A2 English in the Morning – Starts 22/4/24

Lesson 3

Hello again.

In today’s lesson we looked at Unit 8c and 8D in the textbook. We spoke about some different ways to express sympathy, and also some words that are joined together when spoken. For homework you will look at linking ideas with the word ‘however’, and also adverbs of manner.

Here is a video about how to express sympathy:

Here is a video that shows how to use the word ‘however’ (and the word ‘but’) to link ideas:

Here is a video with some examples of adverbs of manner:

For homework I asked you to finsih the rest on Unit 8D in the textbook. You should also complete Unit 8C and Unit 8D in the Digital Workbook. If you want to do some extra writing homework, you can email me your work for exercise 4b on page 87 and I will check it for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 2

Welcome back.

In our second lesson we looked at ‘8B How easy is it to get fit?’.

For grammar we spoke about have to and don’t have to. For vocabulary we looked at exercise, parts of the body and appearance.

Here is a video that explains the structures and uses of have to:

For homework I asked you to complete the Vocabulary exercises for 8B on page 168. You also need to read the information for 8B on page 152, and then do the exercises for 8B on page 153. Finally, you need to complete the exercises for Unit 8B in the Digital Workbook.

If you would like to do some writing homework, you can email me (steven.brown@follkuniversitetet.se) your answer for exercise 2e on page 83. You can write 2 or 3 paragraphs if you want to.

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. I recommend that new students scroll down to also read the blogs from the previous course.

We began our first lesson by introducing ourselves to each other. It was very nice to meet you all. We have students from a variety of different countries and cultures.

The textbook we will be using is Cambridge English EMPOWER Second Edition Elementary A2 Combo B 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.

Here is a video that looks at prepositions of place:

For homework I asked you to finish the Unit 6 Review and Extension exercises. Unit 6 was covered in the blog entries that can be seen if you scroll down to previous courses.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 6

Welcome back to the blog.

I’d like to remind you that Wednesday is the final lesson for this course. Please click here if you would like to register for the next course that starts next Monday.

I’d also like to remind you about the free Talk Cafe that will be held at Folkuniversitetet next week. You can practise your English in a relaxed social setting with many people. Click here if you would like to register.

In our sixth lesson we looked at ‘7B I love going on the metro’.

For vocabulary we spoke about transport adjectives. For grammar we looked at how to use love/like/don’t mind/hate + (verb)+ing).

Click here to learn some simple transport vocabulary.

Click here for more exercises on simple transport vocabulary.

Here is a video that explains love/like/don’t mind/hate + (verb)+ing):

For homework I asked you to read the information for 7B on page 150 and then do the exercises for 7B on page 151. You also need to complete the exercises for Unit 7B in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 5

Welcome back to the blog.

I’d like to remind you about the free Talk Cafe that will be held at Folkuniversitetet next week. You can practise your English in a relaxed social setting with many people. Click here if you would like to register.

In our fourth lesson we looked at Unit 7D and Unit 8A in the textbook. We spoke about the types of homestay places we would like to stay in if we had to live away from home for a while.

For vocbulary we spoke about sport and exercise. For grammar we spoke about how we can talk about ability using can/can’t and could/couldn’t.

We also looked at how we use the words ‘after’, ‘when’ and ‘while’ to link ideas. These are called time conjunctions.

Here is a simple video that explains how time conjunctions are used:

Here is another short video that looks also looks at time conjunctions, but includes some different examples:

For vocbulary we spoke about sport and exercise. For grammar we spoke about how we can talk about ability using can/can’t and could/couldn’t.

Here is a video explaining how we use can/can’t to talk about ability in the present (and the same rules apply to use could/couldn’t to talk about ability in the past:

For homework I asked you to complete the Listening and Vocabulary exercises on page 81. Then you should complete the exercises for 8A on page 166. After that, you need to read the grammar information for 8A on page 152, and then do the exercises for 8A on page 153. Finally, you should complete the exercises for unit 7D and 8A in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 4

Hello again.

In our third lesson we looked at Unit 7C in the textbook. We spoke about how to use the phrases excuse me and I’m sorry. We aslo discussed ways to show interest when listening to somebody, and also how to emphasise an apology.

