WEEK 1. PART ONE. READING ACADEMIC ENGLISH TEXTS 1. GRAMMAR. VERB TO BE.

PRESENT (am-is –are)

We use AM-IS -ARE (verb to be) every day. Write the words in the right place.

I’m not name’s are you is I’m aren’t is she’s

1.- How are you? ______ fine, thanks.
2.- What __________ your name? My name is __________________(your name)
3.- Excuse me, ______ you Hank Thomas? No, I’m not. Sorry!
4.- Are your friends British? No, they __________. They’re American.
5.- Hi! My _________ Priya Hello, I´m Vijay
6.- Where __________you from? I’m from Australia
7.- Is your mother here? Yes, __________ over there by the television
8.- Are you a teacher? No, _________. I’m a doctor.
THE RULE. How do we use the verb to be?

Look at these sentences

I am Canadian We are late

You are welcome! You are students
He is a teacher They are very tall
She is a doctor Magic and Hank are very tall
It is very hot today
Am, is, are is called the verb to be
How do we make negatives?
He´s not a teacher We’re not late
How do we make questions?
He is a teacher Is he a teacher?
I am okay Are you okay?
They are happy Are they happy?
SHORT FORMS
When we speak, we often use short forms He is= he’s We are= We’re They are = they’re
Sometimes you can’t use the short form
Are you English? Yes, I am Is she at school? Yes, she is
EXERCISE. Write the missing short forms.

e.g. I am fine I’m fine

1.- You are right ________right
2.- She is late ________late
3.- He is Japanese ________Japanese
4.- We are cold ________cold
5.- Where is Michael? ________Michael?
6.- They are in the kitchen ________in the kitchen
7.- The car is blue The________ blue
8.- She is not here She________here
9.- You are not well You________well
10.-It is six o’clock ________six o´clock
PRACTICE: Old, big, rich

We use am/is/are when we are describing someone or something. She is tall. It is fast. Choose the correct answer to
complete the sentences below.

e.g. It’s sunny today. It’s hot

 1.- Henry weighs 120 kg. a.- he’s thin b.- he’s small c.- he’s fat
2.- Minnie is 45 kg. a.- she’s fat b.- she’s thin c.- she’s big
3.- Grandpa is ninety six a.- He’s young b.- he’s old c.- he’s expensive
4.- Hailey is six a.- she’s young b.- she’s old c.- she’s blue
5.- A Mercedes costs 100.000 a.- it’s fat b.- It’s cheap c.- it’s expensive
6.- A bicycle costs 99,00 a.- it’s big b.- it’s expensive c.- it’s cheap
7.- Elephants eat a lot of food a.- they’re small b.- they’re big c.- they’re rich
8.- Mice don’t eat much food a.- it’s small b.- they’re big c.- they’re small
9.- We’ve got lots of money a.- we’re expensive b.- we’re poor c.- we’re rich
10.- Bill doesn’t have any money a.- they’re poor b.- he’s rich c.- he’s poor
PRACTICE: When we speak we often use short forms (I’m). Listen and write the full forms (I am).

1.- How are you? ________ fine 6.- __________________________ ready

2.- _____________ today 7.- _______ German. Their names are Kurt and María
3.- _____________ Bill? 8.- _______ cold
4.- _______ sick today 9.- It’s six o’clock. ________ late
5.- ________ in the office 10.- ________Indian. We come from Mumbai
PRACTICE. Saying hello. Write the words in brackets in the correct order.

MARY:
Hi!
(fine/I’m/thanks)____________,__________________
I’m Chinese
(a/I’m/student)________________________________
(name’s/My/Mary)___________________.Mary Lee
(No/here/live/I)________________________________
PRACTICE: An interview.
DAVE:
(are/you/how/________________________________?
(you/from/where/are)__________________________?
(do/What/you /do)_____________________________?
(your/What’s/name)____________________________?
(holiday/you/Are/on)___________________________?
(you/See/later)________________________________

Simon Johnson is interviewing Hank Thomas the film star. Choose the correct word to complete the conversation.

