ROAD TO B1: LESSON 4

Talking and writing about advantages and disadvantages

1) Speaking activity: Do you live in the city or do you live in the country? Have you ever lived in the country? Did you like it? Why?/ Why not? Would you like to live in the country? Why?/ Why not?

Useful vocabulary related to the task:

Synonyms of THE CITY:  a town/ an urban area/ the metropolis/ the concrete jungle

Synonyms of THE COUNTRY: the countryside/ a rural area/ the backwoods* 

*The backwoods: a place in the countryside that is far from any town.



2) Activity to practise the connectors of contrast (HERE). It's aimed at B2 students but I find it quite useful. Just ask if there is something you don't understand.

3) Focus on writing: How to write a for and against essay

4 paragraphs:

1. Introduction: mention the topic you are going to talk about and say why the topic is important to many people today.
2. Advantages: list 2-3 advantages and benefits of the given topic.
3. Disadvantages: list 2-3 disadvantages.
4. Conclusion: end your essay with a conclusion. You can talk about what you think will happen in the future. 

Some useful phrases:

1st paragraph
Possible ways of starting:

-It is undeniable that nowadays many people ..... 

-Some people argue that....... Others claim that...

-It is popularly believed that...However, some people argue that....
-People often claim that...... However, some people point out that....

A possible way of closing this paragraph:
-Let us analyse the pros and cons of each view.

2nd paragraph

-First of all, one obvious advantage of....is that..... A further advantage of..... is that.....Nevertheless, for many people, the main positive aspect of.... is that....

-In the first place,..

3rd paragraph

-Regarding the disadvantages of...., I believe that the main drawback of ....is that..... Another negative aspect of.... is that...... Furthermore,....

-On the other hand, ....

Adding more ideas in the 2nd/3rd paragraphs:

According to statistics, ....% of the population ...


Of course, ....
Needless to say,..

For instance, ...
For example, ...
....such as....

What is more,  
Apart from this, 
In addition to this, 
Moreover, 
Besides this,

4th paragraph
-In conclusion, I am convinced that in the future people will ....

-All things considered,..

There's an example of a for and against essay HERE


TASK: Write about the advantages and disadvantages of living and working in the country (160–180 words) 

If you were not in class today, please hand it over to me at school or send it to me by email: gabytorrens@hotmail.com

ROAD TO B1: LESSON 3

1. SPEAKING ACTIVITY: MUM OR DAD?

Millie is 15 and she needs to decide whether to live with her mum or with her dad. Think about the pros and cons and justify your decision. Use some of the structures given in the activity sheet.

In this LINK you'll find the PDF of the activity.

TASK: Write a letter to Millie and give her your opinion. Number of words: 100-120 words. You cand send it to me by e-mail.

View a sample informal letter HERE


2. LISTENING ACTIVITY

Listen to this intervew twice, and then answer the questions given. Activity HERE

After checking your answers, read and listen to the text at the same time HERE


3. READING COMPREHENSION TEST -20 min-

This is a sample test to prepare you for the final exam. Send me an email if you want it.


4. CHECK YOUR ANSWERS. REMEMBER YOU NEED TO ANSWER CORRECTLY MORE THAN 9/15.


Extra tasks to expand your vocabulary:

• Multiple-Choice and Short-Answer Questions
• Mixed-Up Sentence
• Sentence and Vocabulary Matching
• Text Completion Quiz

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ROAD TO B1: LESSON 2

1) VOCABULARY

-HOW MANY WORDS CAN YOU REMEMBER TO TALK ABOUT FAMILY MEMBERS?
 http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=453

-VOCABULARY LIST: mark the words you don't know, copy them in your notebook and study them! You'll find the list HERE


2) LISTENING AND SPEAKING

-Watch this video and see what kind of things we can say when talking about families: HERE

-Choose a photo of a big family (from Google) and prepare an oral description of the family. It should last at least 2 minutes.

-Prepare some possible questions to ask about others' families.


3) COMPLETE THE READING TASK HERE




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ROAD TO B1: LESSON 1

The EOI exams consist of the following parts: 


Use of language (grammar and vocabulary): 60 min. 

Reading comprehension: 45 min.

Listening comprehension: 30 min. 

Writing: 75 min. 

Speaking: 7 min.

You need to get at least 60% correct answers in every part.



1) LISTENING EXERCISE: HERE

You'll listen to 6 short recordings about attitudes and opinions

You can listen to the audio twice.

After checking your answer, listen to the text for the third time while reading the script.
Make sure you understand the text and note down any new words.


2) READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISE: HERE

You'll check your reading comprehension of 7 short texts, such as signs and messages, postcards, notes, emails, labels etc.

Make sure you understand the texts and note down any new words.


3) REGARDING THE SPEAKING TEST:

You will enter the room with another student. Together you'll have to choose between two options (in less than 1 min.). You'll have around 5 minutes to prepare what you are going to say.


There will be two examiners. They'll ask if you both allow them to record the exam. 

There are two parts to the speaking test:

Speaking part 1: you must look at some pictures and answer some questions about them (2-3 questions each). You must interact with the other student. (3 min.)

Speaking part 2: each of you have a 'long turn' to describe the pictures, compare them and to talk about the topic. (2 min.)

You are not allowed to use a dictionary. You cannot use any written notes in the examination either. The use of mobile phones is not allowed. 

Activity: Write down and learn these adverbial phrases. Describe what you see in the picture and use them.

TIP: Remember that it's great to watch TV shows online. 


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