Word of the week: I don't like the look of this

This week's expression is

I don't like the look of sth/sb

which means I feel a bit uneasy about something or somebody.

Example:

Do you know Tom's new friend, Jerry? I don't like the look of him at all. 

In Spanish we'll say something like 'me da mala espina' or 'no me gusta la pinta de eso'.

Podcast: Republicans and Obama in debt crisis talks

As you may have heard on the news, there has been a government shutdown in the US because the MPs were unable to do their job and set a budget for the next year. Do you want to know more about this topic? Listen to the following podcast:

Republicans and Obama in debt crisis talks

There's a lot of interesting advanced vocabulary on this piece of news, such as 'dire consequences', 'impasse', 'stalemate', 'looming debt', 'stagnation', 'wherewithal', among others.

You also have the written text to check your comprehension and exercises to practise.

Word of the week: Crackpot

This week's word is

crackpot

which means (noun referring to a person) a crazy or very strange person; (adjective for an idea) foolish.

Examples: 

Some crackpot called to tell us that the sky is falling in.

Tommy had a crackpot idea and all his stupid friends followed it.

Podcast: UK Mums Protest Over Pink Girls' Toys

The other day in class we discussed sexist attitudes and now it's time to listen to a podcast related to this topic. This podcast is from the website Breaking News English where you can find plenty of audio files to practise your listening comprehension. Apart from the audio file, you have some exercises to do related to the listening as well as the transcript and the key, so it's a very complete site for English students. 

Click on the following link to go to the topic: UK mums protest over pink girls' toys. On that site you'll need to click on the MP3 at the top on the left to listen to the audio file.

This podcast says that pink stinks. Do you agree? Share your opinion in a comment.

Word of the week: The penny dropped

This week's idiom is

the penny dropped

which means that you have finally understood something.

Example: It was only when I saw Peter's car outside Sally's house that the penny dropped and I realised they were having an affair. 

Back to School

Hey students, we start a new school year today, so it's about time you prepare your things to go back to school. As you can see we have a new look on the blog. I hope you'll like it.

This blog has been created for English students and that means you can interact with me and with other students by writing comments on the posts. It's very easy to write a comment, just click on the comments at the end of each published post. 

Besides, if you find something interesting, you can share it with your friends so they can use it too. To share a post, use the buttons at the end of each published post (like the ones below). You can email the post or share it on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.

Another way of following my blog is by subscribing to it. If you follow it by email, every time I publish something new on the blog you'll receive it in your inbox mail.

I'll also appreciate if you click on the 'Join this site' button and become a follower.

Good luck for all of you on this new school year. I hope you'll learn a lot.

10 Things I loved this Academic Year

1. Having fun with my advanced students. You've been such a challenging group. I loved it. 
   
   
   
2. Listening to my elementary students (A2 level) pronouncing the '-ed' past perfectly. The angels sound for English teachers. 
   
   
   
3. Teaching a reduced group of non-English teachers to help them teach their subject in English in the future. A new experience. It's always fun to try new things.
   
   
   
4. Working with Tom, our language assistant. We made a bit of fun of his Manchester accent, but it was great to have him. 
   
   
   
5. Watching adults having fun with board games, despite what some teachers may think. In our sort of non-compulsory education it's very important to motivate our students so they come to the next class. Besides, those games are pretty useful to practise the foreign language. 
   
   
   
6. Learning new things. I like teaching but I love learning and teaching advanced 2 is perfect for improving your knowledge.
   
   
   
7. Getting to know about school management, since I've been in the directing board this year. I got a hint of how things work from the inside. 
   
   
   
8. Seeing how the blog grows and knowing that my students find it useful. There's a lot of time into it and it's rewarding to know that it's useful. 
   
   
   
9. Receiving nice comments from my students, telling me how much they'll miss me, since I'm moving to a new EOI school next year. It's great to know that students are happy with you and your work. It seems I'm doing things well. 
   
   
   
10. All in all, getting to love my job one more year. Now it's time for the summer to start; time to relax, enjoy my free time with friends and family and recharge my batteries for the new year. Have a lovely summer!
    

Word of the week: Stay tuned

For the last post on word of the week before the summer starts, there you go the expression

stay tuned

which means to hang on or await more news on a subject. So, it means, there won't be any more posts during the summer, but the blog will be back in September.

All my support

A very special post to encourage all the people sitting for the competitive exam (oposiciones) to become a teacher.

Believe you can do it, because one day you will.
Good luck

Exam Time

Final exams are coming really soon. 

If you have come to class and studied at home 
you're prepared enough to succeed. 

So, no need to worry! 
Just keep calm and focus on the exam.

Sample Writing Tasks

I know, I know! You're all very worried about the exam at this point. However, you shouldn't be, since we've been working hard the whole year and you're more than prepared for it, as I told you in class.

Some of you asked about the writing exam and the possibility of encountering a writing task from previous years in the final exam. I recommended you to check all the writing tasks in the advanced and upper-intermediate books.

Besides, one of your classmates told me about a webpage with examples of writing texts for your level (B2). In fact, it's quite an interesting webpage since it includes not only the sample texts but also explanatory notes and useful expressions. So, you can have a look at it in order to study for your exam. 

Advanced Writing Tasks

Have a good study time!

Word of the Week: Down-to-earth

This week's word is the adjective

down-to-earth

which means sensible, realistic and practical, in a way that is helpful and friendly; not pretentious.

Examples:

Despite the fact that he won a lot of money, he's very down-to-earth. 

He's a down-to-earth, average guy who's turned his life round.