SIMON: Hank, you are/have/is very rich and very famous.

HANK: Yes, Simon, I’m/I am/he is. And now I’m married to a beautiful lady.

SIMON: Yes, your wife’s name is Miranda. Is/Is she/she your fourth wife?

HANK: No, she is’nt/she not/she isn’t my fourth wife. She’s my sixth wife.

SIMON: How old are you/you/you are now Hank?

HANK: I’ve/I/I’m eighty two

SIMON: You’re rich, you’re famous, are you/your/you’re in love. How happy are you?

HANK: I’m very happy. It’s the real thing. Miranda and I are/’m/am in love.

READING. GETTING STARTED.

I.- What do you find in different rooms in a house? Drag down the words in the box.

SITTING GARAGE TABLE TOILET SITTING BBQ BATHROOM OVEN KITCHEN BEDROOM
ROOM ROOM
1.- You find a bed in the ________________

2.- The shower is in the_________________

3.- You have a __________________ ( or barbecue) in the garden

4.- You keep the car in the _________________

5.- You use the ____________ in the kitchen

6.- You watch TV in the ____________________

7.- You need a ________________ in the dining room

8.- You have a ________________in the bathroom

9.- You have a fridge in the _________________

10.- A __________________ is sometimes called lounge.

II.- READING: FOUR ADVERTISEMENTS. Look at the four advertisements. They all come from a real website and are
for homes in Newport. Answer the questions.

WWW.homes4u.com. Homes in Newport

REF. DW87 REF. DT77 REF. PP45 REF. YT89

TO LET FOR SIX One bed ground-floor I have a room available from 21st Furnished two bedroom house
MONTHS. A large three flat within walking February. The flat has a kitchen, to let. Recently redecorated.
bedroom house with a distance of town a large sitting room and a lovely Lounge with sofa, coffee table
garden. Sitting room, center and train garden. The garden is perfect for and TV. Kitchen with fully
dining room, fitted station. Lounge, Summer’s BBQs. The flat is near fitted units: Stove, washing
kitchen, three double double bedroom, public transport. Fast internet machine, fridge/freezer,
bedrooms and a recently fitted connection and SKY TV. I am microwave. Two bedroom and
bathroom. bathroom. Garage. looking to share this flat with family bathroom. Garden with
one other tidy female aged 26-34 BBQ. Available immediately.
1.- Which home has a dining room? REF:_______ 2.- Which home doesn´t have a garden? REF:______

3.- Which home has furniture?(tables, chairs, and so on) REF____ 4.- Which home has internet connection? REF____
5.- Which homes are near public transport? REF_____-REF _____ 6.- Which homes have two bedrooms? REF___REF__

7.- Which home has a garage? REF_______ 8.- Which home has one bedroom? REF_________

III.- VOCABULARY: Find ten word from the advertisements to complete the sentences.

1.- F________________ means it has furniture (tables, chairs, beds…)

2.- To l______ means you can rent the house month by month. You don’t have to buy it.

3.- Public t_______________ means trains and buses.

4.- L__________ is another name for sitting room

5.- A f_______ kitchen has a fridge, washing machine and stove.

6.- A d__________ bedroom is big enough for two people.

7.- I want to sh___________ means I want another person to live with me

8.- Av_____________ means you can move in immediately

9.- Within __________ ___________ means you can easily go on foot

10.- If you are t______, you like to put things in the right place.

IV.- Help these people choose the best home from the advertisements.

1.- Maria has a new job in Newport. She is 27 years old. She doesn’t have a car. She doesn’t want to live alone.

The best home for Maria is REF._____________

2.- Mr. Jackson has moved from London to Newport. He has a wife and four children. He wants to rent a house for a
short time and then look for somewhere to buy. Mr. Jackson should choose REF.____________

3.- Samuel has lost his job. He lives in a three bedroom house, but he needs to find somewhere cheaper. He has a car.

