oral interaction practice

Hello
Here is some help to practice for the oral interaction test that will be held next week. Remember you need a partner for this activity. It is a good idea to decide on it now.

Giving your opinion
Giving your opinion neutrally

"I think…."


"I feel that…."


"In my opinion…."


"As far as I'm concerned…."


"As I see it…."


"In my view…"

Giving a strong opinion

"I'm absolutely convinced that…."


"I'm sure that….."


"I strongly believe that…."


"I have no doubt that…"


ASKING for SOMEONE'S OPINION

"What do you think (about /of X)?"


"What's your view (on)?"


"How do you see the situation (of)?"

Agreeing and disagreeing
Agreeing

"I think you're right."
"I agree with you."


Strong agreement
"I couldn't agree with you more."
"You're absolutely right."
"I agree entirely."
"I totally agree."


Agreeing in part

"I agree with you up to a point, but..."
"That's quite true, but..."
"I agree with you in principle, but..."


Disagreeing

"I'm not sure I agree with you."
"(I'm afraid) I don't agree."
"(I'm afraid) I disagree."
"(I'm afraid) I can't agree with you."
"(I'm afraid) I don't share your opinion."

Note that when you disagree with someone, you can often sound
more polite by using a phrase such as "I'm afraid..."

Disagreeing strongly

"I don't agree at all."
"I totally disagree."
"I couldn't agree with you less."

Keeping a conversation going
Making comments

"No!" - to show surprise
"I don't believe it!" - to show surprise
"Wow!" - to show admiration or surprise
"That's incredible / amazing / unbelievable" - to show great
interest in the subject of conversation
"How awful / terrible" - to show sympathy with someone else's bad
news

Asking questions

"Really?" - to show surprise
"And you?" - when someone asks you how you are
"Did you?" - can be used to encourage someone to tell their story.

For example, "I saw her last night" "Did you?" "Yes, she was with one of her friends, and she...."

post 15 /12

Dear students:

This is our last post this semester. I'll give you a couple of choices to decide on one.

   How do you feel about English as a Lingua Franca? How do you feel about this being the official language versus French from 1066 to the 1500s, or Latin earlier. Develop your ideas.

  Write about the coolest blog in the class. Evaluate, layout of the blog, texts written, general participation.

Write about your semester in general. The highs and lows and anything else you find relevant.

Choose one of the topics and 


- wordcount: 250
- make comments on 4 of your partners' posts.

practice for final test

Reading:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/reading1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading2.htm

Listening:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part2.htm

Vocabulary:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_vocab.htm

Once you finish, write a review on the areas that were more successful and those you need to work more on. Write a minimum of 100 words and 1 comment.

Video 3 Dec 15

Record a 2 minute video and say about an ambition you have. Even if it is something simple.

Say:

What your ambition is,

Why you would like to achieve this ambition,

Who or what inspired your ambition,

What it would mean to you to fulfil your ambition.

Mention anything else you think is important.

It is a 2 minute video in which you should be fluent. Remember to practice before recording. It is not a reading test. 

Ambitions

Write about an ambition you have. Even if it is something simple.

Say:

What your ambition is,

Why you would like to achieve this ambition,

Who or what inspired your ambition,

What it would mean to you to fulfil your ambition.

Mention anything else you think is important.

Write a minimum of 230 words and comment on 4 different blog

I know it may sound difficult to think of an ambition. I do not consider myself an ambitious person. I used to care about money or things more before. Certain things happened and then I have changed quite a bit in the past 5 years. I am quite content at the moment.
I suppose people always associate ambitions with dreams.One thing I have always thought of doing at some point is to have a school in a rural area for people with financial difficulties.I'd like to do this because I like teaching and I feel a lot of children don't have opportunities to study in a friendly but demanding environment. A place that consider the needs of all children as an individual. I supose my ambition has been inspired by my own readings and realization on how teaching and learning processes are always interesting and how the world can be a bad place if you don't have an education. I believe the early childhood is a vital period to work on. I'd like this place to be in a big piece of land so there is space to play and also space to plant. I would really like to plant my own vegetables  and have fruit trees and knwo exactly what I eat. The children would also enjoy this. Ideally, we could have lessons for grown ups in the evenings.
I think if I could fulfil this ambition I'd be very happy because I would involve many lovely people that work in the area of education who are really talented. I would also be happy to live outside the city and eat lovely homegrown vegetables.

How about you? What is your ambition.

