Recording 10a. Listen to four people talking about a frienndship. How well do they know the person they are talking about?
Recording 10b. Listen to a student talking about family and friends. She will answer the following questions:
Who are the most important people in your life?
Do you and your friends share the same ideas?
Who is your best friend? What is he/ she like?
Recording 10c. You will hear five different people talking about a family party. Choose one statement from A to F that matches each speaker 1 to 5. There is one extra statement that you don't need to use.
We're now in the run-up to your final exam... so it's time you started getting ready.
I'll tell you in class all about how to avoid making the same mistakes as in February, for the sake of your final results, and so you can go on to NA1 next year.
One of the things I strongly advise is to prepare your presentation topics and record yourself. Then listen to it and try and find as many mistakes as you can. Now you're probably thinking:
"No way I'm doing that, I don't have the time! or I just can't be bothered and it's probably no use at all!"
Well, it is entirely up to you, of course! However, it is quite surprising, since sometimes we think we said something when it actually came out of our mouths in such a different form. It is a mystery that hasn't been solved yet!
So I thought that maybe you could do with some practical and factual guidance as for what we expect from you in an oral exam.
I selected this PRESENTATION from one of your fellow students, who gave a very well structured speech on Technologies, making the most of her three minutes.
As regards INTERACTION, one of the aspects that I've missed badly in your conversations has been SENTENCE FILLERS, so we will work on this in class.
The past tense is sometimes used in English to refer to an 'unreal' situation. So, although the tense is the past, we are usually talking about the present, e.g. in a Type 2 conditional sentence:
If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.
Although won is in the past tense, we are talking about a hypothetical situation that might exist now or at any time, but we are not referring to the past. We call this use the unreal past.
Other situations where this occurs are:
after other words and expressions like 'if' (supposing, if only, what if);
after the verb 'to wish';
after the expression 'I'd rather..'
Expressions like 'if'
The following expressions can be used to introduce hypothetical situations: - supposing, if only, what if. They are followed by a past tense to indicate that the condition they introduce is unreal:
Supposing I won the lottery... (= but we know this is unlikely)
What if we moved to another country? (= that would be quite unexpected)
If only I had more time. (= but I haven't).
These expressions can also introduce hypothetical situations in the past and then they are followed by the past perfect.
Examples:
If only I hadn't cheated in the exam (= I did and it was a mistake because the invigilator caught me and I failed)
What if I had told you before? (I didn't, but I can imagine what would have happened)
The verb to wish
The verb to wish is followed by an 'unreal' past tense when we want to talk about situations in the present that we are not happy about but cannot change:
I wish I had more time (=but I haven't)
She wishes she was more practical (= but she's not)
We wish we could come to your party (= but we can't)
When we want to talk about situations in the past that we are not happy about or actions that we regret, we use the verb to wish followed by the past perfect:
I wish I hadn't said that (= but I did)
He wishes he hadn't bought the car (= but he did buy it)
I wish I had taken that job in New York (= but I didn't, so I'm stuck in Bristol)
NOTE: When we want to talk about situations we are not happy about and where we want someone else to change them, we use to wish followed by would + infinitive.
I wish you wouldn't squeeze the toothpaste from the middle! (= I want you to change your habits)
I'd rather and it's time...
These two expressions are also followed by an unreal past. The verb is in the past tense, but the situation is in the present.
When we want to talk about a course of action we would prefer someone else to take, we use I'd rather + past tense:
I'd rather you went.
He'd rather you called the police.
I'd rather you didn't hunt elephants.
NOTE: the stress can be important in these sentences, to show what our preference is:
I'd rather you went= not me,
I'd rather you went= don't stay
He'd rather you called the police= he doesn't want to
He'd rather you called the police = not the ambulance service
Similarly, when we want to say that now is a suitable moment to do something, either for ourselves or for someone else, we use it's time + past tense:
This is the introduction to our next topic, Love & Relationships. We will use this song by Kiss & Drive, which is actually an adaptation of a song by Kylie Minogue. However, this version appeals to me as so much gentler and nicer.
