INGLÉS, SEGUNDO IDIOMA OFICIAL DE COLOMBIA

Un proyecto de ley que busca convertir el idioma inglés en la segunda lengua oficial de Colombia está a tres debates de convertirse en Ley de la República

CHALLENGE 2.0

Hello!

Here you are the new challenge for the week from Monday 25 July to Friday 29 July, 2011.

¿Cómo participar en una conversación en inglés donde deba hablar sobre la vida de un personaje de la historia de Santa Marta (el cacique Cuchacique) y narrar eventos ocurridos en el pasado que fueron cruciales para nuestra independencia (el florero de Llorente)?

- Look for the right information to know how to talk about a personality of Santa Marta history (Cichacique's biography) and tell facts which were very important for our independence. Use the following links to help you:

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepast.html
In this link you can find the explanation of the Past Simple Form. Study only USE 1, USE 2, USE 3, USE and USE 5.

http://video.google.com.co/videosearch?hl=es&source=hp&q=pronunciation+regular+and+irregular+verbs+in+past+simple&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=s9DkStiROJPV8Ab-3YmIBw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CBgQqwQwAw#

In this link you can find some pages where you will have the opportunity to listen and practice the pronunciation of different verbs in English.

You can look for more pages to study about the topics you need to talk about past events.

- Write a composition about both themes, "Cuchacique" and "Llorente's Flower Vase"

- Be prepared for talking about yourself in class. Compare your present life with your childhood. Draw a "Time Line" mapping out important ewvents in your life (autobiography).

Ten en cuenta las siguientes recomendaciones:
- Escribe en tu libreta y en un trabajo en hojas de block tamaño carta, sin rayas, todo lo que puedas encontrar de gramática que te ayude a solucionar el problema de comunicación que se plantea en este desafío. Es obligatorio presentarle este trabajo al profesor.
- Utiliza los conocimientos que has adquirido en Matemáticas para calcular la fecha aproximada de nacimiento del personaje que debes investigar y la edad que tenía al momento de su muerte. Pregúntale a tus profesores de esa asignatura cómo puedes hacer para encontrar la respuesta.
- Usa la información que encuentres para deducir algunos aspectos de la vida del personaje a investigar. Recurre a tu profesor de Castellano para que te ayude a realizar un análisis intratextual de las lecturas que encuentres como insumo para elaborar tu trabajo.
- Recurre a la Biblioteca del Banco de la República para encontrar información mas detallada del personaje que debes investigar. La información que se encuentra en Internet es muy escasa y no te ayudará a obtener un buen puntaje.
- Consulta con tus profesores de Ciencias Sociales sobre los eventos que dieron lugar al Grito del 20 de julio de 1810. ¿Por qué el profesor de inglés dice que ese día no se firmó un acta la independencia absoluta de la Nueva Granada con respecto a la corona Española?
- NO UTILICES traductores en línea para hacer tu trabajo. Recuerda que se trata de un ejercicio que debes demostrar después en el salón de clases por medio de una evaluación. Es mejor que trates de hacer todo por tu propia cuenta, así APRENDERÁS mientras que usando los traductores en línea sólo será trampa y al final no sabrás nada de lo que escribiste.
- Visita constantemente esta entrada del blog para ver los nuevos recursos y recomendaciones que el profesor te dejará con el fin de que realices un excelente trabajo.

NEW CHALLENGE

Thhis is the first challenge I want you to face up:

¿Cómo hablar en inglés sobre lo que hago durante el día describiendo mis actividades cotidianas, mencionando la frecuencia con la que realizo tales actividades?

Remember the three steps you have to follow:

1. BLOG: Search for info
2. CLASS: Practice
3. BLOG: Evaluation

HOMEWORK FOR 9, 10 & 11 (What do you think about this?)

Hi.

Great news for you today. I decided no to let you homework for this week. Just study with the others and be prepared for the exam. NO HOMEWORK doesn't mean that you don't have to study! Ok?

HOMEWORK FOR 9, 10 & 11 (PRESENT SIMPLE)

Hi, everyone!

