Saturday, January 28, 2023

BEGINNERS 2 COURSE, 2023, CLASS 1

 In our first lesson of our beginners 2 course, we revised some of the contents we learnt in the previous course. We also learnt some useful expressions we put into practice during the class.

¿Cómo se dice…? – How do you say…?

¿Cómo se escribe…? – How do you write…?

¿Qué significa…? – What does … mean?

Un momento, ¿puedes repetir? – Hold on a moment, can you repeat?

Más despacio, por favor – Slower, please.

Vamos a hablar… vamos a estudiar… vamos a repasar… vamos a aprender … - we are going to talk about… we are going to study… we are going to revise…. We are going to learn…

 

We revised some questions and we answered them in pairs. Then we shared our answers.

¿Cómo te llamas? – What’s your name?

¿De dónde eres? – Where are you from?

¿Dónde vives? – Where do you live?

¿Estás casado /casada? – Are you married?

¿Tienes hijos / hermanos o hermanas / nietos? – Do you have children/brothers and sisters/ grandchildren?

¿Cómo se llama tu hijo? – What’s your son’s name?

¿Cuántos años tiene tu hermano? – How old is your brother?

¿A qué te dedicas? – What do you do?

¿Hablas español? – Do you speak Spanish?

 

We revised the numbers from 1 to 20…

Los números

1.uno                                   11.once

2.dos                                   12.doce

3.tres                                   13.trece

4.cuatro                              14.catorce

5.cinco                                15.quince

6.seis                                   16.dieciséis

7.siete                                 17.diecisiete

8.ocho                                 18.dieciocho

9.nueve                              19.diecinueve

10.diez                                20.veinte

 

…and also the days of the week.

Los días de la semana

Lunes – Monday

Martes – Tuesday

Miércoles – Wednesday

Jueves – Thursday

Viernes – Friday

Sábado – Saturday

Domingo – Sunday

 

PRE-INTERMEDIATE COURSE, 2023, CLASS 1

 Class 1 – 23/01/23

 

We began by talking about New Year’s Resolutions from p.3

Propósitos del año nuevo – NY resolutions

Me siento estancado – I feel stuck

Pretendo beber – I intend to drink

FALSO AMIGO – “pretender” NEVER means “pretend”

Me hace mucha ilusión – it makes me excited, it gives me hope

FALSO AMIGO – “ilusión” here does not mean “illusion”

We answered some questions about new year resolutions

¿Qué propósitos hiciste en el pasado que no cumpliste? – what resolutions did you make in the past that you didn´t stick to.

Cumpir – to complete, to obey, to follow through with, to follow

We made a list of expressions that we use to talk about intentions

Pretendo hacer

Tengo la intención de hacer

Voy a hacer

Haré (simple future)

Planeo hacer

Mi intención es hacer

 

Some words that came up during our discussions…

La esperanza – hope

Es estresante – it is stressful

Quizás – maybe

Sano / saludable – healthy

Perder el tiempo – to waste time

 

Sunday, January 1, 2023

NEW YEAR SPANISH COURSES FOR ALL LEVELS

 Learn something new this year with our range of Spanish courses for all levels, including Leaving Cert. We have been running Spanish courses in Sligo for more than a decade and our success is built on focusing on real, practical, spoken Spanish for use in Spanish-speaking countries.


Location

Atlantic Technological University (ATU) (formerly Sligo IT).

Times and Duration of classes

All classes are from 7.30pm to 8.45, except the Leaving Cert course which is 5.45pm to 7pm.

All classes are 1 hour and 15 minutes long.

All courses are for 10 weeks.

Price

€130 for 10 weeks.

Discount €110 for the unwaged or students. Please email spanishinsligo@gmail.com for the discount.

Leaving cert course: €120

(Please note that our prices are exactly the same as pre-pandemic prices. In fact, they have not gone up in 10 years.)


