Curso Oficial de Inglés 6s583c

¿Sabías que los London Black Cab son mucho más que un medio de transporte? Sumérgete en el mundo del legendario taxi negro de Londres con That's English! Descubre su fascinante historia y aprende las frases clave en inglés para moverte por la ciudad como un londinense más. Descubre cómo identificar un taxi libre o cómo preguntar el precio, este episodio te prepara lingüísticamente para tu visita a Londres. ¡Sube con nosotros a un auténtico taxi londinense y dale un empujón a tu inglés!

En el pódcast de hoy de That’s English!, nos metemos de lleno en el universo de una de las autoras más queridas de la literatura: Jane Austen. ¿Qué hace que sus novelas sigan siendo tan actuales más de 200 años después? Hablamos de sus personajes inolvidables, su humor afilado, su crítica social y, por supuesto, de ese Mr. Darcy que sigue robando corazones. Tanto si eres fan de Orgullo y prejuicio como si acabas de descubrir a Austen, este episodio es para ti. Acompáñanos a descubrir por qué sus historias siguen inspirando libros, películas y series en todo el mundo. Escúchalo ya y déjate conquistar por el ingenio de Jane Austen.

Today we are going to talk about adverbs. So, first of all, what are adverbs? Adverbs have many functions. They are words that can modify or describe a verb, like in the sentence ‘The boy ran quickly’ - Here the adverb “quickly” describes how the boy ran. Adverbs can also describe an adjective, for example ‘very tall’, here the word very is an adverb of degree, describing how tall someone or something is.  Adverbs of degree can also complement another adverb. In the sentence ‘The show ended too quickly’, we see how another adverb of degree, the word ‘too’ describes the adverb ‘quickly’. Adverbs can also be used to modify entire sentences, known as sentence adverbs, by expressing a viewpoint or making an evaluation. The words luckily and unfortunately are two examples of sentence adverbs. Listen to the following sentences: Luckily, the fire department responded immediately. Monica can’t attend the party, unfortunately. Ok, so now we know what adverbs are and when they are used, let’s take a look at how they are formed. We can say that the general rule is that most adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding ‘-l y’, pronounced ‘-ly’- to the adjective, in the same way that ‘-mente’ is added to adjectives in Spanish. Listen to this example. The adjective quick (rápido) changes to the adverb quickly (rápidamente). However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Some adverbs are the same as their adjectives, for example hard and fast. Let’s listen to some sentences using them as adjectives and then adverbs so you can understand this better. Let’s start with hard She studied hard to the exam (here hard is the adverb) but in the sentence This is a hard coconut (hard is used as an adjective) Hard is a curious one because, as you have heard in the example she studied hard, it is an adverb of manner, and is spelt in the same way as its adjective. However, if we apply the general rule of adding ‘ly’ then hard becomes the frequency adverb hardly as in this example: She hardly studied  (Apenas estudió). Now with fast which is another adverb that is exactly the same as the adjective. He runs fast (here, fast is used as an adverb, describing how he runs) And, he is a fast runner (here it is used as an adjective, describing the runner)   Other times, adverbs are completely different to their adjective: For the adjective ‘good’ (bueno), the adverb is ‘well’ (bien). Listen to these examples to compare the adjective and the adverb He is a good dancer He dances well   Let’s now learn some exceptions to take into when adding ‘-ly’:   that you can always refer to the podcast transcript if you need to check the spelling. Ok, let’s carry on.   If the adjective ends with a consonant plus a ‘y’, then the ‘y’ is replaced with ‘i l y’, pronounced ‘ily’. This is the case with the adjective easy, it ends with a ‘y’ so its adverb is easily. Easy, easily With adjectives ending in ‘i c’, pronounced ‘ic’ like economic, athletic, automatic etcetera, the ending ‘-a -l- l- y’, pronunced ‘ally’ is added, making the adverbs economically, athletically and automatically. There are some adjectives that end with a silent ‘e’, like brave, immense, gentle and simple. And to form the adverbs, the ‘e’ either stays and follows with ‘-ly’, as in the case of bravely and immensely or is omitted and replaced with ‘-ly’ in the case of gently and simply.   We’ve nearly seen all the spelling rules, you’ll be pleased to know! There’s just two more.   Adjectives that end in ‘-l’ , like careful, hopeful and dreadful, add  ‘ly’ in their adverb form, meaning they are written with double l. These become carefully, hopefully and dreadfully. It’s a common spelling mistake to write the suffix -ful with double l, but that only happens with the adverb ending -fully or the adjective full (lleno, llena). And finally, there are some adjectives that end in ‘-a -b -l -e’  ‘able’ or ‘-i -b- l -e’, pronounced ‘ible’, for example probable and terrible. To form these adverbs, the final letter ‘e’ is replaced with a ‘y’ so Probable becomes probably And terrible becomes terribly   Well, that’s it for the spelling rules of adverbs, but before we say goodbye there’s just one thing we need to make you aware of. Did you know that there are some adjectives that end in ‘l y’? Be careful, they are not adverbs! Here are some examples: Friendly, lively, lonely, lovely, silly and ugly – you know, the ugly duckling (el patito feo).   You’ve done an amazing job today learning all about adverbs. If you want to learn more on the topic then visit our adverbs blog post or listen to our other podcasts on the different types and positioning of adverbs. Keep up the good work!

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages.   In today’s podcast, we’re going to talk about the different types of adverbs that exist in the English language. As with many English words, adverbs can be categorized in multiple ways depending on the communicative function they fulfil within the sentence. To help you understand their use better, we’ve classified them into the following different types: ·       Adverbs of manner (adverbios de modo) ·       Adverbs of time (adverbios de tiempo) ·       Adverbs of place (adverbios de lugar) ·       Adverbs of frequency (adverbios de frecuencia) ·       Adverbs of degree (adverbios de grado o intensidad) ·       Adverbs of quantity (de cantidad) ·       Interrogative adverbs (adverbios interrogativos) ·       Relative adverbs (relativos) ·       Adverbs of probability  (adverbios de probabilidad/certeza) ·       Ordinal adverbs (adverbios ordinales) and ·       Adverbs of affirmation (de afirmación)   Starting with adverbs of manner (adverbios de modo), these adverbs usually describe how we do something, and most of them follow the rule of adding ‘l  y’ pronounced "-ly". If you want to know more about the spelling rules of adverbs, then please listen to our specific podcast on the topic. Here are some examples of adverbs of manner: Accurately, beautifully, calmly, carefully, carelessly, easily, equally, happily, honestly, loudly, naturally, perfectly, professionally, quietly, simply, slowly, well If you listen to this podcast calmly and carefully, you will learn a lot about adverbs! There are also other adverbs of manner that have the same form as their corresponding adjective, for example: Fast, right, wrong, straight You are learning fast! (here it’s an adverb) They were known as very fast drivers (here’s it’s an adjective)   .   Moving on to adverbs of time (adverbios de tiempo). These are adverbs that can answer the question ‘when?’ Examples are: After, afterwards, again, ago, already, before, currently, earlier, just, lately, later, next, nowadays, recently, soon, still, then, today, tomorrow, yesterday, yet You’re learning about adverbs today, right now! Great job!   The next category is adverbs of place (adverbios de lugar). These are adverbs that can answer the question ‘where?’ Examples are: Above, anywhere, around, behind, below, downstairs, everywhere, here, indoors, inside, nearby, nowhere, opposite, outside, outdoors, somewhere, there Where are you listening to this podcast? Are you listening to it indoors or outdoors, walking along the street, for example?   Now for adverbs of frequency (adverbios de frecuencia). These are the ones that describe how often an action is performed. Always, often, frequently, usually, generally, occasionally, ever, rarely, seldom, never. How often do you listen to our podcasts? We hope you listen to them often!   The next category is adverbs of degree (adverbios de grado o intensidad). These adverbs express the degree or intensity in which an action is performed. Examples are: absolutely, almost, completely, enough, entirely, extremely, fairly, nearly, carefully, perfectly, pretty, quite, rather, really, somewhat, too, very You are listening very carefully to this podcast!   Now for adverbs of quantity (adverbios de cantidad). These serve to express the amount of something and are adverbs such as: Much, little, a lot and too We know you don’t have much time to learn English, so we appreciate you listening!   Next are interrogative adverbs (adverbios interrogativos). These are used to make questions. They are: How?, when?, where? and why? How did you hear ? When did you start learning English? Where do you learn English? and finally, why? And what about relative adverbs (adverbios relativos)? Relative adverbs are mainly used to introduce relative clauses. Examples are: When, where, why. Here’s an example: You’re a fan of That’s English! and that’s the reason why we try to help you with our podcasts.   Moving on to adverbs of probability (adverbios de probabilidad o certeza), these adverbs indicate the probability or certainty of the action expressed by the verb. Some examples are: certainly, definitely, maybe, perhaps, probably, possibly, surely You will certainly improve your English with the That’s English! podcasts.   Ordinal adverbs (adverbios ordinales), as their name suggests, help determine the order of actions or things. Firstly, we’re thrilled you’re learning English with us. Secondly, you’re doing a great job! And finally, don’t give up, sometimes learning English isn’t easy but it’s worth it!   And the last category is adverbs of affirmation (adverbios de afirmación) These serve to express the affirmation of an action: certainly,  indeed, naturally, obviously, of course, surely, yes Your English is naturally going to improve if you keep learning with us!   That’s the end of this podcast. We have more to listen to on the topic of adverbs as well as our blog post so keep up the good work, keep listening and reading our publications! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media.  We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

