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

EL PAÍS News in English

Trump marches on

Dear readers,

Donald Trump's crushing victory on Super Tuesday, in which the former president swept the board with wins in 14 of the 15 states where primaries were held, led his only remaining challenger, Nikki Haley, to withdraw from the Republican race a day later. A day earlier, the Supreme Court had declared Trump eligible to run for the presidency, another victory for the real estate magnate, this time against the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As the obstacles between Trump and a second White House term melt away, only Joe Biden — who also scored a resounding win in the Democratic primaries, albeit with warning signs ahead of November contained in the number of "uncommitted" votes cast — now stands between the Republican and the presidency.

Amid Vladimir Putin's stark warning to the West over the potential deployment of ground forces in Ukraine following comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron, EL PAÍS spoke to NATO Deputy Secretary Mircea Geoană, who has spent the last four and a half years monitoring the growing threats from Moscow. "We have seen such use of nuclear threats from Russian leaders for at least two years, since the war in Ukraine started. (...)"

‌We also spoke to Afghan photographer Fatimah Hossaini, who has been living in exile in Paris since the Taliban returned to power. Hossaini, 31, has been chased down the street by men who have insulted her and threatened her. They have sometimes managed to prevent her from doing her job: portraying the beauty of women in Afghanistan. (...).

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

You can also read:

• There is no shortage of female leaders. There is a lack of women in leadership positions
• Is your WhatsApp keeping you at work even in your free time?
• Public absence of the British royal family sparks speculation in the United Kingdom
• Europe gets ready for war
• A lack of sleep affects our emotions, we become less positive and more anxious
• After having some fingers and his ears removed, The Black Alien abandons his body modification project

What Is Feminism And What Does It Mean?

Held on March 8, International Women’s Day celebrates the progress women have made over the last century, and the inspiring women who helped make that progress happen. From the suffragist movement of the 1800s to the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, women have used the power of language and oration to inspire countless people. Learn about history of feminism on this Dictionary.com article.

IWD 24

Celebrate International Woman's Day. The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion.

• Women in the Workplace
• Women's Health
• Women and Technology
• Women and Sport
• Women Creatives 
• Women Empowerment

Do not forget to read our padlet!

You might enjoy doing the activity prepared by AaEoiCt and about the history of Woman's Day on this remarkable day!

C1 & C2 Advanced Listening

Do not miss Lucy's excellent listening lesson today!!! 

Watch, read and hear the three links in the order they appear: video, reading and listening activities. 

You will learn a lot and improve your listening skills substantially!!!

You may find it written here.

Extra Listening Exercise here.

C2 Reading Structures

How Reading Structures facilitate the Task of Reading for Language Learners.

C2 Eleven Word Facts You're Wrong About

Sorry to burst your bubble, but chances are you've been using these words incorrectly all this time. Get the facts on some commonly mistaken words here. (Dictionary.com) 

R U Cold? Which jacket do you fancy?

News in English in EL PAÍS

2024, a decisive year for Ukraine?
Dear readers,

Ukraine is beginning the third year of a large-scale war of survival. Kyiv faces new tests on the frontlines, with exhausted troops and a lack of ammunition. Russia, meanwhile, has recovered the initiative. According to some sources, the Kremlin is preparing a new major offensive by the end of spring. (...).

In the U.S., Joe Biden and Donald Trump remain on collision course for a re-run of the 2020 election as both candidates scored wins in the Michigan primaries. (...). The “Listen to Michigan” campaign launched by the Arab-American community and progressive groups believes it has achieved its objective: to warn Biden that his refusal to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza could cost him the White House: the “Abandon Biden” movement is calling on residents in states such as New Jersey, (...).

‌Julian Assange’s latest bid to avoid extradition to the U.S. on charges relating to the Espionage Act began this week in London. EL PAÍS spoke to the five newspaper editors who published the WikiLeaks revelations in 2020. They warned of the risks to press freedom stemming from the possibility of Assange being handed over to the U.S. justice system, a concern echoed by his wife, Stella Assange, also interviewed by EL PAÍS this week. (...).

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

You can also read:

• Gaza on the brink of starvation: ‘If I get food, it’s once a day’
• Jack Lewis, neuroscientist: ‘A modicum of deadly sins is perfectly healthy and morally appropriate’
• The fall and rise of Trump: How the former president regained control of the Republican Party
• The doors open for Los Angeles Art Week
• Obesity has become the most common form of malnutrition in the majority of countries

This year, to celebrate International Women's Day, we are going to carry out an activity in which our students describe a woman they admire. It involves writing texts (maximum 80 words) in the padlet or in the QR below. The texts, which will be uploaded before 8th March, will begin: "The woman I admire is someone who..." in the five languages ​​we teach at the EOI. 

Write your text right now!!!

How can we help learners take control of their learning?