This blog has been designed to offer my students of English as a foreign language in Argentina a new tool to learn. However, this is also a useful resource for all students and teachers of English. You will find activities specially designed for secondary school students that will enlarge their knowledge of the language and will empower them through practice. Grammar explanations, photos, videos, and a lot of activities are part of this blog. Feel free to surf and enjoy it!
The BBC launched in 2003 an internet survey about teenagers' worries when they talked to their parents.
The survey provided one of the biggest ever snapshots of British teenagers' attitudes and of the corresponding concerns from parents and other carers about bringing up adolescents.
We read about the survey results in our coursebook.
Carry out your on survey about what teenagers and parents think about their lives and their worries.
Assignment:
1° Work in pairs. 2° Ask the questionnaire to teenagers and parents who have teenage children (10teenagers and 10 parents at least). 3° Write the resultsof the survey. Use the text in the coursebook as a guide. 4° Write your final conclusions about the results and your final opinion about the survey itself. 5° Copy this assignment and place it after the cover of your project. OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: Draw the graphs with the percentages got in the survey.
Questionnaires:
Teenagers' questionnaire: 1° What's the best thing about being a teenager? 2° What do you most like about your parents? 3° What's the worst thing about being a teenager? 4° How could your parents make your life better? 5° Who do you have to when you have a problem? 6° What do you worry about most?
Parents' questionnaire: 1° What's the best thing about being a teenager? 2° What do you most like about your children? 3° What's the worst thing about being a teenager? 4° How could you make your children's life better? 5° Who do your children talk to when they have a problem? 6° What do you worry about most?
Put your survey with the results obtained in a plastic file or a folder and hand it in to your teacher in the deadline time!!
WHAT IS THAT MAKES A PERSON ATTRACTIVE? OR GEORGEOUS? OR BEAUTIFUL? (OR WHATEVER YOUR FAVOURITE ADJECTIVE IS)...
Seriously, what is it that makes a man handsome or a woman beautiful?
What is it that sets someone above another on the appeal scale? Many people claim it depends on each culture.
Nevertheless, the general topic of attractiveness is important to members of virtually
every society and attractive people are recognized universally as being
appealing, even across wildly varying cultures… This means that there
is a measurable standard for beauty and what is generally found most
desirable.
Recently, there has been a survey in Britain to find the most beautiful face. The result showed an 18-Year-Old as having Britain's most beautiful face.
The following text is the transcription of the video launched to show the girl whose face has been voted to be most perfect in the U.K.
TRANSCRIPTION
It might not launch a thousand ships, but this is
the face that won the title “Britain’s Most Natural Beauty”.
Eighteen-year-old Florence Colgate’s face is considered almost flawless … it’s perfectly symmetrical, with large eyes, full lips and high cheekbones.
- I had to send in a picture wearing no make-up and from that I got
called to say I got through into the top 5 out of 8000 people. It’s just
unbelievable. Honestly, I did not expect to get this far at all.
The competition wasn’t just about subjective beauty – it was settled with science. Researchers say the distances between facial features and the width and length of the face are deciding factors for perfection. And Colgate scored very close to the ideal.
- I think I just look at my face and I see me, I don’t really see, like science, it’s just yeah.
Colgate works part-time at a local fish and chips shop. But she says
her new-found fame doesn’t seem to have made her more popular with
customers.
- I haven’t really noticed. Obviously you still get your regulars who
come in every week. I don’t know, it’s a busy fish and chip shop
anyway.
Colgate plans to study business management at university, unless of course, a lucrative modeling contract shows its face.
Vocabulary
Launch – to send or shoot (something, such as a rocket) into the air or water or into outer space.
Flawless – with no faults or errors.
Full – having a rounded shape : not thin or narrow.
Cheekbones – a bone of the face that is located below the eye.
Subjective – relating to the way a person experiences things in his or her own mind.
Lucrative – producing money or wealth.
AND NOW WATCH AT THE VIDEO:
AND NOW IT'S...
ANSWER:
1º What do you think? Is she beautiful?
2º In your opinion, what makes a person beautiful?
3º Is it only a matter of physical appearance - colour eyes, hair, waist size, skin colour, etc? Can a person's personality make someone beautiful?
4º How important is to be beautiful according to someone's else standards?
5º Does the pursuit of Beauty or Perfection distract you from other things you would enjoy or could carry out?
6º How much is it worth to sacrifice for Beauty?
7º Is Beauty interior or exterior? Can you have one and not the other?
One of the most famous British meals is the English Breakfast. It’s a substantial meal, best enjoyed on the weekend. Then you have time to prepare, enjoy and not fall asleep at work!