Here is a video that looks at ways to show interest in a conversation:

Here is a video that shows how we can change our sentence structure to emphasise different information:

For homework I asked you to complete the exercises for Unit 7C in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 3

In our third lesson we looked at Chapter 7A from the textbook. For Vocabulary, we spoke about travel and transport. For Grammar, we spoke about using the Past Simple tense for negative sentences and questions.

Here are some videos that you may find useful. The first is a very short video that explains the sentence structure for the Past Simple for negative sentences and questions:

Here is another simple video that gives examples for ‘Wh-‘ questions (who, what, where, when, why, how) in the Past Simple:

For homework I asked you to do the Listening exercises on page 71, and also exercise 5e. You should then do the vocabulary exercises for 7A on page 167. You also need to read the grammar information for 7A on page 150, and then do the exercises for 7A on page 151. Finally, you need to do the exercises for Unit 7A in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 2

Welcome back to the blog.

In our second lesson we looked at Chapter 6B from the textbook. We spoke about using the Past Simple tense for positive sentences. We also looked at the Past Simple form for irregular verbs.

Here is a short video explaining how Past Simple is used:

Click here for a list of some of the most commonly used irregular verbs.

Click here for a much longer list that includes many higher-level English irregular verbs (in all their forms).

Here is a useful video that teaches you the rules for the correct pronunciation of words that end in ‘-ed’:

In this course we will sometimes speak about Phonemic (sometimes called ‘Phonetic’) Symbols, which are symbols which represent the various sounds used in English pronunciation. Click here for a link to a website which displays the Phonemic Chart with all the symbols, and allows you to click/press on each symbol to hear the sound that it represents.

Below is a video which explains the Phonemic (/Phonetic) Chart in a logical manner of grouping, with an explanation of the position of the mouth and tongue when making the sounds, and whether they are voiced or unvoiced consonant sounds. ***PLEASE NOTE***: This video excludes the /i/ sound (as in ‘happy‘), because in some dialects the /i:/ sound (as in ‘tree‘) is used instead:

For homework, you need to read the information for 6B on page 148 and then do the grammar exercises for 6B on page 149. You should also do the Vocabulary exercises for 6B on page 165. Finally, you should do the exercises for Unit 6B on page 35 (or in the Digital Workbook).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to the course blog!

We began our first lesson by introducing ourselves to each other. It was very nice to meet you all. We have students from a variety of different countries and cultures.

The textbook we will be using is Cambridge English EMPOWER Second Edition Elementary A2 Combo B with Digital Pack .

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

For homework I asked you to finish the Unit 4 Review and Extension exercises. Unit 4 was covered in the blog entries for Lesson 2 and Lesson 3 of the previous course.

Folkuniversitetet will be hosting an English ‘Speak Cafe’ on 17¤/24. It is an opportunity to meet new people and practise your English skills with other people who want to improve their English in a relaxed environment. You can bring some friends if you wish. Click here if you would like to register.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 7

Hello again.

In our seventh lesson we looked at Chapter 6A from the textbook.

For vocabulary we spoke about various relatives in a family. For grammar we looked at the verb ’be’ in its Past Simple form (was/were). For homework you will llk at the correct way to talk about years and dates.

Here is a short video that explains the Past Simple form of the verb ’be’:

For homework, you need to finish exercises 2, 3 and 4 on pages 60 and 61. You then need to do the reading for 6A on page 148, and then complete the grammar exercises for 6A on page 149. You also need to complete the exercises for 6A ‘Years and Dates’ on page 165. Finally, you should do the exercises for Unit 6A in the Digital Workbook.

I would like to remind you that this course finishes next week. Please click here if you want to register for the next course.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 6

Hello again.

If you would like to continue in the next course that starts on 25/3/24, please click here to register.

In our sixth lesson we looked at Chapter 1D in the textbook.

We spoke about social media and online profiles. We also looked at capital letters and punctuation in English.

For homework I asked you to complete the Unit 2C in the textbook. You then need to finish Unit 1D and 2C in the digital workbook. I also asked you to write a detailed profile of yourself. Send your profile to steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se and I will check your writing for you.

Below is a detailed guide to English punctuation.

FULL STOP / PERIOD (.) This is the most popular punctuation mark because you simply cannot write a single sentence without using it. There are two main uses of a full stop: to indicate the end of a sentence, or to follow an abbreviation.

