In the unit we are studying we learn to talk about cities we have visited: about their physical characteristics, the way o living in those cities, their people, their atmosphere, and also about the food.

We are still using some of the questions we practiced so much last week:

What is it like? (This time I am changing the subject from she/he to it, because I am talking about a city.)
What does it look like?
How is the food?

Last Tuesday we listened to an interview of an English couple who lived and worked in New York.
Students had to answer the following questions:

1.How long have they been in NY?
2.What do they like about NY?
3.What do they think about the people?

4.What do they think about the taxi drivers in NY?

5.How do they feel about the shops´schedule?

6.Have they made any friends? Is it easy to make friends in NY?

7.What do they think about the subway?

8. What do most people do for food in NY?

9. What do they say about the working hours in NY? 

10. Why do they think they will probably move back to London eventually?

We learned words as: atmosphere, lane, deliver, (to) rush. The were many words related to speed: hurry up, fast, to be in a rush, quick, quickly.

They also use many adjectives in comparative or superlative forms. Students had to write some sentences using the comparative forms: as + adjective + as/ and short adjective + er than? or more + long adjective + than.

In our Thursday lesson we read the text called Global Pizza about the history of this dish. Students wrote and asked some questions about the text. The name for the ingredients which are on top of the flat bread is toppings. 

Students read a conversation which included questions and answers about people, food and about London. They practiced it and role played it. 

Homework

Look in the Aula Virtual for the listening called Listening London. Listen to it and write down 10 questions you would have to answer in order to summarize the interview.

We are still practicing those questions with like as a verb and like as a preposition. So in our first lesson of the week students answered the question What did you look like when you were 3 years old? Most students said they were a little plump like most young children.

We read a Thank you letter from a foreign student to a her host family in Australia. In the letter Soon/hee uses a lot of verbs followed by other verbs in various forms: sometimes in the infinitive: I want to say, sometimes in the present participle: I enjoyed meeting you all. Other possibilities, depending on the verb we are using first and also on the meaning with intend to convey are: verb+somebody+ infinitive (no to) as in: they are letting me stay with them. It is only after a few verbs: make, let, help, that we use this form.
We use another form when we want to report somebody's command, wish or intention regarding somebody else, following verbs like want, ask, tell or invite. For instance: my parents wanted me to follow a different profession. If we are reporting a negative command with the verbs ask or tell, it is the infinitive form of the verb that it will be negative as in: she asked me not to make so much noise. With want or invite we'll say: my parents didn't want me to follow a different profession. Or he didn't invite to join them.
Students filled in a chart with the above verb forms. Then we listened to a recording in which a number of people used those verbs. Students had to identify the form of the verb. They also practiced their oral skill by explaining what they had heard.

There are a few verbs which can be followed by either an infinitive or a present participle; the meaning changes depending on that choice: stop, try and remember are good examples: I stopped to visit my aunt and I stopped visiting my aunt mean different things. The latter means that I never visited again.

We studied a number of adjectives to talk about food, towns and people.Some interesting words that I noticed most students didn't know are: starving, wealthy, elderly, crowded.


Homework

Write a couple of paragraphs about a city. It could be a city you know very well or one you have visited for a short or long time. Use the questions above as a guide so you the kind of things you can talk about.

Some questions you can use as a guideline for your writing are:

What did you know about that city before you visited? Was the impression you actually got from it any different?

What's the architecture like? What are the most interesting places to visit? 

What are the people in that city like? Are they welcoming, friendly? Is it easy to approach them? Is it easy to get the information you need?

What's the public transportation like? Is it expensive, convenient? What's the best way to move around the city?

What about the food? Are there many restaurants, are they good, are their prices reasonable?

What hours are the shops open? Is it easy to get what you need when you need it?

Is it an exciting city? Are there many things to do?

Did you have any favorite spots you used to visit often?

In our lesson last Thursday we continued practicing the questions with like that were introduce on Tuesday. Remember,like may be a verb or a preposition. When like is a verb, you can say: What does she likedoing? when we are asking in general or What would she like to do? if we want to know about a specific situation.

During the class we listened to a recording of some people answering to different questions. Students had to decide what question they were answering to. Then, they had to try to remember ans say what the answer had been.

We read a Thank you letter written by the foreign student Soon-Hee to her host family in Australia. In this letter she uses a lot of verbs followed by an infinitive with to, as in I want to say,  followed by an object and an infinitive without to as in: you all made me feel, or by a gerund, as in I enjoyed meeting.
We know that choosing either one of those alternatives depends on the verb itself most of the times: that is, some verbs are always followed by to + infinitive. Some verbs are always followed by a gerund and some verbs, very few (make, let) are followed by an object and then an infinitive. In a few cases we may use either to+ infinitive or gerund and the meaning will change according to our choice. This is the case of the verb stop. In the letter  you can find the sentences I stopped feeling homesick (I wasn't homesick anymore) and I stopped to visit my aunt (I made a stop in my journey and visited my aunt).

