FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE: improve your oral interaction

Functional language is the part of speech that we use to perform various "functions" such as giving advice or apologizing.

 Functional language typically uses fixed expressions for each function–for example "if I were you" or "my suggestion is" in giving advice, and "it was my fault" or "please forgive me" in apologizing.

Try to learn a few new expressions to use in your oral interventions…Here are some:

GIVING ADVICE ·         (If I was/were) in that (that kind of) situation, I'd ... ·         Have you thought about ...? ·         If it was/were me, I'd ... ·         Make sure you (don't) ... ·         The sooner you ... the better. ·         Whatever you do, ... ·         Your only option is to ... ·         You have no choice but to ... ·         I'd like to pass on is to ... ·         A wise man once said ... ·         As the proverb says, ... ·         You should ..., no doubt about it. ·         It might be an old wives' tale, but ... DISAGREEING STRONGLY ·         (I think) you are mistaken. ·         Are you honestly/seriously saying...? ·         Are you out of your mind? ·         Are you pulling my leg? ·         Does anyone (seriously) think that nowadays? ·         I can’t see any (possible) reason why... ·         I’m sure you’re (just) saying that to shock me. ·         I’ve never heard such rubbish/nonsense! ·         It has been proven that... ·         That can’t possibly be the case. ·         That is clearly/simply not true. ·         That’s clearly/simply not the case. ·         That’s not the case at all. ·         The (first) problem with that argument is... ·         The argument that... is not supported by... ·         There is no way... ·         You cannot be serious. ·         You claim that...but... ·         You’ve got to be kidding. ·         Frankly,…	AGREEING ·         (Okay,) you’ve convinced/persuaded me ·         I am/We are in complete agreement. ·         I can accept that. ·         I can’t add anything to that. ·         I can’t argue with that. ·         I didn’t know that. That changes everything. ·         I don’t doubt it./No doubt. ·         I don’t have any problems with that view./I don’t see why not. ·         I share that view. ·         I suppose you are right./I suppose so. ·         I’d never really thought about it that way. ·         I’ll go along with that. ·         It’s so nice to (finally) meet someone who thinks that way too. ·         Not only is that true,… ·         Now you explain it that way,… ·         Quite right. ·         That does seem to be the case. ·         That matches with my own experience. ·         That seems logical/to make sense. ·         That was the opposite of what I thought, but… ·         That’s (exactly/just) the point I was trying to make ·         The only thing I can add to that is… ·         You took the words right out of my mouth. ·         You’re not kidding!/No kidding!
DISAGREEING ·         (But) didn’t you say...? ·         (But) wouldn’t you say that...? ·         (That sounds good) in theory, but... ·         ... (but) in reality,... ·         Although it’s difficult to argue with that,... ·         I can see a hole in that argument. ·         I thought we’d (already) agreed... ·         I wish that was the case, but... ·         I’m more convinced by... ·         If everyone thought that way,... ·         If that were the case,... ·         My reply to that would be... ·         Not in my experience. ... ·         That all makes sense, apart from... ·         That is a common misconception. ·         That might well be the case, but... ·         That’s not the way I see it (at all). ·         The hole in that argument is... ·         The problem with that argument is... ·         There’s a lot of truth in that, but... ·         Well, you know more about this than me, but... ·         You haven’t convinced me. ·         You may think that, but...	ASKING FOR OPINIONS ·         What do you reckon? ·         Any (initial) thoughts on … ? ·         Are people right in thinking … ? ·         Are you in agreement with … ? ·         Do you have any particular views on … ? ·         Do you have any thoughts on … ? ·         From your point of view, … ? ·         I know this is not your specialist subject, but … ·         I know you haven’t had long to think about this … ·         I know you haven’t had much time to think about this, but … ·         I’d be (very) interested to hear your views on … ·         What are your (first) thoughts on … ? ·         What would be your reaction if I said … ? ·         What’s your position on … ? ·         Would it be right to say … ? ·         Would you support the view that … ?
GIVING OPINIONS ·         After much thought, … ·         After weighing up both sides of the argument, … ·         Although I can see both points of view / Although I can understand the opposite point of view, … ·         As I see it, .../ The way I see it… ·         Correct me if I’m wrong, but … ·         For me/ From my point of view, … ·         I am not very familiar with this topic, but … ·         I do believe/ feel/think … ·         I have come to the conclusion that … ·         I might change my mind later, but … ·         I reckon/suppose … ·         I tend to think that … }	GIVING OPINIONS }      I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask, but / I have very limited experience of this, but … ·         I’m pretty confident that … ·         I’ve always thought that … ·         If you ask me, … ·         I'm (absolutely) convinced that … ·         In my humble opinion / IMHO, … ·         It could be said that … ·         It seems clear to me that … ·         It would seem to me that … ·         My initial reaction is … ·         Not everyone will/would agree with me, but … ·         Personally speaking / Speaking for myself, … ·         The way I see it (is) … ·         To be (perfectly) frank/ honest, …

Answers to HW

When you know you don't belong- READING:

1B   2A   3C   4B   5D   6C   7A   8C

Have you ever lived a similar experience? Or, does anyone close to you had one? PLEASE, LEAVE A COMMENT and tell us!