COMMA (,) A comma is often used to separate different ideas in a sentence. However, it has many other uses as well. For example:

Commas separate items in a list: apples, peaches, grapes, and oranges
A comma is used after an introductory word or phrase: at the end of the day, however, in contrast, etc.
A comma is used to distinguish a tag question at the end of your sentence fro the rest of the sentence: You are going to the party this Saturday, aren’t you?
Use a comma when you are directly addressing someone: Julia, what would you like to eat for dinner?

QUESTION MARK (?) A question mark, as its name suggests, needs to go at the end of every interrogative sentence instead of a full stop:

What did you do today?
How are you doing?
Where is your little brother?

EXCLAMATION MARK (!) When you add an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence, it shows emphasis. An exclamation mark can also indicate anger, happiness, excitement, or any other strong emotion, depending on the meaning of the sentence.

Go away!
I’m so excited to see you!
I can’t wait to go to London!

QUOTATION MARKS / SPEECH MARKS (” “) As you might expect form the name, quotation marks indicate direct quotations. You can also use them to show that a word or a phrase is being used ironically, or for titles of articles, book chapters, episodes of a TV-show, etc.

“You’ll never believe what happened last night,” Amy said.

APOSTROPHE (‘) An apostrophe has two very important uses. First, it can be used in contractions in place of omitted letters. Second, it can show possession.

You don’t have to go to the store if you don’t want to.
We should invite both of Tim’s sisters to the party.

HYPHEN (-) Even though it looks very similar to a dash, a hyphen has very different uses. It’s most commonly used to create compound words.

She has always been very self-conscious.
My sister just started a new part-time job.

DASH (– or —) In fact, there are two different dashes, the en dash and the em dash. The former is slightly shorter than the latter one. The en dash is usually used to show a connection between two things, as well as a range of numbers, years, pages, etc.

The London–Paris flight takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
For tomorrow’s lesson, I need to read pages 38–55 of the textbook.

The em dash can replace a comma, a colon, or parenthesis. You can also use it to put emphasis on the ending of your sentence.

This year, Linda has traveled to quite a few countries—China, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam.
His answer was loud and clear—No!

COLON (:) A colon is a punctuation mark used in many different circumstances. It can introduce an example, a list, an explanation, or a quotation. Or, you can also use it to emphasize a certain point.

There are two things you can do: continue being miserable or move on with your life.
There’s only one person in the world who can tell you what you should do: you.

SEMICOLON (;) A semicolon is a punctuation mark that creates a longer pause than a comma but a shorter pause than a full stop. It can be used to create a pause between two independent clauses that are still closely related to each other.

My mother is a teacher; my father is an salesman.
Sylvia spent the whole morning trying to figure out what to wear; she ended up choosing the first outfit out of all that she tried on that day.

PARENTHESES () In most cases, you will see additional information in parentheses. Usually, it can be omitted without creating any confusion for the reader.

BRACKETS []Brackets are, in a way, similar to parentheses. However, they are mostly used in academic writing and when presenting quotes. For instance, the writer can add extra information or fix mistakes in brackets, without changing the original quotation.

The girl said, “I could hear him [my younger brother] but I couldn’t see him”.

ELLIPSIS (…) When you want to creates an intriguing and mysterious atmosphere in the text, you use ellipsis. Additionally, it can be used to show that some letters or even words are omitted.

So… what happened next?

SLASH (/) You might need to write a fraction, a measurement, or to suggest alternatives in your text. These are just three of the instances where you will have to use a slash.

To make this cake, you will need 1/2 cup of milk, 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of sugar.
The car was going as fast as 140 km/h.
Just press the On/Off button.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 5

Hi everybody.

In our fifth lesson we looked at Chapter 5B. For vocabulary we spoke about furniture. For grammar we spoke about Possessive Pronouns and the Possessive ‘s.

Here is a short video explaining how we use Possessive Pronouns:

Here is a video explaining Possessive ‘s :

For homework you need to complete all of the exercises for ‘2 Listening’ and ‘3 Grammar’ on page 53. Next, you shpould read the information for 5B on page 146 and do the exercises for 5B on page 147. Finally, you need to do the exercises for Unit 5B in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 4

In our fourth lesson we looked at Chapter 5A in the textbook. For vocabulary, we spoke about different places in a city. For grammar, we spoke about how to use ‘there is/there are’ to say that something exists in a place.

