Intermediate Level, Video

Thanksgiving Day

The exact historical origin of the Thanksgiving Day is uncertain. Although the Americans commonly believe that Thanksgiving first took place at Plymouth Plantation, in Massachusetts, in 1621. In Canada, also, there is strong evidence for earlier celebrations in 1578 and in 1565 by Spanish explorers in Florida. Moreover, Thanksgiving Day is also observed in Leiden, the Netherlands. In the island of Grenada, there is a different holiday however which is celebrated at a similar time of year using the same name.

In the United States:

Thanksgiving is observed on the every fourth Thursday of November. The holiday is celebrated in remembrance of the pilgrims and in order to give thanks.

2010 - Thursday, November 25^th

2011 - Thursday, November 24^th

2012 - Thursday, November 22^nd

2013 - Thursday, November 28^th

In Canada:

The Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of the month (the reason for the earlier date in October is their earlier harvest occurring farther to the north).

The Canadian holiday comes from different traditions although it is now meant to convey thanks for their harvest.

2010 - Monday, October 11^th

2011 - Monday, October 10^th

2012 - Monday, October 8^th

2013 - Monday, October 14^th

 

Passive Voice (Chart 2)

Passive Voice (Chart 2)

Specific uses of Passive Voice

1. Passive Voice used as impersonal sentences = verbs with to objects: For us, Spaniards it rather odd not to be able to hide the subject using impersonal sentences. It is being shown in Chart 1, how using passive voice you can omit the subject. But, what about what is called in Spanish “passive refleja”? Also, “Impersonals” are simple sentence structures starting with “SE (dice/piensa…)” in Spanish. We can find an equivalent in passive voice sentences whose verb has two objects (direct and indirect)

Structure: Indirect object + passive verb + direct object + etc. Meaning: These sentences give priority to the person/thing… which receives the action from the verb. At the same time hides who is responsible of the action.

Examples: Active Voice: Somebody gave the books to the teacher Passive Voice: The teacher was given the books

2. Verbs/structures with passive meaning or passive structure: Certain actions in English require the verb “to be” or “get”

A)    to be born: I was born in March

B)    Get: sometimes get is used instead of “be”: He doesn’t often get to choose first, that’s why he is so happy about it.

C)    Get married / get divorced / get dressed: this passive structure doesn’t have a passive meaning.

D)    To borrow: this verb is rather peculiar for Spaniards because “the lender” is not the subject but the person who is taking the thing from the lender.

3. Causative verbs/structure: In Spanish we distinguish when someone does an action for themselves (so the subject and the recipient of the action are the same) and when somebody else is doing an action promoted by the subject. We just simply use “reflexives pronouns” or “reflexive verbs” in the first case, and omit the reflexive in the second case. In English it is different, “reflexive verbs” don’t exist. Example: I have cut my hair (the subject cut it him/herself)/ I have my hair cut (somebody cut the subjects hair because the subject put the action in motion)

The most common causative verbs structures are:

a) Have/get something done = have/get + object + past participle	Examples: She always has her food delivered                           Object
b) Have/get someone do something = have+ agent + base verb form without to	Example: I had the mechanic check my car               Agent

Pink Prison Policy

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix Arizona had a problem; he had to transfer 700 criminals from their old prison to the new penitentiary three kilometres away. How could he do it without any of the inmates escaping? No problems for Joe. He dressed them all in ankle-chains, flip-flops and pink underwear so that they would be too embarrassed to escape. Stupid idea? Well, it worked.

Anecdote from Think in English nº 71

Audiobook 1

Escuela de Lenguas Vivas aim is to foster the habit of using English in everyday life among our clients. It is for this reason that we recommend listening to audiobooks during different activities such as jogging, ironing. People who do not get distracted by listening to the radio while they drive can listen to an audiobook instead. This should only be done if this does not cause any distraction while driving.

Below you will find a list of audiobook titles organized by levels. They have all been used successfully in our classes and some of the audiobooks can be rounded off with a movie adaptation. Please watch this space for a list of movies classified by levels.

Basic Levels

Beginners:

John Escott, The Missing Coins. Penguin Readers level 1

The Teacher's Secret and other Folk Tales. Dominoes one.

Stephen Rabley, Between Two Worlds. Penguin Readers

Elementary:

O. Henry, New Yorkers (Short Stories). Oxford Bookworms, Stage 2.

Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn. Oxford Bookworms, Stage 2.

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables. Oxford Bookworms, Stage 2.

James Fenimore Cooper. The Last of the Mohicans Penguin Readers - level 2

J. Verne. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Penguin Readers - level 1

Three short stories of Shelock Holmes - Penguin Readers - level 2

John Scott Dead Man's Island. Oxford Bookworms, Stage 2.

