Category: 4B

PUBLIC TRANSPORT VS. DRIVING

From public transport to your own two feet, there are many ways you can get yourself where you need to go.

For those who can’t afford to buy a car, public transport is probably the only option for getting around town.

There are many studies on the topic, most conducted by transport organisations favouring trains and buses as the cheapest method of travel. That’s probably true. However, there are many other considerations when it comes to deciding whether you’re going to become a regular car user or one of the masses heading to work on buses and trains.

Most of us know using public transport is better for the environment and can even offer a cheaper and quicker route. But in reality the number of cars on the road is continuing to rise.

Therefore, in this week’s task we’ll look at the pros and cons of both forms.

Click on the links below to do some research and get some information about THE PROS AND CONS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND CAR DRIVING:

Benefits of Public Transportation vs Driving a Car

https://ringgitplus.com/en/blog/budgeting-saving/public-transport-vs-private-transport-whats-the-best-way-to-get-around.html

NOW, IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO GET YOURSELF READY TO START PLANNING A ‘PROS AND CONS’ ESSAY!

Let’s remember what a ‘pros and cons’ essay is and what it consists of. It can be also called ‘for and against’ or ‘advantages and disadvantages’.

Watch these videos for a clear and well-structured explanation:

MORE INFORMATION (in English and Spanish) about HOW TO DO IT:

http://mycosysite.blogspot.com/2012/12/writing-pros-and-cons-essay.html

Pros and cons essay: aprende a escribir artículos argumentativos

So… now that you know what a ‘pros and cons’ essay is and how to do it, firstly think about the PROS AND CONS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND CAR DRIVING and make a list of brainstorming ideas before doing any writing at all!

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Have a look at this example from a different topic (organic food and genetically modified food) for you to have an idea of what to do:

After doing that, start planning what and how you are going to write.

Your essay must have a structure similar to this:

Find here some useful language such as linking words and phrases to provide cohesion to your essay:

To finish, leaving you here a clear example of a ‘for and against’ essay about a different topic (online communication vs. face-to-face communication) with some tips for writing:

You can also find some reference about a ‘for and against’ essay on your Student’s Book page 115 – Writing. Go to your book and check it!

YOUR ESSAY MUST BE BETWEEN 120-180 WORDS. NO LONGER, PLEASE!!!

The deadline is Tuesday, the 16th June!!!

HAVE A GOOD PREPARATION AND A GOOD WORK! 😉

BAD FIRST IMPRESSIONS AT WORK

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According to an article from Independent, ‘HALF OF WORKERS MAKE BAD FIRST IMPRESSIONS WHEN STARTING NEW JOBS‘.

Read the article https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/first-day-work-bad-impression-new-job-4imprint-a8351021.html and think about how important first impressions are at work, and brainstorm some of the worst things you could do to make a bad first impression. What is the worst first impression of all?

What would you do if you were in that situation? Give some advice or tips to fix bad first impressions at work. Read these links to find some inspiration:

https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/fix-bad-first-impression

https://www.workitdaily.com/fix-bad-first-impression-work

5 tips for a successful first day at work

You can also use this infographic to help you:

After that, YOUR TASK THIS WEEK will be recording a video (max. 3 minutes) on Flipgrid explaining the aforementioned. That is:

• How important first impressions are at work.
• Give examples of the worst things you could do to make a bad first impression at work and tell what you consider the worst first impression of all could be.
• Advice or tips to fix bad first impressions at work.

The DEADLINE is TUESDAY, the 9th JUNE!!

REMINDER!!

To do so, you will need your mobile phone or a computer with a webcam.

1) Think about what you are going to say ( I recommend making an outline first!)

2) If you are going to use your computer, go to https://info.flipgrid.com/. If you are going to use your phone, dowload the App Flipgrid.

3) Go to the box that says “Enter a flipgrid code” and introduce the code I sent you by email, then click on the arrow.

4) Read the instructions and the tip and then click on “Record a response” or on the round green icon with a white cross.

5) It will ask for a gmail or Microsoft email address (hotmail and msn emails are valid). Introduce an email address and you can record your video.

6) You can also watch your classmates’ videos and reply if you want!

ANSWERS for Student’s Book page 143, Grammar Bank 6B 'used to, be used to and get used to'.

Answers for the WORKSHEET: ‘Sleep more! Your brain needs it!’ (Brain maintenance by Arianna Huffington)

Sleep is vital. We know that our brains remain highly active when we sleep. Lack of sleep have many negative effects, both on our health and mental functions. Sleep is necessary for having a fully functioning brain when we are awake; perhaps because sleep helps to restore the energy consumed by the body and brain throughout the day. Sleep may also enable removal of harmful material that accumulate in the brain when we are awake. Sleep seems to play a crucial role in learning and memory, especially by aiding long-term storage of memories. (https://www.lifebrain.uio.no/publications/e-newsletters/sleephedda.html)

If you are interested in learning more about the topic and practice your reading skills at the same time, go to these sites:

https://arley360.com/sleep-allows-immune-cells-to-do-maintenance-work-on-the-brain/

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/10/18/236211811/brains-sweep-themselves-clean-of-toxins-during-sleep?t=1589090787643

So… sleep more! Your brain needs it!

