PRONOUNCING BRAND NAMES (1B2)
WATCH THIS VIDEO
Samsung appears to have filed copyright claims against YouTube videos mocking its recalled Galaxy Note 7 handset.(http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37713939)
BUT HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE “SAMSUNG” IN ENGLISH?
WHAT ABOUT OTHER POPULAR BRAND NAMES?
COOKERY SHOWS ON TV (2B1)
COOKING IS IN FASHION, THAT´S WHY YOU CAN FIND MANY COOKERY SHOWS ON TV AT THE MOMENT: MASTERCHEF, LOS TORRES, KARLOS ARGUIÑANO…..YOU NAME IT!!! AS YOU KNOW COOKING IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE HOBBIES, THAT´S WHY I ENJOY THIS SORT OF PROGRAMMES .BUT WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE BEST? WHY?
AND NOW LET´S GET DOWN TO WORK…..
Write a recipe of your favourite dish or the dish you cook the best (i.e. “paella”) .
List the ingredients, and make a small paragraph explaining all the steps to prepare the dish.Be careful! Think that you are writing for an audience that can’t cook so you must explain everything in detail.
After writing the recipe (about 80 – 100 words), go into the kitchen and cook it!!!!!
Record yourself while you are cooking and explain what you are doing, as on a TV cookery show.
When you feel ready, upload the video to Youtube and let me know its URL. Write it here, on the Comments textbox.
I will publish all your recipes on our classroom blog.
And remember: Enjoy!!!!
YOU CAN USE WEVIDEO TO RECORD IT.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FOR INTERMEDIATE / HIGH INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT SIMPLE.
WEAR IT PINK DAY 2018: SUPPORT BREAST CANCER RESEARCH (ALL LEVELS)
Breast Cancer Now’s wear it pink day
On 19 October we will wear pink, raise money and make life-saving research happen.
Why? Because breast cancer is still here. It’s still tearing apart the lives of families and it’s still taking the lives of the women we love on a heartbreaking scale.
We will be wearing it pink in October. Will you join us?
WEAR IT PINK DAY or PINK RIBBON DAY is celebrated every 19th October,
On 19th October 2018, people all around Spain will be turning up to work dressed in pink and doing other pink-themed things, to raise money for Breast Cancer Campaign. The funds go towards improving treatment, and survival rates, for people fighting breast cancer, as well as research into the disease.
When you take part in wear it pink, you join forces with scientists, researchers, supporters and people affected by breast cancer.
Together, we can make real progress in research that saves lives. It’s easy to join in, simply get together with your colleagues, friends and family, pull on something pink and raise money for breast cancer research. We believe everyone who joins the fight is a hero, from people affected by breast cancer, to our scientists and all our amazing fundraisers.
TAGXEDO is an application to make word clouds with styles. Look at the heart above, which is a good example. Would you like to try?
PRESENT SIMPLE & CONTINUOUS (2B1)
WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY “SNAKES & LADDERS”? THIS IS A VERY EASY GAME FOR YOUR LEVEL…. SO CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO START THE GAME.
EATING OUT (2B1)
HAVE A LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS
STEVE ANDERSON CLOSED DOWN RESTAURANT “SEU XEREA” ONE YEAR AGO BUT NOW HE´S INVOLVED IN A NEW PROJECT IN VALENCIA CALLED “MA KHIN CAFÉ”.
CLICK ON THE PHOTO ABOVE AND VISIT “MA KHIN CAFÉ” WEBSITE IN ENGLISH AND FIND OUT:
- WHO IS “MA KHIN”?
- WHAT KIND OF FOOD DO THEY SERVE?
- CHOOSE YOUR FAVOURITE DISH FROM THE MENU
DO YOU FEEL LIKE TRYING OUT THIS RESTAURANT? WHY? WHY NOT?
READING ALOUD IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (1B2)
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF READING ALOUD IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE? IS IT A WASTE OF TIME?