To prepare PET:

Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat. Vivens Vives (Black Cat Collection). The highest level to prepare PET (with exercises).

Mark Twain The ₤1,000,000 Bank Note. Vivens Vives (Black Cat Collection). The highest level to prepare PET (with exercises).

Baroness Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel. The Adventures of the Secret Spy. Vivens Vives (Black Cat Collection). The highest level to prepare PET (with exercises).

Intermediate

To prepare First Certificate:

Jacques Futrelle, The Problems of Cell 13. Vivens Vives (Black Cat Collection). It’s intermediate level to prepare FCE (with exercises).

Pre-Intermediate

Richard Macandrew, A Puzzle for Logan. Cambridge University Press, English Readers, Level 3 (Although the book doesn't have any exercises, its level could be appropiated to prepare Pet).

Edgar Alan Poe, The Black Cat and other stories. Penguin Readers Level 3

Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband. Penguin Readers Level 3. It’s very witty as every Oscar Wilde plays. The plot is a bit difficult to follow for some pre-intermediate students.

Alexander Dumas The Count of Montecristo, Oxford, Dominoes 3

A. Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. MacMillan Readers 4

Intermediate:

Colin Campbell, The Lady in White. Cambridge University Press, English Readers nº4 (This mystery book may be a bit difficult because of the plot).

Helen Taylor, In the Shadow of the Mountain. Cambridge University Press, English readers nº 5. Although it’s graded as Upper-Intermediate the quite simple plot makes it easier to understand. Sometimes students find difficult the British-English accent in it.

Rod Neilsen, The Sugar Glider. Cambridge University Press, English Readers nº5 (Adventure/Thriller). Vocabulary is in connection with the outdoors in Australia, pilots, planes and, social and family conflicts.

Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleyby. Penguin  Active Readers Level 4. (There are useful exercises in this book for the first stages of First Certificate Preparation; an English teacher will be needed to correct the exercises). 

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey. Vicens Vives (Black Cat Colection) The topic is a bit difficult which make the book suitable for students in the later stages of the First Certificate Preparation. An English teacher will be needed to correct the exercises.

Upper-Intermediate

Richard Preston, Officially Dead, Macmillan Readers, Level 6. There is an interesting thriller with some vocabulary about business.

Scott Fizgerald, The Great Gatsby. Macmillan Readers, Level 5. This book is harder than the previous one because it gets deeper in the characters and the recreation of the historical period. (The movie should be watched after finishing the book. This will allowed the students to get a step forward in their understanding of English)

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations. Oxford Bookworms n.5. Period drama whose main difficulty is the old fashioned language and historical atmosphere.

John Grisham,The Testament. Penguin Readers.

Advanced

Daphne du Maunier, Rebecca. Macmillan Readers, Level 6. This book is excellent due to an interesting plot and the depth of the characters. (The Hichtcock black and white movie should be watched after finishing the book. This will allowed the students to get a step forward in their understanding of English)

Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence. Oxford Bookworms n. 5. (There is an excellent movie –stared by Winona Ryder, Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer- which should be watched after finishing the book. The subtleties of the language and the complexity of the feelings and characters make this movie a useful exercise of comprehension).

Alan Maley, He Knows Too Much. Cambridge English Readers nº 6. This audiobook is one of the hardest in the list due to the plot, vocabulary and speed of the language. It has been very celebrated and enjoyed by most business people.

Proficiency

At this stage we recommed none abridged books combined with audiobooks and movies. Right now audiobooks are still rather expensive but it's the only way to continue the immersion process. 

Bernhard Schlink,  The Reader. New York, Vintage Books, 1997. Excellent book, very useful for English Reading Clubs. The Audiobook could be found in Amazone. There is also a movie based, more or less, in the story. It's not difficult for students with a minimun level of proficiency.

Lisa Lee, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. New York, Random House Trade, 2006. The only audiobook we could find is abridged but it's quite good. There seems to be a movie based on the book but none of the ELV teachers have watched it. The language is not too difficult but the chinesse customs could make it harder for lower levels of proficiency.

Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables. New York, Aladin Classics, 2001. This is a very difficult book due to the language although the story is easy to follow. There are several series based on this book. This book could be recommended to students with the highest levels of proficiency.

Dental Humor

Dental Humor

Patient: How much to have this tooth pulled out?

Dentist: $ 120.

Patient: for a few minutes of work?

Dentist: I can extract it very slowly of you like.

 Word Trivia 

 An electronic company once introduced a curling iron into Germany with the name “Mist-Stick”, which translate into German as “Manure Wand”.

