Lesson 7
Hello everybody.
In our seventh lesson we looked at ‘9A What really shocks me is that it cost €250,000’.
For grammar we looked at relative clauses.
For vocabulary we spoke about health.
Here is a long video that explains defining relative clauses:
Here is another long video that explains non-defining relative clauses:
For homework I asked you to complete all of the Vocbulary Focus exercises for 9A on page 162. Next, you need to read all of the information for 9A on page 150 and complete all of the exercises for 9A on page 151. Finally, you should complete the exercises for Unit 9A in the Online Workbook (or on page 52 in the black and white section 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 ‘8B I would have opened it’.
For grammar we looked at the Third Conditional. We also looked at how we can use ‘should have + past participle’.
For vocabulary we spoke about crime.
Here is a detailed video that explains the Third Conditional:
Here is a video that discusses the use of ‘should have + past participle’:
For homework you should complete exercise 4c and 4d on page 97. You should then complete all of the exercises on page 161. Next, you should read the information for 8B on page 148 and do the exercises for 8B on page 149. Finally, you should complete the exercises for Unit 8B in the Online Workbook (or on page 47 in the black and white section at the back of the book).
OPTIONAL EXTRA HOMEWORK: If you feel like doing some extra study, I recommend that you complete all of Unit 8C and 8D on pages 98-101 (but you will need to register your book with the website to complete the listening exercises). For exercise 4d on page 101, please send me your answer directly in a NEW email if you would like me to check your writing.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 5
Hello everyone.
In our fifth lesson we looked at ‘8A I’d like to start sving for a home’.
For grmmar we started to look at the First and Second Conditionals.
For vocabulary we looked at money and finance.
Here is a very detailed video that explains the First Conditional:
Here is another detailed video that explains the Second Conditional:
For homework I asked you to complete all of exercise 2, and exercises 3d and 3e on page 93. You should then complete all of exercise 4 on page 94. Finally, you should complete the exercises for Unit 8A in the Online Workbook (or on page 46 in the black and white section at the back of the book).
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 4
Hello again.
In our fourth lesson we looked at ‘7B I could have it done by a professional’.
For vocbulary we spoke about film and TV, and for homework you were asked to look at houses.
For grammar homework you were sked to read about cusative ‘have’ and ‘get’.
For homework you need to complete the exercises for ‘3 GRAMMAR’ on page 84 (this includes the reading and exercises for 7B on pages 146 and 147). You should then complete the exercises for ‘4 VOCABULARY’ and ‘5 LISTENING’ on page 85. After that, you should do the PRONUNCIATION exercises on page 160. Finally, you need to complete the exercises for Unit 7B in the Online Workbook (or on page 41 in the black and white section at the back of the book).
OPTIONAL EXTRA HOMEWORK: If you feel like doing some extra study, I recommend that you complete all of Unit 7C and 7D on pages 86-89 (but you will need to register your book with the website to complete the listening exercises). For exercise 4d on page 89, please send me your answer directly in a NEW email if you would like me to check your writing.
Here is a video that explains how to use the causative verbs ‘have’ and ‘get’:
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 3
Welcome back.
In our third lesson we looked at ‘7A There’s very little traffic’.
For vocabulary we looked at life in cities.
For grammar homework I asked you to read about the use of ‘too’, ‘enough’, ‘so’ and ‘such’.
For homework you need to complete all of the exercises for ‘3 GRAMMAR’ on page 81 (This includes reading the information and doing the exercises for 7A on pages 146 and 147). You should then complete all of the exercises for ‘4READING and LISTENING’, ‘5 VOCABULARY’, and ‘6 LISTENING’ on page 82. Finally, you need to complete the exercises for Unit 7B in the Online Workbook (or on page 40 in the black and white section at the back of the book).
Here is a video that explains how to use ‘too’ and ‘enough’:
Here is a video that focuses on the use of ‘so’ and ‘such’:
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 2
Hello again,
In our second lesson we looked at ‘6B About half the world’s languages will disappear’.
For grammar we looked at how to use the passive voice when speaking in English.
For vocabulary we looked at ways to describe change.
Here is an excellent video that explains the passive voice:
For homework I asked you to read the information for 6B on page 144 and then do the exercises for 6B on page 145. You should then complete exercise 4e on page 73. After that, you need to complete the exercises for Unit 6B in the Online Workbook (or on page 35 in the black and white section at the back of the book).
