Atlantic Senior 4 – August 29th

Howdy cowboys!!

I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson as much as I did. I guess we could get lots of things done, don’t you agree? As for the gerunds vs. infinitives grammar point, you received a list when you were in your Senior 2. I know it’d be too much to expect that all of you still had that list, huh?!Anyway, here it goes:

Gerunds vs Infinitives 

In addition to using this list, I strongly believe you’ve learned how to look up such information on your dictionaries. Well, have you?

We also talked about essays. I told you I’d give you a handout with the basic shape of essays and some guidance. You have also received this before, but since I’m such a forgiving and helpful teacher, here it goes again:

Basic shape of essays

And one more thing that I’d promised was the correction codes:

Correction codes

 Phew!! Have I missed anything? I hope not!!

And the moment you’ve all been waiting for – HOMEWORK!!

• Student’s book – Everything from pages 140 to 143 should be done by our next lesson.

Have a wonderful weekend!!’

Rick

Atlantic Junior 1 – August 29th

Hi there students,

 So, we finally have the weekend ahead of us, huh?! What are your big plans for this weekend? I realise most of you were having tests, so make sure you relax a bit, all right?

As for today’s lesson, we worked on the video and some questions and expressions which you should learn. Questions for inviting people to do something:

• Do you want to … this weekend?
• How about … ?
• Would you like to … ?
• Are you free … ?

Accepting an invitation:

• I’d love too!
• That’s perfect!
• It sounds good to me.

Declining an invitation:

• I’d love to, but I’m busy on … ?
• Sorry, but I can’t.
• That’s not for me.
• That’s past my bedtime.

Anyway, you can find all of them on the book. Please, make sure you learn all of them and try to use them as much as possible.

And, obviously, homework for your next lesson:

• Student’s book – page 24 – exercise B & C (Make sure you read the text carefully and look up the words you don’t know in your dictionary)
• Student’s book – page 19 – exercise C – Look up the words and find verbs that collocate with them
• Workbook – pages 13 & 14 – Unit 2 Lesson 2 (all exercises)

Have a nice weekend!!

Rick

CAE and FCE – Extra resource

Dear students,

You now have another source to help you pass your exams. The Cambridge ESOL has created a brand new website which you should definitely pay a visit to.

Just click here to get there.

Don’t miss it!!!

Rick

Atlantic Senior 4 – August 27th

Wazzup?!

After a long week with no posts, here I am. Today we’ve restarted talking about annoying people and their habits. We worked on the first 2 pages of module 7, and practised telling your teacher (me) some of his annoying habits. I could notice you were a bit shy and didn’t really want to be assertive in telling your teacher off, huh?! Wise choice, pupils, since I’ll be the one to correct your compositions!!

Anyway, I’m pretty sure we’ve seen lots of new words and vocabulary you should try to remember, from irritable to grumpy and plenty of other words. Have a look at the book in case you can’t remember them.

There was also a nice listening activity and you can check the tapescript at the end of the book – module 7, listening 1. You’ll also find some nice vocabulary there.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, homework.

• Student’s book – Read page 140 and do exercises 1, 2 and 3 on page 142
• Workbook – pages 48 and 49 – exercises 1, 2 and 3
• Handout – Vocabulary (It won’t be checked nor corrected. I’ll post the answer key ASAP)

Take care,

 Rick

Atlantic Junior 1 – August 27th

Hello there!!

We’ve started to move on through Unit 2. This time we’re studying prepositions, and so far we’ve focused on at, in, and on. Do not leave to study at the last minute. Your first test is going to be as soon as we finish this Unit. Make sure you revise everything that we’ve seen in Unit 1.

So, today we covered Unit 2 – Lesson 1. And this is the homework:

• Student’s book – page 18 exercise B
• Workbook – pages 12 & 13 – exercises 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8
• Grammar Booster – page G3 – exercises A and B (all of lesson 1)

See you on Wednesday at 2:00 in the afternoon. hehehe

Rick

CAE – August 24th

Hi there,

Long time no see! First of all, I’d like to apologise for the delay in posting something. But better late than never, huh?!

