That's English! - Module 8 - Unit 5: The Music Industry

This a really amusing topic and we'll stat with our general questions, as usual:

• What kind of music do you prefer? Why? Is there a kind of music you can't stand?
• When and where do you usually listen to music? Compare your answer with your partner and try to see if you agree or you don't.
• Do you play a musical instrument? If not, what instrument would you like to play and why?
• Would you say  that your musical tastes have changed a lot? In what way? 
• Can you play any intruments? If so, when did you start? How well do you play? Do you practise very often? If not why not? Would you like to play an instrument? Why?
• Have you ever been to a concert? When was it? What was it like? Explain your experience
• Do you give any money to buskers (musicos callejeros)? Give reasons for your answer.
• Should music be used for political purposes like protest songs? Give reasons for your answer and think of examples in your country or in other places.

Activity 1

Here have you a listening exercise about Reading Festival. You can have a look and revise the vocabulary and to get some ideas to discuss with your partner. Click here

Activity 2

Listen to this radio programme and do the listening exercise: click here. Then discuss with your mate if you think that radio is dead or it's still alive; if you usually listen to the radio or if you buy music.

Activity 3

If you want to listen to some more audios about music you might like to see this about music in New Orleans: click here

Activity 4

Discuss with your partner about these statements and say if you agree or not. Give reasons for your answers.

• Downloading music shouldn't be penalised; it should be free
• Music is just a matter of business and marketing not quality
• Learning how to play a musical instrument should be compulsory at schools
• Music and politics shouldn't be mixed

If you are interested in this topic here are you  an article or an audio (you can use it as you like) about music and politics in the USA. Click here

Activity 5

A wonderful way of learning English is by using songs in order to improve your vocabulary, grammar structures and pronunciation. If you like you may use this link with songs;

• https://www.esolcourses.com/topics/easy-song-quizzes.html (there are different levels)
• watch this video to know how useful songs are for learning English: click here
• This is a list of songs I use in class:
• Don't Worry, Be Happy
• Someone Like You by Adele
• A Million Dreams by Pink
• When I was 7 years Old by Lukas Grahan
• If I Were a Boy by Beyonce
• Memory in Cats

Grammar reference: Defining relative clauses
As you can guess they are used to identify people (WHO/THAT), things (WHICH/THAT), places (WHERE) and moments or specific times (WHEN). The relative THAT  is more used in spoken English and we don't need to use it when it's NOT the subject of the subordinate clause.
If you want to know a bit more about this topic go to this link but pay attention because WHOSE (the possessive relative) is included.
To work with the relative clauses go to these exercises:

• exercise 1       exercise 2        exercise 3 this is with defining and non-defining relatives

Revision of Relative Clauses

This is the link I showed you in class explaning defining and non-defining relative clauses. There are plenty of grammar explanations if you surf on the internet. The most important thing is to use it in your speech better than to do lots of exerises but if you want to practise with exercises that's a good idea as well.

For C1 level, this is the link we watched about multi-words verbs: click here

That's English! - Module 7 - Unit 8: Crime

As usual, we'll start with general questions about this topic. Here you are some questions to work on with your partner(s):

• What are the main crimes in your town/country? Have you ever been a victim of one of those? If so, explain what happened to you.
• Do you think prison is an effetive form of punishment? What other forms of punishment do you know?
• Do you think cybercrime is a big problem in Spain? What about downloading? Is it a crime?
• Are there any measures to be taken to avoid or reduce the crime rate in our society: more severe laws, more or longer punishment, more help for people who are at risk of exclusion, educational measures...?

Activity 1

Imagine you have been burglared and a police officer comes to your house. Have a role play in which you are the victim and your partner is the police officer. Give as many details as possible about what you've been robded. Then change roles and in this occasion you are the police officer and you've been mugged in the street or pickpocketed when you where on the bus. Ask questions to get details. what happened, when, where, what items you were stolen and so on.

Activity 2

Think about a detective story, novel or film you've seen recently and tell the story to your mate. If you don't remember one, try to make up a detective story about a famous detective such as Sherlock Holmes, Hercules Poirot, Agatha Christie's strories and so on.

Activity 3

Here you have some listening exercises to practise:

• a short exercise about crime: click here
• this is a funny video about a crime: click here
• this is a very easy listening about a "perfet crime": click here
• this is a short text with audio including some words about crime and punishment: click here
• this a very long one but it's divided in 4 exercises: click here

Activity 4

About grammar this unit deals with non-defining relative clauses, which are the ones in which the relative pronoun can't be replaced by THAT. They are like an explanation and they go between commas (as if it were a comment or an added explanation). Here you are an exercise to see the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses: click here.

Let's practise with this. This game is called Taboo and you can't say the word in your card or very clear clues. Describe the object or the person you have in your card so you should use WHO, WHICH or THAT, like in this example:

• a screwdriver: it's a tool (which/that) you use to fix two things together. You need a screw, which is a piece of metal similar to a nail, but you also need another piece with a hole in the middle (something similar to a little ring) to fix it. - destornillador

REMEMBER: When THAT / WHICH / WHO are not the subject of the subordinate clause, it can be elicited or removed from the sentence; e.g. It's a kind of tool (that) people use to cut something or to peel fruit, vegetables or so ( a knife).

Activity 5

To work with vocabulary of crime and punishment, here are you some exercises to practise:

• exercise 1    exercise 2

This is an entry on a blog about this topic; it has some videos and vocabulary: click here


Activity 6
To finish with, remember you use passive voice while talking about this topic (reviewing this grammar point from previous lessons). Let's see some examples by ansering these questions:

• Have you ever been stolen on a bus or on the train? What were you stolen? Did you reported the theft? What happened in the end?
• Has your house ever been burglared? What happened? What were you stolen?
• Have you ever been mugged in the street? What happened? Were you hurt?

B2.1 - Relative clauses

There are two types of relative clauses, defining and non-defining. Let's have a look on both:

• DEFINING (especificativas in Spanish): they help to identify or remark the noun which is referring to; e.g. That's the person who works with me at school.

• NON-DEFINING (explicativas): these go between commas and it's just an explanation or a comment about the noun; e.g. The tall girl, who works with me at school, plays basket.

If you need further explanation you may use these links: this is the first one but you can use this other

Once you are sure how to use them, let's practise qith these exercises:

• exercise 1    exercise 2    exercise 3     exercises 4

Remember we use this kind of sentences very often:

• The person I admire most is ...
• Something that I can't stand is ...
• A screwdriver is a tool you use to fix screws or repair things
• A place where I used to go was ...
• I've lived in Meco, which is a village near Alcala, for almost 20 years
• I can't speak French, which is a pity as I go to Paris quite often

Here have you a listening exercise about Reading Festival: click here

See you in class!

Relative clauses

A relative clause is introduced by a relative pronoun and it is used to explain or give some detail about something mentioned before (the antecedent). There are 2 types: defining and non-defining. But let's see how it works.

• This is the flat where I live and Peter is the person who lives with me and whose car is parked outside.

The most difficult part of this grammar point is, as usual, when it isn't the same in Spanish:

• Kerry is the mate I work with: here the relative pronoun has disappeared, something that/which doesn't happen in Spanish. 

Let's see some pages to work with this grammar point:

• a page with explanation and exercises; click here
• another example; click here
• an exercise of rephrasing: use relatives to join clauses; click here