A2 English in the Morning – Starts 22/5/23

Lesson 7

Welcome to the final blog entry for this course.

In our seventh lesson we looked at ’12B You should live like loval people’.

For vocabulary we looked at various travel collocations. For grammar we looked at should/shouldn’t for giving advice, suggestions, and opinions.

Here is a video that looks at the use of should and shouldn’t:

For homework you need to read the information for 12B on page 160 and then do the exercises for 12B on page 161. Next, you have to complete the exercises for Unit 12B in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today. I hope to see you all on Wednesday for our final lesson.

Steve

Lesson 6

In our sixth lesson we looked at ’12A What are you going to do?’

For vocbulary we spoke about geography. For grammar we looked at how to use going to to talk about future plans.

Here is a video which explains how to use going to to talk about future plans:

For homework I asked you to read the information for 12A on page 160 and complete the exercises for 12A on page 161. You then need to complete the exercises for 12A on page 170. You should also complete the exercises for Unit 12A in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 5

Welcome back to the blog. In our fifth lesson we did the revision exercises for Unit 7. For grammar we reviewed the Past Simple Tense, and also how to use ‘love/like/don’t mind/hate + (verb+ing)‘. For vocabulary we reviewed transport and the word ‘get’.

For homework, I asked you to complete the Review and Extension exercises for Unit 8 on page 88.

The homework will review for grammar how we use can/can’t to talk about ability, and also the structures and uses of have to. It will also look at the difference between tell and say.

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:

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

Here is a video that looks at the difference between tell and say:

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 4

Hello again.

In our fourth lesson we looked at ’11B I bet you’ve never been to the opera’.

For vocabulary we spoke about music.

For grammar we looked at the difference between Present Perfect and Past Simple.

Here is a short video that looks at the difference between Present Perfect and Past Simple:

Here is a a more detailed video that looks at the difference between Present Perfect and Past Simple:

For homework you need to complete the Listening exercise on page 113. Next, read the informtion for 11B on page 158 and complete the exercises for 11B on page 159. Then you should complete exercise 4d on page 113. Finally, you can do all of the exercises for Unit 11B in the Digital Workbook.

If you would like to do some extra writing homework, you can write a few paragraphs about places you have been and things that you have done (or would like to). Try and use the Present Perfect and the Past Simple Tenses. Your work can be sent to me directly in an email (steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 3

Welcome back to the blog.

In our third lesson we looked at ’11A I’ve heard she’s a good actor’.

For grammar we looked at the Present Perfect tense, and for vocabulary we looked at Irregular Past Participles.

Here is a detailed video that explains Present Perfect and Past Participles:

For homework you need to read the informtion for 11A on page 158 and complete the exercises for 11A on page 159. You also need to do the Vocabulary Focus exercises for 11A on page 170. Finally, you should complete Unit 11A in the Digital Workbook (or from the photocopy that I gave you).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 2

Hello again.

In our second lesson we looked at ’10B What’s the most beautiful language in the world?’.

For grammar we spoke about Superlative adjectives. For vocabulary we spoke about languages, and for homework you will read about high numbers.

Here is a detailed video which explains superlative adjectives:

For homework you need to complete exercise 3c, 3d, and 4a on page 103. Next, you should complete the exercises for 10B on page 169. After that, you need to read the information for 10B on page 156 and complete the exercises for 10B on page 157. Finally, you should complete the exercises for unit 10B in the Digital Workbook (or on the photocopies that I gave you).

IF YOU WANT TO DO SOME EXTRA HOMEWORK, you can write a paragraph or two about your favourite blog to read.

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.

As I mentioned to you all in our lesson, THIS IS A CONTINUATION COURSE. Some of the students have already completed several courses with me. As a result, we will not be starting from the beginning of the textbook. I recommend that ALL NEW STUDENTS SHOULD SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE BLOG FROM THE PREVIOUS COURSE. THIS WILL LET YOU SEE THE TOPICS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY COVERED.

The textbook we will be using for most of this course is Cambridge English EMPOWER Elementary A2 Combo B with Digital Pack . You can buy the book from Ferdosi International Bookshop, Odengatan 21, Stockholm. We have almost finished the book, so YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY THE BOOK IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO. I can provide potocopies for any students that don’t have the book.

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 have students from a variety of different countries and cultures.

We then did an exercise to work on the pronunciation of the letters of the alphabet. Next, we did a quick revision of vowels and consonants, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

After that, we looked at ’10A A smartphone is better than a tablet’.

For vocabulary we spoke about music, earbuds and headphones. For homework you will look at some I.T. collocations.

For grammar we looked at comparative adjectives.

Here is an excellent video which gives a detailed explanation of comparative adjectives:

For homework I asked you to complete all of the Listening exercises, as well as exercise 4a and 4b, on page 101. Then you should read the information for 10A on page 156 and then complete all of the grammar exercises for 10A on page 157. Finally, you should complete unit 10A in the Digital Workbook (or on the photocopy that I gave you).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 6

Welcome back.