Grammar Bank 3B

1. Not until years later did I realize my mistake.
2. Never had we seensuch magnificent scenery.
3. Not only did they dislike her, bu they also hated her family.
4. Only when we had read his autobiography did we understand what he had really suffered.
5. Hardly had we started to eat when we heard someone...
6. Rarely have I read such a badly written novel.
7. Not until the sun set did we put down our tools and rest.
8. Not only was the hotel room depressing, but also cold/ it was cold as well.
9. Only when it was unusually cold did they light the fire.
10. No sooner had he gone to sleep than there was a knock on the door.
11. ... Only then did I realize he full scale of the disaster.
12. Scarcely had I destroyed the evidence when the police arrived.
13. Never has he regretted the desicion he took on that day.
14. Only when I had spoken to the manager was the problem sorted out.

Inversion na2 from DULCE ROSALES


WATCH: A Day in the Life of an Interpreter

Inversion?

-Visit THIS LINK to do some further practice on I wish and If only...

- Visit THIS ONE to revise WOULD RATHER

Key to READING (HOMEWORK):

• Text 1 (From Rags to Riches...)

                  1C   2B   3E   4D   5A   8F

• Text 2  (Does Money make you happy?) 
•      1C    2A    3F     4B       5E

Journey

Stephen Mateo

Next Monday,  28th  you'll have the chance to meet Stephen Mateo, the author of The Journey , the true story of how his father, Tomás Castellano, decided to risk his life in search of freedom far away from Franco's dictatorship. The journey he experienced would change his life forever... 

This is not only Stephen's story, it's also the story of thousands of other people who lived under the tyrannical fascist regime in the Canary Islands, it's the story of our own families, and it's part of our recent history.

If you click on the link below, you'll be able to read about the author and the book and prepare some questions to ask him.

Check out Stephen Mateo's website

TASK:::: Find out about the author and his work  by visiting his web, and prepare three/four questions to ask him, next Monday 28th.

NOTE: YOU CAN'T MISS THIS!

  

This week Revision

SPECULATION & DEDUCTION  (unit 3A)

There are many ways of saying that something will probably or possibly happen in English.

Probable

bound to = certain: "They are bound to succeed!"

sure to = certain: "He is sure to win the championship."

likely to = probable: "We are likely to win the contract."

likely/ unlikely: "An election is likely next year." “ That’s unlikely to happen”

will definitely happen: "There will definitely be a storm later."

will probably happen: "They will probably take on more staff."

Be bound + to-infinitive is used to refer to future events which are certain or very likely to happen:

Kevin is stuck in a traffic jam, so he is bound to be late.

Be likely + to-infinitive and it is likely + that-clause are used for future events which are probably going to happen:

Smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer compared to non-smokers.
It is likely that he will win the race.

The modal verbs can, could, may, might, should, will, would and must  are used to show that we believe something is certain, probable or possible:

Possibility:

We use the modals could, might and may to show that something is possible in the future, but not certain:

They might come later. (= Perhaps/Maybe they will come later.)
They may come by car. (= Perhaps/Maybe they will come by car.)
If we don’t hurry we could be late. (= Perhaps/Maybe we will be late)

We use could have, might have and may have to show that something was possible now or at some time in the past:

It’s ten o’clock. They might have arrived now.
They could have arrived hours ago.

We use the modal can to make general statements about what is possible:

It can be very cold in winter. (= It is sometimes very cold in winter)
You can easily lose your way in the dark. (= People often lose their way in the dark)

We use the modal could as the past tense of can:

It could be very cold in winter. (= Sometimes it was very cold in winter.)
You could lose your way in the dark. (= People often lost their way in the dark)

Impossibility:

We use the negative can’t or cannot to show that something is impossible:

That can’t be true.
You cannot be serious.

We use couldn’t/could not to talk about the past:

We knew it could not be true.
He was obviously joking. He could not be serious.

Probability:

We use the modal must to show we are sure something to be true and we have reasons for our belief:

It’s getting dark. It must be quite late.
You haven’t eaten all day. You must be hungry.

We use must have for the past:

They hadn’t eaten all day. They must have been hungry.
You look happy. You must have heard the good news.

We use the modal should to suggest that something is true or will be true in the future, and to show you have reasons for your suggestion:

Ask Miranda. She should know.
It's nearly six o'clock. They should arrive soon.

