Teacher’s book A2 Cons

Consoli
olidat
dation
ion-- 1
Universidad Autónoma
del Estado de Hidalgo

j u n i or

Paul Davies
Sarah Conway
Verónica Espino Barranco
Martha Guadalupe Hernández Alvarado
Claudia Liliana Hernández Hernández
Laura López González
c Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo
Dirección Universitaria de Idiomas

No unauthorized photocopying.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo.

Make It Real! Junior Teacher’s book A2 Consolidation-1

Editors: Paul Davies and Sarah Conway

Coordinators: Diana Matxalen Hernández Cortés , Edward Amador Pliego

Project manager: Claudia Liliana Hernández Hernández

Authors:
Paul Davies, Sarah Conway, Verónica Espino Barranco, Martha Guadalupe Hernández
H ernández Alvarado,
Claudia Liliana Hernández Hernández, Laura López González

Cover and interior design: Nancy Yuridia Vega Ramírez

Web materials developer and editor: Jacob Law
Web developer: Jorge Alberto Hernández Téllez
Illustrator: Ivan Emilio Tapia Camargo
Photographer: Madian Zarai Guevara Medina
Testing: Josette Javier Zavala Franco

First published 2015

2nd printing 2016

ISBN: 978-607-482-417-9
Printed in Mexico
Dear teachers,

Hidalgo State University (Universidad Autónoma

Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo) is among the best universities in

Latin America. Reasons for this include our university’s academic impact and reputation, which depends
mainly on the quality of its teaching staff, its research quality and the employability of its graduates.

To improve the employability of our graduates further, we want to provide our teachers and students
with tools that can really enable our graduates to communicate effectively in English (listening,
speaking, reading and writing), which will contribute to the holistic development of their personal,
academic and occupational competences to their full potential. This is an area in which most institutions
of higher education in Mexico are notoriously unsuccessful, for a variety of reasons, including the use
of materials that are not designed for the characteristics and needs of their students.

The book you have in your hands, part of the “Make It Real!” series, is the result of a great effort by our
institution to provide you with material that is really appropriate for UAEH students. It works with
situations in which a high school or university graduate from Hidalgo could really need to use English. It
was developed on the basis of an analysis of UAEH students’ present and future needs regarding the
use of English, in academic, occupational and social fields, and their characteristics as learners,
including the fact that their native language is Spanish. We are sure that, with your effort as teachers, our
students, if they also make the necessary effort, can all become capable of participating effectively in
situations that require the use of English, whether in Hidalgo, elsewhere in Mexico or in other countries.

The effort our university has put into this project confirms our commitment to quality in our academic
services, which depend most of all on you, our teachers. Specifically in the teaching of English, we are
aiming at higher, but realistic, goals.

Best wishes,

Humberto Augusto Veras Godoy

Rector
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1 THE MAKE IT REAL! PROJECT
Make It Real! began, in 2012, as a response to the unsatisfactory level of English of most students in the UAEH, as in
many other institutions of higher education, including almost all
et al. 2008). After more than three years of school English, most students enter Bachillerato with a beginner or low
elementary level in the language. Then, after two or three more years of English courses in Bachillerato, they enter
Licenciaturas with little improvement. As a result of all these years of unsuccessful study of English,
have negative attitudes towards English courses.
SITUATIONAL ANAL
AN ALYSIS
YSIS
In order to provide the Make It Real! project with solid
foundations, the project team analyzed the situation with
respect to the teaching and learning of English in the
UAEH. Among probable explanations for the low level of
achievement in the UAEH English courses are those
mentioned above: the negative experiences of students in
previous English courses, leaving them with little English
and low motivation for further study of English.
Engl ish.
In addition, the groups of over 30 students common in the
UAEH do not help, nor do the few hours of class per week
(three or four), nor the feeling many English teachers
have that, in the UAEH context, they cannot apply the
“best practice” they studied in their professional training
(LELI, etc.).
Two points in the analysis that were fundamental for the
development of the Make It Real! methodology and
materials were that the existing UAEH English syllabuses
were not appropriate for the context and the needs of the
students, nor were the international textbooks being used.
International publishers produce books they hope to sell
around the world, to European, Asian and other Latin
American students, as well as Mexican ones, of all ages
and walks of life. The new Make It Real! textbooks are for
Mexican students in upper secondary and higher
education, and specifically for UAEH students.
The situational analysis also identified some positive or
potentially positive aspects of the UAEH situation, two in
particular. The students in Bachillerato, and even more in
Licenciaturas, have much greater probable need, and
even specific needs, of English than secondary or primary
al l public ones (Davies 2009, González et al. 2004, Lemus
Engl ish, most students also
school students, which should permit a more focused and
motivating teaching of the language. And most of the
teachers in UAEH Bachillerato and Licenciaturas have
solid ELT preparation, many having graduated from the
LELI, which means they should have notions at least of the
kind of communicative ELT (Text-based, Content-based,
Task-based, etc.) that the Make It Real! project employs.
STUDENT NEEDS ANALYSIS
The Make It Real! team also carried out a student needs
analysis. Some of the key points from that analysis are the
following. The great majority of UAEH students and
graduates will use English in Mexico for study
study,, professional
development, work and other communicative purposes,
not in English-speaking countries and everyday social
intercourse, which tend to be prominent, if not dominant, in
most published EFL textbooks (though some UAEH
students and graduates may have the need, or the
aspiration, for such uses – postgraduate study, business
travel, tourism, etc.). For study, professional development
and most work, reading will be the primary skill required by
UAEH students and graduates, but many may require
other skills as much, or even more (for tourist services,
international commerce, etc.). Most students entering
UAEH English courses require “therapeutic teaching” to
help them recover from previous bad experiences of
English courses and become more motivated towards the
learning of English. The Make It Real! team believes that
courses that are distinctly different from their previous
courses, as well as being in line with progressive ELT,
should contribute significantly to the students’ “recovery”
and renewed motivation.
V
 2 MAKE IT REAL! MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

In response to the situation discussed above, Make It Real! provides:

New student’s books, written specifically for the UAEH and Mexican teaching-learning context
Teacher’s Guides for these books, again specifically for the UAEH and Mexican context
Online components to complement classroom teaching-learning
New course tests, reflecting the more communicative approach of MIR! (as well as the more communicative
nature of international proficiency tests nowadays: TOEFL, Cambridge English, etc.)
Linking of the courses to recognized certification of levels of proficiency in English
Development and support programs for UAEH English teachers.

The methodology underlying the syllabuses and the material of Make It Real! is based on:

The Second Language Acquisition research and theory (SLA) most accepted by leading SLA and EL ELT
T experts
today (see, for example, Lightbown and Spada 2006, Ellis 2008, Kumaravadivelu 2006)
Best practice and appropriate practice in ELT as perceived by leading experts (see, for example, Cambridge
ESOL 2011,
2011, Harmer 2010, and again Kumaravadivelu 2006)
The analysis of the EFL teaching-learning situation at the UAEH
The analysis of UAEH students’ needs (motivational, learning and communicative needs).

All of this leads in a clear direction – real communicative language teaching (CLT), adapted for the UAEH teaching-learning
situation and for the UAEH learners’ needs. Few, if any, students will have had this kind of English course prior to entering
the UAEH, so it should be an interesting and profitable new experience for them.

TEACHING CYCLES AND

CLASSROOM ENGLISH
Real CLT begins with the establishment and the
progressive development of English as the main
classroom language. Jane Willis, a pioneer
pi oneer of Task-Based
Task-Based
Learning (TBL, a communicative approach favored by
Cambridge English and Ellis among many others),
published Teaching English Through English as long ago
as 1981. She, like most successful language teachers,
sees classroom English, developed to its full potential, as
generally the single most communicative use of the target
language in an English course. There are many
techniques for establishing and developing English as the
main classroom language (see Willis 1981, and the notes
in this Guide). Students who cannot handle routine
classroom discourse in English are very unlikely to be
able to handle other more variable and less predictable
spoken discourse in English.
Establishing English as the main classroom language
does not mean the total prohibition of Spanish; it can be
very useful at certain times. However, most students have
had far too much Spanish in their Secondary school
English classes, and it has helped them little, and has
usually encouraged attitudes and habits that hinder, not
help, the acquisition of English for real communication.
COMMUNICATION
The traditional teaching cycle (classroom lesson or book
lesson) generally follows the PPP sequence: Presentation
of target grammar and/or vocabulary items, usually
through examples in a short, artificial, dialogue or text and
some kind of analysis or explanation; Practice of the
language items, usually oral and very controlled at first,
then written exercises, and then slightly freer oral practice;
Production, mainly speaking and writing work involving a
lot of use of the target language items.
i tems. Most students have
had mainly PPP teaching prior to entering the UAEH, with
a focus on grammar and vocabulary dominating the
lessons and the tests, and little or no real communicative
use of English.
Since before the beginning of this century, best practice in
CLT has shifted away from PPP and language-based
teaching (though PPP is still considered by many experts
and successful teachers to be useful within CLT) towards
text-, content-, task- and skills-based teaching. That
means beginning each teaching cycle with
communication, not focus on language (which comes
later). That is the approach underlying the Make It Real!
syllabuses, teaching-learning materials and tests.

VI
With this approach, each Make It Real! teaching cycle
begins with natural texts (written and spoken input texts
with potentially interesting content), with comprehension
tasks and related speaking and/or writing tasks. That is,
every teaching cycle begins with communication and the
development of communicative skills, not with a focus on
target language items.
Since virtually all UAEH students have Spanish as their
native language (or in a few cases, a strong second
language) comprehension of input texts at beginner and
low elementary level is facilitated by using many
English-Spanish cognates, as well as simple English
discourse, transparent topics and visual
contextualization, while keeping the texts as natural as
possible. Beginning lessons this way should encourage
and motivate students after their generally negative
Secondary school experiences of English classes,
focused largely on the language (grammar and
vocabulary), not communication (whatever the SEP
syllabuses indicate).
The written and spoken input texts establish the topic or
topics of each lesson, and they also contain examples of
grammar and/or vocabulary items to be focused on later,
but which do not need to be “already known” for the
comprehension and other skills tasks. This exposure to
language items in communication reflects the natural
language acquisition process of children learning their
first language or people learning a second language
where it is the national or community language. They
receive much more communicative input, containing
forms they do not yet “know” or “fully command”, than
students in a foreign language classroom. However,
UAEH students are in a foreign language classroom for
just three or four hours a week, so they need some
some clear
focus on target or problematic language items (as do
many adults in immersion situations, who often refer to a
dictionary or ask about vocabulary, expressions and
grammar). This focus on language comes after the initial
communicative work,
communicative work (Is it and
(Is real forisyou?
followed by more
), which closes the
teaching cycle.
Focus on Language
The Focus on Language section in the first four Make It
Real! textbooks (A1.1, A1.2, A2.1 and A2.2) may exploit
examples of target grammar and/or vocabulary that have
appeared in the preceding written and spoken input texts
(other examples possibly having been produced by the
stronger students in the speaking and writing tasks
related to the input texts), or it may be based on
examples in mini texts (PPP-style) in the Focus on
Language section itself, or a combination of both. The
Consolidating your English language section of this fifth
Make It Real! Junior book (A2C.1) does not require
such pre-exposure (though it may occur) because all the
language to be reviewed has been used extensively in the
first four books, during the first two years of Prepa.
In the textbooks, the actual focus on the form-system-usage (or
structure, rules, etc.) of the items generally involves getting the
students to explore and discover features of the target language
for themselves (e.g. find more examples in texts, complete
grammar or vocabulary tables and tasks, answer questions
about form and usage, etc.). This is known as noticing, guided
discovery or consciousness-raising, and is recommended in
modern ELT methodology books, as well as fitting the general
educational movement towards learner-centered teaching and
the promotion of learner autonomy. However, other techniques
are sometimes used in the textbooks (explicit rules, explanation
of various types, verbal and non-verbal, e.g. diagrams) or are
suggested as options in the Teacher’s
Teacher’s Guide.
Two points are significant here. Once the teacher has given a
rule or explanation, guided discovery by the learners is
rendered impossible, but the teacher can always give rules or
explanation after guided discovery if that has not worked for all
students. The best choice of technique, or combination of
techniques, for focusing on form-system-usage may depend on
the specific language items being dealt with and other
considerations (the types of student in the group, time available,
etc.).
Focus on form-system-usage is accompanied or followed by
spoken and written production practice of various types,
depending on the nature of the language items, etc. The
Teacher’s Guide may suggest additional practice exercises or
activities. Most of the practice exercises and activities are in the
traditional ELT repertoire, but some may be innovative, or at
least reflect the innovation in, for example, modern proficiency
tests.
With regard to language practice, it is important to note that,
while teaching “programs” suggest that linguistic and
communicative things (bits of language, specific skills) can be
taught one by one
that language in set periods
learning of time, SLArather
is a progressive, is absolutely
erratic clear
and
individually variable process. A few students may, possibly,
learn things permanently in a given language focus or practice
session, while others learn them only provisionally and later
forget them, others are still very shaky after the session and a
few are still a bit lost. Practice of target language items (and
specific skills) is usually only the beginning of a complex
process, and a variable process for different learners. A lot of
focus on language, as learners advance, needs to be remedial,
not on the target items of the unit, but it should be equally
patient and creative. The main purpose of the Consolidating
your English language section of this fifth Make It Real! Junior
book, A2C.1, is precisely that – to provide material for teachers
to do patient, creative and effective remedial work and help
students to grasp and assimilate, at last, aspects of the English
language that have escaped them during the first two years of
Prepa, and all the years of English classes before that.
VII
SPANISH
SPANISH AND UAEH EL
ELT
T
International textbooks are written “for the whole world”, but Make It Real! has been written for UAEH students. Apart
from having many needs in common in relation to the learning and real use of English (which Make It Real! takes into
account in its content and methodology), these students have a common native language (or strong second language),
Spanish. This can be a problem (e.g. where English is not solidly established as the main classroom language), but it also
has advantages (e.g. even beginners can be provided with comprehensible and interesting input texts, written and
spoken, through the use of English-Spanish cognates). It is also exploited in Make It Real!, both in the skills work and in
the work on the English
Engli sh language itself, and also
al so in the relevant notes in the Teacher’s
Teacher’s Guide. T
Teachers
eachers should be aware
of whether something is likely to be particularly difficult or relatively easy for Mexican students so as to give it more or less
attention. It can often be useful to make students aware of this also, asking them whether certain English grammar or
vocabulary is quite similar to Spanish or very different.

MIXED LEVEL GROUPS AND LEARNER AUTONOMY

Virtually all UAEH groups are mixed level (even Course 1). This can be a problem, with either the stronger students
getting bored and frustrated or the weaker students getting confused and lost – or both. The communicative approach of
Make It Real!, with its text-, content-, task- and skills-based elements, and its guided discovery approach to work on
language, allows positive interaction between the weaker and the stronger students, the latter helping the former, while
still having plenty to deal with
wi th themselves, and the former sometimes surprising the latter (and themselves) with what they
manage to understand and do autonomously. The development of autonomy in language learning and use calls for skill
from the teacher also, and the Teacher’s Guide provides ideas in this area.

REFERENCES
Cambridge ESOL. 2011. Using the CEFR: Principles of Good Practice. Cambridge ESOL, at
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/12601
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/126011-using-cefr-principles-of-good-practice.
1-using-cefr-principles-of-good-practice.pdf
pdf

Davies, P. and Pearse, E. 2000. Success in English Teaching. OUP, especially Chapter 7 on “Review and remedial work”

Davies, P.
P. 2009. Strategic Management of ELT in Public Educational Systems: Trying to Reduce Failure, Increase
Success. TESL-EJ, vol.12, no.3, at www.tesl-ej.org/pdf/ej51/a2.pdf

González Robles, R., Vivaldo Lima, J. and Castillo Morales, A. 2004. Competencia lingüística en inglés de estudiantes
de primer ingreso a las instituciones de educación superior del área metropolitana de la ciudad de México. ANUIES
and UAM, Ixtapalapa

Ellis, R. 2008. Principles of Instructed Language Acquisition, CAL, at

www.cal.org/content/download/1553/16478/file/PrinciplesofInstructedSecondLanguageAcquisition.pdf

Teaching, 4th Edition. Longman

Harmer, J. 2010. The Practice of English Teaching,

Kumaravadivelu, B. 2006. Understanding Language Teaching: From Method to Postmethod. Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, Publishers, at http://livelongday
http://livelongday.files.wordpress.com/201
.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/
1/08/ kumaraposmethod.pdf

Lemus Hidalgo, M. E., Durán Howard, K. and Martínez Sánchez, M. 2008. El nivel de inglés y su problemática en tres
universidades de México geográficamente distantes. In Memorias del IV Foro Nacional de Estudios de Lenguas
(FONAEL 2008), at http://fel.uqroo.mx/
adminfile/files/memorias/Articulos_Mem_FONAEL_IV/Lemus_Hidalgo_Maria_Esther_et_al.pdf

Lightbown, P.
P. M. and Spada, N. 2006. How Languages Are Learned. OUP

Willis, J. 1981. Teaching English Through English. Longman

VIII
INTRODUCTION TO A2 CONSOLIDATION-1 (A2C.1)
Make It Real! Junior books 1 to 4 (A1.1 to A2.2) cover
the CEFR syllabuses up to A2 level, adapting them to
the context and needs of UAEH students. Students
continuing with English in 5th and 6th semesters include
those who choose to, even though they could have
changed to French or German, and those required to
because they have not yet reached the minimum
target level of A2. Consequently, MIR! books 5 and 6
take different approaches from the first four books.
Book 5, A2 Consolidation-1 (A2C.1), goes over all
the essential grammar and vocabulary of the CEFR
syllabuses up to A2 level (MIR! books 1 to 4), while
offering the stronger students opportunities to go
beyond that level of English. Book 6, A2
Consolidation-2 (A2C.2) then focuses on preparation
for proficiency tests designed specifically to certify A2
level or above (like Cambridge KET and EXAVER 1),
while again going over the essential language of the
CEFR syllabuses up to A2 level and offering the
stronger students opportunities to go beyond that.
Like the first four books, MIR! A2C.1 provides truly
communicative practice of the four skills, with texts
and tasks of particular interest and usefulness for
Mexican learners of English, especially UAEH
students. The Consolidating your communicative skills
sections also take into account the fact that the
students are in their last year of Prepa, with higher
education, training or work just ahead of them. The
Consolidating your English language sections focus
on grammar and vocabulary from the perspective of
review, clarification and consolidation, with
opportunities for stronger students to develop their
grammar and vocabulary beyond A2 level. It is
important to keep in mind that all the essential
grammar and vocabulary has already been worked on
in the first four books during the first two years of
Prepa (not to mention secondary school and before),
and teachers need to be imaginative and ingenious in
the remedial and consolidation activities they
organize. MIR! A2C.1 tries to assist with that.
It sets out to help all the students, both those still
working to reach A2 level and those heading for B1 or
above, allowing them to show what they know and
can do in English. As they do the communicative
skills tasks and the language review tasks, errors
and gaps in their English will naturally be revealed,
some individual but many shared by many students.
The language focus sections of MIR! A2C.1 anticipate
the most common errors made by Mexican learners
(which international books cannot do because
they are intended for learners with any native
language, not specifically Spanish) as well as the
‘universal’ errors that speakers of all languages
make, and they provide remedial tasks and
exercises. As mentioned above, MIR! A2C.1 tries to
help
and teachers to be fresh
consolidation and creative
activities i n the remedial
in
they organize; we all
know from depressing experience that plodding
mechanically through the grammar over and over
again does not help many students. However, books
don’t teach. They only provide material for teachers to
use in their lesson plans and in their classrooms.
Teachers need to use the book material and
supplement it in ways that meet their actual students’
needs, psychological as well as linguistic.
The structure of MIR! A2C.1 is slightly different from
the four previous books. It consists of four 12-page
units, each unit consisting of three 4-page lessons.
There are no Checkpoints.
A positive and enthusiastic beginning to 5 th semester
English courses is fundamental for achieving
satisfactory results for both the weaker and the
stronger students. It is true that it is extremely
unsatisfactory that many students should be below
A2 level after so many years of English
Engl ish classes. But it
is equally true that many people learn English well as
young adults and even later. They learn because of
their own need and effort, but usually also because a
language center with competent, enthusiastic
teachers supports and helps them. The UAEH Prepa
5th and 6th semester English courses need to provide
that kind of effective support and help. The stronger
students, if encouraged and helped to develop their
own English, can assist the weaker students – and
you, the teacher – a lot.
The Unit 1 objectives (see page 1T) give a general
idea of the recommended approach. Note that the
first of these is: To confirm and consolidate English as
the main classroom language (more important now
than ever, and the main key to changing results for Ss
who have not reached A2 level after years of English
classes). Remember that all respectable language
schools or centers require their teachers to establish
English as the main classroom language. That is the
starting point for English teaching that really helps
students learn to communicate in the language.
IX
UNIT 1
ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE
1 ENGLISH IN THE WORLD
Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking

1 In pairs, say what you know about the countries in the box, for example, their location, size, population,
population,
economy, famous places, national language or languages.
Austria Brazil Canada
Student A: Austria is a small country in central Europe. What else?
Student B: It’s a rich country, I think. They speak German. The capital
capi tal is… China Egypt India Ukraine

2 Talk about other countries where they speak the languages you mentioned in activity 1.
Student A: OK, German. They speak it in Germany, of course. It’s much bigger than Austria. And…
Reading

1 Read the questions below. Then read the article and answer the questions.
1 Which language has most native speakers? 4 Which language is most international now?
Mandarin English
2 Why is Arabic such an important language? 5 Why is French a very international language?
It is the national language of over 20 countries International tradition, and many ex-colonies
3 Why is Spanish so important? 6 Which language may become most international?
It is the national language of almost as many countries Mandarin

International languages are

THE WORLD’S TOP LANGUAGES
What are the world’s major languages? That depends on
the criteria we use. Are we thinking of the number of native
speakers, the number of countries where a language
has national or ofcial status, the use of a language in
international communication, or something else?
Whatever the criteria, the world’s major languages
certainly include the following (in alphabetical order):
Arabic, French, English, German, Hindi (and spoken
Urdu), Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese,
Russian and Spanish.
Mandarin Chinese is denitely top in terms of number of
native speakers (over 800 million), and Spanish is possibly
second. In terms of the national language of most different
countries, Arabic is top (over 20 countries in North Africa
and the Middle East), with Spanish close behind. And, of
course, English is the most ‘international’ language.
With globalization, the use of a language around the world
is more important than the number of native speakers.
those spoken by many people
outside the countries where
they are the native or national
language. Here, English is top
by a long way. It is spoken as
a second language by more
people, in more countries, and
most children study it at school in almost all countries around
the world. And they include all the countries with very strong
economies, and all those that produce a lot of new technology
and scientic knowledge. That is very important.
French is currently second after English as an international
language. It has a strong international tradition, especially in
diplomacy, and France, like Britain, had many colonies that are
now independent countries, especially in Africa.
You may be surprised to know that many people outside
China speak Mandarin, especially in Asia. With China’s huge
population and dramatic economic and technological growth,
is it the international language of the future, the new lingua
franca? The answer is probably yes, but English will continue
to be very important for the foreseeable future.

2 In pairs, nd the reasons in the article why…

… English is so important in the world today. Blue in the text
… French is an important international language. Green in the text
… Mandarin Chinese will probably compete with English internationally. Purple in the text
1
UNIT 1
ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE
UNIT OBJECTIVES
• To conrm and consolidate English as the main classroom language (more important now than ever, and the
main key to changing results for Ss who have not reached A2 level after years of English classes).

• now;
To conrm and consolidate
the prociency tests Sscommunicative competence
may have to take, e.g. KET,as the, TOEFL,
PET
PET, main goal
areofbased
the course (extremely important
on communicative
competence).
• To consolidate Ss’ awareness of the importance of English in their studies and future professions or skilled
occupations (extremely important now that higher studies or work are just ahead of Ss).
• To consolidate and extend Ss’ repertoire and handling of the vocabulary needed to communicate about English
in the modern world, especially in Mexico and in Ss’ present and future lives.
• To consolidate and improve Ss’ handling of the grammar for talking about countries, people, places, things
and events in the present and the future (basic noun phrases, simple present, present continuous and going
to, etc.).
• To
To develop Ss’ learning skills
skill s and autonomy
au tonomy..

1 ENGLISH IN THE WORLD

Consolidating

A your communicative skills

The communicative skills section of the lessons comes rst in MIR! A2C.1, as it did in the rst four MIR! books, to emphasize
that communication is the main area of activity of the course as well as its goal.
Speaking
If you don’t use this book in the rst class of the course, while waiting for more Ss to register or get their books, you can set
preparation for these speaking tasks as homework. Like all communicative language activities, the tasks require the transfer of
personal or factual information. In this case it is knowledge of the world, some of which most Ss in the last year of Prepa should
have, and all of which they should be able to nd quickly on the Internet. If you decide to make this homework, explain the
tasks, using the board and eliciting a few more examples.
1 With some basic general knowledge, even the weakest Ss should be able to participate because the grammar and vocabulary
required occurred frequently in the rst four books. The stronger Ss, meanwhile, have many opportunities to go beyond A2
English. Start by working with some stronger Ss to provide a few more examples before getting all Ss to work in pairs, or small
groups, pooling more general knowledge or research ndings. The information includes the following:
Austria – small, central Europe, pop. about 8 million, rich, Vienna + Salzburg, etc., German
Brazil – very large, central and east South America, pop. about 200 million, developing, Brasilia + São Paulo, Río de Janeiro,
etc., Portuguese and many indigenous languages
Canada – very large, north of North America, pop. about 35 million, rich, Ottawa + Montreal, TToronto,
oronto, Quebec, etc., English,
French and several aboriginal languages
China – very large, south-east Asia, pop. about 1.4 billion, developing, Beijing (Pekin) + Shanghai, Hong Kong, etc., Mandarin,
Cantonese and others
Egypt – medium size, north-east Africa, pop. about 90 million, developing, Cairo + Alexandria, etc., Arabic
India – large, south Asia, pop. about 1.25 billion, developing, New Delhi + Mumbai, etc., Hindi, Urdu and others
Ukraine – medium size, east Europe, pop. about 46 million, developing, Kiev, etc., Ukrainian and Russian

2 You may want to do this in a separate class, not immediately after Activity 1 above, to allow time for research.
Reading

1 If you have a knowledgeable and participative group, you could let them suggest answers before reading. You could get Ss
to compare their answers in pairs before checking with the whole group. After checking the answers with the whole group, you
could ask what information in the article they already knew, what was new for them, and if anything really surprised them. Ask
them also what they think about learning Mandarin Chinese as well as English.
2 This is to get Ss to focus on the process of extracting information and ideas from a text. The question about France was
already answered in Activity 1, Question 5, and the other two require the same process, locating information in the text. After
checking the answers, ask if they think Spanish will ever compete with English and Mandarin.
1T
ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Listening

1 1 Listen to three people talking – in English – at ‘Tel-T

‘Tel-Tech
ech Expo Mexico City’, an international trade
fair for information technology
technology and telecommunications. Complete the table of personal information
below.
Nationality Country of residence Company

Chung
Chinese Mexico Lenovo
Innite
Priya Indian England
(Computer Solutions)
Philips
Jan Dutch Mexico
(Electronics)

2 2 Listen again and note their impressions of the trade fair and of Mexico.
Impressions of the trade fair Impressions of Mexico

Chung Bett
Better
er,, mor
more
e org
organ
anize
ized
d than
than las
lastt yea
yearr Like
Likes
s Mex
Mexic
ico
o Cit
City
y and
and Me
Mexi
xico
co in ge
gener
neral
al

Thinks the part of Mexico City she has

Very good this year
Priya seen is OK
Generally positive Doesn’t like Mexico City but thinks Mexico,
Jan the country, is fantastic

Speaking

1 You are going to be a delegate at an international high school students’ congress in Washington, DC.
You are not Mexican, but from another country
country.. Write a prole for your new self:
Name: _____________________________________
Nationality: __________________________________
Hometown: ___________ School: ________________
Age: _____
Interests and hobbies: _________________________
Plans after high school: ________________________

2 You are now at the congress. Meet some of the

other delegates and exchange personal
information, impressions and plans.
Writing

Read the end of a private message from a Facebook friend.

at the student congress. I’m sure you met some interesting

people. Tell
Tell me about one of them – or two, three of them! You
know – where they’re from, what they’re like, what they do…
Bye

Write your answer in a minimum of 25 words and a maximum of 50.

2

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Listening

1 Tell Ss that Tel-T

Tel-Tech
ech Expo is based on a real annual event in Mexico City. You
You could get them to guess where the
three people, Chung, Priya and Jan, are from. Make sure Ss understand what information is needed to complete
the table. Be prepared to play the recording a second time if necessary.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Chung: Hello. Do you speak English – ¿o español?

