Prioritizing

Explained:

Some students talk about their priorities at work.

Trained:

Jessica: I hear reports from colleagues and act accordingly

Doris: I work in HR and when there is a problem with recruitment I have to prioritize that above all my other work. Nancy: I work in production planning and when there is a problem with a customer order I have to prioritize that above all my other work.

Ming: I work in engineering and when there is a problem with an automaton I have to prioritize that above all my other work.

Jessica: I work in a hospital and when there is an medical emergency I have to prioritize that above all my other work.

Doris: My supervisor tells me I need to recruit some new candidates today, so that’s how I know I have to do that.

Ming: My supervisor tells me I need to design a new machine today, so that’s how I know I have to do that.

Jessica: My supervisor tells me I need to do a case presentation today, so that's how I know I have to do that.

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Word families

Using word families to reformulate a verb

  • Replacing verb with verb + noun

Explained:

~ to support – lend support, be supportive. There are many ways you can be supportive and lend support. ~ to damage -- cause damage to, be damaging. Even minor deficiencies may cause permanent damage. They may be damaging.

~ to attempt – to make an attempt. He attempted to escape. He made several attempts to get away.

~ to control – to maintain control of. He is unable to maintain control of the ball and it comes loose.

~ to start – to make a start. So why not make a fresh start?

~ The support ‘family’
supported
supporter
supporters
supporting
supportive
supports
unsupported

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English is Great

Explained:

UK’s PM arrives in China to promote education and trade

Theresa May has announced new education links with China as she arrives for a three-day visit to boost trade and investment after Brexit.

The initiative includes the extension of a Maths teacher exchange programme and a campaign to promote English language learning in China.

The UK prime minister has claimed her visit “will intensify the golden era in UK-China relations”.

The education deal includes:

  • Extension of a maths teacher exchange programme for a further two years to 2020, enabling around 200 English teachers to visit China
  • Joint training of pre-school staff in the UK and China
  • Better information-sharing on vocational education
  • The launch of an “English is GREAT” campaign to promote English language learning in China
  • Education deals worth more than £550m, which it is claimed will create 800 jobs in the UK

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Dinner with the Prime Minister

Explained:

What is small talk? Small talk is light conversation. It's about nothing serious: no politics, no religion or no money. ### Trained: This isn't your first visit to this part of the world, is it? 1. Question it! ~ Say it:This isn't your first visit to this part of the world, is it? 
  ~ Question the text
  ~ What isn't it? Answer: Your first trip.
  ~ Where isn't it your first trip to? Answer: China.
  ~ What isn't this your first? Answer: Visit.
  ~ Where isn't this your first trip to? Answer: this part of the world.

  1. Work on it!
    ~ Make a new sentence changing the subject and object of ‘went up’
    ~ Find another subject of ‘this’
    ~ Your answer:
    ~ Find a modifier of ‘visit’
    ~ Your answer:
    ~ Find another modifier of ‘part’
    ~ Your answer:

  2. Get ready for it!
    ~ Place, time, characters and situation
    ~ Place:
    ~ Your company in China
    ~ Time:
    ~ When you meet your visiting colleague
    ~ Characters:
    ~ You and your foreign visitor
    ~ Situation:
    ~ Ask if this is his first visit.
    ~ Example: This isn’t your first visit to this part of the world, is it?
    ~ This is my first visit to Shanghai.

  1. What’s next?
    ~ Schedule a class
    ~ Make a comment below

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What are the Qualifications?

English language qualifications

ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) Trinity English language qualifications are recognised internationally as reliable evidence of proficiency in English.

With a focus on developing communicative and interactive language skills, our exams assess and promote the skills needed for life in the 21st century.

A qualification for every learner
Trinity English language qualifications are suitable for people of all ages learning English as a foreign, second or additional language.

Available at all levels, from beginner to advanced, our exams are available to individuals, schools and colleges in more than 60 countries worldwide.

