Class Summary B2.2 Dec. 20 and 21

CLASS SUMMARY – 21/12/2013

JOSÉ PEDRO PASTOR ESCUREDO B.2.2-SAT

Hi guys!!!!!!!!

We started the class being six students, less students than usually we are… Kate told us about this is a strange year with holydays. After that we talked about lottery and a day-dream about some teachers of “Estadística” drinking Champaign at the cafeteria (there was no luck for me this year I hope you had better), at the end of the explanation we were some more students (14) …Kate made some corrections about homework (marriage and divorce):

·         Get Married to…

·         Marriage => Institution

·         Married couple => Members

·         General redaction and:

§  The marriage is good… (general abstraction)

§  The responsibilities in a divorce… (specific)

§  Used to / usually / to be used to

§  “To have” as main verb: No contract!!!

§  Two subjects in a phrase

§  I´m agree…

§  Responsible for

We made some exercises in class (Vocabulary page 25) and pronunciation, we can find a sheet in the blog from Conversation B.2 and we saw some phrasal verbs.

Great game with phrasal verbs!!!!!!

After the break, Kate brought some Christmas cookies to class (thanks they were delicious) and we made a listening of a Christmas carol “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”.

Great Class and no homework**… I will see you on January 11^th.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

** Not quite true, José Pedro. I asked you to do the Reading about the Swiss electoral system and related vocabulary on p. 30. (Or at least I meant to. I know I told the Friday class to do it) But no written homework.  Kate

Summary of B2.2 Made by a Fri student but valid for both groups

Hi B2.2 groups

Cristina from the Friday class has made this summary. It is valid for both groups (except of course for the 1st comment about the transferring students!) Please see my previous post from Saturday for video links and homework. See you all on FridAY or Saturday
AND THANK YOU, CRISTINA!

 Kate

Elena had to change to another English class, and we have another classmate called Carlos (at least I think, I am not too good at rememberING names).

At the beginNING of the class Kate told us that IT is better for us to send our homework by e-mail, because with the color code we can learn more. She told us that it is a good idea to have an English folder on our laptop (or computer), because it is faster to look at our file than look at old posts from Kate´s blog.

We started talking about marriage and divorce and we shareD our opinios, which where a bit different. We did a kind of game: we had to remember vocabulary about divorce from the book, and María and me won!

We corrected page 22 and did page 23. On page 23 we learnt some vocabulary like going out off rails (which means to go out of the correct way). We talked about relationships and described the relationships (on) IN pictures of page 23. We also did the listening on this page,  WHICH was a bit difficult.

AT (To) end the class we learnt some phrasal verbs like take off or put out. Kate explained us that the particle of the phrasal verb is important in terms of the meaning, so if we learn the particles´ meaning it will be eassier to learn phrasal verbs.

A great class, as usual.

Cristina

Recipes Conversation B2 Tu- Thurs Group

Raquel's German noodles!

Now Alejandro's Coffee Cake

Link to Lorena's BEEF WITH GRAVY     Click here

Conversation B2 for Wed. Dec.. 18 and Thurs.19 : Xmas Survey and Songs (for 2 religions!)

Hi M-W group!

As discussed today, on Wednesday, we will do a Survey about your attitude, feelings and thoughts about Xmas.   This can lead to a lot of conversation.    CLICK HERE


Then we will do 2 or 3 Xmas Carols:  CLICK HERE

Finally, there is the song from "Fiddler on the Roof" you suggested cause it's good for practicing the Conditional.

The youtube clip is very entertaining, I think and there is something delightful about the actor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl7BVr36bbs

The clip has subtitles in English, but after watching you can try to fill this in without looking at them. (No cheating!)

Click here

That is 3 different documents. Print what you can, so will I and we can share.

See you on Wednesday.

B2.2 Friday and Saturday

Hi groups,

I am posting the homework with the video clips I have mentioned.

The actual homework for next week is to study the phrasal verbs from the book, p.25  (unit 3C) , the audio script on pp.162-3 and the 1-page document I gave you. There are 2 other links to longer phrasal verb documents posted on  29/11.  .

For Unit 4, we are only going to do the "humourous" or satirical part of politics on pp.28-9 with the Reading and the questions AS HOMEWORK and the Listening about political jokes in the 2nd half of the class.

Also for homework there are 3 videoclips to watch!