Priya: English – no Spanish, I’m afraid.
Jan: English and Spanish, but it seems English is our common language.
Chung: Right. Well, I’m Chung, from China.
Jan: Nice to meet you, Chung. I’m Jan, from the Netherlands – Dutch.
Priya: And I’m Priya. I’m from India, but I’m working in London at the moment. Where are you based?
Jan: Here in Mexico City.
Chung: Me too. I really like the city, and Mexico in general. What about you, Jan?
Jan: Well, I don’t like Mexico City – ttoo
oo much smog, trafc and noise, but thethe country is fantastic!
fantastic!
Priya: Have you traveled much in Mexico?
Jan: Oh, yes, a lot. The country is so varied, with different climates, landscape, food... It’s wonderful.
Chung: That’s right! And the smog, trafc and noise isn’t really bad in Mexico City – try Beijing!
Priya: Or any big city in India! Yes, Mexico City seems OK to me, but I’ve only seen this area –
Hipódromo, Polanco. You’re with Philips, right, Jan?
Jan: Yes. Philips Electronics. I see you’re with Lenovo, Chung – a very successful company now.
Chung: Well, modesty aside, we’re in the top three. And you, Priya?
Priya: I’m with Innite.
Jan: Ah – Innite Computer Solutions!
Priya: That’s right. So, what do you think of the trade
trade fair?
Chung: Well, we were here last year, and I think it’s better this year, better organized.
Jan: I agree. I think it’s ver
very
y good this year
year.. We
We had some problems last year.
year. What’s
What’s your impression,
Priya?
Priya: Generally positive…

2 Get Ss to look at the table and ask how many think they can complete it without listening again. That should give
you an idea of who is good at listening comprehension. Play the recording again and then check answers.
Speaking

1 Go through the instructions with Ss and get some suggestions for their new selves – foreign names and
corresponding nationalities, hometowns and schools (for example, Armelle, French, Lyons, Lycée Central), and
then examples of interests and hobbies and plans for after high school.
2 Get some of the stronger Ss to demonstrate. Then get all Ss to stand and role-play meeting one another in
groups. After
interesting a while,
person theyget
metthewas.
groups to change so Ss meet new delegates. Afterwards, ask Ss who the most

Writing

Get two or three stronger Ss to give a brief oral description of one of the people they met. Weaker Ss can write 25-
35 words (i.e. KET length) and stronger ones can write 35-50 words (i.e. PET length).
 2T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Complete the conversation (at a student congress in New York) with one word in each space.
Nelly: me
Excuse 1_____. Is that place free?
Paco: it is.
Yes, 2_____
Nelly: you Hi. I 4_____
Thank 3_____. am/’m Nelly.

Paco: Hi. 5_____

Our names are Paco and Gaby
Gaby.. We’re
Mexican.
to meet you. I’m 7_____
Nelly: Nice 6_____ from Singapore.
an island, right?
Gaby: Singapore? It’s 8_____
a small island – New Y
Nelly: Yes, 9_____ York
ork City is
bigger!
Paco: is/’s a nation, and rich, isn’t it?
Really? But it 10_____
Nelly: Yes. It’s an independent country and it’s rich.
The average income is higher than in 11_____ the
United States.
Gaby: Wow! 12_____
What is the population, and the 2 Complete the following grammar table.
language? Personal pr
pronouns Possessives
Nelly: The population is ve and 13_____
a half million. It
Subject Object Adjectives Pronouns
has
14_____ four ofcial languages. English is

the common language, and everyone also I me my mine

speaks Malay, Mandarin or T
15_______ Tamil.
amil. Some
you you your yours
speak all four languages!
people 16_______
about you?
Gaby: What 17_______ he him his his
some
Nelly: English, of course, and Mandarin, and 18_____
she her her hers
Malay, not uent. Y yo hablo un poco español.
Paco: it – Spanish?
Where did you learn 19_____ it it its its
Nelly: studying/learning it at school. Our
We’re 20_______________ we us our ours
teacher told us that Spanish is the key to Latin
they them their theirs
America, and that’s a big, important part of the world.
3 Read the text and circle the correct word for each space.
Alicia is in New York with 1your/her/his father, Gabriel Luna. He is taking 2she/him/her to see 3theirs/his/her
new company ofces in Manhattan. On the 67 th oor of a skyscraper, 4their/its/his panoramic windows have
spectacular views of New York. Standing at his own ofce window with Alicia, Gabriel exclaims, “This city is 5mine/
my/its!” Alicia replies, “OK, New York is 6your/his/ yours, Dad. You can keep 7its/them/ it! I prefer small, quiet
cities.”
4 Read the continuation of the text and complete it with words from the table, considering the words in
parentheses.
Alicia lives in a small, quiet city, Bridgeport, 65 miles from New York. Gabriel is Alicia’s father, but (Gabriel’s)
his
8__________ her
wife is not (Alicia’s) 9__________ mother. Kalila Luna is Gabriel’s second wife. Gabriel and
them
Kalila often invite Alicia to live with (Gabriel and Kalila) 10__________ their
in (Gabriel and Kalila’s) 11___________
theirs
luxury Manhattan apartment. It is not actually (Gabriel and Kalila’s) 12___________; they rent it, for a small
she
fortune. But (Alicia) 13__________ her
has lived with (Alicia’s) 14____________ grandparents in a little old house
in Bridgeport since her mother died two years ago. It was her mother’s home as a child and a teenager, and
hers
Alicia wants it to be (Alicia’s) 15___________ now.
3

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

Remember that, as stated in the introduction to this book, the essential grammar and vocabulary needed has
already been worked on in the rst four MIR! books during the rst two years of Prepa. The material in this section
of each lesson is not to present and explain new or long forgotten grammar and vocabulary, but to activate, clarify
and consolidate grammar and vocabulary that has been worked on over the past two years (not to mention at
secondary school and before). Teachers should help Ss to solve their problems for themselves. The promotion of
learner responsibility and inductive, autonomous learning are now more important than ever. Teachers should also
help stronger Ss to go beyond A2 grammar and vocabulary, towards B1 level. If Ss who enter 5 th semester below
A2 level can also do that a bit, it will be an extra bonus for them and for everyone in the group.
Unlike the rst four MIR! books, where there are separate vocabulary and grammar sections, grammar and
vocabulary are mixed in A2C.1, just as they are in prociency tests llike
ike KET, PET and TOEFL. In those tests,
they are not only mixed but also tested in realistic contexts and texts, not through old-fashioned grammar and
vocabulary exercises. The same approach is taken here as far as possible.
This language focus section provides you with material to incorporate into your lesson plans, along with the most
essential material, which is the listening, speaking, reading and writing material, and your own material. Some of
the exercises are useful as diagnostic tests, like Exercise 1 below, while others focus on specic language areas
and may be used, omitted or used only with specic Ss, as you see t. Remember that, at this stage of English
study (last year of Prepa), focus on language should be reactive (responding to Ss’ real needs and problems)
rather than proactive (working through a pre-determined sequence of language items in a syllabus, whether Ss
need that work or not).
1 This rst exercise is virtually a diagnostic test on the basic noun phrase and the two basic present tenses, all in
a communicative context, a simple conversation. The rst items are extremely simple and basic, but some of the
later ones are a little more challenging. If there are Ss who get more than, say, 60% of the items wrong, they need
an explicit reminder that they are in the last year of Prepa, and are about to decide on their working, earning future,
with years of English classes behind them. They should take responsibility now for who they are and who they want
to be – all this expressed in as positive and helpful a way as possible, of course! Make it clear that you are really
interested and concerned about them, but they must take responsibility for themselves.
2 This and the next two exercises focus on a specic language area, the personal pronoun and possessive
systems, which are interconnected. If many Ss had problems with this area in Exercise 1, do all the exercises
with the whole group; if not, you may consider getting only some Ss to do them. If you do Exercise 2 with the
whole group, get Ss to do it individually and then compare their completed tables in pairs before you check – don’t
complete the table with the whole group, which could allow some Ss to switch off and do nothing. The purpose is
to get Ss to come up with the whole picture of the system of pronouns (or most of it) for themselves, autonomously,
and then to have the table, checked by you, as a basis for further independent study if they need it.
3-4 Take the same approach again – have Ss do the exercise individually and compare in pairs, then check.
Check Exercise 3 before going on to Exercise 4 because Exercise 3 is recognition only, while Exercise 4 is
production, therefore more difcult. If many Ss have many things wrong, consider doing more work on this area
in a later class, reacting to what Ss seem to need. If just a few Ss have serious problems, try to work with them
individually, e.g. giving them homework tasks. Remember that remedial teaching requires great patience, ingenuity
and persistence. Many learners even at B1 level and above still make frequent mistakes with things like the basic
tenses, comparatives and superlatives. Such things often become fossilized errors, and these require even more
learner involvement and teacher patience, ingenuity and persistence to correct.
 3T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

5 Complete the sentences using the words in parenthese

parentheses
s in the appropriate form and structure.
study
1 All over the world, children ____________________ (study) English in secondary school.
Unfortunately do not/don’t
Unfortunately,, most of them __________ learn
____________________
__________ (not / learn) it well.
speaks
2 Nelly, from Singapore, ____________________ (speak) English and Mandarin uently, and some
does not/doesn’t speak (not / speak) Singapore’s fourth language, Tamil.
Malay. She ____________________
Do Paco and Gaby speak (Paco and Gaby / speak) English?
3 ________________________ they do
Yes, ____________________.

4 ____________________
Does Nelly speak (Nelly / speak) Spanish uently? No, ____________________.
she doesn’t
lives
5 Who ____________________ does
(lives) in Bridgeport? Alicia Luna ____________________.
does she do
6 What ____________________ (she / do)? studies (is studying) (study) in high school.
She ____________________
7 At the moment, is visiting
moment, Alicia ____________________ (visit) her ffather’s
ather’s ofces in New York.
are Alicia and her father looking
8 What _____________________________ (Alicia and her father / look) at? A spectacular view of New York.
Is Alicia thinking
9 ____________________ (Alicia / think) of moving to New York? she isn’t
No, ____________________.
10 She ____________________ prefers
does not/doesn’t like (not / like) New York. She ____________________ (prefer) small cities.

6 Write sentences about countries and cities like those in Box A, using adjectives like those in Box B.
Then compare and discuss your sentences in pairs or groups.

A B
Mexico City Pachuca Guatemala big small rich poor
p oor modern
New York Canada Singapore traditional quiet noisy clean dirty
Rio de Janeiro Cuba beautiful ugly safe dangerous

Examples: Mexico City is very big. It has some dangerous areas. It…

7 Write the plural of each noun.

men women children wives
man woman child wife

tooth teeth foot feet knife knives life lives

people
person (persons) appendix appendices thesis theses shelf shelves

8 Complete the sentences with a noun, singular or plural, in each space.

parents are divorced. His __________
1 Eric’s __________ mother lives in Paris and his father lives in London.

children a son and a __________.

2 Sally and Frank have two __________, daughter

people
3 We cannot do the tour with only one person. We need at least ve __________.
child
4 They want to adopt a __________ girl
from Somalia. They will be happy with a boy or a __________.

sister
5 I have two brothers and one __________. sons
So Mom and Dad have two __________ and two daughters.

9 In groups, talk about family and friends outside of Mexico. Ask questions beginning with words and
phrases like those in the box.

Do you have…? Is…? Are…? Do…? Does…? Where…? What…do? How old…?

Student A: Do you have any relatives or friends outside of Mexico?

 Student B: Yes. My…
4

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

5 This exercise focuses on another basic area included in Exercise 1, the two main present tenses. Take the same
approach as for the three exercises on personal pronouns and possessives – do with the whole group if needed, or
with certain Ss, or omit if everyone seems to handle the tenses well (not very likely!). Again, handle it in the same
way if you do it with the whole group – have Ss do it individually and compare in pairs, then check. And, nally, if
many Ss have many things wrong in the exercise, consider doing more work on this area in a later class, reacting
to what Ss seem to need. If just a few Ss have serious problems, try to work with them individually, e.g. giving them
homework tasks.
6 This exercise focuses on yet another language area, this time the noun phrase, specically adjective + noun.

Take
big the
city same
) and approach as
predicatively for city
(The the is
previous
big). exercises. Note that the adjectives should be used both attributively ( a
7 This exercise focuses on vocabulary, specically irregular nouns. Take the same approach as for the previous
exercises. Get Ss to note that there are a few patterns (man/woman, tooth/foot, wife/knife/life/shelf) and that,
though persons does exist, the usual plural of person is people.
8 This exercise does further work on vocabulary, including irregular person-people and child-children, but more
particularly focusing on family vocabulary, which works very differently from Spanish.
S panish. Take
Take the same approach as
for the previous exercises. Get Ss to note especially the generic-specic words in English: parent – mother/father,
child – son/daughter (and boy/girl), sibling – brother/sister, etc.
9 This exercise aims to activate a wide range of grammar and vocabulary that has been prominent in this lesson.
You could start by asking some Ss questions about their families and inviting Ss to ask you questions about your
family. Monitor the group work, helping but also listening out for the types of errors, mistakes and slips Ss make
in the language areas you have focused on, and how frequently they make them. This is one of the best ways to
discover what help Ss need in order to improve their English for real communicative use (as opposed to articial
language practice and exercises). Remember that the goal of this course (as it should be for any good English
course) is competence in the English language for real communication.
 4T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

2 ENGLISH IN MEXICO
Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Mexican airports Foreign business

Speaking with most investment in Mexico, by
international arrivals state, 2000-2014
(billions of dollars)

Look at thego
information. Then, in pairs,mentioned.
say why you think 1 Cancún Federal District 208.6
foreigners to, or live in, the places
2 Mexico City Nuevo León 32.5
3 Los Cabos State of Mexico 19.4
Student A: Well, they go to …… because …… 4 Puerto Vallarta Chihuahua 18.1
Student B: Yes, and some Americans probably retire there. 5 Guadalajara Baja California 13.6
Student A: Many foreigners live and work in …… 6 Cozumel Jalisco 12.3
It has a lot of …… I know…… 7 Monterrey Puebla 7.6

Reading

Read the airport signs, the e-mail, and the hotel brochure. Then answer the questions below.

Arrivals Money exchange

HOTEL PALACIO
Your place in the heart of Mexico City

Departure gates Toilets

Dear Mark, At the Hotel Palacio you have the wonderful historic center of
Mexico City all around you.
I’ll be at Mexico City airport to meet you on Friday,
Friday, and I’ll
take you to the Hotel Palacio in the center of the city as you
requested. You’ll
You’ll have the whole weekend to explore the old
city. In minutes, And there The Hotel Palacio oers

you
to thecan walk
Zócalo are many
restaurants, you modern
services comfort 18th
comfort
in a splendid and
On Monday morning, a Purefood driver will pick you up at the
(the enormous bars and century colonial building
building..
hotel and drive you to the plant outside of Querétaro. At the
main square), cafés with Its sixty-ve rooms are
end of the day we’ll take you to your hotel in Querétaro, also the Cathedral, traditional all air-conditioned and
downtown as you requested. the National character, have free Wi-Fi. The
Palace, the food and roof terrace restaurant
Let’s hope we can x the production problems in the week you Aztec Templo drink, and a has views over the city
are here. Mayor, colonial great variety center, and beyond, as
churches, and of store
stores.
s. far as the twin volcanoes,
See you Friday. You
You have my cell number if you need it. ne museums. Popocatépetl
Popoca tépetl and
Iztaccíhuatl.
Silvia Jiménez
Directora de Producción
Alimentos Purefood de México, S.A. de C.V. 25% o for stays of 3 days or more!

1 Which is upstairs, arrivals or departures? 6 When is Mark leaving Mexico?

Departures. Next Friday.
2 Where
To the rshould
ight. you go to buy dollars or euros? 7 Where
In the his
istthe
oricHotel
centePalacio?
r of Mexico City.
3 Why is Mark coming to Mexico? 8 What ar
aree the advantages of the hotel?
To x some production problems at Purefood. Location, modern comfort, colonial building, a/c, Wi-Fi.
4 Why did he request downtown hotels? 9 What can you see from the the hotel restaurant?
 He obv
obvio
ious
usly
ly li
like
kes
s exp
explo
lorrin
ing
g old
old,, hi
hist
stor
oric
ic ci
cittie
ies.
s. The
The cit
city
y ce
cent
nter
er an
and
d the
the vo
volc
lcan
anoe
oes.
s.
5 Where is the Purefood plant in Mexico? 10 Can Mark get a discount at the hotel?
Outside of Querétaro. Yes – he’s staying 3 nights, Friday to Monday.
5

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

2 ENGLISH IN MEXICO

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking

This speaking activity is potentially highly communicative because it invites intelligent thinking and talking about
general knowledge and some specic information – precisely what nal-year Prepa Ss should be capable of!
Looking at the two boxes of information, they should quickly be thinking in these terms:
Cancún/Los Cabos/Puerto Vallarta, etc. = tourism/retirement…
Mexico City/Guadalajara/Monterrey, etc. = business/museums…
Federal District/US$208.6 bn!!! = business/investment/international companies…
Puebla/US$7.6 bn = VW/Audi…
There is plenty to think and talk about, for a few minutes at least. Don’t expect most speaking activities in pairs or
groups to last for much longer than a few minutes, and celebrate if they do continue well for longer. Five minutes
maximum is usually ne, while much more than that often degenerates into chat in Spanish, checking phones,
etc. With luck, some Ss will have unexpected knowledge about some of the places mentioned, and other places
not mentioned which also have many foreign visitors and/or residents. Ask if Ss know where the big foreign
investments are located in Mexico, the big vehicle factories (Nissan, VW, Ford, General Motors…), the big food
companies (Nestlé, Kraft, Lala…), and so on.
Reading

This activity contains three different types of text; airport signs, an e-mail and a hotel brochure, connected by
Mark’s visit to Mexico. To get Ss to make this connection, you could ask them to read all the texts and say how all
the information is connected. After getting them to read the information again and answer the 10 questions, ask
them what they think about the arrangements for Mark’s work trip to Mexico, and whether they are like Mark or
have very different tastes and preferences.
 5T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Speaking

In groups, talk about the following topics, mentioning your personal experiences of English in Mexico.
Travel situations in which you need English: meeting foreigners at the airport, traveling abroad, etc.
Services in Mexico that often use English: airlines, hotels, restaurants, city and other tours, etc.
Businesses in Mexico that often use English: car factories, banks, import-export companies, etc.

Listening

3 1 Read the sentences below and the options to complete them. Then listen to a Mexican, Gonzalo, and
an American,
American, Joanna,
Joanna, at Mexico City Airport and circle the letter
letter of the best option
option for each sentence.
sentence.
1 The ight from Seattle departed …...
A early. B on time. C late.

2 At the moment
moment,, it is ……
A 4:50. B 5:10. C 4:15.

3 They are going to …… rst

rst.. Jo
J oanna
na

A the hotel B a meeting C the museum

4 Joanna speaks …… Spanish.

A some B no C good 4 2 Listen to the conversation again, and answer
these questions.
1 Where does Gonzalo work? At Fundación Jumex.
5 Gonzalo says …… big Mexican companies offer
English classes. 2 How are they going to get from the airport into

A most B few C all Mexico City? In Gonzalo’s car.

3 Has Joanna ever studied Spanish? Yes, at school.

6 …… of Mexican companies want employees who 4 Where did Gonzalo learn most of his English?
In classes at Jumex and using it for work.
speak English. 5 Why is English
Because Jumeximportant
import
worksant where
with Gonzalo
advanced works?
technology
A 17% B Certain C 70% and now exports more, especially to the USA.
Speaking 6 Why do you think Joanna is in Mexico?
Something to do with the museum.
In pairs, act the arrival of a foreigner at Mexico City Airport. First decide who you are – a Mexican student
and a foreign one, a Mexican professor and a foreign one, a Mexican business person and a foreign one,
etc. Then greet each other, talk about the ight, the plan for the rest of the day, the weather, etc.

Writing

In pairs, write an e-mail to a foreign visitor to the UAEH who you are going to meet at Mexico City Airport
next week. The following format may help you, but write what you consider necessary or useful.
Dear ………………..,
Our names are ………. and ……….. We ……………….……….. you at Mexico City Airport on …….. next week.
After you arrive, our plan is to ………………………………………………….. Is that OK with you,
or……………………….?
At this time of year,
year, the weather ………………………… so ……………….. Do you need …………..………..?
Looking forward to meeting you!

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Speaking
This speaking activity requires Ss to think and to share their own experiences and those of members of their
families, friends, etc. To start, you could tell Ss about your own recent experiences with English and those of some
of your family members and friends. Then get Ss to work in groups. You may already have an idea of which Ss are
most able and willing to speak, and you could place them in different groups as catalysts.
Listening

1-2 Ask Ss who has been in this situation – meeting someone or being met at an airport (if English was required,
they should already have mentioned it in the Speaking activity above). Give Ss time to read the questions and
options before playing the recording. If you have some very good, participative Ss in the group, you could ask them
to act out the situation from memory, without worrying about it being exactly the same as in the recording. This
should help other Ss with the next speaking activity.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Gonzalo:Excuse
Excu se me, are you Joanna Hutchinson?
Joanna: Yes. Gonzalo, from Fundación Jumex?
Gonzalo:That’s right. Welcome to Mexico. Did you have a good ight?
Joanna: Yes. We left Seattle an hour late, but apart from that it was ne. What time is it here now?
Gonzalo:It’s… uh… four fty.
fty.
Joanna: Ten to ve, right. Well, thank you for picking me up.
Gonzalo:My pleasure. OK, let’s go to my car and I’ll
I’ll take you to the Jumex Museum so that you can
meet the director… or would you like to go to your hotel rst?
Joanna: No, no – I’d like to
to meet the museum director. You speak English very well, Gonzalo.
Gonzalo: Thanks – I do my best!
Jonna: I hope most people speak English at Jumex. My Spanish is… well… non-existent, though I had
Spanish classes at school.
Gonzalo: Perhaps they were like my English classes at school! I didn’t learn much. It was classes at
Jumex that really made the difference. And using English for work, of course.
Joanna: So Jumex has English classes for its em employees?
ployees?
Gonzalo: Yes, many companies do. Obviously, they prefer to hire people with good English,
Engli sh, but most big
companies offer some classes to help their employees improve their English.
Joanna: That makes sense. Did you say you use English for work?
Gonzalo: Yes, many people in Jumex do. We work with a lot of advanced technology and that means
technical manuals in English, visiting technical experts and so on. And recently Jumex has
increased the exportation of its products a lot, especially to the USA.
Joanna: I see.
Gonzalo: The other day I read that 70% of Mexican companies want their employees to speak English.
Joanna: That is a high percentage!
Gonzalo: And Fundación Jumex, where I work, has a lot of foreign exhibitors and performers in its
cultural programs.
Joanna: Like me.
Gonzalo: Exactly.
Joanna: Just look at that blue sky
sky,, and the sunshine!
Gonzalo: That’s Mexico for you. What was the weather like in Seattle?
Joanna: Well…

Speaking

First, give the pairs time to plan who they are going to be. After a little while, get a few pairs to tell the group about
their situation, and then give a little more time for the slower pairs to nish planning. Get all the pairs to act out their
situations, and then ask some volunteers to act out their conversations in front of the group.
Writing

Getting Ss to write in pairs from time to time can be very useful for weaker Ss, who may feel a bit lost when
working alone. This task is a natural one for pairwork because it is an e-mail from two people. Some pairs may
 simply complete the format, but those with one or two stronger Ss have the opportunity to be more ambitious
and write more. Remember that you have to help and involve both weaker and stronger Ss as much as possible,
and speaking and writing in particular offer stronger Ss the opportunity to go beyond the minimum and produce
something beyond A2 level.
6T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Complete the conversation with one word in each space. Sometimes, more than one word is possible.
Ricardo: So, what do you think of Mexico, Brianna?
This one is really good.
Brianna: It’s great – especially the restaurants! 1_____
one of my favorites. I 3_____
Ricardo: Yes, it’s 2_____ often come here – at least three or four times a month. Do you
want a dessert?
Brianna:
Briann always have a dessert. A meal isn’t complete without one! 5______
a: Yes – I 4_______ Those desserts over there look
really good.
ones Where?
Ricardo: Which 6______?
that table. Ah, the waiter is bringing
Brianna: On 7_____
the tray.
Waiter: these
A dessert, miss? I recommend 8_______
two, pastel de elote and buñuelos. They
are very Mexican.
Brianna: Mm, pastel de elote, please. That’s
sweetcorn cake, right?
Nothing for me thank you – well,
Ricardo: Yes. 9__________
just a coffee.
Waiter: Right, sir. Coffee, miss?
Brianna:
Briann never drink coffee or tea.
a: No, thank you. I 10______
Ricardo: Why not? Do they stop stop you sleeping? The
caffeine?
Brianna: No. I just don’t like them. Hey, that waiter’s English is good.
2 In groups, talk about your food habits and practices – what you often eat, what you never eat, how
often you eat in restaurants, if you cook at home, etc.
Student A: Do you ever cook at home?
Student B: Yes, sometimes, but only for myself. How often do you eat in restaurants?
Student C: A lot. My uncle has a restaurant and we usually eat there on Sundays.

3 In pairs, say the following numbers and dates.

13 1st 01/01/1945
40 2nd 02/02/1810

56 3rd 03/03/1492 Some Americans say “December twenty-

ve”. And they’re the only people in the
It’s Sunday, the twenty-
267 4th 04/04/2000 fth of December, twenty
world who usually write month, day, year.
sixteen. It’s Christmas Day!
3,108 10th 08/11/2012

89,000 12th 09/17/1600

Some people say it one way,
some the other. I prefer…
409,267 20th 11/20/1785 Is it “twenty sixteen” or “two
thousand and sixteen”?
2,189,108 23rd 12/25/2019

4 In groups, talk about your dates of birth, age, birthdays, important dates for you, etc.
Student A: When is your……?
Student B: It’s on the …… of ……That’s next month – don’t forget! When were you……?
Student C: In nineteen …… I’m …… this year, in December. What’s
What’s the most important date for you?
7

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Again this rst exercise is virtually a diagnostic test, this time focused principally on demonstratives, one/ones
and frequency adverbs – but don’t tell Ss that! Let them see it as an open ll-in task and ask them to put whatever
word is appropriate in each space. Note possible alternatives: 3 frequently, 7 the, 9 None, 10 seldom.
2 This exercise focuses specically on frequency adverbs and the simple present tense. This specic language
practice may not be needed by some stronger Ss, but it’s another opportunity for conversation practice so it’s
probably worth doing anyway. The stronger Ss may be able to tell jokes and anecdotes related to the topic!
3 This activity focuses on numbers – cardinal, ordinal and in dates. Numbers are a fundamental part of much
formal and professional use of English, but they are often neglected in English courses. Note:
Cardinal numbers: two hundred sixty-seven; three thousand, one hundred eight; four hundred nine thousand, two
hundred sixty-seven; two million, one hundred eighty-nine thousand, one hundred eight.
Note that numbers are said differently in British English. The above numbers would be said:
two hundred and sixty-seven; three thousand, one hundred and eight; four hundred and nine thousand, two
hundred and sixty-seven; two million, one hundred and eighty-nine thousand, one hundred and eight
Ordinal numbers: twenty-third, fty-rst, one hundredth
Dates: January (the) rst / The rst of January, nineteen forty-ve; February (the) second / The second of February,
eighteen ten; April (the) fourth / The fourth of April / The fourth of April, two thousand (nobody seems to say “twenty
st
hundred” on the model of “nineteen hundred”, which is the only way to say pre-21 century rst years); August (the)
eleventh / The eleventh of August, two thousand and twelve / twenty twelve (the second version is used by many
people, on the model of “nineteen twelve”, which is the only way to say pre-21 st century dates, but the rst version
is probably more common). Note also that the sequence month/day/year is almost exclusive to the USA, with most
other nations (UK, Australia, etc., and usually Canada) using the commonest international (and logical) sequence of
day/month/year, as in Mexico.
4 This activity is to get Ss using numbers and dates more freely and naturally. With luck, there will be some good
anecdotes about important dates for different Ss!
 7T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

5 Complete the following sentences with one word in each space. Many of the words you need have
appeared in this lesson. Use a dictionary if necessary
necessary.. Sometimes, more than one word is possible.
investment is vital for the economies of all developing countries, and many developed ones.
1 Foreign __________
2 Mexico City and Cancún airports have almost the sam
same arrivals
e number of international __________.
gates
3 The departure __________ are upstairs in this airport.
brochure of the Hotel P
4 The __________ Palacio
alacio presents the attractions and convenience of the hotel well.
met
5 I __________ Sam White for the rst time when I picked him up at the airport. Now we are friends.
discount for longer stays.
6 The hotel gives a 25% __________
7 Many more M
Mexicans
exicans use English in Mexico for st
study abroad
udy and work than for traveling __________.
factories and exports a lot of vehicles.
8 Mexico has many foreign car and truck __________
sources of income.
9 Oil, vehicle manufacture and tourism are three of Mexico’s major __________
job/post or a promotion and not getting it.
10 English can be the difference between getting a good __________

6 Read the following text from a San Diego website. Then complete the sentences below it using the
words in brackets in the correct sequence and phrase.