Hello and welcome to this podcast, brought to you by That's English!, the Spanish Ministry of Education's official distance learning English course. To find out more about That's English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages.   In this podcast, we are going to look at some, (and we mean some - there are many more) of the different types of connectors that exist in the English language, along with hearing some examples of them in use. So, what exactly are connectors? Connectors are basically conjunctive words that are used for connecting or linking what could potentially be separate sentences. Using connectors help to define the relationship between sentences and can enrich their meaning. Let’s listen to this example to understand this more.   ·       Lisa went to all her lessons. She did well in her exams. Here we’ve heard two separate sentences. What’s the connection between them? Is the second sentence a consequence of the first? It seems so. We can use the connector ‘consequently’ to clarify this: ·       Lisa went to all her lessons and consequently, did well in her exams. Now let’s look at a different example where the logical connection between the two may not seem so clear: ·       Lisa didn’t go to all her lessons. She did well in her exams. In this case, the logical connection between them is not that of consequence, but of concession or contrast: ·       Lisa didn’t go to all her lessons, however, she did well in her exams. The connector adds information on the relationship between the sentences and s the two statements by clearly linking the outcome in the second part with the action in the first. Ok, so now we know what connectors do, let’s look at the types of connectors that we’re going to learn today. We’ll be studying: ·       Connectors of addition ·       Connectors of contrast and concession ·       Connectors of cause and effect ·       Connectors of condition and ·       Connectors of consequence We think that’s enough for one podcast but, as we said previously, there are more. If you want you can write to us and let us know which other ones you know.   Ok, so let’s start with connectors of addition. These are used when we want to add or give more information. Some examples are: Besides  - (informal or neutral ) ·       It’s expensive and besides, it’s too slow. In addition (formal ) People can’t afford to buy a house because they’re unemployed and in addition they don’t have any savings. Moreover or furthermore – (neutral ) And moreover, they’re not energy efficient.   Then or Next – (informal, neutral ) Then, I decided to look at the cheaper options.   Moving on to connectors of contrast and concession, which are used to contrast ideas. Some examples are: However: (always separated by a comma) This restaurant has the best chef in town; however, their staff are quite rude. Nonetheless or nevertheless: (formal and always separated by a comma) I was in pain from the injury, nevertheless, I went to football practice as usual. Yet or even so: (neutral ) I’ve asked you a thousand times not to leave your dirty socks on the floor; yet, you keep doing it. Although/though and even though – (followed by a sentence) ·       She remained calm, although she had been betrayed badly. Despite or in spite of – (followed by a noun or nominal structure) ·       The overall situation is good, despite a few minor problems. Even if – (followed by a sentence) ·       The game is fun, even if you're really bad at it.     Now some examples of cause-and-effect connectors: Because of -  (always followed by a noun or nominal structure) ·       The tennis match was stopped because of the rain. Due to or Owing to - (always followed by a noun or nominal structure) ·       The bus was delayed due to heavy snow.   Ok, we have some more for you, this time comparative connectors. These are used to talk about differences or similarities. Some examples are: As… as – (comparison of equality) ·       He is as good as his sister And than: (comparison of superiority) ·       The weather was drier last week than this week.   And finally, to end this podcast, we’re going to look at how to end an idea using consequence connectors. We have 3 examples for you. As a consequence, or consequently – (formal ) Zack has skipped school on many occasions and has consequently failed his French test. So – (informal or neutral ) ·       This detergent is highly concentrated so you will need to dilute it. And the last one, as a result – (formal ) ·       Profits have declined as a result of the recent drop in sales.   That’s all for now on connectors. Well done! As you’ve heard, there’s lots to learn, but don’t worry, keep studying with us and you’ll be an expert in no time. to write and tell us of any others that we have missed! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media.  We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!    