The first and most relevant is a videoclip is a political satire about Santa Claus looking at the children's behavior in order to know whether or not they deserve presents (if they are "naughty or nice") and comparing this with the spying of the US government and particularly the NSA (National Surveilllance Agency) to know if you are "naughty or nice with your electronic device."

This video is the perfect way to remember at Xmas time that while Santa’s spying operation may be magical, the NSA’s is very real and a bit worrysome. Click below... 

Check out the hilarious music video for “The NSA is Coming to Town” before anyone else, and be the first one to share it with your friends.  

2. This videoclip in with Orson Welles and another actor talking about a friend is good for personality description, it has the expression "an artistic streak" and it's also funny. Only a few in the Friday class saw it and NONE in the Saturday class, so I am copying the link here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb7uKhI7uqU&feature=PlayList&p=A77AD4D43D39C81D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=24

3. Finally, in both classes, I spoke about the fact that the book makes all pensioners sound very old and  the descriptions were more appropriate only for pensioners of 80 or older and that I found it strange that the woman in Conversation 1 seemed surprised that a woman who "went to universtiy in the 60's" hadn't lost any of her faculties. But then I remembered this funny video song by a man of that age group who  seems to be losing some of his! He even says :" If you remember the 60's, you weren't really there! Maybe he did a lot of drugs!!

Click here:

I hope you enjoy all 3. They are only 3 minutes long.

Now I am waiting for Cristina's summary.

Good week!  Kate

Con B2 Funny Satirical Xmas song

This is a satirical version of a popular Christmas song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", which we will do on Wed. /Thurs.

The original version of the song is about how Santa can see everything the children are doing and if they are "naughty or nice" This version substitutes Santa for the NSA (National Surveillance Agency) and says how they spy to see if we are naughty or nice on our electronic device, etc.

It's really quite clever and since we saw the Jon Stewart clip about this, I thought some of you might enjoy it. It shows CIA agents dressed like Santa!

Dear Kate, When you think about it, Santa Claus and the NSA have a lot in common—both can tell when you’ve been sleeping and know when you’re awake... So we decided to make an NSA version of that classic holiday tune, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” taking a cue from Santa’s own secret surveillance program. And as one of the more than 35,000 supporters who signed our petition to Congress to rein in the NSA, we want you to have the first peek at the hysterical new music video! This new video is the perfect way to show your friends that while Santa’s spying operation may be magical, the NSA’s is very real—and why we should all care. Check out the hilarious music video for “The NSA is Coming to Town” before anyone else, and be the first one to share it with your friends.

Conversation B2 ADVERTSING. Very interesting ad for next Monday or Tuesday.

Seeing this ad made me change my mind and decide to do Advertising in the Monday- Wednesday class after finishing the vocab. and discussion on Steve Jobs.

Most ads are not like this, unfortunately but it is good for conversation and short:

Click here to watch.

I also have a listening exercise about Advertising:

Conversation B2 Steve Jobs video clip Wed. 11, Thurs. 12 IMPORTANT

I would like to remind you to see  the video clip of Steve Job's commencement speech if possible and to download the exercise. I already wrote about this on Dec. 7, but here is the link again.

Click here

Recipe Post Conversation B2 Monday -Wednesday

Hi Group

This is you recipe post: I will add more as they come!  Enjoy: they are great!



Link To Andrea's lovely APPLE PUFF PASTRY  CLICK HERE:

Link to Lola's delicious POPPY SEED CAKE   click here

Link to Diana's original BRAIDED SALMON    CLICK HERE

For Conchy's tasty LASAGNE CLICK HERE

Almudena's magical CHOCOLATE BALLS      Click Here

Cristina's yummy CHOCOLATE CAKE CLICK HERE:

Miguel's DEFINITIVE FABADA :

FABADA, THE DEFINITIVE  RECIPE (for 4 people)

 Before cooking the fabada, you need to have these special beans and put then to soak for 10 or 12 hours.

The beans for fabada are a special bean which grow together with corn and it has very thin skin

Well, you put one half kilo of beans into a pot and cover with water and put it on the burner until it starts to boil.

Then you to remove the foam of the beans and put two hard pork sausages, one black sausage, a bit of ham with bone, an onion and a piece of garlic and a bit of saffron.

When it begins to boil again, turn down the burner and make sure  that the beans always are covered by water.

Once in a while, you must to stir the pot.

At the end you must taste the degree of salt that it has and to add if it is necessary.

After the 3 hours more or less and when the beans are tender the fabada is already.

Now we need recipes from: Dawn,  Miriam, María and Javi!

