Desi, who was part of the teamwork Oral Presentation devoted to Pay It
Forward, compares Ryan Hyde's novel and its movie version. The teacher
includes comments and 5 final cards with tips on how to address this
kind of task, but you will learn a lot from listening to Desi's work on
structure and language range. Notice her relative clauses, adding info
the listeners need to follow what she says, not taking for granted
listeners know what they might not know!
Read Emilie´s letter of complaint to her neighbours (see task in your Student´s book) and listen to her teacher´s corrections (the mistakes are highlighted in yellow):
Read Carmen's letter of complaint to a restaurant manager. Try correcting the piece of
writing yourself first: use the marking codes to think about what might
be wrong (or what's good) about the piece of work. Then when you're
ready, go to the original website and click the green buttons in the text for the feedback.
Dear Sir or Madam
I am writing to complain about the unacceptable treatment that I received in your restaurant last Friday when I wasintended WF
to have dinner with my husband.
First of all, we were given a table just in front of the toilets because
there was not any other available, although we had booked it in
advance. Furthermore, we were forced to leave at 10 p.m because someone
else had also booked the same table.
Secondly, we had to wait for nearly half an hour to be served and after the long waiting WF
we were obliged to change our minds and ask for meat because there
was no lobster left. In fact, only three out of the seven main courses
were available. I would also like to point out Gd
the incompetence of the service because the waiter spilled the sauce
over my husband´s dish even though we had asked him not to do so. To make matters worse, Gd
there was no response when I asked to meet T/WW
the manager of the restaurant so I have been forced to write to make you know about WW
these unfortunate incidents.
I very much hope that in future you will take care of WW
these mistakes in order to prevent them /\
and I am afraid to say that I will have no alternative but to put the matter in the hands of my solicitors should not I WO
receive compensation within the next few days.
Comic Relief is a major charity based in the UK, with
a vision of a just world, free from poverty.
Since its launch in
1988, Red Nose Day has become something of a British institution. It’s the day,
every two years, when people across the land can get together and do something
funny for money at home, school and work. There’s a fantastic night of TV on
the BBC, with comedy and entertainment to inspire the nation to give
generously. Comic Relief spends the money raised by Red Nose Day to help people
living tough lives across the UK and Africa. (from the Comic Relief website)
Here´s a Mr Bean Comic Relief Classic: Mr Bean on Blind Date:
Comprehension questions:
1. What example does Matt give of a habit to subtract?
2. How did his perception of time change?
3. What is the first challenge he mentions that he did?
4. What 2 examples does he give of increasing self-confidence?
5. What´s the secret to writing a novel in a month?
6. Why is he glad he wrote a novel even though it was awful?
7. Why does he think small changes are better than big changes?
VOCABULARY:
Look at some examples of idiomatic language from the video. Can you guess the meaning?
1 A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut....
2 So I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock* and try something new for 30 days.
3 ...instead of the months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more memorable.
4 Every November tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50,000 word novel, from scratch, in 30 days.
5 So why not think about something you have always wanted to try, and give it a shot for the next thirty days? *Morgan Spurlock- American film maker, well known for documentaries in which he tries something new for 30 days.He´s best known for ´Super Size Me´.
Listen once: What 3 questions are the speakers asked? Write them down.
Listen again and take notes about what each person answers to each question.
e.g. Q1- S1: bites her nails, talks a bit too loudly
- S2: ........................................................ UPDATE: Download the audio script HERE to check your answers.
Listen and repeat ! Listen to Michelle´s recordingsand repeat the indirect questions and polite requests. It´s a good exercise to gain fluency and avoid transfer mistakes( word for word translations from your mother tongue).
Indirect questions make you sound more polite. Watch this short video to remember how. If the video appears with subtitles, don´t forget to turn them off!
Watch the film trailers to help you choose which book you´d like to read this year. But remember it´s important to read the book, not just watch the film! (you can watch the film later, after you finish the book and maybe you can compare the two in your book monologue. See Reading Listabove for more info about the books).
