Lesson 4
Hello everyone.
In our fourth lesson we looked at ’11A She met him in 1963′ and ’11B She can pull a plane’ in the textbook. For vocabulary we discussed life events and abilities. For grammar we spoke about object pronouns and how to use ‘can’ to talk about ability.
Here is a short video that explains object pronouns:
Here is a longer video that explains and compares subject pronouns and object pronouns:
Here is a short video that explains the use of can and can’t when talking about ability:
For homework you should read the information for 11A on page 128 and do the exercises for 11A on page 129. You also need to do the exercises for 11A on page 139. After that, you need to complete Unit 11A in the Online Workbook. Next, you need to read the information for 11B on page 130 and then complete the exercises for 11B on page 131. Finally, you should do Unit 11B in the Online Workbook.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 3
Welcome back to the blog.
In our third extension lesson we looked at ’10B Are you working’.
For vocabulary we spoke about how to use place phrases with prepositions. For grammar we looked at the Present Continuous tense for negative sentences and questions.
Here is a short video which explains Present Simple for negative sentences:
Here is a short video which explains Present Simple for questions:
For homework you need to read the information for 10B on page 128 and do the exercises for 10B on page 129. Then you should do the exercises for Unit 10B in the Online Workbook. Finally, you should finish the Unit 4 Revision exercises that we started in clss on page 38.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 2
Hello again.
In our second extension lesson we looked at ’10A I’m sitting in my flat’.
For vocabulary we spoke about the home. For grammar we looked at the Present Continuous tense for positive sentences.
Here is a short video which explains Present Simple for positive sentences, negative sentences, and questions:
For homework you need to read the information for 10A on page 126 and do the exercises for 10A on page 127. Then you should do the exercises for Unit 10A in the Online Workbook.
If you would like me to check your writing, you can email me and tell me what everybody in your family is doing while you are typing your email.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 1
Hello everyone.
Welcome to the course blog. This blog will help you get the most out of this course. After each lesson I will update it with brief details of what we cover in each lesson, as well as tell you what homework has been given. If you were not in the previous course, I recommend that you scroll to the bottom of this blog so you can see what topics have lready been covered.
In our first extra lesson we looked at ‘9B How did you get there?’
For vocabulary we spoke about the seasons and weather. For grammar we looked at the Past Simple tense for questions.
And here is a simple video explaining how to ask Past Simple questions:
Here is a video that looks at all forms of Past Simple:
For homework you need to read all of the information for 9B on page 126. After that you should do all of the exercises for 9B on page 127. Finally, you should complete Unit 9B in the Online Workbook.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 15
Welcome back.
In our fifteenth lesson we looked at ‘8B Who killed Lady Grey?’
For vocabulary we spoke about free time activities. For grammar we looked at the Past Simple tense for positive sentences.
Here is a video that looks at the Past Simple for positive sentences in more detail:
For homework you need to complete the exercises for Vocabulary Focus 8B on page 138. After that, you need to read all of page 124 and then do all of the exercises on page 125.
Finally, you need to complete and Unit 8B in the Online Workbook.
If you wish to register for the 5 lesson extension for the A2 English in the Morning Course that we have talked about in class, please click here to register online.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 14
Welcome back.
In our fourteenth lesson we looked at ‘8A I was on tour with my band’.
For vocabulary we spoke about past time expressions. For grammar we looked at the Past Simple tense for the verb be.
Here is a video that looks at the verb be in the Past Simple tense:
For homework you need to read all of the information for 8A on page 124 and then do all of the exercises for 8A on page 125.
Finally, you need to complete Unit 8A in the Online Workbook.
If you would like to do extra study, you should complete 7C (pages 60 and 61). If you would like me to check your writing, you can send your work for exercise 6c on page 61.
If you wish to register for the 5 lesson extension for the A2 English in the Morning Course that we have talked about in class, please click here to register online.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 13
In our thirteenth lesson we looked at ‘7B It’s Greg’s T-shirt.’
For vocabulary we spoke about clothes and colours.
For grammar we spoke about the possessive ‘s.
Here is a video that explains the possessive s, and tests your knowledge:
For homework you need to read all of the information for 7B on page 122 and then do the exercises for Unit 7B on page 123. You also need complete Unit 7B in the Online workbook.
If you would like to do extra homework, I recommend completeing Unit 7C on pages 60 and 61. You can send an email to me with your writing for exercise 6c on page 61.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 12
Hello again.
In our twelfth lesson we looked at ‘7A How much are these books?’
For vocabulary we spoke about common objects, and prices.
For grammar we spoke about the words ‘this, that, these and those’.
Here is a short video that explains how to use ‘this, that, these and those’ correctly:
For homework you need to read all of the information for 7A on page 122 and then do the exercises for 7A on page 123. You also need complete Unit 7A in the Online workbook.