Among many other benefits “reading aloud can help your pronunciation. Even if you already know how to pronounce the language pretty well, it is hard to fit your mouth and tongue around the foreign sounds. Reading aloud gives your vocal organs the exercise they need to speak without getting tired or stumbling. If you are still fuzzy on pronunciation, use texts with recordings on CD or MP3 files, and repeat after the native speakers. But following along in the book will give you added input over simply listening and repeating. Try to copy the intonation and rhythm as well. You will be using eyes, ears, vocal apparatus, and of course, brain — all at once!”
http://www.ehow.com/how_5528527_use-aloud-learn-foreign-language.html
SOME APPS CAN HELP YOU DO THIS WORK WHENEVER YOU DON´T HAVE THE RECORDING: READINGS ON YOUR TEXTBOOKS, GETTING READY FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS, ETC….
- DO YOU KNOW ANY OF THESE WEBSITES OR APPS ?
- WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?
- CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY SIMILAR APPS?
You can paste the text.(SUITABLE FOR IOS &ANDROID)
TIPS TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION WHEN YOU´RE READING ALOUD
(BY my colleague JAVIER SANTOS ASENSI)
Step 1: Find CONTENT WORDS in the fragment you have chosen and make sure you know how to pronounce them.
- Even if meaning is different for different speakers, there are certain word categories that are usually more meaningful and therefore commonly stressed. They are often called content words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, negative words, pronouns (demonstrative, possessive –mine, yours…, reflexive –myself, yourself…, reciprocal –each other, one another , interrogative –who, what…), question words (where, how often, etc), intensifiers (too, much, quite, etc.) and modifiers ( numerals, cardinals, etc.)
- Pay special attention to those words you are very familiar with. Are you positive you have not made a habit of mispronouncing them? Check their pronunciation in your print or online dictionary or CD Rom
- First locate the stressed syllable (long words usually have a secondary stress as well)
- Then make sure you use weak vowels / Ə / and / I / in unstressed syllables
- Is there any consonant or vowel sound that you have problems pronouncing?
Step 2: Check the pronunciation of GRAMMAR WORDS (also called function words)
- Most times grammar words are not stressed. These include articles, determiners (the, some, each), auxiliary and modal verbs (do, have, be, may, will, etc.), one-syllable prepositions and conjunctions (to, from, of, and, but, etc.) If they have a weak pronunciation form, use it instead of the strong form you might be familiar with (check the pronunciation of these words in your reference chart)
Step 3: Are there any words you can contract?
- Remember that contraction is a feature of spoken language. You do not usually contract words in more formal written texts. If you are reading aloud you should try to contract whenever possible even if you do not see the contraction
- Revise the most common contractions: in the reference chart your teacher will provide you with.
Step 4: Connect unstressed words to meaningful stressed ones in a logical way
- First connect words into phrases (noun or prepositional phrases, etc.) in a logical way to avoid reading word to word and stressing every single word. These connected groups of words are often called thought groups
- Then try and connect phrases into short sentences
- Contracted forms as well as Word linking (connecting words ending in a consonant with the next word starting in a vowel or else words ending and beginning with vowels) will help us do it. In British English final “r” will be pronounced if the following word starts with a vowel (linking “r”).
- As a result the number of words in spelling and pronunciation will be absolutely different.
Step 5: Make sure you respect punctuation marks: pauses and intonation
- Periods (full stops) , commas, colons, semi-colons, parenthesis and the kind are realized as pauses in oral speech. These pauses will allow the listener to follow our utterance and ourselves to breathe. Moreover, if you run over the sentence limit, your utterance will make no sense at all for listeners, for they mark the end of an idea, a piece of explanation or clarification, an example, etc.
- Question and exclamation marks are realized as intonation patterns. Avoid flat intonation patterns, otherwise it will be difficult to make out your speech intention
RECORDING YOURSELF WOULD BE THE FINAL STEP AND PLAYBACK…. BUT WE´LL TALK ABOUT THIS IN ANOTHER POST…..
WORLD FOOD DAY (2B1) (ALL LEVELS)
TODAY WE´VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOOD IN CLASS BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT IT´S WORLD FOOD DAY?
