Online session, April 29th / 30th

LEVEL: C1.2

GROUPS: A, B, C 

DATE:    April 29^th, 30^th  

CHECKING HOMEWORK:   

Answer key for activity 2, page 138.

1 four

2 how the media impacts on our mental states

3 She’s a size 26 model – largest with a mainstream agency – and a ‘body-positive activist’ who has a campaign to broaden our idea of beauty.

4 Dove sells toiletries. Its advertising campaign is called Campaign for Real Beauty, and it started ten years ago.

5 Both aim to broaden the definition / images of beauty in the fashion industry and to see beauty as a personal choice.

Answer key for activity 6, page 139.

1 Makes

2 X   Margot doesn’t make this point. She says that the process has existed for centuries. It’s not a new phenomenon.

3 Agrees

4 X        Margot doesn’t say whether the research was valid or not

5 Agrees

6 Makes

7 X         Not stated

8 Makes

Answer key for activity 7, page 139.

1 unprecedented visual saturation

2 simply flicking through

3 a knock-on effect

4 also chimes with

5 at the heart

6 in terms of

7 women’s existing insecurities

8 rather neatly to

Answer key for Page 139, activity 11

1 idealised

2 fattening

3 justification

4 heightened

5 overgeneralisation

6 whiteners / whitening

7 widening

8 commercialisation

9 demystified

10 disheartening (heartening is also possible depending on your point of view)

SIOBHAN: These are the moments that our language assistant has available for conversation practice with C1.2 students. Write her an email in advance if you are interested:

Mondays from 1 pm to 2 pm

Mondays from 7 pm to 8 pm

Wednesday from 5 pm to 6 pm

CONVERSATION:

If you want to have independent conversation practice, you could try to find a conversation partner in one of these website. Good luck!

Verbling - https://es.verbling.com/
Tandem - https://www.tandem.net/es
Hello Talk - https://www.hellotalk.com/#sp
Conversation Exchange - https://www.conversationexchange.com/?lg=es

 

WRITTEN MEDIATION:

Your friend Phillip and you had a video call while on lockdown last week. You talked about the current situation and the effect that it may have on global economy. You mentioned the concept “fast fashion” but he didn’t understand what it was. You sent him this link of a video to make him understand, but it’s in Spanish and he texted you saying he needs help.  Can you write him back explaining what they’re dealing with on the video?  Watch the video twice and write 100-110 words.

Due date: April 30^th, 2 pm

TEAMS MEETING:

SPEAKING:

1.    Page 139, activity 11. Think about arguments for or against these ideas. Then, debate about it with another classmate.

2.    Page 136, activity 6. Let’s try to stimulate our creativity and imagination. This activity presents you with 10 snowclones. Those are customizable formulaic phrases that consist of a framework that can be adapted for different situations by changing some of the words. Think about a situation in which you would use those snowclones substituting the words in italics for a word that fits your anecdote.

3.    Answer these questions about Trends and Fashion.  Click here.

4.    Talk about fashion using the expressions in activity 3 in the handout which is attached below. 

HOMEWORK:

Read the first page of this handout about clothes and fashion. Click here to download the handout. Then, do activities 1, 2, 4, 5.

That’s all for now.

Take care,                                                                                           

 Ángel

Online session, April 27th / 28th

LEVEL: C1.2

GROUPS: A, B, C

DATE:    April 27^th, 28^th

CHECKING HOMEWORK:   

Answer key for reading “All Things Must Pass”, page 137, activities 2, 3 and 4 on page 136:

Activity 2

1 Roots in 2008 global financial crisis – men (having lost power of wealth / control) chose to emphasise their masculinity with extra hair. Then spread through celebrity endorsement.

2 Fish who happen to be born with different colouring are able to avoid predators, and their unusual looks can make them more attractive. Bearded men can also appear more attractive because they look different.

3 People follow the trend that beards are attractive and in doing so it becomes common / not rare, so the non-bearded man becomes more attractive because they are in the minority.

4 They follow a similar pattern in building up slowly, but then reaching a tipping point where they explode.

Activity 3

1 F (little could he have known ... his choice of phrase was set to become a trend …)

2 F (‘peak plastic surgery’ is mentioned by social commentators, not the writer)

3 T (Brooks claims there’s a deeper underlying cause: evolution. This infers that if something has happened as part of evolution then it’s not new.)

4 F (in a bid to explain this, he speculates – it can be interpreted that the paper hasn’t proved anything, it’s a hypothesis)

5 T (This will make it less likely to fall prey to predators ... This, in turn, makes it a more attractive partner.)

6 T (As the fashion spread, however, it lost its edge and female preferences started shifted again.)

7 T

8 F (... I’m not alone in wanting to see the back of grumpy cats ...)

Activity 4

pinpoint a very specific tipping point in our culture the question ‘Have we reached peak X?’ started to trend

Emphasise another aspect of masculinity celebrities pick up the fashion

women rate bearded men as more attractive

the paper speculates

enjoy an advantage

the fashion loses its edge

trendsetters champion ideas / concepts / products

postcards urge people

SIOBHAN: Write her an email in advance if you are interested in her convesation practice:

Mondays from 1 pm to 2 pm

Mondays from 7 pm to 8 pm

Wednesday from 5 pm to 6 pm

WRITTEN MEDIATION:

Your friend Phillip and you had a video call while on lockdown last week. You talked about the current situation and the effect that it may have on global economy. You mentioned the concept “fast fashion” but he didn’t understand what it was. You sent him this link of a video to make him understand, but it’s in Spanish and he texted you saying he needs help.  Can you write him back explaining what they’re dealing with on the video?  Watch the video twice and write 100-110 words.

Due date: April 30^th, 2 pm

LISTENING:

·         Page 138, track 52. Listen to the introduction to a radio programme called “Mixed Media”. Then, answer the questions in activity 2.

·         Page 139, track 53. Listen to the discussion in the programme. Then, do activities 6 and 7 on page 139.

-      In activity 6, you need to mark those 8 statements with “Makes”, if it’s a point that Margot van der Stegen made in the discussion, “Agrees” if it’s a point that Margot van der Stegen agreed with in the discussion, or “X” if she doesn’t make the point, she doesn’t agree with it or it’s not mentioned.

-      In activity 7, you should fill in each gap with three words. 

VOCABULARY:

Page 139, activity 11. Complete the sentences with words based on the adjectives and nouns between brackets. After doing it, think about arguments for or against these ideas. Next Thursday, in our following Teams meeting, you will debate about it with another classmate. 

That’s all for now.

Take care,        

Ángel                            

World Book Day

These are the books that some of the teachers in our EOI have recommended to students. You have books in English, Spanish, French and German. Clik here to see the recommendations. 

Online session, April 22nd / 23rd

LEVEL: C1.2

GROUPS: A, B, C

DATE:    April 22^nd, 23^rd

CHECKING HOMEWORK:   

Activity 8, page 135. 

a) Page 134, activity 5, track 51. Listen to six short conversations about clothes and style. Match the conversations to the sentences. Answers:

Conversation 1 - d

(you were a bit of a rock god = past tense, did you spray those on, even in those days)

Conversation 2 – a

 (dress split down the seam, it ended up being a bit more revealing than I wanted it to be!)

Conversation 3 – e

 (smarten up a bit, clients ... expect something a bit more conventional)

Conversation 4 – g

 (look at her outfit, not a trend I like. The general way of talking is not what you would say directly to a person – her legs look as if they’d snap in two.)

Conversation 5 – c

 (not interested in my dress sense, I’ll be in a lab all day if I get it, don’t want you tripping over when you walk in the room)

Conversation 6 – b

 (I just fancied a change, you can have it in a ponytail ... I was a bit sick of it)

b) After that, explain in your own words what these expressions that have been excerpted from the conversations mean:

1.    Good grief = an expression of surprise

2.    stuck out like a sore thumb = look obviously and uncomfortably different to the others

3.    see you as a great asset = we think you are good for the company

4.    go a bit more easy on = use less

5.    she pulls it off = she makes it work / is successful

6.    are really in = are very fashionable

7.    Don’t fuss = don’t worry and interfere

          8.    I wish I could get away with having it (like that) = I wish I could make it work          without looking stupid

c) Think of an example of a situation (not an explanation) in which you would use the expressions in the listening activity b. You will explain them to the rest of your group orally today, in our live meeting.

GRAMMAR:              

Answer to exercises 1, 2 and 3 on page 183.

Exercise 1, Grammar reference

1 the game on purpose to

2 to his arrival

3 reducing costs we have enabled

4 in the long term

5 accounts for almost / nearly / just under

6 were selected / chosen at random

7 There was stiff resistance to

8 succeeded in bringing

9 on a daily basis

10 with regard to the overall design

Exercise 2, Grammar reference

1 A number of factors have contributed to the trend towards small families.

2 The news that girls are at more risk of online negative experiences comes as no surprise.

3 We’d simply never thought it’d be necessary to take out insurance against / for natural disasters.

4 Reactions to the new trend have been very mixed so far, it must be said.

5 The magazine prides itself on being cutting edge.

6 She just seems to be famous for being famous.

7 The arrival of the miniskirt in the early 1960s symbolised a rejection of conservative values.

8 On gaining power, Napoleon introduced new dress codes in court.

Exercise 3, Grammar reference

1 CORRECT

2 Hats were essential clothing during for centuries, but during the 20th century they fell out of fashion.

3 They have grown in into one of the biggest companies in the country.

4 It’s a translation of from Arabic.

5 We sometimes have to work until up to / for seven hours without a break.

6 CORRECT

7 I somehow managed to crash to into the car in front of me.

8 We were very close. She was as like a mother to me.

9 CORRECT

10 CORRECT

SIOBHAN: These are the moments that our language assistant has available for conversation practice with C1.2 students. Write her an email in advance if you are interested:

Mondays from 1 pm to 2 pm

Mondays from 6 pm to 7 pm

Wednesday from 5 pm to 6 pm

LIVE MEETING

SPEAKING:

A) Think of an example of a situation (not an explanation) in which you would use the expressions in the listening activity b. You will explain them to the rest of your group orally today, in our live meeting.

1.    Good grief = an expression of surprise

2.    stuck out like a sore thumb = look obviously and uncomfortably different to the others

3.    see you as a great asset = we think you are good for the company

4.    go a bit more easy on = use less

5.    she pulls it off = she makes it work / is successful

6.    are really in = are very fashionable

7.    Don’t fuss = don’t worry and interfere

          8.    I wish I could get away with having it (like that) = I wish I could make it work without looking stupid 

B) Page 137, activity 8. One of you will choose the right preposition in one question. Then, you will ask that question to one of your classmates. 

C) Check this PDF document (Click here) or take a look at the activities below:

 

 

HOMEWORK:

Reading, page 137: read the text titled “All Things Must Pass”. Then, do activities 2, 3 and 4 on page 136.

That’s all for now.

Take care,

Ángel