Here is a video that discussing the use of ‘there is/there are’:

For homework, I asked you to read the information for 5A on page 146. This explains how to use ‘there is/there are’. You then need to do the exercises for 5A on page 147.

Next, you should complete all of the exercises for 5A on page 164.

Finally, need to do the exercises for Unit 5A from the Digital Workbook.

If you wish to do some extra writing homework, you can write about your hometown and what you like to do for fun or to relax in your town. Send your work directly in an email to steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se and I will check your writing for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 3

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the course blog!

In our third lesson we looked at Chapter 4B in the textbook.

For vocabulary, we spoke about food, and different ways to cook food.

For grammar, we looked at the use of quantifiers: much, many, a lot (of).

Here is an excellent video that explains these quantifiers:

For grammar homework you need to read the information for 4B on page 144 and then do the exercises for 4B on page 145. You should then complete exercise 4d on page 43. You can also complete the ‘3 LISTENING’ exercises on page 43.

For vocabulary homework you need to complete all of the exercises for 4B on page 166.

Finally, you also need to do all of the exercises for Unit 4B in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 2

Hello again.

In our second lesson we looked at Chapter 4A in the textbook.

For vocabulary we spoke about food. Click here for a link to a website that has lots of useful vocabulary for food.

For grammar we spoke about countable and uncountable nouns. We lso spoke about how to use ‘a/an’, ‘some’, and ‘any’.

Here is a video that explains the difference between countable nouns and uncountable nouns:

Here is an excellent video that explains when to use ‘a’ and when to use ‘an’ (and also when to use ‘the’):

Here is a video which explains when to use ‘some’ and when to use ‘any’:

For homework you need to complete the exercises for ‘4 LISTENING’ and ‘5 d’ on page 41. You also need to read the information for 4A on page 144 and then do the grammar exercises for 4A on page 145. You should then do the vocabulary exercises for 4A on page 166. Finally, you need to do the exercises for Unit 4A in the Digital Workbook (or in the black and white section at the back of the book).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to the course blog!

We began our first lesson by introducing ourselves to each other. It was very nice to meet you all. We have students from a variety of different countries and cultures.

The textbook we will be using is Cambridge English EMPOWER Second Edition Elementary A2 Combo A with Digital Pack .

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

After our introductions we had a quick revision of the alphabet, vowels and consonants. After that we had a quick revision of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Next, we did some revision exercises from Unit 1 and Unit 2 in the textbook. Unit 1 was covered in the blog entry for Lesson 1 of the previous course. Unit 2 was covered in the blog entries for Lesson 2 and Lesson 3 of the previous course.

For homework I asked you to do all of the Unit 3 Review and Extension exercises on page 38. Unit 3 was covered in the blog entries for Lesson 4 and Lesson 7 of the previous course.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 7

Welcome back to the course blog.

In our seventh lesson we looked at Chapter 3B in the textbook. For vocabulary we spoke about technology. For grammar we looked at ‘have got‘.

Here is a video that looks at the differences between ‘have’ and ‘have got’:

Here is a video with some basic vocabulary for technology:

For homework, I asked you to do the grammar reading for 3B on page 142 and then do the grammar exercises for 3B on page 143. You also need to do the exercises for Unit 3B in the Digital Workbook (or page 17 at the back of the book).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 6

Welcome back to the blog.

In our sixth lesson we looked at ‘1D Skills for Writing’. We spoke about social media and our online profiles. We also discussed the use of capital letters and punctuation in English.

Here is a video that looks explains English punctuation in much greater detail than we discussed in class:

For homework I asked you to complete Unit 1D in the Digital Workbook. I also asked you to complete all of the Unit 1 Review and extension exercises on page 18.

If you would like to complete some extra writing homework, you can write a detailed profile about yourself. Send it to steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se and I will check it for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 5

Hello again.

In our fifth lesson we looked at ‘1C Everyday English’. We spoke about how closely different languages are related to each other, and we also spoke about the etymology (the linguistic origin) of words.