COURSE GUIDE

We have five general levels and one course for the Leaving Cert: 1.Beginners, 2. Beginners 2, 3. Elementary, 4. Pre-Intermediate, 5. Intermediate, 6. Leaving Cert. Full details here...


1. BEGINNERS: For those who are starting from the beginning, a course that covers the basics – personal info, time, days of the week, food, directions etc. Tuesdays from January 24th.

THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL. PLEASE EMAIL spanishinsligo@gmail.com TO GET ON THE WAITING LIST.

 





2. BEGINNERS 2: For people who have done one or two courses before in Spanish, who have a little knowledge of the language but who want to learn more. Continuation of our Beginners course from last year. Mondays from January 23rd.

Book a place on the BEGINNERS 2 course using Paypal (no booking fee)

 


Book a place on BEGINNERS 2 course on Eventbrite (booking fee)


3. ELEMENTARY: For people who have done a few courses before in Spanish, who have some knowledge of the language but who would like to advance. A continuation of our Beginners Plus course from last year. Wednesdays from January 25th.

Book a place on the ELEMENTARY course using Paypal (no booking fee)

 


Book a place on the ELEMENTARY course on Eventbrite (booking fee)


4. PRE-INTERMEDIATE: For those who have been studying for a while, who can converse to a certain extent in Spanish but who need help with fluency and accuracy. Mondays from January 23rd.


Book a place on the PRE-INTERMEDIATE course using Paypal (no booking fee)

 


Book a place on the PRE-INTERMEDIATE course on Eventbrite (booking fee)


5. INTERMEDIATE: For those who can already converse in Spanish, who have been studying for a few years or who have spent time in a Spanish-speaking country. Our highest level, needs a certain degree of confidence. Tuesdays from January 24th.

Book a place on the INTERMEDIATE course using Paypal (no booking fee)

 

Book a place on the INTERMEDIATE course on Eventbrite (booking fee)


6. LEAVING CERT REVISION: With a focus on the oral exam, this course will cover all of the basic grammar necessary for the Leaving Cert Spanish exam, as well as giving plenty of speaking practice. Wednesdays at 5.45pm from January 25th.

Book a place on the LEAVING CERT course using Paypal (no booking fee)

 

Book a place on the LEAVING CERT course on Eventbrite (booking fee)

 

 

Saturday, December 3, 2022

INTERMEDIATE COURSE, 2022, CLASS 9

 Class 9

https://vimeo.com/421019241

In this class we looked at the film Naufragio y Supervivencia

Naufragio – shipwreck

Supervivencia – survival

Un barco / una nave  – a ship

Un barco incendiario – a fireship

Una tempestad – a storm

La flota – the fleet

Some vocab that came up…

A esas alturas – at that time

Un pirata – a pirate

Una herida – a wound, injury

Se siente deprimido – he feels depressed

Restaurar la única fe verdadera – to restore the one true faith

Muchos se ahogaron dentro de las naves – many drowned inside the ships

La tempestad ha amainado – the storm has abated

La invasión española fracasó – the invasion failed

Quiere rendirse – he wants to give up

 

 

BEGINNERS PLUS COURSE, 2022, CLASS 9

 This week we revised prepositions of place and objects by describing photos. 


Some sample answers: 


El reloj está entre la puerta y la ventana - the clock is between the door and the window

La bandera está en la pared - the flag is on the wall

El libro está al lado del bolígrafo - The book is beside the pen

El cuaderno está entre los diccionarios - the copybook is beside the dictionaries

La radio está al lado de los libros - the radio is beside the books

Las galletas están en el bote - the cookies are in the tin

Las revistas están debajo de la mesa - the magazines are under the table

Los diccionarios están encima de la mesa - the dictionaries are on the table

Hay seis sillas y siete mesas en la clase - there are six chairs and seven tables in the classroom.


