Saturday 10 December 2011

Year 2: Yellow

Do you know this song? It's called Yellow and it's by Coldplay. Download this exercise and follow the instructions:

1.- Write the past simple of the verbs.
2.- Try to fill in the gaps.
3.- Listen to the song (minimize the window, so you don't read the lyrics).
4.- Finally, watch the video and check your answers.
Good luck!!!

Year 3: Present Perfect - Past Simple / Maths

Hi everyone!

Did you have a good weekend? If you want, you can do a few extra exercises on the difference between the Present Perfect and the Past Simple.

Theory
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Theory and exercise

If you like numbers, here are some interesting websites I would like to recommend.

http://www.mathsisfun.com/
http://math.pppst.com/
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/maths/maths.htm

Good luck with everything!

Monday 31 October 2011

Year 2: Halloween

Have you ever been so scared you were shaking like a leaf? What are you scared of and why?

Watch this video and find out what some people in London said.



Now watch this video if you want to learn some idioms of fear. You can make your comments below.

Happy Halloween!!!

Sunday 30 October 2011

Year 3: The Future

Would you like to revise future forms? To start with, you can read the theory and do the following exercises:

Theory
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3

Then listen to this song by a man who is wondering what his life is going to be like when he's 64. You can click on the highlighted words to read a definition.

Enjoy it!!!




When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now,
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?

If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

You'll be older too, (ah ah ah ah ah)
And if you say the word,
I could stay with you.

I could be handy mending a fuse
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride.

Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

Every summer we can rent a cottage
In the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck, and Dave

Send me a postcard, drop me a line,
Stating point of view.
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, Wasting Away.

Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four? Whoo!

Friday 14 October 2011

Year 3: Cheating

Do you remember the story of Rosie Ruiz? In 1980 she was initially declared the winner in the female category for the 84th Boston Marathon only to have her title later stripped after it was discovered that she had not run the entire course.

Read the text to find out about a man who cheated during a marathon on Sunday. Do you think he won?

You can leave your comments below.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Year 2: Bert and Ernie

Watch the following video. Which parts of the body do Bert and Ernie mention?



Now complete the text with verbs from the list (in the present continuous form).

Have fun!!!

Saturday 8 October 2011

Year 2: Present simple / family

If you want to revise some of the vocabulary from lesson 1, watch the following video and then do the exercises below.



Family quiz.

Personality adjectives: games.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Matariki

Hi everybody,

Did you know that if you want to celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year, you have to wait until June?

The Maori New Year is celebrated when the star cluster called "The Pleiades" rises in the north-east in the evening twilight. The precise date depends also on the moon, which is why it is not a fixed date.

If you want to find out more about Matariki, read the text and do the activities:

Matariki_Text

Matariki_Answers

An interesting website:

Monday 30 May 2011

Year 4: Protests in Spain

If you want to read about the protests in Madrid and in other cities in Spain, here is a selection of media comments from the English-speaking world:

Thursday 28 April 2011

Year 4: Intellectual property

Intellectual Property (including patents, trademarks and copyrights) was celebrated internationally on April 26th. This is very much a subject of debate these days. If you want to find out more about this topic, you can read the text below:

Intellectual Property_Text


During the last few sessions we have talked about advertising. I think it's an interesting topic, especially our relationship with advertising as cosumers. The following video gives us another perspective on the subject.



What is your opinion? Leave a comment below.

Year 1: There is / There are

Some more exercises on There is - There are:
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4 (Some / any)

Parts of the house:
Vocabulary
Vocabulary game: In the house

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Year 4: In Troubled Spain

Read the following article:
In Troubled Spain

What do you think? You can leave your comments below.
Cheers

Year 1: Listening Past Simple / Easter

Two listening exercises: listen to this recording and do the exercises.



If you want to know more about Easter traditions and the origins of Easter, read this text.
Easter is the Time of Springtime Festivals

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Year 4: Animals

Have you ever visited a zoo? Can you describe the main things you remember about the experience? What do you think about zoos in general? Can you come up with a list of pros and cons? Leave a comment.

In the text below you can read three differing opinions on the subject of zoos.

Zoos-Answers

If you want to learn more words related to the animal kingdom, visit the following websites:
National Geographic-Animals
Vocabulary-Animals

The dog in the picture is Hong Dong, a red Tibetan mastiff, which was recently bought for almost a million pounds. What is the reason for such a huge price tag? Read more.


Extra vocabulary exercise designed by my colleague Miguel Olivares.

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Recommended reading material














1 Avanzado: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows
To find out more about the book, take a look at this website: http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/guernsey/

1 Básico: The Black Arrow. R. L. Stevenson. BLACK CAT. GREEN APPLE

Monday 21 March 2011

Year 1: Past Simple (Regular verbs)

If you want to put into practice what we've learned this past week about the Past Simple of regular verbs, take a look at the following websites:

Year 1: Past Simple (Regular and irregular verbs)

Hello!

