Week 3 - Vocabulary and expression TO LEARN!

•To do research ON a topic

•To boost profits - to increase profits

•To make sweeping generalisations - sweeping = very general

•To face a challenge - to confront/meet a challenge

•To convey - to show

•To devote yourself TO - to dedicate yourself TO

•To grasp something - to understand something/ to hold tightly

•To clutter - to fill with things in a disorganised way

•To grapple with - to struggle to deal with

•A host of - a lot of

•To err in - to make an error

•Bewildering - confusing

•A field of expertise 

•To be looked down upon -to be shown contempt/ disdain by others

•To focus on

•To raise a concern - to put forward/ suggest a concern

•To be muddled - to be confused


Listening Vocab

•Environmentally-friendly (adj)

•To attract interest FROM

•To be torn between something and something - to be undecided

•To laze around - to be lazy

•Each to his own - everyone is different

•The dropout rate 

•To give up on something - to abandon something

•To give something a shot - to try something

•Fellow students - fellow (adj) belonging to same group/class

•Folks - people

•Sweltering - very hot

•To trigger - to strat/initiate

•a bloom - a flower

•a scent - a smell

•A drawback - a disavantage

Week 2 - Speaking Part 1

CAE Speaking Exam

Speaking Exam Part 1 – General Questions

ü  Where are you from?

ü  What do you do here/there?

ü  How long have you been studying English for?

ü  What do you enjoy most about studying English?

ü  What free time hobby do you enjoy most? (why, how often?)

ü  What would you like to do in the future? (why?)

ü  Do you think you spend too much time working/studying? (why?)

ü  Do you like using the internet to keep in touch with people? (why?)

ü  Have you celebrated anything recently? (how?)

ü  If you could travel to one country in the world, where would you go? (why?)

ü  How important is it to you to spend time with your family? (why?)

ü  Who has had the greatest influence on your life? (why?)

Useful language:

Intro questions

§  Born IN

§  Grow up IN/NEAR

§  Be brought up IN (place) BY (person)

§  Extended family

§  I´ve been working/studying AT … SINCE (+ point in time)/ FOR (+length of time)

§  Actually (+ unexpected/surprising info) I´ve only been studying English for … years

§  What I really love about verb+ing is

§  The thing I like most of all is …

Leisure intro questions

§  I´m really into …

§  I´m really keen on …

§  I´m fanatical about

§  Whenever I get the chance, I …

§  … is not terribly important to me.

§  I´m not that fond of …

§  I really can´t stand/i´m not that into …

§  Whereas … in comparison with

Future plans intro questions

§  I hope to be + gerund AT (place)

§  I expect i´ll be + gerund

§  I´d certainly consider + gerund

§  I´d have to think carefully about

§  It´s certainly not something i´d rush into doing/deciding

§  I´m someone who …

Holidays intro questions

§  I tend to prefer … mainly because

§  I´ve always wanted to … but i´m not really sure why.

§  I´d recommend/suggest + gerund

§  I´d have to think more carefully about that … but maybe …

§  Right now, i´d love to go to … However, I used to dream of …

§  In other ways, I´d rather go to … rather than … because

Family

§  I much prefer spending time with … because

§  My family play a central part in my life because … yet I also think it is important to …

§  I like to keep in touch with …

§  I am very close to …

§  I am in touch on a daily basis with …

§  While I love being with my family, I also enjoy being with my peers because …

§  … has really inspired me to …

§  … has been a really positive role model for me and made me want to …

Essay Writing

You have listened to a radio discussion programme about facilities which should receive money from local authorities. You have made the notes below:

Which facilities should receive money from local authorities?

- museums

- sports centres

- public gardens

Some opinions expressed in the discussion:

•“Museums aren’t popular with everybody!”

•“Sports centres mean healthier people.”

•“A town needs green spaces – parks are great for everybody.”

Write an essay discussing two of the facilities in your notes. You should explain

which facility it is more important for local authorities to give money to,

giving reasons in support of your answer. You may, if you wish, make use of

the opinions expressed in the discussion, but you should use your own words as

far as possible.

•Accessibility

•Opportunities

•Flourishing

•Communities

•Problematic situations

•Anti-social behaviour

•To broaden horizons

•Cultural institutions

•Tourism opportunities

•Economic stability

•Relaxation

•Availability

•Facilities

•Green spaces

•Pros and cons

•To finance

•Taxpayers´ money


Money Vocabulary

to finance
to spend money ON something
To invest money IN
Financial (adj)
a profit
budget cuts
governmental spending

Evaluating ideas

•I think it is true that

•It could be argued that

•It is questionable whether

•I totally agree with the point that

•In no way can I agree that

•Surely it is completely unacceptable that

•It suggests that

•The idea is presented that

•I believe that

•I am convinced that

•Nowadays

•Therefore

•Furthermore

Persuading

I would urge you to consider that

I am sure you will agree that

Surely you must gree that

I would urge you very strongly to

When you hear the arguments, I am sure you will agree that

Summarising

All in all, I think that

To sum up, I believe that

In conclusion, the facts suggests that…

All things considered, it seems that

Finally, It is clear that

In summary, it has struck me as being

Therefore, I would have no hesitation in recommending…

Week 1 - Vocab and Structures UOE

•      To be pulled down – to demolish

•      In spite OF the lack OF

•      In such a way – in this manner

•      In other words – that is to say

•      May well be

•      AT an all-time high/low

•      In comparison To/WITH

•      Severe (adj) – severity (noun)

•      To be disappointed WITH

•      To receive a warning ABOUT something

•      Endure (v) – endurance (noun)

•      Strong (adj) – strength (noun)

•      To be prone TO – to have the tendency to

•      Could/may/might – synonymns

•      Despite this (collocation)

•      If nothing else/if little else – at least

•      IN isolation