A TASTE OF REAL MEXICO IN TIJUANA

Some San Diegans who have made a day trip across the border to Tijuana return thinking
Mexico is all donkeys painted like zebras, curio shops, bars with fruit avored mezcal, Mariachi
bands, and restaurants serving
servi ng tacos and chili con carne.
ca rne. To
To get a much better idea
ide a of Mexico we
recommend ‘4 Cocinas y Más’, just two blocks from Avenida Revolución. Tijuana’s
Tijuana’s most original
restaurant, it was the brainchild of the Osorio family two years ago. Five members of the family
run the restaurant, the parents, Erick and Sandra, and their children, Alejandro (25), Luis (23) and
Elena (20). Erick and Sandra’s hometowns, Puebla and Oaxaca, are famous for their food, and
the Osorios’ rst good idea was to offer selected traditional dishes from Jalisco, Puebla, Oaxaca
and Yucatán – four Mexican states famous for their food (and drink – tequila, pasitas, mezcal and
xtabentún). Their second good idea was to have superb media displays of Mexico’s many and
varied attractions. A meal in ‘4 Cocinas y Más’ is always a memorable experience of real Mexico.
The Osorios and all the restaurant staff speak good English, of course.

Americans’ ideas about Mexico are wrong because they

1 Some _________________ they only know Tijuana.
Tijuana. (ideas / Americans)
2 Av. curio shops
Av. Revolución in Tijuana has a lot of _______________. (shops / curio)
Mariachi bands play Mexican music in many T
3 _______________ Tijuana
ijuana bars and restaurants. (bands / Mariachi)
city’s most original restaurants
4 ‘4 Cocinas y Más’ is one of the ____________________________. (city / original / restaurants / most)
Osorios’ oldest son (son / oldest / Osorios)
5 Alejandro is the __________________.
Erick’s hometown
6 Puebla is ____________________. (hometown / Erick)
7 The food is the tw
two brothers’ responsibility because they are trained chefs. (brothers / responsibility)
o _____________________
media displays
8 Elena is in charge of the ______________________. (displays / media)
7 In pairs, create phrases with words from the rst box and the second Mexico’s shops
box. Then write or say sentences including the phrases. Create more, media capital city
similar sentences. Pedro’s restaurant
 car display
Examples:
the Osorios’ hometown
Pedro’s hometown – Pedro’s hometown, Puebla, is a hundred miles
curio gates
east of Mexico City.
Hidalgo’s attractions
car factories – Mexico has many car factories.
departure factories
8

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

5 This exercise focuses on mainly economic and travel vocabulary (areas of potential importance for UAEH
students and graduates). Some of the items are particularly difcult, and you may prefer to get Ss to do the activity
in pairs rather than individually. Y
You
ou may want to focus on meet (item 5) vs. know. Get Ss to give their explanations
of the difference. Then sum up or clarify: you meet someone for the rst time or by arrangement (I ( I met Jane at
a party ten years ago. Now we meet for a coffee and chat every Friday ), and you know someone after several
meetings or time spent together (Sometimes
(Sometimes I think I know Jane better than I know myself. Do you know her – Jane
Norris?).
6
This exercise
preceding focuses
noun’s/s’ onaan
or just important
noun. basic aspect
The noun’s/s’ of the
+ noun formEnglish noun phrase
is especially – modication
for human of nouns by ( My
possession/relationship
parents’ house, John’s car), but it is often used with non-human nouns also ( the city’s main airport, cats’ eyes ). The
noun + noun form is normally used with a non-human noun acting as an adjective for another noun ( a computer
keyboard, an apple pie), but human group nouns are often used also (a ( a family photo, a police car). This is a very
basic aspect of English, but it is neglected or completely ignored in most English courses.
7 This activity gives Ss the chance to play with these two basic noun phrase structures. After exhausting the
possibilities of the words in the boxes, ss could invent their own examples.
 8T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

3 ENGLISH AND OPPORTUNITY

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Reading

1 Read the following newspaper article. Then match the paragraphs and the topics below the article.

THE LANGUAGES OF OPPORTUNITY For most non-native learners, English starts becoming
really important in higher education or their rst job. In
There was a time when literacy was the essential more degree courses English is a requirement, and
key to opportunity in life. Only a few generations students in higher education who can access information
ago most people could not read or write their native in English have a signicant advantage over their
language and were condemned to lives of menial companions who cannot. They also have the possibility
labor and ignorance. By the end of the 20th century of scholarships and post-graduate courses in English-
things were very different. In that era, it was computerspeaking countries and in other countries where courses
literacy that opened the doors of opportunity. Now, are taught in English, like the Netherlands, Scandinavia,
a study carried out for the British Council conrms Germany and Japan.
what many already suspected: for people around the
world, English is the key to personal progress and English is increasingly important for employability.
development beyond a certain point. More and more companies have English as a basic
requirement for many jobs, even when it is seldom used
The report, published in 2014, focuses on “the in the jobs. It becomes important again when employees
employe es
impact of English on learners’ wider lives”. It goes are considered for promotion: candidates who have good
beyond English in higher education and employment, English are usually preferred over those who don’t. And
to continuous professional and personal development during people’s working lives, English can determine
and “access to knowledge and new ways of thinking”. how much they develop professionally, whether or not
Speakers of English as a foreign language can see, they attend international conferences, and so on.
think and go beyond the restricted world of their
monolingual compatriots. That means not only All the above uses of English offer people extra
accessing the knowledge and ideas of English- opportunities and widen their horizons by giving them
speaking countries like the United States and Britain, “access to knowledge and new ways of thinking”, and
but also the knowledge and ideas that come, mostly the opportunity to meet and interact with people from
in English, out of other developed countries
countries and rising other countries. These new “world citizens” would not be
countries like China and India. who they are, or where they are, without English.

TOPIC PARAGRAPH NUMBER

The importance of English for getting a good job and progressing in it. 4

The changing skills needed for accessing opportunities in life. 1

The benets of English for people training for a profession or skilled occupation. 3
5
How English is essential for full participation in today’s world.

Recent research showing that English can change people’s lives in many ways. 2

2 Answer the following questions about the above article.

1 What are the thr
three
ee abilities that have opened up opportunities for people in modern times?
 (Native
2 How canlanguage) literacy,the
English change computer literacywho
lives of people and speak
English.
it as a foreign language?
Opportunities in study, work, access to knowledge and new ways of thinking, interacting with foreigners…
3 Where can you take postgraduate courses in English?
US, UK… Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany, Japan...
4 How can English benet employees even when they do not use it much in their regular work?
Better chances of promotion, professional development, chances of attending international conferences.
5 In what two ways can English speakers interact with people from other countries? Face to face, electronically.
electronical ly.
9

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

3 ENGLISH AND OPPORTUNITY

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Reading

1 You could begin by asking some questions about the illustration: Where….? What’s happening? Would you
like…? etc. Then have Ss read the article and match the topics and paragraphs. This is more difcult than it looks
and requires good general comprehension of the text, and you might want to get Ss to do it in pairs rather than
individually. If you get them to do it individually, denitely get them to compare their answers in pairs or groups
before you check them.
2 Different strategies or processes are required by these questions. For example, question 1 and 3 relate to
information in a single place in the text (paragraph 1 and 3 respectively), while question 2 relates to information in
different places in the text (at least three paragraphs). The third question again relates to information in a single
paragraph (4). The last question, 5, is different again in that it requires inference beyond the text. In short, the
ve questions exercise the Ss’ minds in different ways. To conclude, you could ask Ss which of the opportunities
mentioned they consider potentially most important or most attractive for themselves.
 9T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Speaking

1 Ask three classmates about their plans for after high school. Complete the following table.

You Name
Name:: __
____
____
____
___
_ Name
Name:: __
____
____
____
___
_ Name
Name:: __
____
____
____
___
_

Plans for higher study

study,,

training or work
Plans for travel, sport,
hobbies, etc.

Other plans: marriage,

emigration, etc.

2 In pairs, exchange and discuss the information in your tables.

Listening

5 1 Listen to a student checking in at an American language

language school for an intensive English course
and complete the following notes.

Sara Campos
Name: ___________________ Mexican
Nationality: ____________ 19
Age: _____ Educational level: University (undergraduate)
________________________
Upper intermediate
Level of English: _____________________ 3 weeks
Length of course: ____________ Credit card
Method of payment: __________________

6 2 Now listen again and answer the following questions.

1 How did the student register for the course?
Online.
2 When is the rst class of her course?
Monday (the day after tomorrow).
3 On what day does this check-in conversation happen?
Saturday.
4 Where is she going to stay during the course?
With her aunt and uncle.
5 Why does she only have to pay half the cost of the course?
She has a scholarship for the other half.
6 What does the receptionist suggest to the student? Why?
To take a (more complete)
compl ete) placement test. Her English may be good enough
e nough for the next course (E).
Writing

The application for scholarships to study English in the USA next summer is open. You need to complete
a form and, at the end of it, write in English why you think you need and deserve a scholarship. Write at
least 50 words, and up to 100 if you can and want to.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

First name(s)

Family name

Address
Date
 WHY YOU ARE APPLYING FOR A SCHOLARSHIP
Explain how English will help in your future studies and work. Explain why you are a good and deserving candidate for a
scholarship.

10

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Speaking
1 You could begin by getting all Ss to complete the table for themselves (the ‘You’ column). Then you could ask
one of the Ss appropriate questions: What are your plans for higher study, training or work after high school? Do
you have any plans for travel, sport, hobbies and things like that? Do you have any other plans? You know, big
things like marriage, emigration?, etc. Note the answers in a copy of the table on the board. After that, you could
get one of the stronger Ss to ask another one similar questions and write the answers on the board. Then get all Ss
to ask three other Ss similar questions and complete their tables.

2 After
most
Ss have exchanged and discussed the information in their tables in pairs, ask the whole group what the
interesting or unusual plans are.
Listening

1 Ask if any Ss (or any of their relatives or friends) have taken an English language course in the USA, or
elsewhere abroad, and (assuming few or none have) if they would like to. Make sure they understand the situation
– refer to the illustration. Be prepared to play the recording a second time if necessary.
necessary. Get them to compare their
answers in pairs before you check.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Receptionist: Good morning. Can I help you?

Student: Yes, my name is Sara Campos and I registered online for a course here.
Receptionist: Let me see. Sarah with an h?
Student: No, no h.
Receptionist: Ah, here you are. I’ll check your details with you, OK?
Student: Sure.
Receptionist: You’re Mexican, 19 years old, and you’ve completed ttwo wo semesters of a BA in
International Commerce at the… uh… the Universidad del Estado de Hidalgo.
Mm… Hidalgo State University. Is that rright?
ight?
Student: Yes, that is all correct. And I took an online English test for my level.
Receptionist: Ah, it’s not here. Just a moment. Here it is – upper intermediate, right?
Student: Yes, Course D here, I think.
Receptionist: That’s right, Course D. Now, you want a 3-week intensive course. Is that right?
Student: Yes, starting on Monday
Monday..
Receptionist: Exactly, the day after tomorrow.
tomorrow. How are you going to pay? You have a scholarship for half
the cost of the course, but there’s the rest to pay.
Student: By credit card. This one.
Receptionist: Fine. YYou
ou didn’t reserve a place tto
o stay online, with a ffamily,
amily, for example. Do you need
one?
Student: No, thank you. I am staying with my aunt and uncle.
Receptionist: OK. Y Your
our English is very good, you know
know.. Y
You
ou might be able to go to Course E. Would you
like to take a more complete placement test? You You can do it here right now.
Student: Sure!

2 Get Ss to read the questions. Ask if any Ss think they can answer all or most of the questions without listening
again. Play the recording again. Again, get Ss to compare their answers in pairs before checking.
Writing

The number of words to write is higher than usual because the most obvious way to respond is by copying the
instructions, with modications, and completing them with personal information. That means some 20 words are
virtually copied to start with. You could give an example yo
yourself,
urself, orally, not written, e.g. English will help me a lot in
my further studies and work because I want to be a doctor, and a lot of new medical information is only in English.
 Iand
amIadon’t
goodhave
and much
deserving candidate
money. for a You
(57 words). scholarship because
could then get one I study hard
or two andstronger
of the get good
Ssgrades,
to give and
theirmy family
response,
again orally, not written. Get Ss to read and talk about their written responses in pairs or groups.

10T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Silvia Larios is a Mexican doing an MA at a British university. Her thesis project is on English and
opportunity in Mexico. She is at International Departures at Mexico City Airport, doing some research.
Complete her conversations with the words in parentheses in appropriate forms and structures.
Silvia: Excuse me. Are you Mexican?
Traveler: Yes, I am.
Silvia: Can I ask you some questions for a research project?
Traveler: Sure. Go ahead.
Silvia: are you traveling (going to travel)
Where 1________________________________ (you / travel), and why?
Traveler: I’m going
2_______________ I’m going to attend (attending) (I / attend) the International
(I / go) to Frankfurt. 3___________________________
Automotive Industry Congress there.
Silvia: do you speak (can you speak) (you / speak) German?
Ah, 4__________________________
the congress will be (is going to be / is)
Traveler: No, but 5____________________________________ (the congress / be) in English.
Silvia: Are you going to return (returning / Will you return) (you / return) immediately after
Ah, yes, of course. 6__________________________________________
the conference?
I’m going to do
Traveler: No, 7__________________ (I / do) a bit of tourism in Germany and France.

Silvia: Great – combining business and pleasure. Have a good trip.

Traveler: Thank you.
Silvia: Excuse me. Are you Mexican?
Traveler: ¿Mexicano? Sí… pero… no hablo inglés.
Silvia: OK. ¿Va a viaje de negocios, turismo, familia…?
Traveler: Negocios… y un poco de turismo…
Silvia: Gracias. Buen viaje.
Traveler: Espero que sí… pero… bueno… je, je…
Silvia: Excuse me. Are you Mexican?
Traveler: Mexican? Yes.
Silvia: Can I ask you some questions for a research project?
Traveler: Uh, yes, certainly.
Silvia: are you going
Where 8_______________ (you / go), and why?
I’m going to do (I / do) a Master’s there. 10_____________________
Traveler: Vancouver. 9______________ It starts (is going to start) (it / start) next week.
Silvia: Do you have
Great! 11_______________ (you / have) a scholarship?
Traveler: Yes, for full-time st
study I’m going to stay
udy – 12__________________ (I / stay) in Vancouver for two complete years.
Silvia: you’re going to travel (you will travel)
Fantastic! And I imagine 13___________________________________ (you / travel) around Canada.
Traveler: You bet! And north-west USA.
2 Write the time for each clock in the two alternative ways, as in the example.
It’s ve ten It’s four thirty It’s three fty-ve

It’s ten past ve It’s half past four It’s ve to four
 It’s six fteen It’s four forty-ve It’s one twenty

It’s a quarter past six It’s a quarter to ve It’s twenty past one

11

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Make sure Ss understand the situation – refer them to the illustration and ask questions. This exercise checks
Ss’ handling of future reference (plus two present references, 4 and 12). Future time reference, much more
than any other time reference, often allows different options, with subtle differences of meaning or nuance, and
sometimes virtually no difference at all. The rst answer given in each case is the most likely one, but those
given in parentheses are other possibilities that you should accept. Remember that present continuous is most
typically used for xed arrangements (I’m
( I’m meeting Ana at 10.), going to for plans and intentions (I’m (I’m going to
course.) and for immediate predictions (It’s
take a computer course.) ( It’s going to rain.),
rain.), will for more distant predictions
and statements of future fact (The
(The world economy will double in the next 25 years.), and the simple present
for scheduled events (The
( The plane arrives at 12:30.).
12:30.). But remember also that many variations or alternatives are
possible.
2 This exercise reviews the two most common ways to say the time (there are other ways, especially in the USA).
In preparation for the next activity, you could continue with question-answer practice if it seems many Ss need
it. Again, use the two most common ways – What time is it? and What’s the time? – but it’s probably better to
encourage the use of What time is it? because the initial phrase is used in other questions, like What time do you
leave home?
 11T

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

3 In pairs, ask about the times of your daily routines – the time you get up, leave home, get to school,
leave school, get home, go to bed, etc. You can also ask about your routines on Saturdays and Sundays.

4 Look at the gures below. Write how much of the As a fraction: seven tenths
gure is shaded, expressed as a fraction and as a
percentage.. Here is an example:
percentage As a percentage:
seventy per
p ercent
cent

a quarter As a fraction: three quarters

As a fraction:
1 twenty-ve percent 2 As a percentage: seventy-ve percent
As a percentage:

three fths As a fraction: (a) half

As a fraction:
3 sixty percent
4 As a percentage: fty percent
As a percentage:

5 Now, in pairs, say and write sentences about each gure like this:

Or: Seventy percent

Seven tenths of thein
of gure gure in the example
the example is shaded.
is shaded. Three tenths
Thirty percent he of
of tthe the gure
gure is white.
is white.

6 Write ve or more questions including a word or phrase from the box. Look at the example of a
question below. Then, in pairs, ask and answer your questions. Look at the examples of answers below.

free time new clothes opinions about rap and hip hop ambitions interesting news
advice about Facebook pets hope for humanity foreign friends money you can lend me

Student A: Do you have any free time this evening?

Student B: Yes, I have a lot. We don’t have any homework today! Why?
(Or: Yes, a ny.. / etc.)
Yes, I have little. / I have some, but not much. / No, I don’t have any

Complete each of the following sentences with an adverb. Use a dictionary if necessary.
7 1 Carmen reads and writes English very w_e _l _l so the written test was easy for her.
2 Juan completed the application form c_a _r e
_ f _u _l l _
y because he didn’t want to make any mistakes.
a _s _t and it was difcult for Sandra to follow and understand him.
3 The interviewer spoke very f_
4 Manuel got the job because he speaks English f_l u_ e_ _
n t _l y_, almost like a native.
a _r d
5 The course was difcult, but Clara worked h_ _ ffrom
rom start to nish.
c _e _s s _f _u l _l _,
6 She completed the course suc_ y but she didn’t get a very good grade.
nco
7 Paco answered many questions i_ _ _r r e
_ _c _t _
l yy.. He failed the test and didn’t get the scholarship.
8 With her professional qualications and her excellent English, Delia t the post p_e _r f _e _c t _l y
_.
8 Complete the following text with one word in each space. The rst letter of each word is given.
ey
English is the 1 k_______ orld
to many opportunities in today’s globalized 2 w_______. equirement
It is a basic 3 r_____________
obs
for many 4 j________, cholarships
and for most 5 s_____________ broad
to study 6 a________. For the best opportunities, an
upper intermediate or advanced 7 evel
l________ of English is necessary. Apart from the obvious advantages
English can give you in higher education, professional evelopment
professiona l 8 d_____________ mployment
and the 9 e_____________ market,
nowledge
it gives you access to a wider and more progressive range of 10 k____________ and ideas. It allows you to 11
njoy
e________ life more, whether in your own country or almost anywhere else.

12

ENGLISH IN MODERN LIFE

3 This activity promotes natural, communicative use of the time. While weaker Ss can stick to the cues in the
instructions, stronger Ss can go off into real conversations. Encourage them.
4-5 Fractions and percentages (and numbers in general) are an area of English that is basic for most Ss in
higher education and people in professional work, and absolutely fundamental for those in areas of science and
applied science. However, they are neglected or almost completely ignored in almost all international textbooks.
Percentages are relatively easy for Spanish-speaking learners of English, but note that English does not use the
denite article and uses a singular or plural verb according to what is being measured:
More than _ ten percent of Angolan children die before one year of age.
Más del diez por ciento de los niños angoleños muere antes de cumplir un año.
At least _ fty percent of the product was defective.
Por lo menos el cincuenta por ciento del producto salió defectuoso.
Fractions are a bit more complicated, but they still generally follow the same ordinal number system as Spanish.
Differences between English and Spanish include the following:
A quarter/third/etc. of the population…
La cuarta/tercera/etc. parte de la población…
_ Half (of) that number…
La mitad de ese número…
The work here in these two exercises is obviously only introductory, and it will take most Ss a long time to really get
on top of the two systems. You may want to get Ss to do Exercise 4 in pairs, not individually. Don’t expect perfect
understanding or production here, but the controlled practice in Exercise 5 should help most Ss. You are just
sowing seeds here that, for Ss who become complete, global professionals in the sciences and applied sciences,
will grow.
6 This activity is designed to generate free practice of a range of quantiers ( some, any, no, a lot, a little, not much,
not many, etc.). You may nd that some controlled practice of some of them would be useful for many Ss.
7 This exercise checks/practices adverbs of manner. Some items are quite obvious because of the initial letter and
the context, but others are quite tricky as lexical items. For that reason you may want to get Ss to do the exercise
in pairs. You could follow up by getting Ss, in pairs, to write another sentence including each of the adverbs from
the exercise.
8 This exercise is designed to get Ss to recall some of the key vocabulary in this unit. Vocabulary learning involves
exposure, noticing, understanding (sometimes with explicit teaching covering all that) and recall (sometimes with
explicit teaching too, as here). The more frequent the exposure, noticing, understanding and recall, the more solid
the learning. Clever teachers make sure key vocabulary is included frequently in classroom English. That is easier
when you know your Ss and their needs well.
 12T

UNIT 2
HISTORY NEVER STOPS

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

1 THE NOBEL PRIZE AND PROGRESS

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking

In pairs, classify the following statements about the Nobel Prize

as T (true) or F (false). Check with your teacher. Then say
anything else you think you know about the prizes and anybody
who has received one.
1 The fund for the prizes was established by a Norwegian man in 1895. T
2 There are six prizes for different scientic or cultural areas. T
3 The country with most Nobel Prize winners is Germany. F
Germany.

4 Only one Mexican has won a Nobel Prize. F

5 The youngest Nobel Prize wwinner
inner was only seventeen at the time.
T (Malala)
6 Four people, including Marie Curie, have won two Nobel Prizes.
Prizes.
T (+ two organizations)
Reading
1 Read the article. Then answer the questions below it.
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AND HOPE FOR HUMANITY

The rst Nobel Prize, awarded in 1901, was the Peace Prize. That is signicant. In his last will and testament Alfred Nobel left
most of his money to establish prizes for “those who, during the preceding year, [conferred] the greatest benet on mankind”.
He wanted to recognize and reward people who improved the world signicantly. He wanted the future history of humanity to be
better. Has the world improved much since 1901?

of Remember that the(including

industrial workers 19th century, Nobel’s
children), century,
urban was adisease,
poverty, period ofand
continual European
what today seemwars, brutal colonialism,
like primitive exploitation
communications and
technology. The world desperately needed improvement. In many of those areas, improvement has been clear and dramatic:
direct colonialism has almost ended, most workers have more rights and better conditions, people are generally more prosperous,
and medicine has progressed enormously, as have communications and technology. The Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry,
Medicine and Economics have been awarded to people who have made some of the most signicant contributions to those
areas of progress, while the prize in Literature has recognized achievements of human imagination. But what about social justice
and peace?

The joint winners of the rst Nobel Peace Prize were Henri Dunant, a Swiss founder of the International Red Cross, created
mainly to attend to the victims of war, and Frédéric Passy, a French economist who promoted social justice and the arbitration of
conicts between nations to prevent war. Today there are violent conicts in eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and many
other parts of the world, and the gap between rich and poor is again similar to 100 years ago. The Nobel Peace Prize is perhaps
the most important of all: nothing is more important for the future of humanity than social justice and peace.
 It is inspiring that the 2014 Peace Prize was awarded to the youngest ever Nobel Prize winner. At the age of 11, Malala Yousafzai
Yousafzai
began to campaign for education for all girls in her native Pakistan, and everywhere.
everywhere . At 15, she survived an assassination
attempt by the Taliban, who opposed education for girls. She was soon campaigning again, and at 17 she received the Nobel
Prize. There is hope, especially in the young, and the Nobel Peace Prize promotes it.

1 Why did Nobel create a fund for prizes? 2 What was the 19th century like? 3 How is the world better now?
4 Who were the rst Nobel Prize winners? 5 Is their work relevant today? Yes 6 What does Malala do?
2 In pairs, discuss which Nobel Prize (Physics, Chemistry,
Chemistry, Medicine, Economics, Literature or Peace) is
most important and which is least important in your opinion. Give your reasons.
13

UNIT 2
HISTORY NEVER STOPS
UNIT OBJECTIVES
• To develop communicative competence through English as the main classroom language.
• To conrm and consolidate communicative competence as the main goal of the course.
• To consolidate Ss’ awareness of the importance of English in their studies and future professions or skilled
occupations.
• To consolidate and extend Ss’ repertoire and handling of the vocabulary needed to communicate about people,
events and situations in the past.
• To consolidate and improve Ss’ handling of the grammar for talking about the past, and describing and comparing
people, places, and things (past tenses, passive, indenite pronouns, comparative and superlative, etc.).
• To
To develop Ss’ learning skills
skill s and autonomy.

1 THE NOBEL PRIZE AND PROGRESS

Consolidating

A your communicative skills

Speaking

The pairs may be mainly guessing when they classify the statements, but when you check with the whole class
you may nd that they mostly guessed correctly, and that some Ss actually know quite a lot about the Nobel Prize.
Some extra questions you can ask include, How did Alfred Nobel make his fortune? (From a construction company
and from dynamite.) Can you name the Nobel Prizes? (Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Peace, Literature and
Economics.) Which country does have most Nobel Prize winners, and about how many – 10, 20, 50, 100…? (USA,
353 by 2014.) How many winners does Mexico have? (Three – García Robles, Paz and Molina.) Can you name
any other winners, from anywhere in the world? Was the youngest winner male or female, and where was he/she
from? (Female, Malala, from Pakistan.) Two organizations have also won more than once – which ones? (The
International Red Cross and the UN High Commission for Refugees.)

Reading
1 This is a classic reading comprehension task: nding the information in the text. The question-information
connections are indicated by color-coding. Get Ss to compare their answers in pairs before you check with the
whole group. There are many additional questions you could ask, such as When was the rst Nobel Prize given?
Who won it? Where were they from? What did they do ? etc.
2 When you get feedback from the pair discussion, you can give the stronger Ss a chance to show what they can
do in English, and you can show them your recognition of their good English as well as their ideas. If some weaker
Ss make good contributions, even in shaky English, congratulate them too.
 13T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Listening

7 1 Listen to Andrea, a Mexican high school student in a university in Stockholm, Sweden, where many
courses are in English. She is giving a talk to a group of International Relations students
students about the
three Mexicans who have won Nobel Prizes. Complete the table below with the missing information.

First winner Second winner Third winner

Name Alfonso García Robles Octavio Paz Mario Molina

Prize Peace Literature Chemistry

Year 1982 1990 1995

Work on Treaty of Research on the destruct

de struction
ion
His poetry, essays and
Contribution Tlatelolco prohibiting
nuclear weapons
other writing of the ozone layer

8 2 Now listen to Adam, a Swedish university student, talking with Andrea after her talk. Complete the
information below.
news program
Adam saw a 1_________________________ on TV
TV..
Shanghai, China
It was about an exhibition in a subway train in 2____________________.

Octavio Paz
The train had pictures of 3____________________ and his

Spanish and __________.

poems and thoughts in 4__________ Mandarin

Octavio Paz cultural

It was called the 5_________________________ train.
100th anniversary of Paz’s
The exhibition was celebrating the 6____________________________ birth.
classic Chinese poems
He translated many 7___________________________ Spanish
into __________.

He didn’t speak Mandarin so he translated 8 English and French

_____________________ versions.
Writing

Research an important person in the history of Mexico since

si nce 1810. Then write a
short biography (at least 30 words), including the person’s place of birth, date of
birth, and what he or she
sh e did to change Mexico (or stop change in Mexico). Y You
ou
could also write about the person’s family background, education and personal
life.
Speaking
In pairs or groups, ask and answer questions about the historical gures
you wrote about. For example:

Student A: Who write about?

Student B: I Gertrudis Bocanegra.

Student C: Who ? What do?

Student B: Well, she in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán,

in . She .

14

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Listening

1 Make sure Ss understand the situation, the table and the task before you play the recording. Get Ss to compare
their completed tables before you check with the whole group. You could ask some additional questions.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Good morning. As most of you know, my name is Andrea Lagos. I’m from Zamora, Michoacán, in the center of
Mexico. I’m a high school student there, and I was given the wonderful opportunity to spend a month at your
university here in Stockholm. And I’m nervous!
I’m going to talk about the three Mexicans who have received a Nobel Prize – so far. The rst was Alfonso
García Robles, in 1982. He was awarded the Peace Prize. He was a diplomat and he was given the prize
for his work on the Treaty of Tlatelolco. He was the main proponent of the treaty and the president of the
committee. This treaty prohibits the testing, production or use of
o f nuclear weapons in Latin America and
the Caribbean. Alfonso García Robles is especially important for me because he was born in Zamora, my
hometown.
The second Mexican winner of a Nobel Prize was Octavio Paz. You probably know that he won the Prize in
Literature. That was in 1990. He was also a diplomat, but he was awarded the prize for his poetry, essays and
other writing. I’ve put two of his books on the table over there if you want to look at them. They’re in Spanish,
not Swedish or English, but I know some of you speak Spanish.
The third Mexican to receive a Nobel Prize was Mario Molina. He won the Chemistry Prize in 1995 for his
research on the destruction of the ozone layer. He and the American, Sherwood Rowland, showed that CFCs,
gases produced by us humans, destroy ozone. Their work led to the Montreal Treaty Treaty,, the rst international
action on environmental problems.
Well, that’s it! Thank you. Uh… are there any questions?