Some new words: 

La guía de teléfonos - the phone book

la radio - the radio

el despertador - the alarm clock

el reloj - the clock, the watch

el paño - the cloth

los cuadros - the paintings

la alfombra - the rug

la impresora - the printer

la toalla - the towel

el florero - the vase

las flores - the flowers


PRE-INTERMEDIATE COURSE, 2022, CLASS 9

 

Class 9

In this class we talked about air travel and inflation

Los precios han subido – prices have risen

La inflación

Es una ciudad concurrida – it is a busy city

We looked at air travel…

Volar – to fly

Vuelo, vuelas, vuela, volamos…..

Un vuelo – a flight

We answered some questions…

 

1.              ¿Te gusta viajar en avión?

2.              ¿Es estresante o divertido?

3.              ¿Te preocupa tu “huella de carbono”?

4.              ¿Los vuelos son baratos ahora o caros?

Vocab

Estresante – stressful

Huella de carbono – carbon footprint

La tarjeta de embarque – the boarding pass

Embarcar – to board

La puerta – the gate

Una ida y vuelta – a return ticket

Una ida – a one way ticket

We listened to an audio about cheap flights and corrected the mistakes in the transcript

Un vuelo a Londres por €11,49.

Entre las innumerables ofertas que se pueden encontrar en la red, llama la atención que en algunos casos sea más barato viajar a Londres que coger un taxi de vuelta a casa.

En caso de que queramos volar desde Madrid a la ciudad del Támesis, el próximo 24 de febrero, podemos hacerlo por apenas €17, frente a los más de €70 de media que cuesta con las otras compañías tradicionales, como Iberia, British Airways o Aer Europa.

En caso de que la salida se realice desde el aeropuerto de Bilbao, la diferencia se multiplica por 16. Con Easyjet el viaje sale por €11,49, frente a los €350 que cuesta viajar con otras compañías.

Dentro de estos precios, siempre hay que tener en cuenta las ofertas puntuales que realizan las compañías, ya que los destinos más demandados permiten ofrecer mejores precios, pero en fechas señaladas como las fiestas navideñas, es muy complicado encontrar billetes económicos.

 

 

BEGINNERS´ COURSE 2022, CLASS 9

 This week we continued with the topic of directions and we worked on the dialogues on pages 21, 22 and 23: 


Escucha y repite: 

-Perdone, señor, ¿dónde está el casco antiguo? –Excuse me sir, where 's the city’s old part?

-Está muy cerca. Está a cinco minutos a pie, al final de esta calle. – It is very close. It 's five minutes on foot, at the end of this road.

-Perdone señora, ¿hay un restaurante por aquí? – Excuse me madam, is there a restaurant over here?

-Sí, hay un buen restaurante en la Calle Jaén. Siga todo recto y tome la segunda calle a la derecha. – Yes, there’s a good restaurant in Jaén St. Go straight and take the second road on the right.

-Perdone señor, ¿por dónde se va a la estación de trenes? –Excuse me sir, what’s the way to go to the train station?

-Suba la calle, hasta los semáforos. Tome la tercera calle a la izquierda, y la estación está a la derecha, en frente de la catedral. –Go up this road, until the traffic lights. Take the third road on the left and the train station i son the right, in front of the cathedral.

-Perdone señor, ¿La playa, está cerca? – Excuse me sir, is the beach near?

-Sí, está muy cerca. Siga todo recto y tome la primera calle a la izquierda. –Yes, it is very near. Go straight and take the first road on the left.


Listening exercises on page 22 (script on page 23).

Perdone señor, ¿la piscina está cerca? - Excuse me sir, is the swimming pool close?

Sí señora, está bastante cerca. – Yes madam, it is pretty close.

¿Va usted en coche o a pie? – Are you going by car or on foot?

Voy a pie. – I’m going on foot.

Bueno, baje la calle, y al final de esta calle tuerza a la derecha y la piscina está a la izquierda. –Well, go down this road and at the end of this road turn right and the swimming pool is on the left.