If you wish to do extra homework, I recommend you complete Unit 6C on pages 52 and 53. If you would like me to check your writing, you can email me your work for exercise 6 on page 53.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 11
Welcome back to the blog.
In our eleventh lesson we looked at ‘6B I wake up at 4:00’.
For vocabulary we spoke about daily routines. For grammar we looked at the Present Simple tense for questions for the third person (he, she & it).
And here is a video that explains the Present Simple for questions:
For homework you need to read all of the information for 6B on page 122 and do the exercises for 6B on page 123. You also need to do the exercises for Unit 6B in the Online Workbook.
If you would like to do extra homework, you can complete unit 6C on pages 52 and 53. Exercise 6c on page 53 can be sent to me if you would like me to check your writing. (This homework is optional.)
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 10
Welcome back to the blog.
In our tenth lesson we looked at ‘6A I don’t work at night’.
For vocabulary we spoke about jobs. For grammar we spoke about the Present Simple tense for negative sentences and questions for the third person (he, she & it).
Here is a long video that gives an overview of Present Simple (I, You, We, They, He, She, It):
Here is a video that explains the Present Simple for negative sentences:
For homework you need to read all of the information for 6A on page 120 and then do the exercises on page 121. Next, you need to do the exercises for Unit 6A in the Online Workbook. Finally, I asked yo to complete the Revision exercises at the end of Unit 2.
If you would like to do some extra writing homework, you can send me your work for exercise 5B on page 45. (This homework is optional.)
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 9
Welcome back to the blog.
In our ninth lesson we looked at’Unit 5B – Is there a hostel in your town?’.
For vocabulary we spoke about hotels and hostels. For grammar we spoke about using ‘there is‘ and ‘there are’ in their negative form and to ask questions.
For homework you need to read all of the information for 5B on page 120 and then do the exercises on page 121. After that, you need to do the exercises for Unit 5A in the Online Workbook.
If you would like to do some extra writing homework, you can send me your work for exercise 5B on page 45. (This homework is optional.)
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 8
Hello everybody.
In our eighth lesson we looked at ‘Unit 5A – There are lots of old houses.’
For vocabulary we read about common places in a town. For grammar we spoke about how we can use the words ‘there is‘ and ‘there are’ to explain that a thing or things exists. I also explained to you how we use ‘a few’, ‘a lot’, ‘some’, and ‘any’.
Here is a link to a very short, basic video explaining how to use ‘there is’ and ‘there are’:
Here is a video explaining the grammar for all forms of ‘There is/There are’:
We also spoke about ‘a few’ (= not many), and ‘lots of’ (= many/much). Here is a video explaining how to use these terms (and ‘ little’):
I also spoke about ‘some’ and ‘any’. Here is a simple video explaining these words:
Some of you have some trouble pronouncing the final ‘s’ at the end of words. Here is the table that shows the rules, and a video which explains it in more detail:
For homework you need to read the section for 5A on page 120, and do the exercises for 5A on page 121. Then you need to do the exercises for Unit 5A in the Online Workbook.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 7
Hello again everyone.
In our seventh lesson we looked at ‘Unit 4B – She has a brother and a sister’ in the textbook.
For vocabulary we spoke about family, and numbers.
For grammar, we talked about the Present Simple tense for the third person (he/she/it).
Here is a short video explaining positive sentences for Present Simple in the third person (he/she/it):
For homework, you need to read the in formation for ‘4B Present simple: he/she/it positive’ on page 118 and then do the exercises for ‘4B Present simple: he/she/it positive’ on page 119 of the textbook. You also need to complete all of the exercises for Unit 4B in the Online Workbook.
If you would like to do some extra study, you can also look at Unit 4C (pages 36-37 in the textbook) and do all of exercises 1, 2 and 3. If you wish to do some more writing, you can send to me an email with a photo of your family, and also tell me about some information about each of your family members.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 6
In our sixth lesson we looked at ‘Unit 4A – What do you study?’ in the textbook.
For vocabulary we looked at some common verbs. For grammar looked at ‘Wh-‘ questions using the Present Simple tense.
Here is a video explaining ‘Wh-‘ questions using the Present Simple tense:
If you are having some problems with pronunciation, you may find the Phonetic Symbols for pronunciation (British English) on page 165 of your textbook helpful.
Here is a video showing the symbols and sounds:
For homework you were asked to do the exercises for Unit 4A in the Online Workbook.
You also need to read the information for ‘4A Present simple: WH- questions’ on page 118 and do the grammar exercises for 4A on page 119, and then finish exercise 4c on page 33.
Finally, I would like you to complete a writing exercise and send it to me in an email. For the writing task you should write a letter to a friend from Australia who wants to visit your country as a tourist. In the letter you should tell them about all the things that you recommend that they should see or do in your country.
