sábado, 18 de abril de 2015

Interview with a Famous Person

INTERVIEW WITH A FAMOUS PERSON

Everyone can be famous right now; with the evolution of social media, a video can become viral in a couple of minutes but in my opinion, famous people should inspire others, not only being recognized because of a ridiculous performance or their social status. Therefore, if I could interview a famous person, I would arrange a nice event with Nicholas James Vujicic, better known as “Nick”. The reason is simple, he has demonstrated that the only limitation is in our minds.

He was born on December 4th, 1982 in Melbourne (Australia). Nick suffers from Tetra-Amelia Syndrome that means the absence of his arms and legs. His childhood was really complicated because he was not allowed to study at school, until the laws were changed. The problems did not finish there; when he could finally go to the school, he suffered bullying from his classmates. He ended up falling into a strong depression which made him think about committing suicide when he was eight years old. When he was ten years old, he tried to die by getting drown into the bathtub but he could not do it because he remembered how much his parents loved him. After praying for a long time in order to find a purpose in life, he realized he had a lot of blessings and he decided to motivate others.
Nowadays, Nick Vujicic is the Director of “Life without Limbs”, a non-profit organization which is in charge of inspiring people who have this kind of disability. Also, he is a motivational speaker and travels with his wife and his son all over the world, changing lives with the message. In addition, Nick starred in the short film “The Butterfly Circus” and has written some books and DVD’s such as “No arms, no legs, no worries!” In every work, he tells God is big enough to overcome any disability and that the biggest limit we can have is called FEAR. Due to his job, he has won not only some awards but also the admiration of millions of people.

My questions would be focused on the things he has been doing recently and his secrets to take advantage of every single situation he lives. For me, Nick is not only a famous person but also a hero. The most important thing Nick has taught me is being thankful with God about my life and trusting that everything happens for a reason, no matter how bad it looks. Sometimes we complain too much, and others give up too soon. When I see Nick, I truly believe God uses these miracles to change our awful point of view and demonstrates us that every willing heart is more useful and powerful that any part of our body. If you think your life is meaningless, you should reconsider it because there is always a reason to move forward. You never know, you could end up being the hero for someone else.


Review of Modals and Verbs with Similar Meanings

REVIEW OF MODALS AND VERBS WITH SIMILAR MEANINGS

Modals are studied in every single English course since I remember. However, we have to give them the importance they deserve.

Let’s review the basic uses of each modal auxiliary:

Modal
Use
Example
Have to / Don’t have to
Obligation
We don’t have to go until 2:30
Must / Must not
Strong obligation / Certainty
You musn’t talk to him like that / They must be hungry by now
Should or ought to / shouldn’t
Advice/ Recommendation/polite obligation/uncertainty/expectation
You ought to see the castle / Guests shouldn’t smoke in the bedrooms
Can / Can’t
Permission / Possibility
Can I use your telephone? / This can’t be the right place
Will / Won’t
Assumption / Refusal
They’ll be there in a minute / I won’t stop until I get what I want
Might as well
The last option, when the speaker is not enthusiastic
We might as well just pay the bill
Be supposed to
Obligation
They were supposed to deliver the package this morning.
Be bound to
Prediction of certainty
He’s bound to get the job
Be likely to
Probability
Children living in rural areas are likely to move to the city as adults
Must have (been)
Certain (past)
The crash must have been terrifying.
Might have (been)
Possibility (past)
I might have left my keys in the car
Can’t have or couldn’t have (been)
Impossibility (past)
He can’t have finished already! / They couldn’t have come this far.
Could have or may have been
Possibility
We could have been left there for a long time. There may have been a good reason for the delay, but we were angry anyway.

Source: Pearson Education, Inc. (2012). English in Common 6: Activebook. Unit 10 Reference. Pg.136

Extra practice done out of class:


English does not have to be boring. I also played lyrics training and having looked for a nice song with several modals to practice, I found a masterpiece from one of my favorite bands, I am talking about “In my place” by Coldplay. Then if you are interested as well in this page, you can access by this link http://lyricstraining.com/play/coldplay/in-my-place/HK5ofqYmBK

The game involves typing the words in the blanks while listening to the song. So if you do not like Coldplay at all, you can also search for a song according to your preferences.

Returning to the main point, modals are used with other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so forth. Since they enrich the intentionality of the speaker, learning this topic helps us establishing a more assertive communication.

Discourse Markers

DISCOURSE MARKERS

Discourse markers are fundamental both in speaking and writing speech because they work as connectors of the language, helping the reader or listener to be guided through the ideas.
There are formal linking expressions as well as informal, and of course it is important to know what are the most appropriate in relation to the context. For example, notice how a writer opens a piece, moves on to another point, introduces a counterpoint, and concludes. Think about how effective the discourse markers within the text are and if there are others that you might use.

Also, be careful to avoid over-use of linking phrases. Using them unnecessarily, can make a piece of writing too wordy and heavy.

These are some of the expressions that can be used as discourse markers:

Type of relationship
Sentence connectors
Position within clause/sentence
Adding something
Moreover; In addition; Additionally; Further; Further to this; Also; Besides; What is more.
Initial position

Making a contrast between two separate things, people, ideas, etc.
However; On the other hand; In contrast; Yet.
Initial position
Making an unexpected contrast (concession)
Although; Even though; Despite the fact that; In spite of the fact that; Regardless of the fact that.
Initial position
Starts a second/ subordinate clause
Saying why something is the case
Because; Since; As; Insofar as.
Initial position
Starts a second/ subordinate clause
Saying what the result of something is
Therefore; Consequently; In consequence; As a result; Accordingly; Hence; Thus; For this reason; Because of this.
Initial position
Expressing a condition
If; In the event of; As long as...; So long as...; Provided that...; Assuming that...; Given that....
Initial position
Starts a second/ subordinate clause
Making what you say stronger
On the contrary; As a matter of fact; In fact; Indeed.
Initial position

Source: University of Warwick. Discourse markers.