Free post

The options are:

• What was yesterday like?

Write about the different experiences you had?
Was it a good or a bad day? why?

• A hobby you have

how long have you had it?
Why you enjoy it?
How often you practice it?

•    A type of music you like

When /how you discovered it
Why you like it
A particular song/piece you enjoy



Choose one of the three and start posting. Write a minimum of 220 words and 4 comments.

practice

Reading:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/reading1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading2.htm

Listening:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part2.htm

Vocabulary:

http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_vocab.htm

Once you finish, write a review on the areas that were more successful and those you need to work more on. Write a minimum of 100 words and 2 comment.

Please remember the period to post on the blog is in class or within 48 hours. Check this on the older posts :)

Someone

 I suppose there are many people I admire. But today I will refer to one that I don’t always mention and has impressed me more than once.  He is called “the father of modern linguistics” by more than one. His name is Noam Chomsky.

I got to know about him when I was studying language acquisition. At the time we looked at the theory of universal grammar. He argued that the human brain has a system that allows any human to learn languages just by being in a linguistic environment in normal conditions. This was in the 1950s. During these years behaviorism was the main trend. In 1959 he criticized B. F. Skinner and argued behaviorism had no faith in linguistic creativity of humans when it comes to learning.  This was very controversial.

He has been in the public debate since the 1960s when he wrote a series of books criticizing the role of the US in the war of Vietnam. He also wrote other essays about Cambodia and the violation of human rights in general.  He has argued against the US intervention in different countries. He was arrested more than once back in the day.

He worked at the university of Harvard and has worked at MIT since 1955.

If I had the chance to meet him, I would ask him more in depth about his feelings  towards the role of the state of Israel  in Palestine and Arab countries in general. He has got really interesting views on this. Especially for an American born to Jewish parents.

Write about a public person you admire (Ideally Chilean, not necessarily, though).  Say:

How you got to know them

Give some general information about them

What you would ask her/him if you got to know them

Anything else you find relevant.

Write a minimum of 240  and 4 comments on any of the members' blogs

favorite artist

Write about your favorite artist
Say:
Who are they
When you first discovered them
What you like about them
What is your favorite piece by them

Write a minimum of 210 words and make 4 to 5 comments:)

Paper blog

Something youd like to learn

Dear all,

I would like to do a lot of things and this is why this post is difficult.  As opposed to you, I have had a number of jobs and to decide on a particular one is difficult.

I like my job, I think what I like the most is the interaction with people and the most fulfilling part of it is observing learning processes. In FACSO at times this is difficult depending on the students’ feelings towards the class but on the whole, it is a very fine experience to me.

To think of an ideal job would always be about helping people somehow. A part of me would like to help people with more difficulties. One time I taught Spanish to people for Haiti and this was really rewarding because you knew that these people would have an immediate benefit from it. I also taught English to admin workers “funcionarios” in facso and that was really nice.

Because I like my current job, I’ll mention another job to complement this, but not as a full time one. I would like to work in the area of sports and health too. It would be wonderful to see the recovery of people.

 I think practicing sports, yoga, trekking (something that involved physical activity) is a really wonderful experience and I think many people who haven’t done it, don’t know how good it can be for the body and soul. I have only discovered this in my thirties.  I think my ideal job maybe would involve exercise for rehabilitation of injuries. Like a physical therapist. I would have to train in anatomy for a while, though.  I have seen how specific exercise can help to recover from really bad states with perseverance. 

Write about a job you would like to have. Mention:

What the job is,

Why you would like to do this job,

What qualities or skills you would need to do this job,

What type of reward or job satisfaction you would get from doing this job.

Mention anything else you think is important.

Write a minimum of 210 words, put a comment on my blog and 4 more comments.

video 2 Thursday 10

A JOB YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO IN THE FUTURE

Record a for 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about a job you would like to do in the future.

Say:

What the job is,

Why you would like to do this job,,

What qualities or skills you would need to do this job,

What type of reward or job satisfaction you would get from doing this job.

Mention anything else you think is important.

Remember if you read you will not have a pass mark. Practice makes perfect.

 ALL IN ONE TAKE.

Book

Today we are going to write about something  interesting, I think.

It has been hard to choose because I am often reading more than one thing at the time.  I read the newspaper, academic papers, stuff on meditation, essays, my students' blogs, etc. 

I started reading about the brain some years back when I studied language acquisition and education = learning processes.

