I just wanted to let everybody know that there are now two Key Sentence Transformation videos available on YouTube.
The first one is a general overview of how Key Sentence Transformation works.
The second one focuses specifically on how to do Key Sentence Transformation with one-word verbs and phrasal verbs (and vice-versa.)
I'll be working on more videos this summer, especially the Key Sentence Transformation videos.
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
1.17.2013
The keys to understanding Key Sentence Transformation
...or something like that. I wasn't going to do this until the weekend, but two people just cancelled class, so I did the audio (and re-did and re-did and re-did the audio, several times) to the latest video.
If you're having problems with Key Sentence Transformation, and you're not exactly sure why, here's a video explaining what NOT to do on that part of that Cambridge exam.
If you're having problems with Key Sentence Transformation, and you're not exactly sure why, here's a video explaining what NOT to do on that part of that Cambridge exam.
12.07.2012
Watch your "but".
Be very careful how often you say "BUT" in conversation in English:
"It's a nice day out today."
"Yes, but...the sky is very blue."
-- or --
"Gonzalo works as an engineer."
"Yes, but, he speaks English."
BUT is a conjunction that shows contrast. In Spanish, pero can be used to bring together ideas. In English, BUT is not used to connect ideas: it's used to show that one thing is not the same as another.
If you use BUT too much when you talk, it can sound like you are continually disagreeing with the other person.
"It's a nice day out today."
"Yes, but...the sky is very blue."
-- or --
"Gonzalo works as an engineer."
"Yes, but, he speaks English."
BUT is a conjunction that shows contrast. In Spanish, pero can be used to bring together ideas. In English, BUT is not used to connect ideas: it's used to show that one thing is not the same as another.
- He owns a really nice house but he doesn't have a lot of money in his bank account.
- He's allergic to peanuts but he really likes peanut butter.
- Tyson loves the movies but he rarely goes to the cinema.
If you use BUT too much when you talk, it can sound like you are continually disagreeing with the other person.
12.15.2010
STOP SPANGLISH: The Seminar!
New Year! New English! New confidence! New abilities! Ladies and gentelmen (and everyone in between....) I proudly present to you....the FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO STOP SPANGLISH seminar, which will start on Friday, January 14th, 2011.
Instead of babbling on about what an amazing course it is, I've put all of the important information in a downloadable document that you can print out and refer to:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45323270/Stop-Spanglish-Seminar-1
And, as always, if you have any questions, comments, doubts or requests, don't hesitate to send an e-mail.
Instead of babbling on about what an amazing course it is, I've put all of the important information in a downloadable document that you can print out and refer to:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45323270/Stop-Spanglish-Seminar-1
And, as always, if you have any questions, comments, doubts or requests, don't hesitate to send an e-mail.
11.02.2010
Cool discovery!
I just discovered something really cool over the weekend. iTunes is now selling the audiobook edition of "Fry's English Delight", the BBC Radio 4 documentary series on the English language.
For years, Stephen Fry was best known for his work with the comedy team "Fry and Laurie" (yes, that Laurie...Hugh Laurie, who you may also know as Dr. Gregory House.) Fry has a wonderful speaking voice and a good sense of humour; most importantly, the documentary provides some interesting information about why certain things exist in English.
You can find "Fry's English Delight" on iTunes. There's also information about the program on the BBC's Radio 4 website.
For years, Stephen Fry was best known for his work with the comedy team "Fry and Laurie" (yes, that Laurie...Hugh Laurie, who you may also know as Dr. Gregory House.) Fry has a wonderful speaking voice and a good sense of humour; most importantly, the documentary provides some interesting information about why certain things exist in English.
You can find "Fry's English Delight" on iTunes. There's also information about the program on the BBC's Radio 4 website.
8.23.2010
NEW! STOP SPANGLISH - The Intensive Course
- Have you been studying English for years, but still feel like you're not getting better?
- Do you want to study for a Cambridge Exam, but are afraid that you can't use your English enough to pass?
- Are you unsure why you still keep making the same mistakes, over and over again?
- Do you find that you're unable to develop your "English brain" and stop translating when you speak in English?
- Do you think you'll never really understand how to speak correctly?
You may be surprised to learn that most Spanish students of English find it extremely difficult to get beyond an intermediate level. But many students are also very surprised to find that English is actually a very simple language because of its lack of flexibility.
