Lola's Blog

Public domain Many students of English complain about how difficult it is to learn English prepositions. I agree. I remember, as an undergraduate, I had to memorise never-ending lists of prepostions, adverbials, phrasal verbs...I found it an impossible task. Look at the picture on your left. What is the meaning of   at your own risk ? Click on this dictionary and check. Listening An embarrassing anecdote This is from a VOA (Voice of America) recording. The presenter talks about a friend, a non-native English speaker, who tried to tell someone "you will hear from me" meaning he would get in touch. But instead of saying "I'll get back to you" , he said "I'll get back at you" which means "I'll take revenge". The wrong preposition sent a completely different message with embarrassing consequences. Listen to What difference does a preposition make? In this interview the presenters talk to Professor  David Thatcher. Tip:  I...

We talked about writing, different types of text and analysed some reports. A report is a formal written account that gives information about a subject, a place, a person or an event. Broadly speaking there are four types of report: an assessment report, an informative report, a survey report, and a proposal report. The task in class You read somebody's report which followed these instructions:  "An international research group is carrying out an investigation into changing trends in the way young people spend their free time. You have been asked to write a report about the situation in your country". It was quite clear that this was an informative report. It was divided into five paragraphs, the first one being the introduction or purpose, and the last paragrah a conclusion with suggestions and/or recommendations. Suggested titles for a report Your writing task was to write a similar report but applied to your country. However, you suggested other titles ...

What words do you associate with seaside ? When was the last time you went to the beach? Did you have a good time? Did anything wrong or unusual happen? Has anyone or anything ever spoilt your holiday at the seaside? You are going to read an extract from Bill Bryson's book Notes from a Big Country . Reading Read "A day at the seaside" and explain why Bryson had a hell of a time. Vocabulary  Click here to download a works heet with vocabulary from the text above. Reporting verbs When we report or paraphrase a message or what someone said, we use reporting verbs such as tell, say, advise, convice, claim, sugge st, recommend, etc. Reporting verbs follow different patterns: verb + direct object (hearer) + to-infinitive Jenny asked me to come to the party verb + direct object (hearer) + that clause I convi nced myself that I was doing the right thing verb + to-infinitive I refuse to tell you the truth verb + that clause  Claire recommend s ...

Nivel: B1 Proyecto creado por : Lola la Torre Sigue este enlace para descargar el documento completo con pautas y actividades.   Matilda. Penguin Books : Matilda Wormwood's father thinks she's a little scab. Matilda's mother spends all afternoon playing bingo. And Matilda's headmistress Miss Trunchbull? Well, she's the worst of all. She is a big bully, who thinks all her pupils are rotten and locks them in the dreaded Chokey. As for Matilda, she's an extraordinary little girl with a magical mind - and now she's had enough. So all these grown-ups had better watch out, because Matilda is going to teach them a lesson they'll never forget...... Matilda is a children's book  written by Roald Dalh .

This post is about food and recipes. How much do you know about British food? Do you prefer sweet or savoury? Look at the food displayed in this photo. What can you buy in this shop? © Lola la Torre  Now look at this photo. What kind of drinks can you order? © Lola la Torre Look at the menu below: © Lola la Torre a) Have you ever tried any of these dishes? b) Can you identify the main courses and the desserts? Brushing up your food vocabulary Do you need to brush up your food vocabulary? How about going to a supermarket and doing some online shopping? It's the best way to learn about food items and produce. You are going to visit Tesco , a big supermarket chain in the UK. Click here to browse what they have available in terms of fruti and vegetables, meat and poultry, fish and seafood, dairy products. Fancy a croissant? Well, visit the bakery and make a list of items for your shopping trolley. Perhaps you need some olive oil or ketchu...

Evan Amos. Public domain When was the last time you listened to the radio in English? Which website is your favourite for listening? Well, here you have a chance to do some listening practice before the exam. You will hear an interview with Baz Luhrmann, the director of The Great Gatsby. Your task is to complete the gaps wih the word or words that you hear in English. The text is divided into two parts. Listen to Part 1, first, and then Part 2. You can check your answers by reading the transcript. Do not read it until the end, of course. Hope you enjoy this listening exercise. Let me know how you get on with it. Download worksheet.

David Fincher by Elen Nivrae. CC-BY This post is about the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which was directed by American director and producer David Fincher. You are going to learn vocabulary for talking and reviewing a film review. Your last task will be to write a review of about 200-230 words. You should bring to class your student book Global , along with the handout on how to write a book review.   The director and the cast How much do you know about the director, David Fincher? and the cast? Photo by Maggie. CC-BY Photo by Paul Cush. CC-BY Photo by The Heart Truth. Public domain You can follow these links if you would like to learn more about David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson . Watch this interview with Taraji P. Henson How many actors played the character of Benjamin Button? Why? How did she establish chemistry with a character played by different people? How did Queenie survive in a h...

I shared some photos of my holiday in the post titled "New York".  In this post I would like to share some more photos. As you can see in the slideshow, I visited not just New York City but also upstate New York. What did I do during my holiday?  During my two-week stay I managed to do quite a lot. You can guess by just browsing my photos. I visited Manhattan, Long Island and Lake George. New York City New York City Boroughs map. User Perry Planet. CC-SA How much do you know about New York? Can you answer these questions?: How many languages are spoken in New York? How many people live in New York? New York used to be the capital of the USA? When? What landmarks can you find in Manhattan? Where is the One World Trade Center building? Where is the Statue of Liberty? What is the Bronx famous for? and Brooklyn? What is the climate in New York?  You can click here to check your answers. Long Island   NYC and the counties o...

Public domain Think of an answer for these questions: 1) Do you know anyone who doesn't like money? 2) How greedy can you or anyone get? 3) How much money is enough for you to be happy? 4) Do you ever think of those who have very little or nothing? 5) How would you feel if you were young and long-term unemployed? Well, you'll have a chance to talk about these things in class. Vocabulary You are going to revise quite a lot of vocabulary this week: money vocabulary, phrasal verbs and money expressions . Do you know the meaning of the following expressions? If not, click and check.   to be in credit , to be well off , to pay the house off You can download this PDF with money vocabulary exercises . Reading Read this BBC article about young people seeking employment and answer these questions: What is the news? What has the report by the Prince's Trust revealed? What is the government doing about it?  What is a neet ?  What is the equival...

Boby Dimitrov. Wikimedia Commons Do you know why Spain has made headlines this week? When someone is involved in an argument that affects a lot of people that person is said to be in the eye of the storm . Reading Task 1. Read the article Brussels takes action against Spain for refusing EU cards   and answer the following questions: Why is the European Commission launching legal action against Spain? What have Spanish doctors been doing wrong? What can Brussels force Spain to do? Video Task 1. Check this vocabulary before you watch : to break the law     to fix the system     infringement procedure     EHIC card Task 2. Watch the video and answer these questions. Watch this BBC video about Spanish hospitals' rejection of EU health card . What happened to Ray Burton in Spain? What other two cases are mentioned? What other country is breaking the law? Why? For more tasks (fill-in the gaps, c...