ADVANCED MODAL VERBS

Time to boost your English!  This time, let's practice modal verbs in their advanced functions. 

Check out first this PPT to refresh what you know about them and to discover advanced uses.

Afterwards, do the quiz by follwing the link attached at the end of the presentation. :)

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MM_wRvmver6ECHb5KsxZBBA_VqGhGQ_y/view?usp=sharing

See you soon!

Comparison structures at C2 level

 Comparisons are essential functions of language that are pretty useful to evidence our proficiency of it, in this of English. So, what is comparison exactly? 

According to the Cambridge Dictionary (2020), a comparision is "an examination of the differences or similatiries between persons or things". 

There are several structures you can use to make a comparison such as the following: 

* Comparatives and superlatives: 

Comparatives will usually compare 2 elements whereas superlatives will compare among a bigger group of elements. For example: 

I'm happier than I've ever been.      She's more intelligent than me. 

That is the most outrageous you've made today!      What is the poorest country in the world? 

* Structure as...as

Holly is not as fast onthe tennis court as she used to be.

*With phrases like: nowherenear as....as, not nearly as...as and nothing like as...as

The new sports commentator is nowhere near as good as John Motson.

This album is not nearly as good as their last one.

*Combining adverbs of degree with comparatives and superlatives to add emphasis. 

You're by far the cleverest person in this class, you know. 

Sally is a great deal younger than her brother. 

*Using two comparatives in one sentence to show that as one thing changes, another thing also changes.

The sooner we get home, the happier I'll be. 

The more you practice the violin, the easier it will become. 

Now you're the best at comparisons! Put your knowledge in practice with this exercise :) 

https://create.kahoot.it/details/comparison/938020fb-77ac-4b13-93ef-3162aba6dd4b

REFERENCES: 

Cambridge English Dictionary (2020). Comparison. Cambridge University: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/comparison

Capel, A and Sharp, W (2013). Objective Proficiency. Comparison. Cambridge University Press. 

"Grammar is not the end in learning a language but it is the best mean to reach a flawless proficiency at using it"

                                                                              Allisson Márquez, 2020

Concessive clauses

What are concessive clauses? 

Concessive clauses are dependent sentences introduced by a contrastive conjuction that, according to the Cambridge Dictionary (2020), expresses an idea that suggests the opposite of the main part of the sentence. They can come before or after the main clause. 

To put it in another way, the Macmillan Dictionary (2020) points out that concessive clauses are subordinate conjuntions that make a statement that is unexpected in some way or contrasts with information in another clause.

Now that we know what is a concessive, it's feasable to talk about conjuctions of contrast as this kind of clauses needs one of those to express meaning.

Here you have a list of the most common ones: 

• Although (more formal than "though"): 
• Though
• Despite
• In spite of (more formal thab "despite")
• Even if
• Even though
• Much as
• Whereas (more formal than "while")
• While

All of the conjuctions above, express contrast in the ideas they link. Let's see some examples: 

1. Although I was fired unfairly, I still could raise from the ashes and make a living by setting up my own business. 💪

📌NOTE:  these clauses are interchangeable when it comes to location, so we can put the concessive clause at the beginning or at the end of the sentence with no change in meaning:  I still could raise from the ashes and make a living by setting up my own business although I was fired unfairly. 

👀LOOK OUT! If you're writing the concessive clause at the beginning of the sentence, you need to include a comma that separates both clauses. On the contrary, if you write it at the end, you don't need to do it (re-read the examples to notice it). 

Two more examples: 

2. I made it to arrive on time despite there were awful lots of traffic jams. 

3. Whereas most people rather go with the flow when it comes to fads, I prefer to break the rules by wearing what I want. 

You're all set to put that theory into practice! Check out the Kahoot quiz below to prove yourself that even though this might be a new topic for you, you still can succeed at concessive clauses 😉

https://create.kahoot.it/details/66f17fd7-de19-4775-b061-214583177f9d

SEE YOU AROUND!

For further information visit these references: 

Cambridge Dictionary (2020). Concessive clauses.  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/concessive-clause

Macmillan Dictionary (2020). Concessive clauses.

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/concessive-clause#:~:text=concessive%20clauses,with%20information%20in%20another%20clause.

The last push!!

So, what happened this semester? or better said: WHAT DIDN'T HAPPEN?

It never crossed my mind that we would experience a paradigm shift like this and today I can say I took a lot out of this quarantine. Yet, I feel quite grateful for being able to stay at home with my family, my cat, and still stay in touch with my close friends and Professors through this amazing invention: The Internet. 📺📱Only then, did I understand the importance of being prepared as a teacher to adapt my work in an efficient way.

