HAVE FUN WITH ENGLISH C1

 Hi there, my closest followers know about my habit of wrapping up a whole unit by giving students the opportunity to showcase the content they have been working on in a final task. On a regular basis, I end up by setting up a writing assignment that takes us to our destination: UNIT COMPLETION . Luckily, I have also found out that this process encourages my students to reflect on their own writing skills and it also helps them get proactive and regulate their learning. For the process to be successful , I take these key steps below: In class, I ask students to read the task instructions carefully and brainstorm ideas for the content they would like to include in their letter/email. We usually play a couple of interactive games regarding useful phrases or collocations to be used in formal writing. This time I used this fill-in the gap activity. I am really sorry I can't remember the teacher who shared it with me. 😥 To kick off writing inspiration, students go home and prepare a ...

Hi everyone! We have been working hard in class on how to dress for success. Students have been gathering ideas about the most distinctive personality figures that successful leaders share. Collecting their answers using mentimeter.com has really come in handy. Answers having been submitted, we had the opportunity of spotting some mistakes and discussing a few synonyms in class. Good job, guys!  These are some of the things that came out during the lesson:  the right spelling is " tenacious " Notice that persevering  or persistent  are also equivalents for perseverant Communicative is the right adjective for "communicate"  An  all-rounder  is the best option for someone of great versatility or wide-ranging skills . Students tend to confuse that with well-rounded , an adjective that we use for someone that shows a wide range of experience in different areas . Mentimeter can be a great vocabulary booster, don't you agree?

We have kicked off our C1 course outlining the most crucial skills a C1 student must master. We went on discussing whether students in the class were supposed to have those abilities . This having been proved, I encouraged students to take a final step: how about actually needing to apply for a legitimate place at this school? Would they genuinely be the right candidates for the position? Are they sure they meet the requirements? With that idea in mind, I posted an ad calling for the inspiring C1 students I have always dreamed of. I asked students in my class to apply for the position, stating the reasons why they were eligible to a seat in this exceptional C1 team.  I have collected all their application letters in the online magazine below. And guess what? I believe they are just the best candidates ever! Lucky me!

As most language learners and teachers know, all our languages are mapped to CEFR ( Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ) levels, which means that wherever we are in the world, we have standard levels in common for learning a new language.  CEFR levels are based on CAN-DOs that describe what speakers can do at a particular stage of their learning process. So, we know exactly what we can undertake at each specific level, whichever language we might be learning. Isn't that cool?  At C1 , you are supposed to be able to accomplish a wide variety of complex tasks effectively. Yet, how effective do you think you are? Have you enrolled in the right course? What exactly can you do at this stage of your learning? Let's find out! 

👋 Dear students! Thanks for having taken part of EOI Pontevedra school community. I feel excited to welcome you all back to our friendly school!  A new academic year is here and we have been working hard to get everything ready to meet you! I am positively certain this is going to be a strikingly different year. Even so, motivation and enthusiasm will be key and will definitely have a significant impact on our performance in class.  My main priority as a teacher this year will be striving for an environment that fosters self-reliance, self-confidence and a love of learning within C1.2 students at EOI Pontevedra. I know I have made up my mind on a highly ambitious goal but promise to fight tooth and nail to achieve it! In our everchanging world, I hope my classroom becomes a welcoming place where students thrive and excel in a learner-centred and learning-focused environment.  I hope the course suits your needs as English learners. I am definitely up for the challenge. H...

Have you ever wondered how to survive the C1 speaking test without killing yourself in the process? Not only can you survive, but you will also definitely succeed if you follow the steps in the presentation below. Top tips and tricks to do great and get your certificate... as easy as rolling off a log! 

Mediation seems to be a nightmare for most of my C1 students😱. Coming up with the right expressions to relay information or summarize ideas might sometimes become a daunting task😢. If mediating activities are difficult to accomplish for you, search no more! Here is a compilation of hopefully useful resources that I have gathered throughout the course for you to practise and succeed!💪💪

When my students work hand in hand together to come up with these nice written versions of what an exam-like task should be like I can be nothing but proud of their work. And when they do it under school lockdown, I get madly in love with them and the strength they seem to be sending out. Thanks, guys, for being so generous!

During our school lockdown, we have been expanding our knowledge on how to interpret statistics. As usual under the current circumstances, with the instructions in mind, we stayed safe at home carrying on with the hard work. It was about time for a new mediation task using a line graph on mass media consumption habits in the UK. We shared all our ideas on a google drive document and worked collaboratively to come up with our final versions. De-escalation-made written mediation activities. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Just a few days before our school was locked down, we had been working on how to write opinion essays. You can find all the info my students had at the very end of Unit 5 . With the instructions in mind, we had to stay safe at home the week after and many more weeks were to come. However, nothing has stopped my students from keeping hard work up. They carried on with the work, from the peace and quiet of their own houses. We shared all their essays on a google drive document and worked collaboratively to come up with their final versions. Using an infographic, as required in the C1 standardized exam, we started with a mediation activity that gave way to all the opinion essays. Here you can have a look at the samples. Quarantine-made opinion essays. Where there is a will, there is a way!

