Class: 21^st/22^nd December

Unit 8: Brand Awareness

Can-Do Objectives: Talk about advertising and marketing

    Describe an advert

    Talk about the image and quality of a product

    Use advertising language

Pages: 80 – 82; 85; 87

Grammar: Verb agreement; Multi-word expressions

Vocabulary: edgy, backdrop, to endorse, to untangle, to unravel, knot, to tap, to bug, bride and groom, seedy, peer, grafter, conman, to peddle, drawback, pump, upholster, souped-up, to double as, to chair, resourceful, hyphen, root beer

Number sign

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign

Homework: Composition – Dining venue advert (70 – 100 words); Workbook – pg. 53 ex 4 & 5, pg. 54 ex 9a; pgs. 55 – 58

Also: I absolutely recommend this TED Talk. The speaker talks very fast but… you can read the talk. It’s not only funny but extremely interesting.

Rory Sutherland: Life lessons from an ad man

http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man.html

Class: 13^th/14^th December

Unit 8: Brand Awareness

Can-Do Objectives: Talk about advertising and marketing

                                 Describe effects and influences

Pages: 79; 83; 86

Grammar: Measuring differences; Use of ‘WHATEVER’

Vocabulary: tough, garment, to hound, whim(sical), stationary store, thorough, nondescript

Homework: Workbook – pg. 54 ex. 6 & 7; pg. 55 ex. 10, 11a and b

Also: To understand Viral Ads I recommend you read the following article and watch the ads if you can. The article contains the link.

 

The 20 Most Viral Ads of 2013

Unruly Media's list of spots people had to share By Tim Nudd

http://www.adweek.com/news-gallery/20-most-viral-ads-2013-154000#intro

I could help it! I also need to include the video of this great band.

STATUS QUO (whatever you want live)

Here is a TED Talk that is related to our topic in an interesting way. Let’s see if we can discuss it during our next class.

TED Talks: What FACEBOOK And GOOGLE Are Hiding From The World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAMP1Wu_M2U

Class: 29^th/30^th November

Unit 8: Brand Awareness

Can-Do Objectives: Discuss Brands

    Describe effects and influences

    Talk about the image and qualities of products

Pages: 77 – 79; 84

Grammar: Affect vs. Effect

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/affect-vs-effect/

Vocabulary: pesticide, herbicide, celiac, lactose intolerant, slaughter house, compromise, commitment, starch, degenerative disease, to take for granted, broad band, providers, generic, to be hooked on, convalescence, inheritance, migraine, Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Valued Added Tax (VAT), government-backed

Homework: Workbook - Finish up Unit 7 and Unit 8 pg. 52, pg. 53 ex. 3. Composition – Write a Letter to the Editor agreeing or disagreeing with the following statement: Health care should be universal. (180 – 200 words)

Also: Here are a couple of videos that might further your understanding of the concept of brand:

What is Branding?

What is the DNA of a powerful marketing message?

THERE IS NO CLASS ON THE 6^TH OR 7^TH OF DECEMBER!!!

Class: 22^nd/23^rd November

Unit 7: Health

Can-Do Objectives:  Take turns in a discussion

                                  Give opinions in an extended conversation

Pages: 73 – 75

Grammar: Passives and participles;

                  Referencing and substitution

Vocabulary: (SAD) Seasonal Affective Disorder, (TB) Tuberculosis, aerosol droplets, pidgin English, lice, louse, lousy, raise awareness, to irk, irksome, midst, runway, biometric, comprise, involve, include, contain, consist of, to worship, Primary Health Care

Homework: Workbook pg. 47 ex. 5; pg. 51 (ALL)

Also: Do you think the following ad is effective?

Healthy lifestyle campaign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUghGYoFYGg

Class: 15^th / 16^th November

Unit 7: Health

Can-Do Objectives:  Discuss implications

                                  Discuss an issue

Pages: 72 and 76

Grammar:  Passives and participles;

                  Referencing and substitution

Use of Either – or and Neither – nor

http://esl.about.com/od/grammarintermediate/a/cm_bothand.htm

Use of Some and any

http://www.grammar.cl/Notes/Some_Any_A_An.htm

http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/some.htm

Vocabulary:  lenient, to gather, non-conformist, literacy, to ban, tack

Homework: Workbook – pg. 45 ex. 1; pg. 48; pg. 50

Also: In class I mentioned that in the past I had posted a couple of videos that might interest you regarding the food industry. If you want to watch them, go to the blog archive and look at the posts for February. The first video is posted on February 15^th/16^th under the title About the food industry. The other is a Jamie Oliver youtube video titled Food Revolution-Pink slime.

With regards to Beauty, I recommend that you watch the following BBC documentary.

