Ana Carmen’s Blog for B22 students

Hi everybody!

This is the last post of the year!

Thank you so much for attending the lessons, for your interest and participation throughout the eight-month-long school year and for contributing to the nice atmosphere in the classroom. It’s been a pleasure to have you all in class!

Remember that from Monday 30th May onwards, your marks will be available in the section Notificaciones at  eoioviedo.org, if you wish to check that everything is in order.

I wish you all an enjoyable summertime!
Rest as much as you can, but try to save a little time for English as well!

Best of luck!
Ana Carmen

Hi there!
Almost nothing left to end the school year!!
If you have not picked up your final marks yet, please come to class on Tuesday 24 to do so.

And if you have any queries or need to tell me anything, do not hesitate to send me an email or use the Teams chat. Both will continue to be operative until the end of June.
…………………………………………………………………………………..

♠  Here you can check whether your answers to the READING exercise you were given in class last Thursday are correct:
Dream Jobs + key

♠  And this is an extra LISTENING you can do when you have time:
Buy Nothing Day+key & script        mp3

♠  If you are interested in the history of English and were not in class on Tuesday 17th, here is the video we watched. It explains most of the important facts that gave birth to the English language we speak now.
There is also a gap-filling listening exercise you can do, which contains most of the facts in the video:
The history of English: exercise
video
answer key   

                                                 Anglo-Saxon script

Stonehenge, one of the oldest sites in history

Below is the link to ‘Crime and Punishment’ (one of the vocabulary banks you will find in the section of our B22 blog  CERTIFICACIÓN: Topic vocabulary banks & exercises – Ana Carmen’s Blog for B22 students (educastur.es)

These vocabulary banks deal with some of the most important topics included in B22 syllabus. Check them out whenever you have time. I hope they can provide you with useful ideas you can use in speaking/writing and certificación exams.

The topic CRIME and PUNISHMENT is not in your textbook, so it is worth having a look at the vocabulary and exercises you will find here:
Vocabulary and exercises
Exercises

In the section of the blog mentioned above, you will also find other interesting vocabulary banks and exercises. They can help you revise and boost your knowledge on topics such as ENGLISH TODAY, SOCIAL ISSUES or ADVERTISING, all of which may appear in Certificación exams.

Have a look at them if possible and check out the tags in the upper menu of the blog for other resources suited for B2 level and helpful if you are willing to take Certificación exams.
edublog.educastur.es/anacarmen2021

For those of you who wish to revise relatives -especially if you are going to sit Certificación exam next June-, these resources here combine exercises from your textbook Open World (unit 6) with some other activities.

♠  Grammar presentation:  Relative clauses
Watch the power point slides several times to revise relative structures and possibly learn new things about them.

♠  Open World. Grammar reference Unit 6, p. 217.
Read the brief explanation that reminds you of the difference between a defining and a non-defining relative clause, and then watch the Grammar on the Move video on p.87 -or the other way round, as you prefer-, before doing the two exercises on p.217. Note that in ex.2 n°4, the pronouns who/that can be omitted, as they are the object of the clause (this option is not in the key).

You can see the Grammar on the Move video through this link: http://www.cambridge.org/OW_First_Vid18

Go back to Relative clauses p.87 and do the exercises there, 1 to 5. Notice the use of whom, which you might not have come across with till now. In ex.4, sentence 5, both who and whom can be used with exactly the same meaning, being whom the most formal option. In exercise 5 you will practise some expressions with which and whom; in these phrases only whom is correct, but not who.

♠  Check out these links if you need to learn more about whom:
who vs whom: grammar rules       whom: exercise 1       whom: exercise 2

♠  Here is a useful video about relatives, which I guess will help you:
Relatives: grammar lesson

♠  These are some extra exercises to practise relatives more in depth:
Relative clauses: rules+online exercises with answers

Stonehenge: relatives who/which -online exercise with answers

Relative pronoun: necessary or not? -online exercise with answers

Relative clauses: online test with answers

Relatives: exercises+key (pdf)

Practice on relatives+key (pdf)

Hello again!  

♦  In our last lesson we finished seeing ‘Frankfurt’ in the Real World section of Open World and did the vocabulary exercise from Push Yourself to C1 on page 190.

♦  Here is a LISTENING exercise we’ve also done in class:
job interview      key & script       mp3 audio

♦  And these are the VOCABULARY photocopies on the topic of ‘Work and Employment’ we saw in the last two classes.
The key to the exercises is included:
– vocabulary & exercises + key
– vocabulary bank

HOMEWORK:
♠  You can do the following READING exercise if you wish to do some more practice before the test on Thursday 5th (I handed out the photocopies in class). You will find the answer key below.
dream jobs + key

♠  If you have not done the LISTENING exercise on page 189 of Open World in class, you can have a go at it and check your answers. 

See you in a few days!  Enjoy the long weekend!

Hello there. 

♣   Remember that the section AN EMAIL/ LETTER pp.236-7, Open World, covers informal emails, formal letters of application and key language for different kinds of formal letters and emails. Check out the answers to the exercises and the suggested model answer writing to the Application task in exercises 8 & 9, page 237.

♣   INFORMAL LETTER WRITING
– Here is the link to our EOI Writing bank, with explanations about the layout and the key language to be used, as well as a model letter:
INFORMAL EMAIL/LETTER              EXAMPLE

– To learn more about informal letter writing, you can watch this interesting video:
https://youtu.be/Ll0K-LLxzY8

♣  APPLICATION
– On page 191 Open World, you have a set of exercises you can do and correct. There is a writing proposal, Organisers wanted, for which a suggested answer is provided here:
Organisers wanted

Application letters are also called ‘cover’ or ‘covering’ letters.

