Crime and Punishment

The following paragraph and key words come from a mistery story.
You have to act the detective and ask your teacher questions. Use past simple, past continuous or past perfect.
Your teacher will only answer: YES or NO.

Crime and Punishment

A man got on the train and sat down in a compartment which was empty except for one lady. She took her glove off. A few hours later the man was arrested by the police. They held him for 24 hours and were then forced to let him go free. 

GARDEN
LOVER
30 YEARS
VANISH
JAIL

Solution:
Thirty years before, the gloved lady had been lmarried to the man on the train. She and her lover had disappeared and left the country. Before vanishing they had cut off the two middle fingers of her left hand and buried them on the garden. The police found the fingers while investigating her disappearance and accused the man of murdering his wife and burying the rest of her somewhere else. He was jailed for 30 years for a crime he had not committed. 
He did not recognise her at first on the train. When she took off her gloves he did. He killed her. The police had to release him as he had served his life sentence before committing the crime. 

Evaluation Criteria

Course 2020-2021

Each exam will consist of:

• 50% Reading, Listening, Grammar and Vocab.
• 50% Writing

On missing an exam date, you will only be allowed to take the exam another day if you have a paper from the doctor or any other oficial organism. 

You final mark will be the average mark of the 3 terms. 

Each term your grade will be calculated according to the following criteria:

• 80% exams
• 10% home compositions
• 10% reader (if there is one)
• The final grade will be rounded up/down with your speaking performance. 

TED: The next outbreak? We are not ready

Dear all,

I would like to share with you a TED talk from more than 5 years ago, whose chat (see comments under the video) has been activated again due to the present validity of its content. Bill Gates seems to have been a visionary.

I advise you to watch it with English subtitles, there are subtitles in 37 different languges though.

Immigration: A Class Debate Preparation

Related to the issue in the book, we will carry out a class debate on immigration when we come back, followed up by a “for and against essay” on Immigration. Therefore, you could start thinking about this critical issue.

All political positions are legitimate and we will discuss it democratically.  You can prepare your arguments with the chart below if it helps you. This time we are not going to play any roles, you will be able to give your own opinion. 

Immigration
Pro-immigrationists	Anti-immigrationists
Debate 1 Is it a duty or a favour?
Debate 2 If they are allowed in, the immigrants have an obligation to assimilate into the local culture.  How far should the assimilation go?
Debate 3 How much time needs to pass before immigrants become full members of society?

A Refugee Story Reader Assignment

The assignment should have a minimum length of 250 words. Choose ONE of the options below. In the assignment, you must show that you have read and understood the story and the vocabulary. I will value your creativity and your ability for reaching conclusions about the story. You should try not to copy directly from the book. 

Alternatively, you can choose TWO options and write two shorter texts. The total length of the two writings should be 250 words.  

Drama Activities:

1. Write a television interview with Tariq after he has settled in Germany but still doesn’t know what has happened to the rest of his family. Suggestion: act out the interview in front of the class.  One of you is Tariq and the other is a reporter. 
2. Write a conversation between Tarip and Salah when they are first reunited. You can act out the conversation for the class.  
3. After several years in Germany, the Ahmadi family is faced with the choice of remaining there or going back to their homeland. Write the conversation in which the family members discuss the advantages of both options. Act out the conversation for the class.

Writing suggestions:

1. Imagine you are Salah. Write the entry in your diary on the day you arrive in Italy. Describe the journey and your feelings now that you are out of danger. 

Challenge to think:

1. The Ahmadis went through a lot of suffering in order to survive and to remain together as a family. Do you think that the writer of the story wishes to give a positive of a negative message about human nature in general? Give examples from the story. 
2. Rima decided that her family had to run away. She didn’t want to try and change the situation in her country. Do you agree with her decision? Explain your answer. 
3. Compare how Tariq and Salah dealt with being forced to leave their country and start a new life. Do you think one of them managed better than the other? Explain your answer.  (How did being a good footballer help Tariq? How did Salah’s Writing skills help him?

A Refugee Story (pdf book)

Dear students,

We are all confined in the middle of this sanitary crisis and by now we are totally overwhelmed with whatapps and videos about covid-19. So for a change, I thought I would give you work for those of you who want to practice some English and make the most out of your time.

The first thing will be the reader, as we agreed on the last day in class, you can read our 3rd reader this course “A refugee story”. There will be an exam some day after we come back to our regular classes.  

Since some of you may not have the book at home and might not have gone to the school library last Thursday, I have scanned the book for you. It’s quite a new book and you will not find a pdf copy on the Internet. Al least, I didn’t manage to find it. So by using the app Tiny Scanner, I have scanned the book and I’m sharing it here.

It’s a touching and engaging story of a family who lives in an unnamed Arab country. I hope you will like it. It’s only about 40 pages with a lot of pictures. It's B1 level so you will not find it very difficult. Sometimes it is not quantity (of worlds) but quality that you learn by reading in English. 