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Fat Cats Day

Today is Fat Cat Thursday, January 4th, when the typical FTSE[1] chief executive will have pocketed already more pay in 2018 than the average employee in the whole year. And what's it due to? Market rate, past performance, ability? No, this gross imbalance - 45x the average wage in 1998 and 120x today's average - owes its existence to vested interest executive pay committees who bring capitalism into dispute.

So remember, Fat Cat execs :the Revolution will be televised[2].

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  1. Financial Times Stock Exchange ↩

  2. reference to a television show ↩

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I Met Macron

Double Dative Object verbs

I met Macron with double dative objects at the Elysees Palace. He
baked me a cake. I don’t envy you your job, I said. He gave my
daughter a camera and bought her a t-Shirt from the FNAC. Let me get you a cup of coffee, he said, while I peel your daughter an orange.
Before leaving, I promised **him my vote**. I will give you my vote.

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Reporting what someone said

Explained:

Sam works as a senior software developer in a software house serving customers like big corporations like Whirlpool. He’s in charge of a team of 2-3 according to the project size. He follows a project plan agreed between the PM and the customer and must report to him via quick meetings in the morning.

Trained:

Reporting what someone said …announced …promised or mentioned.
~ My wife/ girlfriend/ partner said she would also try to do more exercise Simple past someone was late: ~ "I was late because I missed the bus" ~ Emiliano told me that he was late because he HAD missed the bus

Someone forgot
~ “I forgot your present, I’m sorry. I ran out of money”
~ Simone said he forgot to buy me a present because he HAD run out of money.

Did Simone mention why he left early?
~ Simone mentioned that he had an important meeting to go to.

Continuous Past

Why did she say she missed the bus?
~ She said she missed the bus because she was playing tennis!

Why did Simone say he ran out of money?
~ He said that he was buying a lot of presents for everyone!

~ Why did Emiliano say he had to leave early?
~ He said he had to leave early because he was going to a meeting with his boss.

Present Perfect

Jason says, “I haven’t started it yet”
~ Jason reminded me[^1] I hadn't started yet.

“I haven’t finished it yet”
~ I explained to Jason that I hadn’t finished it yet because …

“I haven’t tried it before”
~ I mentioned to the fitness instructor that I hadn’t tried it before.

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Resolutions for 2018

Explained:

THE FOUR FUTURES

There are four ways to express the future:

SIMPLE PRESENT
~ My gym membership starts on the 8th January PRESENT CONTINUOUS ~ I am starting my gym membership on 8th January 'WILL' ~ I will train 2 or 3 times a week. 'GOING TO' ~ I am going to get fitter in 2018 Comparative adjectives to compare with 2017 with 2018 ~ 2017 was 'x'; I hope 2018 will be 'y' ~ I hope 2018 will be more relaxed [^1], balanced than 2017 ~ 2017 was boring; 2018 will be more interesting. ~ >2017 was bad; I hope 2018 won't be worse[^2]. ~ I was happy in 2017; I hope I will be even happier in 2018.

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Do you eat meat?

Explained:

Antonio wants to improve his general language level and especially his understanding. Today the focus is reformulation[1].

Trained:

~ “Do you eat meat?”
~ “Are you asking if I am a vegetarian?”

In the UK we eat turkey at Christmas.

~ Do you mean Turkey like the country?
~ Yes, but you can’t eat a country! The animal is spelt with a small ‘t’: t.u.r.k.e.y.

~ Do you take ice in your drink?
~ I understand the word ‘ice’ but I don’t understand if you mean wine, beer, coca cola etc?
Are you asking me if I take ice in my wine like a Spritzer[1]? Or are you asking if I drink whiskey on the rocks?

~ Do you drink whiskey with a chaser[2]?
~ So the chaser is like a beer you drink with whiskey?

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  1. a mixture of wine and soda water. ↩ ↩

  2. a strong alcoholic drink taken after a weaker one: “drinking pints of bitter with vodka chasers” ↩

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