In our sixth lesson we looked at ‘9B Everyone’s dancing in the streets’.

For grammar we spoke about the difference between present continuous and present simple. For vocabulary we looked at about clothes.

Here is a detailed video that looks at the difference betweeen Present Simple and Present Continuous:

For homework I asked you to complete the grammar reading for 9B on page 154 and do the exercises for 9B on page 155. You alsio need to do the exercises for 9B on page 168. Finally, you should complete all of Unit 9B in the Digital Workbook.

I would like to remind you that our current course finishes next week. Please click here if you wish to register for the next course (which will be the final course before the Summer break).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 5

Hello again.

In our fifth lesson we looked at ‘9A We aren’t buying anything’.

For vocbulary we spoke about shopping, money and prices. For grammar we spoke about the present continuous.

Here is a short video that explains the present continuous tense:

For homework I asked you to read the information for 9A on page 154 and do the exercises for 9A on page 155. You also need to do the exercises for Unit 9A in the Digital Workbook.

If you would like to do some extra writing homework, you can write a paragraph or two about what your family is doing. Trying to use the Present Continuous when possible. Email me your work and I will check it for you.

I would like to remind you that our current course finishes next week. Please click here if you wish to register for the next course (which will be the final course before the Summer break).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 4

Welcome back to the blog.

In our fourth lesson we looked at Unit 7D 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 fpr a while. We also spoke about which English speaking countries we would most like to visit.

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 homework I asked you to complete Unit 7D in the Digital Workbook. If you wish to do some writing, you can do all of exercise 4 on page 77 and email me your work and I will check for you.

I would like to remind you that our current course finishes next week. Please click here if you wish to register for the next course (which will be the final course before the Summer break).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 3

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 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!

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.

We then talked about how to ask for and give directions.

Here is a video that gives some examples of giving directions:

We also spoke about neighbourhoods and how we can describe them.

We finished by looking at how to use ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘so’ to link ideas in speech and in writing. ‘And’, ‘but’ and ‘so’ are examples of conjunctions in English grammar. Here is a video which explains conjunctions in detail:

For homework, you need to complete the exercises for 5C and 5D on pages 30 and 31 of the workbook (THE BLACK AND WHITE SECTION AT THE BACK OF YOUR COMBO A TEXTBOOK). You can email me your work (steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se) for exercise 3a on page 31 and I can check your writing for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 6

Hello everyone.

I would just like to remind you that this we only have one more lesson in this course. If you wish to continue next week, please click on this link to register.

In our sixth lesson we looked at “8A They can do things most people can’t”.

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 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 8A in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 5

Hello again.

Welcome back. In our fifth lesson we looked at Units 4C and 4D in the textbook. They focused on ordering food in restaurants, particularly how to use the phrases “I’d like…” and “I’ll have…”.

I also spoke 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.

Here is a simple video with some common phrases that are used in restaurants:

Here is a longer video that shows language used in a variety of situations when discussing food at a restaurant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKZobM75mk4

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, I asked you to complete all of the exercises for 4C and 4D. This includes exercise 4b on page 47, which should be sent to me in a NEW email so I can check it.

You also need to complete Unit 4C and 4D in the Digital Workbook.

Don’t forget that this course finished next week. If you would like to continue in the next course, please click here to register.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 4

Welcome back to the blog.

In our fourth 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.

If you would like to do some extra writing homework for me to check, you can email me your work for exercise 4d on page 77.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 3

In our third lesson we looked at vocabulary for making arrangements.

Here is a video that looks at making, accepting, and rejecting suggestions in English:

For homework I asked you to complete exercise 1b and 1c, and all of the exercises for 2 and 3 on pages 36 and 37 of the Combo A book. You should also complete the exercises for Unit 3C and Unit 3D in the Digital Workbook.

Please make sure you bring both Combo A and Combo B to our next lesson.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 2

In our second 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 vocabulary exercises for 7A on page 167 (book B). 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.

If you would like to do some writing homework, you can complete exercise 4b on page 67 (book A) and email it to me and I will check it for you.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 1

Welcome everyone to a brand new course!

This course will run exactly the same as the previous course. However, you will need to buy Cambridge Empower Elementary Second Edition Combo B with Digital Pack. The book can be bought from Ferdosi Bookstore, Odengatan 21, Stockholm. If you can’t go today, you should ring the store and reserve a copy.

In our first 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’:

For homework, you need to do the grammar exercises for 6B on page 149, and also the Vocabulary exercises for 6B on page 165. Finally, you should do the exercises for Unit 6B in the Digital Workbook.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 6

Hello again.

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

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

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

For homework, you 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 5

In our fifth lesson we looked at Units 2C and 2D from the textbook.

We spoke about how we sometimes use ‘could’ instead of ‘can’ to make ask for things in a more pleasant, less demanding way. We also spoke about how we use ‘would like’ instead of ‘want’ when we also want to sound more friendly and polite.