To access the file, click on the link below. If you have any problems, please let me know. 

A refugee Story (pdf)

Happy reading!

By the way, I will be posting other ideas and suggestions to practice English. It is not compulsory to do it now, but you will have to do it anyway when we come back so, let's get a head start on work! ;))

Keep in touch and tell me how you are doing!! 

Dilemmas

DILEMMAS What would you do?	You	Your partner
You have noticed your best friend cheating in an end-of-term exam. A lot of teens cheat, but you and your friend have always been against it, up to now.  Should I tell off my friend?
Your sister has a boyfriend and one day she asks you to answer the phone and tell her boyfriend she’s ill and that she can’t go out that Saturday night. You know she’s planning to meet another boy that night. What would you do? Should I do what my sister says?
You are completely against smoking. Your brother asks you to bring him a carton of cigarettes from the Duty Free Shop when you go to London next week so that she can save some money. What would you do? Should I bring the cigarettes to my brother?

Dilemmas Survey - Kahoot

Gerund or Infinitive

Gerund or Infinitive in Songs

Today I would like to try out an activity that was prepared by a Polish teacher who teaches English.
Thank you Natalia for sharing this activity in your blog!

Happy learning!


Songs used:

1. She will be loved, Maroon 5
2. New York New York, Frank Sinatra
3. Hey Jude, The Beatles
4. Let her go, Passenger
5. November rain, Guns’n’Roses
6. Lost on you, LP
7. Hello, Adele
8. Man down, Rhianna
9. Billy Jean, Michel Jackson
10. Love on the brain, Rhianna
11. Clocks, Coldplay
12. I want to break free, Queen
13. Lazy Song, Bruno Mars
14. Purple Rain, Prince
15. Rehab, Amy Winehouse
16. Stop cryin’ your heart out, Oasis

An opinion essay (1st of Batx.)

You can choose one of the following options or propose a different one:


- Live concerts are the best way to listen to music. What do you think? 

- My opinion about Instagram. / Twitter. / ...


- There is too much violence on TV/ computer games.


- Young people are not interested in politics. Do you agree?

- Which do you think is the best sport for a young person to take up?

- What would you do to change the world? In your opinion, what are the most important problems? What would you do to solve them?  


-  "Studying traditional degrees like philosophy and history is a waste of time and money." What's your opinion? 

- "The teenage years are the most important years of your life" Do you agree? 

- Do you think today's educational system should change? Why? Why not?

- Do you think politics is an appropriate subject at school?



Once you have written your first draft, go throught our "Writing Checklist" to see that you have not made any of the most common mistakes for a Catalan student. 

Can you use any of the "Connectors and linking words" in our list to improve your composition. 


Some useful expressions to express you opinions:

• Personally, I think.....
• Personally speaking, I believe....

• In my opinion,......
• In my view, .........
• From my point of view, ........

• As I see it, ..............
• It seems to me, .......
• As far as I'm concerned, ...................
• I strongly believe, .........
• I am sure that ........

Happy writing!!!

TED: Why should you make useless things?

What do you think about Simone or about her talk?
She's a robotics enthusiast and runs a YouTube channel of more that one million subscribers.
Feel free to leave your comments below ;))

Xmas Homework

• Reading: "A Foreigner in Britain" (Exam on the 13th of January)
• Speaking (oral presentation): My Gap-Year (Oral presentations on the 8th and 9th of January)
• Listening + Writing: TED "Do schools kill creativity?"
• Grammar & Vocab: Workbook 5C (pages 80-81)

Happy Christmas and happy learning!

TEACHING CONVERSATION: The understatement of the year

Well, it wasn't exactly .....

Look at the pattern below:

A:   So, what did you think of Switzerland?
B:   Well, it wasn't exactly the friendliest place I've ever been to. 

Now respond to the following with an understatement. The words in brackets will help you.

1. I hear it was pretty difficult.   (easy)
2. Was it very expensive.    (cheap)
3. I suppose he's quite old now.    (young)
4. So, your car is pretty old.    (new)
5. He's the most stupid person I've ever met.   (intelligent)
6. Hasn't the weather been awful?    (fantastic)
7. It's just so small.    (big)
8. You must have been really angry about it.   (pleased)
9. Isn't it a little cold in here.   (warm)
10. This wine is much too sweet.    (dry)
11. Parisian waiters are so rude.    (polite)

Now try adding some of the following endings to the responses above:

.... I have to admit.

.... that's for sure. 

.... it's true.

Teach girls bravery, not perfection

My Gap-year

1. 

If you could travel to 11 countries in 44 days, which countries would you visit?
What would you do in each country? 

In groups, talk about what your epic trip would involve.

2. 

You are going to watch a short one-minute video called MOVE which shows clips of 11 countries visited by Andrew Lees in 44 days.