In many ways, English can't do the same things that Spanish does - and when you learn how limited English really is, you can make great progress in learning how to eliminate mistakes and reduce the amount of translation you need.
Over eight hours, you will learn:
- How rigid English syntax is - and why that is an advantage for you
- The seven ways to organize verbs
- How to train yourself to stop speaking and writing in Spanglish
- The important connections between grammar and pronunciation
- Valuable English-only dictionary skills - get rid of that old dictionary and find the one that works best for you!
...all this and more for only €129! (that's a 35% discount!)
WHEN: September 10, 17, 24 and October 1st (Friday afternoons), 15:00 - 17:00
WHERE: Hexagone Idiomas, c/ López de Hoyos (Metro Avenida de América)
FOR MORE INFORMATION... Write us at stop (dot) spanglish (arroba) yahoo (punto) es!
8.18.2010
Looking for help with business English?
A lot of business learners complain that they don't have time to practice outside of class. I'm not sure if that's true or not (after all, this IS a country where people have breakfast twice a day and spend a considerable amount of time drinking coffee!), but if you have found that it's hard to practice your business English when you're not in class, go to YouTube and take a look at the Business English videos that BizPod has created:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bizpod
The videos, which are about ten minutes long, cover a wide range of subjects. Among the topics that they have, you can find information about business vocabulary and writing skills. It's a useful solution if you don't have a lot of time to practice when you're not in class.
http://www.youtube.com/user/bizpod
The videos, which are about ten minutes long, cover a wide range of subjects. Among the topics that they have, you can find information about business vocabulary and writing skills. It's a useful solution if you don't have a lot of time to practice when you're not in class.
8.12.2010
FREE!! ESL Writing Checklist
In the time that I've been teaching English, both in Spain and in other countries, I've found that almost all of my students hate writing. It's easy to understand why. Effective writing (not just spelling, but constructing arguments and convincing people) isn't easy to do. Students also don't like to spend lots of time trying to write something that sounds intelligent...and then get a paper back that's full of mistakes.
One of the best ways you can avoid the disappointment of getting a (heavily) corrected essay back is to check for mistakes before you submit your text to your teacher. Many (if not almost all) mistakes are easily avoidable, and if you go back and look at the kind of corrections your teacher made on your essays, you'll probably find that you're not making a lot of different kinds of mistakes...you're making the same mistakes over and over and over again.
If this is the case, here's a downloadable writing checklist that can help you revise your writing before you submit it.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35772510/Writing-Checklist
This isn't a list of every possible thing that students do wrong, but it does cover the most common (and the most easily prevented) mistakes that teachers tend to see. If you're writing the First Certificate exam, these are the kinds of silly mistakes that make students lose points and risk failing.
One of the best ways you can avoid the disappointment of getting a (heavily) corrected essay back is to check for mistakes before you submit your text to your teacher. Many (if not almost all) mistakes are easily avoidable, and if you go back and look at the kind of corrections your teacher made on your essays, you'll probably find that you're not making a lot of different kinds of mistakes...you're making the same mistakes over and over and over again.
If this is the case, here's a downloadable writing checklist that can help you revise your writing before you submit it.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35772510/Writing-Checklist
This isn't a list of every possible thing that students do wrong, but it does cover the most common (and the most easily prevented) mistakes that teachers tend to see. If you're writing the First Certificate exam, these are the kinds of silly mistakes that make students lose points and risk failing.
8.02.2010
TOEFL Students: Why paraphrasing is important
One of the most serious mistakes that students make on the TOEFL Writing exam is not paraphrasing properly. It may seem ridiculous (why say it in your own words if it's already been said?), but it's important to remember that students in American and Canadian universities do a LOT more writing than in Spanish universities. The ability to write clear, accurate prose is fundamental, and part of that ability is to be able to say someone else's words in a different way - which allows you to compare and contrast ideas, thoughts and possibilities.
Problem is, a lot of students now think that it's acceptable to avoid this and to copy information directly from the Internet. This story from The New York Times explains how widespread (=common) the problem is, and why it's such a serious problem for universities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=1&hp
(Of course, TOEFL students who are well-prepared won't have this problem!)