“FAO celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October to commemorate the founding of the Organization in 1945. Events are organized in over 150 countries across the world, making it one of the most celebrated days of the UN calendar. These events promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all.
World Food Day is a chance to show our commitment to to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. THE RIGHT TO FOOD IS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT”
WHY DID THEY CALL YOU THAT? (1B2)
LISTENING
YOU are going to watch a short extract from the Graham Norton show, where the actresses Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman discuss their birth names. Play from 0:00 until 2:50. (THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUE CRISTINA CABAL FOR SHARING THIS ACTIVITY)
- Meryl Streep was named Mary at birth. How did she end up being called Meryl?
- Is she happy about her surname? How does she wish it to be different?
- Why is Nicole Kidman called Hokulani? Who is she named after?
HOMEWORK
Ask students whether they think a name can shape their personality and refer them to this website where they’ll have to write their name in the space provided and read about their personality.
You can always ask them to read their horoscope, but this is “old news”, so I thought this might better spark students’ interest.
At home, students go to the website and find out about their personality based on their names. They look up any new words they don’t know, especially personality adjectives, as they will need to share this analysis with their classmates and say whether they agree or disagree with it, giving reasons.
PRONUNCIATION 1: VOWELS (ALL LEVELS)
LISTEN TO PABLO IGLESIAS SPEAKING IN ENGLISH LAST YEAR. WHAT DO YOU THINK HIS PROBLEM IS?
LOOK AT THIS CHART.
THESE ARE THE SOUNDS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE CHART IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS: VOWELS, DIPHTHONGS AND CONSONANTS.
LET´S CONCENTRATE ON THE REVISION OF ENGLISH VOWELS.
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW OR THE PICTURE ABOVE TO USE AN INTERACTIVE VERSION OF THE CHART:
YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THIS VIDEO:
IF THE LINK DOESN´T WORK, TYPE IN “IPA VOWELS” ON YOUTUBE AND YOU´LL BE ABLE TO WATCH THE VIDEO. OK?
THIS IS ALSO A USEFUL LINK TO LISTEN TO THE VOWELS BELOW:
www.oup.com/elt/englishfile/beginner
EXTRA PRACTICE
NOWADAYS THERE ARE MANY APPS YOU CAN DOWNLOAD TO PRACTISE PRONUNCIATION:
- SOUND FOUNDATIONS (there is a free version)
- ENGLISH FILE PRONUNCIATION (you have to pay to download)
FOR INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS AND ABOVE, YOU CAN ALSO VISIT THIS WEBSITE:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/introduction
THE NORDIC or THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET? (2B1)
LOOK AT THE PICTURE ABOVE. HOW MANY DIFFERENT ITEMS OF FOOD CAN YOU NAME? (VOCABULARY BANK page 152)
Recent research confirms something that the Scandinavian diet of fatty fish, cabbage, root vegetables and rye bread is among the healthiest in the world. You only need to look at the figures (both numerical and physical) to see the effects of a healthy diet – in Sweden obesity levels are as low as 10 per cent with the other Scandinavian countries showing similar figures.
The Nordic diet has long been overshadowed by the great success of the Mediterranean diet, but it is now being touted as a healthier, more convenient and equally as a tasty alternative by scientists and foodies alike. According to new research, northern Europeans find it difficult to stick to the Mediterranean diet – which consists of fruit, vegetables, olive oil, nuts and cereals, low amounts of red meat and dairy products – because it’s not compatible with the traditional diet and ingredients produced in northern Europe. It’s also very easy to overeat on the less healthy items of the diet such as pasta.
The Nordic diet is based on food that’s easily grown and produced in colder climates – making it cheaper as well as more environmentally friendly to produce and consume for people in northern Europe. Rich in protein, omega-3s and antioxidants, the Nordic diet is based on high intakes of cheap but tasty fish such as herring, mackerel, salmon and trout. Meat and fish are nearly always served with boiled potatoes and root vegetables, and the bread is dark brown and full of grains and oats.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHICH DIET IS BETTER FOR YOU?