Here you are the link of a page where you can learn more about the Present Simple and where you will find exercises and a quiz to practice.

http://www.englishtenseswithcartoons.com/tenses/present_simple

When you finish the study of this tense, please go to the following links to practice the Present Simple (copy all the exercises in your notebook):

http://www.englishtenseswithcartoons.com/test/present_simple_1_gapfill_exercise

http://www.englishtenseswithcartoons.com/test/present_simple_gap-fill_exercise

http://www.englishtenseswithcartoons.com/utest/present_simple_multiple_choice_exercise_2

http://www.englishtenseswithcartoons.com/utest/present_simple_exercise_3

Finally, go to this link to complete the quiz (copy it in your notebook):

http://www.englishtenseswithcartoons.com/exercise/present_simple_quiz

For oral exam

Starting conversations and keeping them going is really important to good communication. Think of three questions you might ask a stranger when meeting for the first time. Remember that the questions you ask might depend on the situation.

Here you are five (5) different situations; write a conversation for each one:

1. at a bus stop waiting for the next bus
2. in a park walking your dog
3. on the first day of class right before school begins
4. at a friend's house meeting her parents
5. at your school secretary office

HOMEWORK FOR 9, 10 & 11

PROJECT: A SNAPSHOT OF ME

Write a  four paragraphs composition about yourself and your interests. Find a photograph or an illustration for each paragraph. Your composition should follow this structure:

1. INTRODUCE YOURSELF
2. WRITE ABOUT WHERE YOU LIVE
3. WRITE ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL, YOUR TEACHERS, TOYR PARTNERS AND YOUR CLASSES.
4. WRITE ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE SINGER, ATHLETE, FILM STAR OR TV STAR

Use Sara's project below as an example to help you.

A SNAPSHOT OF ME

Hi! I'm Sally. Well, that is my nickname. My first name is Sara and my middle name is Denisse. My surname is Jones. I'm 19 years old. I'm from Toronto, Canada. I'm Canadian. This is a picture of me and my cat. My cat's name is Henry.

I live in Liverpool (/lɪvərpu:l/ ●●●). It's a city and port of Merseyside, in England. I really like it. Inhabitants of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians but are also colloquially known as "Scousers", in reference to the local dish: "scouse", that is a form of stew.

I’m in third semester of Economy at the University of Liverpool. My favorite subjects are math and English. I don't like French. I am in a class with 19 students. We are from different countries: South Africa, Korea, Russia, Spain, France, Japan, Germany, Canada, Colombia, Poland, Mexico, and Italy. Our teachers are serious but friendly. The English teacher is Mr. Duncan. He is funny and a very good teacher.

I like different sports. My favorite sport is football. In the United States of America they call it "soccer". My favorite footballer is Cristiano Ronaldo. He is from Portugal, so he is Portuguese. He's a fabulous player. 

Remember: your paper must have pictures to illustrate each one of your paragraphs.


Resources:
http://myspaceinenglish.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo

PRACTICE THE THIRD PERSON

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/simple_present_s.htm

Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are [Official Video]

COMPLETE THE LYRICS OF THIS SONG WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERBS IN BRAKETS

Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars

Oh her eyes, her eyes
__________ (make) the stars __________ (look) like they'__________ (not be) shining
Her hair, her hair
__________ (fall) perfectly without her trying

She'__________ (be) so beautiful
And I __________ (tell) her every day

Yeah I __________ (know), I __________ (know)
When I ____________ (compliment) her
She won't believe me
And it'__________ (be) so, it'__________ (be) so
Sad to think she __________ (not see) what I __________ (see)

But every time she ___________ (ask) me "do I look okay?
I ___________ (say):
When I ___________ (see) your face
There'___________ (not be) a thing that I would change

'Cause you'___________ (be) amazing

Just the way you ___________ (be)

And when you ___________ (smile),

The whole world ___________ (stop) and ___________ (stare) for a while

'Cause girl you'___________ (be) amazing

Just the way you ___________ (be)

Her lips, her lips
I could kiss them all day if she'd let me
Her laugh, her laugh
She ___________ (hate) but I ___________ (think) it'___________ (be) so sexy

She'___________ (be) so beautiful

And I ___________ (tell) her every day

Oh you ___________ (know), you ___________ (know), you ___________ (know)