Remember that learning sentence connectors will help you to improve your fluency.

Practice:


lunes, 6 de abril de 2015

The Happy Pill


THE HAPPY PILL

Are you tired of being stressed out, angry like “Hulk” or depressed due to your day-to-day problems? We have the solution with “The Happy Pill”. You will become relaxed, happy and funny, and you are going to know what to do and what to say to turn an awful moment into a nice & unforgettable.
Ingredients:

·         Organic garbage

·         Secret organic fruit

Remember: NO caffeine.

Every bottle costs $10 with 100 pills.
Cost of the project: $20.000. It includes machines, labor and the secret.

 

domingo, 15 de marzo de 2015

Verbs Followed by Infinitives or Gerunds

VERBS FOLLOWED BY INFINITIVES OR GERUNDS

This grammar topic was the one that I like the most in Units 6 & 7. Basically, I learned some useful rules which helped me to solve some exercises. Here you have them:

Gerund: Often we use the gerund for an action that happens before or at the same time as the action of the main verb.

Infinitive: Often we use the infinitive for actions that follow the action of the main verb.

On Englishpage.com there are plenty of exercises for you to practice. I did and I am satisfied with the results. Here is the final test if you want a challenge: http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/gerunds_infinitives_30.htm


Finally, if you want to go beyond regarding this topic, I also found a list with the verbs that are followed by an infinitive, an object, a gerund or a preposition. Hope it helps you!


Source: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verblist.htm

Pros and Cons of Technology

PROS AND CONS OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology is one of the words that everyone listens to often. Actually, people are in contact with computers, cell phones, vehicles and plenty of other devices every single day. However, the majority of individuals forget about the real value of technology and how it has changed our lives. The problem is that sometimes it damages instead. Do you think technology has made our world a better place or maybe it is the main reason of destruction and pollution? These are some of my personal ideas about it.

Progress would be a nice synonym for technology, but the truth is that “human” fits better because it has been created by us and its usage is in accordance with our thoughts and behaviors. Weapons do not kill people by themselves, therefore they can never be guilty of any disaster on Earth. Some governments with a high economic position are starving for power and waste their money on meaningless projects. In consequence, that disease is transmitting throughout the system and in some cases supported by media.

Nevertheless, this issue is also going beyond by our fault. People have been getting addicted to social media and spend lots of hours in front of a computer playing videogames and even when they have important things to do. Also, it is ridiculous when we use a calculator to add two plus two, we have become very lazy people. We should make better decisions and we will end up discovering the benefits of technology.

I must accept that we have evolved a lot thanks to technology. People can now travel to the Moon which looked just like a space tale in the past and moreover we have medicines to cure diseases which used to kill people. In the field of communication and business there are significant improvements because companies from different parts of the world can carry out commerce.


Science has had an immeasurable influence of our perspective of the world and as a society we are making decisions that will have profound consequences for future generations. Thus, education about how to keep a sustainable life with technology is needed in order to prevent social, political and environmental issues on time. There are clearly pros and cons of technology use. However, what we must bear in mind is that technology has always to lead us to development and public welfare.


Articles

ARTICLES

Articles are one of the first topics that people learn when they study English. However, it is a bit like having a stone in your shoe; not only does your foot hurt, but your ankles, legs and back become painful; I mean the incorrect use of articles is one of the most common mistakes even in advance level. Thus, this week I decided to practice some exercises about articles. Look what I found out.

This is English Page (http://englishpage.com/articles), a website where you will find around 31 different practices and 25 brief tutorials.


 I tried doing some of them but the most enriching one was the final test. Here is the link http://englishpage.com/articles/articles-final-test.htm just in case you want to practice as well.


domingo, 22 de febrero de 2015

Conditionals

CONDITIONALS

What would you do if you won the lottery? Well, it is a common question that has come up to our minds at least once in our lives. Unfortunately, since I have not won it and without being pessimistic I should say I will never do it, I must keep working. Therefore, I had to think about my out-of-class contribution of the week and finally, I decided to prepare a little compilation of songs which includes conditionals forms because I love music. So here we go: 

First conditional (Future Real Conditional)

Listen to the chorus of the first song, it shows the structure of the 1st conditional:

If you don't know me by now, you will never know me.
IF        (PRESENT)                        (FUTURE)

This conditional is used to show possible events in the future. In the song, the singer is talking about something that will not happen in the future.

Red Simply - If you don’t know me by now




Chicago – If you leave me now.


Second conditional (Present Unreal Conditional)

Listen to the first song, when Beyonce says: "If I were a boy, I'm sure I could understand" we are pretty sure she is definitely not a boy (thank God for that) but also we can realize she refers to hypothetical situations.


Beyonce – If I were a boy


Joan Osbourne - One of Us


Third conditional (Past Unreal Conditional)

Adele - If It Hadn't Been For Love

Too many verses of the song are in this grammar form. This is how we can talk about past events that could have happened differently.



Remember that if we study conditionals, we will speak English better.

Future Tenses

FUTURE TENSES

When you talk about the future in English, you should not only know the verb tenses but also their uses and the best moment to use each. As it is said practice makes perfect, I got some practice this week until I could deal with any future sentence.

Now, I can see the difference among predictions or statements of fact, intentions, arrangements and scheduled events.

I recommend you to visit some of the websites where I found some good exercises if you are interested in improving your skills. Here are the links: