17/12/13

Today we looked at formal/informal equivalences (from the homework) and some additional everyday expressions. We also discussed points raised in 2.5 exercise 3.

It Might As Well Be You - by Del Amitri

12/11/13

After going through what we found in the audioscript (2.3), we talked about talent, nature v nurture, etc,and watched a short video (2.4) We then listened to a speaker in a debate and read an opinion summary

Tues 10/12/13

Today we finished off the infinitive/gerund structures (p24), then looked at some idioms of opinion (p26) and began looking at phrases for introducing opinions (Lstg p 27).

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a beautiful picture that I want to share with you: Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados, directed by David Trueba. Its title is taken from The Beatles' well known song Strawberry fields forever (in a verse Lennon sings "...living is easy with eyes closed..."). The film is about a teacher of English in the Spain of the sixties who loves the music of "The fab four". When this man gets to know that John Lennon is making a film in Almería as an actor, he decides to visit him. In his long and apparently foolish way to the South, he meets two teenagers who are in a complicated crossroad of their lives. Each of them will help the others in different ways. This a road movie that tells a thrilling story of love and friendship. A must-see film.

Personal profile

My name is Ruth. I was born in a village and when I was sixteen I came to live with my parents and my siblings to Santander.
I love foreign languages, in fact, I really love English. This year I am working to achieve one of my goals: to learn how to learn phrasal verbs and, actually, learning any tips, if there are any, to remember them and use them in habitual English dialogues.
I am glad to be in "Towards C1" because I am sure I am going to learn new things, enjoy it a lot and share time practising English with other colleagues.
Two years ago, I participated in a very interesting course that lasted a year, with several useful activities, one of which involved total inmersión and to take  lessons in English for two weeks. It was, really, an unforgettable experience for me since I had never studied English abroad before.
Unbelievably,, though, I have been practising English with a Dutch friend for many years!
In my leisure time, I like reading novels, trekking across the mountains, watching English programmes on TV, meeting my friends and staying at home doing nothing in particular.
As far as work is concerned, I teach in kindergarten and with my lovely five-year-old pupils, it is truly impossible not only to maintain my level of English but also to improve it.
I hope I will get it this course.

Hi mates,

My name is Diego and, like the rest of students of this course, I am a teacher. I work as a tutor in a Primary School called C.P. Ramón Pelayo, in Santander, which is involved in the Bilingual Program. Previously, I taught for more than twenty years in different schools in Cantabria.  I've been studying English since I was a child but I realize that I must improve quite a lot in order to be able to speak more fluently and understand oral language much better. My interest in English is due to personal and professional reasons. I've made up my mind to make the most of this opportunity and therefore I will try to study as much as possible during the classes and at home as well, although it's not an easy task to focus my attention on a subject after a wearying day's work with children.

I like sports (more doing them than watching games on TV; for instance I play football once a week), reading -at this very moment I'm finishing The book of illusions, an astonishing novel by Paul Auster- and travelling. As I understand that these hobbies are not very original, I will add that I'm keen on paper folding, or in its Japanese name, origami. It's an ancient and extremely refreshing art, and besides which, it's extremely useful with pupils at school.

Tues 3/12

Today we went through the first sheet of alternative conditional forms. We then did some video listening, with attention to typical phrases