However, later I decided to read beyond linguistics and education, and bought a really interesting book called “Mind map” The book I am devoting most time to at the moment is called “The emotional life of your brain” It is written by a neuroscientist (R. J. Davidson) and a health and science journalist (S. Begley).  I suppose I am reading it out of pleasure. The book is about different research done on the human brain and the different emotional styles, how genetics and environment influence them and how they develop. It also includes  the mind – body connection. Although I have onlt read about 80 pages, I'm really enjoying seeing how certain personality traits can be linked to certain hormones released in certain areas of the brain and some of these processes could be modified if there is will. It is  fascinating.. Chemical processes were never my thing at school but now it is fun. It also touches “abnormal “ conditions such as autism, which I find interesting.

I think I am enjoying it because there is no pressure involved. I just read a while before I go to sleep or during the day if I have the time.

Write about something you are reading at the moment.

Say

What it is called

Which genre it is ( novel, academic, manga, report, blog, etc)

Whether you are enjoying it

What it is about

Include anything else you find relevant.

Write a minimum of 210 words and 4 comments on different class blogs. Mine also counts :)

Remember today you post outside the classroom but points count as usual :)


Hi everyone:
I'd like to talk about a good friend of mine. I met Ivonne in around 2000 because she was my sister's classmate at Uni and they were pretty close. Later, my sister left to live in the UK and I didn't see Ivonne again until around 2005. I am not sure how we got in touch again but I am glad we did because I feel she is really nice company. I like talking to her about anything because most of the time she has wise words to tell me. Plus, she has a great sense of humor and is a very active woman.
I'd say we have various things in common. We like music and arts in general, and we share our sense of humor & love for animals. We don't eat them! I really enjoy our evening meetings to have a drink and play music. Ivonne plays the guitar magnificently and can pick like few people I have met. But she is very humble about her guitar playing and that is nice too.
She is a lawyer, but one of the smart ones who will always tell you about the details of the legal actions you take. Furthermore, most of the time she knows what is going on with the laws they will pass or if they already passed them and how they affect us. It is a pity we don't see each other very often. Maybe 4 or 5 times a year.

Write about a good friend of yours:
Say:
Who it is,
How you met,
What things you have in common,
How often you see your friend.
Put up a picture if you like (Mine is pending!)
Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on 4 classmates' blogs .

Blog assessment

The objective of writing the blog is improving your English level by making the effort of thinking in English. You can use wordreference.com or a different dictionary  to find words you need or ask your teacher if you don't find them. This is a good way to learn.

The marks go as follows

Every class you get 2 points for posting and writing comments in class.

If you post and comment within 48 or outside the classroom you get 1 point.

No post , no points

This corresponds to mark 1 =50%

Mark 2 = 50%, corresponds to a linguistic evaluation of 3 post during the semester.

Mark 1 + Mark 2 = Blog mark 

ASSESSMENT   LIV
Evaluation	Type	Percentage
1	WRIITTEN (BLOGS)	20%     Every week
2	CA  (3 videos)	30%    Videos - October - November
	ORAL INTERACTION	20%     December
4	FINAL WRITTEN (SUFI)	30%    December

Prezzie

If I had to think of one in particular, I guess it would be difficult to give an answer, however, and since I don’t want to be incoherent, I will. I remember one morning on my birthday that my husband (my boyfriend back then) woke me up and gave me an envelope. At the time I thought “What a weird present, is it money?” Then I opened it and I realized it was a plane ticket. I remember I was a bit shocked; really, it was a plane ticket with hotel and everything to go to Buenos Aires the weekend after. I did no show much enthusiasm at the time since I had been waiting for something different, I suppose. However, I think this has been one of the best weekends ever. I had never been to Buenos Aires before and we had a wonderful time. We went to the typical sights; we also went to a tango club (and tried to dance!). I spent hours in libraries and got a few books for much better prices. I suppose what I liked the most, was the fact that people are so nice there. Being a capital city, it is a completely different attitude towards others. Less hostile, I think.  Also, in general the ordinary people in the streets seem so knowledgeable about their history, culture and that is really nice. It seems like culture is everywhere. I really enjoyed it. Now it is one of my nicest memories.

Write about a present you received.

Say:

What it was,

Who gave it to you,

Why you liked it,

Where it is now.

Anything else you find relevant.

Write a minimum of 180 words and 1 comment on my blog and 3 comments on your classmates’ blogs.

Today you will have 2 choices.

To either write about the Chilean heritage and the role of the state and the people to preserve it or a place you would like to visit.