Fill in the gaps while you listen.
What on earth am I ............. to do
In this ............. place there is only you Was gonna leave now I have to stay You have .......... my .......... away
Is the world still .............. around I don't .......... ........... coming down
It's in your eyes I can ........... what you're thinking My heart is ............ too It's no surprise I've been ............. you lately I want to ............ it with you
................ has a funny way When it comes and takes all your cares away I can't think of a single thing Other than what a beautiful ............ I'm ..........
Is the world still ............. around I don't .......... ........... coming down
[Repeat x3] It's in your eyes I can ........... what you're thinking My heart is ............ too It's no surprise I've been ............. you lately I want to ............ it with you
And here's the original video by Kylie Minogue, for those who are more into disco pop.
This is a listening describing two different people. It corresponds to track number 8 from the photocopy I last gave you about physical description and personality.
And in this presentation you can revise vocabulary to describe people.
Here are some idioms to talk about your relatives:
We're as different as chalk and cheese. We're like two peas in a pod. We get on like a house on fire. She's the spitting image of her mother. I have little to do with her. You just can't tell them apart. And do you know... What's the difference between stepsister and half-sister? What's a godfather? And a great-uncle? What's the difference betweenimmediate and extended family?
Toya & Emmi met some years ago while studying in England with an Erasmus grant. By chance, they come across each other on the streets of Murcia. What a coincidence!!!
Emmi
You are in Murcia working as a Language Assistant at a Language School. You've also taken the chance to do a course on Spanish that actually involves IT. Ask Toya about life, work and studies.
Toya
You're a teacher at a Language School, and you've also started studying French in your free time. Ask Emmi about life, work and studies. You start the conversation.
Thisis the story of all of us, who go from the wonder of
discovering the world through our own eyes, to being told by teachers, relatives and adults in general, that actually the world 'is' this or that way, and you'll be
discarded as a radical, childish, illogical and liberal, to say the least, if you take
another view of the world.
Do you relate to this song?
Listen to the Song and fill in the Gaps
The Logical Song by Supertramp
When I was young, it seemed that
life was so __________,
a _________, it was beautiful, _________
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
__________, ___________, watching me
But then they send me away to teach me how to be ___________,
__________, responsible, _________
And they showed me a world where I could be so ___________,
__________, intellectual, __________
There are times when all the world's
________
The questions run too ______ for _______________ (3 words) man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've __________
I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am
I said now, __________ what you say,
now we're calling you a ________,
a _________, fanatical, _________
Won't you sign up your name,
we'd like to feel you're ____________,
____________, presentable,
___________
But at night, when all the world's __________
The questions run so _________ for ________________ (3 words) man
Won't you please (Won't you tell me),
(You can tell me what) please tell
me what we've _______ (Can you hear me?)
I know it ________ absurd, (Won't you help me) please tell me who I am,
who I am, who I am, who I am
But I'm thinking so _________
Did you call, one two three four
It's getting ___________
And this other version if you didn't manage to understand the words. It's a bit slower, so easier to catch the gaps.
These are three activities organized to practise English with either students or native speakers, who are willing to speak too. club de conversaciónen un bar de Molina, todos los viernes, a las 14:30, donde dan paella gratis. Sólo se paga consumición. Es un encuentro informal.
tandem inglés-españolen "Mentidero", plaza de Europa, Murcia, los jueves a las 22:00, cena gratis. Sólo se paga la consumición. Una alumna que tiene contactos con estudiantes extranjeros, empareja hablante español con hablante inglés (no necesariamente nativo) para, durante la cena, alternar conversación en español con conversación en inglés. Es necesario reservar con ella, al menos 24 horas antes. El nombre de la alumna es Lola, y su teléfono:607 142 879
hiking and speaking EnglishAquíos dejo el cartel que ha mandado un antiguo alumno de la escuela. Se trata de una iniciativa muy interesante para poner en contacto hablantes británicos con lugareños con ganas de practicar el inglés, para salir a hacer excursiones por la región.