From Laura: her special:  EGGS WITH WHITE SAUCE AND TUNA

Ingredients:

- 6 eggs

- 4 spoonfuls of flour

- a pint of milk

- 100 g of butter

- 150 g of tuna

- 100 ml of tomato sauce

- salt

We have to boil the eggs inside a casserole with some water and salt. Then, we leave them until they are cold enough to cut them in half. We make a mixture of the yolk, the tuna and the white sauce. To prepare the white sauce we put the butter in a pan and when it is liquid, we add the flour. When it becomes like a dough, we add the milk and we stir well, being careful to not have any lumpS.

We fill in the eggs with the mixture we made at first and we put all of them into a glass oven pan. Then, we cover the eggs with the white sauce and wait 15 minutes in the oven with a temperature of 180º.

DAWN'S DELICIOUS BOURBON CHICKEN

Bourbon Chicken

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove

1/4 teaspoonful ginger

3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper powder

1/4 cup apple juice

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 tablesponful ketchup

1 tablespoonful cider vinegar

1/2 water

1/3 cup soy sauce

Directions:

1. heat oil in a large skillet

2. add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned and remove chicken onto a plate

3. add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well mixed and dissolved

4. add chicken and bring to a hard  boil

5 reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes

6 serve over 

Hope you like it.

And finally, link to Miriam's yummy cheesecake: Click here

Con B2 and B2.2 Miniseries about Spaniards in London.

This is the link for an online TV series about the lives of 4 young Spaniarids living in London.

It's short, cute and listening practice, so you might want to follow it!  Kate

http://www.spaniardsinlondon.com/

Conversation B2 Week after puente

Hi Groups

I hope you're having a good long weekend. A friend of mine has sent me a very cute youtube clip of a scene from a Bill Cosby program. It's easy to understand and has sub-titles in English.

http://youtu.be/DUj9Lt2tLj8

On Monday and Tuesday, we will finish with recipes and food.

On Wednesday -Thursday, we will watch and discuss one of the most interesting videoclips I know as well as do all the questions.

If you have time to see it in advance - perhaps more than once -Click here

B2.2 Friday Late summary

I am publishing a late but excellent summary of the class before last ( not the last one)

BTW, María and others, where were you LAST Friday?

Hi classmates! I’ll try to make a summary about the last Friday 22th November. Sorry if I am late with this summary but I am new and I didn’t know how to upload it!! The class was divided into two parts.
First of all Kate started the class with a review of the last class vocabulary. Then she talks about the 50th John Kennedy’s death anniversary and she asked the students what important dates in our national history or international history we could remember. We discussed in groups about what important events we remember such as the 11th March or the 11th September. After this conversation exercise Kate corrected our mistakes. In the first part of the class we also corrected the reading exercises of the student’s book (page 16 and 17). After these activities we read the vocabulary of the British culture which appears in the page 18 and we talked about what we know about the British culture: literature, religion, monuments, etc. The last thing we made before the break was talking about American and British stereotypes.
After the break we had a listening of the page 18 in which three people gave their own opinion about British stereotypes and then we had to make the listening activities. We also learnt some vocabulary, for example the word “flag waving” which means patriotism. Due to the listening topic we discuss in groups about if there are regional differences in our country and if it is good to have more autonomy from the central government. To conclude the class we were talking about Spanish stereotypes.
María.

B2.2 Classes Fri and Sat.

It is official that THERE IS NO CLASS ON DEC. 7, so both groups will have next class off.

Because of this I have given several homework assignments:

1. Write several sentences about you own personality, using the vocabulary and structures we have learned.

2. Write several more about a famous person or someone you only know from class, using the same vocabulary and the expressions on p.23 ( like "S/he seems, strikes me as, etc.)

3. Do pp.22-23, including the Vcoabulary, the Reading, the questions on the Reading and review the grammar on WOULD.

4. Write 100 to 150 words summarizing your ideas about marriage and divorce.

I'm waiting for someone to make a summary of last week.

BTW, the attendance of the Friday class was not very good: Saturday's was much better.

Have a good long weekend!

Conversation B2 Wed. Dec 4 , Thursday Dec 5

In today's class, we talked about the sayings that could be adapted to talking about food and cooking and we asking and answered the questions on the document wit different pairs and went over the vocabulary.
Then we did a Listening. For homwork, each student has to bring in a recipe.

Then we will talk about going out to eat in Madrid and use the following documents to talk about menus and "restaurant talk".

Click here:

And click here