Try to name as many of the countries as possible. The clips are very fast,  you can speculate about which countries are shown using modals verbs of speculation. 

The countries are Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil, USA, Thailand and Birmania.

3. 

Have you been to these of these countries?
Would you like to go to any of these countries?
What are they famous for?

 

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

 
EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

If money was not an issue, and you could take a year off, .....

• Where would you go?
• What would you learn?
• What would you eat?

Keep dreaming and practice English!

_____________________________________________________

Some useful language you might need:

2nd Conditional:

If I had a gap year and enough money, I would go to.....

Modal Verbs:

I think I should really learn to .....

Once I'm in the States, I must meet........... and tell him/her how much I admire ....

I might also enjoy a good ride on an elephant. 

Different verbal tenses:

I have always wanted to learn......


Some rethorical questions:
What could be better than this?
Can you imagine what it would be like to meet.....?
Wouldn't we all want to speak English more fluently?

Some nice expressions:

It's a must! 

It's worth going! It's worth it! It's worth trying! 

I don't want to regret anything I haven't done when I'm older. 
An unforgetable experience. 

TV Mini-Debates

DEBATE PROCEDURE

In each group of four:

• Two students have to work out and note down all possible arguments IN FAVOUR of each statement, including defences against points that might be brought up by the opposition.
• The other two students have to work out and note down all possible arguments AGAINST of each statement, including defences against points that might be brought up by the opposition.

1-      Each student is allowed 1 minute to give his/her opinion and support his/her arguments.

2-      The procedure will be as follows:

student for (1 minute)    ->   student against  (1 minute)

student for (1 minute)    ->   student against  (1 minute)

3-      Then the chairperson invites the audience to ask questions or to make statements.

_____________________________________________________

You can volunteer as chairperson for a debate other than your own (personal objective)

The chairperson’s role:

1-    Control time

2-    Take the vote from the class to determine which team has presented the most convincing arguments.

_______________________________________________________

NOTE: Groups to do not need to be divided according to actual opinions. They are divided arbitrarily, so many will find themselves having to argue in favour of something they oppose, or vice-versa.  This is in fact a kind of role-play. 

Now clink on the link below and check where you are. Be prepared for the debate next class. 

TV Mini-Debates

Happy speaking!

Connectors / Linking Words

Here you have a list of the most common connectors.
If you make a good use of them, your text will be better articulated and more coherent.

Connector	Catalan translation	Example
Contrast:
but	però	It's hot but I'll take my coat.
	sinó que	I didn't go out but I stayed at home.
although	encara que	Although it's hot, I'll take my coat.
in spite of	malgrat	The company had earnings in spite of the crisis.
however	malgrat tot	It's very hot. However, I'll take my coat.
on the other hand	per una altra banda	The company has earned a lot of money. On the other hand, they have closed many factories.
Addició:
and	i	I'll come and wait for you.
moreover	a més a més	We've lost everything. Moreover, the banks will take no responsability.
as well as	així com també	We've lost time as well as money.
also	també	We've lost time and we've also lost money.
in addition	a més a més	We've lost everything. In addition, the banks will take no responsability.
Exemple:
for example	per exemple	You need something that can relax you, for example, a long holiday at the beach.
that is	és a dir	We need an aggresive marketing campaign, that is, something that can improve our sales.
such as	tal com	We need something that can improve our sales such as an aggressive marketing campaign.
in other words	amb altres paraules	We need something that can improve our sales. In other words, we need an aggressive marketing campaign.

Seqüencia:
first of all	primer de tot	First of all, turn the computer on
secondly	en segon lloc	Secondly, look for the program
then	aleshores	Then, open the program
after that	després d'això	After that, locate the folders
finally	finalment	Finally, download the folders into your hard disk.
Temps:
before	abans de	I'll meet him before going home. I'll meet him before I go home. I'll meet him before 6 o'clock.
after	després de	I'll meet him after leaving the office. I'll meet him after I leave the office. I'll meet him after 6 o'clock.
while	mentre	I'll wait while you're in the meeting.
until	fins que fins a	I'll stay in the office until I finish my work. I'll stay in the office until 10 in the evening.
for	durant	I've been waiting for 10 minutes.
since	des de	I've been talking on the phone since you arrived.
as soon as	tan aviat com	Please call me as soon as you can.
Propòsit:
so that	de manera que	I'll give you the report so that you can check it.
in order to	per tal de, per a	I'll go to London in order to practise my English.
Resultat:
consequently	en conseqüència	I'ts very late. Consequently, we should go.
therefore	per tant	It's very late. Therefore, we should go.
for this reason	per aquesta raó	It's very late. For this reason, we should go.
so	així que	It's very late so we should go.
Causa:
because	perquè	I can't buy a flat because they are very expensive
because of	degut a	I can't buy a flat because of the price.
as a result	com a resultat	I have little money. As a result, I can't buy a flat.
thanks to	gràcies a	I earned a lot thanks to the extra hours.