Inversion Examples

34 things you didn't know about English Culture

Want to understand English people and their culture better? In this listening and culture lesson, I’ll talk you through some of the things you might not already know about life in England. For example, I’ll explain to you why some English people wear paper red flowers in the month of November. I’ll explain some of the things you may have observed, but don’t quite understand if you are new to English culture – such as some of the weird adverts you may have seen on television with talking meerkats in them. There are lots of topics to cover in this lesson: holidays, life events, the big brother state, culture, and more. Join me and learn more about life in England, while improving your listening comprehension at the same time. See how well you understood the lesson by taking the quiz here. 

Suggested sentences from prompts

• If he hadn't travelled to Madagascar, he wouldn't have met this wonderful lemur.
• Not only did the man use a plane to go there, but he also travelled by a four-by-four.
• He should've brought his family to Madagascar.
• This lemur will have met many humans before.
• What he didn't expect was having a lemur on his shoulder!
• Never have I seen a similar snap!

C1 (Revision Module 4) Welcome to the Smart City of the Future

Watch this BBC Ideas Video and do the activities provided in the activity sheet (Cambridge English). [Transcript and answers provided on BBC website and activity sheet (p. 3)]

Practice from Prompts

Use these prompts to write sentences about the picture with the man and the lemur:

• If ...
• Not only ...
• ... should've ...
• ... will have...
• What ...
• Never has ...

Tomorrow you'll be able to read some suggestions.

C2 Vocabulary

 

Underline / highlight the 5 words / phrases you would like to learn in each chart, look them up and write a sentence with them. Choose the ones you've some time come across, but whose meaning you cannot remember.

[Remember the hyphenated phrases are not hyphenated in their writing; they're like that to appear in the same colour!]

World Book Day Activity

Today is Book Day in Spain (on the first Thursday of March in the UK) Let's celebrate!

Thanks Concha!

Watch the presentation and be ready to do the following in class with Dane (next Monday C2 group) and Gio (next Thursday C1 group): 

· Provide a commentary about the whole presentation. 

· Choose 2 or 3 pictures, describe them and explain to your classmates why you selected them. 

Speaking time: 1-2 mins.

Shakespeare's Expressions in Today's World

Thanks Laura!

If you want to learn more about Shakespeare, click here.

World Book and Copyright Day

"So many books, so little time" (Frank Zappa)

The connection between 23 April and books was first made in 1923 by booksellers in Spain as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day. In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book Day would be celebrated on this date the date is also the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare, the death of Miguel de Cervantes, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and others.

Although 23 April is often stated as the anniversary of the deaths of both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, this is not strictly correct. Cervantes died on 22 April and was buried on 23 April according the Gregorian calendar; however, at this time England still used the Julian calendar. Whilst Shakespeare died on 23 April by the Julian calendar in use in his own country at the time, he actually died eleven days after Cervantes because of the discrepancy between the two date systems. (Adapted from WIKIPEDIA)

Remember it is St. George's Day as well, important day for the English!

Think of the book (fiction or non-fiction) you would recommend your classmates. The book you have enjoyed most in your life. Try to convince them to read it giving your reasons (in just 1-2 mins.) We'll be doing this activity in class today!

Your intonation will be key to convince everyone!!!

Participle Clauses in English (explanations in Spanish and translated sentences)

We’ll Help You Pronounce These 14 Words You Learned In Books

Chances are, when you started reading you encountered plenty of new words. That’s great for you—you were learning, after all—but here’s the catch. Your skill at pronouncing these words didn’t necessarily keep up with your reading skills, leading to some funny mishaps. Did colonel’s pronunciation confuse you? What about choir? Or hors’d’oeuvres? (Did you try “horse divorce” or “hers dervs”?) This might seem silly now, but many of us have funny stories about the words that tripped us up when we tried to say them out loud for the first time!