Perdone señora, ¿sabe donde hay una librería por aquí? – Excuse me madam, do you know if there’s a bookshop around?

Pues, baje la calle, tuerza a la izquierda y la librería está al lado de la panadería – Yes, go down the road, turn left and the bookshop is next to the bakery.

¿Está lejos de aquí? – Is it far from here?

Está a dos minutos a pie. – It is two minutes on foot.

Por favor, ¿dónde está Correos? – Excuse me, where is the post office?

¿Correos? Aquí mismo. A mano derecha. – The post office? Right here. On the right.

Por favor, ¿dónde está la piscina municipal? – Excuse me, where’s the public pool?

A ver, sigue todo recto, hasta llegar al semáforo. – Let me see, go straight until the traffic lights

Entonces, tuerce a la izquierda y luego a la derecha. – Then, turn left and then turn right.

Y está en la esquina, al final de la calle, a mano derecha. – And it is at the corner, at the end of the road, on the right.

Traduce y practica / translate and practice

1.¡Perdón! ¿Dónde está el banco, por favor? – Excuse me, where is the bank, please?

El banco está a la derecha – The bank is on the right.

¿A la derecha? Muchas gracias. – On the right? Thank you very much.

2.¡Perdone! ¿Dónde está la playa? – Excuse me, where is the beach?

Siga todo recto, y la playa está a la izquierda – Continue straight ahead and the beach i son the left.

3.¡Perdone! ¿Dónde está la iglesia de San Marcos, por favor? – Excuse me! Where is the church of San Marcos, please?

Tome la primera calle a la derecha y la iglesia está a la derecha – Take the first roa don the right and the church is on the right.

4.¿Dónde está la comisaría, por favor? – Where is the police station, please?

Suba esta calle y la comisaría está a la izquierda – Go up this road and the pólice station i son the left.

5.¡Oiga! ¿Hay un supermercado cerca de aquí? – Excuse me! Is there a supermarket near here?

Sí, hay un supermercado al lado del banco. – Yes, there is a supermarket next to the bank.



In the last part of the class, we worked on the map on pages 24 and 25: 

1.Siga todo recto, tome la primera calle a la izquierda y el banco está a la izquierda - Continue straight, take the first street on the left and the bank is on the left.

2.Continúe todo recto y el supermercado está a la derecha - Continue straight ahead and the supermarket is on the right. 

3.Siga todo recto, tome la tercera calle a la derecha y la iglesia está a la derecha. - Continue straight, take the third street on the right and the church is on the right.

4.Gire a la derecha y la comisaría está a la derecha - Turn right and the police station is on the right.

5.Siga todo recto, tome la segunda calle a la izquierda, después la primera a la derecha y la piscina está delante - Continue straight, take the second street on the left, then the first on the right and the swimming pool is in front of you.

6.Siga todo recto, tome la cuarta calle a la derecha y el museo está a la izquierda - Continue straight, take the fourth street on the right and the museum is on the left.

7.Tome la tercera calle a la izquierda y la primera a la izquierda y la tienda está a la derecha - take the third street on the left and the first on the left and the shop is on the right.

8.Continúe todo recto y Correos está a la izquierda - Continue straight ahead and the post office is on the left. 

9.Siga todo recto, tome la tercera calle a la derecha y la primera a la izquierda y la Iglesia de San Francisco está a la derecha - Continue straight ahead, take the third street on the right and the first on the left and the Church of San Francisco is on the right. 

10.Siga todo recto, tome la cuarta calle a la izquierda y después gire a la derecha y el cine está a la derecha. - Continue straight, take the fourth street on the left and then turn right and the cinema is on the right. 

11.Siga todo recto, tome la segunda calle a la derecha y la farmacia está a la derecha del café - Continue straight, take the second street on the right and the pharmacy is on the right of the café. 



Beginners 2 - class 8 (11/06/24)

We start the class with a couple of audio to review the physical descriptions. We also reviewed clothing vocabulary and learned colours. The...