2 This is probably best done in another class, not the same one as Activity 1. Get Ss to read the sentences
carefully before you play the recording. Again, get Ss to compare their completions in pairs before you check with
the group.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Adam: Hey, I really enjoyed your talk, Andrea.

Andrea: Thank you.
Adam: As I was listening
listening to you, I remembered something I saw on TV,TV, in a news program.
Andrea: About Mexico?
Adam: Well, Mexico and China.
China. It was about an exhibition
exhibition in the
the subway system in Shanghai, China.
There were pictures of Octavio Paz on the walls of a subway train, and some of his poems and
thoughts in Spanish and Mandarin.
Andrea: Really! That’s strange – in Shanghai, on a subway train!
train!
Adam: Yes, it was called “The Octavio Paz cultural train”. They changed its route
route periodically
periodically so people
in different parts of Shanghai would see the exhibition.
Andrea: That’s amazing
amazing – Octavio Paz in Shanghai. Perhaps it’s it’s because 2014 was the 100th
anniversary of Octavio Paz’s birth.
Adam: That’s right. And also Octavio
Octavio Paz is known in China
China because he translated
translated many classic
Chinese poems into Spanish.
Andrea: Oh, I didn’t know that. Did he speak Chinese?
Adam: No, he used English and French
French translations
translations as his sources. Also, most of Octavio
Octavio Paz’s
Paz’s work
has been translated into Mandarin.
Andrea: You know more about him than I do!
 Adam: Only because of that TV program.

Writing

Get Ss to look at the illustration and try to identify the people. Ask what they already know about them. Point out the
basic guide in the instructions: place of birth, date of birth, etc. Just that information should give weaker Ss more
than 30 words, while stronger Ss can do much more. Ss can be asked to do research and write their biographies
for homework.
Speaking
This activity exploits the research and writing task for speaking practice. Again, there is a range of possible
participation, from basic information in basic English by weaker Ss, to further information, opinions, etc., in more
advanced English by stronger ones.
14T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Consolidating
B your English language

1 In pairs, complete the following text with words from the box.
some
Voltaire said history never repeats itself, but 1__________ people
nothing is more
say it repeats itself all the time. Certainly, 2__________ every everything everybody/everyone
everywhere some something
characteristic of humanity than wars over the same things again somebody/someone somewhere no
anybody nd a way to stop wars once and
and again. Can’t 3__________ nothing nobody/no one nowhere
everywhere in
for all? It seems not. There have been wars 4_____________ any anything anybody/anyone
the world in the past, and there are wars in many places right now.
No
5__________ part of the world is free from potential war except
perhaps one, the Americas. A war between nations there is extremely
every
unlikely, but there are wars or potential wars in 6__________ other
continent, including Europe. And the Americas are not free from
Something
terrible criminal violence and violent political conict. 7__________
we can all do to reduce the danger of violence is to respect other

people’s rights. 8__________

Everyone should always remember what an
indigenous president of Mexico, Benito Juárez, said long ago:
“Peace is respect for other people’s rights”.

2 Complete the following grammar table with words from the box in activity 1.

Grammatical function Adjective Thing Person Place

Afrmative (and interrogative, hoping

for an afrmative answer)
some something
somebody
somewhere
someone

Negative nothing nobody

nowhere
no no one
Interrogative, and negative in anybody anywhere
anything
combination with not any anyone
Afrmative, negative and interrogative, everybody
meaning all every everything
everyone everywhere
3 Write sentences about Mexico using at least 6 different words from the box or the table. Below, there
are some ideas for the beginnings of your sentences. Compare your sentences in pairs.
Some people in Mexico… Nobody in Mexico… Everywhere in Mexico you can nd…
In Mexico, there are no… There isn’t anyone who… Something great about Mexico is…
4 Underline the correct option in the following sentences.
1 Molina and Rowland’s work on the ozone layer was an important research / piece of research.
2 I would like to get a job / work at a newspaper, as a journalist.
3 I have two news / pieces of news for you – you failed the exam and I’m not your girlfriend any more.
4 My mom gave me some good advices / advice – don’t cry over mistakes, learn from them.
5 There is no food / meal in the fridge. What are we going to eat?
6 The teacher left them a task / homework to do for the following Monday.
7 He works at a travel agency and gets cheap tickets, so he took a trip / travel to Europe last year.
8 The judge considered all the evidences / evidence before giving her verdict.

15

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Consolidating
B your English language

1-3 Exercise 1 evaluates Ss’ handling of indenite adjectives and pronouns. You will be able to see how many Ss
have a fairly good command of these words and how many do not. Exercise 2 then allows you to review the whole
system with Ss. It is important that Ss themselves complete the table individually and then check in pairs. Only then
should you make sure that most of them have it right, and that those who don’t have it right correct their tables.
Finally, Exercise 3 gives Ss some production practice. With a little luck, some Ss will write really clever or funny
sentences. You don’t have to do all three exercises together in the same class. Learning systems like these can be
a slow, cumulative process, and doing the exercises in three consecutive classes may be better for most Ss. Each
time they work on the system again, they have to recall what they did the class before, and some Ss’ minds will
work on the system between classes.
4 This exercise focuses on nouns that can be problematic for Spanish-speaking learners, mainly because of
English-Spanish correspondences of meaning that are not matched by correspondences of countability/non-
countability. For example, both work and job can correspond to trabajo in meaning, but while trabajo can be
countable (un trabajo, dos trabajos) and non-countable (mucho trabajo, poco trabajo), job is always countable (a
job, two jobs) and work is almost always non-countable (a lot of work, little work ). An exception for work is when
talking about works of art. As usual with this kind of task, use it diagnostically, without giving Ss any help – until you
check how they have managed, of course! The individual-pairs-whole group sequence is good for this.
 15T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

5 Complete the following sentences with a/an, some, any or no.

some money desperately.
1 He needs _______ a
2 He has to pay _______ large sum of money next week.
any real news today.
3 There isn’t _______ No (Some) news is good news, they say.
4 ___________
some advice.
5 I need _______ an
6 It’s about _______ important piece of work I’m doing.
any research about this problem?
7 Is there _______ 8Y
Yes, no
es, but there are ________ good solutio
solutions
ns yet.

6 Write typical English noun + noun phrases using words from the box. Different combinations are
possible. For example: travel agency, history book, chemistry book.

agency book class chemistry computer history game laboratory news ozone
prize peace program soccer station student subway train travel university

7 Juan is a Mexican student in a high school in San Diego, California, where his parents are working now.
Complete the dialogue below using the words in parentheses in the appropriate form and structure.
Teacher: Did you do
1_______________(do) the history homework, Juan?
Juan: I didn’t bring
Yes, but 2_______________(not / bring) it with me. Sorry!
can you remember
Teacher: Really? Well, 3__________________(can / remember) the answers?
Juan: I was reading
Yes. 4_______________(read) I left
my homework during breakfast. I think 5______________
(leave) it on the kitchen table.
did World War 2 start
Teacher: OK, let’s see. When 6______________________(World War 2 / start)?
Juan: declared
Britain and France 7_______________(declare) war on Germany on September 3rd, 1939.
Teacher didn’t start
eacher:: Right. So Germany 8_______________(not / start) the war. Is that right?
Juan: were preparing
Not really. It was clear that Germany and Italy 9_______________(prepare) for war for years
invaded and occupied
before the British and French declaration. Germany 10______________________(invade / and /
did
occupy) Czechoslovakia in March, 1939, and Italy 11_______________(do) the same to Albania in

April that year.

Teacher was
eacher:: Very good. There 12_______________(be) serious aggression by Germany and Italy before
September, 1939, especially by Germany didn’t Britain and France declare
Germany.. So why 13_______________________________(Britain
and France / not / declare) war in March, 1939?
Juan: They hoped
14________________(hope) Hitler would stop with Czechoslovakia, satised with his conquests.
he invaded
he didn’t plan (not / plan) to stop, and on September 1 st 16_______________(invade)
But 15_____________
Poland. Britain and France 17 saw (see) that Hitler 18 was planning (planned)
 (plan) to conquer more and more countries. Peace with Hitler 19 was
_______________(be) impossible.
Teacher
eacher:: Very good, Juan! Now, when did the USA join
20)____________________(the USA / join) the Allies against
Germany,, Italy and Japan?
Germany

8 In groups, talk about what you did and what happened last weekend. Ask questions beginning with
words like those in the box.

Did…? Was…? Were…? Where…? What…? When…? Why…?

Student A: Did you leave ……..……. last weekend or did you stay here?
Student B: I stayed here, but I did a lot of things. I…
16

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

5 This exercise continues to work on the vocabulary from Exercise 4 and similar nouns, now focusing on the
articles, quantiers and indenite adjectives that go with it. After checking and clarifying Exercises 4 and 5, you
could get Ss to write new sentences with each of the nouns, either individually or in pairs, according to how well Ss
are able to use this area of vocabulary.
6 This activity focuses on an aspect of the noun phrase that is very basic to English but is neglected or totally
ignored in almost all international textbooks – noun + noun, with the rst noun functioning as an adjective. Noun
+ noun is much less used in Spanish, and when it is used it is the second noun that functions as an adjective,
e.g. hombre araña, pez espada, pueblo fantasma. Get some Ss to give some examples before you get all Ss,
individually or in pairs, to write more. Here are some of the combinations: news/travel agency, chemistry/computer/
history/travel book, chemistry/computer/history/university class, computer/soccer game, chemistry/computer/
ch emistry/computer/
university laboratory, chemistry/peace prize, chemistry/computer/university program, subway/train station,
chemistry/computer/history/university student. Ozone is included as a distractor, but Ss may be able to come up
with the commonest combination – ozone layer.
7 This exercise reviews past tenses. Use it diagnostically to see how many Ss have a good command of past
tenses and how many do not. Follow up with some clarifying work if many Ss had many problems. Try to get
stronger Ss to clarify, or at least give examples, rather than doing it yourself.
8 This activity promotes free communicative use of past tenses, and it gives stronger Ss the opportunity to go
beyond simplistic, controlled work and be more imaginative.
 16T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

2 NEW CENTURY, NEW MILLENNIUM

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking
Look at some of the big events in the rst decade of the 21st century. In groups, discuss which of the two
events mentioned for each year was more important and why.

Fox became President of Mexico. YouTube was launched.

2000 2005
Putin became President of Russia. This was the hottest year ever, overtaking 1998.

New York’s Twin Towers

Towers were
w ere destroyed. Barrack Obama was elected US President.
2001 2008
Wikipedia was launched. A severe global economic crisis started.

Facebook was launched. Michael Jackson died.

2004 2009
NASA’s Mars Rover landed on the red planet. The euro passed the US dollar in total value.

Reading
Read the following blog. Then answer the questions below it.

YOUNG THINKERS UNITED

When I’m a hundred and two…

January 12, 2015
A year from today I’ll be eighteen, ofcially an adult, a voter. And my voting life could stretch to the end of this century
or the beginning of the next, the 22nd century. I’ll have to live to over a hundred, but that’s becoming more and
more common. There are over 55,000 centenarians in the USA right now, now, and the percentage of people over 100 in
the population of Japan is double that of the USA. One of my great-grandmothers died last year at 103. Improved
medicine
Average US andlife
nutrition, leading
expectancy to increased
in 1930 longevity,
was about 60; noware
it’stwo of the
almost 80.many advances
So, apart in the last
from having moregeneration or two.
very old people,
what will the world be like on my much anticipated 102nd birthday?

The pace of scientic and technological progress is accelerating, so the difference between the world now and in
2100 will probably be greater than between now and 80 or 90 years ago. But looking back to, say, 1930 gives an
idea of what to expect. In 1930, there were no antibiotics, CDs, cell-phones, credit cards, computers, Internet, DVDs,
passenger airliners, laser surgery, microwave ovens, MP3s or television, among many other things. Imagine what
life was like! Could you live without all that? I know I couldn’t, not comfortably. Nor could my grandparents, who are
in their 70s and 80s (one is already 87). We consider 1930 technologically primitive, and in 2100 they will consider
 2015 almost equally primitive and imagine that our lives were extremely difcult and limited.

Of course, there may be a global catastrophe between now and the 22nd century that could halt or delay pr progress.
ogress.
Climate change could have a terrible impact on human (and other) life. The Internet could crash. An asteroid could
hit Earth and set it back millions of years. I’ll do what little I can to stop the destruction of our planet, but I won’t worry
about the rest. I happily look forward to my 102nd birthday party on January 12, 2100. Y You’re
ou’re invited!

1 How old is the blogger now? 5 What does the blogger show by looking back to 1930?
17 on January 12, 2015, so… How the world could change in the next 80-90 years.
2 Is life expectancy greater in Japan or the USA? 6 How old is the blogger’s oldest grandparent?
In Japan – at least it has double % of over-100s. 87.
3 Why do people, on average, live longer now? 7 Why may humans be more primitive in 2100 than now?
Improved medicine and nutrition. There may be a (human or natural) catastrophe.
4 What does the blogger say about progress? 8 Is the blogger an optimist or a pessimist?
It is acc
accel
eler
erat
atin
ing,
g, but
but co
coul
uld
d be ha
halt
lted
ed or
or del
delay
ayed
ed.. Answ
An swer
ers
s may
may var
vary
y, but
but pr
prob
obab
ably
ly an
an opti
optimi
mist
st..
17

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

2 NEW CENTURY, NEW MILLENNIUM

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking
This speaking activity tries to give Ss something intelligent and adult to talk about, both at a linguistically simple
level for the weaker Ss and at a higher level for stronger Ss. Run through the information rst, getting Ss to say
what they know about each event, to make sure the less-informed Ss recall or learn about them. You could ask
questions like, Why was the election of Fox historic? (First non-PRI president in over 70 years.) What did Putin
do before he went into politics? (Secret Service agent, KGB.) What was another name for the Twin T owers? (The
Towers?
World Trade Center.),
Center.), etc. After the group discussion, get feedback and nd out which event the majority consider
more important in each year. With luck, there will be some controversy and discussion about that.

Reading

This reading text and the questions require more inference than many other ones, not just location of information
in the text. Get Ss to compare their answers before checking with the whole group. You could ask additional
questions, like, When is the blogger’s birthday? How many people over 100 are there in the USA? How old was
the blogger’s great-grandmother when she died last year? What was life expectancy in the USA in 1930? , etc. After
asking Ss a number of questions like those, you could get them to work in pairs to write questions to ask you about
the article.
 17T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Speaking
1 In pairs, exchange your opinions about the blog, and say what ideas it gives you.
I think the blog is very…. It makes me think about… I think… I don’t think…
2 Carry out a class survey about old people in your families. Ask your classmates about the oldest people
in their families now, and those who have lived longest, now or in the past. Write down the oldest people
you nd in the class’s families. Check with the whole class who the
the oldest people are, or were.
Listening

9 1 Imagine you are in a hotel in the USA. You are in your room and are checking the channels of
the television, hopping from channel to channel. Listen and match the four channels you hear to
the screens below. Write First, Second, Third and Fourth under the appropriate screen.

Second First

Fourth Third
10 2 Listen again and answer the questions.
1 What changes are they talking about in the program on the rst channel?
Basketball teams going from top to bottom of the standing (table) and vice versa.
2 Which iconic American brands are mentioned in the program on the second channel?
Coca Cola, Boeing, Apple.
3 Which company is the biggest pr
producer
oducer of cement in the
the United States?
CEMEX.
4 What does the expert say about Mexican investment in the USA?
 It is less than American investment in Mexico, but it is increasing.
5 Which old European nation is the topic of one of tthe
he programs? Why?
Switzerland, because it did not join the UN until 2006.
6 Which big-selling pop albums and songs are mentioned in the program on one of the channels?
“Thriller”, “Imagine”, “Never gonna give you up”.
Speaking

In groups, discuss which program you will watch, and why. Or will you turn off the TV?
Writing
Write a short blog about your hometown in 2050. The following format may help you, but you do not
have to use it and you can write what you want.

Today is January 1, 2050. My hometown in Mexico, ………………., has a population of ……………….. At the
beginning of the century, its population ……………..… Back then, ……………….. Now in 2050, ……………..…
There are advantages and disadvantages of ……………… I think I prefer ……………..… because ………………

18

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Speaking
1 This should be a brief activity, giving stronger and weaker Ss an opportunity to express themselves. Get feedback.
2 This could generate quite a lot of information and interest. You could put a chart on the board for Ss to copy and
specify that they should ask their classmates, and then get feedback after the survey, as indicated in the instructions.

Classmates’ names:
Oldest family member now
Oldest family member ever
Listening

1 Make sure Ss understand the situation. Ask if any Ss have been in that situation. Get Ss to look at the
illustrations before playing the recording. The task requires only very general comprehension, basically just
recognizing the general topic.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Man: ...just how things change. We have teams at the bottom of the standings that were at the top not long ago,
like the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic, and teams at the top like...
Woman: ...Golden SState
tate and Atlantic Hawks! That was unimaginable just a...
***

Woman: ...and economic globalization. Foreign-based companies sell, and often manufacture, here in the USA,
and US-based companies operate all round the world, including iconic American brands like Coca Cola,
Boeing and Apple.
Man: Before we came on air you were telling me about an area of the US economy dominated by foreign
companies.
Woman: Yes, a key area of the economy, cement production, vital for the construction industry. Almost 80% of US
cement is produced, here in the United States, by foreign companies. About half of that is produced by
four major multinationals. And do you know where the biggest producer of cement
c ement in the USA is based?
In Mexico.
Man: CEMEX.
Woman: That’s right, CEMEX, based iinnMMonterrey,
onterrey, Mexico. Obviously, we invest more iin
n Mexico than M
Mexico
exico
invests in the United States, but Mexican investment here is increasing – CEMEX in cement, Bimbo in
bakery products, LALA in dairy products...
***

Man: ...you again to “History in the Making”. Today we’re going to look at a nation that became a member of the
United Nations Organization in 2006. In 2000 there were 188 members. This increased to 193 by 2011

with the nation.

one old admission
Thatofisnewly created
the new nations
member that –we’re
Tuvalu, Timor-Leste,
going to focus onMontenegro and
today. It may South you
surprise Sudan – and
to know
that the country – which did not join the United Nations until 2006 – is... Switzerland. How is it possible,
you may ask, that...
***

Woman 1: ...think so, but old music still sells.

Man: It certainly does. People are still buying – or at least listening to (if you know what I mean) – Michael
Jackson’s “Thriller”. From 1982. Imagine! – ah, that’s another one, “Imagine”!
Woman 2: Did you know that “Thriller” has sold over 27 million copies? I happen to know that because I saw it on
 the Internet the other day.
Man: What about Rick Astley being a hit again in 2007 with his 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up”?
Woman 1: Oh, I just loved that! I must listen to it again when I get home tonight. But let
let’s
’s face it, the big sellers
now are Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, OneRepublic...
Woman 2: ...and our next guest. Let’s welcome...

2 This activity requires quite detailed and specic comprehension. Make sure Ss have read the questions carefully
before you play the recording again. Ask if they have any questions about the questions. You may want to pause
after each channel to give Ss time to think and answer each question. You could even play some channels again.
Speaking
This could be a very brief activity or it could generate some discussion. Get feedback.
Writing
Even more than previous writing tasks, this one explicitly indicates that weaker Ss (but don’t call them that!) can
write a shorter, simpler text, completely guided by the format, while stronger Ss can write longer, more complex
texts, departing from the format.
18T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Consolidating
B your English language

1 In pairs, complete the text using the verbs in parentheses in appropriate forms and structures.
Perhaps because we are the only animals that
plan
1_______________ (plan) for different possible situations,
has fascinated (fascinate) people since the
the future 2_______________
beginning of civilization. Thousands of years ago, oracles
predicted
3_______________ imagined
(predict) and thinkers 4_______________
(imagine) the future. Our fascination with the future is
as old as homo sapiens, but in the past most people
saw
5_______________ (see) it as destiny, myth or imaginative
speculation.

was changed
That view of the future 6_______________ (change) by
modern science and technology: they were obviously going

to create a future completely

were developing
7_________________
different
(develop) fromwhen
very fast the past.
a new They
literary
appeared
genre, science ction, 8_______________ (appear). In 1814,
was staying
when she 9_______________ (stay) near Frankenstein
Castle in Germany with a group of intellectual friends, Mary
started
Shelley 10_______________ (start) writing her sensational
novel involving the transplantation of body parts and organs.
It is common medical practice today, although nobody
has transplanted
11___________________ (transplant) a brain yet. In his books
were published
called Extraordinary Voyages, which 12__________________
(publish) between 1863 and 1905, Jules Verne 13_______________ wrote (write) about submarines, helicopters, video
did not exist
conferencing and other things that 14_______________ (not / exist) then. In the context of the scientic and
asked (were asking) (ask) the
technological advances of their time, Shelley, Verne and many other writers 15____________________
question, “What if…?”.

was becoming (become) both more scientic (based

While science ction writing in the 20th century 16_______________
happened
on real science) and more fantastical (with superheroes), something else 17_____________ (happen). A new
came
academic area 18_______________ (come) into existence, Futurism or Futurology. Futurists (or Futurologists)
postulate
are scientists who 19_______________ (postulate) probable or possible futures based on present realities and
 are offered
tendencies. Post-graduate programs in Futures Studies 20_______________ (offer) now in several universities in
the United States and other countries.

2 Complete the sentences with a word from the box in each space. One of the words is not needed.
since 1834, when a Cambridge University
1 The word ‘scientist’ has only existed ________ after ago
professor, William Whewell, invented the term. before for

2 ________
Before that time, scientists were called ‘natural philosophers’ or ‘men of science’. last
when since
while
ago
3 Science ction as a literary genre began about 200 years ________.
yesterday
When Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein”, science was beginning to develop fast.
4 ________
5 The serious study of the future, Futurism or Futurology last
Futurology,, began ________ century
century,, around 1960.
yesterday
6 When you phoned me ______________ evening, I was watching a science ction movie on television.
for
7 The International Space Station has been continuously occupied ________ more than 15 years.
while you are busy making other plans.
8 Life is what happens ________
19

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Consolidating
B your English language

1 As in previous lessons, this rst exercise is virtually a diagnostic test, this time focused on tenses, present, past
and present perfect, and passive voice (which is so fundamental in English for higher studies, professional work or
skilled occupations). Given the level of reading comprehension involved and the number and range of items, it is
suggested that Ss do it in pairs, but you could get them to do it individually and then check in pairs. Either way, it
should give you a good idea of how many Ss are in fairly good command of the tenses and the passive (all worked
on in MIR! books 1-4 during the rst 2 years of Prepa) and how many are not. It should also indicate which forms
are more problematic for them. You can work specically on active vs. passive in Exercise 4, as well as with your
own material.
2 This exercise focuses on time connectors and indicators, but it also involves recognizing the functions of a similar
range of tenses and passives. You could ask Ss, individually or in pairs, to write sentences including each of the
time connectors and indicators.
 19T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

3 In pairs, complete the table of some common 4 Complete the texts using the verbs in
irregular verbs. Use a dictionary if necessary
necessary.. parentheses in appropriate forms and
structures. Compare your completed texts in
Base form Past simple Past participle pairs or groups.

cost cost cost Text A

cut cut cut
are written
The rst versions of history 1_______________
let let let
(write) by journalists. A serious journalist
put put put
writes
2_______________ (write) on the basis of the
bring brought brought available facts, not invention or speculation.
build built built His or her account of an important event
buy bought bought is read
3_______________ (read) the next day by people
nd found found believe
who 4_______________ (believe) that it is largely
leave left left true. Of course, it is frequently the case that many
lose lost lost are not known (not / know) at the time
facts 5_______________
make made made of an event, and only come out later, in history
meet met met books.
sell sold sold
teach taught taught Text B
think thought thought
On September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers in
pay paid paid were destroyed
New York 1_______________ (destroy) by
understand understood understood ew
terrorists. They 2_______________ (y) two
break broke broken planes into the buildings. Almost 3,000 people
drive drove driven died
3_______________ (die) in the attack. A memorial
eat ate eaten was built
4_______________ (build) on the site of the
y ew own was inaugurated
Towers. It 5__________________ (inaugurate) in
give gave given 2011, the tenth anniversary of the tragedy.
grow grew grown

know knew known 5 events

In pairs,listed
ask and answer
in the questions
Speaking about
activity the
on page
see saw seen
speak spoke spoken
17. Then ask and answer questions about
Mexico and the United States.
take took taken
wear wore worn
Examples of questions:
 write wrote written When did Fox become President of Mexico?
begin began begun Was YouTube launched before or after Facebook?
drink drank drunk
Is Spanish spoken much in the United States?
sing sang sung Do many Americans live in Mexico?
6 Match the rst and the second parts of the sentences.
D
1 Almost everywhere in the world now, life… __ A …growth, especially in developing countries.
C
2 This is partly because ofF a higher standard … __ B …person is much better educated now.
3 A signicantly lower… __ C …of living for most people.
4 People also live longer because of improvements… __ E D …expectancy is much longer than in the past.
5 Education also helps, and the average … __ B E …in medical procedures and treatments.
6 A major problem has been massive population… __ A F …percentage of people live in poverty now.
7 In pairs, write sentences including the underlined
underlined phrases in the complete sentences from activity 6.
expectancy
Because of longer life ………………..
of living
We don’t think the standard ………………..
20

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

3 This exercise focuses on the unavoidable (for almost all classroom learners) need to study and memorize
irregular past tense and past participle forms (the remaining few seem to memorize them sub-consciously through
frequent exposure and use, like many people who learn through immersion, not study). Draw Ss’ attention to the
four patterns:
1. Same form for innitive, past and past participle
2. Same form for past and past participle, but different from innitive (all with /t/ or /d/ phoneme endings, written
-t/-d except for made with –de)
3. Different for innitive, past and past participle (all with –n/-en endings for past participle)
4. Different for innitive, past and past participle (all with – a– in past and –u– in past participle)
Give them another half-member of group 1 and group 2, read; it is group 1 for the written form (same for innitive,
past and past participle) but group two for the spoken form (/ri:d/, /red/, /red/). You could also note that there are
sub-patterns within group 2:
break/broke/broken; speak/spoke/ spoken
y/ew/own; grow/grew/grown; know/knew/known
Don’t labor this point too much – it might overwhelm many Ss – but some Ss might pick up some of these patterns
and turn them into learning/memorization strategies.
4 This exercise works on passives (vs. active
activess – choices are required). Text
Text A focuses on present tense, while Text
B focuses on past tense. Get Ss to read the whole of each text before beginning to complete it. That is particularly
important for Text
Text A, which Ss could b begin
egin in the past if they haven’t read the whole text. YouYou may interrupt them
while they’re doing
doi ng T
Text
ext A just to check that they do all have ‘is written’, not ‘was written’ (or ‘wrote’!) for 1.
5 This activity now gets Ss producing, more communicatively, questions and answers in present and past, active
and passive. Monitor, as always with this kind of work, to evaluate how Ss are doing and whether or not more work
is needed on active and passive tenses.
6-7 Activity 6 works on useful expressions, especially for higher study and professional work, which have occurred
in this lesson. Activity 7 gets Ss to produce the expressions in complete new sentences. When you get feedback,
i.e. examples of Ss’ sentences, congratulate them on especially good ones, and, if they have written about
particular professional areas, comment that they could become very good doctors, engineers, etc.
 20T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

3 WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Reading
1 In pairs, answer the following questions. Then read the magazine article and re-consider your answers.
1 How is digital technology (computers, cell-phones, etc.) better now than
than ten or more years ago?
2 In a few decades, how will many homes, schools and ofces be very different from now?
3 What problems and challenges in our future as humans cannot be solved by technology?

TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY

By Rebecca Hope

Technology is radically changing human life. Forty years ago (when I was ve), personal computers
were just becoming common. At rst they were difcult to use and people had nervous crises all the time
because they lost complete documents
do cuments or important work they were doing. Twenty years ago, the Internet
was just becoming established. At rst, interacting with other users on the Internet was complicated and
slow. There was no Wi-Fi, and the Internet used land-lines only (and portable phones were radio only).
Now, ‘anybody who is somebody’ has a fast, Internet-connected, touch-screen smartphone, iPod, iPad
or similar. Microsoft, Apple, Google and other companies, with products like Kinect, Siri and Glass, are
adapting digital devices to human convenience, making them more and more powerful and versatile.

Already today, integrated circuits or microchips

(that is, mini-computers) are in many devices in
our homes, in our cars, all around us. In the future,
many of our homes, vehicles and places of study and
work will be completely computerized, interacting
with our Smartphones (or whatever we have then,
perhaps chips embedded in our heads). There will
be domestic robots in homes, pedagogic robots in
schools, administrative robots in ofces (there are
already manufacturing robots in many factories). It
will be science ction as reality.