– On page 193, you can find another suggestion for a more formal job application letter: Staff wanted. There is a suggested model answer you can read on page 339 of your book.

– Here are the links to EOI Writing bank:
APPLICATION            EXAMPLE/EXERCISE

♣  REQUESTING INFORMATION
Here you can check out the key vocabulary you can use to request information, the format and some practical examples on the topic of accommodation: booking and renting.
The style in the model examples varies from neutral to formal.
REQUESTING INFORMATION         EXAMPLE 1         EXAMPLE 2          EXAMPLE 3

_______________________________________________________________
In the writing exam next Thursday 5th May, you will be asked to write an application email in a neutral/formal style. In the email, you may also need to request some information you are not sure about.

_______________________________________________________________
We have started seeing the pages on Frankfurt in the Real World section of Open World. There is an example of a CV that you may use as a model if you need to write one for yourself. We will be finishing the section tomorrow Thursday 28th (listening ‘Job interview’ and video).

That’s all for the moment!

Hello there,

♦  LISTENING: A FLORIST. Here is the listening exercise we did plus key and script.
A florist        key & script         audio

♦  We also
– checked the answers to the reading The Perfect Job (pp.185-6)
– read the 4 short texts on  ideas for businesses, page 188 (Eye-pay, Flight alert, etc.)
– did the exercises dealing with letters of Application, page 191

Next week I’ll post a reminder of the writing exercises in Open World and the files of the photocopies we have been doing these days in class: Formal/Informal letters, Application letters and Requesting Information, with a view to preparing the writing exam on April 5th if you have not attended lessons recently and have missed any of them.
The writing task in the exam will be ONE email of approximately 160-180 words. It may combine application and requesting information in connection with the topic of work.
I will also be uploading the vocabulary exercises on WORK we are doing these days.

Cheerio!

REVIEWS:   
A BOOK/ FILM REVIEW

♣   These are the links to our EOI WRITING BANK, with information about the layout of Book/Film Reviews and some sample writings.

♣  In the WRITING BANK section of Open World, page 238, ex.1 and 2, you will also find an example of a Film Review. There are exercises and examples dealing with other types of reviews on pages 238-9 too (websites, hotels, restaurants, holiday resorts, etc.) that you may also be required to produce in the form of email writing.

♣  SPEAKING about a FILM:  Learn some more vocabulary and get ideas on how to review a movie:  Film Review practice

♣  This is another film review you may find helpful, and therefore use it as a guide, to speak or write about a film:  Skyfall

Here is the same review with some exercises you can do if you wish to practise and consolidate your knowledge:
Skyfall: exercises        answer key

♣  A stage play: King Lear. Practise the language of reviews by doing the following use of English exercise:
King Lear

A CONCERT REVIEW

♣  EXAM FOCUS. Writing: Review. If you would like to learn how to review a concert, read the Exam tips and the task suggested at the bottom of page 77, Open World: A concert review. Afterwards, see the model review on page 304, which answers the writing task.

LISTENING PRACTICE on the topic
♣  Books and Films
Books and films: exercises            key          script          audio part 1          audio part 2

♣  Horror movies.  Listen several times and complete the chart with the information given:
Horror movies         audio                       

♣  A folk singer.  Listen to a conversation about a folk singer and decide if the statements are True or False.
A folk singer         key        script        audio 

VIDEO ACTIVITY: ‘The Music Industry’
Listening practice combined with work on relatives and question formation. The link to watch the video is included in the exercise, as well as the answers.
The music industry

READING PRACTICE
The hidden dangers of rock music   True/false & vocabulary activity.

Hiya!

Here is some work for Easter holidays, 11th-17th April, or whenever you find time for it.
We have already seen in class the Real World section on pp. 182-83, Going shopping in Milan, so we have almost finished Unit 13.

♠  READING on p.180 Open World: Jobs in the fashion retail industry. Do it as practice for next reading exam.

♠  GRAMMAR: Like/As
These two links explain the grammar rules and difference between As and Like, plus exercises:
As vs Like  British Council
As vs Like  Perfect English Grammar

♠  REVIEWS: we have seen pp.238-9 in our last lesson. In the next post, B22 Reviews, I have collected some more useful examples of different types of reviews, together with listening and reading practice. Take your time to have a look whether you are taking Certificación next June or just with a view to what you may be asked to do in future school years.

♠  PREPARATION for EOI CERTIFICACIÓN EXAMS: on my blog
https://edublog.educastur.es/anacarmen2021
you will find, apart from the same posts I regularly upload to Teams, some more information that I hope you will find interesting.

Check out the tags at the top of the page for links you can consult to practise your language skills, learn the basic information about next Certificación sitting, see past Certificación exams, etc.

Pay special attention to the sections:

–  CERTIFICACIÓN B2> TOPIC VOCABULARY B2, where you will find useful vocabulary and ideas on topics such as Advertising, Social Issues, English Today, Crime, etc., which are part of B22 syllabus and Certificación exams.

–  EXAM PRACTICE> IELTS EXAM> IELTS SPEAKING EXAM: TOPIC VOCABULARY FOR MONOLOGUES AND CONVERSATIONS, where you have examples of the B2 vocabulary that you need to speak about different general topics: 

Season’s Greetings!
See you on Tuesday 19th April!

Hi there!

♣  Here is the LISTENING comprehension exercise we did in last Thursday’s class:
shopping centre         key        mp3

♣  And here you have another LISTENING test in case you want to practise a little more:
clothes +key +vocabulary glossary         mp3

♣  You can also do the READING exercise on page 177 of your textbook, A career in fashion, to do some practice for next exam.

Cheers for now!