Homework
Imagine you were the one who was studying abroad and lodging with a host family. Write your own Thank you letter. Write simple and clear sentences. And remember, when there is a direct object, make sure it follows the verb.

Tuesday we started a new unit.

We are learning to use the following types of questions, which non English speakers tend to mistake, as some of them include the word like. But remember, sometimes like is a preposition, sometimes is a verb. Sometimes the verb like must be followed by an infinitive, sometime by the verb in the ing form. We have already been using all these questions, but it is interesting to see them together so as to make sure we know the difference and learn when to use which.

1.What is she/he like?
2.What does he/she look like?
3.What does he/she like doing?
4.What would he/she like to do?
5.How is she?

Those questions can be used with any subject, of course.Possible answers are:

1. She is very nice and fun to be with.
2. He is really good looking. He´s got beautiful black eyes and and a nice Greek nose.
3. She loves travelling to remote places.
4. I am sure he would enjoy going to the races.
5. She is feeling better now that her is back.

In the lesson we were listening to a conversation between two girls who were talking about a foreign student one of them was hosting. The foreign student had just arrived so the other girl had not met her yet and wanted to know some things about her.
We also practiced those questions asking a partner about a friend.
Homework
Imagine you are looking for a boyfriend or a girlfriend and have requested the services of a mating agency. You have been given the name and telephone number of a prospective date. You call that person to establish a first contact. You have never seen him or her. Write the conversation. You must ask some of the questions above. The other person will probably ask the same questions.

Hello,

Today it was the last lesson about food and meals. Mostly because after a while everybody gets tired of talking about food. But the truth is that this topic includes a lot of things and a lot of vocabulary. It is not easy to talk properly about food.

This is a list of the main things we have studied:

Names of the Meals

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. Supper is a light meal in the night. Dinner is usually the main meal.
 A snack: small portion of food you eat when you are hungry but it´s not time for a meal.

Dinner usually has three parts:
A Starter or appetizer, the main course and dessert.

Words to describe food are:

Tender and tough for meat. If you ask for a steak in a restaurant they´ll probably ask you: How do you want your steak? You´ll have to reply: rare, medium rare or well done.

Sweet, sour, spicy, greasy, oily, tasteless, tasty, crispy (poptaoe chips), soggy (overcooked vegetables), crunchy (bread), creamy, salty, etc.

Cooking methods

Bake (potaoes, bread, cakes), fry, boil, steam, roast ( meats), barbacue, grilling.

Verbs or actions related to cooking

Cut, chop, spread, mash, sprinkle, roll out, add, squeeze, peel off, pour, bread, etc.


Sentences we may use to talk about food

I have never tried....
Have you ever tried...?
The most unusual thing I have ever eaten....
What ingredients do you need to make it?
How do you make it?
Well, first you..., after that you..., then you..., next you... Finally you...

Remember that in English you use You to speak in a general manner.

When we give recipes we use the imperative: Chop the tomatoes, mix them with the peppers...,

In the last lesson we were working on the text Eating for Energy. For the students that were not here, you can find the text in the Aula Virtual. Have you ever logged in? You need your DNI number as a password. So, please, do read the text and do the exercises. For homework: give your own advise. Write 5 sentences like this one:
You should eat more often
And 5 sentences like this:
You shouldn´t eat foods that are high in carbohydrates.

Hope to see you next Tuesday.

Welcome Adrian, it´s nice to have a new student in the group.

Today we spent most of the class practicing the Present Perfect and the Past Simple. And we continued talking about food.

We listened to a recording of a simple conversation, the one about snails and fried brains and students read it and rope pleyed it.

Homework
Write a conversation about food following the model: pg. 20. Use both tenses: the present perfect and the past simple.

Can you cook anything? Tell us how to do it.

Here is a recipe to help you write yours in English.

When you write your own, use the imperative as in the model.

Ingredients 

• 1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles, cooked and drained
• 6 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 pounds lean ground beef

• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in boiling water until done, about 8 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet, cook mushrooms and onions in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until soft; remove from pan.
3. Using the same pan, melt remaining butter. Cook ground beef in melted butter until browned. Mix in flour. Stir in beef broth, and cook until slightly thickened. Add mushroom and onion mixture; stir in sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until sauce is hot, but not boiling. Serve sauce over egg noodles.

Hi, it was nice to see everybody.

We started the lesson with a drill. Students had to reply to a negative sentence saying things like:
I don´t either or Neither did I, or I can´t either or Neither can I.
We shall repeat the exercise next day. I´m sure you´ll find it easier.

We were working on the text My Ideal Holiday: words, pronunciation and some structures.

Remember that when you make the plural of words like place, space, church, spice, face, glass, sentence,  you must add a syllable. Church has only one syllable, churches has two.

Students had to write 3 questions that could be answered with the information given in the text. Then they asked each other the questions and replied.

Homework

Write 5 sentences of this kind:

I travel so much in my job that just waking up in my own bed is heaven.

Answer the questions in Ex. 3, page 42.


See you Thursday,