Next, we did some listening and reading exercises that looked at asking for and giving information. Here is a video that gives examples of to ask for basic information:

For homework I asked you to complete exercises 3, 4 and 5 on page 15. You also need to complete the exercises for Unit 1C in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 4

In our fourth lesson we looked at Chapter 3A in the textbook. For grammar, we spoke about Adverbs of Frequency and their position in a sentence (or question). For vocabulary, we spoke about Time Expressions.

Here is a video that explains the different adverbs of frequency, and where to place them in a sentence:

For homework I asked you to do all of exercise 3 and exercise 4e on page 31. Next, you need to read the information for 3A on page 140 and then do the exercises for 3A on page 141 of the textbook. You then need to do the Vocabulary exercises for 3A on page 163. Finally, you should do the exercises for 3A in the Online Workbook (or you can do the exercises for 3A on page 16 of the Workbook at the back of the textbook).

If you would like to do some extra writing homework, you can write a few paragraphs in response to exercise 5a on page 31. Send your work to me in an email and I will check it for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 3

Welcome back to the course blog.

In our third lesson we looked at Chapter 2B: ‘Do you worry about exams?’

For vocabulary, we spoke about studying, and time.

For grammar, we spoke about Present Simple Tense for questions and short answers.

Here is a simple video explaining how to correctly tell the time:

Here is a video explaining how to use the Present Simple to ask questions:

Last week I spoke to you about the British Phonemic Alphabet on page 129.

Here is a video that explains how to pronounce all of the sounds in British English:

For homework, you need to complete all of the exercises for ‘3 LISTENING’ on page 23, and for 5f, also on page 23. After that, you should complete the exercises for Vocabulary Focus 2B on page 164. Next, you need to read the information for 2B on page 140 and then do the grammar exercises for 2B on page 141 of the textbook. Finally, I asked you to do the exercises for Unit 2B in the Digital Workbook (or you can do the exercises for 2B on page 11 of the Workbook at the back of the textbook).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 2

Hello again.

In our second lesson we looked at Chapter 2A: ‘She loves her job.’

For vocabulary, we spoke about jobs.

For grammar, we looked at the Present Simple Tense (positive & negative). Here is an excellent video that explains how to form the Present Simple Tense correctly:

Here is a video that explains how to pronounce the final ‘s’ at the end of words:

For homework, I asked you to complete the Vocabulary Focus 2A exercises on page 163. Next, you need to read the information for 2A on page 140 and then do the grammar exercises for 2A on page 141 of the textbook. After that, you should complete exercises 3b-g on page 21. Finally, I asked you to complete the exercises for Unit 2A in the Online Workbook (or you can do the exercises for 2A in the Workbook at the back of the textbook).

If you want to do some extra writng homework, you can write a paragraph or 2 about your best friend. Send you work directly in an email to steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se and I will check it for you.

Below are some extra videos that you may find interesting if you wish to do a bit of extra study.

Here is a short video with some examples of asking for and giving information:

Here is a short video explaining when we use capital letters:

Here is a short video about punctuation. (PLEASE NOTE: The ‘full stop‘ is British English. A full stop is called a ‘period‘ in American English.):

That’s all for today. I’ll see you in our next lesson.

Steve

Lesson 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to the course blog!

We began our first lesson by introducing ourselves to each other. It was very nice to meet you all. We have students from a variety of different countries and cultures.

The textbook we will be using is Cambridge English EMPOWER Second Edition Elementary A2 Combo A with Digital Pack .

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

After our introductions we had a quick revision of the alphabet, vowels and consonants. After that we had a quick revision of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Next, we started to look at the first chapter of the textbook: “1A – I’m from France.” For vocabulary we spoke about countries and nationalities. For part of your homework, you need to read the Grammar information for 1A and 1B on page 138 and then do the exercises for 1A and 1B on page 139.

Here is a long video with examples and practice exercises for the verb ‘be’ in positive and negative form:

Here is a video about using the verb ’be’ to make questions:

And here is a video that also looks at using the verb ’be’ to ask questions and give short answers:

Also for homework I asked you to complete the exercises for ‘2 VOCABULARY’ on page 13. Finally, you should complete Unit 1A and 1B in the Online Workbook (OR you can do them in the black and white section at the back of the textbook on page 4 and 5).

That’s all for today!

Steve

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A2 English in the Morning – Starts 22/4/24