(both from: Hot English nº 57)

Passive Voice (Chart 1)

Passive Voice (Chart 1)

General Information: The Passive voice is used in the following circumstances:

1. When the agent responsible of the action is omitted because it’s unknown, irrelevant or wishes to be unknown.

2. When it’s a general saying, rumour, etc. (Subordinate sentences)

1. General Structure: The object of the verb becomes the subject and the subject responsible for the action disappears. The verb structure changes, placing “to be” in the position and tense of the main verb and adding the main verb at the end of the sentence in past participle.

2. Adding “to be” to a structure: When there is a previous structure, the verb “to be” always takes the position and tense of the main verb but the structure is kept.

3. Modal Verbs (can/could, may/might, must, should, etc.): The verb “to be” is placed after the modal verb.

4. Subordinate clauses: These are the equivalent to impersonal sentences in Spanish. There are two main options:

a) It is said that… /It’s believed that…

b) Indirect object + to be + past participle.

NOTE: Sometimes there are two objects: direct and indirect (it’s commonly used the indirect object as subject) (Example below and Chart 2)

General Structure Susan         helps              Peter Subject       Present simple         Object Peter is helped by Susan To be = present simple + past participle Adding to be to a structure We will buy the car tomorrow   Main Verb The car will be bought tomorrow   To be + past participle The boss is going to fire three workers tomorrow   Main Verb Three workers are going to be fired tomorrow To be + past participle

Modal Verbs (can/could, may/might, must, should...) The children can open the door   Modal  The door can be opened Modal + be + past participle Subordinate clauses a)  The police are looking for the missing boy. It’s believed that the boy is wearing a white pullover and blue jeans. b)  The boy is believed to be wearing a white pullover and blue jeans.

NOTE: Everyone gave the writer a warm welcome→Indirect Objet → The writer was given a warm welcome

Recipes

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

2 Cups unsifted all-purpose flour (= 500 grms)

1 Cup sugar (= 250 grms)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt (optional)

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 Cup mashes ripe bananas

            (about 3 small)

½ Cup shortening (olive oil) = 150 ml

2 eggs

1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate

1 Cup chopped walnuts

9 x 5 x 3 –inch loaf pan

Grease the loaf pan (or cover the inside part of the pan with wax paper); set aside. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips and walnuts in large mixer bowl; Blend well on medium speed. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake at 230º F (170 º C) for 60-70 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

ELV en la red

La Escuela de Lenguas Vivas ha publicado un artículo en la revista virtual Know Home, en el que comentamos las estrategias lingüísticas que empleamos para optimizar los resultados de nuestras enseñanzas en las empresas que han iniciado el reto de la internacionalización:

http://proyectoayudaempresa.com

Os dejo un interesante método de aprendizaje y capacitación internacional de la Escuela de Lenguas Vivas. Vale la pena echar un vistazo y evaluar lo que comentan, dado que podría llegar a ser un interesante acuerdo de colaboración entre Proyecto Ayuda a Empresas y la propia escuela. Evaluadlo vosotros mismos…

¿Cuántas veces se pierde la posibilidad de abrir nuevos mercados por una deficiente información o comunicación? Tal vez este es el mayor problema para las empresas españolas. Tenemos productos y servicios de calidad que no alcanzan a salir de nuestras fronteras. Se compite en un mundo cada vez más internacional y globalizado desconociéndose las posibilidades que estos mercados ofrecen, cómo acceder o crear nuevos nichos de negocio y como optimizar la presentación de lo que nuestra empresa ofrece.

Es obvio que el primer paso para conseguir establecer intercambio comercial en un mercado internacional y cambiante es conocer a nuestros clientes potenciales. ¿Qué necesitan? ¿Cuáles son sus formas de hacer negocio? ¿Qué lenguaje hablan? ¿Cómo se mueven?

Sin embargo esta información de nada sirve si no somos capaces de trasmitir la excelencia de nuestra empresa en los aspectos que nos diferencian, exponiéndolos de forma atractiva que destaque el valor añadido que aportaríamos a nuestros clientes, colaboradores o socios.

La primera herramienta sería por tanto el dominio la comunicación en una lengua internacional acompañada del conocimiento de la cultura y entorno empresarial en el que se desarrollan nuestros posibles clientes, socios o colaboradores; optimizar nuestras posibilidades de negocio haciendo la comunicación más accesible y facilitando el contacto. Por ello es esencial que el directivo y todo el personal que la empresa destine al reto de internacionalización, posea una formación adecuada tanto en fluidez lingüística como en conocimiento de las características del nuevo mercado.

