14.- COMPLAINTS FOR THE COUNCIL IN BERMEO

As we said it in class, the town council of Bermeo should have built a sidewalk or pavement to come to the school on foot, from downtown. Students have to walk on the road itself, and as cars run fast it might be the cause of an accident someday.

The bus company Bizkaibus could have extended the bus route, (for buses running from Gernika to Bermeo) so as it would reach the language school. That way, many students coming from Gernika wouldn't have to walk from the bus stop to the school. But , still they decided not to do it. The reasons are yet unknown to us.

Students of a language school must dedicate many hours to their personal study. For that purpose, the school will provide, or ought to provide for a library. Ours is still under renewal works. In some weeks time, it must be ready. We can't wait longer for that. It is a must for a school. However, the town council could provide for books and audio-video material to be lent to students. This is just a suggestion.

Students must not park their cars in front of the school, in the places where there are no painted lines. It is against the rules. If the policemen come, you may get a fine, or your car might be towed away or might get inmobilized. The council, or the Diputación, could have painted more lines for us to park our cars, and they could have painted a zebra crossing, in such a way that cars coming from Sollube would reduce their speed. One of these days, there may be an accident here.

I am sure you can think of many complaints about the city of Bermeo and our school. Please head your complaints to : b122008blog@gmail.com and make sure you use the appropriate modal verbs. Together with the complaints, we would like to have the proposals or new ideas. (use CAN, COULD or COULD HAVE to state them). Let's be positive!!

13.- NO CLASS ON NOVEMBER 24TH

We celebrate Begoña Bilbao day at the school. It is the school festivity. For that reason, classes from Monday November 24 will be taught on Friday November 28th. Optional speaking classes of the day will be cancelled.

If you happen to know who Begoña Bilbao was, and why she was important, please leave a message here.

12.- HOUSING QUIZ

Starting on november 18 we will deal with the problem of HOUSING. If you wish to enhance your vocabulary, click on this link to make the quiz.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1326_housing

Do you own a house? a semi-detatched house? a terraced house?
Are you one of those modern property owners who owns a loft or an attic?
What type of house do wish to buy? a houseboat, a mobile home, a penthouse, a mansion ....?

What is the trend in decorating a new house?

Please leave your comments here.

11.- Was it a success or was it embarrasing?

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made it to the White House at the end. Many in Spain, claim that he is not entitled to be in a meeting of the 21 richest countries in the world. Will this meeting be useful for our economy? Are we making a fool of ourselves? What is your opinion about this?

10.- THE YOUNGEST COUNTRY ON EARTH

If you wish to know about the youngest country on Earth, please click on the link below:

http://www.newzealand.com/travel/International/

9.- STEPS TO WRITE A GOOD COMPOSITION

A.- Make a brainstorming of ideas in your mind, think of the things you really want to say, and which ones you would like to avoid.

B.- Take your coursebook, your workbook, your notes, the dictionary, internet, or any other source so as to look up words, ideas etc...

C.- Follow a lay-out in which you have to make sure there is a BEGINNING , a BODY, and a clear CONCLUSION. Paragraphing is important.

D.- Although it takes time, writing a draft can be helpful, because you may check the neccessary changes that should be made for it to look perfect.

E.- Check your draft: Is the text fully understandable at a first reading? Are all words in the sentence in the appropriate order? Are sentences well linked by means of linkers? Did I use correct and varied verb tenses or syntactical structures?(passives, conditionals, relative clauses,etc..) Did I chose rich and varied vocabulary? Is it nice to read? Is it long enough?

F.- Now write your final composition. It should have: a title, and a good lay-out of paragraphs. Good handwriting is desirable. (we are not doctors anymore, are we?)

G.- As regards design, sometimes one picture can make your presentation different and nice. It is your decission.

8.- PHRASAL VERBS RELATED TO TRAVELLING

SET OUT- Leave for, head for, begin a journey
SET SAIL- begin a journey (usually by the sea)
SET OFF- Begin a journey
TAKE OFF- for aircrafts, go to the air
SEE OFF- say goodbye
TURN IN- go to sleep (usually after a long journey)
GET somewhere- arrive in somewhere
GET ALONG- to cope, be able to manage by ourselves
GET BY- manage to ... (get by in french, etc...)
GET AROUND- walk, and move in a city by using public transport
GET AWAY- go on vacation (to go on a getaway, can also be said)
GET BACK- return from a vacation
GET INTO A CAR- ride a car
GET OFF A TRAIN/ A HORSE/ A BICYCLE- end the lift
GET OUT OF A CAR/BUS/TRAIN- go out
GET OVER A HILL/ A MOUNTAIN RIDGE: cross
GET THROUGH: communicate to somebody on the phone. "I couldn't get through to you, you phone did not work properly."
TO MAKE A JOURNEY- to travel
TO MAKE FOR- head towards. "they made for Ayers Rock in a van"
TO MAKE OUT- be able to see a sight from a distance.
TO MAKE somewhere: to arrive on time somewhere. " I cannot make the class, I missed the bus"
TO GO FOR A WALK: walk in your leisure time
TO GO ON FOOT: walk
TO KEEP GOING: not to stop
TO HANG AROUND: be somewhere without doing anything, remain somewhere
TO GO DOWN: The sun goes down
TO HANG OUT: Spend time, walk with no destination, be somewhere having a chat and relaxing