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages.   In this podcast we are going to explore journalistic language in English, or journalese as it’s also known. When we say journalistic language, we are referring to the type of language used to compile and edit news, facts or opinions, presented to its target audience through the media. We’ll also learn some of its specific terminology. Like any other type of communication, journalistic language has its own codes, and the language is direct and formal. As this topic is so vast, we are going to focus on learning some essential for journalists, in both written and audiovisual forms. Before that though, let’s understand where the word journalese comes from. The term “journalese” (jerga periodística) belongs to the same family of words as “journalist” (periodista), journalism (periodismo) or “journey” (viaje, o camino en un día de viaje); as in the Spanish “jornada” (a day's journey or trip or working day) or “jornal” (a day's wage); and as the French “journal” ( newspaper or diary), which originates from the Latin term “diurnal”. The Acta Diurna was a kind of newsreel in ancient Rome, where information about social, political or economic events (las “noticias del día”) was published for the public to see. Interesting, isn’t it? Now, let’s begin learning some common, and sometimes confusing , used in the profession that every journalist (or English learner) should know. Starting with the essential one, news. News is an uncountable noun in English that structurally behaves as a singular noun: You’ve probably heard the expression; no news is good news. It’s a good example of how it is used in the singular form. In order to make it a countable noun, we need another word, for example: a piece of news or newspiece. Breaking news means noticia de última hora, and a newspaper, in its written printed or digital form, is  periódico, sometimes shortened to ‘the paper’. Let's continue with some possibly confusing , such as “editor”: A newspaper editor is el director de un periódico, to whom letters to the editor are addressed. Also, the editor in chief or chief editor is el redactor jefe of the corresponding section of the publication, and an editor is un redactor. It can also refer to el corrector or revisor (in the Spanish sense of editar un texto), although in English there is a more specific term for this profession which is a proofreader.  On the other hand, the Spanish “editorial”, means the same in English, editorial, as in the article published without a signature which represents the newspaper’s viewpoint. For the Spanish term “periodista” we find both the word journalist (the term in its broadest sense) and reporter (which is used more specifically for the person that seeks and collects information on the scene of the crime or incident). And to practise good journalism, it is essential to carry out fact-checking, (comprobación de hechos y datos), so as not to spread fake news (noticias falsas), and to present your work by the deadline (dentro de plazo). Let’s now understand some used and the structure of a newspaper article by referring to an article from The Guardian, on Wednesday, May 29, 2024: First of all, we find the headline, el titular, which informs us about the subject matter and aims to attract our attention so that we continue reading: “Fresh volcanic eruption triggers evacuation in south-west Iceland”, is our headline. Following that, we find the subtitle: “Plumes of lava reach 50 meters into air as people are moved away from Grindavík near Blue Lagoon spa.” You’ll see that headlines are often difficult to understand, as short words, which are not so commonly used in everyday language, are used to save space. Some examples of these are: back (meaning ) in the headline ‘Government backs the president’; clash (for violent disagreement) in the headline ‘400 demonstrators clash with police’; blast (meaning violent detonation or explosion) in the headline ‘blast kills 8 people’ and finally curb (for restriction) in the headline example: ‘Legislation curbs price and wage increases’.   Continuing with the structure of a newspaper article, after the headline and subtitle, the news item follows on with the lead, entradilla, which contains the most important data, these being the answers to the “what, where and who questions”. Listen to the lead, la entradilla, of the volcanic eruption article that we’re focusing on:   “A volcanic eruption [this is the what] has begun on the Reykjanes /’reikjanes/ peninsula in south-western Iceland [this is the where], according to the country's meteorological office, shortly after authorities [this is the who] evacuated the nearby town of Grindavík” /ˈkrɪntaˌviːk/. Following the lead, we find the body of the news, el cuerpo de la noticia, where the information is developed, and concludes with the ending or párrafo de cierre. In a newspaper article you might see specific quotes in quotation marks from the sources or fuentes of the news, that can speak on- or off-the record, oficialmente o extraoficialmente stating whether they wish to be quoted or not. Likewise, the news must include information about the author or authors and the byline, this is who is responsible for the information. In the case of our Guardian article, the newspaper includes information from the -Presse agency in Reykjavik. It also includes an image and a caption (pie de foto). Of course, the journalistic text can include other elements, such as a subhead (in Spanish this is (ladillo o intertítulo) and is included between the body paragraphs, or it can include columns. And, obviously, the texts will be different, depending on the objective and section they occupy, whether it is a newspiece, an opinion piece, a feature (un artículo en profundidad) or an interview (una entrevista).   Moving on to audiovisual media, this also has its own . In radio, television or podcasts we find many composed with cast (which among its many meanings includes transmitting images and/or sound): broadcast (emitir, difundir), and so newscast would be the programa de noticias and the newscaster is the locutor o presentador who addresses the audience, and who may be accompanied by a commentator (comentarista).   So, now that you’ve learnt some journalese, you may wish to reinforce your learning on this topic. We recommend that you do this by looking for media that best suit your taste, and topics that you are interested in, because on the internet you‘ll find a huge range of newspapers, magazines, radio or television programs, on a wide variety of subjects (news, sports, culture, lifestyle, etc). By reading and listening you will expand your journalistic vocabulary and improve your level of comprehension. The offer is vast, so we have pulled together a few suggestions: The New York Times is an American newspaper that enjoys international prestige as a reference. Look for the section that most appeals to you. The Guardian is perhaps considered the British counterpart of the New York Times. You can compare how each of them deal with the news. Can you find any differences between American and British English? Why not take a look? And, of course, we recommend the website of the British Broadcasting Corporation (bbc.com) where you will find plenty of resources for reading, listening and viewing. Happy news reading! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media.  We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!  