Here is a video explaining the use of these words:

We then looked at some different ways of replying to someone who asks for something. We can use ‘Sure’ or ‘Certainly’ when we want to give a positive response and show that we are happy to do this. We can use ‘Sorry’ (followed by an explanation why) when we want to give a negative response but show that we are sad that we are unable to do the thing that we are asked.

For homework, I asked you to complete Units 2C and 2D in the Digital Workbook (or from the back of the book).

If you want to register for the next course, please click here and fill-in your details.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 4

Hi everybody.

In our fourth 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 read the information for 5B on page 146 and do the exercises for 5B on page 147. You also need to do the exercises for Unit 5B in the Digital Workbook. You should also finish the exercise 2b-c and exercise 4f on page 53.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 3

In our thirds lesson 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 3 Review and Extension on page 38.

Below is a 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 2

In our second 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 (or on page 28 in the Black & White section at the back of the book).

If you wish to do extra study, I recommend doing Unit 4C and Unit 4D on pages 44-47. You can send your answer for exercise 4b on page 47 to me in an email (to this address: steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se) and I can correct it for you.

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.

As I mentioned to you all in our lesson, THIS IS A CONTINUATION COURSE. Some of the students have already completed a 4 week course with me. As a result, we will not be starting from the beginning of the textbook. I recommend that ALL NEW STUDENTS SHOULD SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE BLOG FROM THE PREVIOUS COURSE. THIS WILL LET YOU SEE THE TOPICS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY COVERED.

The textbook we will be using for most of this course is Cambridge English EMPOWER Elementary A2 Combo A with Digital Pack . NEW STUDENTS DO NOT NEED TO BUY THE BOOK. FOR THIS COURSE ONLY, I WILL PROVIDE PHOTOCOPIES. However, you will not be able to access all of the homework if you do not have the book. You can buy the book if you wish, and it will allow you to look at the work covered in the previous course, as well as give you access the the website for the textbook.

If you do decide to buy the book, the easiest anq quickest place to buy the book from Ferdosi International Bookshop, Odengatan 21, Stockholm. You can ring the bookshop to order, or you can simply order the book from the bookshop’s website by clicking here.

After our course introduction and personal introductions, we did a review of the alphabet, vowels and consonants. We then covered nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

We then opened our books and we looked at Chapter 4B in the textbook.

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

For grammar, we did a quick listening exercise which 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.

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

Finally, you also need to do all of the exercises for ‘4B How much chocolate?’ on page 23 (or you can do the exercises for Unit 4B in the Digital Workbook).

If you have the textbook you can also complete the ‘3 LISTENING’ exercises on page 43.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 7

Hello again.

In our seventh 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 6

Welcome back to the course blog.

In our sixth 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).

If you wish to do extra study, I recommend doing Unit 3C and Unit 3D on pages 34-37. If you would like me to look at your writing, you can send your answer for exercise 4c on page 37 to me in an email and I can check it for you. (steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se)

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 5

In our fifth 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 and some Common Verbs.

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 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).

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 4

Welcome back to the course blog.

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

For vocabulary, we spoke about studying, and time. For pronunciation, we looked at the British Phonemic Alphabet on page 129.

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 that explains how to pronounce all of the sounds in British English:

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

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 Online Workbook (or you can do the exercises for 2B on page 11 of the Workbook at the back of the textbook).

If you would like to do some extra study, I recommend that you also complete Unit 2C (pages 24-25) and Unit 2D (pages 26-27). You can send your work for part 4 on page 27 in an email to me if you would like me to check your writing.

That’s all for today.

Steve

Lesson 3

Hello again.

In our third 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).

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 2

Hello everyone.

In our second lesson we looked at “Chapter 1B: She’s a lovely person”. For vocabulary, we looked at some personality adjectives. For grammar, we looked at using the verb ‘be‘ in questions and short answers.

Here is a short video with some common POSITIVE personality adjectives, followed by their opposite NEGATIVE personality adjectives:

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:

For homework I asked you to do the Vocabulary exercises for 1B on page 163 of the textbook. You also need to read the information for 1B on page 138 and then complete the exercises for 1B on page 139. Finally, you need to complete the exercises for Unit 1B in the Online Workbook (or you can do the exercises on page 5 of the black & white section at the back of the textbook).

If you feel like doing extra study, I strongly recommend that you do all of the exercises for 1C on pages 14-15 (you will need to register your textbook to listen to the audio files on the website), and for 1D on pages 16-17. Your work for Exercise 4 on page 17 can be sent to me directly in an email (steven.brown@folkuniversitetet.se) and I can check your writing for you.

That is 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 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 on page 138 and then do the exercises for 1A on page 139.

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

Also for homework I asked you to complete the exercises for ‘3 GRAMMAR’ on page 11. You then need to do exercise c, d and e on page 162. Finally, you should complete Unit 1A in the Online Workbook (OR you can do them in the black and white section at the back of the textbook on page 4).

That’s all for today!

Steve

Steven's Blog

Folkuniversitetet Språk Blogg Nätverk

A2 English in the Morning – Starts 22/5/23