OPTIONAL EXTRA HOMEWORK: If you feel like doing some extra study, I recommend that you complete all of Unit 6C and 6D on pages 74-77 (but you will need to register your book with the website to complete the listening exercises). For exercise 4b on page 77, please send me your answer directly in a NEW email if you would like me to check your writing.
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. I then gave you an outline of what to expect in this course.
The textbook is called ‘Cambridge English EMPOWER B2 Combo B Student’s Book and Workbook with Online Assessment (Published by Cambridge University Press).
You can buy the book at Ferdosi Media Bookshop, Karlavägen 4, 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 http://www.cambridgelms.org/empower 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.
Registering your textbook with the website will allow you to access all the audio files that you will need to complete exercises in the textbook and workbook (the black and white section at the back of the book). You can also do the workbook exercises on the website, which is better because it will let you try again if you do not get the correct answer. If you still can’t guess the correct answer, you can ask for it to be given to you.
The website also has extra resources and exercises if you wish to do extra study (which I recommend) other than your given classwork and homework.
After introductions, we began with ‘6A I’m not going to try to see everything’ from the textbook.
For grammar, we spoke about gerunds and infinitives.
For vocbulary, we spoke about travel and tourism.
Here is a video that gives a detiled explanations of ‘gerunds’:
Here is another video that looks at the difference between ‘gerunds‘ and ‘to + infinitive‘.
For homework, I sked you to read the information for 6A on page 144 and then do the exercises for 6A on page 145. After that, you should complete exercise 2f on page 69. Next, I asked you to complete all of the exercises on page 159 (You will need to register your textbook with the website to be able to do the listening exercises). Finally, I asked you to complete the exercises for 6A in the Online Workbook (or you can do them on page 34 in the black and white section at the back of the textbook).
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 7
Hello everyone.
In our seventh lesson we looked at ‘4A – She’s happier now than she used to be’.
For Vocabulary, we spoke about cause and result.
For grammar, we spoke about used to and would.
Here is a video that looks at used to and would:
For homework, I asked you to do the all of the Listening exercises on pages 45 and 46. You also need to complete exercise 5c on page 46. You should then read the information for 4A on page 140, and then do the exercises for 4A on page 141. You also need to complete Unit 4A in the Online Workbook (or in the back of the textbook).
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 6
Hello again!
In our sixth lesson we looked at ‘3B – There are lots of good runners in Kenya’.
For Vocabulary, our topic was Sports. Click here for a link to an excellent Sports Definitions website that should help you with almost any specific competitive sports terminology that you might hear or read about. For general sports related terms, a normal dictionary will be sufficient.
For grammar we looked at Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous.
For homework you need to complete all of the listening exercises on page 36. Next, you should read the information for 3B Present Perfect Simple and Continuous on page 138, and then do the exercises for 3B on page 139. You also need to complete Unit 3B in the Online Workbook. Finally, you need to complete all of the exercises on page 156.
OPTIONAL EXTRA HOMEWORK: If you feel like doing some extra study, I recommend that you complete all of Unit 3C and 3D on pages 38-41 (but you will need to register your book with the website to complete the listening exercises). For exercise 4b on page 41, please send me your answer directly in a NEW email so I can check your writing.
Here is an excellent video that explains Present Perfect Continuous and Present Perfect (Simple):
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 5
In our fifth lesson we looked at ‘3A – I’m not very good in the morning’ from the textbook. We did some reading exercises which focused on the Vocabulary topics of Ability and Achievement. For homework you will look at some Multi-word Verbs (often called Phrasal Verbs).
Here are two videos that explain Multi-word Verbs. The first is a short video that explains how Multi-word Verbs can be used. The second video is a bit longer and focuses on the difference between Transitive and Intransitive Multi-word Verbs.
For homework you need to do the listening exercises on page 34. You also need to read the information for 3A on page 138, and then do the exercises for 3A on page 139. As usual, you should also do the exercises for Unit 3A in the Online Workbook (or the exercises for 3A at the back of the textbook).
That’s all for today. See you tomorrow!
Steve
Lesson 4
Welcome back.
In our fourth lesson we looked at ‘2B – If it runs towards you, don’t run away’.
For Grammar we discussed Future Time Clauses and Conditionals.
For Vocabulary we discussed animals and the environment.