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to  www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. Today we’re going to learn about how to use adverbs in a sentence. Before we start, if you want to review adverb spelling rules and the different types of adverbs, then please listen to our other podcasts on these topics. We also have a blog post on adverbs that you may find helpful. too that if you have any difficulty understanding, you can look at the transcript to check any new vocabulary or expressions. Ok, so let’s see where adverbs go in a sentence. Unlike other kinds of words, adverbs can be placed in different parts of a sentence: at the beginning, in the middle or at the end. Some can be placed anywhere to form meaningful sentences; others must specifically go in one of these three places: At the beginning, like the adverb quietly in the phrase: Quietly, he opened the door. When we want to emphasize the adverb, we can put it at the front. In the middle, like the adverb happily in this popular ending to children’s stories: And they lived happily ever after. Or at the end, like the position of always in this line from Bon Jovi’s song: “And I will love you, baby, always.” The position of the adverb is also very important if there is more than one verb because if we place it before or after the main verb, it refers only to that verb. We can say: The teacher quietly asked him to leave the exam. Here the teacher spoke quietly to the student, probably so as not to disturb other students still doing the exam. However, if we place it after a proposition, it complements the whole action described by the proposition. Notice the difference in meaning depending on the placement of the adverb. Listen. The teacher asked him to leave the exam quietly. In this example, the adverb does not refer to how the teacher spoke. It refers to how the teacher wants the boy to leave the exam, that is, without making any noise. Adverbs of manner, which, as you’ll , describe how we do something, usually follow the verb, or go after the verb and the object. Listen. We answered the exam carefully. James coughed loudly. He ate the chocolate cake greedily.     Adverbs that point to a moment in time are usually placed at the end of the sentence. Listen to these examples. I will call you later. They are going on holiday tomorrow. You’re listening to this podcast now. However, as we learnt previously, if we want to emphasise the adverb, like in the song Yesterday by The Beatles, we can put it at the beginning. “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.”   Adverbs of place are usually placed after the main verb or the proposition that they modify and are usually found at the end of the sentence. Listen. Come and sit here. Can you wait over there, please?   Although you can also find them at the beginning of the sentence, to give emphasis, like in these examples: Here, we have a beautiful artefact from 1939. There, in the middle of the woods, a wolf awaited its prey.   As you probably already know, the verb ‘to be’ often causes the rule to change when using adverbs of frequency. Here the adverb is usually placed after the verb. Listen. They are often late, We were never wrong. It was always sunny.   but with all other verbs the frequency adverb goes before the verb, like this:   Lee sometimes takes the bus to go to school. They never want to come with me. He often played football as a child.   Having said this, most adverbs of frequency can also be placed at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Listen. I get up very early sometimes or I sometimes get up very early.   What about adverbs of degree? Adverbs of degree are usually placed before the verb. Here are a couple of examples. I really love reading on the beach in summer. They totally agreed with his decision.   It’s easy to know where interrogative adverbs go, isn’t it? How do we start questions? With interrogative adverbs of course! How are you? Where is my port? Why are you so late? When does the train arrive?   Adverbs of probability and certainty are placed before the main verb except, once again, when the main verb is "to be". Listen to an example of each. She definitely left the country yesterday. He is definitely a smart boy.   However, if there is an auxiliary verb, then the adverb is placed between the auxiliary and the main verb:   He has definitely forgotten . You have certainly done a great job learning about adverbs with us.   Don’t worry if it seems a lot to take in. Adverbs are not as daunting as they may seem. Some can go at the beginning, others in the middle, or at the end of a sentence. The more you read and listen to English you’ll see how adverbs are used and in time you’ll be an expert. , practice makes perfect! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media.  We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. One set of confusing verbs for Spanish learners of English is how to use the verbs lend and borrow. The confusion lies in the fact that in the Spanish language the translation for lend and borrow is prestar for both. To better understand these meanings, we can translate borrow as pedir prestado as well. · Te presto mis gafas de sol, ahora no las necesito. (I’ll lend you my sunglasses, I don’t need them now) · ¿Me prestas tus gafas de sol? (Can I borrow your sunglasses?) So, let’s understand the difference in meaning of the two, starting with lend. Lend is an irregular verb and means to give something to someone, expecting to get it back. Its past simple and participle form is lent. Let’s look at some example sentences: · I lent Carla the book as she really wanted to read it. · He never lends me his pen or pencil in class, even though we’re best friends and he knows that I don’t have one. On the other hand, borrow is a regular verb and means to obtain something from someone, intending to give it back after a short time. Let’s look at how we use borrow considering the previous sentences as our context. · Carla borrowed the book from me because she really wanted to read it. · I can never borrow a pen or pencil from Jimmy because he doesn’t let me. Be careful with the use of lend and borrow in questions. When you give something, you lend it. So, you can ask if someone will lend you something, like this: · Can you lend me the book, please? I really want to read it. Notice that it follows with the object pronoun me. That translates to: ¿Puedes prestarme el libro, por favor? And when you receive something, you borrow it. So, you can ask to borrow something like this: Can I borrow the book please? I really want to read it. Here no object pronoun follows the verb. The Spanish translation is: ¿Me prestas el libro por favor? Let’s finish with a few more examples. Can you lend me the book? Lend me. I don’t have the book, you have it and I’m asking if I can borrow it. Patricia always lends her sister things. Lends her sister. Her sister borrows clothes from Patricia. And finally, if you need financial help with a loan, un préstamo, or a mortgage, una hipoteca, from the bank then these examples would be useful to learn: The bank has lent us the money to buy our house, so now we have a big mortgage. Lent us. With borrow it is: We borrowed the money from the bank to buy our house. (Once again, , no object pronoun directly follows borrow). If you would like to study more on this topic then please see the corresponding That’s English! blog post. Thanks for listening! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. Today’s podcast is about the intensifiers so and such. Sometimes it’s a little bit confusing to know which one to use so we hope this podcast will clarify the situation. First or all, what do we mean by intensifiers? Listen to these sentences and tell us what the difference is when you hear so and such being used. · I’m happy. · I’m so happy. · It’s a beautiful day. · It’s such a beautiful day. What do so and such do to the sentences? I’m so happy. It’s such a beautiful day. That’s right, they give emphasis to the sentences, making them stronger, they intensify the meaning. Instead of using so and such you could use ‘very’ or ‘really’ instead. I’m very happy, or it is a really beautiful day. Ok, so now we understand why we use so and such and now we’re going to learn how to use them. We use so with adjectives or adverbs on their own. For example,: he is so nice or They’re so intelligent. So is also used with adverbs, for example: she plays the piano so well or that scooter goes so fast So can only be used with a noun, if it is used with the quantifiers much and many. Listen to these sentences: · They earn so much money. · There are so many people in the centre of Madrid today. , so is used before adjectives or adverbs or with much and many before nouns. Let’s listen to some more examples with so. · It’s so cloudy today, I think it could rain. (so before adjective) · They danced so beautifully in the ballet. (so before adverb) · So much time is wasted on social media. (so before quantifier plus noun) · I’ve told you so many times to stop talking in the classroom! (so before quantifier plus noun) Do you the sentence He is so nice?. There is no noun, therefore so is used. But in the sentence he is a nice man, as we are using an adjective followed by a noun, then we need to use such because this intensifier modifies nouns. These nouns can be also modified by adjectives. The important thing to understand here is that if there is a noun, we need to use such. Let’s listen to some sentences with such. · It is such a pity that he didn’t get that job. (such before noun) · It was such a fantastic concert! (such before adjective plus noun) · It is such a lovely day, let’s have a picnic in the park. (such before adjective plus noun) · They are such fortunate children. (such before adjective plus noun) In these sentences we have added the noun after the adjective. That means we use such. Let’s do a final recap. , if you are only using the adjective or adverb, you use so, and so is also used if you are using many or much in a sentence with a noun. On the other hand, if the sentence has an adjective followed by a noun, and you want to use an intensifier, then you use such. That’s so easy! It’s such an easy rule to , isn’t it?! We are so pleased that you listened to our podcast today. We hope you have such a wonderful day! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. Today’s podcast explains the difference between the verbs hear and listen, as they are sometimes confused. First of all, let’s check that you know their Spanish translations and definitions. We’ll also hear and listen to some examples to distinguish them. Have you noticed that I have just used both verbs? There are some occasions where either verb is possible. Starting with the verb hear. Hear is the verb oír in Spanish. It is an irregular verb. Both its past and participle form is heard. It has various meanings: It can mean to receive or become conscious of a sound. · She heard a noise outside. It can mean to be told information about something. · Have you heard the news? It can also mean to listen to someone or something with great attention and this is where the confusion lies between its synonym verb, listen. However, hear is more frequently used when it is for a formal event, or also in a court. Listen to these two examples: · An audience gathered to hear him speak. (as in, he gave a formal speech) · The case will be heard by the High Court. The verb to listen is escuchar in Spanish. It is a regular verb so its past tense and participle form is listened. As we have learnt previously, it also means to give attention to someone or something, that’s to say, you pay particular attention to it. Here are some examples: · She is listening to a podcast. · What kind of music do you listen to? · Listen to this! You can win a car just by answering three simple questions. In order to help you understand the difference, think of hear as something which happens to us as a natural process. We hear sounds that come to our ears, without us trying to hear them. Listen, on the other hand, is an action, something that we consciously do, we choose to listen to certain things, you do not usually choose what you hear. Now, let’s listen to some more examples using hear and listen. · I can hear the church bells ring every morning. I don’t particularly want to hear them, but I can. · I hope you’re listening to me! When we listen, we focus on sounds, we choose to hear a specific sound, so I hope you’re paying attention! Finally let’s hear these two examples: · I can hear some music. (coming from somewhere, it’s very faint). · I am listening to some music. In this case I am listening to a song that I want to listen to. Time to go, I can hear my phone vibrating! We hope that helps to understand the difference between the two verbs. Thanks for listening! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. This podcast is about a set of confusing verbs. They are the verbs rob and steal. We will also deal later with the verb burgle which has a similar meaning, but our main focus is on the verbs rob and steal. As both these verbs mean ‘to take something from someone or somewhere without permission’, llevarse algo de alguien o de un lugar sin permiso, it is sometimes difficult to know which one to use in a sentence. In addition to this, in Spanish there is only one translation, which is the verb robar, so for Spanish learners of English, this simply adds to the confusion. Rob is a regular verb, so its past and participle form is robbed. Steal, on the other hand, is an irregular verb. Its past simple form is stole and its participle form is stolen. So, let’s understand the difference between them. When we use the verb to steal, we are focusing on the object that is taken, NOT the person or the place. Listen to these sentences using steal: · Someone has stolen our car! · He stole my wallet. · He is a known pickpocket [MMP1] and steals people’s money on a regular basis. · The thieves stole the paintings from the museum. The focus in these sentences has been the car, the wallet, the money and the paintings. The verb to rob is slightly different. With this verb the focus is on the person or the place where the object or objects are stolen. Listen to these examples: · An old lady was attacked and robbed in the street yesterday. · The gang robbed the local post office on Tuesday morning. · Our bank was robbed three times last year. In these sentences the focus has been on the old lady, the post office and the bank. We hope that has made it a little clearer for you. , steal is about the object or objects that are taken, whereas rob is about the person or the place. Now let’s touch on nouns that are created from these verbs. The person or people that rob and steal are either called a robber (in plural, robbers) or a thief (thieves in plural, with the ending spelled v e s; it’s an irregular plural, ). Both translate into Spanish as ladrones. The crime of stealing is called a robbery or theft, un robo. If you , we said in the beginning that there was a third verb, burgle. Burgle is a regular verb so its past and participle form is burgled. This verb is used if the theft, el robo, has been from a house. Listen to this sentence: · The house was burgled while the owners were on holiday. The people that burgle are known as burglars and they commit a burglary. We’re almost at the end of this podcast, but before we go, let’s do a final recap on the verbs rob and steal. Listen to these similar sentences using both verbs, so you can distinguish between them: · I was robbed at the nightclub. (the focus is I) · Someone stole my mobile phone. (the focus is the mobile phone) · That poor man has just been robbed. A thief has stolen his bike. (in the first sentence, the focus is the man and in the second, his bike). That’s the end of this podcast. We hope that these verbs are now less confusing for you. Thanks for listening! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now! [MMP1]Pickpocket?