The Human Face: 3/4 - Beauty (Documentary Series - BBC)

Class: 2^nd / 8^th November

Unit 7: Health

Can-Do Objectives:  Describe and comment on an exhibition

                                         Describe a process or an experiment

                                         Discuss implications and significance

                              

Pages: 69 - 71

Grammar: Passives and participles;

             Referencing and substitution

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-other-types-of-pronouns/

Vocabulary:  to cram, coffin, casket, to intersperse, to intermingle, to be biased, jittery, gullible, C-section, epidural, cyst, hyphen, to sip, to devise, to lure, to summon, emetic, to stash, to do a double take, to drift, ravenous, far-fetched, far-reaching, homeopathy

Homework: Workbook – pg. 45 ex 2 a & b, pg. 46, pg. 47 ex 6 a & b

Also, read:

The Nocebo Effect: Media Reports May Trigger Symptoms of a Disease

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506095305.htm

TED Talk - Eric Mead: The magic of the placebo

http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_mead_the_magic_of_the_placebo.html

Class: 25^th / 26^th October

Unit 7: Health

Can-Do Objectives: Talk about health problems and treatments

                              

Pages: 68 - 69

Grammar:

Passives and participles;

http://englishharmony.com/past-participle-as-adjective/

Referencing and substitution

(THIS vs. THAT)

Vocabulary:  sick leave, maternity leave, compassionate leave, premature ejaculation/birth, miscarriage, comfort food, over-the-counter, drugstore, slipped disk, withdrawal, prescription, WHO, STD, GP, DNA, contraceptives, emaciated, psychiatrist, scientist, gifted, genetic predisposition, fabric, hay fever, stroke, painkiller, lozenges, stark

Homework: As many of you many still do not have the workbook that goes with the textbook, I will not assign any exercises there. BUT!!!! You do have homework. First of all, I would like for all of you to go to the link below and fill out the life expectancy questionnaire. Read each question and chose the option that best describes your situation. However, DO NOT REGISTER to obtain the result. They might even try to charge you money for the result. I will not assume any responsibility if you decide to go ahead and do it. As you do complete the questionnaire, ask yourself what questions you think are ‘useless’ and if there are any other questions you would add.

https://www.livingto100.com/

No! I’m not done! I also request that you watch the TED Talk below. You don’t have to be a scientist to follow it. I will ask specific questions about it during our next class.

Russell Foster: Why do we sleep?

http://www.ted.com/talks/russell_foster_why_do_we_sleep.html

Class: 18^th/19^th October

Dear All,

It was a real pleasure to meet you. I hope the feeling is mutual. Anyway, as soon as I get all of your e-mails, I will send you the calendar of our academic year. I urge you to miss as few classes as possible because missing one class means missing out on a whole lot of content. You will feel lost and it is the worst thing that can happen when trying to learn anything. (Hopefully, this blog will minimize this.)

As I explained in class, the marking criterion is as follows:

10% of your mark (grade, in American English) is participation;

30% corresponds to homework, blog, etc.;

10% the Oral Project; (I shall explain more about it further ahead in the course.)

10% the Mid-term Evaluation

40% the Final Exam

We will be producing 8 written pieces of work in an attempt to improve our writing skills. We’ll look at punctuation and organizing text content as well as fine tuning our understanding of tone and register.

I plan to work a bit on pronunciation for a couple of important reasons: 1) if you can’t pronounce properly, no one will understand all the wonderful and sophisticated words you are producing; and, 2) you’ll understand far more of what native speakers are saying because you have a better idea of what to expect.

One of your classmates suggested taking a look at the blog below. (Thank you, Carmina.) It might frighten you at first but it is very useful. We’ll take a look at it in class at some point during the course. http://allphonetics.blogspot.com.es/

In preparation for next class (25^th/26^th October), I would like for you to watch a TED talk by chef Jamie Oliver and find out who Dr. Ben Goldacres and what it is he has to say that is so interesting. (In other words, google him.)

Jamie Oliver: Teach every child about food

http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

(Click on Show transcript at the bottom of the image window to see the talk written out.)

Finally, please don’t forget to bring any photocopies/hand-outs I give you to every class. We will often refer back to these.

If you have any questions about anything, you can contact me at auroracsim@gmail.com.

Class: 17^th/18^th May, 2013

Unit 6: Appearances

Can-Do Objectives: Give an Oral Presentation on a subject of your choice

Pages: 66

Grammar: Present Perfect and Progressive and Present participles

Vocabulary:  Review of vocabulary, to pad, to get hold of smo., to be meaning to, dim, gloss

Homework: Do the review worksheets for Units 4 - 6.