After introducing this week’s topic, now let’s work on it!

First, we will focus on idioms and fixed phrases connected with sleep, for example sleep like a log, a light sleeper or a short nap.

Next, you will learn grammar structures of used to, be used to and get used. Have a look at this video to understand the difference:

You can also go to your Student’s Book page 143, Grammar Bank 6B 'used to, be used to and get used to' for some grammar reference or check the grammar explanation and try the exercises online from https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/intermediate-to-upper-intermediate/used-to-infinitive-and-be-or-get-used-to-ing.

Finally, you will watch a video of a short talk about brain maintenance by Arianna Huffington where she discusses the importance of a well-rested mind and body and answer the comprehension questions on the speech and speaker’s ideas.

Click here to dowload the worksheet:

THE KEYS WILL BE UPLOADED ON THE BLOG FOR YOU TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS.

Once you have done all your work, let’s move to a short discussion point and ‘talk’ about some issues connected with sleep. Then, WRITE A COMMENT ON THE BLOG answering one of the following questions: (Please, when you write it, copy the question first and then answer the question)

1. When you were a child, did you use to… share a room with a brother or sister / have nightmares / wake up very early in the morning?
2. Do you have problems if you have to sleep in a bed that you aren’t used to sleeping in (e.g. in a hotel)?
3. Do you think you would find it difficult to get used to… getting up at 5.30 a.m. every day / only being able to sleep for six hours a night / not having breakfast in the morning?
4. How many hours are you used to sleeping? Would you like to sleep more?
5. Could you get used to leaving electronic devices like your mobile phone outside the bedroom?
6. Have you ever tried meditation? Do you think it can make you feel better?
7. Why nowadays do so many people brag about how little sleep they get?
8. Are there more and more people who suffer from insomnia because of stress at work?

You have until the 26th of May to leave your comment on the blog!

Feel free to reply to your classmates’ comments too!! 😉

HAVE A GOOD WORK AND SLEEP LIKE A LOG!

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ANSWER KEYS FOR Student’s Book page 54, Exercise 1 (a-f): VOCABULARY & PRONUNCIATION – music, words from other languages.

Before working on this week’s topic in depth, let’s start doing some vocabulary related to it. We will study ‘loanwords’. Do you know what a ‘loanword’ is? Have a look at this definition.

Find here some examples of loanwords in English from different languages: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/english-words-from-other-languages/. From Spanish, English has borrowed words like guerrilla, macho, patio, plaza, piñata, siesta…

Now, it’s time for you to do some practice. Go to your Student’s Book on page 54 and do Exercise 1 (a-f): VOCABULARY & PRONUNCIATION – music, words from other languages. The keys will be uploaded on the blog for you to check them.

HOW DOES MUSIC AFFECT YOUR EMOTIONS?

MUSIC is a common phenomenon that crosses all borders of nationality, race, and culture. A tool for arousing emotions and feelings, music is far more powerful than language.  We could say that it is described as a “language of emotion” across cultures.

Let’s try now this WORLD MUSIC QUIZ: https://www.themusiclab.org/quizzes/fc.

This is an experiment conducted by researchers at Harvard University to study how the mind works. They are investigating how people make sense of music they hear. They will play you some sounds and then, they will ask you questions about what you hear. The experiment takes less than 10 minutes. IT’S WORTH IT!!

Music has the ability to evoke powerful emotional responses such as chills and thrills in listeners.

Listening to music is an easy way to alter mood or relieve stress. People use music in their everyday lives to regulate, enhance, and diminish undesirable emotional states (e.g., stress, fatigue).

Time now to listen to a TED TALK called ‘Music and emotion through time’ by Michael Tilson Thomas, an all-around music educator — connecting with global audiences, young musicians and concertgoers in San Francisco and London.

After watching the video, you will have to do a SUMMARY of his talk (this week’s task – LISTENING & MEDIATION). Your summary MUST BE JUST ONE SINGLE PAGE LONG. 😉

The deadline is the 19th of May!!

Before doing your summary, look carefully at the following tips:

WHAT IS A SUMMARY?