Let’s take a look at some other words that you’re liable to mispronounce if you learn them from a book. [From Dictionary.com]

EL PAÍS News in English

How Israel repelled Iran’s attack

Dear readers,

This week we are featuring an analysis with detailed graphs showing how the Israel Defense Forces managed to intercept the barrage of drones and missiles fired by Iran, some of which were launched from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, where Tehran has allied militias.

‌In Ukraine, our correspondent interviewed members of three Russian armed groups fighting alongside Kyiv. All of them oppose Vladimir Putin and believe a political solution is no longer viable.

Other popular stories this week include a look at the construction problems plaguing Elon Musk's The Loop, the modular network of underground connections aimed at ending traffic jams in cities like Las Vegas and L.A.

We also unveil the real reason the famous city-state of Teotihuacán disappeared, why some people have a tendency to see faces in everyday objects, and why taking Ozempic can make you look 10 years older.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from El País USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Taylor Swift releases ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, leaked two days earlier, amid enormous expectation and secrecy
• The day robots were born
• The dictionary to orient yourself in a new world order
• What do I do when I feel like yelling at my kid? Four experts weigh in
• Record numbers in the US are homeless. Can cities fine them for sleeping in parks and on sidewalks?
• How to date like a feminist: Experts explain

Theatre at the EOI

C1 Test your vocabulary with EVOLVE

Test your Vocabulary on:

Unit 1 - Technological development 

Unit 2 - Three-word phrasal verbs 

Unit 3 - Thoughts & Emotions 

Unit 4 - Close-up 

Unit 5 - Impact and Remote places

Unit 6 - Under- & Over 

Unit 7 - History & Traditions 

Unit 8 - Get 

Unit 9 - Health & Sleep 

Unit 10 - Global progress 

Unit 11 - Advanced colors 

Unit 12 - Adapt

Key to Tuesday's Written Mediation Activity

Check your answer here.

Compare and contrast your written mediation suggestion with this one. Pay special attention to the missing info rather than in any other aspect. If you used bullet points instead of commas, no problem.

C1 Our promise to the planet | Cambridge

Words describing voices

Written Mediation Activity

CONTEXT: John, an English friend of yours, is doing a paper about Guidance for the general public in European countries in case of a terrorist attack and found this info sheet on the Ministerio del Interior website. It is too long and he does not understand everything. He asks you to summarize the most important info in English.

TASK: Write an email to him summarizing the content of the info sheet in about 125-150 words. [Suggested Answer in two days]

EL PAÍS News in English

Gaza in ruins

Dear readers,

As the Gaza war enters its seventh month, EL PAÍS used satellite imagery and damage assessment data to document the devastation in the Strip caused by the Israeli offensive. Up to 57% of buildings in the enclave have been damaged or destroyed, according to analysis carried out at the University of Oregon, but that figure rises to 75% in the capital, (...). EL PAÍS also spoke to Palestinian journalist Wael Dahdouh, who has lost his wife and three of his children in the war. “Israel is deliberately killing journalists in Gaza,” said the bureau chief of Al Jazeera television in the Strip. “They do not want us to continue documenting what is happening.”

‌The mysterious “Havana syndrome” once again made headlines around the world this week. A fresh investigation into the illness that has apparently affected some 200 people for several years, including employees of the White House, the CIA and the FBI and seems to back the theory pointing to Russia as one of the direct culprits through military intelligence Unit 29155, which allegedly deployed “directed energy” weapons. (...). Both Cuba and Russia have denied the allegations in the report, which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described as “baseless accusations.”

We also interviewed Nadège Vanhee, who has worked as creative director of women’s ready-to-wear at Hermès for the last decade, a tenure that has lasted practically an eternity by fashion standards. One of the few women at the helm of a major brand, Vanhee operates in a way that runs in contrast to the public image of the industry, maintaining a low profile and avoiding social media and public exposure. (...).