For either of the 2  Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts and my blog if you like. Word count: 150 words !!

Today I will write about a place I’d like to visit. To be honest, travelling is one of the things I find most valuable. A lot of people prefer to buy stuff and that is fine by me. I personally feel experiencing different cultures and sharing with people is priceless. Even though I understand that as a tourist you don’t really experience the culture the way a local does, I enjoy travelling very much. I have a lot of places in Chile I'd like to see but I'll go for something different.

Choosing a favourite place puts me in a difficult situation. I more or less love all places. I will select one because it is part of today’s task. In 2014 I had the opportunity to visit Turkey. I simply fell in love. I would like to go back to this place one day. I would like to learn more about the Byzantines and the Ottoman empire. It is such an interesting culture. I would also like to visit the coast since they say it is amazing. To be honest, I would also like to learn more about the language. The Turkish language is nothing like anything I heard before, much nicer than the Arab language (in my opinion) but still pretty intricate in terms of structure. So I guess I’d like to go there for around 6 months to get a good feel of the place and visit all the places I didn't get to see..

I think Turkey is the perfect transition place as transit from west to east and the arab world.

- Which country would you like to go to? Why?

- What do you know about it?

- What would you like to do there?

- Would you like to study/work/live there? Explain. Put a picture too!!

Today's tasks consists of a 200 word- text.
The topic is free and you need to write  comments on your classmates' blogs

First, go to blogger.com and follow the instructions.

Please remember to change the language during set up so that your blog is in English.

1. If you have a google account: sign in first, if you don’t have a google account: create a google account
2. Go to: http://www.blogger.com/
3. Click: create your blog now
4. Name your blog
5. Choose any template you like
Write your name  and url on the whiteboard
6. Go to dashboard, scroll down to the bottom of the page & change the language to English.
7. Go to design, add a gadget, LINK LIST, and add names & links and when you have the last name linked, save. Ask the teacher if you are not sure.

7. Start posting (dashboard)

IF YOU HAVEN'T

Could you register in plataforma, please?

here is the link

http://www.plataforma.uchile.cl/lapetus/registrate.php

OCTOBER 6 Video

A SUBJECT YOU ENJOYED AT SCHOOL

Record a for 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about a subject you enjoyed at school

Say:

What the subject was,

Who taught it,

Why you enjoyed it,

What things you learnt in this subject.

Mention anything else you think is important.

ALL IN ONE TAKE

Remember to mention all the info above. The time is important and also that you know that THIS IS NOT A READING TEST. This is why you need to practice as from today to get a good mark.

Dear all,

Today I have an interesting linguistic challenge.

I’d like you to explore two websites and methods for second language acquisition. I’d like you to spend at least 20 minutes on each one.  You will need to register and check the services, languages they offer and the methods they use to teach them. To discover the different characteristics of both sites, you need to explore them carefully. THEN, on a piece of paper, I’d like you to write a review on both of them.

Refer to the layout. How user friendly they are. The methods they use, and how easy you found it to make progress. Why is one or the other better?  For which purpose? Advantages, negative points, and anything else you find relevant to mention on a minimum 200 words.

The sites are:

https://www.memrise.com/

https://www.duolingo.com/

Welcome!!

Today we will do a little revision of some of the contents from level 3.

On a piece of paper, write your name and keep a register of how you do in each activity. (score obtained from total)
open wordreference.com as a dictionary on a different tab
1. Visit this and practice

https://elt.oup.com/student/headway/preint4/grammar/unit01/hwy_preint_unit01_1?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

2. Play this game. Check instructions first

https://elt.oup.com/student/headway/preint4/games/hwy_preint_dolphingame?cc=cl&selLanguage=en

3. Choose one article from this site and answer the questions below on your paper.

http://www.latinamericanpost.com/

Why did you choose the article?
What was it about? (minimum 60 words)
in your opinion, is there a solution for it (which one)?

4. Visit the following website and listen to 2 medium and 2 difficult  activities and choose the correct alternatives.

http://www.esl-lab.com/supplies/suppliesrd1.htm

What was the result?

5. Visit the following website to practice word order. Remember capitalization, full stops, commas are important.

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/word-order/exercises?02

6. https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-present/form/exercises?04

7. http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-31611.php


8. https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-present/form/exercises?05

Go to the following page and choose a minimum of 2 activities per unit.

http://www.plataforma.uchile.cl/lapetus/2009/1/ingles/curso.php?id=295