The best home for Samuel is REF__________

4.- Jane and Anya are friends. They are looking for a house, but don’t want to buy furniture. Anya loves gardening. They
should choose REF:________________

V.- LISTENING: Anya and Jane are looking for a place to rent. Listen and help them fill in the online form.

BUY/RENT: LOCATION: TYPE: BEDROOMS: MIN PRICE: MAX. PRICE:

_____________ ______________ _____________ _____________ _____________ ____________
VI. Now visit some websites about houses in Tuluá. Then, answer the questions below.

1.- What is the most expensive home you can find to rent? _______________________________________________

2.- Why is it so expensive? What does it have? _________________________________________________________

3.- Can you find a home with more than five bedrooms? Where is it? And how many bedrooms does it have?
___________________________________________________________________________________________

4.- how much does it cost to rent the cheapest home with one bedroom in Cali City?________________________

5.- how much does it cost to rent the cheapest home with one bedroom in Tuluá? _______________________________

6.- Find your dream home. Write a least 50 words about it.__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
WRITING: Job applications. Your online profile.

LISTENING: Filling a form. Listen and fill in the details. ICEMAN GYM: Application form.

Family name:_______________________________ Given name:_______________________________

Age:______________________________________ Address:__________________________________
Tel:_______________________________________ Nationality:_______________________________
Job: ______________________________________ Married/single:____________________________

VOCABULARY: Learning words together. Try learning words together like this……..

Man-woman Red-blue-green England-English Come -go Drink- coca cola

Happy- unhappy Big - small China- Chinese Big- elephant Mother-father-sister
Now write words to learn the ones below.

1.- black 2.- eat 3.- expensive

4.- old 5.- tall 6.- rich
You have to learn lots of new words. Learn words together, learn sentences, draw pictures, practice saying words.
Learn ten words every day. In a week you will know 70 new words. START NOW.

I.- What will I learn?

“IN THIS COMPETITIVE JOB MARKET MAKING THE FIRST RIGHT IMPRESSION IS CRUCIAL” Julie Stonal.

TASK: In what way can your personal profile make a bad impression? _________________________________________

How can you avoid giving a bad impression?______________________________________________________________

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: When you apply for a job or a college or a university place, it is important to have an online
profile that is clear and correct. This means you need to learn to proofread. You will learn:

- The structure of a personal profile - About typical mistakes in an online profile

- How to check grammar, spelling and punctuation - How to create a proofreading checklist
The proofreading skills you will learn in this unit will be useful for all the writing you do.

READING: Read the blog post and answer the questions below.

Damian Murphy. Employment Consultant, Jobs4us.

Would you turn up to a job interview with dirty shoes? If you were applying to go to college or university, would you go
to the open day in a pair of torn jeans? Of course, not. Why? Because you know that your appearance is important. First
impressions make all the difference, they really can help you get the job or the college place.

Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say they can help you lose these things.

So why is it that people who are so careful of their physical appearance don’t seem to care about what they look like
online? It goes all the way from email to Facebook to LinkedIn. You need to be aware of your online appearance. And if
you don’t look good, you need to do something about it.

Facebook and Twitter are good places to start. Did you know that 54% of employers look at a candidate’s social network
pages to check spelling and grammar?

Meanwhile, staff a Aston University, UK, have identified the top mistakes being made on CVs and application forms in
The United Kingdom:
1.- Lower case i instead of I, when describing yourself.

2.- Mixing up there and their.

3.- Misspelling words such as: Internship, receive, university and business.

4.- Using American spellings (for example: organization)

5.- Misuse of commas, semi-colons and colons.

So that’s the negative side of it. But there’s a positive side that you need to think about too. The most obvious is the way
you present yourself in your online profile. Let’s look at what you should do:

- Start by describing yourself briefly, in just one or two sentences.

- Then, list some achievements. Three is a good number. Show them what you have done.
- Next, write about your skills and characteristics. What is it that drives you?
- Finish off by talking about your hobbies and interests.

