Updated tips for speaking

As you know, rules have changed for this year and you're doing the Speaking task in pairs. That's good news!

So now it's time now for you to check the updated document showing you tips and useful expressions for conversations.

Speaking tips and useful language

Talking about past experiences (past simple, continuous and used to)

Hi there!

What a beautiful thing childhood is, isn't it? To talk about it, you'll need to use past verb tenses, such as the past simple, continous and used to.

I'll give you four different things. First, the document with the rules of these different tenses: Past tenses.

Secondly, the rules on how to pronounce -ed endings for regular verbs in their past simple form: Pronunciation of -ed endings.

Thirdly, here's the wheel for revising the irregular past forms of some verbs of the MacMillan Dictionary: Irregular verbs wheel game.

And finally, also the document with some examples of used to applied to childhood memories: I used to believe.

Do you feel like leaving a comment about something you used to believe when you were children? I used to believe that TV cartoons were drawn the same day that were on TV! So the cartoonists did an amazing job ;)

How to complain properly

In this post you will find several documents regarding formal complaints and letters of complaint. Some of them were used at class, but others (documents, activities and listening exercises) are new, so check them to have further practice.

• Structure of a complaint letter. In this document you'll find several kinds of letters, but for now we're interested in the letter of complaint.
• Formal letters. This is a nice document which summarizes the basics to write a formal letter (no contractions, opening, ending, etc.). In other words, it shows tips.
• Complaining and apologizing. This is the lesson we used in class, and the answer keys are on the last page. You can also check the listening track.
• Complaining as a customer. This is just a short file summarizing the basic information taught on a lesson by the BBC Learning English, which I include next.
• Traveller's tales. In this lesson from the BBC Learning English you'll find further information about complaining. You can listen to a conversation (and read the transcript later), checking the tips for complaining and do an activity at the end.

Are you shopaholic?

In this post I'll give you two different activities related to the topic of shopping.

The first one is a reading activity located on the BBC Learning English website (which, by the way, is great for autonomous learning) called The pop-up phenomenon. Here you can learn new vocabulary and revise the present tenses.

The second activity is a gapped text for a listening called Shopping. On the link you will have access to the audio track, the gapped text and the answer keys.

And that's all for now. Have fun!

Expressing possession

Do you already know how to express possession, right? In this post, I'm bringing you the material used in class with the rules, and some extra information and activities for further practice.

• Expressing possession: rules and examples
• British Council possessives. On this link you can revise the possessive nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and questions. There's a little bit of grammar and some questions to practise.
• Revise your knowledge of possessive pronouns and adjectives here.
• This interactive webpage has quizzes to practise: possessive 's, pronouns in separate sentences, pronouns within a text and more exercises on these links (exercise 1, exercise 2, exercise 3).

Remember: practise makes perfect!

Speaking with confidence!

We've got the weekend ahead!

If you didn't attend class, you should know that we did a speaking practice, using two model exams similar to the ones that could appear in the actual exam. We also spoke about how you must do this exam (what we expect from you), and also about strategies and techniques.

So, we spent some time performing the task and I gave you the choice to do the task in public next week. Don't think of it as a frightening experience but as a chance to see what you can do under a bit of pressure. If you start learning now how to control your nerves, then the day of the exam, you won't get so shocked. Plus, we all know each other already, and you mustn't worry about possible mistakes or nerves. We can learn a lot from other people, both good and bad things, and this way we can improve.

• Speaking models. There are two different cards, with different pictures and questions. Choose the one you like the best.
• Speaking tips. In this document you have some tips, strategies and useful language. Remember that you don't need the expressions for interacting with another person, such as "agreeing" or "asking for an opinion", because the exam is individual.

Good luck!