Las empresas que se dedican a la formación lingüística no siempre tienen en cuenta las características de la empresa cliente a la que va destinada. No basta con que  los directivos o empleados conozcan un idioma, es necesario que la empresa que proporcione la formación establezca unos objetivos a medio y largo plazo que contengan un estudio personalizado de las necesidades de la empresa-cliente, su función en el mercado, los países a los que se dirige y las acciones que va a desarrollar. En función de estos aspectos la formación lingüística podrá ser efectiva y optimizar las capacidades del ejecutivo pues se destinará a proporcionarle las herramientas con las que desarrollarán su trabajo.

La personalización de la capacitación lingüística es clave.

La metodología no puede descuidarse, sin embargo. Una empresa de formación tiene que establecer criterios claros para que el aprendizaje sea efectivo, dinámico y adaptado a los participantes. La creación de situaciones específicas con vocabulario previamente trabajado, la audición con distintos acentos de temáticas relacionadas con la cultura empresarial de los países a los que se van a dirigir las empresas, e incluso, la creación de sencillos y entretenidos hábitos de autoformación son esenciales. No lo es menos el participar en aquellas claves de humor que permitirán una mayor aproximación humana al cliente, socio o colaborador extranjero. Por ello el aspecto social de la lengua y cultura no debe descuidarse en los almuerzos de negocios o cuando se visita un país.

El éxito de la proyección internacional de una empresa parte del producto que ofrezcan, su estrategia y sobre todo del personal humano que la represente. Si se necesitan formadores que preparen a nuestros directivos y personal, exijamos a esas empresas la preparación, metodología y profesionalización adecuada para alcanzar nuestros objetivos.

Humor

A man in a hot air ballon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and saw a man below.

He descended a bit more and shouted:

"Excuse me, can you help me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am".

The man below replied:

"You are in a hot air balloon hovering aproximately 30 feet aboved the ground. You are between 40 and 42 degrees north latitude and between 58 and 60 degrees west longitude".

"You must be an engineer" said the balloonist.

"I am", replied the man "but how did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information and the fact is I am still lost."

Then the man below responded:

"You must be a manager."

"I am", replied the balloonist, "how did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are, or where you are going. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are exactly in the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

From "The last laugh",  Speak Up nº 300

Conditionals

Conditional Sentences

General Information: Conditional sentences are two clause sentences used for Action/Result situations. There are three main Conditional structures (plus the mixed Conditional) which express: what is true or possible/ what is not true, impossible or hypothetical / what is impossible to change = regrets

The conditional sentence usually begins with “if” (see other possibilities in the 1^st Conditional). If the “if clause” is the first one you need a comma at the end of it.

1st Conditional	2nd Conditional	3rd Conditional	Mixed Conditional
Structure:If clause + Result If + subject+ verb present+ etc (comma) Subject + verb in either Present Present Modal Will Or Imperative + etc…	Structure:If clause + Result If + subject+ simple past+ etc (comma) Subject + would + base verb form + etc.	Structure: If clause + Result If + subject+ past perfect+ etc (comma) Subject + would + have (base form) + past participle + etc.	Structure: If clause + Result 1. If + subject + past simple/continuous (comma) Subject + would + have (base form) + past participle + etc. 2. If + subject + past perfect (comma) Subject + would + base verb form + etc.
Used for real consequences to actions. If something happens in a certain way it will always have a certain result.	Used for improbable situations.	Situation from the past which can’t be changed. This conditional shows regrets or disappointment.	Unreal condition in the past with unreal present or future result
Comments:In negative sentences “if” can be changed for “unless” changing the negative to positive. “If” could be changed for: when, before, after. as long as, until…	Comments: verb to be When the verb to be is used giving advice always use “were” every person.
Examples: If water reaches 100ºC, it boils. I won’t go to the party unless you take me.	Examples: - If I were you, I wouldn’t do it.  - If she switched that light, the engine would stop.	Examples: The pump would have worked if we had called the engineers yesterday.	Examples: 1. If I didn’t trust him, I wouldn’t have let him look after the baby. 2. If you had driven faster, we could be there by now.

ESCUELA DE LENGUAS VIVAS

Escuela de Lenguas Vivas (ELV) es una empresa gestionada y dirigida por profesores cuyo objetivo es disolver las fronteras lingüísticas ofreciendo formación en inglés, francés o español, de forma continuada a sus clientes a través de cursos de idiomas intensivos:

• Cursos intensivos de inglés para empresas y profesionales.
  
  
• Cursos intensivos de francés para empresas y profesionales.
  
  
• Cursos intensivos de español para empresas y profesionales.

Proporcionamos inmersión en inglés, español y francés desde todos los ámbitos: profesional, académico y de tiempo libre. La formación integral en lenguas es la que proporciona soltura al hablar. La formación en inglés, francés o español es clave para conseguir una interrelación más eficaz en el mundo internacional.