Here you'll be able to do two new listening exercises. Listen to this recording and do the exercises.



Thursday 17 March 2011

Year 1: St Patrick's Day

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, an annual feast which celebrates Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland.

If you want to learn about the history of St. Patrick and some other Irish traditions, click here.

Then try this quiz.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Year 4: St Patrick's Day


March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, an annual feast which celebrates Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland.

If you want to learn about the history of St. Patrick and some other Irish traditions, watch this video.



Now you are ready to read this text to find out more about some Irish traditions.

And another video from History.com.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Year 4: International Women's Day

Among the many things that New Zealand is famous for, it was the first country to grant women the vote. Many of us take the right to vote (suffrage) for granted but today (International Women's Day), we focus on the courageous women who fought hard to achieve equal rights. And the battle doesn’t go as far back as some may think; Switzerland only achieved suffrage in 1971, while South Africa didn’t achieve it until as recently as 1994.

Read the following text to find out more about those women and their extraordinary stories.

Now check your answers.

To know more, check out the following websites:
In some countries, women still have to fight to get equal access to education. Video script

Sunday 6 March 2011

Gender Facts

Next week we celebrate International Women's Day. The first International Women's Day was celebrated in 1911, so this year marks the centenary of this day of global celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.

Here are some gender facts that will get you thinking:
  • Of 1.2 billion people living in poverty worldwide, 70% are women
  • 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women
  • Women own around only 1% of the world's land
  • Only in Japan and Peru are women more active in starting a business than men
  • Women do two-thirds of the world's work but receive only 10% of the world's income

Now watch this video in which James Bond is challenged by M to think about gender inequality.


Tell us what you think by leaving a comment.

Saturday 5 March 2011

More films in English at the Universidad Popular

Tuesday 22 March: You will meet a tall dark stranger

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a 2010 English-language Spanish-American co-production comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It features Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto, and Naomi Watts.



Tuesday 29 March: Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is a 2010 Australian drama written and directed by David Michôd, and stars Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Luke Ford, Sullivan Stapleton, Jacki Weaver and James Frecheville.

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Friday 18 February 2011

Year 4: Defining and non-defining relative clauses

Revise your relative sentences with the following exercises:
Exercise 1Do you want to find out what the best tennis players like to read? Watch the following video. Leave a comment telling us about your favourite reading material.


Friday 11 February 2011

Year 4: Inventions

Today is the 164th anniversary of Thomas Edison's birth. He was an American inventor, scientist, and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

Below you can read an article about the 10 top inventions that changed the world. If you want to vote for one of them as the best invention ever, you can do so by leaving a comment.

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Year 1: Can/Can't


Check the following websites for more exercises on Can / Can't
Exercise 1

Vocabulary

Friday 4 February 2011

Year 1: Revision Unit 3

If you need to revise some of the grammar points we've seen in Unit 3, you can take a look at the following websites:

Adverbs of frequency
Exercise 1

Prepositions of Time (in, at, on)
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3

Dates
Exercise 1

Connectors (and, but, or)
Exercise 1
Exercise 2

Thursday 3 February 2011

Films in English at the Universidad Popular

Tuesday 15 February: Tamara Drewe
At 18.00 and 20.30. Price: 2.10 euros



Tuesday 22 February: Exit Through the Gift Shop
At 18.00 and 20.30. Price: 2.10 euros

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Year 4: Groundhog day

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.


And this is a clip from the comedy film Groundhog day.

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Year 4: Mixed conditionals / Love in the first degree

I'm sure you want to find out more about mixed conditionals. Read this information, and then do the exercises.

Now you do this exercise and then watch the video. This song compares being in love to being in prison, so I'm sure you'll find lots of interesting legal expressions. I hope you enjoy it.

Thursday 20 January 2011

Year 1: Daily routine / Telling the time / Adjectives

If you feel you need more practice on some of the latest topics we've seen in class, you can do the following exercises:

Daily routine
Exercise 1
After all those exercise, you should play this game.

Monday 17 January 2011

Year 4: Optimism and Pessimism / Third conditional

Do you think you are an optimist or a pessimist? Read the following text which features contrasting feelings of optimism and pessimism in the face of current economic, political, social and environmental issues.

Reasons to be cheerful_Answers

Now, take a look at the following sites:

- The website The Optimist, which specialises in ‘daily good news headlines’.

- A BBC article (2000) on medical research in the United States that suggested people with an optimistic outlook live longer.

If you want to revise conditional sentences, go through this Power Point presentation...

Conditionals

...now you are ready to do these exercises:

Theory

Exercise 1

Exercise 2