And when everything is ready, you need to spend plenty of time proofreading.

So, let’s put away the idea that social media is only for fun. These days it’s an essential part of your life, whenever you
need people to notice you. Get polishing those dirty shoes!

1.- What does Damian really mean when he talks about 2.- Damian believes that your personal profile…….
‘dirty shoes? a.- ….has a major impact on your life
a.- You need to be tidy at a job interview b.- …is important socially
b.- You need to be tidy online as well c.- is not that important
c.- You need to be tidy in your personal life
3.- The majority of employers think that spelling and 4.- List of common mistakes does not include
grammar are important punctuation
a.- true a.- true
b.- false b.- false
5.- As well as correct spelling and grammar, Damian also 6.- The final stage of preparing your profile is to:
focuses on: a.- proofread it
a.- layout b.- print it out
b.- structure c.- design it
c.- graphics
What does a profile look like? Read the short personal profile below. These is the Background or Summary section,
which comes before Experience, Skills and Education.

RAJIV KUMAR.

Sales executive

SUMMARY

I’m a Sales Executive with three years’ experience in the publishing industry in two companies: PanAmerica and Oxford.
Here are just three of my achievements to date:

1.- Increased sales by 12% in my first year

2.- Coordinated the local launch of a new series, ‘cakes and bread’

3.- Signed up a new bookshop in Austria.

I love interacting with customers and helping to meet their needs. I have a passion for education and every year I attend
sales courses. These have been on sales strategies, the art of book display and customer support.
Outside work, I enjoy reading German literature, and I play for the local football team.

PRACTICE: THE STRUCTURE OF A PROFILE. Annabel Suarez has written a longer personal profile as a part of her college
application. Drag down the descriptions at the top to match each paragraph.

Brief description Achievements Personal skills Hobbies and interests Why I chose your college
ANNABEL SUAREZ

Course: Social work

1.-_______________________

I am a responsible and hard-working student with an ambition to work in the community with disadvantaged people. My
top subjects at school – Psychology, English and Maths – have prepared me for a degree course in Social Work. My
career goal is to become a qualified social worker.

2.-______________________

In the first year of my Psychology course at school, I obtained top marks for the ‘Psychology of human relationships’
unit. In the last three school holidays, I have worked with a local charity, Operation Crossroads, which provides help with
drug addiction for young people. Although most of my work was in the office, I was able to spend time talking to social
workers, who explained what the job involves.

3.- _______________________

I am a good communicator who gets on well from people from all social and cultural backgrounds. My exam results
show that I am very hard-working.

4.-_______________________

I enjoy a range of activities, but my passion is music. I play the guitar in a band, and I have sung solo at more than twenty
events.

5.-_______________________

When I visited your campus in October, Dr. Taylor very kindly spent an hour talking with me about the course. I found
that it fits my interests perfectly, especially the units on ‘Developing your people skills’, ‘Individuals and families’ and ‘
Social work in communities’

PRACTICE: Write a personal profile. Salim is applying to study fashion at college. Sara is applying for an Admin job in a
hospital. Read their notes below. Using Rajiv and Annabel’s profiles as models, structure and write personal profiles
for Salim and Sara.