It’s also often served in hotels as a treat.
What do you need to have a perfect English breakfast?
Fried Egg
Bacon
Hash Brows
Bread
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Sausages
You can also eat baked beans, black pudding or have mashed potato. If you decide to have everything, the breakfast is called a Full Monty.
Of course, being a traditional English meal, the preferred
drink is English Breaffast tea.This tea is made from teas that
originate all over the world, from Assam, Ceylon and Kenya. It’s one of
the most popular teas in Britain, thanks to Queen Victoria.
The origin of this hearty breakfast are unclear and believed to originate in rural England as a sustaining
meal to carry workers through a long morning. It is also believed that
the English had two main meals, breakfast and dinner, so they needed a
big breakfast!
Remember that this is not a very healthy meal, so only eat it occasionally.
Vocabulary
Substantial – large in amount, size, or number.
Treat – to deal with or think about (something) especially in a particular way.
Hash brows – boiled potatoes that have been cut up, mixed with chopped onions and fat, and fried until brown.
Black pudding – a very dark sausage that contains a lot of blood; also called black sausage.
Full Monty – British expression that means “the whole thing”. It is used a lot in the North of England.
Preferred – to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else.
Hearty – large enough to satisfy hunger.
Sustaining – to provide what is needed for (something or someone) to exist, continue, etc.
AND NOW...
WHICH IS THE MOST TRADITIONAL BREAKFAST IN OUR COUNTRY?
WRITE ABOUT IT:
1º WRITE THE ELEMENTS - FOOD - NECESSARY FOR THAT TRADITIONAL BREAKFAST (IN A LIST).
2º WRITE A PARAGRAPH - OR TWO - TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE TRADIONAL BREAKFAST CONSITS OF
3º ILLUSTRATE THE ASSIGNMENT
USE THE TEXT ABOUT THE ENGLISH BREAKFAST AS A GUIDE
In fact, this is not an easy answer... English people made a survey to determine who the British people considered the GREATEST BRITISH PEOPLE in history. The pool resulted in many hugely respected figures from Britain past including William Shakespeare, Horatio Nelson, and Charles Darwin. The long list includes engineers, scientists, royals, writers, military figures, and even more contemporary people like John Lennon and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Now see this Power Point Presentation about some of the most GREAT BRITONS.
IF YOU WANT TO ENLARGE THIS PPP, CLICK ON THE SLIDESHARE LOGO ON THE LEFT
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!!
Work in pairs. Who do you consider GREAT ARGENTINIANS? Who do you admire? Prepare a similar PPP including TEN Argentinian people that, in your opinion, must be considered GREAT ARGENTINIANs. Write briefly when they were born and why you consider they must be in your list. Prepare your project to send it to your teacher by e-mail. The best project will be uploaded to the teacher's blog.
My mother was working in the garden. That's why she didn't hear when I called her.
All these sentences are written in PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE.
The PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE is formed with WAS/WERE + the PRESENT PARTICIPLE(-ING).
Look at the structures:
Affirmative:S + WAS/WERE + ACTION(+ -ING) + REST
E.G. Mary was watching TV yesterday at 9.00
Negatives:S + WAS/ WERE + NOT + ACTION (+ -ING) + REST
E.G. Thomas was not paying attention. NOTE: WAS NOT / WERE NOT = WASN'T / WEREN'T (short form)
Questions: (WH-) + WAS/WERE + S + ACTION (+ -ING) + REST?
E.G. Was Samantha waiting for him?
Where were you staying?
The PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE is used to describe a CONTINUING SITUATION in the past. That is to say, a PAST ACTION WITH A DURATION.
Look at this table:
Here we have a list of different uses for the PAST CONTINUOUS.
* FOR PAST ACTIONS IN PROGRESSFOR A PERIOD OF TIME. The activity started in the past, continued for some time and ended at a particular time in the past
E.G. I was working all night.
* FOR SPECIFIC TIMES IN THE THE PAST. Here the Past Continuos has a meaning of 'being in the middle of an activity'
E.G. Yesterday at 10.00 I was watching T.V.
* FOR INTERRUPTED ACTIONS IN THE PAST. A long activity in the past is interrupted by a shorter activity. The Past Simple is used to describe the shorter activity
E.G. I was reading the newspaper when the phone rang.
* FOR TWO PARALLEL ACTIONS IN THE PAST. Two past actions happening at the same time
E.G. While Tim was reading, her mother was ironing the clothes.