I hope our last lesson has been profitable for you, as we’ve talked a lot about Paper 1 and covered some strategies for you to tackle the parts. It’s extremely important that you find the right strategy for you, so any time you need some help or advice on which way to go, please talk to me.

Another thing I’d like to remind you of is the mock test for Paper 3. The tests are ready and waiting for you at the office. Just go there and talk to Simone or Ricardo in case I’m not there. You’ll have 1:30 to do the test and this time there’s an answer sheet. Just as I told you on our last lesson, you’ll have 2 weeks to take the test. You should leave only the answer sheet with Simone so that I can correct it later. That means you’re free to take the test home and look up anything you are not sure of. Don’t forget to print your name on the test, OK?

Now moving on to your homework to our next lesson:

• Exam Maximiser: page 74
• Coursebook: page 115

Cheers!!!

Atlantic Junior 1 – End of unit 1

Hi there!!

You’ve made it! We’ve finally finished unit 1. How did you do in today’s quiz? In case you’ve seen things you don’t remember, I strongly advise you to have a look at the unit again. Go over vocabulary and grammar, use the super CD-ROM which comes with your book, and in case you still need clarification on any topic, talk to me.

Now it’s time for you to write your first composition. It’s supposed to be done by Wednesday. Just as I explained to you today (in Portuguese to make it really clear), if you don’t bring it on Wednesday, you’ll be penalised in 10 marks.

For this first composition, you have to write an email to a friend introducing one of your classmates. Don’t forget to include your classmate’s name, age, hometown, nationality, and another thing that you may want to (for example, favourite team, favourite subject at school, etc).

See you Wednesday!

 Rick

CAE – Aug 17 – Homework

Hi there,

Quick post just so you all remember to do your homework.

• COURSEBOOK – p 110 – English in Use – exercises 4 & 5
• EXAM MAXIMISER – p 73 (all of it)

Cheers,

Rick

FCE – Unit 1

Howdy cowboys,

We’ve spent quite a long time on unit 1. This is the time for you to get to know about the exam and its format. You should always bear in mind that recycling is important, especially when it comes to vocabulary. Make sure you pay a visit to those words, phrases and expressions we’ve seen so far. Otherwise, they might all be forgot. You don’t want that to happen, right?

Today we talked a bit about inversions. This is a nice link to follow in case you’d like to learn a bit more about it.

We also talked about the correct usage of verb tenses and worked on our first Reading question. Make sure you remember and make use of the strategies, OK?

We also talked about Reality TV. What is your take on that? Why do you think o many people watch such programmes? What makes them so appealing? Post your comments.

Oh, and don’t forget to do your homework:

• COURSEBOOK – page 11 – exercise 5
• COURSEBOOK – page 12 – exercises 1 to 3
• EXAM MAXIMISER – page 10 and 11 – READING (part 4) exercises 1, 2, and 3
• EXAM MAXIMISER – page 11 – GRAMMAR 2 – exercise 1

Enjoy the weekend!!

Cheers!

Junior 1 – Unit 1 Lesson 4

Hi there!!

First of all, thanks for the effort to attend today’s lesson. I know it’s not easy to attend an extra lesson. Hopefully, it was the first and only one, huh?!

So, today we worked on the questions we’ve seen so far and a couple of other vocabulary items. We also watched the video. By the way, how did you like the video? Did you like it?

Speaking of videos, I’d promised to post the video we watched when talking about countries and nationalities. Here it is:

As you know – at least those of you who came to class – we will have a quiz on Monday. So, you need to study everything from Unit 1. Remember to use the CD-ROM which came with the book to help you. It’s going to give you pretty much everything you need.

Oh, and here’s something to help you with your spelling practice:

And don’t forget to do your homework:

• WORKBOOK – Pages 10 to 14 (Finish Unit 1)

Cheers!!!

Rick