HAVE FUN WITH ENGLISH C1

Hi, everyone! Welcome to another post on my English teaching adventures! Today, I'm excited to share an activity about understanding cultural nuances in the English language classroom. This idea sprang from a particularly inspiring experience I enjoyed a few weeks ago: the " II Jornadas de Escuelas Amigas " at EOI La Carolina, where I participated in many interesting workshops. These were not only enlightening but also deeply encouraging. So, I just can't wait to tell you! The workshops underscored the importance of motivating students and designing attractive activities... and here I am:  brimming with the new ideas I discovered then and eager to implement them in my classroom. Thanks to Cristina Cabal, Carolina Sáez, Olga Peláez, Marisa Rodríguez, Javi Rico and Ana Pérez for their inspiring sessions! I wish I had had the opportunity to attend many more! In fact, the activity I'm about to describe is a direct result of the inspiration I drew from Cristina’s metho...

 As you all know, I have been keeping my C1 blog up and running for a couple of years now. However, it is getting harder and harder to update it! My responsibilities as a head of studies at school, my blended level course, and the training sessions I keep on doing... are just getting in the way all the time! So, here I am! Trying to find out some time to tell you all about my latest idea, which I got the inspiration for from delpupitrealasestrellas.com .  The game is called " Vocal a la fuga " in Spanish. That is why I called it " The runaway vowel ". I simply loved the image of vowels flying all over our classroom! I intend to use this activity as a retrieval practice game for my C1.1 blended students to recall vocabulary from the first module in their course, where they have been learning personality adjectives. As most of them were revised at home, I found it very convenient and necessary to retrieve some in class.  Just follow the instructions on the card below ...

OMG! Time does fly! It has been ages since I last posted on my C1 blog. I have been as busy as a bee and had no time at all to devote to my facet as an amateur blogger. My apologies, everyone! Nothing can be done now but just... mend my ways! So, here comes a new update!💪 Going back to the grind in class after a holiday break (we have just enjoyed our Easter week!) has always proved to be challenging. Unfortunately enough, most students have got into the mood of getting away from their learning😉. That is why setting up the right class atmosphere on the very first session after the holiday is always on my top-priority list. No wonder some retrieval practice will do the trick!  So, I entered my classroom with a very positive mindset, determined to grab my students' attention and kick-start the lesson with a retrieval quiz. I designed it on @genially_es (I simply love it for quizzes!) to recall some of the expressions regarding fast fashion and social responsibility we had been work...

If there is a game that has gone viral that is Wordle . Its increasing popularity may lie in the fact that it has proved to be both simple and engaging at the same time, together with the fact that it also offers the possibility to challenge others! And you all know ours is a competitive world! We are always up for a challenge, aren't we? That is why I have decided to follow suit and confront my students with a tailored-made Wordle game that will definitely help them learn some interesting strategies to acquire new vocabulary. Who knows? They might get hooked and start playing the real game itself! Fingers crossed, hopefully in English! Here is the presentation I have designed to motivate them and get the right class atmosphere before playing five different challenges. I hope this does the trick and gets them involved! If it also inspires other teachers, I would have killed two birds with one stone!  Finally, all the credit should go to  @SlidesManiaSM ! I wouldn't have manage...

We have all been there staring at a blank page or a computer screen ready to plan our next class unable to think about how to come up with an idea to wrap up a unit that is about to finish. I usually tend to finish most of them up with a range of activities that consolidate knowledge from previous lessons. So, now that I am ready to complete Module 2 with my C1.1 Blended English Course I have just decided to conclude with a couple of fun class games. Here is how they go! I will start by getting students to recap all the things we have studied in the Module : education expressions, attitudes to ageing, benefits of having children, life stages, idioms related to age, syllabic consonants, conditional sentences,... You name it! Students will be given a certain amount of time to work with the person sitting next to them to shout out as many items as they remember, trying to get the highest number. Do not forget to keep a record of each team´s answers on the board! As soon as winners are ...

Most language teachers and students know that the Common European Framework of Reference has mapped languages to different levels. Wherever we are in the globe, standard levels have been set so that language learning is based on what speakers can do at each particular stage. That is, we know exactly what each learner can do at each specific level, no matter what language they might be learning. How about that? At school this year, my students are meant to be able to accomplish a wide variety of complex tasks effectively as they are already facing the advanced level. However, how effective do they think they might be? Have they joined the right course? As C1 is divided into two different stages, what can they do at each one of them?  As it is customary at this time of the year, I have just come up with a quick test to find out whether they have enrolled in the right course. Off to a running start! Let us see how it goes!

 👋 Dear school community! Welcome back to a new school year at  EOI Pontevedra . I am so looking forward to welcoming you all back to our friendly school! Above all, our newcomers: our blended English course students! You deserve a special mention this year as you are going to take part in a new promising experience. A new academic year is here and I have been working hard to get everything ready to meet you all! This year will certainly be strikingly different. Even so, motivation and hard work will be basic and will definitely have a significant impact on class performance. Again, my main priority as a teacher will be striving for a class atmosphere that fosters self-reliance, self-confidence, and a love of learning. I know I have made up my mind on a highly ambitious goal but promise to fight tooth and nail to stick to it! I hope this new course suits your needs as C1 English learners. Let´s roll out the red carpet and set the new course in motion. Here is our first challe...

Most EOI students are now very well acquainted with this new part of the exam that has come to stay:  Mediation . However, it seems to me that some of them are still struggling with it in light of the results of the mid-term exams that took place at school a couple of weeks ago.  As mediation is everywhere and plays a crucial role in our daily lives, have a look at some great tips beautifully given by teacher Mónica Redondo that might help you understand what mediation is. I have tried this presentation below with my C1 students in class and it achieved immediate success. Mónica explains mediation beautifully and the sample texts also helped students make up a clear idea of the task. I hope it greases the wheels for them to enhance a deeper understanding of mediation!

Now that we are about to finish Unit 2 , I would like you all to have a look at the wonderful pieces of writing my C1 students have submitted regarding the environmental impact of the travel industry. The instructions for the task were crystal-clear this time: First, students had to open the link below and do the necessary thinking before they started the writing process: How to write a problem-solution essay Then, they were also asked to include at least:  2 of the environment collocations they have learned in Unit 2. 2 of the comment adverbs we had previously discussed in Unit 1. 2 of the degree adverbs we had also discussed in Unit 1. 2 of the linking expressions on one of the photocopies we had worked in class.  As for the result, judge for yourselves!

It is that time of the year again and I have been racking my brains for an idea to welcome my students on their first day at school. In a flash of sheer inspiration, I just came up with this activity after recalling a video published by @esBritish  in January last year.  The start of a new year might be the perfect opportunity to set new learning goals and help students become more conscious about their learning chances. Let's give it a try! I will kick off by presenting this slide  to play the video a couple of times and, fingers crossed🤞, it will hopefully spark some interesting discussion. Students will be able to complete the first two questions by getting ideas from the video and some more debate will also come up regarding the last question on the slide. If everything goes as planned, some interesting learning tips will turn up! Once students are in the mood, I won't let this great opportunity pass by! They will have to take on some strong long-term commitment to t...

 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!