WHILE VS WHEN
Clauses are groups of words which have a meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses can begin with WHEN such as in "When he called me..", or with WHILE such as in "While he was watching TV...". WHILE is always used with PAST CONTINUOUS because it expresses the idea of 'during that time.' WHEN is normally used with the shortest activity and the past simple tense. See the table below:
Examples:
I was studying WHEN the bell rang.
WHEN he arrived, Sheila was preparing dinner.
Dylan fell down WHILE he was running for the bus.
WHILE I was reading a book, somebody knocked at the door.
WHILE Julian was repairing the car, his mother was cooking.
ATTENTION!!
The PAST CONTINUOUS TENSECANNOT be used with STATIVE VERBS. That is to say, we do not use Past Continuous with verbs that describe states or conditions. The stative verbs DO NOT describe actions. We use Past Simple with stative verbs.
Examples:
She was wanting to see him again.
She wanted to see him again.
I was recognising him immediately.
I recognised
him immediately.
The soup was tastinggreat.
The
soup tasted great.
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!! Let's practise. Click on the following links to practise PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
AND NOW, LET'S WATCH AND LISTEN!! Click HERE and watch and listen the video to describe past activities.
1º Make a list of the things the people were doing last night during the blackout (the cut off of electrical power).
2º Why did the blackout happen?
3º What were the reporters doing during the blackout?
4º What was the man in Our Neighbors, Our Lives doing when the woman saw him?
5º What was the man in I See You doing when the other man saw him?
6º What were the people at 151 River Street doing when the robbery took place?
Fast food is cheap, easy and quick. Fast food companies spend millions of dollars each year trying to make young people believe that fast food is cool. The average American eats three burgers and four orders of French fries a week. Is it surprising that 14% of American teenagers are obese?
A Read the following paragraphs.
1. Schools hold special education days for the food companies when fast food managers talk to the students. In March 1998, it was “Coke in Education Day” at Greenbrier High School in Georgia and some Coca-cola managers visited the school. About a thousand students went to the school parking lot dressed in red and white to spell out the word COKE. The photographer was ready to take photos when Mike Cameron suddenly showed his T-shirt which said Pepsi. The school principal immediately suspended Mike from school.
2. Now, America is starting to fight back against the fast food companies. The two biggest states in the US, California and Texas, might stop serving fast food and soda in school cafeterias. The American government may bring in special laws for preventing and treating obesity.
3. It’s fine to eat fast food occasionally as part of a healthy diet. But fast food is high in fat and calories. So if your favourite meal is burger and fries, you could easily become obese. Obesity could lead to other diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.
4. There’s no escape from fast food for American teens. Fast food companies give money to US schools to help them buy sports and computer equipment. In return, schools place advertisements for the fast food companies in their hallways and on the sides of their school buses. They also sell cheap fast food in school cafeterias and sponsor school books.
B. Match the paragraphs with their correct assertion, so that you get the text in the correct order
************************************************************************************
1. Eating fast food is a way of getting obese.
2. Schools as a place for advertisement.
3. Fast food is taking control over schools.
4. The fight against fast food.
************************************************************************************
C. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the wrong ones.
1. It is healthy to eat fast food every day.
______________________________________________________
2. Fast food has a lot of calories.
______________________________________________________
3. Obesity is not related to other diseases.
______________________________________________________
4. There is no fast food in US schools cafeterias.
______________________________________________________
D. Answer the following questions:
1. Why is it so easy to eat fast food?
2. Why do fast food companies give money to US schools?
3. What did Mike Cameron do?
E. Match the words in US English (1-6) with the right words in GB English (a-f):
1. order (of French fries)
2. French fries
3. soda
4. parking lot
5. (school) hallway
6. cafeteria
a. soft drink
b. (school) corridor
c. portion
d. chips
e. canteen
f. car park
F. Write the words below to their appropriate meaning:
in return
disease
cool
obese
to sponsor
advertisement
1. very attractive, fashionable, interesting etc in a way that people admire ____________
2. very fat in a way that is unhealthy _____________
3. a picture, set of words, or a short film, which is intended to persuade people to buy a product or use a service ______________
4. in exchange for ______________
5. an illness which affects a person, animal, or plant _______________
6. to pay for something in exchange for the right to advertise _______________
G. Match the opposites
1. cheap
2. easy
3. quick
4. big
5. healthy
6. high
a. slow
b. unhealthy
c. difficult
d. expensive
e. short
f. small
H. According to an article in the website EzineMark.com the top-ten unhealthiest fast food eaten during 2011 in the States were the ones that you can see in the following video. Click HERE and list them. Then add two types of fast food that you consider are very unhealthy and are normally eaten in our county
