ANIA 2018: C1 & C2 (Wednesday Groups) Lesson 3

12:30pm C1
Class
Verb Structure Continued

I like paying less than other people.
I prefer reading about an exhibition before I see it.
I can't bear sunbathing when I'm on holiday.
I don't want you going there every night 

Gerund for generalisations and describing activities in general.

I like to pay bills at the start of the month.
I'd prefer to read about the exhibition before I see it.
I can't bear to sunbathe today - it's too hot!
I don't want you to go there tonight.

Infinitive and simple forms for specific situations.

What were the other tendencies that gerunds and infinitives show? Which looks back? Which looks forward? Which describes a purpose? Which describes finished/unfinished/repeated actions?

Vocabulary
bucket list
to kick the bucket

Homework
Do the sentence transformation task on the photocopy. Read the instructions carefully and correct the mistake in the example. Which questions tested verb structure?

2:00pm C2
Class
1. Reading & Discussion - Italian Identity
Elena Ferrante
Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/24/elena-ferrante-on-italian-language-identity?CMP=fb_gu

2. Listening
How To Question Dubious Statistics In Just A Few Short Steps
Source: World Service - More or Less: Debunking guide - on a postcard.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05yfqph

Presenter: Tim Harford
Interviewees:
Dr Leslie van der Leer, Psychologist, Regents University, London.
Sir David Spiegelhalter, British statistician and Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk in the Statistical Laboratory at the University of Cambridge
Dr James Corbett, Marine Policy & Professor, University of Delaware.

Vocabulary
Check you know the meaning of the following key terms, phrasal verbs and fixed expressions:

confirmation bias, thought experiment, backstory, accepted wisdom, world view
to have something to hand
to tear apart
to pass something on - 2 meanings 
to take something on board
to dress to impress
to cut loose
to pin something down
to overarch

Listening
1. Introduction (00:00 - 1:10)

• What is the effect of the holiday metaphor? How is it sustained throughout the introduction? 
• Why is it important to challenge the things we read or see in the media?

2. Now listen to the rest of the programme making notes on each of the 6 steps that Tim mentions.

Discussion

Can you apply these examples to issues surrounding the election?

Going Further:
Reading: 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/21/berlusconi-comeback-italy-fascist-past-postwar-shame

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/25/germany-spain-italy-elections-centre-left-cannot-hold

Viewing:

For the full video go to: https://youtu.be/LdhQzXHYLZ4

Lombardi Segni & Associati Legal English Course - Lesson 17

Lesson 17
12:00 pm Level B1
Class
Writing & Discussion:

• Choosing the best medium for workplace communication (phone, message, email)
• Deciding on the formality of an email

Vocabulary
False Friends
Process or Trial/hearing?
Court or Tribunal?

Homework
Write 2 (or 3) emails replying to your boss's request and contacting the client adapting the material on p. 117 as far as possible to your own working situation.

1:30pm Level C1/C2
Legalese 3
Class
Solving Structural Problems

• Keep the subject, verb and object together at the beginning go the sentence.
• Use strong, precise verbs. Minimize is, are, was, and were.
• Turn -ion words into verbs when you can.
• Simplify wordy phrases. Watch out for of.
• Make everything you write “speakable”.

Corrections
alleged alleged
informal informal
advices advice
depends from depends on

Vocabulary
alas

Homework

Look at the final question on passive/active voice. How many passive forms can you find? How many of these could be changed to the active voice? What effect does this have on the writing? 

ANIA 2018: B2 (Thursday) Lesson 4

Lesson 4
2:00pm B2
Class

Listening and Vocabulary Skills - using BBC Podcasts.
As these BBC podcasts are designed for learners, the presenters speak much slower, however the content is natural, contemporary and useful.

(1) Learning English News Review - Hollywood's campaign against harassment
Release date: 2 January 2018
Available now
10 minutes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05sjz3n

Key Vocabulary 
launch
harassment
unveil
For follow up activities and to download the audio and PDF document for this episode here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/newsreview/unit-1/session-19

(2) The English We Speak - Bone idle
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05x8hmj

Homework
Choose another of the podcasts and prepare a presentation for the class, using the questions below as a guideline:

• How long was it?
• What was it about?
• What language feature did you learn (e.g. vocabulary or grammar structure)?
• How difficult was the listening? 
• Would you use it again? Why/Why not? 

Other Vocabulary:

Pochette = pocket square

ANIA 2018: C1 & C2 (Wednesday) Groups - Lesson 3

Lesson 3
12:30pm C1
Class
Verb Structure
Verb + gerund
to suggest doing
to imagine doing
to fancy doing
to contemplate doing
to involve doing
to consider doing

Verb + infinitive
to guarantee to do
to be forced to do
to pretend to do
to refuse to do
to volunteer to do
to hope to do
to agree to do
to yearn to do

Source: Advanced Expert CAE (old edition) p. 98
For more notes and examples go to: http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/25080022/Verb%20Structure

Homework
Look back at the verbs in exercise 3 on the handout and write down two examples for each of the verbs tested: verb + infinitive, verb + gerund
e.g.
 to go on
a) He went on talking for ages.
(He continued talking)
(b) After the financial report he went on to talk about the problems facing the company. 
(After the financial report he started talking about something else)

Corrections
To date with someone

Podcast
Future Continuous & Be + Infinitive http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05v1bnk



2:00pm C2
Class
Listening & Discussion
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05yffxb

(1) The wealth of Mr Darcy – (5’10”) The male love interest of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is supposed to be fabulously wealthy. Is he? How do you work it out in 2018 money? Do you simply adjust for inflation or calculate his share of the national income?

