Telephoning

Hello everyone, here are the answers to this week's homework regarding telephoning.

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More Formal:                                                                  Less Formal:

Could you please hold?                                               Hang on a moment. 

Can I just ask what it's about?                                    What's  it about?

Thank you                                                                       Thanks

Certainly                                                                          Sure

Shall I put you through to her?                                  Do you want to speak to her?

5 1) b 2) c 3) not used on the telephone 4) a

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2) No, I´m actually from Belgium.

3) I'm afraid he's not here.

4) Actually, I'll call back later.

5) I'm afraid I won't be in the office tomorrow. / Actually, I won't be in the office tomorrow.

6) I'm afraid Heather's line is engaged. / Heather's line is actually engaged.

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Across                               Down

1 CALL BACK                 1 CONNECTION

4 EXTENSION                2 CALLING

5 MOBILE                       3 MESSAGE

7 PUT THROUGH          6 SPEAKING

10 AFRAID                      8 HOLD

11 ENGAGED                 9 CATCH

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1) Kyoto Ito speaking.

2) This is Juan Suarez. Can I speak to Ms Sanders, please?

3) I'll be back later.

4) Brenda isn't in the office today.

5) Do you have my mobile number?

6) I'm afraid Mr Chang isn't in the office today.

7) I'll tell him that you called.

First Day

I

Congratulations to the latest group of Conversation Class students for an excellent start on the first day of class. Here they are working hard.

2nd Conditionals: Foods we miss while travelling

The second conditional is used to talk about ‘unreal’ or impossible things.

Examples: 

If I won the lottery I´d buy a beach house in California. 

Where would you travel if you could go anywhere in the world?

If you didn’t smoke so much you’d feel a lot better.

The structure is usually if + past simple and would + infinitive. It’s not important which clause comes first.

Look at the difference between the first and second conditionals.

·       In January: If it snows tomorrow I’ll go skiing. (It might snow tomorrow.)

·       In August: If it snowed tomorrow I’d go skiing. (It almost certainly won’t snow tomorrow.)

NOTE: Although many conditional sentences use if + will/would, conditional sentences can also use other words instead of ‘if’ – e.g. ‘when’ ‘as soon as’ ‘in case’ Other modal verbs can be used instead of ‘will/would’ – e.g. ‘can/could’, ‘may’ ‘might’.

Okay, let´s put this theory into practice. I´ll go first. The question is, which foods do you miss the most while traveling or living abroad? Use the conditionals to talk about this topic.

pancake breakfast

Here is a list of 17 Foods all Americans miss while living in Europe. In my opinion, it is spot on.

       

bagel and cream cheese

• if + past simple and would + infinitive: If it was Saturday morning in California, I would eat a typical American breakfast from my favorite diner.
• if + past simple and would + infinitive: If I could, I would have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch everyday.
• if + past simple and would + infinitive: If I had to choose, I would say I miss Thanksgiving dinner the most.



tex-mex

• I might be able to eat more authentic Mexican food if I lived in California.

• When I can, I may bring some hot sauce back to Spain with me.
• I will try to make my own bagels here, if I can.
• As soon as I go to visit, my family will have a BBQ.
• In case I can´t return this year, I will still enjoy the spanish cuisine!

With a partner, discuss the things you miss most while traveling abroad, using these structures:

• if + will/would
• when
• as soon as
• in case
• can/could
• may
• might

Why do you want to learn English?

Why do you want to learn English? We would love to know!

Watch this video from Oxford University Press and complete the personalized listening activity and quiz that I have created for you on Socrative. Socrative is an interactive learning tool we will be using often in our conversation classes at Ondas Formación.

Follow these steps to log on to Socrative.:

1. Go to m.socrative.com on your computer or smartphone 
2. Enter your teacher´s room: OndasConvo
3. Type in your name.
4. Answer the questions as best you can
5. Watch the video a second time if needed

If you haven´t got time to complete the whole quiz right now, 

let us know why you are interested in learning English in the comments section below. 

Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?

So, you've planned your big vacation and you are all set to practice those hard earned English skills of yours. But once you arrive to your final destination with all those native speakers around you become a deer in headlights, unable to speak or even articulate the simplest response to basic questions. Those around you assume you are deaf and start to scream, which makes you even more nervous and in turn even more silent. Has this ever happened to you? 

Have no fear, Shanglish is here! Sign up for our Fall Conversation Classes to gain the confidence and expression skills you need in order to make yourself heard and understood.

New Dictionary and Buzz Words

I recently came across a stupendous online dictionary which is a very practical tool for all you English language learners out there. The Macmillan Dictionary compares American English and British English and has a thesaurus all rolled into one. They've also got a whole section dedicated to Buzz Words. Don't know what a buzzword is? Check out the definition by clicking here.

In our English conversation classes at Ondas, one of the areas we focus on is pragmatics. According to the Macmillan Dictionary, pragmatics is "the study of how language is used in particular situations to express a meaning or attitude that may not be obvious from the actual words". In other words, you'll learn how to express yourself and convey messages more successfully in English. Join us this fall, and in the words of Macmillan: learn English, live English, love English.

Frugal Travelers

The New York Times has a great Travel Section with a weekly article called The Frugal Traveler.

In pairs, create your own Frugal Traveler Guide for the city of your choice. You can highlight accommodation, restaurants, transportation options, activities (cultural, adventure, touristic, etc.), seasonal discounts, fairs, special celebrations, landmarks, and more.