I said above that ‘anybody who is somebody’ has a smartphone now. I was being ironical.
i ronical. People are not
‘somebody’ because they possess the latest or best technology, but because they have human value.
People who are really ‘somebody’ develop and make good use of their abilities and talents. They try to
 think and behave in ethical ways, with consideration for other people. The survival of the human species
may depend on digital technologies (or even more advanced ones): we need to repair our planet right
now, and we may need to get off it, fast (science ction as reality again). But the survival of our humanity
depends on making better practical and moral decisions than we have in the past, individually and
collectively. That includes making good, not bad, use of technology.
technol ogy.

2 Answer the following questions about the article.

1 How old was the author when she wrote the article? 4 What are examples of ‘science ction as reality’?
45. In blue in the text.
2 Why does she
As examples mentiondigital
of adapting Kinect, Siri and
devices to our convenience. 5 According
Glass? Person withto the author,
human who is
value, using a ‘somebody’?
his/her abilities, ethical.
3 What may we soon have instead of smartphones? 6 How may advanced technology save us in future?
Chips (embedded) in our heads. Repairing planet Earth, getting people off it.
Speaking

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

Do you agree with the last paragraph of Rebecca Hope’s article? Why, or why not?
How ‘technologically advanced’ are your parents? And your grandparents?
Would you like to have pedagogic robots in your school instead of teachers? Why, or why not?
21

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

3 WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Reading

1 Keep this pre-reading activity brief. It is intended simply to get Ss’ minds working on the topic of the article.
They may not have much to say at rst, which is ne. When they re-consider the questions again after reading the
article, they should have
ha ve more to say.
2 These specic questions direct Ss to more detailed comprehension of the article. They involve both location of
information in the text and inference – different reading comprehension strategies.

Speaking
The rst question focuses on the key p
paragraph
aragraph of the article, which reects the title, Technology and Humanity. It
is to be hoped that nal-year Prepa Ss have some opinions on this, and that some have enough English to express
them. The second question moves to Ss’ own lives and the older people in them. There might be some interesting
and amusing anecdotes here. The last question could produce some humorous comments. It is probably best to
handle each question separately, with brief pairwork and whole group feedback for each one.
 21T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Listening

11 1 In pairs, say what you know about Bill Gates. Then listen to a radio
r adio
program about him. Note one or more things from the program that
you knew about him, and one or more things you discovered from the
program. Compare your notes.
12 2 Now listen to the program again and answer the following questions.
You may already have answered some of them in your notes for
activity 1.
1 What does Bill Gates have in common with a certain Mexican businessman?
Gates and Slim are the two richest people in the world, alternating recently as the richest person.
2 What aspect of Bill Gates is the speaker’s principal focus in the program?
Gates as a philanthropist.
3 What was Bill Gates’ big interest at school? 7 How old was Bill Gates when he started Microsoft?
Computers and programming. 20.
4 Which university did he attend? 8 What are his two great talents?
Harvard. Programming and business.
5 What degree did he get? 9 When did he show a third side to his character?
None. In 2000.
6 Who is Paul
Gates’s Allen
friend, whoand
setwhat did he do?
up Microsoft with Gates. 10By
How did he
setting theshow
Bill &it?
Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife.
Speaking

1 Imagine that you are now

60 years old. You have
made a fortune and are
one of the richest people in
the world – like Bill Gates!
What are you doing, or
what are you going to do,
with your money? Decide
on two or more things to
spend it on. Look at the
pictures for ideas.
2 In groups, talk about what
you are doing, or are going
to do, with your fortune:
 Student A: I already have several mansions, Ferraris and the rest. Now I’m going to…
Student B: My husband and I live in a small house in Real del Monte. We have a foundation that…
Writing

1 Discuss, as a class, the challenges for Mexico now and in the immediate future (in the boxes) and
suggest possible responses or solutions.

MEXICO’S BIGGEST ECONOMIC CHALLENGES MEXICO’S BIGGEST SOCIAL CHALLENGES

Replacing falling oil income with other income Providing young people with good employment
Reducing dependence on the United States Caring for more
more and more old people

2 In pairs, select one of the boxes and write a short article (40-80
( 40-80 words). For example:

Two of Mexico’s biggest economic challenges Two of Mexico’s biggest social challenges
are… Mexico’s oil production will soon… One OR are… Mexico has a high percentage of
possible solution is to promote more… young people and they need…

22

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Listening

1 This is rather a long listening text, especially as just one person is talking. The pre-listening, getting Ss to think
of what they know about the subject of the talk, Bill Gates, is important as it can facilitate understanding of what Ss
will hear. The task for the rst listening is simple and open but, along with the comparison of notes afterwards, can
increase comprehension when Ss listen again for detailed information.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Most people know some things about Bill Gates. For example, that he was a founder, and then the
head, of Microsoft. And that he is, on and off, the richest person in the world (alternating recently with
Carlos Slim from Mexico). And possibly that he gives a lot of money to philanthropic causes. I’m going
to talk mainly about that last aspect of Bill Gates, Gates the philanthropist. But rst a bit about Gates the
computer programmer, and Gates the businessman, which are key aspects of Gates the person.

At school and college he was a real nerd, spending all the time he could using the early computers and
programming systems of that time. While at Harvard University, he started doing programming work at
Honeywell, a big technology company, along with his friend, and fellow nerd, Paul Allen. He was, and still
is, absolutely fascinated by programming and technological problem-solving.

Very soon Allen and Gates set up Microsoft as a small software company supplying MITS, the maker of
a new microcomputer, the Altair 8800. This was the beginning of Gates’ career as a businessman, a very
aggressive one. He was still only 20 years old. At this time, he dropped out of Harvard without graduating.
For 25 years, Gates was almost exclusively this combination of brilliant computer nerd and aggressive
businessman, but he had other inclinations too. In 2000, he and his wife set up the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, which has become the largest private foundation in the world.

Its principal objectives are to improve healthcare and reduce extreme poverty around the world, and in
the United States, to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology. Bill Gates
and his wife Melinda (herself a computer scientist – who graduated! – and an MBA) believe humans need
much more than technology for their future if it is to be a good one. They all need a decent standard of
living, healthcare, education, opportunity, peace, and more.

Today, Bill Gates devotes most of his time to the Foundation and charity work, but he is still a bit of a
computer nerd and a businessman.

2 Make sure Ss have read the 10 questions carefully before you play the recording again. Be prepared to play the
recording a third time if many Ss seem to need it, but get Ss to check what they have so far rst. Also, point out that
in a real talk you only hear it once. After checking the answers, you could ask what Ss think about Bill Gates and
 people like him, e.g. Steve Jobs, Li
Linus
nus T
Torvalds,
orvalds, etc.

Speaking

1 You could leave this for Ss to think about for next class. Make sure Ss understand the situation. You might want
to point out that Carlos Slim is quite uent in English.
2 The groupwork might lead to an interesting – and humorous – whole class discussion.
Writing

1 This is about ideas, most of which can be expressed in quite simple English: We can…, It is important to..
to...,
., A

good way to…

Ss, and/or give is to…,
to…,
one I think
or two the government
yourself, and even write someetc.
should…, You could
sentence rst elicit
beginnings likeathose
few examples
above on from stronger
stronger
the board.
2 This is another writing task to be done in pairs. One advantage of this was mentioned previously – weaker Ss
can feel lost when working alone and pairwork can help overcome that problem. Also, Ss can learn from one
another – sometimes better than from the teacher! You might want to display some of the articles on the wall for all
Ss to read.

22T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Complete the conversation at the front desk of a Disney resort hotel near Epcot in Florida using the
words in parentheses in the appropriate form and structure.
Clerk: Can I help
1_______________(I / help) you?
Jaime: Yes. My name’s Soto, Jaime Soto. I have a
reservation.
Clerk: did you make
Right... mm… uh, 2_______________(you / make)
the reservation online, Mr. Soto?
It was made
Jaime: No. 3_______________(it / make) by a travel agent,
MexTrip.
Clerk: I was looking
Ah, sorry, 4_______________(I / look) in the wrong
place. Here you are, two adults and two children,
thirteen and fteen years old.
Jaime: That’s right. It’s hard to believe – they’re already
taller than
5_______________(tall) me!
Clerk: The tallest
That’s the way it is now. 6_______________(tall)
person in my family is my fourteen-year-old son.
Just sign here, please.
Jaime: OK… Here you are. I’m going to be
I’m 7_______________(be) at a business convention much of the time, and
my wife doesn’t speak
8_____________________(my wife / not / speak) English, and my children not much. Is that a problem?
most bilingual
Clerk: No. Florida is the 9_______________(bilingual) part of the USA, English-Spanish bilingual, more than
Spanish is spoken
any other state. 10___________________(Spanish / speak) by most Disney staff. Enjoy your stay. All the
futuristic stuff at Epcot will amaze your children – and you and your wife.

2 Complete the tables of comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. Be careful with the spelling of
the comparative and superlative of the short adjectives.

Base adjective Comparative Superlative Base adjective Comparative Superlative

 bad worse worst long longer longest
boring more boring most boring new newer newest
complicated more complicated most complicated old older oldest
difcult more difcult most difcult powerful more powerful most powerful
easy easier easiest sad sadder saddest
good better best short shorter shortest

happy happier happiest tall taller tallest

important more important most important versatile more versatile most versatile
interesting more interesting most interesting young younger youngest

3 In pairs, talk about your hometown, Hidalgo State,

State, Mexico, and the world about 50 years from now –
when you are old!
Student A: My town will be the same size as now. Or it may be smaller – a lot of people emigrate.
Student B: Everything will be more technological than now. And the technology will be…
23

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

Consolidating
B your English language

1 This is another exercise designed to activate and diagnose Ss’ command of certain language, this time passives,
comparatives and superlatives. Again, don’t mention the focus to Ss, but let them do the exercise as if it were in
KET or TOEFL, with any grammar (or vocabulary) possible, determined by the context. Like earlier exercises of
the same type, this one should give you a good idea of how many Ss have a fair command of the grammar and
how many need to do remedial work. This will help you decide what remedial work is appropriate, and who it is
appropriate for. Remedial work can be done using the following material in this book and/or your own material.
2 This exercise reviews the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives, including irregular good-better-best
and bad-worse- worst, and the spelling of short adjectives – easier/happier, sadder. It is really very basic and should
be easy for Ss around A2 level so, if you decide to get Ss to do it, get them to do it individually and then compare
in pairs. At the same time, it is also a review of many pairs of opposite adjectives ( bad-good, difcult-easy, boring-
interesting, happy-sad, etc.). You could get Ss to rst match the pairs in the table, and then to think of the opposites
of the remaining adjectives whose opposites do not appear in the table (complicated-simple,
(complicated-simple, important-unimportant,
powerful…-weak?, versatile…-limited?). Note that old has two opposites – new and young (young just applies to
age).
3 This activity gives Ss free, communicative practice of adjectives, using the comparative and possibly the
superlative.
 23T

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

4 Complete the following text using the adjectives on the right.

the largest
With a population of over 11 million, Tokyo was 1______________ city in the world in large
smaller than
1950. New York was only a little 2_______________ Tokyo, and it was certainly the small
most important city from political, economic and cultural points of view. Today,
world’s 3______________ important
there are at least twenty cities with over 10 million inhabitants, ten in Asia. Tokyo is still
the most populous
4____________________ city, with 35 million. The percentage of people living in urban populous
greater than the percentage in rural areas. It is estimated that 66% will
areas is now 5______________ great
live in urban areas by 2050. Another dramatic change in the world will be that the economies
bigger than
of both China and India will be 6_______________ the economy of the USA in 2050. The big
more complex all the time. History never stops,
world is changing fast and becoming 7______________ complex
better than
and it doesn’t always get 8______________ the past, at least not for everyone. good

5 Complete the following sentences with one word from the box, in an appropriate form, in each space.
There are some words in the box that you will not need.

challenge devel op
develop device fast form history latest
potent powerful slow story survival ultimate value way

way
1 The best __________ to be happy in life is to think of other people and be curious about the world.
History
2 __________ stories about kings, queens, revolutions and all that.
is more than a collection of __________
3 Our future is ffull challenges including keeping our planet habitable.
ull of difcult (and interesting) __________,
survival of the human species is not certain, but we can act to make it much more probable.
4 The __________
develop ef
5 We must __________ effective
fective strategies to improve our chances, and new technologies can help.
slow
6 The rst computers seem very __________ now, faster
now, and future ones will be much __________ than now.
powerful than the massive computers of the 1950s.
7 Many tiny modern computer chips are more __________
latest
8 The __________ technology is usually the most expensive and sometimes not the best.
 device
9 The most useful __________ I have is not my iPhone but my can opener
opener.. I can t eat without it.
value
10 The human and the nancial __________ of people are things that don’t always go together.

6 Complete the sentences by putting the words in the correct order.

1 IBM / a / American / very / is / still / company / important / computer / .
IBM is still a very important American computer company.
2 Bill Gates / young / man / brilliant / a / was /.
Bill Gates was a brilliant young man.
3 In 1975 / was / company / small / just / Microsoft / a / new / .
In 1975 Microsoft was just a small new company.
4 Now / well-established / a / is / company / large / it / .
Now it is a large well-established company.
5 My grandfather / a / very/ old / computer / IBM / slow / has / .
My grandfather has a very slow old IBM computer.
6 We’re / him / going / fast / to / give / Chinese / one / for / his / new / a / birthday / .
We’re going to give him a fast new Chinese one for his birthday.
7 In groups, discuss the order of importance of the following for your future lives. Give reasons.
Success in your studies and then in your work.
A good economic, social and security situation in Mexico.
The strength and health of your personal relationships (family and friends).
Other: ______________________________.
24

HISTORY NEVER STOPS

4 This exercise is a comprehensive check of Ss’ handling of the comparative and the superlative. As has previously
been suggested for exercises of this type, get Ss to do it individually rst. Though the exercise is activating/testing,
not teaching, it may indicate that you need to do some more remedial teaching of comparatives and superlatives,
for some Ss at least. That is probably better done over the next few classes, or even later, not immediately.
Remember that even intermediate Ss, and some advanced ones, still make mistakes in this area, as well as other
basic areas, like the simple tenses.
5 This exercise works on vocabulary from the lesson, including items that can be problematic for Mexican learners
–device
–device (vs. apparatus, not included here), form vs. way, history vs
vs.. story, latest vs. ultimate , powerful vs. potent.
After checking the answers, you need to decide whether to get stronger Ss to comment on the difference between
the alternatives, or comment on them yourself. If you do so, note:
- Device is usually general (in the kitchen, electronic, etc.) and apparatus more technical (medical, scientic, etc.).
- Form is usually physical (the form of an object, a form to ll out) and way procedural (how you do something).
- History is usually academic and factual (history of a country, etc.) and story more anecdotal, perhaps ction (the
story of Cinderella, Mark Twain’s short stories, etc.)
- Latest usually means ‘most recent’ (This
(This is the latest version of Windows ) and ultimate means ‘best possible’ or
‘nal’ (They
(They believed they had produced the ultimate principles for human rights ).
- Powerful refers to machines and electronic devices, or to people (their political, economic or social power), and
potent to medicines, poisons, drugs, etc.
6 This exercise involves general word order in sentences and adjective word order. You probably won’t want to
get into the principles behind adjective order; just leave Ss with the experience of doing this exercise, thus sowing
the seed of adjective order in their subconscious (which, research and theory suggest, is where most effective
language learning takes place). That said, if any Ss ask, note:
SIZE SPEED/ETC. GENERAL AGE NATIONALITY
NATIONALITY NOUN/BRAND/ETC. MAIN NOUN/PRONOUN
important American computer company
brilliant young man
small new company
large well-established company
slow old IBM computer
fast new Chinese one
heavy
7 This activity allows Ss to use their whole repertoire of English about topics related to the unit. Note what different
Ss have in their repertoires (and congratulate them whenever they surprise you) as well as the problems and gaps
they have, which call for remedial work.
 24T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

UNIT 3
LEARNING FOR LIFE
1 EDUCATION IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking

In pairs, describe the Mexican school system in terms of levels, years, subjects, tests, certicates, etc.

Student A: Well, the school system in Mexico is divided into…

Student B: That’s right! Most children start school at…
Reading

1 Read the article, and answer the questions below.

SUCCESSFUL NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS

PISA (the Program for International Student Assessment) evaluates 15-year-old school students in
over 60 nations and territories in three key areas: mathematics, science and reading. Although their
educational systems are very different, Finland and South Korea are among the countries with the
best results in the PISA studies, and in other studies also. What makes these systems successful?

CONTRASTING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS

Unlike more traditional countries, Finland has short school days, little homework, and many
extracurricular activities in school after classes. Individual development and the pursuit of personal
interests are encouraged. The aim is to help children understand and apply knowledge, not just
memorize and repeat it. As they advance to higher levels, students have more and more elective
subjects. They can also choose how many exams they want to take and which subjects they want

to take exams in.

in.
In contrast, South Korea has long school days, and most children take private classes after regular
 school. It is common to spend 12 hours a day studying school subjects. Much of that study is
memorization and repetition, but with the class as a collaborative community.
community. The emphasis is on
preparation for xed examinations. All this ts with the Confucian cultural tradition of east Asia, and
the historical institution of examinations for government posts.

Another important difference is that classes are small in Finland and quite large in South Korea.
Korea .
For example, in Finland, science classes are limited to 16 students. This means students can do
experiments in every class. In South Korea, however, there are around 35 students in a class.

COMMON KEYS TO SUCCESS

With all those contrasts, it is difcult to see how both the Finnish and the South Korean systems can
achieve similar results. One reason is almost certainly high investment in education and assurance
of quality in teacher preparation and certication. Probably even more important is the strong belief in

both countries
“cultural that education
educa
congruence” maytion
beisimportant
fundamental for a successful
succe
– a relaxed, ssful society,
individualistic as well as
approach for suit
may individual
Nordicsuccess,
Finland,and has
while aa moral purpose
pur pose.
disciplined, . Also,
communal
approach may be better for Confucian Korea. In any case, these two countries show that there is more than one road to success.

1 What is PISA, and what does it do? 3 What are some differences between schools in Finland and South Korea?
Indicated in blue in the text. Indicated in orange in the text.
2 Is education in Finland very traditional? 4 Why do both countries get outstanding educational results?
No, it is unlike more traditional countries. Indicated in green in the text.
2 In groups, discuss the following questions:
- How is the Mexican educational system different from the Finnish and the South Korean systems?
- What do you think is needed to improve public education in Mexico?
25

UNIT 3
LEARNING FOR LIFE
UNIT OBJECTIVES
• To develop competence in listening and speaking through English as the main classroom language.
• To conrm and consolidate communicative competence as the main goal of the course.
• To consolidate Ss’ awareness of the importance of English in their studies and future professions or skilled
occupations.
• To consolidate and extend Ss’ repertoire and handling of the vocabulary needed to communicate about study and
personal development.
• To consolidate and improve Ss’ handling of the grammar for talking about open and continuing situations
(present perfect) and time and logical connections (if,( if, when, because, so, etc.); for expressing ability, possibility,
obligation, suggestion, request, offer
offer,, etc. (modals); for asking about measurements, duration, etc. (How( How long/far,
etc.).
• To
To develop Ss’ learning skills
skill s and autonomy
a utonomy..

EDUCATION IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

1 EDUCATION
Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking
This analytical task about a topic they should know well, the basic educational system they are in, should allow
nal-year Prepa Ss to make simple statements of fact in English. You could get them started with questions like:
How many levels are there? What are the levels called?* How many years are there in each level? How old are
most students when they enter…? You could get an answer to each of your questions, but move quickly on to the
next question so the pairs don’t have time to note each answer; in that way, they will have to go over all the points
again in pairs, and include the points you didn’t ask about. Check the basic information with the whole group and
ask Ss what, in their opinion, is good and bad about the Mexican educational system. You may get something more
than simple statement of fact in English from some Ss.
 The answer to this question, in English, can be complicated if you don t decide on terms for the Ss because
different English-speaking countries (e.g. USA, Canada, UK) have different systems and names for the levels, and
different states and provinces within the countries do also. Here are the commonest terms for you to choose from
or offer Ss, with probably best options for Mexico underlined:

- Preescolar: kindergarten (US), infants’ school (UK)

- Primaria: elementary school (US), junior school or primary school (UK)
- Secundaria: middle school or junior high school (US), secondary school (UK)
- Media superior / Prepa / Bachillerato: high school (US), sixth form college and college of further education (UK)
Reading

1 Like other reading texts in this book, this one moves into slightly intellectually challenging territory, but Ss
themselves are moving into such territory, of course, as they approach higher education or work. The actual
comprehension questions, however, are not so difcult, basically just requiring identication of information in the
text. Questions 3 and 4 in particular have quite extensive answers, and when checking with the class, it is best
to ask for one bit of information at a time, e.g. for question 3, Tell me one difference. Good. Now tell me ano another
ther
difference. Right. Now…
Note the term ‘educational system’ – educative does not exist in English.
2 The rst discussion question requires continued comprehension of the text, about the main characteristics of the
two countries’ educational systems. You may want to structure the discussion, e.g. telling Ss to compare Mexico
with Finland rst, then with South Korea. Get feedback before Ss move on to the second question. This last stage
of the reading comprehension section goes beyond basic analysis into critical thinking.

25T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Listening

13 Valerie Phillips was an exchange student at a South Korean high school. Listen to her talking about a

typical weekday at that school. Underline the correct answer for each question.
1 What time did V
Valerie
alerie and Choon-Hee leave home?

A 7:05 am B 7:15 am C 7:50 am

2 How did she go to school?

A By bus B On foot C By car

3 Who controls the reading and study session and the music session in that South Korean high school?

A The principal B Teachers C Students

4 What do South Korean students do before they leave their school in the afternoon?

A They clean their classroom B They clean the school C They put their books away

5 Where did V
Valerie
alerie and Choon-Hee go after regular school?

A To a place for private classes B Home C To an Interne

Internett café

6 How long were they at school and extra classes in total?

A About nine hours B About thirteen hours C About eight hours

Speaking

In groups, talk about your experiences in different schools, from elementary to high school. Consider the
questions below.
In which school have you been happiest, and in which least happy? Why?
 In which school do you feel you have progressed most, and in which least? Why?

How different is high school from your previous schools?

How do you expect your life to change in higher education or occupational training?

Writing

1 Write a simple CV for yourself, following this format:

1 Personal information (nam
(name,
e, address, telephone, e-mail)
2 Education (primary
(primary,, secondary
secondary,, high school, other studies)

3 Skills and abilities (t

(technical
echnical skills, musical skills, languages, etc.)
4 Achievements (certicates, prizes, projects, etc.
etc.))

5 Objectives in life (study

(study,, work, personal, etc.)

6 References (2 or 3 people in positions of responsibility)

2 In pairs, compare and correct your CVs. Consult with your teacher
if you have any doubts about the grammar or vocabulary.
26

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Listening
The link between this listening text and the reading text should help Ss understand the continuous monologue
in general and catch the very specic information to answer some of the questions. Give Ss time to read all the
questions and options before playing the recording. Correct answers to question 6 deserve your congratulations –
Ss have to calculate the time between getting to school (8am – 7:50 + a 10 minute walk), at the beginning of the
talk, and getting home (9pm), at the end of the talk.

LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Valerie: Well, last year I was an exchange student at a high school in Daegu, South Korea. It was a
really interesting experience – very different from here! Let me describe a typical Friday.

I was staying with a family, so I got up and had a quick breakfast with Choon-Hee – she’s the
girl whose school I attended. We left home at 7.50 am to walk to the school. It only took ve
minutes so we got there before eight. We started our day at school with a reading and study
session with no teachers, but the students kept perfect discipline. After that, we went to the
gym. Next, we had our music class. This was mainly student-directed, with advanced students
helping weaker ones. Then we had classes with teachers – math, science, Korean language
and literature, and English. There was a lunch break in the middle of those classes. Before
leaving school, at about 3 o’clock, we cleaned up our classroom, which Korean students
always do.

But that wasn’t the end of study for the day. We went to a hagwon or private academy for more
math, science and language classes, and homework. We got home at about 9 o’clock – and
did some more homework before going to bed! But somehow, during the day, there was time
for some fun, chat and Internet. And most Korean students seem to enjoy studying together
almost all day.

Speaking
Get Ss to think about each of the questions and write notes before you put them into groups. You could assign
the thinking and note-writing as homework. This kind of activity is the real measure of how Ss are progressing
in English (as well as in their general powers of thinking). Good participation in groupwork (and, later, in whole
class feedback) by many Ss and some participation by most, in intelligible English, means you are really getting
somewhere.
 Writing

1 This task is structured (a sequence of topics to be written about is given) and guided (specic information is
suggested), so it should allow weaker Ss to write fairly clearly and correctly, while allowing stronger ones to write
more and write more ambitiously.
2 This now focuses on editing and correcting written work, that is, doing what good writers normally do. Remember
that Ss often learn better from one another than from their teacher, but monitor and assist them helpfully.

26T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Read the sentences about study experiences. Choose the best word or phrase (A, B or C) for each space.
1 Last month, Lupita ………. for a scholarship to study for a semester in a high school in Montreal, Canada.
A have applied B applied C has applied

2 She ………. an interview yet, but she should have one before the end of this month.
A didn’t have B hasn’t C hasn’t had

3 She speaks English well, but she ………. the English courses in secondary school, only now in Prepa.
A hasn’t enjoyed B didn’t enjoy C wasn’t enjoying

4 She ………. abroad before, and she is very excited about the possibility of this scholarship.
A hasn’t been B didn’t go C wasn’t

5 What about you? ………. considered going on an exchange program abroad?

A Did you never B Have you ever C Haven’t yet

2 Complete the interview using the words in parenthesis in the appropriate forms and structures.
Interviewer: Come in. T
Take
ake a seat. Guadalupe, right?
Lupita: Yes – Lupita.
Have you ever visited
Interviewer: OK. 1__________________________ (you / ever
/ visit) Canada, Lupita?
Lupita: I went
No, never. But 2_______________ (I / go) to the
USA two years ago, just for two weeks.
did you go
Interviewer: Where 3_______________ (you / go)?
4
 Lupita: _______________
I stayed (I / stay) with a cousin
in San Diego. But I’m really interested
I have seen
in Canada. 5_______________ (I / see) several
Canadian movies and read a lot about Quebec.
Do/Can you speak
Interviewer: Really? 6________________________ (you / speak) French?
Lupita: I haven’t studied
A little. 7____________________ (I / not / study) French for long, only since last year, at school.
has your school had
Interviewer: At your school? How long 8________________________ (your school / have) French classes?
Lupita: My French teacher has visited
I’m not sure. For some years. 9_______________________________ (my French teacher /
She did
visit) Quebec many times. 10_______________ (she / do) her Master’s in Quebec City, la Ville
de Québec.
Interviewer: I see. Now, let’
let’s
s talk about…
3 Complete each sentence with one of these words: ago, already, ever, for, last, never, since, yet
never had a serious illness.
1 Karla is a very healthy person. She has _______
for
2 David has worked as a laboratory assistant _______ two years now
now..
Last summer, an American friend stayed with me here in Tulancingo.
3 _______ Tulancingo.
already paid it.
4 Don’t worry about the telephone bill. I have _______
yet
5 We haven’t nished our science project _______, and it’s for tomorrow
tomorrow.. We’ll have to work all night.
since she was six years old.
6 Monica has studied English at school _______
7 I started studying German tw
two ago
o years _______.
ever been in love?
8 Have you _______ Yes, at least three times.

27

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1-2 The rst exercise checks Ss’ ability to recognize correct past tense forms in context. When you check it with
them, get them to note the contexts ( last month, not yet, in secondary school, etc.). The second exercise requires
Ss to actually produce the correct verb constructions for each context. The two exercises together should tell you
how many Ss have a fair command of the tenses and how many need more work on them, perhaps as individual
homework.
3 This exercise focuses on time words and expressions used with the different past tenses. After checking the
answers with the group, you could get pairs to write a new sentence with each of the words. That way, they will
practice not only the words, but the tenses that generally go with them.
 27T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

4 In groups, say what unusual things you

have done and talk about these things.

Student A: I’ve climbed el Pico de Orizaba.

Student B: When did you…?
Student A: I….
Student B: Have you…?

