Post CPE Lesson 9

Current Affairs - Listening & Discussion

1. The Debate On Air Strikes On Syria
Listening: Yesterday in Parliament
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p039yj3m

to be a party to (something)
to make a case for
to set out the case for
to heed the call
to back (action/a person/candidate/proposal)
to stack up/hold up
ill thought out
fractious, fidgety sombre mood
ayes/nos
Parliament, parliamentary, parliamentarian

Reaction to Hilary Benn's Speech
https://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/hilary-benns-speech-930
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/dec/03/syria-debate-hilary-benn-launches-shock-and-awe-campaign-against-labour

2. Controversial Beauty Contests (13:39)
3. Inward Investment (17:59)
Listening: The World This Week 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p038p42f
For more downloads go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0299wgd/episodes/downloads

to pack your frocks (dresses)
suzerainty versus sovereignty

to have a tin ear to (public opinion)
to get a deal done
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Recommended Viewing
In cinemas next week is Me & Earl & the Dying Girl (inexplicably translated as Quel fantastico peggior anno della mia vita in Italian).

E.U. Commission Writing Course - Holiday Work

As we will not be meeting again until 7th January, here are some suggestions for keeping up your English over the Christmas period.

One of the best ways of picking up new vocabulary and noticing structures is through listening. BBC Radio 4 has a wealth of material which you can download or listen to on iPlayer.
See  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01m28zh and http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01hqw0p for European themed programmes. You can urn this into a writing exercise by taking notes while you listen and then writing them up into a brief summary.

Next year we will look at discourse markers and how to link and structure your writing more effectively both at paragraph and sentence level. To get a heads up on this, take a look at the notes http://esl.about.com/cs/advanced/a/a_dmark.htm and exercises https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/advanced/a_grammar/file01/nef_int_grammar_1_01a?cc=us&selLanguage=en here.

Have a Merry Christmas and see you in 2016.

Sean

D'Amico Shipping B1 Lesson 4

Class
(1) Pronunciation skills - using the phonemic chart
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/apps/sounds-right
Hidden names task
Vowel sounds
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442648/Pronunciation

(2) Using songs
Fixed expressions
Let me know, take a chance on something, take your time, to feel down, get something off your mind, to put something/someone to the test

Legal English at Bennett Languages, Civitavecchia: Lesson 7

Class

Legal principles
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/70392439/10%20Key%20Legal%20Principles

Conditionals in context
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442621/Conditionals

The Third Conditional - exploring the link between grammar, listening and fast connected speech.
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/32174148/Conditionals%20and%20Pronunciation

Going Further/Holiday Homework

1) Listening:

The best way for you to stop your English from getting rusty over the break is to do regular listening practice. Use the Law In Action series of podcasts or anything else you find interesting (BBC Radio 4 has a wide selection available to download or listen to via iPlayer). It doesn't matter if you don't understand everything and you can still do it even if you don't have a lot of time. 10 minutes, 4 times a week, for example, is both doable and extremely helpful. 

2) Presentations:

Next year I would like to get your talking about your own areas of interest and expertise. Therefore I would like you to choose an area of law that you either practice or find interesting. Start doing some reading about the topic (in English) and when we resume classes in the new year, we will look at how you can transform this information into a successful presentation.

Pronunciation
Check that you have the correct pronunciation by clicking on the following and listening to the dictionary app.
parliamentary sovereignty
judicial 
judiciary
senator

Corrections
It's told said/says here that judges should ...
The two parts parties
sentence/judgment
Parliament can do make any kind of law
lose miss the train

D'Amico Shipping B2 Lesson 4

Class

Business and economics - discussion and word pairs

(Taken from Language Leader Advanced (Pearson) unit 11, p. 112

Vocabulary

Brand recognition/brand awareness

Business (countable) = company

Business (uncountable) = commercial activity

To make redundancies/to make someone redundant = to cut the number of staff for economic reasons.

Commonly confused words

Lend/borrow

Can you lend me some money?

Can I borrow some money (from you)?

I lent John some money.

John borrowed some money from me.

Debt/loan

I have to pay off my student loan.

I have a lot of credit card debt.

Error correction

Since now x

From now

Homework

Finish your example sentences for today's vocabulary.

Going further - keeping up your English during the break.

The most effective way to prevent your English from getting rusty is to make sure you get regular listening paractice. It doesn't need to be a lot but it does need to be often. Look at previous posts for recommended websites and podcasts. On the follwing link you will find a suggested procedure for using dvds to help with your listening. http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442630/Film%20Lessons
Here you will also find specific film lessons (e.g. Annie Hall, Silver Linings Playbook)

If you are interested in the story behind Apple, check out the film, Steve Jobs, which is coming soon to a cinema near you. 

British Council at ANIA C1 & C2 Lesson 26

Group 5 C2
12:30 pm

Class
CPE Reading & Use of English - timed practice parts 1 - 6

Homework
Complete part 7 - give yourself a maximum of 25 minutes to complete the task

Answer Key
Click on image to enlarge

Group 7 C1
2:00 pm
Class
Verb Patterns - verb followed by -ing or infinitive with a change in meaning.
Check the worksheet below for a copy of today's tasks and more exercises
Click on the image to enlarge.