Lesson 4. Asking for directions

Being polite is very important for the English speaking community. Therefore, remember to say 'Please' and a 'Thank you' to show gratitude and politeness. Try asking your partner the following directions:

Susan:      Excuse me sir, is there an underground station near here?

John:        Yes, Tetuan square is very near here. You have to go straight on until you find  the Tetuan roundabout. The underground station is there.

Susan:      Thank you very much.

John:        You're welcome.

Here are some useful phrases and expressions:


(First,) go down this street (for ____ blocks).
(Then,) turn left/right at the traffic light.
(After that,) go straight on _____ Street until you get to the ______.
(When you get to the _____,) turn left/right again.
(Then,) stay on_______Avenue for about _______ yards/meters.
It's on your left, next to the __________. You can't miss it!

STREET:                                                          Calle
ROAD:                                                             Carretera
AVENUE:                                                        Avenida
MOTORWAY:                                                 Autopista
DUAL CARRIAGE WAY:                               Autovía
TRAFFIC LIGHT:                                           Semáforo
SIGN:                                                               Señal

GO STRAIGHT ON:                                       Sigue recto.
GO DOWN/UP (this street)                             Baja/Sube (esta calle)
TURN LEFT/RIGHT:                                       Gira a la izquierda.
GO BACK:                                                      Vuelve
TURN BACK:                                                 Da la vuelta.
CROSS:                                                           Cruza

ON THE LEFT:                                               A la izquierda.
ON THE RIGHT:                                            A la derecha.
AT THE ROUNDABOUT:                              En la rotonda.

IT'S THE FIRST STREET ON THE LEFT:             Es la primera calle a la izquierda.
TAKE THE SECOND STREET ON THE RIGHT: Toma la segunda calle a la derecha.

GET ON/OFF THE BUS                                Subir/Bajar del bus.
GET INTO/OUT OF THE CAR                     Subir/Bajar del coche. 

I'M LOST                                                        Estoy perdido.    

CAN/COULD YOU REPEAT THAT?          ¿Puedes/Podrías repetirlo?
SORRY, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND YOU.   Lo siento, no te he entendido.

Here's a list with the most typical questions to ask for directions with the Spanish translation.

WHERE IS THE POST OFFICE? -----------------------------------> ¿Dónde está la oficina de correos?
COULD YOU TELL ME THE WAY TO THE SUPERMARKET?---> ¿Me prodría decir cómo se va al super?
COULD YOU SHOW ME OUR POSITION IN THE MAP ? -------> ¿Podría enseñarme en el mapa nuestra posición?
IS THE MAIN STREET NEAR HERE? ----------------------------->  ¿Está la calle principal cerca de aquí?
 

Do the worksheet "Could you tell me the way to...?

In this website you can find speaking activities.

What prepositions of place do you know? in, on, above, below, behind, against, beside, among and around are taught in the following video.

Lesson 3. ASI & QUASI Questions. Basic Vocabulary presentation

Hi! How are you doing? 

Here's another lesson for you to improve your English. 

In the first lesson you learnt how to introduce yourself and how to use the verb "be" correctly.

In the second lesson you learnt how to talk about your life and about other people's routines as well.

You also learnt to use the Present Simple Tense. Remember that it is only the 3rd person of singular which suffers a change. You also practised asking and answering questions.

REMEMBER!!

Yes/No Questions (or ASI questions)  Auxiliary + Subject + Verb in Infinitive
Do you have a car?  Yes, I do / No, I don't.
Does she speak Catalan? Yes, she does / No, she doesn't.
Did you meet your friends last Saturday? Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.

Wh-Questions (or QUASI questions) Question Word + Auxiliary + Subject + Verb in Infinitive
What does she want? She wants a dog.
When did they get home? They got home by midnight.
How do you say "mesa" in English? It's table.

Here are the most frequent question words:

WHO   ---   QUIÉN
WHAT ---    QUÉ
WHEN ----  CUÁNDO
WHY ------ POR QUÉ
HOW ------ CÓMO
WHICH ---  CUÁL

Today, we are going to revise it all and learn basic vocabulary needed in everyday situations.

Let's start filling the gaps in this conversation. When you finish filling the gaps ACT IT OUT with your partner. READY??? HERE IT IS!!!!

A.     Hi! Nice to _______ you, I’m Susan.

B.      Hello! Nice to ______ you, I’m John.

A.     How are you doing?

B.      Good. How are you doing?

A.     Okay. I’m a little bit tired these days.

B.      What _____ you do?

A.     I’m a ______________.

B.      Do you __________ in Barcelona?

A.     Yes, I _____.

B.      ______ old are you?

A.     I’m _______________ years old.

B.      ______ you married?

A.     Yes, I _____.

B.      Do you like going shopping?

A.     _______, ____________  (Yes, I do / Yes, I love it / No, I don’t / No, I hate it).

B.      ______ you like going to the cinema?

A.     _______, _____________.

B.      ______’s your favourte film director?

A.     ________________.

B.      Oh! I like him/her too!

A.     You know many things about me and I only know your name… Tell me, what do you ______?

B.      _______________.

A.     Do you __________ going cycling?

B.      ______, ___________.

A.     Do you ________ in a city?

B.      Yes, I _________ in Barcelona.

A.     What a coincidence!

B.      Yes, we could _____ to the cinema together. Now there’s _____________ (name of film) on and I ________ it’s a good one.

A.     I ___________ (not know). I’d like to go to the theatre. _____ you like the theatre?

B.      Of course! I’m a cultural manager, I told you!

A.     He he, you are right.

B.      To the theatre then!

A.     ________ play would you like to see?

B.      ________________________.

   Now let's learn the numbers. Watch the following video, stop it after each number to repeat. SING THE SONG. and Have Fun!! ;-)

    You learnt the cardinal numbers which we use to count. 

   If you want to learn the ordinal numbers, used to talk about dates (2nd March 1997, for example) and to order events and things (The first day I visited the Cathedral, the second day I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art and to the Chocolate Museum...), visit the following link and read the information. Finally, do the exercice at the bottom of the page. You have to write the number you see.

   Here's a video with the vocabulary of the places in a city.

This vocabulary will lead us to the 4rth lesson.

Lesson 2. Describing a person. Daily routines. Present Simple

PRESENT SIMPLE

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS

ADJECTIVE RULES

DESCRIPTION OF A PERSON (WRITING ASSIGNMENT)

YOUR DAILY ROUTINE

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

PRETTY WOMAN SONG

CLOSE YOUR EYES SONG

 

Lesson 1. Introducing Oneself.

Lesson 1 Introducing Oneself

Watch this video and practise introducing yourself to a partner.

Here are some practical questions and answers which appear on the video. Pay attention to the pronunciation.

Hi there!

Pleased to meet you / Good to meet you.

What's your name?         My name is Alice. / I'm Alice.

How are you doing?        Ok, how are you doing?

How are you doing?       Good.

How do you do?              How do you do?

 

When you meet someone for the first time, you may want to get some personal information about that person. Here are the most frequent questions.

Where are you from?                     I'm from Barcelona.

How old are you?                           I'm 35 years old.

What do you do?                            I teach English in a Primary school./ 

                                                        I'm a teacher.

Are you married?                           Yes, I am / No, I'm not.

Do you have children?                    Yes, I do. / No, I don't.

What's your favourite season?       It's spring/summer/autumn/winter.

Listen to the following recording:

 

Now record yourself introducing yourself to a partner and interviewing him/her. Listen to it and try to improve the pronunciation :)

Now that you can speak a little English, learn a bit more... Look at the underlined words in the examples above. Click on them to go to explanations or activities.

Enjoy them!!