5 Select the best words (A, B or C) for these sentences about education. Use a dictionary if necessary.
1 At some schools, _____ give classes to small groups of students. A professors B masters C teachers

2 University students _____ different types of learning sessions. A assist B attend C go

3 These may include classes, seminars, tutorials and _____. A conferences B lectures C speeches

4 University students spend a lot of time reading in the

the _____. A library B bibliography C booking

5 Many students have a busy study _____ and also work. A schedule B hours C overtime
6 They have to work to pay for their studies and get their _____. A grades B titles C degrees

7 It is terrible if they _____ after four or more years. A reprove B fail C approve

8 They write assignments, _____ ttests

ests and some write a thesis. A present B make C take

6 Match sentences 1-8 with the ideas expressed, A-H.

1 He can speak four foreign languages. F A advice

2 Will you lend me your pen for a minute? D B obligation

3 You must submit your application this week. B C probability

4 Don’t worry about it – I’ll help you, if you like. H D request

 5 You should practice a lot before taking the TOEFL test. A E prohibition
6 It may rain tomor
tomorrow, forecast.. C
row, according to weather forecast F ability

7 You mustn’t eat in the classrooms. E G certainty

8 If you w
want
ant my opinion, Brazil will win. G H offer

7 Complete each sentence with a verb from the box. There is more than one possibility in some cases.
can could have to may must need shall should will would
can’t couldn’t not have to may not mustn’t needn’t shan’t shouldn’t won’t wouldn’t

needn’t / don’t have to

1 The teacher says the book is optional – we _______________________ read it if we don’t want to.

2 It’s really hot in here. ________________________

Could / Can / Will / Would you open the window, please?
have to / must get a good score on the TOEFL iBT test.
3 To do a Master’s in the USA, you _______________
shouldn’t put much salt on your food. It’s not good for you.
4 You __________
can’t / won’t
5 Eric is ill at home today. It’s not serious, but he _______________ come to school for the rest of the week.
couldn’t
6 When my dad was my age, you __________ research things on the Internet – it didn’t exist. Imagine!
Shall / Can / May we continue with the class? Yes?
7 Sorry about that interruption. _________________ Yes? OK.
mustn’t
8 You __________ forget to submit your assignment before the end of the week.
week.
28

LEARNING FOR LIFE

4 This activity is to get Ss to practice – or use – present perfect and simple past together in actual communication.
This is a real measure of how Ss are learning English. Getting items right in a grammar exercise is one thing (and
few Ss get all the items right) while getting most things right in conversation, sufcient to communicate effectively,

is quite another thing – the real thing.

5 Like many vocabulary exercises in MIR!, this exercise focuses on words that cause many Mexicans problems
(often because they are false cognates) – professors are only university teachers, not teachers in general; assist
means help, not attend or go to an event; a conference is a congress or convention, not a talk or lecture; you don’t
buy books in a library, but in a bookstore; timetable can often be used instead of schedule; if you consistently get
good grades at university you’ll get your degree (which eventually may give you a title more distinguished than Mr.
or Ms.); the opposite of fail is pass; and you take a test. When you check the answers with the whole group, you
really have to get Ss to focus on these points. However, try to leave them with the idea that there are many more
true or approximate cognates between English and Spanish than false ones, so they should be prepared to take
risks.
6-7 Exercise 6 is intended to remind Ss, or make them more aware, of the typical functions of the different modal
verbs. Then Exercise 7 gets them to decide on specic modals for specic contexts. Where two or more different
ones are possible (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7), you may want to ask (stronger) Ss if they feel there is a difference
between them. In 1, there is no signicant difference between needn’t and don’t have to. In 2, will and can are a bit
more direct and could and would are a bit more polite. In 3, there is no signicant difference between have to and
must, but must is sometimes a little stronger. In 5, can’t indicates that it is impossible, while won’t may be more a
decision (the opposite decision would be “It isn’t serious and he’ll come to school for the rest of the week”). In 7,
there’s no signicant difference in this context, though the three modals can sometimes have different meanings,
e.g. Can/May I go home? (asking for permission) vs. Shall I go home? (asking for an opinion, advice).
 28T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

2 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Consolidating

A your communicative skills

Speaking

In groups, talk about these topics:

Your past and presen
presentt hobbies and iinterests.
nterests.
How they have contributed to your personal
development in ways that school has not.

Reading

1 Read the blog. Then read the headings in the box below it, and write them on lines 1, 2 and 3.

CONSIDERING A NEW HOBBY?

Hobbies can be wonderful, helping us grow personally, in ways that formal study doesn’t, and taking our minds off
daily routines and problems. But getting into a hobby can be hard. There may be things you’ve wanted to try as
hobbies, from playing a musical instrument to reading novels, but you never really got started. And perhaps you
started some hobbies, but soon gave up because they bored you or were too difcult. Don’t let that stop you trying
a new hobby, but it is important to nd something that attracts you and also suits your abilities and talents. If you are
looking for a new hobby, these three tips can help you nd a good one for you.

Review your past hobbies

1_________________________________
Before you try a new hobby, think about previous hobbies and activities that you did for a time but gave up. Consider
especially why you stopped doing them. If you stopped because they were much too difcult for you or you got bored,
don’t try them again, or anything very similar. If you continued to feel enthusiastic about them, but you needed expert
help or more time,
time, try them again, but be sure you now have the necessary time and help.
 2_________________________________
Do what rewards you
Motivation is absolutely fundamental for hobbies, and it depends on your personality,
personality, your abilities, your interests and
your varying response to activities. If a hobby is appropriate for you, it makes you feel motivated to continue even
after occasional bad experiences. It gives you a general sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. If you don’t feel
that with a hobby, or you stop feeling it for some time, stop doing that hobby and try a different one. Don’t persist with
a hobby that makes you feel bad.

Explore possibilities rst

3_________________________________
This tip is connected with the previous one. How do you know if a completely new hobby will keep you motivated and
give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction? Well, before investing time and money in a possible hobby, talk
to people who are already doing it. Before buying equipment (which can be expensive), borrow equipment or take a
short course where equipment is provided. Then, if you decide to continue and invest more time and money, you will
probably have made a good choice, based on some real experience.

Here’s a nal consideration about hobbies. Apart from enriching your life, hobbies and interests can make a big
difference in scholarship and job interviews. They did for me – I got a scholarship mainly because of them!

Headings: Explore possibilities rst Review your past hobbies Do what rewards you

2 Answer these questions about the text.

1 How can hobbies be good for people? 4 When is it best not to try again? 7 Can the third tip save money?
Indicated in blue in the text. Indicated in orange in the text. Yes, on equipment,
e quipment, for example.
2 Why can a new hobby be difcult? 5 What does a motivating hobby do? 8 How can a short course help?
It can be hard to start, boring or too difcult. Indicated in purple in the text. Giving some experience with little cost.
3 When is it good to try old hobbies again? 6 When should we give up a hobby? 9 What is the blogger’s last point?
Indicated in green in the text. When you don’t feel motivated. Indicated in brown in the text.
29

LEARNING FOR LIFE

2 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Consolidating

A your communicative skills

Speaking
This is another communicative activity. Ss’ responses may involve communicative use of different tenses,
particularly the simple past, simple present and present perfect. With a bit of luck there will be some unusual and
interesting hobbies to talk about.

Reading

1-2 The rst exercise is a general comprehension task, simply identifying paragraph topics and familiarizing Ss
with the text. The second exercise goes into some detail. In both cases, get Ss to do the tasks individually and then
compare answers in pairs or small groups before you check with the whole class.
 29T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Writing

Write a comment in response to the blog post.

You can:
- respond to one or more of the points the blogger
makes, citing personal experience,

OR

- add your own opinion or point, possibly disagreeing

with the blogger.
blog ger.

Write at least 40 words.

Listening

14 1 Read the statements below. Then listen to Elisa and Israel practicing an interview and circle T (true)
or F (false).
1 Israel is surprised that the interview will be in English, not Spanish. T F
2 Israel’s English is not very good. T F
3 The interview is for a scholarship. T F
4 Israel already knew what Elisa’s two hobbies are. T F
5 Elisa says her hobbies have helped her concentrate on what she is doing and be responsible. T F
6 Elisa passed her Tae Kwon Do green belt exam the second time she took it. T F
7 Elisa has a general idea of what she wants to do next as a Guide. T F
8 Israel thinks she needs to practice a lot more for the interview. T F
15 2 Listen again and number the questions in the order they are asked. Complete them.
___ your hobbies helped you in life
2 How have ________________________________________ ?
4 How do _______________
___ you plan to your abilities in future ?
develop ____________________
1 What ________________________________________
___ are your hobbies ?
3 What __________
___ through your hobbies
have you achieved _________________________ ?

Speaking

In pairs, ask and answer the questions Israel asked Elisa, and other questions like them. Here are some
ways to begin additional questions: Why did you…? How long have you…? Where do you…? How often
do you…? Are you thinking of…?
Writing

Underline the mistakes in the Hobbies and Interests section of the following application form. Then write
a corrected, improved version.

Hobbies and interests

My hobbies are Facebook and collecting postcards. This combination likes me a lot. I ask to friends on
Facebook that they send me postcards of your hometowns. I have Facebook friends (and postcards) from
the most of cities in Mexico and many countries. Collecting postcards has teached me to be organized
person. I put the postcards on an album, in geographical sections and alphabetical order.

30

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Writing

This is a possible real world writing task. Ask if any Ss do, in fact, often write comments or responses to blogs
(or other online items, like forums, posts, Tweets, etc.), in Spanish or English. Like most writing tasks in MIR!,
especially after Book 1, it is focused on communication, not the articial practice of specic grammar. If Ss are to
advance in English, they must use the language for communication, not simply do grammar practice.
Listening

1 Make sure Ss understand the situation – one Mexican practicing for an interview in English with another
Mexican (something UAEH students may do some time in the near future). Don’t give any further detail because
it might provide answers to questions (e.g. one question is about what the interview is for – it could be for a job, a
scholarship, etc.). Get Ss to read the statements carefully before you play the recording.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Elisa: ¡Hola Isra! Oye, ¿me ayudas a practicar para una entrevista? Es para una beca.
Israel: Sí, claro.
Elisa: ¡Gracias! Aquí están las preguntas.
Israel: ¡Pero están en inglés!
Elisa: ¡Claro! The scholarship is for an English course, so the interview is in English! And you’re the
the
only person I know who speaks really good English.
Israel: Oh, right! Umm… OK! The rst question. What are your hobbies?
Elisa: I do Tae Kwon Do, and I am a member of the Girl Guides.
Israel: Really? Like the Scouts? I didn’t know you did that!
Elisa: Shh! Just ask the questions!
Israel: Oh, right, sorry! Uh… How have your hobbies helped you in life?
Elisa: Well, through Tae Kwon Do, I’ve learned discipline. YYou
ou have to focus. If you lose
concentration, you could get hurt, or hurt someone else. And from the Girl Guides, I’ve learned
responsibility and altruism. When I was younger, I went to have fun and play games, but now I
help organize activities and projects.
Israel: What have you achieved through
through your hobbies?
Elisa: Six months ago, I took the exam to get my green belt in Tae
Tae Kwon Do. I failed the exam...
 Israel: Elisa! You’re supposed to talk about achievements!
Elisa: I am! Just a second! I failed, but I analyzed my performance to understand what I did wrong. I
trained hard and stayed positive. Last month, I took the exam again and passed!
Israel: Oh! I see! Good answer!
Elisa: Thanks! Any more questions?
Israel: Just one. How do you plan to develop your abilities in future?
Elisa: I have to be realistic. I know I’m not ready for my T Tae
ae Kwon Do blue belt exam yet, so
I’m practicing a lot and being patient. It will take time, but I’ll get there. With the Guides, I want
to do community service. My next step is to form a team of Guides and start an interesting
project in my town.
Israel: Done! I think your answers were great! You’ll
You’ll be ne in the interview!
Elisa: Thanks!

2 This task has three purposes: it checks comprehension of the interview questions, it checks accurate writing of
the questions and it prepares Ss for the following speaking activity.
Speaking
The initial questions for this speaking activity are provided, but Ss, especially the stronger ones, can add questions
and, of course, the answers are open, according to Ss’ real hobbies.

Writing

This returns to that essential aspect of good writing, editing and correcting the rst draft of a text. Most of the
mistakes are typically Mexican. The corrected text is:

My hobbies are Facebook and collecting postcards. I like this combination a lot. I ask _ friends on Facebook to
send me postcards of their hometowns. I have Facebook friends (and postcards) from _ most _ cities in Mexico
and many countries. Collecting postcards has taught me to be an organized person. I put the postcards in an
album, in geographical sections and alphabetical order.
30T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 In pairs, choose the best words to complete the conversation

between Jesús and his American friend, Anna.
Anna: That wasn’t here the 1 past/last/ultimate time I was in
Pachuca. It 2 sees/watches/ looks like a sort of auditorium.
Jesús: It’s the Centr
Centro
o Cultural El Reloj, the new cultural
cultural center
center.. The
open space is for the Pachuca Philharmonic Orchestra and
3 other/another/others cultural events.
/another/others
Anna: Great! But what 4 succeeds/happens/passes if it rains?
sure.. Everybody gets wet!
Jesús: Mm... I’m not 5 secure/safe/ sure
Anna: Right! Well, it seems a great place to 6 listen/hear/enj
/hear/enjoy
oy

to concerts in good 7 climate/weather/time.

Jesús: My grandparents often 8 attend/assist/c ome concerts
/assist/come
and stuff here. Inside, there’s a book store, an art gallery,
movie theaters, and more. My grandparents love cultural
things!
Anna: And you don’t? You 9 make/do/get lots of cultural activities
– according to your Facebook posts!
Jesús: Well, yes. I suppose 10 lecture/ reading/read is my big
cultural vice. I’m really into…
2 Match the rst and second parts of the sentences, using words from the box to connect the two parts.

after because before if in order to so so that to when while

G
1 I joined a conversation club at school…____ if
A …_________ you want to nd a new hobby.
E
2 I always have a novel with me … ____ before he entered his rst competition.
B …_________
B
3 Alex played chess with friends for months… ____ after
C …_________ she fell off and broke her arm.
A
4 These tips can help you … ____ because her ballet class hasn’t nished yet.
D …_________
H
5 I’m going to borrow my cousin’s guitar … ____ so than I never get bored, with nothing to do.
E …_________
6 Linda rode her bike again as soon as possible… ____ so
C F …_________ I didn’t go to my piano class.
I
7 I started taking violin lessons… ____ in order to improve my uency in English
G …_________
F
8 I felt ill and tired that afternoon … ____ while I save up to buy one of my own.
H …_________
9 I’m looking for a hobby … ____ J when I was nine years old.
I …_________
to
10 Teresa
Teresa called to say she will be home late … ____
D J …_________ help me relax.
3 In pairs, complete the following sentences in the three different ways indicated.
She’s going to take salsa classes because… I only read the newspaper if…
1 She’s going to take salsa classes in order to… 3 I only read the newspaper when…
She’s going to take salsa classes so that… I only read the newspaper to…

He didn’t enjoy the movie because… They listened to some classical music while…
2 He didn’t enjoy the movie but… 4 They listened to some classical music after…
He didn’t enjoy the movie so… They listened to some classical music before…

31

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

This Consolidate your English language section begins with a vocabulary exercise. This is partly to remind you
that vocabulary is just as important as grammar, and that the material in this section is just a resource for your own
lesson plans. You should decide what you use and when, according to the characteristics and needs of Ss in your
group. Your lesson plans can – and should – be varied, not always repeating the same pattern of teaching, which
can become monotonous for Ss.
1 The vocabulary in this exercise includes different parts of speech; adjectives, verbs and nouns. What they have
in common is that they can all be problematic for Mexican learners. After checking the answers, you might want to
focus on some of the groups of words. For example, other/another/others, which function a bit differently from the
corresponding otro words in Spanish. Learners need to grasp that they can be adjectives or pronouns. If they are
adjectives, they are never pluralized, and usually work in combination with a/an, some and the:
another book – the other book – some other books – the other books
If they are pronouns, they are pluralized, also usually working in combination with a/an, some and the:
another – the other – some others – the others
To complicate matters a little more, they are often used as adjectives with the pronouns one/ones instead of as
pronouns by themselves:
another one – the other one – some other ones – the other ones
2 This exercise focuses on two-clause sentences and connectors (time, reason, purpose and condition). Two of
the connectors do not actually involve another clause, but rather an innitive phrase – in order to and to – but they
are common alternatives to two-clause sentences with so that: I want a hobby (in order) to keep busy. / I want a
hobby so that I keep busy. At the A2-B1 stage of learning, Ss should be seeing more than one way to express their
ideas, and this is especially important for stronger Ss to progress and feel they are progressing.

3 This exercise explores the language and gives Ss the opportunity to be creative, playing with the English
language and ideas together. With luck, you’ll get some imaginative and amusing sentences from Ss.
 31T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

4 Complete Brenda’s e-mail to Derek, her American friend, with the correct prepositions.

Hi Derek,

on Thursdays, 2____
Guess what! I’m taking salsa classes! They’re 1____ in the evening. I love them! Did you know that
in New York 4____
salsa originated 3____ in the 1970s, not Latin America? It was begun 5____by people who had come
from Cuba and Puerto Rico. See? I’ve learned a lot already! My favorite part of the class is “rueda de
there 6______
with the person 8______
casino”. Everyone stands in a circle, and you dance 7______ next to you. Then, after a while, you
to parties. I usually stood or sat 10____
change partners, and so on. I used to feel shy when I went 9____ in a corner or
with other girls so no-one would ask me to dance! But now I’m really excited about going dancing 12____
11______ on the
weekends!

But, enough about me! What are youy ou up to these days

days?? Are you still taking guitar lessons 13____
at school 14_______
after
classes? I thought 15___________
of / about you yesterday evening when I was walking 16______ past a music school and there
through / at
was a guitar concert going on – three people playing together, wonderful! I listened and watched 17____________
into
the window for a few minutes, and then someone invited me 18______ the school, saying it was a free concert. It
was great! The school is very 19____near in August. I’d love
____ my house, just 3 blocks, and I’m going to register 20____
to play a musical instrument – and I sing quite well. Could I be the next Mexican guitarist-singer sensation!

Write me!
Brenda

5 In pairs, write the words in the box in the appropriate columns. Use a dictionary if necessary.
 camping cards competition concert crossword puzzles cycle game jog jogging karate
marathon piano run skating swim swimming Tae Kwon Do video games volleyball yoga

Action verb Play + Do + Go + Practice for +

e.g. paint, sing e.g. golf, the cello e.g. aerobics, judo, e.g. shing, skiing e.g. a recital, the nal

cycle cards crossword puzzles camping a competition

jog a game karate jogging a concert
run the piano Tae Kwon Do skating a game
swim video games yoga swimming a marathon
volleyball

6 In groups, talk about your hobbies and leisure activities, using words and expressions like those in
activity 5.
Student 1:
I do weightlifting. I go to the gym
every day.
Student 2: Look at those muscles! I don’t have any!
Student 3: What activities do you do?
Student 2: Well, I read a lot. And I listen to
classical music. And I sometimes go
skating – I’m pretty good!
4:: A skating intellectual! Well, I play...
Student 4

32

LEARNING FOR LIFE

4 This exercise focuses on prepositions, a tricky area because, although there are some apparent
correspondences between English and Spanish, they are not constant and vary considerably, e.g. en el piso = on
the oor; en la caja = in the box; pensar en alguien = think of someone, etc. After checking the answers, it could
be useful to get Ss to make some associations between propositions and the words or type of words they go with,
which is one of the keys to the use of prepositions: on (days – Thursday); in (some parts of the day – evening); in
(place – New York); in (year – 1970), etc.
5 This exercise focuses on talking about sports and activities. In Spanish, practicar is widely used as a general
verb for this, but practice in English has a much more specic and restricted use. Usage in English can be
summarized as follows:
1. Sport/activity-specic verbs are used alone: I paint/sing/cycle/jog/run/swim/skate/sh/ski/dance…
2. Play is used with the names of most sports/games and (with the) musical instruments: I play golf/cards/chess/
video games/volleyball/soccer… the cello/the piano/the trumpet…
3. Do is used with physical and mental exercise activities and some cultural sports: I do aerobics/judo/crossword
puzzles/karate/Tae
puzzles/karate/T ae Kwon Do/yoga/spinning/weight lifting…
4. Go is used for most activities expressed as a gerund (…ing): I go shing/skiing/camping/jogging/skating/
swimming/cycling/dancing…
5. Practice is used (usually with for) meaning train or prepare (which can usually be used instead: I’m practicing
(training/preparing) for a recital/the nal/a competition/a concert/an important game/a marathon/the Olympics…
6 This gives Ss communicative practice of the language reviewed in Exercise 5. Ss can also talk about relatives
and friends.
 32T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

3 ONLINE LEARNING

A Consolidating
your communicative skills

Speaking

In pairs, say what you know about the people in the picture.

Student A: This is… He is famous for… His activities include…

Student B: What about the other man? Do you know…?
Reading

1 Read the article and underline the best options in the eight sentences below it.

TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY

Salman Khan is an American online educator, but he wasn’t always one. At school, he was very good at
math, so after high school he went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study math, electrical
engineering and computer science. He was also interested in the world of business, so when he graduated from
MIT,, he did an MBA at Harvard Business School. He started working as a nancial analyst. He was successful
MIT
and made a lot of money, but he wasn’t always satised with his work.

Meanwhile, his younger cousin, Nadia, was nding

 nding high school math very difcult. She knew her older cousin
was good at math, so she asked him for help with her math homework. At rst, he explained things to her on
the phone, but one day he couldn’t call her, so he made a video instead. He posted it on YouTube for Nadia to
 watch later. Nadia watched it, and told her cousin that she preferred the video to the phone explanations! She
said there wasn’t so much pressure because it didn’t feel like she was wasting his time. She could pause or
rewind the video as many times as she needed, and could watch it until she understood. She could watch it any
time she liked, not just when Khan was available. It also had a visual component that their phone conversations
didn’t have, and that helped her too. From then on, Khan made teaching videos for her.
he r.

Soon, he realized that Nadia wasn’t the only one watching the videos. In fact, millions of people were watching
them. Khan realized that lots of high school students – and other people – liked this technique, for the same
reasons Nadia did. He started making videos about other subjects, not just math, and building his own platform
to help users learn. Eventually, in 2006, he stopped working as a nancial analyst, and devoted himself to what
was becoming his online school, the Khan Academy.

Before long, students of all ages from all around the world – and their teachers! – were using Khan Academy
videos to learn, revise and teach. They received a lot of attention because they were free and effective. In
2013, the Slim Foundation made an agreement with the Khan Academy to pay for the Spanish translation of
the videos and make them available to students and teachers in Mexico, and the rest of the Hispanic world.

1 Salman Khan studied online education/sciences and business administration/nancial analysis.

2 He became an educator because of a younger relative/one of his parents/a high school.

3 Nadia preferred to learn math at school/with videos/over the phone.

4 According to Nadia, videos allow her to learn more quickly/without wasting time/in her own way.

5 Khan made videos for many subjects because there was a demand/he needed money/they were free.

6 To establish the Khan Academy

Academy,, he studied online/did a nancial analysis/left his job.

7 The Khan Academy videos are used worldwide/only for older students/ not very expensive.

8 The Slim Foundation has made the videos accessible for the whole world/Spanish speakers/translators.

2 Visit www.khanacademy.org. Then discuss your impressions in groups. Do you agree with Nadia?
33

LEARNING FOR LIFE

3 ONLINE LEARNING
Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking
This should be a very brief introductory activity. Ss may not recognize Salman Khan, but should recognize and
have some things to say about Carlos Slim.

Reading

1 This comprehension task is multiple choice, and is therefore a change from most of the comprehension tasks
in this book. It should exercise Ss’ minds in a slightly different way. It focuses on detail rather than more general
information, and sometimes requires consideration of different information in different parts of the text at the same
time.

2 This site
briey, is verymay
but some easyexplore
to use,itand
a lotmany usersmake
and even around
it athe world Point
favorite. have found it useful.
out that they canMost
useSs may
it for only dip
content into it
(it covers
many different subjects, such as the ones they are studying in Prepa) and for English practice. You might even like
to use it yourself!
 33T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Listening

16 1 Listen to two UAEH teachers talking about Make It Real! online. Number the four sections of the
platform in the order the teachers visit them.

2 3 4 1

17 2 Listen again and match the questions to the answers.

1 Who has used the platform before?
E
2 Why is Vero using the platform today? A
Vero
3 When do users see activity instructions? D
A To choose activities to recommend for her students
B Ones who w
want
ant good grades and good English.
C That it is fun and practical.

4 What does Tom think of the platform? F

Tom D After they choose the activity they want to do.

5 What does V
Vero
ero think of the platf
platform?
orm? C E Vero has.

the platform? B
6 What kind of students use the F That it looks great.
 Speaking

In pairs, say what you know about the people in the picture.
How much have you used Make It Real! online? What activities do you prefer on Make It Real! online?

Have you ever used other English learning websites? If so, what did (or do) you think of them?
How do you feel about classroom English vs. online English? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

How do you think learning will change in future?

Writing

1 Look at the three reviews of the same online course. In pairs, discuss which one is most helpful to
people thinking about taking the course, and why. Say why the other two are not helpful and how they
could be improved.

I took this course last week.
It was OK. I learned some
things. The explanations are
OK. I like the examples. For
me it’s OK this course.
This course doesnt like me.
Is very bored for me. Why
is people take this course?
Hahaha.
“An Hour of Coding” is a great
introduction to coding. It starts
at the beginning so it is great
for people with no experience
– like me! It explains things
clearly and gives good
examples. It really helped me!
I would recommend it to my
friends.

2 Find a free online English course (your teacher can give you some addresses),
addresses), and explore it. Then
write a review to help people who are thinking of studying English online. Write at least 30 words.

34

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Listening

1 Make
about sureonline
MIR! Ss understand the
) and study situation
the (a UAEH
four screens teacher
carefully fromyou
before another subject
play the askingYou
recording. a UAEH
couldEnglish teacher
even get Ss to
discuss each screen in pairs.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Tom: Hi, V
Vero.
ero. You look very busy at the computer. What is that?
Vero: It’s our English learning platform, Make It Real! online . It complements the
Oh, hi, Tom! This? It’s
English textbooks. The students can practice and use English outside class with it.
Tom: Really? Can I see?
Vero: Sure!
Tom: So, what does it do?
Vero: Lots of things! Right now, I’m choosing activities to recommend for my Consolidation class. So,
this is the start page. From here, users can choose which level they want. My students need to
practice some and any. I know there’s an activity about that in Unit 3.
Tom: You really know your way around!
Vero: Thanks! It’ It’s
s because I use it all the time! It’s a great tool!
Tom: OK, what now?
Vero: Now, I choose the activity I want. First, it shows me the instructions. Then I click Next to start
start
the activity
activity..
Tom: That looks great! Can I try?
Vero: Sure! Good job!
Tom: It’s fun!
Vero: Right! And it’s practical too. For example, the students can download the audios from their
their
coursebooks for extra listening practice. See?
 Tom: That s excellent!
Vero: Yes. It really helps the students. They can choose when they use it. They can access it in the
Self-Access Centers here on campus, and it also works on their laptops, phones and tablets.
Tom: It sounds fantast
fantastic!
ic! But, be honest! Do the students really use it?
Vero: Hmm, some of tthemhem do. The ones who want good grades and good English!

2 Again, get Ss to read the questions and answers carefully rst – they contain a lot of detailed information, and it
will help if Ss are familiar with the options before they listen. Some Ss may be able to do the task without listening
again. If most say they can, get them to do so. Then play the recording again so they can check their answers.
Speaking
You may want to get Ss to answer/discuss the questions one by one, moving them on by getting their attention
periodically and reading out the next question: OK, attention everyone. Go to the next question – What activities do
you prefer on Make It Real! online? Do not miss this opportunity to encourage Ss to use MIR! online if they don’t
already use it.

Writing

1 This activity involves a critical examination of the three texts. The best one is probably the last one, not only
because it is the longest and has the best English. It is well organized, it covers the key aspects of the course being
reviewed, it is written clearly and correctly, and the style is appropriately serious but friendly. The middle one is
obviously the worst – very short, little content, poor English (the text should be: I don’t like this course. It is boring
for me. Why do people take this course? ). The rst one is better, but not very well organized, complete or well
expressed. The English is correct, except for the last sentence, which should be: This course is OK for me.
2 In advance, look online for a selection of free English courses that are suitable for and accessible to your
Ss. Encourage them to look by themselves rst, but be ready to provide useful addresses if Ss ask. Ss should
generally follow the model of the best of the three reviews in Activity 1, but stronger Ss may depart from that a lot,
and go far beyond 30 words (you may want to put a limit of 60 or so).