Problem is, a lot of students now think that it's acceptable to avoid this and to copy information directly from the Internet. This story from The New York Times explains how widespread (=common) the problem is, and why it's such a serious problem for universities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=1&hp
(Of course, TOEFL students who are well-prepared won't have this problem!)
6.16.2010
Five for free!
Not taking an English class this summer? Not sure how to practice in your spare time?
Here are five ideas that Paloma, Alicia, Concha, Vero and I came up with in class on Monday morning:
Send a company an e-mail. Pick a hotel, a famous British restaurant and an American department store, and ask them questions. You don't have to ask for really complicated information; you could write to ask about prices, opening hours, locations...
Listen to a podcast. If you use iTunes, go to the iTunes store and look up the subject "English language podcast" or "ESL podcast." I just did this, and I got a dozen different downloadable podcasts, all of which were free.
Learn a complete CD of music by heart. Personal suggestions: Amy Winehouse's "Black in Black" (OK, you may not like her, personally, but the songs are easy to sing); soundtracks to musicals like "Hairspray" or "Chicago" (be sure to write down and practice the phrasal verbs and set phrases you hear!). Try to avoid techno-pop or anything like New Order - yes, the songs are fun, but they don't make any sense!
Get a penfriend, or find someone you can practice your written English with! Try these sites:
http://www.englishjet.com/english_courses_files/people.htm
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/meeting/index.pl
http://esl-group.com/list1f.html
Speaking of penfriends...here's a free online reading comprehension exercise you can try: http://esl.about.com/od/beginningreadingskills/a/pen_pal.htm
Help tourists who are lost around Madrid. This is helpful for both you and the tourist: The tourist doesn't have to feel ashamed about not speaking enough Spanish to find where he or she wants to go, and you get five minutes of free English practice! But be reasonable; don't harrass the tourist too much or insist that he talk to you for, like, an hour or something.
There are lots of free websites with exercises and advice. My personal favourites include www.esl.about.com (the pen friends exercise above is from there), the BBC World Service Learning English site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml - check out the photo page that has a picture taken in Toledo!) and www.dictionary.com - especially useful if you want to learn more about the vocabulary you learned in class this year.
Good luck!
Here are five ideas that Paloma, Alicia, Concha, Vero and I came up with in class on Monday morning:
Send a company an e-mail. Pick a hotel, a famous British restaurant and an American department store, and ask them questions. You don't have to ask for really complicated information; you could write to ask about prices, opening hours, locations...
Listen to a podcast. If you use iTunes, go to the iTunes store and look up the subject "English language podcast" or "ESL podcast." I just did this, and I got a dozen different downloadable podcasts, all of which were free.
Learn a complete CD of music by heart. Personal suggestions: Amy Winehouse's "Black in Black" (OK, you may not like her, personally, but the songs are easy to sing); soundtracks to musicals like "Hairspray" or "Chicago" (be sure to write down and practice the phrasal verbs and set phrases you hear!). Try to avoid techno-pop or anything like New Order - yes, the songs are fun, but they don't make any sense!
Get a penfriend, or find someone you can practice your written English with! Try these sites:
http://www.englishjet.com/english_courses_files/people.htm
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/meeting/index.pl
http://esl-group.com/list1f.html
Speaking of penfriends...here's a free online reading comprehension exercise you can try: http://esl.about.com/od/beginningreadingskills/a/pen_pal.htm
Help tourists who are lost around Madrid. This is helpful for both you and the tourist: The tourist doesn't have to feel ashamed about not speaking enough Spanish to find where he or she wants to go, and you get five minutes of free English practice! But be reasonable; don't harrass the tourist too much or insist that he talk to you for, like, an hour or something.
There are lots of free websites with exercises and advice. My personal favourites include www.esl.about.com (the pen friends exercise above is from there), the BBC World Service Learning English site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml - check out the photo page that has a picture taken in Toledo!) and www.dictionary.com - especially useful if you want to learn more about the vocabulary you learned in class this year.
Good luck!
6.09.2010
THIS is cool:
Two teachers from Madrid, Ken Gomez and Catherine Morely, have worked together to create one of the most interesting tools I've ever seen for English students: http://www.enleno.com. Their English Learner Notebook may just be the best €8 you ever spend in an English classroom: it's designed to help you organize all the vocabulary, notes, pronunciation, verb tenses and other information that you could ever learn in class.
