Adverb & Adjective COLLOCATIONS

Check adverbs and adjectives that often go together here.

Normal vs. Advanced SENTENCES

A friend of mine is doing a study on the topic of phonetics and needs to know the opinion of language students and teachers on several related topics. I would appreciate your collaboration. You just have to fill out the questionnaire in the following Google Forms document: LA FONÉTICA. It won't take you more than 2 minutes to do it. Thanks in advance for your help. 😊

C2 Fronted Adverbials and Commas

 

Read this document to learn about the use and punctuation of fronted adverbials.

EL PAÍS News in English

Dear readers,

November 24 marked the beginning of a four-day ceasefire in Gaza after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and Hamas agreed to an exchange involving 50 hostages held in the Strip and 150 Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel. EL PAÍS spoke to the relatives of some of the Palestinians who may be included in the deal, many of them minors accused of crimes such as throwing stones, or held without charge under what is known is “administrative detention,” which is open-ended and can be renewed every six months for up to “10 years in prison” say human rights activists.

Artificial intelligence company OpenAI had a tumultuous week (...). We look at the “wise men” of OpenAI, who will be tasked with steadying the ship.

In Argentina, far-right candidate Javier Milei was elected president last Sunday in a run-off vote against Peronist candidate (...). EL PAÍS profiled the new Argentine leader and the rise to power of a politician nicknamed “The Crazy One” during his schooldays.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from EL PAÍS USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Over 3,000 women are murdered in Mexico each year: How violence affects youngest victims
• Kelly Wilson: ‘You have to embrace anxieties. What you love the most is also where you’re most vulnerable’
• Disobedient kids who talk back: What can parents do?
• Why does a 12-year-old need a cell phone?
• From fascination to fear of a hidden agenda: The year of ChatGPT will define the battle for the future of humanity

Thanksgiving

Learn about Thanksgiving with this activity. 

[KEY on p. 2]

More info here.

C1 Expressing Probability

Talk 21st Nov. BRITISHNESS THROUGH FOOD & DRINK

Remember, this evening!

C1 & C2 Open CLOZE Practice

On this esl-lounge webpage you can practise C1 OPEN CLOZES (sentences). 

On this esl-lounge webpage you can practise C2 OPEN CLOZES (sentences). 

EL PAÍS in English

Dear readers,

As the second phase of Israel’s assault in Gaza culminated in the storming of the Al Shifa hospital, where military authorities believed Hamas was operating a command and control center and potentially storing weapons, we looked at the legality of the Israeli army's operations against medical complexes under the structure of international humanitarian law. EL PAÍS also went beyond the frontlines of the conflict to speak to members of Israel’s community of over 300,000 Bedouins, who have found themselves further isolated by the ravages of the ongoing war. “In these villages we are not protected by the Iron Dome. Nor do we have ambulances, shelters, alarm systems…” said Akel Kran, who lost one of his children in a rocket attack against the settlement of Al Bat in Israel’s Negev desert on October 7.

We also interviewed Kristi Coulter, who worked as an executive in Amazon’s Seattle headquarters for over a decade. The 53-year-old has just published Exit Interview, an account of her time at the tech giant and the working conditions imposed by the company. “At one point, I ran an executive coaching program. We would get these guys into a room, and these are like stoic alpha males, and they would be crying within 10 minutes,” she said.

‌Also this week, Pedro Sánchez was invested as prime minister of Spain for a third time after the Socialist leader secured a controversial pact with several minority parties, which included an amnesty deal for the figureheads of the 2017 bid for Catalonian secession. EL PAÍS analyzed how the head of the new coalition government has risen from obscurity to the cusp of becoming the second longest-serving prime minister since the country’s return to democracy.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from EL PAÍS USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Tens of thousands of people protest in Madrid against amnesty deal
• The Chilean explorer documenting the death of glaciers at the ends of the earth
• A study confirms that improving your lifestyle can stop the development of diabetes
• The economic disaster of extra pounds: Pharmaceutical companies are profiting in an increasingly obese world
• Latin Grammys of Seville: Natalia Lafourcade sneaks into the urban genre party and Rosalía thrills on stage

C1 Wordlist

You can access Navigate C1 Wordlist here. Check your vocabulary and revise it.

This is not our textbook, but it is C1 vocabulary. Check pronunciation and always read the examples.

C1 Possibility, probability, certainty

You can find translations into Spanish of different ways of expressing possibility and probability here.
Do some grammar practice on cannot / can't vs may not here.

Meet Up!