In the beginning, I was reluctant to perform my professional practices in a face-to-face way because of my insecurities, and wh would've thought that I would end up giving them online! My lesson planning process gave a 180° turn because never had I performed an entire online class, therefore, I was fairly overwhelmed for choosing and designing the correct materials, for having the enough command of the platforms and for not showing myself nervous. 

About six weeks have been since then, and I can't describe this rewarding feeling of mine. I had more than one frustrating episode for technical issues during class, or because I had to take a time filler out of my sleeve in the right way. However I also had really funny times along with my students, despite being strangers, we got a good rapport, we interacted as much as possible with the resources at hand, and I learned endless things from them as well as they did from me. :)

I am definitely a way better version of the teachers I used to be when starting to write in this blog. :) I'm looking forward to seeing myself grow in next semester.... CPE, here I go! 

Another one in the basket!

Last week, I gave my very last professional practice and until then, I wasn't aware of what a real teaching challenge was. 

That last session was particularly challenging for me as a teacher. First, because the grammar topic to see with the students was "present perfect" and until that moment, I hadn't taught such grammar tense before! I have used to teach easier topics at my work or not even to teach it when I was assigned to an advanced level. 

Anyways, the truth is that I needed to do some research prior to the class for me to be more confident on how to explain it to the students, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has done that! 

In the end, everything went just fine in the class. Apart from considering myself a passionate teacher, I was lucky enough for having worked with such a proactive and kind group. I felt very welcomed with them and that allowed me to enjoy more each class.

Throughout the 8 sessions, I learned that being an effective teacher does not imply only to master the language but also it requires to be open-minded enough to adapt your teaching techniques and your extralinguistic abilities to a fully virtual learning environment. I don't know about my colleagues, but I didn't learn how to be an e-teacher in the major and that is part of the journey when we're still in college. 

Finally, I couldn't feel more grateful for having had the chance to discover a skill more about my self. I take great pride in the fact that I could adapt myself quite well as a virtual teacher and that I can be sure that my students learned at least one thing from me. 

My heart was about to explode of excitement the moment I gave them the last good-bye. Most of them wrote me love messages in the chat like: "you're an awesome teacher"  or "I learned a lot". That's when I realized that my efforts paid off! :) 

I'm looking forward to coming back to school as a better version of myself as a teacher.

A challenging but fruitful week

This week was pretty productive for me! First, I finished my Research Seminar course with a perfect score so I feel proud to say that I could sail through my research project against the odds. Cheers on that! :D

I also got two more professional practices in my basket this week! That means I'm missing only two more to go. Despite the 180° change, my life had these last months, I was able to adapt my academic habits to succeed in practices. I am fairly lucky that I get along with my group of students because that made the classes smoother and more interesting. All of them were always willing to participate in the tasks I that's something that every teacher appreciates of their classes.

The most significant thing I learned from this week's practices was that e-teachers must be particularly careful about how do we provide our students with feedback. For comfortability purposes, I use the chatbox as a whiteboard to explain any grammar questions my students could have but yet, I need to make sure they understand correctly because each one can interpret the same sentence in different ways when they just read it. So, as a strategy, I like to ask some students to paraphrase either through the chatbox or by activating their mics one at a time to participate orally and that worked for me!


In other news, I keep going on my Business English course which I find every day more and more useful for my work with the Business advanced course I'm teaching.  I think that's it for now!

A surprising week!😲

Last week was quite peculiar to me. First and foremost, I reached my 4th professional practice with my CEI students so, shout out to me! :) Then, I was offered a job position as a Teacher of Business English in C1-C2 level. OMG :O Who would've thought of that? A few months ago I found myself taking a Business English course and last Tuesday I turned into an online Business English Teacher for Advanced level, how about that? 

When my boss offered me the position my mind only though if I would be capable of managing a modality of English which never had I taught before in my life. It was completely unknown for me, but, as always, I decided to jump into the ocean (one more time). And you know what? Despite all my doubts, insecurities and fear, it ended up way better than I expected plus I got to ear a but more money un time in times of pandemic. I couldn't ask for more! 👏💞

I've done fine with my online practices, I mean, since I've got previous teaching experiences in real contexts, I am not afraid anymore of being in front of a group and in this time, in front of my webcam. I reckon every session I become more agile with my virtual skills to go through my classes smoothly, except for the tech issues that are out of my control!

Regarding the Business classes I give, it is as enriching as challenging to me because whenever I'm planning my sessions a word that I've never seen before shows up and my job is to look for it. As days go by, all of this is real food for thought personally and professionally speaking. Many's the time in which I need to stop my didactic planning to study on my own the topic that I'm about to teach. Since my knowledge of Business terminology was null and sadly the Major does not provide is with the skills to teach it, it's mandatory for me to do extra research about the context of my next lesson which I don't mind at all but it's something I wish someone told me before getting into the battlefield. Anyways, I'm still grateful. 

 This is my update for the week. See you soon!