Presentations: I enjoy class a whole lot more when you teach me. Thank you to: Ana E., Javi, Felipe, Patricia, Farners, Alba F., Alberto G. and Violeta

This is the web that Violeta mentioned in class:

http://theoatmeal.com/

Class: 10^th/11^th May, 2013

Unit 6: Appearances

Can-Do Objectives: Give an Oral Presentation on a subject of your choice

Pages: 64

Grammar: Verb + ing or infinitive

Vocabulary:  Review of vocabulary, to aim, purpose, goer, brochure, twofold

Homework: Do the review worksheets for Units 1 – 3.

Presentations: All I can say is: excellent! Thank you to Ivan, Elena, Isabel, Raquel, Pablo, Rebeca, Sol, Eduardo, Marina, María R., and Alberto I.

Here is a web page you might want to take a look at:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verblist.htm

Class: 26^th/27^th April, 2013

Unit 6: Appearances

Can-Do Objectives: Describe appearances

                              Conduct a personal interview

                              Describe someone’s achievements and attitudes

                              Appreciate written and spoken genres

Pages: 62 and 65

Grammar: Present perfect simple and continuous (passive)

Vocabulary: plush, to befit, to crop up, to do smtg for good, assailant

Homework: Write and article similar to the one about Paulo Coelho on pg. 62 with the information you obtained from the brief interview you had with your classmate. (200 words)

Presentations: I love hearing and seeing your Oral Projects. I’m learning a lot of interesting things. I would like to thank Javier, Auxi, Lucas, Angel, Alba G. and Maria S. for their excellent work.

Youtube Interview: Here is an interview with one of my favourite people who, unfortunately, is no longer on this planet. It’s long but very informative. I hope you enjoy it.

 

George Carlin Interview

Class: 19^th/20^th April, 2013

Unit 6: Appearances

Can-Do Objectives: Talk about fakes and forgery

Pages: 60 and 61

Grammar: Present perfect simple and continuous (passive)

Vocabulary: devious, purveyor, to be worth one’s salt, to put it bluntly, squad, accessories, churn out, to con, phishing, to crop up

Homework: Workbook pg. 44, pg. 38, pg. 39 ex 2 & 3

Polishing our English:

Please remember that PEOPLE ARE because PEOPLE is a PLURAL noun.

Also, with regards to Every vs. All, I found this explanation for you on Internet. If you still have doubts, let me know.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv266.shtml

Comments about today:

Thank you to Paula, Carlos, Laura, and Inés for their excellent presentations. We all enjoyed and found them truly informative.

Here is an interview with the art forger James Myatt whom we read and talked about today in class.

Artist and Forger John Myatt

Also, I found this article about doctoring (altering) news photos. You might be interested in reading it. It’s about the Boston Marathon bombings.

http://news.yahoo.com/daily-news-doctored-front-page-photo-boston-bombing-135840069--finance.html

Class: 12^th/13^th April, 2013

Unit 6: Appearances

Can-Do Objectives: Describe appearances and changes to appearance

                              Discuss photos and images

                              Talk about aim and intention

Pages: 58, 59, 63, 67

Grammar: Present perfect simple and continuous (passive)

Vocabulary: overhaul, air raid, with abandon, to redden, menacing, extent, savvy, flawless, freckles, beauty mark, to mirror, to airbrush

Homework: Workbook pg.39 ex 4a; pg.40 ex 4b, 4c, 5; pg 42 and 43

A TED Talk related to the topic of this unit.

Cameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model.

http://www.ted.com/talks/cameron_russell_looks_aren_t_everything_believe_me_i_m_a_model.html

Class: 5^th/6^th April 2013

Unit 5: Concepts of space (My space, your space, our space)

Can-Do Objectives: Describe spaces in cities

                              Describe how spaces are used

                              Describing places

                              Outline problems

                              Discuss and suggest solutions

Pages: 48, 49, 52, 54, 56 ex 2a and 57 ex 3, 4 and 6

Grammar: Passives

Vocabulary: pedestrian crossing, pedestrian promenade, to vacate, to evict, military headquarters, squats, canvas, allotment

Homework: Workbook – pg. 31, 32, 33 ex 5 & 6, and 37.

Composition: Describe your favourite urban space: the good, the bad and how it could be improved.

Remember: Send me an e-mail with the date and approximate length of your oral presentation.

A TED Talk: Edi Rama: Take back your city with paint

I strongly recommend you view this talk. It is extremely relevant after our last class.

http://www.ted.com/talks/edi_rama_take_back_your_city_with_paint.html

Class: 15^th/16^th March 2013

Unit 5: Concepts of space (My space, your space, our space)

Can-Do Objectives: Talk about crime

  Discuss and suggest solutions

  Discuss the meaning of privacy

Pages: 53 and 57

Grammar: Passives

Vocabulary: Collocations with solution, petty, petty cash, offenders, re-offend, prompted, stance, curfew, perpetrator, cigarette butt.