I hope you have all had a look at the mediation tasks on the food waste effect that I published a few days ago. They were the starting point for the proposal samples that are now coming up. Read them through and have a look at how to organize proposals in an effective way. Proposals always describe a situation (in this case, the situation is that the wholesaler company that you work for is wasting a lot of food) and try to persuade the reader to make the necessary changes to get over it (in this case, the main goal is to reduce food waste). As you can see in the samples below, you should use headings, and have an intro and a conclusion. I hope all these tasks help you out!

Hi everybody, As you all know, schools have been locked down. Most of us are now confined at home trying to cope with everyday routine and sticking to healthy regular habits. Experts argue a healthy lifestyle will helps us meet the challenge. I am hopeful that this period finishes as soon as possible so that we can meet each other in person again soon. Meanwhile, let's keep up the good work online as long as the coronavirus crisis lasts. Main goal: virtual learning! So, here is my little contribution to your quarantine as we need to keep our minds busy. Classes will relatively go on, as usual, following this plan: Every day there should be a class I will be sending you a lesson plan, with exercises and tools to implement revision on the units we have been teaching. You should follow the instructions, open the links, do the activities and complete the final task that you have to send after every class. All lesson plans will also be posted here . There is no doubt that y...

We have been working on strategies to come up with nice pieces of writing, mainly focusing on how to relay information from infographics. My C1 students have definitely been working hard to bring their compositions up to scratch. After also checking vocabulary on consumerism and shopping, here are their final summaries synthesizing the key aspects of the pie chart below. Measures to be taken to cut down on food waste is the next step. These summaries will be the starting point for the proposal pieces coming over! Stay tuned!

Our teacher assistant has just carried out a very enjoyable activity on idioms. I realized that you all had a great time coming up with definitions to fool your classmates! Don't you see? Learning tough vocabulary does not necessarily have to be dull and boring. You can have a look at the presentation below to check all the idioms my C1 groups of students have been playing with. There is quite a bunch! Can you guess them all? Enjoy!

In the  mediation  tasks of the C1 exam, both oral and written, you might be asked to either give a short descriptive speech or write a short descriptive report based on visual information or data. This visual information will be most commonly presented as line and bar graphs , pie charts or tables . You will definitely be asked to describe and analyze the information provided by selecting and reporting its main features. In the presentation below, I will be focusing on some of the key factors to be considered when dealing with data analysis. First of all, you will learn how to look for the most obvious information to eventually find out what the numbers on a graph are referring to. Our final goal would be coming up with a structured piece of text on the data analysis, which you will also be able to find out by clicking on each of the graphs! Ready? Pull your socks up and go! This presentation is based on the writing activities in Unit 4 of New Language Lea...

DESCRIBING VISUAL INFORMATION: HOW TO SAY NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES In the new mediation tasks of the C1 exam - both oral and written ones - you might be asked to give a short descriptive speech (oral mediation) or write a short descriptive report (written mediation) based on visual information or data. This visual information is most commonly presented as line and bar graphs , pie charts or tables . You might be asked to describe and analyse the information provided by selecting and reporting the main features. In the presentation below, based on a didactic unit by New Language Leader Advanced , I will be discussing some of the key factors students will need to consider when dealing with such a task. First of all, they will learn how to look for the most obvious information: what are the numbers on the graph referring to? Then, by learning to say proportions and percentages, they will eventually end up passing on the information in the graph! Isn't it magic!? Fingers ...

The next time you must write a formal paper or give a formal speech, make sure you have the correct style guide to use. Some oral or written exam tasks will have my C1 students say or write proportions and percentages correctly. A percentage is a number expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign (%) or the abbreviation pct . As they are often used to express a proportionate part of a total, they are common in graphics, statistics and data images. Are you ready to say these proportions in English? Notice the link on more info at the end of the game with more useful exercises to practise!

This year my C.1 students have done a great job with their letters of interest. After working the tips, and the useful expressions, here are their sample answers. Provide your students with the input they need and you will come up with awesome pieces of work! Congratulations, everyone!

A landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers has completely fallen apart four years after it went into effect.  The US airstrike near Baghdad International airport increased the ill-feeling after the killing of Iran's top military general Qassem Suleimani on 3 January. Iran reacted immediately, in retaliation for the killing, firing 16 missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq. Luckily, there were no casualties. Later on, Iran admitted "unintentionally" shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board. The military claimed that the jet was mistaken for a cruise missile . In the video below Seth Meyers takes a closer look at how President Donald Trump has almost brought the world to the brink of a disastrous war. Watch and enjoy the section up to minute 2.55 as many times as you think you might need to do the quiz. Choose your own video version: with or without subtitles. Then, press the " Start " button and follow t...

Here are the exam dates for the first term. It is amazing how fast time flies! We are about to finish it! Hope you don't have any problems with them. Just let me know as soon as possible if you do. You shouldn't miss exams because even though they don't count on your final score, practice is always welcome! They will prove a great opportunity to test yourselves. No pain, no gain! Remember that you will have to register for the speaking session in class. There'll be a list on the classroom board soon! Good luck everybody! I am 100% sure you'll do a great job! Just get ready to give exams your best shot! Group Time Listening / Reading Writing / Speaking / Mediation  C1.2-3 10.20 Monday 27 January Wednesday 29 January Group Time Listening / Reading / Speaking Writing / Speaking / Mediation Speaking / Mediation  C1.2-4 16.00 Thursday...