Here are two short videos that explain Future time clauses:
For homework you need to do the exercises for ‘3 LISTENING and VOCABULARY’ on page 25. I also asked you to read all of section 2B on page 136, and then do the exercises for 2B on page 137. You also need to do all of the exercises for unit 2B in the Online Workbook )or the exercises for 2B at the back of the book).
OPTIONAL EXTRA HOMEWORK: If you feel like doing some extra study, I recommend that you complete all of Unit 2C and 2D on pages 26-29 (but you will need to register your book with the website to complete the listening exercises). For exercise 4b on page 29, please send me your answer directly in a NEW email so I can check your writing.
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 3
Hello again.
In our third lesson we looked at ‘2A – It was getting late and I was lost’.
For Vocabulary we looked at various expressions which use the word get.
For Grammar we looked at some examples of how we use Narrative Tenses tell stories about the past.
Here are two excellent videos that explain Narrative Tenses:
Here is a longer video which looks at various uses of the verb get:
For homework you need to do all of the exercises for ‘3 READING’ on page 21.
After the reading exercises, you should complete exercises c, d and e for ‘4 GRAMMAR’ on page 22. To complete exercise c, you will need to read the text for 2A on page 136 and then complete the exercises for 2A on page 137.
Finally, you need to complete the exercises for Unit 2A in the Online Workbook (or simply do the exercises for 2A in the black and white section at the back of the book).
That’s all for today.
Steve
Lesson 2
Hi everybody, and welcome back to the blog.
In our second lesson we looked at ‘1B – Are you finding it difficult?’ in the textbook.
For Vocabulary we discussed trying and succeeding. For Grammar we looked at Question Forms.
Here is a video that explains Auxiliary verbs:
Click here to read an explanation of how yes/no negative questions are used, and how to answer them correctly.
Here is a video that looks at the difference between Direct and Indirect Questions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFXaC5bW-70
For homework I also asked you to complete 3a, 3b and 3c on pages 12 and 13. Next, you need to read the information for 1B on page 134 and do the exercises for 1B on page 135. Finally, you need to complete Unit 1B in the Online Workbook (or you can do the questions for 1B at the back of your textbook).
OPTIONAL EXTRA HOMEWORK: If you feel like doing some extra study, I recommend that you complete all of Unit 1C and 1D on pages 14-17 (but you will need to register your book with the website to complete the listening exercises). For exercise 4c on page 17, please send me your answer directly in a NEW email so I can check your writing.
Don’t forget that your textbook has a code that you can use to register for the website for the book. You need to register to use the Online Workbook which has the homework exercises. The code is on the inside cover of your textbook (You need to scratch the grey material to see the code underneath). You will need to go to http://www.cambridgelms.org 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.
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. I then gave you an outline of what to expect in this course.
The textbook is called ‘Cambridge English EMPOWER B2 Combo A Student’s Book and Workbook with Online Assessment (Published by Cambridge University Press).
You can buy the book at Ferdosi Media Bookshop, Karlavägen 4, 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 http://www.cambridgelms.org/empower 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.
Registering your textbook with the website will allow you to access all the audio files that you will need to complete exercises in the textbook and workbook (the black and white section at the back of the book). You can also do the workbook exercises on the website, which is better because it will let you try again if you do not get the correct answer. If you still can’t guess the correct answer, you can ask for it to be given to you.
The website also has extra resources and exercises if you wish to do extra study (which I recommend) other than your given classwork and homework.
Next, we then started to look at the first chapter of the textbook: ‘1A – She is an inspiring woman’. We spoke about people we admire, and read some related articles. For vocabulary, we looked at some character adjectives. For grammar, we reviewed several different verb tenses: Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Present Simple, Present Continuous, and Present Perfect.
Here are some videos which explain these verb tenses:
For homework, you were asked read the information for ‘1A Review of tenses’ on page 134 and then do the Grammar exercises for ‘1A Review of tenses’ on page 135. After that, you should do exercise 3e on page 9.
If you have the textbook and can play the audio files, you should do all of the exercises for ‘3 LISTENING’ on page 10.
You also need to do all of the Vocabulary exercises for ‘1A Character adjectives’ on page 154. Finally, I would like you to do all of the exercises for ‘1A She is an inspiring woman’ on page 4 (but if you have the textbook, you can choose to do these final exercises in the Online Workbook from the textbook website instead).
That’s all for today. I’ll see you in our second lesson!
Steve