‌We hope you enjoy this week's selection of stories

You can also read:

• Solar eclipse: A shadow beam crosses America
• Gisella Cardia, the psychic who challenged the Vatican
• Israel says it intercepted with its allies 99% of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran
• Figure 01, the robot closest to the humanoid machines of science fiction
• ‘She is the Taylor Swift of basketball’: How Caitlin Clark became a pop phenomenon
• Unfiltered thoughts: What if we voiced everything we think?

Commonly Misspelled words

 

Spelling Tips by Lucy

Learn spelling tips for your better writing. 

Mixed Conditionals

 Theory, activity & KEY

C2 Newspaper Idioms

Sitting on the fence From Cambridge Dictionary Blog (By Kate Woodford)

Talking Point Worksheets English.com by Liz Regan

Topics to Talk About. Use the worksheets to get ideas to speak about the following topics: Adoption Art Corruption Crime Food Friendship Natural Disasters Olympic Games Shopping Recession

Yes, I know some of the questions sound a bit old-fashioned, but you can always update them! ... and you have topics and questions to talk (and prepare answers for).

Perhaps you might use the activities about the topics you're less familiar with ...

If you haven't got a regular English-speaking partner yet to talk and practise, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???!!!

Money Names

EL PAÍS News in English

Attack on World Central Kitchen

Dear readers,

This week, seven aid workers from the disaster relief group World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed by an Israeli missile strike. In the wake of the attack on the organization, founded by Spanish-American chef José Andrés, EL PAÍS looked at other civilians who have been killed by Israeli soldiers. (...).

‌In Argentina, we spoke to the workers in the firing line of President Milei's mass government layoffs, and in Colombia, we reported on the efforts to crack down on sex tourism after a U.S. citizen was discovered with two young girls.

In other news, we interviewed Jane C. Ginsburg, the daughter of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, about the challenges posed by artificial intelligence, reviewed a new book that depicts Franco’s Spain as a Nazi hideout, and investigated why the American far-right is obsessed with nicotine pouches.

We hope you enjoy this week's selection of stories.

You can also read:

• Neurologist Alejandro Iranzo: ‘Sleeping is like a recycling bin with memories that you store or throw away’
• What it means to be a ‘divorcee’ in young people’s language: How the word lost its negative connotation
• Why it is better not to drink if you have emotional problems
• Why is it so difficult to forgive, especially our parents?
• Young couples with sex lives broken by porn
• An economic paradox: When savings are both a good and a bad idea
• Is regular exercise the solution for insomnia?

Vocabulary + Phrasal Verbs + Idioms by TOPIC

You can find more than a thousand C1 words, phrasal verbs and idioms classified by topics in this 33-page document (made by EOI Málaga students and found by Antonio). 

Enjoy it!!! Really good stuff!!!

50 Advanced Verbs to Build Your Vocabulary | C2 Proficiency English

Museum and Art Vocabulary

Art Vocabulary 1
Glossary
Art vocabulary 2

On Phrasal Verbs (By Lucy)

First read here; then do the Ultimate Phrasal Verbs Test, and finally, write on the Search this Blog section (on your right): "Phrasal Verbs" and choose the most appealing entry for you.

C1 & C2 If you enjoy reading articles, this is your post!

Article writing skills may be helped with article reading. The following are a selection of articles which I found interesting (with my notes): vocabulary to learn in green; useful phrases in yellow. Hope you enjoy them:

Read the following articles V. You'll be able to find I, II, III and IV there as well.

Key April Fool's Day

Check your answers here.

[Click on the headlines in activity 2 to read the news]

Spaghetti Harvest

April Fool's Day

Today's April Fool's Day in the UK. Do this activity to learn a bit about the day and hoaxes. 

[Key tomorrow] Don't miss the links in Activity 2

EL PAÍS News in English

A blow to the heart of the city

Dear readers,

In the aftermath of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, we reconstructed the accident in a series of graphs and maps that show the path of the container ship as it lost control and rammed into a pillar in the middle of the night, bringing down the structure, killing several workers and delivering a blow to the economic heart of the city.

This week we bring you two interviews. One is with Shlomo Ben Ami, a former Israeli minister who discusses the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on America's Jewish community; the other is with the popular neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, who goes over his theory that humans have no free will but are instead mostly moved by factors beyond their control.

We also analyzed Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador's new strategy to influence the vote of Mexicans living in the U.S., and revisited the sad life of Mileva Einstein, the first wife of the Nobel Prize winner and a brilliant scientist in her own right who was nevertheless treated like a maid.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from El País USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Spain’s Civil Guard probes Spanish Super Cup move to Saudi Arabia
• Catherine, Princess of Wales: A PR crisis impossible for Kensington Palace to solve
• ‘My wife left me several months after my hair transplant’: How cosmetic surgery affects our relationships
• Intermittent fasting: Miracle diet or bad for the heart?
• “No Ku Klux Klan. Spanish tradition”

Boring Words ...

 ... and what you can use instead. 

Miscellany Vocab

 

Make true sentences for you with the ones you didn't know.

Speaking Tips

C1 Appearance (Revision)

Revise Writing Argumentative Essays.

Read this Argumentative Essay Corrected and check whether you make the same typical errors when writing essays.

EL PAÍS News in English

'Ending the war militarily is impossible, because Russia is a nuclear country'

Dear readers,‌

As debate continues over the assertion of French President Emmanuel Macron that the deployment of international troops in Ukraine should not be ruled out, we interviewed Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who stated that is not Kyiv’s goal. “(...) We are very grateful to the European Union and partners for training tens of thousands of our soldiers in Europe. "We propose to our European partners to send instructors to Ukrainian territory, to make this process faster, since it would facilitate logistics and communication. (...).

In a week that saw Vladimir Putin extend his reign over Russia after presidential elections in which he ran practically unopposed, subsequently announcing “grandiose plans” for the country’s future, EL PAÍS analyzed the global network that allows the Kremlin to maintain its war machine and sidestep Western sanctions. From explicit political backing from states such as North Korea, Belarus, and Syria, to China’s economic support and military backing from Iran, in addition to a swathe of countries that offer trade options, black market opportunities and access to dual-use goods or financial services, Putin has established a diverse web of sympathizers to his cause. (...).

‌We also spoke to neurologist Josep Dalmau, of the Idibaps-Hospital Clínic in Barcelona, who in 2007 discovered the mechanisms behind a type of swelling of the brain called “anti-NMDAR encephalitis,” a milestone that would lead the scientist and his team of researchers to describe 12 of the 16 forms of autoimmune encephalitis that have been described since then. (...) This had a great impact on neurology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and intensive care (...).”

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from El País USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Gaza is getting less than half the humanitarian aid it needs to avoid famine
• Ten of the most beautiful graffiti murals in the world from 2023
• Another ‘annus horribilis’ for the British royal family: Two cancers, scandals and estrangements
• The planet’s vital signs are alarming
• ‘Caprichos,’ ‘Disasters,’ ‘Disparates’ and ‘Tauromaquia’: All of Goya’s prints, together for the first time in one exhibition
• How to find your purpose in life
• Asexuality and the prejudices that surround it

Easter in Cartagena

Holy Week in Cartagena.

Recommendations by Murcia Today

To get familiar with the vocabulary and concepts of our Holy Week have a look at this "Guide" to learn the basics. 

You can have a look at Holy Week Step by Step too. 

More specific info for this year: Guía de Semana Santa 2024 Radio Cartagena

Guided Visits

Oxford Learner's Thesaurus Topic Maps KEYS

Check your answers to last week's activities below: Health key Work & Business key Travel & Transport key The Media key The Individual & Society Sport & Leisure Fact & Opinion Education Conflict

Formal vs Informal vocabulary

Read 1000 pairs here.

Thursday 21st Class Schedule

16.00 to 17.00: "Education in the USA" by Gio

17.00 to 18.00: "Pronunciation Workshop" by Miguel Ángel

18.00 to 18. 15: Break

18.15 to 19.00: End of Mod. 5

19.00 to 20.00: "Pronunciation Workshop" by Miguel Ángel

20.00 to 21.00: "Education in the USA" by Gio

C1 Perfect Tenses by Lucy

Do this Perfect Tenses Activity and if you guess them ALL right, you needn't carry on reading.

If you made some mistake, watch the video:

and / or review Perfect Tenses Grammar here. 

Oral Mediation Activity

Your English friend is doing some research on environmental issues and found this GREENPEACE video. He would like to know what this woman (he doesn't know her) is saying and asks you to give him a summary of the video. Send him a 2/3 min. audio explaining the main ideas expressed on it. 

The Ultimate TENSES Test

Do this TEST and check your answers on line . 

If you don't know why they're wrong, jot them down and we'll check in class. Good Luck!

Passives & Causative KEY

Check last Wednesday's passive and causative activities here.

EL PAÍS News in English

The problem with Latin America's left

Dear readers,

‌On March 11, 2022, Gabriel Boric assumed power in Chile at only 36 years of age. He was the leader of a new Latin American left, a president destined to heal wounds. Two years later, reality has taken its toll. EL PAÍS interviewed Boric at La Moneda Palace to discuss what went wrong and the challenges that lie ahead: "On the left in general — and in Latin America in particular — there’s been a tendency not to take responsibility for one’s own mistakes."

We also spoke with José Andrés, the celebrity chef who is spearheading an effort to bring desperately-needed relief to the Gaza Strip by sea. We accompanied a Mexican police patrol on duty in a city where
officers and criminals are fighting an all-out battle, and analyzed why major investors have suddenly fallen in love with the Japanese stock market.

‌Looking ahead to April 8, 2024, a Total Solar Eclipse will be visible across North America, the first of its kind to be visible in the U.S. since August 21, 2017. We bring you details on the best and safest way to watch it.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from El País USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Life at 117 for an unintentional supercentenarian
• Nearly half of the planet suffers from a neurological disease
• You did good today: A guide to enjoying small daily victories
• Flamenco takes over New York: ‘Just like in Seville!’
• Drug trafficking, more powerful than ever, floods Europe with cocaine

Jornadas Culturales 24 Events

Article Writing Samples

Have a look at the two samples of article writing here. Notice:
· title,
· topic sentence in paragraphs,
· type of vocabulary,
· tone of the writing,
· first and last paragraphs,
· use of punctuation
· clear structure of the writing
· coherence and cohesion (in paragraphs and in the whole text).

C1 Oxford Learner's Thesaurus Topic Maps

In the following sheets you can find topic maps to enlarge your topic-related vocabulary on page 1 and vocabulary activities with collocations on page 2. It is an interesting way to review your vocabulary. Keys next week. Enjoy them!!! Travel & Transport The Media The Individual & Society Sport & Leisure Health Fact & Opinion Education Conflict Work & Business

Useful Phrases for Proficiency Essays

Have a look at these phrases. I am 100% sure you will find some useful for your writings.

C1 & C2 Passives and Causatives

Some grammar practice for Passives & Causatives in this file. [KEYS next Monday]

C1 The Causative

 

If you don't want to revise have + sth + done and just learn new grammar, you can watch from 5'36'' to 13'36''. But I do advise to watch the whole video, which explains causative clearly and effectively.

Fechas convocatoria ORDINARIA Exámenes finales

Remember dates for finals:

C1: 17th May

C2: 22nd May

Exams start at 16.30

Fechas convocatoria EXTRAORDINARIA Exámenes finales

Remember dates for finals (before SEPTEMBER, now JUNE):

C1: 12th June

C2: 18th June

Exams start at 16.30