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. One set of confusing verbs for Spanish learners of English is how to use the verbs BRING and TAKE. We use one or the other depending on the spatial location we are referring to. Let’s start with bring. Bring in Spanish is the verb traer. It is an irregular verb. Its past tense and participle form are both brought. Bring means to take or carry someone or something to a place or a person. The movement of the person or object is from where the listener is (for example: ‘Can you bring me my jacket?’) ¿Puedes traerme mi chaqueta? The listener will return the sweater to the speaker’s location. Or, alternatively, it can be from the speaker to the listener as in the example ‘I’ve brought you some flowers.’ Te he traído unas flores. (In this case, the speaker has arrived at the listener’s location). It may help to always bear in mind that with bring the context is always ‘close’, cerca. It is associated with coming to a destination where the speaker or listener is located. Always think of: · Bring that here. Trae eso aquí. The verb take is the opposite to bring. Think therefore of the context being ‘far’, lejos. In Spanish it is the verb llevar. Take is also an irregular verb. Its past tense form is took and its participle form is taken. Take means movement with something or someone from where the speaker or listener is, to a different place, or away from somewhere. Imagine this situation. You are a high school student, and you are at the high school secretary’s office. The assistant tells you: ‘You have to fill in this form and then take it to the Maths Department.’ Tienes que rellenar este formulario y luego llevarlo al Departamento de matemáticas. Both the speaker and the listener are together in a different place to the Maths Department. So, take is associated with going away from a starting point where the speaker or listener are located. Always think of: · Take that there. Lleva eso allí. Let’s do a final recap. Both bring and take are verbs that refer to movement. Bring implies movement towards something, whereas take implies movement away from something. You have to think of the perspective of the context. Bring what you can. Take what you can. In the first example, bring implies you are carrying something with you toward a certain location. In the second example, take implies you are carrying something away from somewhere. We hope you now feel more confident about when to use these two confusing verbs. Thanks for listening! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. One set of confusing verbs for Spanish learners of English is make and do. The confusion lies in the fact that in the Spanish language there is just the one verb to mean both, hacer, but in English we have make and do. So, what is the difference between make and do? As a general rule, we use make for activities that involve manual work, and do for all the others. Let’s look at some examples using do: We say: Do a course, do a report, do a great job, do business. Do homework, do experiments, do research. As these are relating to work, the verb used tends to be do. Other tasks that use do are when we are referring to household chores: Do housework, do the ironing, do the dishes, do the shopping, do the cleaning etc. Do is also frequently used for some sporting activities like: Do exercise, do Pilates and do gymnastics. So, when do we use the verb make, then? If we are talking about something that we produce or create, then the verb make is generally the verb we use. Let’s take a look at some examples, to understand this a bit better: We make breakfast, make lunch and make dinner. (We are producing something when we cook or prepare food, so we use make in this context, although some English speakers also use do in this case.) Make a profit, make a fortune, make money. You can make a choice, make a mistake, make an excuse, and make an effort. You can also make plans, make a reservation, and make a complaint. While we have looked at the basic difference here between make and do, as you can tell, it is not that easy, as there are too many exceptions to the rule. Our advice is to memorise lists for each verb. And, as you know, practice makes perfect! You can group them into smaller lists per topic to make learning them easier - like those relating to business or housework, for example. Please visit our blog post on make and do to see these lists and their Spanish translation. Thanks for listening! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

If you are interested in studying English but want to do so in your own time, and perhaps in a more fun way, then the That’s English! course A Tu Ritmo, or as we would say in English ‘at your own pace’, may be just what you’re looking for. So, what exactly is A Tu Ritmo? A Tu Ritmo is a 100% online self-study course giving you access to hundreds of language learning activities on our e-learning platform to help you improve your English. There are no classes and no exams. In A Tu Ritmo you have access to That’s English material to improve your English level the way that you want, you have total flexibility. Whether your level is basic, intermediate or advanced, A Tu Ritmo can provide you with endless exercises, to suit all needs. As well as access to all the interactive online activities, there are other resources available to you, such as podcasts on a wide range of English language learning topics. There are also learning paths which are either skill or vocabulary based. These paths are designed to help you focus on specific grammar points or topic-related vocabulary. Imagine you are going to England for the weekend, and you want to review useful expressions then you may find our Travel learning path useful. In A Tu Ritmo, you will also have access to our drama series, documentaries and travel series, all of which have English subtitles. The drama series are level adapted. For beginners the series Park Hotel follows the day-to day life of the staff and guests in this typically English hotel. For students with a lower intermediate level, in the series Café 27 you will meet lots of different characters who frequent this London coffee shop. The actors come from different English-speaking countries, so it’s a great way for you to become familiar with different accents. For more advanced students the series 12 Penn Road follows the lives of four flatmates that house share in London. After each episode, you’ll find interactive activities related to what you have seen. If you like watching travel programmes we have four interesting English-speaking destinations for you to discover. In Road Trip Katy takes her American friend Sam around the United Kingdom country of Wales in her Mini Cooper. Alternatively, if your preference is to learn more about England, then there are two seasons in our That’s Britain series. In the first season our presenter Nigel takes you on a cultural trip around the UK visiting national parks, coastal regions, museums and famous cities such as Oxford. In the second season, you will accompany Elizabeth as she visits the north of England and Scotland. If, on the other hand, you’re a lover of everything green then you will undoubtedly like That’s Ireland. You will presenter Aidan as he goes on a cultural journey around the Emerald Isle, visiting Ireland’s iconic places such as Dublin and Galway, as well as being wowed by the country’s wild beauty. Last but not least is That’s the USA. In the first season of this series our presenter Jodi explores the popular south-east regions of Florida and visits many interesting places like Miami, Orlando or St. Augustine. In season 2, Alex takes you to the north-east where he immerses himself in the culture and history of famous cities such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia, amongst others. As with our drama series, there are interactive online activities for you to do on what you have seen in each episode. The A Tu Ritmo course also includes a section of Self tests where you can self-assess your knowledge of the English language, level by level. Finally, on the A Tu Ritmo course, you will have access to our library of podcasts and a selection of posts from the That’s English! blog. The podcast library is divided into the following sections: “Language and Vocabulary”, “Cultural Curiosities” and “Burning Issues”. The transcripts of all the podcasts are also available on the platform. For more information about the A tu ritmo course, visit our website www.thatsenglish.com or us on 91 108 61 01.

Did you know that apart from the official That’s English! course, we also offer two other courses?: Exam prep and A Tu Ritmo. This podcast is about the Exam prep course. The Exam Prep course is an online course with a wide range of interactive activities, designed to prepare you to the Official School of Languages B2 and C1 English language certificate exams. The course design is based on self-correcting interactive activities, tutored online classes to practice the oral examination tasks and writing tasks which will be individually corrected by your tutor. The interactive contents on our e-learning platform are divided into 3 main sections: Strategies, Extra Practice and Exams. The Strategies section presents, with practical examples and activities, the strategies that will help you to perform well in the different types of exam tasks you will come across in the certificate examination. There are five subsections, one for each of the key learning skills: Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking and Mediation Strategies The Extra Practice section focuses on practising the strategies that you have learnt in the previous section with activities similar to the tasks that usually appear in the Certificate Examination. Finally, in the Exams section, there are five sets of exams which are similar in format, length and difficulty to the tasks you will encounter when you take the Certificate Examination at your Official School of Languages. So, if you’re planning to take either the B2 or the C1 official English language Certificate Examinations, this is the course for you. So, what are the requirements? You have to turn at least 16 in the year that you to do the course. You have to reside in the autonomous community in which you are ing for the course. To find out more about this course go to the TE! website www.thatsenglish.com or us on 91 108 61 01.