That’s all for today. Have a great weekend! I will see you all on Tuesday.
Steve
Lesson 5
In our fifth lesson we looked at ‘Unit 3B – I always have dinner early’ in the textbook.
For vocabulary we looked at food again, and we also talked about time.
For grammar we spoke about adverbs of frequency.
Here is a simple video explaining how to tell the time:
Here is a simple video explaining how to use adverbs of frequency:
For homework you were asked to read section ‘3B Adverbs of frequency’ on page 118, and do the exercises for section ‘3B Adverbs of frequency’ on page 119. You also need to do the exercises for Unit 3B in the Online Workbook.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 4
Today in class we looked at ‘Unit 3A – Do you like fish?’ in the textbook.
For vocabulary we talked about food.
Click here for a link to a website that will help you with your food vocabulary. (Scroll down and click on the different types of food e.g. fruit, vegetables, etc.)
For grammar we talked about the Present Simple tense using the subject pronouns I/you/we/they.
Here is a video explaining Present Simple:
Some of you have some trouble pronouncing the final ‘s’ at the end of words. Here is the table that shows the rules, and a video which explains it in more detail:
For homework you were asked to read the information for ‘3A – Present simple: I/you/we/they’ on page 116 and then do the exercises for 3A on page 117. You were also asked to do the exercises for unit 3A in the online workbook.
That’s all for today. I will see you in our next lesson.
Steve
Lesson 3
Hello everybody.
Today in class we looked at ‘Unit 2B – Do you have a phone?’ from the textbook.
For grammar we looked at if we should use ‘a’ or ‘an’, plural nouns, and the verb ‘have’. For vocabulary we looked at common objects and numbers.
Here is a video that explains when to use ‘a’ or ‘an’:
Here is a simple video explaining singular and plural nouns:
Here is a simple video explaining how to use ‘have’ (or ‘has‘):
Here is a video teaching you how to say numbers:
For homework you were asked to read the information for ‘2B Plural nouns’ on page 116 and then do the grammar exercises for ‘2B Plural nouns’ on page 117 of the textbook. You then need to do all of the exercises for Unit 2B from the Online Workbook.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 2
Welcome back to the course blog!
In our second lesson looked at ‘2A – It’s a very big city’.
For vocabulary we looked at common adjectives. For grammar we looked at the word ‘it’. We also looked at possessive adjectives.
For homework you were asked to read section ‘2A be: it’s/it isn’t; Possessive Adjectives’ on page 116, and then do the exercises for ‘2A be: it’s/it isn’t; Possessive Adjectives’ on page 117. You also need to do all of the exercises for Units 1, 1B and 2A in the Online Workbook.
Here is a simple video with a general explanation of how we use adjectives:
Here is an excellent video explaining personal pronouns:
Here is a simple video to help explain possessive adjectives:
That’s all for today. I’ll see you all next week.
Steve
Lesson 1
Hello everyone, and welcome to the course blog!
This blog will help you get the most out of this course. After each lesson I will update it with brief details of what we cover in each lesson, as well as tell you what homework has been given. In future blogs I may also include links to videos or other webpages 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. We have students from a variety of different countries and cultures.
The course textbook is called ‘Cambridge English EMPOWER A1 Starter Student’s Book with Online Access (Published by Cambridge University Press).
You can buy the book online, or you can buy it at Ferdosi International Bookshop, Odengatan 21, Stockholm.
Your textbook has a code that will let you use the 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 to go to www.cambridgelms.org/main/p/splash to register your textbook. Here is a video with instructions to help you:
*PLEASE NOTE: You do not need to ‘Join a Class’ on this website. That is only for Internet Courses. However, I recommend you use the ‘Self Study’ section. Please have a look at this website, it is very helpful.
After our introducions we reviewed the alphabet and pronunciation of the letters, and discussed vowels and consonants.
We then looked at the first two chapters of the textbook: ‘1A – I’m from Mexico’ and ‘1B He’s a Brazilian’. For grammar, we discussed the verb ‘be’ – am, and are, and some subject pronouns – I, you (singular), we, and you(plural). For vocabulary, we spoke about countries and nationalities.
Later, we spoke about the verb ‘be’ again, and how we use it with some other subject pronouns (he/she/they).
Here is an excellent video about the verb ‘be’ (am/is/are):
For homework, you need to read the information for 1A and 1B on page 114, and then do the exercises for 1A and 1B on page 115. If you hve the textbook and have registered your book with the website, you can also do the listening exercises for Unit 1A and Unit 1B.
You should also practice pronouncing the letters of the alphabet using the table that we made in class.
Here is a video that will help you pronounce the letters of the alphabet:
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all on Thursday!
Steve