Homework: Work on your Oral Presentation; Workbook – pg. 33 ex 7, pg. 34 and 36.

Exam: I shall correct your exams over the holiday and hand them back on the first class we have (5^th/6^th April).

Polishing our English

I have to admit that you are all making a lot of progress and it is definitely not my doing. During our last class, I heard some great English. However, (and there is always a ‘however’), I feel that you could try to work on ridding yourselves of some ‘ugly’ habits that produce some sentences such as:

                                                                                                 The people is important.

When you have a minute, take a look at the links below.

Using the definite article the

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=71

Subject – verb agreement (Excellent if you click on HINT which is the grammatical explanation.)

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/we/ch6/subjverbag.htm?AnswerFile=..%2Fqpserver%2F21a&rad1=a&rad2=a&rad3=a&rad4=b&rad5=b&rad6=b&rad7=a&rad8=a&rad9=a&rad10=a&rad11=a&rad12=b&rad13=a&rad14=a&rad15=b&mark=100

Also: GO OUT is NOT equal to salir unless you are referring to having fun.

SO:

No salgo del trabajo hasta las 19:00.    is       I don’t leave work until 19:00.

Sal de clase!                                       is       Leave the room!

¿Cuando sale el tren?                         Is       When does the train leave?

Actually salir translates into many different verbs in English. Look at the following sentences and think of how they would translate into English.

¿Han salido las notas?

Nunca me salen bien las croquetas.

Sal de dudas.

Va a salir el sol.

La mancha ha vuelto a salir.

Salió a la venta el martes.

Another TED talk:

Because we have been discussing possible solutions to petty crimes, I thought it might be interesting to hear what this speaker has to say about sentencing and creative ways of administering justice.

http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_using_our_practical_wisdom.html 

Class: 8^th/9^th March 2013

Unit 5: Concepts of space (My space, your space, our space)

Can-Do Objectives: Talk about crime and surveillance

                              Comment on experiences

Pages: 50, 51 and 56

Grammar: Passives

Vocabulary: fumble, oblivious, allay, hone, rampaging, a smack of smtg., mugging, riots, busking, reckon, paltry

Homework: Review unit 1 – 4 for the exam.

Remember: Next class, 15^th/16^th March, you will be having an exam on Units 1-4. As it will not take up the whole class time, we will continue working on unit 5.

Also, below I’ve included the trailer to the movie 1984 which we talked about in class. I encourage you not only to watch the whole movie but to also read the book by George Orwell included on the list of Modern Library 100 Best Novels.

Before next class (15^th/16^th), I encourage you to watch this video so that we might discuss it. It is a clip from a British game show about trivia called QI and hosted by Stephen Fry. The topic is about the American sentencing system and prison/jail.

Stephen Fry on American Prison Facts

And finally, here is the link to the page that I mentioned in class so that you can practice differentiating between Because of and due to.

http://web.ku.edu/~edit/because.html

Class: 1^st/2^nd March 2013

Unit 4: Maps (Changes)

Can-Do Objectives: Make comparisons and talk about changes

                              Talk about results

                              Talk about diet and nutrition

Pages: 40, 43, 45, 46

Grammar: Pronunciation /v/ vs. /b/; the future; comparisons involving verbs and times

Vocabulary: fizzy, pulses, stale, deafening, grimy, squat, pristine, snooze, hangout, fancy, stunted, is bound to, on the verge of, on the brink of

Homework: Workbook – Complete unit 4.

In preparation for next class: Please think of what you are going to do your Oral Project on. Also, take a look at this video. We’ll be discussing it in class.

Class: 22^nd/23^rd February 2013

Unit 4: Maps (Changes)

Can-Do Objectives: Make comparisons and talk about changes

                              Discuss changing trends

                                      Interpret maps and facts

Pages: 38, 39, 47

Grammar:   Verbs followed by ON and verbs followed by IN;

Pronunciation: /j/ and /dʒ/

Vocabulary: noun into adjective; difference between adjective and adverb forms; battleship, indicator, graph, grid, marginally,

Homework:

           Workbook – pg. 24 ex 1, pg. 26 ex 7 & 8, pg. 27 ex 9 & 10; pg. 30 ALL

Notes: Indium is the mineral I was referring to when I was talking about what touchscreens are made of. If you are interested in learning more about the subject, below is a link for an article about recent research into this area of technology.

http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2011/january/Touchscreen_Made_of_Carbon.html

By the way, money CAN buy happiness! Watch and read the transcript of this TED talk I found on www.ted.com about one of our topics of this last class. On this site you will find talks on many different subjects. However, what is even more interesting for you is the fact that you can see the transcript by clicking at the bottom of the image on Show transcript and selecting English.

Enjoy!

http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness.html

Finally, congratulations on your 1 minute country presentations.

Remember: Start thinking about your Oral Project.