RAJIV KUMAR Annabel Suarez

Sales Executive
I am a Sales Executive with three years' experience in
the publishing industry in two companies:
PanAmerica and Oxford. Here are just three of my
achievements to date:
1 Increased sales by 12% in my first year;
2 Coordinated the local launch of a new series ‘Cakes
and Bread’;
3 Signed up a new bookshop in Austria.
Course: Social Work
I am a responsible and hardworking student with an ambition
to work in the community with disadvantaged people. My top
subjects at school - Psychology, English and Maths – have
prepared me for a degree course in Social Work. My goal is to
become a qualified social worker.
In the first year of my Psychology course at school, I obtained
top marks for the 'Psychology of human relationships' unit. In
the last three school holidays, I have worked with a local
 I love interacting with customers and helping to meet
their needs. I have a passion for education and every
year I attend sales courses. These have been on sales
strategies, the art of book display and customer
support.
Outside work, I enjoy reading German literature, and
I play for the local football team.
SALIM
1. Loves art/design, clothes & accessories, ambition
to work in fashion
2. School: art, technology; project on fabrics
3. Holiday jobs: clothes factory, shoe shop
4. Personality: outgoing, creative, good at detail
5. Hobbies: drawing, fashion magazines/shows
PROOFREADING: Grammar
charity, Operation Crossroads, which provides help with drug
addiction for young people.
Although most of my work was in the office, I was able to
spend time talking to social workers, who explained what the
job involves.
I am a good communicator who gets on well with people from
all social and cultural backgrounds. My test results show that I
am very hard-working.
I enjoy a range of activities, but my passion is music. I play the
guitar in a band, and have sung solo at more than 20 events.
SARA
1. Enjoys office work, efficient, good communication skills
2. Secretarial diploma, one year in medical testing office -
database work, basic accounting etc.
3. Goal to be office manager in large organization; has taken
courses in her spare time
4. Hobbies - stamp collecting, puzzles and games, netball
team captain

As you saw earlier in the unit, a key part of improving your profile is ‘checking both spelling and grammar’. To
proofread effectively, you need to understand the mistakes you are likely to make. Look at the common mistakes
below. Can you correct them?

1.- TENSE

I complete my diploma in web design last year. I _______________ my diploma in web design last year.

2.- THIRD PERSON SINGULAR S

The degree course begin in January every year. The degree course __________ in January every year.

3.- SINGULAR OR PLURAL

I worked in the Blue Parrot restaurant for four year. I worked in the Blue Parrot restaurant for four___________

4.- MODAL VERBS

To qualify, I must to get an A in my final essay. To qualify, I ___________ an A in my final essay.

5.- IF……………

If you were applying for a job, will you go to the interview in a pair of torn jeans?

If you were applying for a job,_____________ to the interview in a pair of torn jeans?

6.- PREPOSITIONS

I have a part-time job in the library on the evening. I have a part-time job in the library ______ the evening

7.- ACTIVE- PASSIVE

My love of animals was originated from my early years on a farm

My love of animals _____________________from my early years on a farm

8.- ARTICLES
I spent two weeks as an intern for Chief Designer. I spent two weeks as an intern for_____ Chief Designer

9.- WORD ORDER

I worked in 2014 for a design company. I worked_____________________________________

10.- ADVERBS

I worked very hardly to complete the project on time. I worked very _______ to complete the project on time.

PRACTICE: Spellchecking. Don’t rely on your spellchecker. It would not find most of the spelling mistakes in the short
passage below. Can you correct the mistakes?

TOP MISTAKES IN PERSONAL PROFILES

One of the top mistakes identified on the Aston University website is: mixing up there and their.

FIRST VERSION

I was delighted to here that you took my advise and bought a knew English dictionary. Their very useful and will help
you to practise your spelling. I think you no that spelling is your principle weakness. The dictionary will help you identify
you’re mistakes and were you must improve. Make shore you use it!

SECOND VERSION: After proofreading

I was delighted to _________ that you took my ____________ and bought a ______ English dictionary. ________ very
useful and will you to ___________ your spelling. I think you ______ that spelling is your __________ weakness. The
dictionary will help you identify__________ mistakes and _______ you must improve. Make ________ you use it!

Ideas for proof reading.

First look at the ideas from the exercise in the Practical Writing program.

1.- Know which mistakes you make most 2.- Try proof 3.- If you are 4.- Again, if you 5.- Dictionaries
often. Look through some work you have reading writing on the are writing on and grammar
done and note the mistakes you made. backwards! Yes, computer, the computer, books will help.
Make your own checklist like this: spelling that's right. If you print the text use the The golden
(their or there?) read the text and proof spellchecking rule is that if
prepositions from the end to read on paper. But remember: you are not
Punctuation (comma or full stop?) the beginning, it Proof reading it won’t find all sure about
have/has in the present perfect is easier to focus on a screen is the mistakes. something, you
Then, when you are proof reading, read on each word. difficult and must look it up.
through the whole text once for each will hurt your
mistake. eyes.
How do I know which mistakes I make most often?

