Lesson 6

In our sixth lesson we looked at ‘3B – I was expecting it to be tough’. We read, and heard, details about a man’s journey in the wilderness of Africa. For vocabulary we looked at landscape features, and also some descriptive verbs. For grammar we spoke about how to talk about the future in the past. For homework you will read about narrative tenses.

Here is a short  video which explains how to talk about the future in the past:

For homework I asked you to complete the Reading and Grammar exercises on pages 36 and 37. You also need to complete the grammar exercises on page 143 and the vocabulary exercises for 3B on page 160.

If you would like to do some extra writing homework, you have 2 different options this week. You can either follow the instructions for exercise 6 on page 37, OR exercise 5 on page 41. Your work can be sent to me directly in an email (steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se) and I will check your writing for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

 

Lesson 5

Hello again.

In our fifth lesson we looked at ‘3A Never have I had such a rewarding experience’. We read about volunteering. For grammar we looked at how to emphasise positive and negative experiences using inversion. We also did a vocabulary exercise on wealth and poverty.

Here is a short video that explains how and why we use inversion:

Here is a much longer video which provides many different examples of how inversion is commonly used:

For homework I asked you to complete the Vocabulary exercise 5b on page 34, and all of the grammar exercises on page 142. You should also complete the exercises for Unit 3A in the Digital Workbook.

If you would like to do some extra writing homework, your can follow the instructions for exercise 3c and 3d on page 33 and write a few paragraphs about this topic. Your work can be sent to me directly in an email (steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se) and I will check your writing for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

 

Lesson 4

Welcome back to the blog.

In our fourth lesson we looked at ‘2B I’ll be jumping from 900 metres’. We did a reading exercise about zero-gravity flights which contained some high-level vocabulary, including several verbs related to movement. We also looked at some words that conveyed more exact, descriptive, and concise meanings than other more common words.

For grammar homework you will read about intentions and arrangements.

Although the verbs we spoke about in class are able to be used more generally to talk about movement related to speed, here is a video that explains some verbs that are related to movement in a variety of different contexts:

Here are two videos that focus on verbs of movement that relate specifically to your body:

For homework you should  complete the Listening and Grammar exerciseson page 25. After that, you should do the exercises for Vocabulary Focus 2B on page 159. Next, you need to read the information and complete the grammar exercises on page 141. Finally, you should complete Unit 2B in the Digital Workbook.

If you would like to do some extra study, I recommend completing Unit 2C and Unit 2D in the textbook.

If you would like to do some extra writing homework, your can follow the instructions for exercise 4d on page 25 and write a few paragraphs about this topic. Your work can be sent to me directly in an email (steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se) and I can check your writing for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

 

Lesson 3

Hello again.

In our third lesson we looked at ‘2A I would happily have stayed longer’. We described extreme sensory experiences with a  focus on sounds, both pleasant and unpleasant. For grammar  we looked at some different ways to make comparisons. For vocabulary homework you will look at some multi-word verbs related to social interaction.

Here’s a video that gives a good overall explanation of comparisons; including how to modify comparisons, and also different structures:

We did not speak about this in class, but here is a video playlist that will help you to relax, or ‘soften’, your accent. The videos will play one one after the other:

For homework I asked you to read the information and then do the grammar exercises on page 140. You can also complete the Listening and Vocabulary exercises on page 22. Finally, you should complete the exercises for Unit 2A in the Digital Workbook.

For extra study, I recommend that you look at Unit 1C and Unit 1D (pages 14-17). If you would like me to look at your writing, you can directly email me your work from exercise 4b on page 17 and I will check it for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

 

Lesson 2

Welcome back to the course blog!

In our second lesson we looked at ‘1B Language has been constantly evolving’ in the textbook. We read and spoke about how languages can change over time. We looked at various words that have only become commonly used in the English language at various points over the last 120 years.

For vocabulary we looked at different ways of describing change. For grammar homework I asked you to read about the perfect aspect.

Here is a video that explains Present Perfect Simple:

This video looks at the difference between Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous:

Here is a video that explains the Past Perfect Simple tense:

This video looks at the difference between Past Perfect Simple and Past Perfect Continuous:

Here is a video that looks at Future Perfect Simple:

Here is a video that looks at the Future Perfect Continuous:

For homework, I asked you to complete exercises 4a, c, d and e on page 12. You should then read and complete all of the exercises for ‘1B The perfect aspect’ on page 139. Finally, you should complete Unit 1B in the Digital Workbook (or from the black and white section at the back of your textbook).

If you would like to do some extra writing homework, you can complete exercise 4b on page 17. (Complete iy for all 4 opinions.) You can send your work to me in an email (steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se) and I can check your writing for you. Do not put your writing in an attachment, simply type it in the body of the email.

That’s all for today.

Steve

 

Lesson 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to the course blog!

This blog is intended to help you get the most out of this course. After each lesson I will update it with a brief outline of what we cover in each lesson, as well as inform you of the homework that has been set. In future blogs I may also include links to videos or other web-pages to read to help your learning.

We began our first lesson by introducing ourselves to each other. It was very nice to meet you all.

The textbook we will be using is Cambridge English EMPOWER Second Edition Advanced C1 Combo A with Digital Pack.

The easiest and quickest place to buy the book is from Ferdosi Bookshop, Odengatan 21, Stockholm.

These books have a code that will let you use the supporting website for the textbook. The code is on the inside cover of your textbook (You need to carefully scratch the grey material to see the code underneath). You will need then need to scan the QR code OR go to http://www.cambridgeone.org to register your textbook. Before you can register your textbook you will need to create an account. CLICK HERE to see instructions for how to create an account.

*PLEASE NOTE:  You do NOT need to Join a Class, that is only for online courses. However, I recommend you use the ‘Self Study’ section. Please have a look at all of this website, it is very helpful. The ‘Getting Help’ section might be useful if you have any problems.

We began our first lesson by introducing ourselves to each other. It was very nice to meet you all.

We then discussed various issues related to learning a second language. We also completed a reading exercise on the same topic.

For grammar, we looked at adverbs and adverbial phrases. For vocabulary we briefly looked at the noun forms of some words.

Here is a very detailed video that explains what adverbs are and how they are used:

Here is a video which focuses on how adverbial phrases are used:

For homework, you need to  read and complete the exercises on page 138. You also need to complete the exercises on page 158. Finally, you should complete the exercises for Unit 1A in the Digital Workbook (or in the black and white section at the back of the book – I gave you a photocopy for the first lesson).

That’s all for today.

Steve