Vocabulary

• heartthrob
• love interest
• estate (several meanings are appropriate here: D'Arcy's legal estate and his real property)
• to be flush with money

(2) Gender in literature – (22’15”)How are women depicted in books? Author Ben Blatt does an analysis.

Vocabulary

• the mind boggles
• to rack your brain(s)

Homework
Listen to the podcast again noting any new vocabulary or fixed expressions

Going Further

1. More on Mr D'Arcy http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05p3th7
2. More on Ben Blatt and the numbers in literature http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05lftnw
3. Measuring Worth https://www.measuringworth.com
4. Nabokov's Favourite Word Is Mauve https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30753786nabokov-s-favorite-word-is-mauve
5. Try to or try and ?(See the video above from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
6. Different from/to (U.K.)/than(U.S.)

Lombardi Segni & Associati Legal English Course Lesson 16

Lesson 16
12:00pm B1
Class

Writing Skills - emails to clients.
identifying relationships, abbreviations, formality, openings, closings, functions.
Source: Business Advantage upper Intermediate Writing 6 pp. 116 -117.

Homework
Finish the three questions on email functions on p. 117.

• identify functions
• underline useful phrases
• plot the email on the graph

Corrections

Noun forms: professionalism professional

Verb forms: interpretated interpreted

Over translation: or...or either... or

1:30pm C1/C2
Class

Legalese Part II
(1) Reading & Vocabulary: The Drive For Plain English

Vocabulary
singing from the same hymn book
to turn on its head
ropey 
stilted
turgid
to junk something
jargon
old habits die hard

(2) Editing Skills 1 - Keep sentences to around 20 words

Sources: http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/25080245/Legal%20Writing%20In%20Plain%20English

ANIA 2018: B2 & C1 (Monday) Lesson 3

Lesson 3 - Both Groups
Today's lesson was a discussion on English grammar and the importance of trying to think in English rather than translate from Italian.

Concepts of distance
(click on the images to see the full charts)

The Importance of Aspect

In the English system there are 2 elements of meaning:

TIME

But be careful !

Your plane leaves at 10.00 tomorrow. (present tense referring to the future)

I wish I was taller. (past tense referring to the present)

I could come tomorrow if you like. (past tense referring to the future)

ASPECT

• SIMPLE  - complete, finished, permanent, emphasises amount, neutral, formal
• CONTINUOUS – duration, in progress, temporary, changing situation or trend, personal feeling (e.g. surprise, irritation, criticism), informal
• PERFECT – an action completed before another time or an action producing a result relevant to a later situation. Shows the relationship between different times.

          e.g.      I've read the book. 

                    action             result

                    reading          knowledge

                    past                 present

Each of these aspects adds another layer of meaning to the verb.

Choosing the right tenses depends on many factors not a set of grammatical rules!

Context & Meaning - Conditionals

CONTEXT & MEANING:

What’s the difference in meaning between the following sentences.

What do you do if you miss the train?

What will you do if you miss the train?

What would you do if you missed the train?

What would you have done if you had missed the train?

If I was punctual, I wouldn’t have missed the train.

If I had been punctual, I wouldn’t have missed the train.

If I hadn’t missed the train, I would be home now.

If I hadn’t missed the train, I would have been home earlier.

Sources: http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/41658221/English%20Grammar%20and%20Thinking%20in%20English
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442655/The%20English%20Tense%20System

Homework
Find a short article and highlight all the tenses used. Why has the author CHOSEN to use those tenses?

ANIA 2018: B2 (Thursday) Lesson 3

Class
Listening Skills: How To Learn A Language (More or Less 19/01/18)
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05vgzm0 
The item starts at 19:20.
Vocabulary
keen (to be keen to do something, to be keen on someone/something) 
an uphill struggle/battle
to put someone through their paces 
on the back of someone/something
to build up
to hit a wall
to bluff your way through
to get by
to give something a bash
to take the Mickey out of someone

Homework
(1) Listening: finish the exercises on the worksheet
Listening 4 (26:20 to end)
What does Randall Munroe’s book Up Goer 5 tell us about English? To see the comic go to:
https://xkcd.com/1133/
Listening 5
Look at the numbers in the prediction exercise - what did they refer to in the podcast? Listen again and check.
Reflection
What implications does this podcast have for your own language learning?

(2) Find out what the 800 most useful English words are. Start off by reading about the Oxford English Corpus here:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/what-can-corpus-tell-us-about-language