In the next video you will find some key points about how to write effective summaries:

Once you have done your summary and before send it to me, ask yourself these questions:

Steps to make sure your summary is good:

• Is the summary economical and precise?
• Is the summary neutral in its representation of the original author’s ideas, omitting the writer’s own opinions?
• Does the summary reflect the proportionate coverage given various points in the original text?
• Are the original author’s ideas expressed in the summary writer’s own words?
• Does the summary use attributive tags (such as ‘Michael argues’) to remind readers whose ideas are being presented?
• Does the summary quote sparingly (usually only key ideas or phrases that cannot be said precisely except in the original author’s own words)?
• Will the summary stand alone as a unified and coherent piece of writing?
• Is the original source cited so that readers can locate it?” – John C. Bean.

AND REMEMBER…

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ANSWER KEYS FOR Student’s Book, Grammar Bank 5B – page 141.

ANSWER KEYS FOR Student’s Book, Reading – page 50.

WHAT DOES REGRET MEANS?

Regret means: to feel bad, sad, or sorry about your behavior or actions in the past.

We can feel regret about things we did and things we did not do.

• I regret going to the party. It was not fun.
• I regret not going to the party. I heard it was fun.

Everybody experiences regret. Some of us feel regret on a regular basis, so it is important to know how to express regret in English.

Before we learn how to express regret, remember that we can have big regrets and small regrets. We use these sentences for major things as well as trivial things.

Some examples of major regrets could be:

• I regret not marrying her.
• I should have quit smoking a long time ago.

Some trivial regrets could be things like:

• I should have ordered a hamburger like you. This salad is not delicious.
• I regret eating that cookie. I’m going to gain weight.

Now, let’s see some different ways that we can use to express regret. All of these are very common in spoken and written English.

1. I should have + past participle / I shouldn’t have + past participle

• I should have called you. I am sorry.
• I should have gone to bed earlier last night. I am so tired today.
• We shouldn’t have bought this house. It is too big for us.
• I shouldn’t have said that. I am sorry.

Note:This only expresses regret when used with the subjects “I” or “We”. With other subjects, this sentence pattern shows that the speaker thinks the other person made a mistake. For example, “He shouldn’t have quit his job. Why did he do that?”.

2. I wish (that) I had + past participle / I wish (that) I hadn’t + past participle

• I wish I had studied English harder when I was young.
• He wishes I had married her.
• I wish that I hadn’t bought this stock.
• We wish that we hadn’t moved to Los Angeles. We miss New York.

3. I regret + gerund / I regret not + gerund

• I regret ordering this.
• She regrets opening a coffee shop.
• They regret not practicing hard.
• We regret not telling you the truth.

If a person no longer feels regret, then we could use “regret” in the past tense.

• She regretted buying the shirt, but now she likes it.
• At first, we regretted moving to Los Angeles, but it is growing on me.

4. If only I had + past participle / If only I hadn’t + past participle

• If only I had listened to my mother’s advice.
• If only we hadn’t invited him, the party would have been perfect.

Note:This only expresses regret when used with the subjects “I” or “We”. With other subjects, this sentence pattern shows that the speaker thinks the other person made a mistake. For example, “If only he had married her, his life would be so much better.”

Watch this video about ‘Expressing regret in English’ which is very clear and illustrative as well as entertaining and funny.

Now that you know different ways to express regret in English, go to your Student’s Book on page 141, Grammar Bank 5B ‘Structures after wish‘ to learn more about wish + would, and practise it doing the exercises there.

After that, practise your reading skill and go to your Student’s Book on page 50, read the text ‘REGRETS, WE’VE HAD A FEW (OUR LOVE LIVES, HEALTH, CHILDHOODS…) and do its corresponding activities.

The keys for both tasks will be uploaded on the blog for you for self-correcting.

Your turn!

Once you have done that, we are going to talk about regrets. You are going to record a video (max. 3 minutes) talking about things you regret having or not having done in the past.

To do so, you will need your mobile phone or a computer with a webcam.

1) Think about what you are going to say ( I recommend making an outline first!)

2) If you are going to use your computer, go to https://info.flipgrid.com/. If you are going to use your phone, dowload the App Flipgrid.

3) Go to the box that says “Enter a flipgrid code” and introduce the code I sent you by email, then click on the arrow.

4) Read the instructions and the tip and then click on “Record a response” or on the round green icon with a white cross.

5) It will ask for a gmail or Microsoft email address (hotmail and msn emails are valid). Introduce an email address and you can record your video.

6) You can also watch your classmates’ videos and reply if you want!

You have until the 12th of May to do this!

Finally, enjoy the song ‘My way’ by Frank Sinatra with https://es.lyricstraining.com/:

Regrets, I’ve had a few
but then again, too few to mention.

…

And more, much, much more
I did it, I did it my way.

MY WAY (AUDIO): https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/frank-sinatra/my-way-audio/HMdGuRF1qM

MY WAY (LIVE): https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/frank-sinatra/my-way-live/H6w0ZDL7c6

Practise your English, sing, enjoy and have fun!