1.- Find some examples of written work you have done in the past that has been corrected by a teacher. Include at least
two or three essays.

2.- Go through this work and make a list of all the mistakes you made: grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation…

3.- Identify the five mistakes you made most often and write them here:

e.g. Third person singular, present tense ‘s’ 1.___________________________________________

2.____________________________________________ 3.__________________________________________

4.____________________________________________ 5.___________________________________________
Every time you write an essay, a letter or a personal prole, read it though five times. Start practicing by proof reading the
proles of Salim and Sara you wrote in an earlier study sheet.

WRITING FOCUS: Punctuation marks. Read the words. Then write each one down to match a punctuation mark below.

Quotation Exclamation colon Apostroph Semi- dash Full comma bullet Question
marks mark e colon stop mark

1.- Here are just three of my achievements to date:

1.- Increased sales by 12% in my first year…..

This mark (:) is called a ___________________

2.- I love interacting with customers and helping to meet their needs.

This mark (.) is called a_____________________

3.- Would you turn up to a job interview with dirty shoes?

This mark (?) is called a _____________________

4.- I enjoy a range of activities, but my passion is music.

This mark (,) is called a _______________________

5.- First impressions make all the difference; they really can help you get the job.

This mark (;) is called a _______________________

6.- I coordinated the launch of a new series, ‘cakes and bread’.

These marks (‘……..’) are called _________________

7.- Let’s look a what you should do.

This mark (‘) is called an ______________________

8.- My top subjects at school – Psychology, English and Maths – have prepared me for a degree course in Social Work.

This mark (–) is called a ___________________

9.- Get polishing these dirty shoes!

This mark (!) is called a ___________________

10.- On my placement at the Shamrock Hotel, I worked:

- In the bar

- In the restaurant

- Behind the reception desk

This mark (-) is called a __________________

PRACTICE PROOFREADING. Find the ten mistakes and correct them.

Vianne Hurley
Hotel Management Graduate

Profile

I am highly motivated with a freindly personality. I recently graduated in Hotel Management and am looking for a
position in which I can work with the public.

I was first attrracted to the hotel industry following a work experience placement in the Landmark Hotel during my forth
year of secondary school. I then enroll in the Liverpool College of Hotel Management, where I was trained in in all areas
of a hotel. My course included six mouths in the Mandarin Hotel, Singapore. There, I develop new skills and tecniques in
many departments of the hotel.

I love work with people, and in my spare time I am involved with the charity Senior Concern, where I organize social
activities.

I have now completed my studies and will available for employment in the hotel industry from September.

WRITE YOUR OWN PERSONAL PROFILE.

There are a number of social media sites which encourage you to write a personal profile. A good example is LinkedIn.

TASK: Go to LinkedIn, or a similar site, and set up an account.

Write your personal profile (or summary) using the structure suggested in this unit.

Print it out and proofread it. When you are sure that the structure is good and there are no mistakes, publish it.

1.- Check the content

Brief description

Is it one or two (or maximum three) sentences long?

Does it say who you are/what you are/what you want to be?

Does it sound positive?

Achievements

Do you say where you went to school/college?

Do you state your most recent work experience?

Do you list any special achievements?

Personal skills

Do you give (relevant) ‘personality skills’, such as ‘good with people’?

Do you give (relevant) ‘career skills’, such as ‘sports photography’?

Hobbies and interests

Are your hobbies in any way relevant to the job/college course you are applying for? (It’s better if they are.)

2.- Write a second draft of your personal profile.

3.- Proof read your personal profile, using your personal proof reading checklist.
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