We use should have to talk about the past:

It's nearly eleven o'clock. They should have arrived by now.

_______________________________________

GO PRACTISE further : HERE

• Did you get stuck with GET and its uses? Then GO HERE and practise further.

• For the use of " THE SAKE OF..." GO HERE!

Finally, improve your pronunciation with Steve MArtin :-)

A question of time....

    These last few days we've been looking at unit 2B, which is about distancing, time and multitasking.
Please, revise grammar and vocabulary both in your student's book,  in the photocopies given -and also in your workbook!

    REMEMBER your homework for next Monday (7th) is to read the text on pages 28-29 and do exercise c) ( LEXIS IN CONTEXT) only!

Time expresions na2 unit 2 b from DULCE ROSALES

HAVE A gorgeous weekend.

KEY to grammar revision exercises (1C,2A, 2B)

Distancing stories unit 2 b from DULCE ROSALES

Now...Go check!

1C  pronouns

a.
2 It's    3 themselves   4 it's    5 you   6 you     7 there's    8 their    9 themselves     10 one another    11 they    12 there's

b.
 2 there     3 They    4 one    5 It      6 you     7 they     8 yourself    9 they    10 you     11 there    12 it

2A past:narrative tenses, used to and would

2 had been living/ had lived    3 looked    4 used to frown/ would frown/ frowned   5 used to/ would wash/ washed   6 was playing    7 rememebered     8 had told    9 jumped   10  was passing/ passed    11 had made         12 was awaiting/ awaited     13 heard      14 always got off/ would always get off/ always used to get off

2B distancing
a. 2 It seems that men are more at risk...
    3. It appears that she has changed her mind...
    4. It seems that you are unable to deal...
    5.It seems that the weather is improving

b.  2 A spokesman is expected to make an announcement...
     3. More than half of the population are believed to suffer from headaches.
     4.  Saint Petersburg is said to be one of the ...
     5. At least 70 people are thought to have been injured ...
     6. The economy is expected to grow...
c.
according to, do not appear to have been used, apparently, there are said to be, it has been suggested, may have broken down

Writing ... childhood recollections

    My favorite childhood memory that sticks out in my head was my dad taking me to see Star Wars when I was six years old. It is the first movie I remember going to see though I don't think it was my first. I remember being transported into this fascinating world and when Luke rescued Leah the audience cheered and applauded. It was so much fun I expected every movie to be like that. Of course it wasn't though I've been a movie buff and especially a science fiction fan ever since (MARK)

--------------------------------------------

    My most cherished childhood memory was learning how to read. It wasn't easy but once I did I had that skill for life and nobody could take it away from me. I especially love reading Curious George. Those books really bring a smile to my face. .. that monkey going on all sorts of adventures. I remember one book where he used newspaper to make a special boat that he went in with the man with yellow hat. Pretty funny that is what I remember from my childhood. (PHILIP)

ACTIVITY: d) Student’s book – page 21.

 Imagine you were asked to contribute to the book When we were young.  Choose one of the headings in a) and write a paragraph about your childhood -either a specific incident or / and things which happened habitually.

PLEASE, enter comments and write your paragraphs there!

FURTHER PRACTICE on  USED TO / WOULD
HERE and HERE
.
.
.

ANSWERS unit 1

ANSWERS TO extra exercises on 'HAVE' and 'WORK' (photocopy).

WORK
1 charge of       2 off    3 a team    4 prospects     5  be/get promoted     6 short-term    7 employees      8 staff    9 training    10 qualifications     11 self-employed     12 made redundant    13 out of work     14 voluntary/unpaid    15 challenging    16 repetitive    17 career    18 perks/benefits


HAVE
a)
2 I've been reading    3 don't have /havent'got       4 to have escaped    5 Don't you have    6 already have    7 I'll be having    8 didn't have to      9 have it dry cleaned     10 I've got to/I have to

b)
2 've had/ 've been having    3 has this been going on       4 having my hair cut    5 've seen     6 he doesn't have/ hasn' got     7 Do you have /Have you got     8 I've got

Activation : IN CLASS!


See you again on Monday the 17th.
REMEMBER there will be a Listening & Reading Test next Wednesday, 19th.

 HAVE A BEAUTIFUL WEEK !

Looking at a painting (UNIT1B)

Hello everyone,
Today we are going to analize the picture by Goya seen in class a bit further...

One of the most famous Goya paintings -- and a splendid example of how art paintings capture history - is his Family of Charles IV.  When Francisco Goya (1746 - 1828) created this masterpiece, he was 54, had been deaf for seven years, and had recently been appointed first painter to the Spanish king, Charles IV...

Watch the video and take notes about the comments the speakers make about it.





Next day in class, some of you will tell all you can remember about this painting.:-).
.
.
. HAPPY WEEKEND!