I'd never ask you to change
If perfect ___________ (be) what you're searching for

Then just stay the same

So don't even bother asking
If you ___________ (look) okay

You ___________ (know) I'll say

When I ___________ (see) your face
There'___________ (not be) a thing that I would change

'Cause you'___________ (be) amazing

Just the way you ___________ (be)

And when you ___________ (smile),

The whole world ___________ (stop) and ___________ (stare) for a while

'Cause girl you'___________ (be) amazing

Just the way you ___________ (be)

The way you ___________ (be)
The way you ___________ (be)
Girl you'___________ (be) amazing
Just the way you ___________ (be)

When I ___________ (see) your face
There'___________ (not be) a thing that I would change

'Cause you'___________ (be) amazing

Just the way you ___________ (be)

And when you ___________ (smile),

The whole world ___________ (stop) and ___________ (stare) for a while

'Cause girl you'___________ (be) amazing

Just the way you ___________ (be)

Bruno Mars Just The Way You Are lyrics found on http://www.directlyrics.com/bruno-mars-just-the-way-you-are-lyrics.html

Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are [Official Video]

TO BE (Y/N Qs) A/AN NOUNS JOBS COUNTRIES AND NATIONALITIES ADJECTIVES

LINKS OF LANGUAGE QUIZZES TO PRACTICE FOR YOUR EXAMS

TO BE

be

Use:

• am with the personal pronoun I
• is with the personal pronouns he, she or it (or with the singular form of nouns)
• are with the personal pronouns we, you or they (or with the plural form of nouns)

example: I am hungry.

	affirmative	negative	question
I	I am.	I am not.	Am I?
he/she/it	He is.	He is not.	Is he?
you/we/they	You are.	You are not.	Are you?

Exercise on simple present with 'be'

Resource:

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-present/form 

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-1/exercise-english-924.php

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-1/exercise-english-157.php

A, AN

Important things to keep in mind when using nouns are which article to use and how to form the plural and how to form the possessive case.

Article

Direct article - the

example: the house

Indirect article a / an

a - if the first letter of the following word is pronounced like a consonant

example: a car, a university

an - if the first letter of the following word is pronounced like a vowel

example: an apple, an hour

Exercise on indirect articles

Exercise on direct articles

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/302.html   

NOUNS

Plural

general rule: singular form + s

example: a car - two cars

after s, ch, x, z the plural is formed by adding es

example: a box - two boxes

y after a consonant is changed to ie before the plural s

example: a city - two cities

But: y after a vowel is not changed

example: a boy - two boys

After o the plural is usually formed by adding es (this is not the case, however, with words used for electric gadgets and music: radio, video, disco)

example: a tomato - two tomatoes

Exercise - singular or plural?

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/free/news/0ggender.htm

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/71.html

Plurals (regular and irregular nouns)

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/free/news/0gplural.htm

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/288.html

Singular or plural?

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/246.html

Vocabulary Corner

Here you are some helpful vocabulary about the topics you are going to need for the next classes.

Occupations
Draw a picture for each word

1. architect
2. accountant
3. lawyer
4. engineer
5. housewife
6. physician
7. dentist
8. secretary
9. driver
10. police officer
11. trainer
12. chemist
13. scientist
14. nurse
15. writer
16. sales person
17. maid
18. designer
19. photographer
20. cook/chef

Countries and Nationalities
Write the correct country for each nationality:

1. American _________________________
2. British ______________________
3. French ______________________
4. Australian _________________________
5. Egyptian ___________________
6. Mexican _________________________
7. Chinese _____________________
8. Japanese ________________________
9. Dutch ______________________
10. German _________________________
11. Spanish_________________________
12. English _________________________
13. Polonaise _________________________
14. African _________________________
15. Italian _________________________
16. Colombian _________________________
17. Venezuelan _________________________
18. Spanish _________________________
19. Mexican _________________________
20. Peruvian _________________________

Adjectives
Draw a picture for each word

1. tall/short
2. a little heavy/thin
3. big/small/tiny
4. pretty/handsome
5. not good looking/gorgeous/beautiful
6. long/short
7. young/old
8. old/new
9. soft/hard/tough
10. slim/chubby