EL PAÍS in English

Dear readers,

This week our Israel correspondent interviewed Gideon Sa'ar, a veteran politician who has served in ministerial positions and has joined the current emergency government, about the future of the region after the war. Sa'ar said Israel will establish security zones in Gaza, which may be mined, and which nobody will be allowed to approach.

In Europe, we looked at the controversial amnesty deal between Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Catalan separatists who have pledged to back his bid to form a new government, and we explored why Lithuania has become the new promised land for fintech and other innovative industries,

We also interviewed tennis legend Billie Jean King about her lifelong revolutionary spirit, and British entrepreneur James Dyson, creator of the famous Dyson vacuum cleaner, who says his success is based on "failing over and over again."

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from EL PAÍS USA Edition.

You could also read:

• In Spain, hundreds of thousands of people protest amnesty deal
• Cellphones and teenagers: What if there was a middle ground between prohibition and free rein?
• ‘We are entering an era that is going to lead to something incredible and profound’: AI takes largest tech trade show
• Visiting your grandmother once a month can increase her life expectancy
• Deconstructing Homer Simpson

EOI Liberadores

Fill in THIS FORM to enrol!!!

Spangles at the EOI!

Come and sing with us!

Ways of Speaking

Disappearing Syllables (Schwa is NOT pronounced)

     /ˈæs.prɪn/     --> 2 syllables

    /ˈtem.prə.tʃə/ /ˈɪn.trə.stɪŋ/ /ˈdʒen.ə.li/ --> 3 syllables

    /ˈfeɪ.vrəbl/     /ˈfæm.li/     --> 2 syllables

    /ˈbev.rɪdʒ/     /ˈkʌmf.təbl/     --> 2 syllables

    /ˈmɪz.rəbl/     /ˈvedʒ.təbl/     --> 2 syllables

    /ləˈbɒ.rə.tri/      /ˌdɒk.jəˈmen.tri/     --> 4 syllables

    /ˈiːv.nɪŋ/    /ˈtʃɒk.lət/    --> 2 syllables

   /ˈfeɪ.vrɪt/     /ˈres.trɒnt/    --> 2 syllables

This always happens when using these words in speech, especially in quick speech.

C1 & C2 Listening Activities

Website for listening practice

Video-based activities

EL PAÍS in English

Dear readers,

As the offensive against Hamas in Gaza continues the civilian population is suffering under aerial bombardment while the Israeli army prepares for a sustained ground assault. Over 9,000 Palestinians have been killed since the government of Benjamin Netanyahu launched retaliatory attacks for the October 7 Hamas incursion into Israel, during which 1,400 Israelis lost their lives. EL PAÍS reporters in the area have been gathering harrowing testimony from residents of the Strip, where basic necessities are lacking, hospitals are struggling to operate and communications have been severed. 

An El PAÍS investigative team this week also tracked down far-right gunman José Ignacio Fernández, who admits to pulling the trigger that killed student Arturo Ruiz at a demonstration in 1977 during the Spanish Transition. Now 76, Fernández has been a fugitive in Argentina since fleeing Spain, living under a false identity that he says was provided by the secret services. “Regret? You’re talking to a person who has never regretted anything,” (...).

We also spoke to record-breaking Puerto Rican music phenomenon Myke Towers. (...) I don’t like my family to call me Myke. Myke Towers is my superhero uniform. For the street, to go outside. At home I am Michael, and outside I wear my uniform.”

We hope you enjoy this selection of stories from EL PAÍS USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Sheena Josselyn, neuroscientist: ‘Eliminating a memory is fairly simple, once you have the right tools’
• ‘A 12-year-old is not ready’: Why thousands of parents are teaming up to delay their children’s first cell phone use
• More egalitarian companies perform better than their competitors, says world’s largest fund
• These apps can help you save time and be more productive

Guy Fawkes Night KEY

1 The first official Guy Fawkes Night celebration took place in London on the 5 th of November 1606, exactly a year after the failed Gunpowder Plot.

2 1 gather 2 light 3 put 4 stay 5 put 6 found 7 arrested 8 takes 9 put 10 represented

3 Ss’ own answers

C1 Guy Fawkes Night

Learn about Guy Fawkes Night with this activity. [KEY tomorrow]

Listening Comprehension Activity

Lay or Lie

 

Lay or Lie

Form

LIE vs LAY (with translations)

Advanced Phrases

Find many more here.

Try to learn them little by little (in 2's or in 3's) and use them asap! 

Remember the context you will be using them!

Everyday Phrases

C1 Día de los Muertos

Learn about this Mexican celebration with this activity. [KEY on p. 2]

More info here.

Oral Mediation Activity KEY

Law for Animal Welfare video activity.

Check the suggested key HERE. Remember it is oral mediation (not written)