Song Lyrics Podcast Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. We know how music plays a big part in peoples’ lives and that many of you use songs to help you learn English. That’s why the team at That English! have brought to you this podcast about iconic songs and their famous opening lines. Have you ever stopped to think about how important the first line of a song is? Just like an author has to capture the reader’s attention with the first lines of a novel, a songwriter needs to set the scene or mood in just a few words and engage their listener. Here are what we consider to be some great first lines from some even greater songs. Let us know if you agree! "Hey ho, let's go!" !Venga, vamonos!. Not a complicated one to begin with, but without doubt a very apt one to introduce you to our list. For many of you Ramones fans, this simple fist-punching one-liner intro to the song ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ could not be more memorable. Almost defining American punk rock, its words and beat combined, shout energy and power !Venga, vamonos!. “All the leaves are brown / And the sky is grey.” Todas las hojas son marrones / Y el cielo es gris From the 60s, this song intro was brought to us by the vocal folk-rock band The Mamas & The Papas in their hit ‘California Dreamin’. These evocative lyrics set the scene by describing the season in this melancholy melody as the singers dream of being back in the sunshine state of California. “You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar.“ Trabajabas de camarera en un bar de cócteles The electro-pop pioneers, The Human League, brought us these lyrics from their 1981 hit ‘Don’t You Want Me’ after being inspired by an article in a woman’s magazine. The song is about a man whose cocktail waitress girlfriend no longer wants him, even though he helped get her where she is today. This catchy opening line tells us how the couple first met. The lyrics work so well due to the regular use of the /w/ sound, as you can see in the song’s first line: you were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar.. “Get your motor running / get out on the highway.” Pon tu motor en marcha / sal a la carretera Sometimes described as the first heavy metal song, ‘Born to be Wild’ by Steppenwolf conjured up images of biker rockers, especially after its success in the soundtrack of the 1969 film ‘Easy Rider’ where the ‘going nowhere’ open road was the new American dream. This opening line is about getting on your motorbike, starting the engine and enjoying cruising on the vehicle-free motorway. “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away…” Ayer, todos mis problemas parecían tan lejanos… Before this melancholy Beatles ballad came out, Paul McCartney thought the melody already belonged to someone else. Apparently, he went around singing it with the words ‘Scrambled eggs, oh my baby how I love your legs…’ asking if people knew the tune. Thankfully, nobody did, and he went on to write one of the most popular Beatles songs ever, ‘Yesterday’. About a relationship break-down, the song’s first line starts with McCartney thinking about the previous day and how much better it had been, before the break-up and the problems began. “Birds flying high you know how I feel / Sun in the sky you know how I feel…” Pájaros volando alto sabes cómo me siento / Sol en el cielo sabes cómo me siento... When you start to create a picture in your head of the sun in the sky and flying birds, you naturally start ‘Feeling Good’, don’t you? It’s a very appropriate title for this song by Nina Simone don’t you think? It made her feel good too and we think you’ll agree, it not only made you feel good, it also sounded good - very good. “She keeps her Moet et Chandon / In her pretty cabinet / ‘Let them eat cake’ she says / Just like Marie Antoinette.” Guarda su Moet et Chandon / En su bonito armario / 'Que coman pasteles' dice / Igual que María Antonieta. These famous first lines of ‘Killer Queen’ by the fabulous Freddie Mercury and his band Queen was about a high-class call girl. Freddie glamourised the life of the wealthy kept mistresses and potentially powerful courtesans with their extravagance and indulgence. "At first I was afraid, I was petrified / Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side / But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong / And I grew strong, and I learned how to get along." Al principio tenía miedo, estaba petrificada / Seguía pensando que nunca podría vivir sin ti a mi lado / Pero luego pasé tantas noches pensando en cómo me hiciste mal / Y me hice fuerte, y aprendí a salir adelante Gloria Gaynor’s disco hit ‘I Will Survive’ is one of the great female empowerment songs of all time. These introductory lyrics express how she was scared in the beginning, doubting how she could live without her partner but later, having realised how much she had been hurt in the relationship, she gained confidence to carry on alone and she survived, thankfully. “And now, the end is here / And so I face the final curtain…” Y ahora, llegó el fin / Y así me enfrento al telón final ... Did you know that this smash hit ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra was originally a French song by Claude François called Comme D'Habitude, meaning ‘as usual’. And that both versions had totally different meanings? Claude’s was about routine in a relationship and falling out of love. Songwriter Paul Anka heard the song and paid for rights to rewrite the lyrics specifically for Sinatra. In this timeless anthem, Sinatra sings about the end of a lifetime and looking back on it all. These opening lines refer to the moment when you are faced with the final performance in your career or death and the curtain closing on you for the last time, signifying the end. It spent 75 weeks in the UK’s top 40 singles chart, simply amazing! And this helps us bring this podcast to a close. But you’ll be glad to hear it’s definitely not the end for us. We’ll be back with more very soon. In the meantime, please let us know if you’ve enjoyed this podcast or if you have any favourite opening lyrics to songs that we’ve missed that you’d like to mention. We’d love to hear from you. And finally, just to remind you, why not take a look at our blog entry on the 10 best songs to learn English, we think you’ll like it! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

Christmas in London Podcast Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. It’s the most wonderful time of the year and if you’re lucky enough to be heading to the UK’s capital to celebrate Christmas, then this podcast is just for you. That’s English! has pulled together these five fabulous festivities of timeless London traditions to help make your yuletide visit a very special one. So, what are our top 5? Let’s begin… No trip to the city would be complete during the festive season without visiting one of its Christmas markets. There will be many all over the city, but the most popular ones are: Leicester Square, the Angel’s Christmas Market at Winter Wonderland and the pop-up Christmas by the River market in Tooley Street. This last one has amazing views of Tower Bridge. All kinds of Christmas novelties can be bought at all the markets, from Christmas tree decorations, food for the season, such as mince pies and mulled wine as well as special handmade gifts for loved ones. Take your pick! Secondly, don’t miss a stroll around the main streets of the capital to see the brilliant displays of twinkling lights that adorn the city. Maybe you’re interested in being there for the grand turning on ceremony, which usually takes place from mid to late November. Oxford Street, Covent Garden and Regent Street are sparkling favourites for many. If you want to see them ALL, and more, then you could book a special seasonal open-top bus tour. The lights really are spectacular! Now a bit of historic tradition for our third recommendation. Every year a very special Christmas tree is displayed at Trafalgar Square. It is usually a Norwegian Spruce that’s over 20 metres tall and between 50 and 60 years old. This tree has been an annual gift from Norway to Britain since 1947, as a thank you for the Britain gave the Norwegians during the Second World War. This tree is specially selected from forests near Oslo months, and sometimes years, in advance. It is felled every November and brought to London by sea and lorry before being erected and decorated in traditional Norwegian fashion for everyone to enjoy. If you are lucky, you may see the lighting ceremony which, in London, traditionally marks the countdown to Christmas. If it is already lit when you get there, then there are other Trafalgar Square events to look out for such as the blessing of the crib and wonderful carol singing. Our fourth must-do is to experience the great British tradition of a Christmas pantomime. What’s one of those? we hear you say. Well, every yuletide, theatres around the country put on a comical theatre play based on a fairy tale or similar for people young and old alike, involving music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy. Curiously, every pantomime, or ‘panto’, as they’re fondly known, has an amusing female character, called Widow Twankey, which is actually played by a male actor dressed in women’s clothes. This is definitely one NOT to miss, especially if you want to see something uniquely British. The final must-do is another quintessential English custom, but with a festive twist. If you haven’t tried one of London’s top venues for Afternoon Tea, then you don’t know what you’re missing. This is not just about drinking tea in the afternoon - Afternoon Tea is a meal in itself, often made up of triangular-cut shaped sandwiches along with sweet pastries, little cakes and scones, accompanied with, of course, copious amounts of tea, and often a glass of bubbly – don’t mind if I do! Once an upper-class tradition, it is now a popular pastime used to celebrate a birthday, friends’ reunion, or other special social event. The twist is that at Christmastime, many venues swap the usual egg and cress sandwich filling option for turkey and cranberry - and other such traditional festive fare - in their Christmas themed afternoon teas. Alongside bauble-shaped cinnamon spiced cakes, gingerbreads, and mince pies, get ready to indulge, delicious! These Christmas teas take place in many locations in and around London. We like Ting, Shangri La in the UK’s tallest building, The Shard, and the 1930s luxurious Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane but take a look at all the options and prices and make that booking! These are our top 5 but as there are so many things to do in London at Christmas, whatever you choose, we are sure you’ll have a great time. Don’t forget to let us know what you think. Do you have any recommendations for us? We also have a blog post on Christmas vocabulary that you might be interested in – why not read it?! Merry Christmas from the That’s English! team. We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now! Glossary Mince pie - a small sweet pastry pie filled with a spicy mixture of small pieces of apple, dried fruit, and nuts, known as mincemeat, which is often eaten at Christmas. Mulled wine - wine heated with added sugar and spices, drunk warm as a traditional winter drink. Crib - a model of the people and animals present at the birth of Jesus Christ, used as a decoration at Christmas. Slapstick - a type of humorous acting in which the actors behave in a silly way, such as by throwing things, falling over, etc. Bubbly – champagne or sparkling wine. Fare - the type of food that is served in a restaurant.