34T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Consolidating

B your English language

1 Complete the following conversation between two American high school students who are studying
Spanish and a Mexican exchange student at their school. Put one word in each space.
do you think of Nuevo Mundo, the online Spanish course, Rick?
Susan: So, what 1______
Rick: have not used it yet, so I 3______
I 2______ can not say. What about you?
done a lot of work with it. I do a little work almost
Susan: Well, I have 4______
every day, in fact. I think it is very useful.
Rick: if / when you use it every day!
Every day! It probably is useful 5________
How long do you spend each time?
Susan: About half an hour for learning vocabulary, and it
hour.. It is good 6______
has
7______ claried some grammar for me.
Elba: recommended
Who 8________________ Nuevo Mundo to you – your Spanish
teacher?
do you recommend? Something different?
Susan: Yes. Why? What 9______
Elba: No. If it is your teacher’s recommendation, it is ne. And, Rick,
yours
with Nuevo Mundo, Susan’s Spanish is better than 10________.
 Rick: do you two speak when you go for a coffee, like now?
Oh, Elba! That is because of you! What 11______
Spanish, right? Si hablas en español con mí también, aprenderé pronto.
should / must use Nuevo Mundo, Rick.
Susan: It’s ‘conmigo’, not ‘con mí’. You really 12______________
Rick: will start using it
All right, all right, I 13______ i t tomorrow. I promise.
Elba: often / much are you going to use it – once a day, a week, a month…?
Ah, but how 14____________
Rick: Oh, every day. Who do I take as my example? Susan, of course.
Elba: can join us now and practice your Spanish. How 16______
In that case, you 15______ far is the new café?
Susan: It is just two blocks. We’re almost tthere.
here.
2 Continue underlining the subjects of the following questions. What is usually the difference between
the answers to questions with a Wh- word as the subject and those with a Wh- word as the object?
The former usually states the person/thing that is the subject of the verb + do, does or did. (See *)
The latter usually repeats the subject and verb + the object of the verb. (See °)
1 Who teaches the next class in the computer lab? Ms. Carranza does. *
2 What does she teach? She teaches Online Research. °
3 Who does she teach? She teaches all the rst semester groups. °
4 What causes most computer crashes? Over-heating does. *
5 Who gave you that iPad? My uncle did. *
6 What did you give your mom on Mother’s Day? I gave her a picture I painted for her. °
7 What happened to your nose? I walked into a glass door… well, I ran into it!
8 Who did you go to the movies with? I went with three of my classmates. °
3 In pairs, write questions beginning
beginning like these:
Who (likes/teaches/etc.)...? Who do/does.....? Who (discovered/wrote/etc.)...? Who did.....?
What (causes/reduces/etc.)...? What do/does.....? What (caused/started/etc.)...? What did.....?
Examples: Who loved Juliet? What reduces the risk of diabetes?
Who did Romeo love? What does high consumption of sugar cause?
35

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 This exercise mixes elements of all the tenses Ss have worked with, just as they are mixed in natural discourse.
Also required are a connector, a possessive, a preposition and two How + adjective/adverb expressions. That
is what real language learning is about – being able to understand and use whatever vocabulary and grammar
is needed for communication. This exercise will indicate how well Ss are learning real English, English for
communication. It will also indicate how they are progressing towards success in prociency tests like KET,
PET and TOEFL, all of which use natural texts that mix different vocabulary and grammar as required by the
communicative purpose of the text.
2 This exercise is more analytical than most, and it may not be suitable for the learning styles of all Ss. If you
notice that some Ss are clearly not getting it and are getting confused, it is better to drop it and come back to it
later. However, it can be very useful for the more analytical Ss and those with stronger English, because it does
represent how the language works. If you were teaching Spanish as a foreign language, at some point you would
have to try to clarify the difference between:

¿Quién mató a Pancho Villa? and ¿A quién mató Pancho Villa?

Since you teach English, you are trying to clarify the equivalent difference between:
Who killed Bugsy Malone? and Who did Bugsy Malone kill?
You might want to make judicious use of English/Spanish comparison here, using the examples above and similar
ones. Note that English is sometimes clearer, or less ambiguous, than Spanish:
What causes inuenza? (A virus does.)
does.) and What does inuenza cause? (It causes fever and aching.)
aching. )
¿Qué causa la inuenza? (Un virus.)
virus.) and ¿Qué causa la inuenza? (Causa febre y cuerpo cortado.)
cortado. )
This is a case where translation, from Spanish into English, might be useful.
 Note that all the examples in the exercise are in simple present or simple past, requiring the use of do/does/did
for Wh- object questions. With be and modals, the contrast between Wh- subject and object questions is less
pronounced:
Who is teaching? and Who is she teaching?
3 This activity gets Ss to produce original Wh- questions of different types. Working in pairs, they should be able

to produce
should bothgood,
write interesting
idown
nteresting questions,
the questions and,
they between
write, theare
as they twogoing
of them, cla
clarify
to work rify
withthe grammar
different further.inTell
partners Tthe
ell Ss that they
following
activity, and they won’t be able to do this if their questions are all in their partner’s notebook.

35T

LEARNING FOR LIFE

4 Change partners, and ask and answer your questions.

Student A: I’ll start. Who do you live with?

Student B: I live with my…. OK, my rst question. What happened in 2000?
Student A: Uh… I don’t
don’ t know. A new century began? You were born?...
5 Label the pictures with words from the box. Check in groups, and list more computer vocabulary that
you know in English. Then talk about the computer equipment you use, and what you use it for.

le
headphones

screen keyboard speakers microphone keyboard

log in
log out
microphone
password
 headphones printer scanner le printer
scanner
screen

speakers
username
log in username password log out

6 Read all the questions and answers below. Then complete each question with a word from the box,
and match the questions and the answers.

deep far high long often old tall wide

long is your English class? __

1 How ______ B A It is 8,848 meters high.
far is the
2 How ______ the new café?
café? __
D B It is 50 minutes.
high is Mount
3 How ______ A
Mount Everest? __ C I am 17.

4 How ______
often do you have English classes? __
H D It is just two blocks.
deep is the Grand Canyon? __
5 How ______ G E 140 meters, the widest street in the world.
wide is Avenida 9 de Julio in Buenos Aires? __
6 How ______ E F I am 1.
1.56…
56… or 1.68 in my high heels.
old (or tall)
7 How _____________ C (or F)
are you? _______ G It is 1,800 meters at the deepest point.
tall (or old) are you? ________
8 How ____________ F (or C) H Three times a week.

7 In pairs, ask and answer questions about time, size and dimensions beginning How…?
Student A: How tall is your father?
Student B: He’s about one seventy-ve. How far is your house from…?

36

LEARNING FOR LIFE

4 This activity gets Ss to use the questions they wrote with their partners in the previous activity. With their new
partner, have them ask and answer their questions. Encourage them (especially the stronger ones) to develop bits
of further conversation. Note that the rst example has an end proposition – with. Ss have worked on this type of
question previously; they are likely to occur quite frequently with Wh- questions.
5 As indicated in the instructions, this should lead into the listing of further computer vocabulary and conversation.

6-7 How + adjective/adverb is a very common question structure and Ss should see how it can generate many
different ‘quantication’ question phrases – How old/much/many/far/often/long/hot/intelligent/rich, etc. The main
focus here is on actual measurement, but the extension to things like How intelligent/difcult, etc., is very important.
Exercise 6 establishes the basic structure, while Exercise 7 moves on to freer practice.
 36T

WORK AND LIFE

UNIT 4
WORK AND LIFE
1 CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Reading

Read the article and then answer questions 1-5.

Y OUR OCCUP
CHOOSING YOUR OCCUPA
ATION
Nowadays, most of us can expect to have several different jobs during our working
wor king life. However, most of us have only
one career, working in only one professional or occupational area. That is why choosing a career might be the biggest
decision you will ever make. When choosing your career, and specic jobs, consider these questions.

What are you good at? Consider your best subjects at school, of course, but also your other talents. Think about tasks
you can do easily, especially ones that seem difcult for other people. Are you the person who always organizes your
classmates for group projects? If so, you might make a good manager. If you are the one people come to when they
need help with their electronic devices or software, what about a career as an IT technician?
 How well do you deal with stress? Some people are more affected by stress than others. If you don’t like to feel
stressed, look for a low-pressure job within your career area. For example, as a physiotherapist in the medical eld, or
an accountant in the management eld. Other people actually like stress! It motivates them and makes them feel alive.
If you are one of these people, look for an exciting, high-pressure job, like paramedic, company executive or airline pilot.

Is your home life important to you? If you like to spend evenings and weekends with your family and friends, look
for a job with regular hours and little or no overtime. These tend to be jobs with xed hours in a company, or self-
employment. Many people have to work whenever necessary or get things done before they can leave work, for
example, motor mechanics, tourist guides, doctors and journalists, and their home life suffers.

How much money do you want to make? Everybody wants to make enough money to be comfortable, but what does
“comfortable” mean to you? Do you want a big house and vacations in exotic destinations? Or will you be content with
an apartment and a simple lifestyle?

Don’t expect to nd a job that uses all your skills and gives you the right amounts of stress, free time and money
immediately. Be patient, learn about your eld, take training whenever you can, and choose jobs carefully to advance
your career. Hard work and good decisions are the basis of a satisfying professional life!

1 What are the differences between a career and a job?

A career is an area of work that is usually for life. A job is a post with specic responsibilities, salary, etc.
2 Why do some people choose stressful careers or jobs?
It motivates them and makes them feel alive.
3 What do many motor mechanics, tourist guides, doctors and journalists have in common?
They havetotothe
4 According work whenever
article, shouldnecessary
everyone ortryget things
to earn asdone
much before
moneythey
as can leave work.
possible? Why or why not?
No, because different people are content with different life styles or levels of comfort.
5 Why is it important for young people, like you, to be patient at the start of their career?
Because it may take time to nd a job that uses all your skills and gives you the right amounts of stress, free time and money.
Speaking

1 In pairs, ask each other the

questions in the article. Suggest
suitable jobs for each
ea ch other.

2 In groups, discuss what you

believe is important to consider
when choosing a profession.
37

UNIT 4
WORK AND LIFE
UNIT OBJECTIVES
• To develop competence in listening and speaking through English as the main classroom language.
• To conrm and consolidate communicative competence as the main goal of the course.
• To consolidate Ss’ awareness of the importance of English in their studies and future professions or skilled
occupations.
• To consolidate and extend Ss’ repertoire and handling of the vocabulary needed to communicate about
professional and skilled work and leisure activities.
• To
To consolidate and improve Ss’ handling of the grammar for talking about the future (present continuous, going to
and will); for describing and dening people, places and things (relative clauses); for talking about the conditional
future (rst conditional); for reporting speech and thought (present indirect speech).
• To
To develop Ss’ learning skills
skil ls and autonomy
autonomy..

1 CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION

Consolidating
A
 your communicative skills

Reading

Some of the questions here, particularly the rst and the last ones, may be a bit more difcult than usual, requiring
inference, not merely locating information in the text. That can be good for the stronger Ss as it challenges them a
bit, not just in the content of the answers, but in expressing that content in English.

Speaking
1 The questions are:
- What are you good at?
- How well do you deal with stress?
- Is your home life important to you?
- How much money do you want to make?
Get feedback after the pairwork. See what the majority say about the third and fourth questions, and if there are
any strong exceptions, which could generate some humorous comments.

2 After Ss have had time to discuss in groups, get feedback and try to generate some discussion with the whole
class.

37T

WORK AND LIFE

Listening

18 1 Carissa Williams is talking with some high school students in a workshop at Mount Oregon
University. Read the questions, listen and note your answers. Listen again and check or complete
your answers.
1 What does Carissa Williams do at Mount Oregon University?
She’s the director of the University Career Development Center.
2 What is the workshop about?
It’s to help nal-year high school students make good decisions about their future studies and working life.
3 What does Carissa say the students are probably thinking about at the moment?
Finishing high school with good grades, graduating – and partying
4 Did Carissa make the right decision about higher study and work when she was the students’ age?
Yes.
5 What will they do in the rst part of the workshop?
They’ll explore the things they’re interested in and good at, what they want from life, and so on.
6 What will they do in the second part of the workshop?
They’ll go round the university campus.
7 What does Carissa tell the students to do?
Get into groups of three or four, from different schools, and introduce themselves.
19 2 Listen to a group of students talking together at the beginning of the workshop. Complete the
notes about each student.

Name: Susan Name: Diane Name: Chandler

High School: Pacic High High School: Washington High High School: South Valley
 Computers, animals Music, dancing Music (Rock) and math
Interests: Interests: Interests:

and her boyfriend

Abilities / achievements: Abilities / achievements: Abilities / achievements:

Writing apps Plays the piano and guitar Plays the guitar

Second and third places in piano

competitions

Speaking

1 Imagine you are a student in the Mount Oregon

University workshop for nal-year high school
students. Create an American name for yourself
(which could be Mexican-America
Mexican-American),n), the name
of your school, your interests, and your special
abilities and achievement
achievements.s.
2 In groups of three or four, talk about yourselves
the way Susan, Diane and Chandler did.

Writing

To apply for many jobs, scholarships, courses, exchange programs and other opportunities, candidates
have to write a “personal statement”. In it, they present their interests, abilities, achievements and
personal goals. Write your personal statement
statement in 40 to 80 words. Use expressions like the following:
My main interests are……...
are……... I am also interested in……….
I am good at………. I can also……….
I have………. Last year, I……….
My ambition………. I would like to……….
38

WORK AND LIFE

Listening

1 Make sure Ss understand the situation and read the questions carefully before you play the recording. Get Ss to
compare their answers in pairs before you check with the whole class. You could ask some additional questions.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Carissa: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Mount Oregon University. I’m Carissa Williams, and I’m the director
of the University Career Development Center. This workshop is to help nal-year high school students make
good decisions about their future studies and working life. Remember, what you decide now will probably
determine your career or area of work for the rest of your life.
Right now, you may be thinking mostly about nishing high school with good grades, graduating – and
partying. Yes,
Yes, I still remember! But, believe me, when you’re my age, the work you’re doing will be extremely
important for you.
Diane: Did you make the right decision when you were our age?
Carissa: Ha, ha! Yes, I did. I decided to study Business Management, which can lead to many different jobs. Then I
specialized in Human Resources,
Resources , and that’s why I’m here with you today.
Well, in this workshop, we’ll explore the different things you’re interested in and good at, what you want from

life, andinto
divided so on.
twoIparts.
hope Into the
helprst
youpart,
consider things
we’ll look yousort
at the mayofnot haveI just
things thought about before.
mentioned. The workshop
In the second par
part, is
t, we’ll
go round the university campus seeing rsthand what Mount Oregon University can offer you. We’ll look at
the university’s facilities – classrooms, laboratories, libraries, IT centers, sports facilities, auditoriums, and so
on. And you can ask members of staff about academic programs, admissions and scholarships.
OK, let’s get started. Get into groups of three or four – from different schools, OK? – and introduce
yourselves. Just say your name and something about yourself.
 Susan: What kind of thing?
Carissa: Well, for example, what you’re good at, what you’re interested in. Ah, and take notes about the other
students in your group – name, high school, interests, abilities and achievements. Right – get started. Y
You
ou
have just ve minutes for this.

2 This may be best done in another class, not the same one as Exercise 1. Make sure Ss understand the new
situation and read the notes carefully before you play the recording. Again, get Ss to compare their completions in
pairs before you check with the group.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Susan: OK, us three? I’ll begin. My name’

name’s s Susan. I’m at Pacic High. And my interests are computers,
animals… and my boyfriend.
Others: Ha, ha, ha!
Diane: I don’t think that’s what Ms. Williams meant – unless he’s an animal!
Susan: Well, yes, a pet one. He’s a bit like a Labrador
Labrador,, really.
Chandler: Why do you like computers, Susan? Just in general or for something special?
Susan: Well, I’ve written some apps and my classmates say they’re good.
Diane: Really? I can only do very ordinary things with computers. Me now? OK. M Myy name’
name’ss Diane, and I’m at
Washington High. I love music and dancing. That doesn’t sound very academic, but that’s really what I’m
interested in and good at.
Chandler: There are dance and music degrees here at Mount Oregon University, and some good performing arts
schools. Do you play an instrument?
Diane: Yes, the piano and the guit
guitar.
ar. I’ve been in a couple of piano competit
competitions
ions and come second and third.
Chandler: Well, no problem then. I’m Chandler and I’m at South Valley High. I like music too, especially rock, and
I play the guitar. I was thinking the same as you, Diane, until last year, but I’m getting more and more
interested in math now. I think that’s…

Speaking

1-2 Set this up carefully, and get some strong Ss to demonstrate before getting the whole class to do the role-play
in groups. Ask if there were any especially interesting or funny characters.
Writing

Elicit some oral examples of completions of the sentences. Get Ss to compare and edit/correct their personal
statements in pairs. The 40-80 word range is to accommodate weaker and stronger Ss, as usual.

38T

WORK AND LIFE

B Consolidating
your English language

1 Complete the sentences using the words in parentheses in appropriate future structures.
Susan: Ms. Williams said to talk about the future too – our plans and expectations. Who rst?
rst?
Diane: I’ll start
OK. 1____________ I’m going to visit
(I / start). This summer, 2____________________ (I / visit) my cousins in Miami,
Florida. I’m really excited!
you’ll have (you / have) a great time!
Chandler: Cool! I’m sure you 3____________
Susan: are you going to stay / will you stay (you / stay) there?
Me too – Miami! How long 4______________________________
Diane: I’m going to take
Two weeks. And I have more plans. When I get back from Florida, 5____________________ (I / take)
a diploma in Folk Dancing at the Casa de la Cultura. I registered last week. What about you?
Susan: I’m not going to do / I’m not doing (I / not / do) anything special this summer. But after
Well, 6___________________________

high school, I want to study Computer Programming and 7_____________________

I’m going to apply (I /
apply) for a SEP scholarship in Computer Engineering at the ITAM. The deadline is next week,
I’m going to ll out / I’ll ll out (I / ll out) the form tomorrow. I hate lling out forms. Do you think
so 8_________________________
it will be
9____________ (it / be) difcult?
You won’t have
Chandler: No, my brother applied for a SEP scholarship, and he got it. 10________________ (you / not / have)
 any problems.
2 Number the sentences according to their communicative functions. Then, in pairs, decide which tenses
(present continuou
continuous,
s, going to future, will future) typically have which future function or functions.
D
1 I’m meeting my parents at Sanborns at 2 o’clock tomorrow. __ A Statement of probability or fact
A
2 The population of Mexico in 2100 will be over 210 million. __ B Offer or promise
promise
E
3 Look at those black clouds – it’s going to rain. __ C Plan or intention

4 Don’t worry – we’ll help you. __

B D Fixed arrangement
C
5 I’m going to study hard for the exams next week. __ E Immediate prediction

3 Write the time words and phrases in the box in chronological order on the time line below.
tonight tomorrow next week later today
in a month next year tomorrow evening the day after tomorrow

later today tonight tomorrow tomorrow evening the day after tomorrow next week in a month next year

NOW FUTURE

4 Make notes using the headings below. Then, in pairs, talk about your immediate and more distant
future lives.
Your xed arrangements:

Do you have any arrangements

for the next week or so?
Well, rst
Yes. Tomorrow, I’m… I’m going…
Your plans or intentions:

Ah, easy. I’ll be very…

How do you imagine What are your plans for

after high school?
your future, say ten
Your expectations or hopes: years from now?

39

WORK AND LIFE

Consolidating

B your English language

1-2 Exercise 1 focuses on future reference with going to, will and present continuous. Notice that there are
sometimes alternatives. Follow up immediately with Exercise 2, which conrms the typical uses of each form,
including the two common uses of going to and of will.
3 You may want to draw Ss’ attention to the correspondence between future time expressions and past time
expressions, especially: next Monday, etc. and last Monday, etc., and tomorrow morning/afternoon/evening and
yesterday morning/afternoon/evening (tomorrow
(tomorrow night follows the pattern, but last night doesn’t).
4 This activity should get Ss to use many of the forms focused on in Exercises 1-3. The examples in the illustration
are intended to encourage them to talk about different time frames – immediate, short-term and longer-term future.
 39T

WORK AND LIFE

5 In pairs, complete the following text with words from the box. Use a dictionary if necessary.
necessary.
boss career degree earn re hire job major salary work

The world of business has changed dramatically for

degree
women. A few decades ago, a university 1__________
major in business administration did not
with a 2________
guarantee a woman a good 3________.job If she did get
earn signicantly less
one, it was normal for her to 4________
work/job and promotion
than a man doing the same 5________,
to top posts was almost impossible. Some women turned
to so-called “women’s industries”, such as cosmetics, to
career in business, and others
develop a successful 6________
started their own companies. Gradually, more and more
women headed departments and companies. A female
boss is more likely to 8________
7________ hire and promote other
women than a male boss, so even more women began to
enter and rise in business. Now, in most companies, the
 salary for a specic job is the same for a man or a
9________

woman. New laws protect the rights of every employee,

male or female, with some special protection for women.
re
For example, in Mexico it is now illegal to 10________ a
woman for getting pregnant.

6 In pairs, look at the university majors in the box, and the table of people who practice the professions.
Complete the table, using a dictionary if necessary.

Accounting Agronomy Architecture Administration Chemistry Civil engineering Dentistry

Economics English language teaching Graphic design History Law Mathematics Medicine
Music Nursing Physics Psychology Social Work Sociology Surgery Veterinary medicine

-ist -er -ian No pattern

Agronomist Graphic designer

English language teacher Historian Architect
Chemist
Lawyer Accountant
Dentist Mathematician
Economist Social worker Civil engineer
Phycisist -or Musician
Nurse
Psychologist
Veterinarian (Vet)
Sociologist Surgeon

7 In groups, talk about the professions in the table. Do you know people who practice any of them? Are
you interested in any of these professions? Why, or why not?
8 Write questions by putting the words in the correct order. Then ask and answer the questions in pairs.
1 Who / work / your / father / ffor
or / does / ? 5 by / written / book / Who / was / ffavorite
avorite / your / ?
Who does your father work for? Who was your favorite book written by?
2 time / up / you / get / What / do / ? 6 type / job / you / are / looking / What / of / for / ?
What time do you get up? What type of job are you looking for?
3 live / Who / with / you / do / ? 7 do / kind / music / to / listen / you / What / of / ?
Who do you live with? What kind of music do you listen to?
4 best / is / Where / from / friend / your / ? 8 interested / What / professions / you / are / in / ?
Where is your best friend from? What professions are you interested in?

40

WORK AND LIFE

5 This vocabulary exercise, like many in MIR!, does what international coursebooks don’t and can’t do – it focuses
on vocabulary that is particularly problematic for Mexican learners. In this case, the topic area is higher study and
work. When you check the answers, you may want to point out to Ss:
- major and degree refer to university studies and certication, and career does not; it refers to work over time (as
indicated in the reading text and question on page 37)
- earn refers to money for work and results from hard work (e.g. earn a reputation), while win refers to races, prizes
and competitions.
- fre is the opposite of hire
- salary is for professional or skilled work and wage is for manual or unskilled work (e.g. minimum wage) – the
opposite of salario/sueldo in Spanish.
6-7 Exercise 6 covers many, perhaps most, UAEH majors and people who then work in these professions, while
Exercise 7 gets Ss to use them. Notice the stress in English, which is often different from the cognates in Spanish,
e.g. architecture/architect, economics/economist.
8 This exercise reviews Wh- questions with end prepositions (including some phrasal verbs), and gets Ss to
practice them and the answers.
 40T

WORK AND LIFE

2 GETTING A JOB
Consolidating
A your communicative skills
Speaking

1 In pairs, look at the table. Then grade the importance of the skills for the jobs: 0 = unnecessary, 1 =
useful, 2 = necessary
necessary..
Planning and Communication Creativity and
Lead
Leader
ersh
ship
ip sk
skil
ills
ls Comp
Comput
uter
er sk
skil
ills
ls
organizing skills skills originality
Factory maintenance
engineer 0

High school Art

teacher
Supermarket
manager 2
Bilingual tourist
 guide

Bank accountant

2 Change partners and compare your grading of the skills for the jobs. Say what types of job you may be
interested in, and discuss the skills that are useful or necessary for them.
Reading

1 Read these job advertisements. Complete the headings with the appropriate professions.
DOCTORS
VACANCIES FOR ____________ SERVERS, ETC.
NOW HIRING _____________________

The Huatulco International Clinic is seeking qualied
candidates for the following vacancies:
General Physician – 2 positions
Emergency Room Doctor – 1 position
Pediatrician – 1 position
As we are a bilingual clinic, preference will be given to
candidates with TOEFL scores over 550 (or equivalent).
Contact admin@huatulco-clinic.com for further details.
We are recruiting for our new restaurant.
Experience is not essential as full training is provided, but
uent spoken English is indispensable.
If you are a young, energetic
en ergetic individual with good
communication skills and a desire to develop a career in
hospitality,, come along to our
hospitality
WALK-IN-INTERVIEWS, THIS FRIDAY, 11 AM TO 5 PM
Muelle Verde, local 103, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

CIVIL ENGINEERS
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR ___________________ GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
______________________________ REQUIRED

Dynamic candidates are invited to apply for this exciting
Pan-American project. Successful applicants would be
based in Vancouver but should be prepared to travel
frequently to the USA and Mexico. Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering.
• Valid passport.
• Fluency in English and Spanish.
• 1 year experience (minimum).
Interested candidates should send their résumés to
human_resources@panamerican-rail.us.
An important Miami-based advertising agency is hiring
graphic designers to work on a trilingual advertising
campaign to be used throughout Canada, the USA and
Mexico. Candidates should have:
• a degree in Graphic Design (or a related eld)
• strong communication skills in English and
Spanish or French
• excellent computer skills
Send your résumé, portfolio and cover letter to
designingbeautifully@email.com.. Closing date: Feb. 19
designingbeautifully@email.com

2 Read the ads again and answer the questions about each job.
1 Which country is the job in? 3 Which languages are used in this job?
2 What certication should candidates have? 4 How can candidates apply?
Doctors: 1 Mexico 2 Degree in medicine + TOEFL 550+ 3 Spanish, English 4 By e-mail
Engineers: 1 Canada, USA, Mexico 2 Degree in Civil Engineering 3 English, Spanish 4 By e-mail
Servers: 1 Mexico 2 None 3 Spanish, English 4 Direct at the restaurant
Designers: 1 USA 2 Degree in Graphic Design 3 English and either Spanish or French 4 By e-mail
41

WORK AND LIFE

2 GETTING A JOB

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking

1-2 The two stages here can help weaker Ss participate more and improve their English, while stronger Ss have
lots of room for expressing ideas and opinions.

Reading

1 Some headings could vary,

vary, of course, e.g. instead of DOCTORS it could say MEDICAL STAFF,
STAFF, instead of
SERVERS it could say WAITERS, WAITRESSES, COOKS, and so on.
2 Make sure Ss understand they have to answer each of the four questions about each of the four advertisements.
After checking the answers, ask why the candidates for each job need English and how they will use their English
differently.
 41T

WORK AND LIFE

Writing

1 Look at the list (1-6) of typical problems in writing letters in English. Read the cover letter and classify
the problems in it. Write the numbers 1-6 in the boxes after each problem. Then write a corrected
version of the letter.
Dear Sir, 4
1 Wrong word.
2 Unnecessary or inappropriate I have just completed my career 1 in Business Administration
at the UAEH. I do not have nothing of 5 experience except a
information.
little part-time work in an ofce, but I am 6 hard-working guy 3 .
3T
Too
oo informal or formal (wrong style).
4 The person who reads the letter In my free time, I play soccer and read novels 2 .
could be male or female.
I apply 5 for a job as an assistant manager in your company
5 Incorrect grammatical structure or because I think it is the better 5 of it’s 5 type in Hidalgo, and I
form. want 6 work in a good company.
6 A word is missing.
 Yours faithfully,

Roberto Ramos F.

2 Imagine you have graduated from high school or university and you are looking for a job. Imagine a
specic job you are going to apply for. Write your cover letter in a minimum of 60 words.
Listening

20 1 Listen to two job interviews. Write E beside the topics Esteban is asked about and M beside the
ones Monica is asked about.
___
M money ___
E benets of college ___
E origins ___
M location

E reasons for applying for the job

___ M reasons why he/she should get the job
___

M challenges
___ E reasons for choosing a particular college
___ M reasons for moving
___ E self
___

21 2 Listen again and underline the specic questions from the interviews. 1-5 are from Esteban’s
interview and 6-10 from Monica’s interview.
1 Where are you from? / Where were you born?
2 Could you tell me a little about yourself? / Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
3 How did you choose your college? / Why did you choose your college?
4 How have you beneted from going to college? / Who has beneted from you going to college?
5 Why do you want that job? / Why do you want this job?
6 What has been your biggest challenge? / What was your biggest challenge?
7 Where were the projects based? / Where was the project based?
8 Why do you want to relocate to the USA? / Why don’t you want to relocate to the USA?
9 What salary do you expect? / What salary would you expect?
10 Why are you the best candidate? / What makes you the best candidate?
Speaking
In pairs, take the roles of the interviewer and Esteban or Monica. The interviewer should ask the
questions of the interview (which you have underlined in 2 above), and Esteban or Monica should
answer with approximately the same information as in the interview. Then change roles.

