week is called  What's your surname? And that is what we have been practicing more than anything else.

Everybody understands that question already: What's your surname? And everybody is able to answer.the question. 

We have also studied the alphabet and have started spelling words, particularly our surnames. 

Important question

How do spell... (your surname, her name)?

We have practiced possessive adjectives:

my    This is my book.

your     What's your name?

his        His name is Jim.

her        Her name is Amy.

We started learning numbers. We counted from 1 to 40.

We used the questions words: how, who. We practiced the pronunciation of these words.

We tried to pronounce the sound of the consonants th in words such as  this, that, and there.

There are some verbs that are convenient to know: read, write, listen, say.

Homework

Go to the link:http://www.englishnumber.com/english-numbers/two-figure-numbers/english-number-2-figures.html and listen to the numbers.

You can also check the ordinal numbers here: http://www.englishnumber.com/ordinal-numbers/how-to-pronounce-ordinal-numbers-in-english.html We need the ordinal numbers for dates.

Practice spelling the following words:

Wednesday, evening, twenty, thirteen, there, again, 

Hello Beginners! How are you?

In our first week we learned how to introduce ourselves: Hello, my name is Peter, what's your name? and how to introduce other people: Emma, this is my friend Hanna.

We practiced the days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Our English lessons are on Tuesday and Thursday. 

We also studied the different parts of the day: morning, afternoon, evening and night. This way we can greet each other the right way: Good morning, good afternoon, good evening or good night.

We studied and practiced the Present Simple of the verb To be. We asked questions like: Are you Henry? and answered: Yes, I am or  No, I'm not, I am Joseph. And a little more difficult: Am I Clara? Yes, you are. Or No, You aren't, you are Lidia. 

We started practicing the question: How old are you? In order to answer we were learning some numbers first.

We started learning to pronounce some sounds in English. First we started to get familiar with the vowel sounds: A/ei/, E /i:/ I /ai/.

We also practiced the sounds /v/ and /b/. Students may practice those sounds at home with the video.

I already gave you some homework. As a little extra work you may go to the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ0xaxOS8ds and watch the video. Then, write down the sentences you understand.

See you Tuesday and have a nice weekend!