Job Interview Preparation Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. So, you’ve landed yourself a job interview, congratulations! But you’re nervous about how it is going to go. What are they going to ask you? How can you prepare? Can you really sell yourself well? This podcast is designed to help you. The team at That’s English! have prepared some tips on how to succeed in your job interview as well as some of the typical questions you may be asked, and what you should include when you answer them. We hope you will find them useful. Let’s start. We’re going to look at the ‘must-dos’ before, during and after the interview. First of all, some important things to do BEFORE the interview: It is strongly advisable to research into your potential employer. Find out about the company’s core values and match them with your experience. You can mention them in the interview - they will be impressed that you’ve done your research. Practise answering typical interview questions. We will go through the top 5 interview questions later in the podcast but preparing and practising your answers is an important part to your pre-interview preparation. You should practise saying your answers out loud to yourself, or even better, get a friend or family member to act as the interviewer. What are the specific skills the employer is looking for? These will be given on the job description, so make sure you have it to hand. If you’ve done your preparation correctly your CV will match these requirements too, so have the key aspects highlighted. You have to prove to them that you have the experience and skills that match these requirements so get your thinking cap on and write down some examples to talk them through. Have you heard of the STAR method? STAR is one of the most popular methods of answering interview questions and many employers want potential employees to use it during job interviews. It stands for S: situation, that means you give an example of something you’ve done to impress them. First you need to put them in the picture, and describe the ‘situation’. T is for task. What was the problem, the ‘task’ that you had to deal with? A is for action. What ‘action’ did you take to solve your big challenge? And finally, R is for result. Finish off by explaining how you achieved your desired result and how this improved things in the long run. So make sure, when you are preparing your examples of achievements, you always use the STAR method to provide them with examples that are concise and focused. You may be asked for a list of references so get them ready before the interview. This may help you get ahead of the game if other candidates are behind with theirs. Don’t forget that you’ll be asked if YOU have any questions, and an employer will want you to ask questions in an interview, to see that you’re really interested in the role. So, prepare some questions you would like to ask. You might want to ask about current challenges facing the company or more details about the team or suppliers you would be working with. You’re pretty much ready for that interview. The last thing to do before the interview day is to establish what the appropriate clothes are to wear. you have researched the company so you should know what is expected. If you’re still unsure, it is better to go formal than to be under-dressed in an interview setting - you are trying to make a good impression, after all! Don’t forget to clean your shoes and check for clean and tidy nails! No-one wants to see a scruffy interviewee. Have your clothes prepared the evening before. Now try and get a good night’s sleep, you have a big day ahead. It’s finally interview day! to take copies of your CV, a notebook and pen that works - obviously, as there are many out there that don’t! You’ll have previously marked up your CV copy with key aspects highlighted, ready for you to discuss. You might want to make some notes during the interview so you can refer to them, if need be, post-interview. Take time to look at yourself in the mirror before leaving home. Are there any labels sticking out or loose threads on your clothes? You’ll be embarrassed by these things if they’re discovered later on. Give yourself plenty of time to get to your interview, stress free. You don’t want to be rushing or worrying that you’re going to be late. Check out your route options, allow for transportation problems and calculate to arrive 10-15 minutes in advance. When you arrive, smile! To everyone! The interviewer may ask staff on the front desk for their opinion about you so be courteous and respectful at all times. During the interview, have a positive and upbeat attitude to keep the atmosphere pleasant and don’t forget to smile! I know it has already been said but sometimes people have too serious a face. If the interviewer sees you’re at ease, they will also relax. When you give your answers, be honest. Don’t get yourself into an uncomfortable situation by trying to embellish your skills. the preparation that you have done and focus on your strengths and how your background means YOU are their ideal candidate. Answer questions using the STAR method, giving them examples of where your experience ties into the requirements on the job description but be careful not to give long and drawn-out answers. You practised being concise and focused in your interview preparation, didn’t you? If you are looking for a way out from your current employer, don’t make this evident in the interview. Think about what experience you’ve gained and your future career path rather than telling them about the tough time you’re having there. They want to know they are employing someone that can deal with difficulties, so bear this in mind. At the end of your interview to ask some questions. It is also appropriate to ask them what the next steps are. Should you expect an email from them? On the day following your interview you can make another good impression by sending them a follow-up thank you email. You might want to refer to any notes that you made during the interview. Thank them for their time and ask them to let you know if there is anything else they need from you at this stage. Not everyone makes afterwards so this courteous email may help them choose you over someone else. Now that we’ve gone through how to shine in the interview, let’s move on to the second part of the podcast, which is to look at the most popular top 5 interview questions, the first one being… Tell me about yourself. Most job interviews start with an ice-breaker like this one, it’s a chance for you to introduce yourself. Be aware that the interviewer is figuring out if you are the right person for the job so make sure your answer focuses on your professional experience and interests, a summary of who you are in a professional sense is what is needed here. Question number two is often… Why are you interested in this job? Here’s where you can demonstrate that you’ve done your research and are genuinely interested in the industry, the company, and specifically the role itself. Prepare to wow them with your professionalism and preparation. Question 3 is possibly… What are your greatest strengths? It’s not enough to just say what you’re good at if your answers don’t align with the job requirements. Communication skills is a requirement in most jobs, so this is a good one to brush up on and if you’re uncomfortable blowing your own trumpet then you could say it’s what other people have said about you in the past. to have STAR examples to back this up. The fourth question may be… And what about your weaknesses? It’s best not to pull out the list of all your negatives or on the contrary say ‘I don’t have any, I’m perfect’ either. Instead, say something that is not on the job requirement list. Make it known that you’re aware of it as a weakness and that you are working to improve it. This shows willingness to learn and that you strive to be better. The final question in our top 5 list is… Where do you see yourself in five years’ time? Employers know that ambitious people are looking for professional growth, so you don’t need to pretend you’ll stay with them in five years’ time. Think of a model company that could give you your dream job with the experience and interests that you have. The interviewer will be impressed by your ‘get up and go for it’ attitude. At the end of the day, every interview is different but you’re likely to be asked these or very similar questions to these, allowing you to use all of the great answers that you’ve prepared. If you follow our advice in this podcast you will go into that interview with confidence and will convince them that you’re the perfect fit for the job. Good luck, although we’re sure you won’t need it! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now! Idiomatic expression definitions: Get your thinking cap on - to start tryin