42

WORK AND LIFE

Writing

1 You could begin by asking Ss what résumés, portfolios and cover letters (all mentioned in the advertisements)
are, and what another term for résumé is (Curriculum Vitae or CV). This is another editing/correcting task. It
focuses not only on language but also on appropriate content and style, that is, writing as a skill.
2 The number of words here is more than usual and it will challenge the weaker Ss, but it will give you a better idea
of what their English for communication is really like now.
Listening

1 Make sure Ss understand they are going to hear two separate interviews with only a brief pause between them.
They need to have the topics clear in their heads. Be prepared to play the recording a second time if necessary.
LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::

Interview 1
Interviewer: Good morning. Esteban Galicia, right?
Esteban: Yes, that’s right.
Interviewer: Please take a seat. Where are you from?
Esteban: I was born in Mexico, but I grew up here in California.
 Interviewer: I see. Could you tell me a little about yourself?
Esteban: Well, I’ve wanted to be an architect since I was very young. My grandfather was an architect.
He sometimes took me to see his buildings, and I loved it. So, when I was in high school, I
concentrated on Math and other technical subjects, and then majored in Architecture.
Interviewer: How did you choose your college?
Esteban: It was recommended by a friend of mine – and my grandfather approved my decision!
Interviewer: How have you beneted from going to college?
Esteban: Of course, I learned a lot about architecture, but I also learned how to organize my time. In the
rst semester, it was hard for me to plan my work, but I got better at that. It isn’t a problem for
me anymore.
Interviewer: Alright. One last question, Esteban: why do you want this job?
Esteban: I learned a lot of theory in my classes, and from my internship at a local architecture rm, and
now I want to apply everything I learned.
Interviewer: Alright. Well,
Well, I think that’s it for now.
now. Thank you for coming in. We’ll contact you soon.
Interview 2
Interviewer: Good morning.
morning. You must be Monica
Monica Herrera.
Herrera.
Monica: That’s right, good morning.
Interviewer: Have a seat. Your résumé
résumé is iimpressive,
mpressive, Monica.
Monica: Thank you.
Interviewer: What has been your biggest challenge?
Monica: Well, last year I directed a multinational marketing project. More than 40 people in 15 different
countries were involved.
Interviewer: Where was the project based?
Monica: Mexico City,
City, but the team included professionals from the USA, Canada, several Spanish-
speaking countries, and Brazil.
Interviewer: It sounds like things
things were going well for you in Mexico.
Mexico. Why do you want to relocate to the USA?
Monica: I want to learn more about working with emerging markets in Europe, Africa and Asia. There are
more opportunities for me to do that here in the US than there are in Mexico.
Interviewer: I see. What salary would you expect?
Monica: To be honest, the initial salary is less important to me than training and opportunities for career
development.
Interviewer: Alright. Now,
Now, we received
received 40 applications
applications for this
this position. Why are you the best candidate?
Monica: Well, I have demonstrated strong skills in…

2 This activity requires Ss to listen very carefully. It is more preparation for the speaking activity than listening
comprehension.
Speaking
Ss are not required to repeat exactly what the speakers said, just to communicate the same information. Get some
stronger Ss to act out each dialogue – or Ss you have considered weaker until now if they volunteer! This last unit
is a good time to re-assess Ss.
42T

WORK AND LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Complete the following sentences using the words in parentheses in appropriate forms and structures.
I will move
1 If I am offered a good job in another city, __________________ (I / move) there.
2 Yazmín she gets
Yazmín will be relieved if __________________ (she / get) the rst job she applies for.
3 Although I thought I did well in the interview they did not call
interview,, __________________ (they / not / call) me back.
you will feel / you feel
4 If you practice answers to probable interview questions with a friend, _______________________ (you / feel)
more condent in the interview.
he could not think (he / can / not / think) of a good
5 When they asked Enrique why he wanted the job, __________________
answer.
6 If you don’t have tthe don’t apply
he minimum requirements, __________________ (not / apply) for the job.
will you do
 7 What __________________ (you / do) if you don t get this job?
you print
8 It makes a good impression if __________________ (you / print) your résumé on good quality paper.
she gets
9 Fabiola will phone you when __________________ (she / get) home from her interview.
10 If Tanya she will try
Tanya doesn’t get the scholarship this year, __________________ (she / try) again next year.

2 Complete these sentences so that they are true for you. In pairs, look at your sentences and think of
different completions.
If I don’t get good grades… When I graduate from high school… My parents will be disappointed if…
I will be happy when… If I have enough money this summer… My life may be hard if…

3 Read about these professionals’ work and circle the right words to complete the sentences.
1 A website designer develops site navigation by categorizing content that / who / this site users want.
2 An accountant analyzes nancial information what / that it / which a company or private client needs.
3 Business consultants are professionals what / they / that detect problems and provide solutions or optimize
business systems.
4 A social worker helps people when / who / because are living in poverty or social exclusion.
5 Marketing directors, which / who / that are responsible for sales, are vital for almost any company.

4 Read part of an article, and, in pairs, put commas and periods where necessary

RANKING THE BEST JOBS

Our experts,
experts, who have been gathering data for a year,
year, have identied the best professions to have in
2015 Here is the top ten:

1 Top list,, which was compiled using many different criteria,

Top of the list criteria , is the dentist.
dentist. Dentists are not only
concerned with the teeth but also with the diagnosis of diseases like gum disease . This is a eld that is
expected to grow by 23,300 new jobs through the year 2022 , and dentists enjoy a comfortable average
salary of $146,340, with a good work-life balance.
balance .

2 Nurse practitioners,
practitioners, who are also known as advanced practice registered nurses (APRN),
(APRN) , are nurses
nurses, who can also work in research or academia,
with additional professional education. These nurses, academia , are
qualied to perform activities that previously were only done by doctors (such as performing physical
exams and analyzing lab results).
results).

43

WORK AND LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 The focus of this exercise is principally on the rst conditional, but two when clauses and one although clause
are mixed in, along with a past tense, which means it is not mechanical, repetitive practice of the rst conditional. It
requires a bit of the linguistic agility that almost all real communication demands. Ss who are at or above A2 level
can only progress well if they have developed some of that linguistic agility and are not restricted to “getting the
grammar right” only when they are concentrating hard on a single area of grammar, in a controlled exercise. Note
that the future with when uses the same verb tenses as the rst conditional (I’ll ( I’ll call you when/if I get home tonight),
unlike Spanish which uses the subjunctive with cuando (T (Te hablaré/hablo cuando llegue a casa en la nochen oche / Te
hablaré/hablo si llego a casa en la noche ).
2 This activity gives Ss more communicative practice of the rst conditional, plus a when clause.

3 This review of relative pronouns clauses covers who, which and that. Note that that is not possible in 5 because
only who or which is used in non-dening clauses, that is, after a comma. These clauses are typical of writing and
are not common in informal, spontaneous speech.
 4 This exercise picks up that point: the two examples of that (…
(…a feld that is expected to grow… and …activities
that previously were only done by doctors…) are in dening clauses (specifying which eld and which activity is
being referred to). The two examples of who and the example of which are all in non-dening clauses, adding extra
information; the clauses could be in parentheses instead of between commas.

43T

WORK AND LIFE

5 Read the last part of a promotion interview. Complete it with one word in each space.
Director: So, if we offer
offer you tthe will you take it and move to El Paso?
he post in our US ofce, 1______
where I was born, but I’m ready for a big change.
Eduardo: Oh, yes. I’ve always lived in Colonia Roma, 2________
Director: The benets package includes a small apartment, 3________ which is just a block from the ofce, so you
won’t have to spend on rent or daily transportation.
don’t have to travel. I spend an hour a day traveling here in Mexico City.
Eduardo: And it will save time if I 4_______
you would like to ask me?
Director: Yes, it can be terrible in big cities. Are there any questions 5_______
Eduardo: What about health insurance? 6________ If I move to the US, will I receive US medical cover?
Director: Of course. You will have full health insurance, but not dental insurance, 7_______which we only offer to
employees after 3 years there.
any
Eduardo: Fine. I don’t have 8________ can
other questions now, but 9________ I e-mail you if I think of something?
Director: Sure. And I suggest you contact Sonia Hernández, 10________ who already works in the El Paso ofce.

6 Look at the groups of jobs. Identify where those people work and complete the crossword puzzle. Use
 a dictionary if necessary.
1 3
S T O R E
F
2 ACROSS
U F
1
1 cashier, manager, sales clerk
S N I 2 doctor, nurse, receptionist
2
C
5 3 cashier, chef, server
C L I N I F
4 manager, porter, receptionist, housekeeping staff
4
H V E W A 5 editor, journalist, lawyer, reporter

O E O C
O 3 E S T A U A N T DOWN
R R 1 principal, secretary,
secretary, teacher
teacher
L S K O 2 dean, professor,
professor, researcher
3 manager, messenger, receptionist, secretary
I S R 4 carpenter, mechanic, technician
technician
4
H O T E L H Y 5 engineer, machinist, quality control supervisor

Y O
5
N E W S P A P E R

7 Use verbs from box A and prepositions from box B to complete the sentences with phrasal verbs. Note
that you will not need all the words in the boxes. Use a dictionary if necessary.

A ll get go look put take turn write B after at away for off on out up down

going out this evening, or are you staying home?

1 Are you __________
get up
2 What time do you usually __________ during the week? And on weekends?
ll out
3 Did you __________ a form when you applied for the job?
write down the e-mail address on this job ad.
4 Can I borrow a pen? I want to __________
5 When you leave tthe turn off the lights.
he classroom, please __________
put
6 When you nish the experiment, __________ away
all the materials and equipment __________.
look
7 If you don’t know what a word means or how it is used, you should ________ up in a dictionary
it ____ dictionary..
turn on
8 It’s warm in here. Do you mind if I __________ the air conditioning?

44

WORK AND LIFE

5 Even more than Exercise 1 on the previous page, this exercise requires some of the linguistic agility needed
in real communication. It is typical of prociency tests, where the learner’s mind has to jump, in the same text or
set of sentences, from one thing to another according to context. In this case, the Ss’ minds have to jump from
will to where to which to don’t, and so on (modal, adverb, relative pronoun, negative auxiliary, etc.). People with a
communicative command of a language can do that easily, and it is a good measure of learning. Prociency tests,
like the target tests for UAEH Ss (KET and TOEFL), require this linguistic agility.
6 This works on topical vocabulary (occupations, places of work) in a crossword puzzle, using both the clues and
the answers as ways of consolidating Ss’ vocabulary. Use the opportunity to present other occupations and places
of work Ss would like to know.
7 You may want to get Ss to do this in pairs – the weaker Ss could be a bit lost working alone (although they
shouldn’t be after so many years of English – these are common phrasal verbs). After checking the answers, you
could get Ss to tell you some opposites: go out - come in/back; get up - go to bed; turn off - turn on; put away - take
out, and so on. You could also continue with more pairs of phrasal verbs: stand up - sit down; put on (clothes) - take

off; get on (bus) - get off, etc.

 44T

WORK AND LIFE

3 APART FROM WORK

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking
For each leisure/free time activity in the table, try to nd one classmate who sometimes does it. Note
how often they do it, who with (if not alone), etc. Then, in groups, compare the information you have.

ACTIVITIES NAMES NOTES

Visit museums/art galleries

Walk/camp in national parks

 Go to concerts/the theater

Read novels

Watch television

Go to sport events

Play video/online games

Listening

22 1 Listen to three different conversations about next weekend. Match the people in the conversations
(below) to the thing or things they are going to do (A-K). There are some things nobody is going to do.

People Weekend plans

Mr. Pine C
____________ A work
B attend a wedding
Zoe A
____________ C visit a historic area
D take an English class
Erik F, H
____________ E spend time with friends
F go to a concert
Angela B, E
____________ G watch a soccer game
H go to soccer practice
Lola J
____________ I travel back home
J spend time with family
John A
____________

23 2 Listen again and complete the following sentences from the conversations.
1 Zoe: Good evening, Mr How were
Mr.. Pine. _______________ your business meetings?
thinking of
2 Zoe: I was _______________ the historic center of Mexico City.
City.
Good to see
3 Angela: Erik! Hi! _______________ you!
you know
4 Erik: Oh, _______________, Angela, the usual.
5 John: Y
Your good to me
our English sounds very _______________.
6 Lola: Oh, I’m going tto spend this weekend
o _______________________ in Tulancingo with my parents.

Speaking
In groups, talk about what you are going to do next Saturday and Sunday. Is it going to be a typical
weekend for you or very different than usual?
45

WORK AND LIFE

3 APART FROM WORK

Consolidating
A your communicative skills

Speaking

This is a “nd-someone-who” activity and it can be very noisy, so keep it brief and tell Ss not to shout. If they do
shout, stop the activity immediately and check what they have at that point. When they have settled down, let them
continue.
Listening

1 Make sure Ss understand that they will hear the different conversations one after the other, and that they have
read the list of possible activities carefully before you play the recording.
 LISTENING SCRIPT
SCRIPT::
Zoe: Good evening, Mr. Pine. How were your business meetings?
Mr. Pine: Very good, thank you… uh, Zoe, right?
Zoe: That’s right, Mr. Pine. Here’s your key.
Mr. Pine: Zoe, I’m staying for the weekend before I go back to New York. What do you suggest? I’ve been to T Teotihuacán
eotihuacán and the
Anthropological Museum.
Zoe: Well, there are the Toltec statues at Tula. They’re very impressiv
impressive. e.
Mr. P
Pine:
ine: Hmm, I think I’ve seen enough of ancient Mexiccoo and ruins for this trip.
Zoe: What about colonial Mexico, then?
Mr. Pine: You mean Coyoacán and San Ángel? Mm, I’ve read about them in my guidebook. guidebook.
Zoe: Well, yes, but
but I was thinking
thinking of th
thee hist
historic
oric cent
center
er of Mexico City
City.. It’s
It’s full of colonial
onial buildings, churches, museums… and
great restaurants.
Mr. Pine: Of course! What was I thinking? T Too
oo much work! Yes,
Yes, I’ll spend the weekend there. Thanks. Enjoy your weeken weekend,d, Zoe.
Zoe: Oh, I’m working, Mr. Pine, as usual. But I enjoy that too.
***

Erik:
Angela: Angela!
Erik! Hi! Welcome back
Good to see you!to Pachuca!
Erik: Let me take your bag. Now, what do you want to do this afternoon and evening?
Angela: Just hang out with you and and your family today.
today. I really appreciat
appreciatee your hospitality
hospitality.. But I’m goinngg to be out most of the
weekend.
Erik: Yes, you said – meeting your old universi
university
ty friends tomorrow and Cristina’s wedding on Sunday.
Angela: That’s right,
right, university friend
friendss on Saturday and the wed
wedding
ding on Sunday
Sunday.. What are you going to do while I’m doinngg all that?
Erik: Oh, you know, Angela, the usual – soccer training on Sat Saturday
urday.. And I’m going to a concert at the Auditorio Gota de Plata
with my girlfriend on Sunday
Sunday..
Angela: Gota de Plata?
Erik: It’s a ne
neww auditorium
auditorium here. It’s incredible, really modern inside, and outside it has a hu huge,
ge, colorful mosaic.
Angela: Sounds cool, Erik. Maybe I can go see it before I go back to Phoenix Monday afte afternoon.
rnoon.
***

Lola: Buen día. ¿Me podría informar sobre los cursos de inglés?
John: Claro. ¿Hablas algo de inglés? Do you speak some English?
Lola: Yes – I passe
passedd Cambridge
Cambridge First
First Cer
Certicate
ticate – grade C – three ye
years
ars ago, but I think I’m much better now.
John: Your English sounds very good to me. Hi, I’m John. Perhaps I’ll be your teacher.
Lola: Mm, I’d like that. I’m Lola. I want to get a good score in TOEFL iBT, iBT, soon.
John: For your studies, your work?
Lola: No, for my personal satisfaction.
John: OK. So, why prepare for TOEFL?
Lola: It will show me I’ve really got there in English. And it could be useful.
John: Right! Well, a TOEFL preparati
preparation
on course is starting tomorrow, Saturday. I’m teaching it.
Lola: Oh, I’m
I’m ggoing
oing ttoo spend this w
weekend
eekend in Tulancingo with m myy parent
parents.
s. I can’t cancel – I haven’t seen them
them fo
forr ages.
John: Well, you can st start
art next weekend. It’s a three-month
three-month course, so one classass won’t
won’t matter
matter..

2 Like in some previous listening comprehension tasks, this requires listening for specic language items.
Speaking
This naturally leads on from the previous activities, and it allows for very simple and more ambitious conversations,
according to your Ss’ different levels of English. Ss could also talk about activities in the coming vacation instead of
the weekend. 45T

WORK AND LIFE

Reading

1 Read the following website and classify the statements about it as T (true) or F (false).

Miramar Resort
Many people think of vacations as a luxury. Here at Miramar, we believe they’re a necessity. Here’s why:
• Family vacations are an important chance to spend quality time and create memories with your l oved ones.
• Vacations promote physical and mental health, helping you catch up on sleep and exercise, relax and avoid stress.
• Brains that take vacations function better. Taking time off now can make you much more productive later.
• Vacations broaden your mind. They bring you into contact with new people, places, activities and lifestyles.
• Vacations put you in control. You can’t always choose where you live or how you spend your days – sometimes life
makes those decisions for us. But, on vacation, you’re in charge! How do you want to spend your vacation?
 rf
u
S Want outdoor action? Choose from unlimited m Specially designed for our young guests, this
a
1 d 3 e
e n scuba diving and snorkelling, Surf School, e
r package includes access to the video games
g a g D
a d and the chance to try exciting sports like a e lounge, DJ academy, YOLO Bar and healthy
k
n k g
c
a
a paddle boarding, kitesurng and waterskiing, c
a
a fast food restaurants. Strictly no parents
S n
P
, with the help of our qualied instructors.
P e allowed!
n e
u T
S

t
u
If you’re happier on dry land, what about o
-l
Relax in our Jacuzzi or let us take care of you
s
2
rt access to our premier golf course, volleyball
4 li with exclusive spa and beauty treatments.
e o e h
g p courts and soccer pitches? Improve your g
C Borrow a wide range of books, music, TV
a s a
k d k e t
c game with tennis coaching or join the weekly c and movies from our media library, and enjoy
a n a a
a
P
L basketball league. P m it them in peace on our Secret Beach.
l
U

All packages include: standard accommodation, all meals and drinks, and access to the pool, gym and games room.

1 Vacations are almost essential for a healthy life. T F 5 Choose Package 1 if you like being indoors. T F
2 After time off, you can think more clearly. T F 6 Package 2 has no act
activities
ivities in or on the sea. T F
3 Vacations can give you a closed, dogmatic mind. T F 7 Package 3 is not for people of all ages. T F
4 On vacation, you have less control than usual. T F 8 Choose Package 4 if you want to be active. T F

2 In groups, discuss the Miramar packages. Which do you like most and least? Why?
Writing

1 Write the number of each section in the place it belongs on a postcard.

1 Ms. Sandy Téllez 2 Hi Sandy, 3 Love, 4

1863 Bloom Road
Jerseyy City
Jerse 4 4th Aug 2015 2
New Jersey
USA, 07002 1
5 Felipe 7

6
Yesterday
esterday,, Jarocho café and
a nd beach. Today
oday,, Naval Museum
6
and snorkelling. Wish you were here! 3
5
7 Having a fantastic time in Veracruz! So much to do!

2 Imagine you are on vacation in a place you have visited or would like to visit. Write a postcard to an
English-speaking friend or relative – an imaginary one if necessary! Write at least 40 words, and
English-speaking
also the person’s name and address, on the right, as on a postcard.
46

WORK AND LIFE

Reading
1 Make sure Ss understand that they are to answer according to the information on the website, not according to
their own opinions! However, you could then ask their opinions about 1-4.
2 Ask if any Ss or people they know have been on an all-inclusive resort vacation. If some have, get other Ss to
ask them questions about the experience. Then get them to discuss the packages in groups.

Writing

1 This is another writing activity that goes beyond the writing of simple sentences and focuses on content and
organization as well.
2 Get Ss to read and edit/correct one another’s writing.
 46T

WORK AND LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 Complete the e-mail using information from the three website extracts.

To: information@vacationhouserent.com.mx
From: nicole_harris@workmail.com

I am writing to ask about renting your vacation house in Acapulco

for the rst two weeks of July. Is it available?
I want to check some information. Your website says
the house has three bedrooms, which may not be enough
1____________________
 for us. Are there beds for four adultsyou
andcan
vearrange
children?
activities
The website mentions that 2_________________________
for guests. What specic activities do you recommend for 8-12
year old children?
it is raining
The Weather Channel says 3________________________
in Acapulco today and a hurricane is coming. Is that common?
Acapulco is a dangerous place, with
Many people say 4________________________
drug gangs, etc. But, in today’s news, the Mexican Minister for
says it is completely safe now. I know Mexico is
Tourism 5________________________
not as dangerous as they say, but what about Acapulco now?

Thank you,
Nicole Harris

2 In pairs, complete the following sentences in different ways using vocabulary from the box.
The vacation homes website says…
Nicole says… view cruise modern daytrip pool
write enough week information

Examples: The vacation homes website says that the house in Acapulco has a large pool.

3 After two years in Pachuca, Lydia and her family have moved back to the USA. Lydia and her friend
Gaby are catching up via instant messenger. Choose the correct options to complete the conversation.

So how’s life in Pachuca? Come on, Gabs, tell me the news!

Haha! The gossip, you mean! Well, let’s see… Arturo has a girlfriend! Imagine! Arturo! I haven’t met her,
but Xóchitl 1 says/tells that she’s really nice. He goes t o Veracruz every weekend to see her.

Cool! I don’t really know Arturo – he never speaks, right? But they 2 say/tell me that he’s nice too.

He is. I bet he’s talking now – to his girlfriend! What else? Ah, Jessica has started doing meditation!

What? I 3 know/mention that she’s the craziest of us all, but meditation! Jessica?

Right! But she does everything her meditation t eacher 4 says/tells her to do, and she 5 tells/insists that
she feels like a completely different person, a better person.

Let’s hope so! What else?

Well… I’m entering some poems in a creative writing competition. Profe Marco 6 thinks/knows that I
have a good chance to be among the top places.

Wow! 7 I know/believe your mom writes poetry too. Am I right?

Yes,, she does. It’s in the family! OK, now 8 tell/say me your news.
Yes

47

WORK AND LIFE

Consolidating
B your English language

1 This focuses on simple reported/indirect speech in the present tense. Note that the correspondence between
direct speech (as in the website extracts) and reported/indirect speech (as in the e-mail) is roughly the same in
English and Spanish.
2 This activity gets Ss to produce more varied examples. Possible sentences include:

- The vacation homes website says… the house has fabulous ocean views.
they can arrange yacht cruises.
the house is modern.
the house has a large pool.
 - Nicole says… she writing to ask about renting the vacation house in Acapulco.
she wants it for the rst two weeks of July.
3 bedrooms may not be enough for them.
she wants to check some information.
3 Make sure Ss see that, while both say and tell can correspond to decir, they are not synonyms and they are used
in different structures. We say something (to someone) and we tell someone something. That is why “Xóchitl tells
that she’s really nice”and “Say me your news” are wrong. You could ask Ss to work in pairs to give their opinions
about different types of communication – instant messenger, Twitter,
Twitter, etc. – and then report their partners’ opinions
to the class: Paola told me that she doesn’t like Twitter, and so on.

47T

WORK AND LIFE

4 Complete the postcards using the correct forms of the verbs in parentheses.

Hi Mom,
Jennifer and Chris!
We 9__h_av_e_ just _a_rr_iv_ed_(a
time in Los rriv
We 1___a_re_h_avvi_in_g__(have) a faven)taisttihcere! Yesterday and I 10__p_la_nn_e_d _/ w_e_re_p_la_nninge) in San Cristobal! Mark
__
Cabos! I 2_____lo_vvee____(lohe Arch of Cabo San but we 11___c_ha_n_ge_d__(chan __(plan) to go to Tulum,
ge)
we 3____wwe_e_nt____(go) to see t a hurricane 12__wi_ll _hi_t /_is_g_o_in_g to our plans when we heard that
(not see) any __hit
worry – I promise we 13____will b __(hit) tomorrow. Don’t
Lucas – beautiful! We 4______a_ve_)_a_great time anyway.
didn’t see
__e____(be) safe here in
whales but we 5_____ha_d____(h Chiapas! We 14_____met
 Los Cabos. Todd __
girls at our hostel. They 15__a_re goin(meet) some Canadian
Tomorrow we 6___ar_e _le_avvi_in_g__(leave) __ g
7__h_a_ ______(book) a trip to El Vizcaíno Biosphere!
s booked Palenque in 2 days. I think we 16___w_ill__tr(_agv_oe)_l _to_th(etrrauivns at
I 8____a_m_____(be) really excited! with them! el)
Hope you are having a great su
Wish you were here! Miss you! mmer!
Margaret and Todd Alex

5 Complete the article with appropriate forms of verbs from the box. have take pass spend
You need to use most of the verbs more than once.
be do make try prove

What 1________
Makes Young People Happy?

We all dene happiness differently, but most consistently happy young people 2________
have some things in
common. They enjoy their studies or work, at least in general. That is fundamental. Apart from that:

spend time with family and friends.

They 3________
pass without them seeing
For young people who are studying, working, or both, days or weeks can 4________
their family and friends. Because of their studies or work, they often eat quickly, alone and irregularly, simply
are
because they 5________ take
hungry, instead of sharing meals with other people. They don’t often 6________ a
have a coffee and a chat with a friend. They are 8________
rest from study or work to 7________ making an enormous
mistake. Personal relationships are vital for happiness.

They are active and open to new experiences.

do
Many older people 9________ little in their free time, or one obsessive activity or hobby. If a young person is
proves he or she is prematurely old! And unhappy. Young people are naturally active and
like that, it 10_________
doing the same old things all the time. They want to 12________
curious. They aren’t happy 11________ try / do new things
and 13________
have new experiences. Variety and change help young (and older) people to be happy.
take success and failure, better and worse times, in a positive and accepting way.
They 14________
Young people face many challenges, in their studies, work and life. Inevitably, they have successes and
pass
failures, and they 15________ through better and worse times. Those who 16________have a wildly ecstatic
try
reaction to success and good times, and an almost suicidal one to failure and bad times, should 17________
to be more balanced. Many people have to learn how to be happy consistently. People who only seem happy
spending
when they are 18____________ money, winning races, dancing, or whatever, are really never happy.

6 In groups, discuss these questions. Refer to Make It Real! Junior Teacher’s book A2 Consolidation-1
and to your written assignments.
1 How have you progressed in English this semester?
semester?

2 What aspects of English are still difcult for you?

3 What aspects of English would you like to review in class?

48

WORK AND LIFE

4 This is another mixed tense exercise – working on Ss’ linguistic agility again! It also reviews tenses.

5 This is another exercise working on vocabulary that is problematic for Mexican learners. This time, the focus is
on verbs. Notice in particular spend/pass (the former for using up both time and money, the latter for going past
someone or something, and for passing exams, etc.), do/make (dealt with previously), and try/prove (the latter only
for proving an argument, fact, etc.). Also notice combinations (or collocations) like be hungry/thirsty, etc. (not have),
have a drink/meal (not take), take a rest/break, make a mistake, etc.
6 This activity is to help Ss to reect on where they are in English now – with just one semester left in Prepa, and
adult life just ahead of them! Make notes of the areas they say they would like to review in class and deal with as
many as possible of the common ones. If only a few Ss mention a particular aspect, it may be better to assign it for
them as homework. Conduct a class discussion on Ss’ answers to the questions, emphasizing their successes and
discussing what they have to do to address the aspects that are still difcult for them. Relate this to what is coming
up next semester and get them looking forward to the importance of English in their future.

48T

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The editor, coordinators and authors would like to thank all the people and the
different companies who have contributed to the creation of this book. Many
have provided useful suggestions which have helped us to develop this
material better, and others have contributed in the making of drawings,
photos, and audio material. They have all been essential to the development
of this book, which will, we hope, be a very effective learning tool for the
students of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo.

We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to the teachers and
learners of English who piloted the book and contributed with their valuable
feedback to the completion of this work. Without their kind suggestions and
comments, the edition of this book wouldn't have been possible.

Our appreciation to those who helped us with the audios: Sarah Conway, Alan
Del Castillo, Paul Davies, Verónica Espino Barranco, Tomas Hernández
Ángeles, Claudia Liliana Hernández Hernández, Laura López González,
Esthela Elizabeth Martínez Muñoz, Ana Carmen Sosa Cravioto, Acintlalli
Sinashi Vázquez Minor and Josette Javier Zavala Franco.

A very special thanks to Cris Estudios.

DIRECTORY
 Humberto Augusto Veras Godoy
RECTOR

Adolfo Pontigo Loyola

GENERAL SECRETARY

Jesús Ibarra Zamudio

VICE CHANCELLOR OF THE DIVISION FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Diana Matxalen Hernández Cortés

UNIVERSITY DIRECTOR OF LANGUAGES

Edward Amador Pliego

UNIVERSITY DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF LANGUAGES
Make It Real! Junior A2 Consolidation-1
was printed at UAEH University Press

in January, 2016.
Print run 65 copies.

Nuevo usuario:
1 Ingresa a www.idiomasuaeh.com.mx o escanea
el siguiente código QR.
 2 Selecciona Teacher como tipo de usuario.

3 Completa los datos que pide el formulario y en

Activation code ingresa el siguiente código:

978-607-482-417-9

4 Envía el formulario y ¡listo!

Descarga tu material de audio:

Para tu comodidad, las pistas de los ejercicios de
listening estarán disponibles en mp3. Sólo tienes
que seguir los siguientes pasos:

1 Ingresa con tu cuenta a MIR Online.

2 En la barra de navegación elige Junior

3 Selecciona en Audio CD debajo de la portada del

libro, da click en Download y ¡listo!

Nota:Los archivos se descargarán como una

carpeta comprimida en ZIP.

MAKE IT REAL! Junior has been written specifically for Hidalgo State High School students by English language
teaching experts with decades of experience in Mexico.