Be sure to come back and visit the blog tomorrow; I'll have a new post that features information about Ken and The Notebook.
Be sure to come back and visit the blog tomorrow; I'll have a new post that features information about Ken and The Notebook.
5.18.2010
Tuesday's Word Challenge
Go get your dictionaries....here's a puzzle to keep your brain busy:
Which four-letter word can be used as a noun, a verb, an adjective, a conjunction, a preposition AND an adverb?
I'll post the answer tonight.
Which four-letter word can be used as a noun, a verb, an adjective, a conjunction, a preposition AND an adverb?
I'll post the answer tonight.
4.16.2010
WELCOME TO STOP SPANGLISH
Hello, everyone!
Most of my students will tell you that I'm a patient person... most of the time. I don't typically yell. I try to remember to take a deep breath when I get frustrated. But the advertisement put me over the edge.... YES, WE WANT.
What?
There it was...or, better said, there they were: two advertisements in the Gregorio Marañón metro station. Two pictures of smiling children with their hands up, and the words: "YES WE WANT" in big letters, in the upper left-hand corner.
Oh, no. The Comunidad de Madrid just spent nearly two million Euros on an ad campaign that is extremely, surprisingly....INCORRECT.
Oh, no.
And that is how I got the idea to start this blog.
My name is Patricia. I'm Canadian, and have been working as an English teacher since 1999 (and I've been in Madrid since 2001.) I'm not a trained linguist. I work for myself; I'm not an academy or a company (well, not yet, anyway.) I don't have a university degree in Education. But I do teach English, I do hear the mistakes that students make.
Most of all, I see how students behave and I see the things they do, and I get really frustrated because I know that there are a lot of people who could be great English speakers, but who have problems. Maybe they use too much translation when they speak in English. Maybe they don't practice enough outside of class. That's a shame, because doing things like that prevents people from really being able to communicate effectively in English.
So that's the reason why I started this blog. I wanted to create a free, easy, comprehensive resources that students can use to imporve their English and their study skills. Every day, or as frequently as I can, I promise to....
TODAY'S VOCABULARY
to take a deep breath: to take a long inhalation, especially when you need a moment to think about something.
a shame: a fact or circumstance bringing disgrace or regret: The bankruptcy of the business was a shame. It was a shame you couldn't come with us.
Most of my students will tell you that I'm a patient person... most of the time. I don't typically yell. I try to remember to take a deep breath when I get frustrated. But the advertisement put me over the edge.... YES, WE WANT.
What?
There it was...or, better said, there they were: two advertisements in the Gregorio Marañón metro station. Two pictures of smiling children with their hands up, and the words: "YES WE WANT" in big letters, in the upper left-hand corner.
Oh, no. The Comunidad de Madrid just spent nearly two million Euros on an ad campaign that is extremely, surprisingly....INCORRECT.
Oh, no.
And that is how I got the idea to start this blog.
My name is Patricia. I'm Canadian, and have been working as an English teacher since 1999 (and I've been in Madrid since 2001.) I'm not a trained linguist. I work for myself; I'm not an academy or a company (well, not yet, anyway.) I don't have a university degree in Education. But I do teach English, I do hear the mistakes that students make.
Most of all, I see how students behave and I see the things they do, and I get really frustrated because I know that there are a lot of people who could be great English speakers, but who have problems. Maybe they use too much translation when they speak in English. Maybe they don't practice enough outside of class. That's a shame, because doing things like that prevents people from really being able to communicate effectively in English.
So that's the reason why I started this blog. I wanted to create a free, easy, comprehensive resources that students can use to imporve their English and their study skills. Every day, or as frequently as I can, I promise to....
- include information that will help you understand why English and Spanish are different.
- give you examples of Spanglish that I hear, and an explanation of why it's technically incorrect;
- make a list of free resources and events where you can practice your English;
- provide you with links to articles and online videos that are a fun way of practising English
- help you with any questions you may have about exams like TOEFL, First Certficate and the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas.
Thanks for reading! And if you have any questions, doubts or comments, feel free to add a comment at the end of the blog.
Talk to you soon!!!
PatriciaTODAY'S VOCABULARY
to take a deep breath: to take a long inhalation, especially when you need a moment to think about something.
a shame: a fact or circumstance bringing disgrace or regret: The bankruptcy of the business was a shame. It was a shame you couldn't come with us.
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