British & Spanish Education System Differences Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. Are you a parent and thinking about spending some time in the United Kingdom or are you considering sending your child to a British school in Spain? Perhaps you have a son or daughter that already attends a British curriculum school and are just a little confused about how the education system differs between the two countries. Well, the aim of this podcast is to explain these differences clearly starting from the age of 3 through to adulthood. Let’s begin by saying what the UK national curriculum is. Basically, it is a set of subjects and standards used by state-maintained schools, so that all children are learning the same things. This curriculum is organised into groups, that are known as ‘key stages’, and each key stage consists of a certain range of school years. When a child reaches the end of his or her key stage, they are formally assessed by the teachers in order to evaluate their performance and progression. All children aged 5-18 must be in full-time education in the United Kingdom, however, the education structure starts from the age of 3. The first and second non-obligatory stages are known as the infants Early Years Foundation Stage. The first year group, ages 3-4 is in the nursery stage, followed by the reception stage for 4 to 5 year-olds. These two stages are equivalent to primero y segundo de educación infantil in Spain. When a child reaches 5 in the UK, they start obligatory primary education. This is where the key stage structure starts, taking the child through from aged 5 to 18, that is, up to segundo de Bachillerato in Spain. There are five key stages in total. Key stage 1 are the child’s first three years in primary education. This does not exactly tally with the Spanish system because children in Spain complete the tercer curso de educación infantil before starting the primary stage. So, that means year 1 of primary education in the UK for ages 5-6 is the start of key stage 1 but it is the 3rd year of infant education in Spain. There are six primary education years in total in the British national curriculum - key stage 1 for the first 3 years followed by key stage 2 for the last 3. The main difference between the Spanish and British primary education stages is that the primer curso de educación primaria is actually the equivalent of year 2 in the UK. So, year 2 is primero de primaria, year 3 is segundo etc. When a British child finishes their key stage 2, that is year 6 of primary, they are in what would be quinto de primaria. British children, therefore, start their secondary school education one year earlier than the Spanish. During the UK primary education, each child must complete national curriculum tests at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in English & Maths. They also have to undertake some teacher assessments. The British secondary education stage starts with year 7, as the numbers follow on from primary, and lasts for five years, finishing the end of obligatory schooling in year 11 when the child is between the age of 15 to 16. The secondary school years are divided into key stage 3 for the first three years and then the last two years are key stage 4, which is when the children sit their important national qualifications, which are usually GCSE exams. GCSE stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education. The results or grades from these exams can be a prerequisite for certain higher education courses, apprenticeships, or job opportunities. In many private international schools in Spain, the IGCSE exams are offered. These are very similar to the GCSE exams that are undertaken in the state British schools but are the internationally recognised equivalent. As la ESO in Spain, which corresponds to key stages 3 and 4 in the UK, only lasts 4 years, the children end their secondary education in both Britain and Spain at the same age, this is between the ages of 15 to 16. This is because the primer curso de la ESO is the second year of secondary in the British system, known as year 8. One main difference with the Spanish system is that children are more regularly assessed throughout their primary and secondary years through formative and summative tests - there are no GCSEs - and at the end of each school year, parents receive a report showing the child’s results for each subject. In all the UK countries, except Scotland, 16-year-olds must continue further education for another two years, until they are 18. In Spain, however, obligatory schooling ends after la ESO. Options for British 16-year-olds can vary from staying on at their secondary school, which is called ‘Sixth Form’, or going to a college to continue their studies. Alternatively, they can decide to get a job with a training element attached. Unless they live in Scotland, they are not allowed to work full-time without some training included, until they are 18. Academic qualification options for them include A-levels, which are subject-based qualifications, and BTECs which are technical or vocational subject qualifications. Other options can include an apprenticeship, or a job combined with some training. In Spain, 16-year-olds can choose to leave education and find work or continue their studies, choosing one of the many options available to them, for example the 2-year bachillerato course. In international schools over 16s are often able to study for the international A-level exams or are offered the International Baccalaureate which is a qualification that is recognised by all universities across the world. Basically, whether you are Spanish or British, by the age of 18, the world is your oyster, as we say in English, or tienes el mundo a tus pies. If you have a question for us on the subject or simply have a comment to make, please get in touch, we would love to hear from you. We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!

Sports Podcast Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or your local Official School of Languages. Why is it that so many people love sport? Perhaps it’s because it can give you goals or a sense of accomplishment. Sports can create unity amongst people as well as be a fun way to stay fit and healthy. As there are so many different types of sport, there is always something for everyone, from low to high intensity. Plus, they’re a great way to spend time with people you enjoy being with. Whatever the reason, we know they play a big part in many people’s lives, so we have prepared this podcast on sports for you. But we’re not just talking about any sports, we have focused on some popular sports that are played in the United Kingdom and you may not be too familiar with them. So, let’s find out what they are, their history, how they are played and if they are played elsewhere around the world. The first one on the list is cricket. Now, while most people believe that football is England’s national sport, the country’s national summer sport is actually cricket! And for those of you that don’t know much about this sport, here are some basic facts: Cricket has been played in England since the 16th century. It is a sport that is played with a bat and ball, it has two competing teams of 11 players, and it is played on an oval field with a rectangular pitch in the middle with two wickets which are a set of upright sticks. The aim of the game is to score runs between the wickets and ensure you beat the opposing team. There are three main player positions in the game -1. The batsman: This player hits the ball with the bat and scores runs off the balls bowled by the bowler. The second key player is the bowler: this is the person who bowls the ball to the batsman and tries to get the batsman ‘out’ by hitting the wicket. The rest of the team are made up of fielders. These players assist the bowler in trying to prevent the batsman from scoring runs. The game is now played world-wide, and besides the British Isles, it is particularly popular in Australia, India, Pakistan and the West Indies. Cricket matches can range from informal weekend afternoon events on village greens to top-level international competitions. One format of cricket is called test cricket and one game alone lasts for 5 days! Another popular sport in England, played predominantly by women, is netball. Originating from the American sport of basketball in the late 19th century, netball is a two-team game, each team having seven players and its aim is to shoot a ball through the opposing team’s goal ring. It is played on a court, as is basketball, but one big difference is that the court is divided into different sections and depending on the player’s position, means whether they are allowed in the areas or not. Another important difference is that a player cannot run bouncing the ball. In its beginnings, an American teacher in Dartford in England created the game using basketball rules, but replaced the hoops with basic netted rings that did not have backboards. Since then, the sport has grown in popularity and is played both competitively and recreationally. It is mainly played in Commonwealth countries with the top nations being New Zealand, Australia, England and Jamaica. However, it is also a growing sport in Zimbabwe, Taiwan and the U.S. Now, the oldest sport of the Commonwealth Games competition is lawn bowls. The roots of this sport go as far back as ancient Egypt where archaeological findings discovered that a game using stone balls was played around 3200 BC. Lawn bowls, as it is known today, has, however, been played in England since the 13th century. The objective of lawn bowls is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a ‘jack’ or ‘kitty’. The sport is played on a bowling green. Nowadays 57 countries over six continents are of the World Bowls Federation. On a recreational scale, lawn bowls is a sport anyone can play, regardless of age or ability. It is easy to learn and can be relaxed or competitive, it is a true family game for the young or not so young. For the next sport we have to go to the town of Rugby, in the English county of Warwickshire. In 1823, a student called William Web Ellis, from the elite private school of Rugby, made history and invented the sport of rugby when, during a game of football, he picked up the ball, going against the basic ‘no hands’ rule of football, and ran with it to the opponent’s goal. Rugby School was pivotal to the development of the sport from then on, naming the sport after the school. The first rules of the game were written there in 1845. Later in the century two main variations of the game were created: rugby league and rugby union and while there are distinctions between these two sports, the basic gameplay is the same. This is that two teams, with either 13 or 15 players, depending which variation of the sport is being played, try to score points by moving a ball back and forth across an outdoor field. Points are scored by touching the ball in the opposing team’s in-goal area or kicking the ball through the tall upright poles. Nowadays, rugby is one of the most popular sports in the world, but it has always struggled to meet the popularity levels of other sports such as football and boxing, which both have bigger media backing. It is now most popular in the countries of England, , Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa and in of the United Kingdom, it is Wales’ national sport. The last sport to mention in this podcast was developed in 18th century London. The sport of rowing. Rowing takes place on the water surface and is where athletes propel a boat using oars. Prior to it being a sport, rowing was first used as a means of transport in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. It developed into a sport and in 1828 the famous Oxford-Cambridge university boat race on the River Thames was inaugurated. This race between elite universities is now one of the world’s oldest and most famous amateur sporting events and has become synonymous with British tradition and excellence. Besides this university boat race, rowing competitions, and its many varieties, are held on artificial lakes or indoor areas. Outdoors it is practised on rivers, canals, seas, etcetera. The number of rowing team numbers can vary depending on the type of boat used, with events for individuals or up to a team of eight, known as coxed eight, which is ‘steered’ by a ninth person, known as a ‘cox’, who sits at the bow. Their job is to be responsible for the crew, their safety and to guide the boat. There are two main forms of rowing, one is known as ‘sweep’ where the rower has one oar which they hold with both hands. The other is known as ‘skulling’ where each rower has two oars, one in each hand. Besides these, there are other variations such as coastal offshore rowing and beach sprint rowing, amongst others. Rowing is similar to other paddle sports such as dragon boat racing, canoeing and kayaking. Have you ever played any of these sports? Do you know of some other interesting ones that are less popular in Spain but played in the United Kingdom? Please write to us and let us know. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening! We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!