How to ace a job interview!

Some good tips on how to ace a job interview!

Job Hunting Skills

Watch this presentation with information that will help you improve your job hunting skills.
Interesting links:
Sample cover letter: Outline
Sample cover letter: Requesting an opening
Sample cover letter: Responding to an advertisement
Cover letter email samples

Compare and Contrast

A Comparison or Contrast essay is an essay in which you either compare something or contrast something. A comparison essay is an essay in which you emphasize the similarities, and a contrast essay is an essay in which you emphasize the differences.

• Connectors that show comparison (similarities):

              ƒIn additon       ƒCorrespondingly        Compared to        Similarly        Just as        As well as 

              Likewise          Same as                  As...as                At the same time

• Connectors that show contrast (differences):

              However        On the contrary        On the other hand        Even though        In contrast
              Although        Unlike                     Conversely                  Meanwhile           Not as (so)... as
              Comparative adjectives

Some worksheets to practice the use of these transition words:

• Compare and Contrast Transitions
• Transitional words and phrases

How to write a comparison/contrast essay:
Paragraph 1: State what the topic is about and say the subjects have similarities and differences. Let the reader know your preference. There are several different ways to write the first paragraph of an essay. The thesis sentence will be the last in the paragraph and should be soecific (related to the topic). A couple of examples: Online and paper-based portfolios - What the World Eats
Paragraph 2: Mention some of the similarities. Use expressions like - One similarity - Another point they have in common - A further similarity - Also, or any of the ones previously mentioned.
Paragraph 3: Mention some of the differences. Use expressions like -One difference is - Another difference is - A further dissimilarity - Also... or any of hte ones previously mentioned
Paragraph 4:Decide if there were more similarities or differences between the 2. State which of the options you prefer and give at least 3 reasons to justify your choice. You need to write at least 3 sentences to explain your choice.

Compare and Contrast Structures:
Compare

Both	Both New York City and Boston are on the East coast of the USA.
Each	Each city has its own Universities.
Neither	Neither city has a soccer team.
Neither… nor	Neither NYC nor Boston has high mountains.

Contrast

Not as... as	Boston is not as cold as NYC
Comparative adjectives	NYC is bigger than Boston.

OVER TO YOU!!

Here is an example and a graphic organiser you can use, and some topics to practice:

1. Vacationing in the City or at the Beach
2. Big city or Small Cit
3. Eating Fresh Foods or Canned Foods
4. Backpacking or Staying in Hotels
5. Aerobic Training verses Anaerobic Training
6. Stick Shift or Automatic
7. Two Great European Cities, Paris and London
8. Mac or PC
9. Vacationing at the Beach or in the Mountains

And an answer sheet with a checklist.

Verb tenses

Verb tenses, explanations. Uses and structure.

The following website contains information on verb tenses, as well as exercises to practice: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html
Table of English tenses, with examples, and interactive exercises.
Another website with explanations and exercises: English Tenses
Some other websites to get more practice:

• ESL Games Plus
• Mixed past tenses, exercises

Passive Voice

A brief explanation. Usage of passive voice and how to change from active to passive voice:

• Grammar: Verb voices
• Active vs. passive voice

Some websites with exercises:

• From active to passive
• Passive voice, simple present
• Passive voice, exercises
• Passive voice, quiz 1
• Passive voice, quiz 2

The second languages of every part of the world in an incredible infographic!

The website MoveHub.com is a resource for people looking to move abroad.

It has released this eye-opening infographic that shows the second language of every region across the globe. Some are rather predictable, like Canada's knowledge of French. 

But others are very telling about the histories of certain regions and how our global story has played out over hundreds of years.

Take a look at what the website compiled. Click to read more.

Big Data, Small World

An intertesting TED Talk about data mining by Kirk Borne

Differences between Macs and PCs

Text adapted from: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/macs/10-differences-between-macs-and-pcs.htm, by Clint Pumphrey

Mac vs. PC: The real differences

The burning rivalry between Mac and PC is one of the most storied rivalries in the history of technology — ruining friendships, bringing down corporations and inspiring some very creative commercials — but do we truly understand the fundamental difference between a Windows PC and a Macintosh? I’m sure many of you do, but for those who don’t have a grasp of the finer details, Computerphile has put together a short video primer explaining how Macs and PCs differ.

Professor Tom Rodden begins by discussing computer systems in their most basic form. You start with the physical hardware, then an operating system, then the applications on that operating system and finally the windowing system which the user directly interacts with. Of course, the way we interact with our computers has changed drastically over the years, but the basic interactions remains the same.

Moving on to the advent of the Macintosh computer, Rodden explains that historically, Microsoft has been a software company. The Surface tablets are the first hardware built by Microsoft in quite some time. Apple, on the other hand, controls both the hardware and the software in its computer business. This means that Apple can “optimize and protect” its computers in ways that Microsoft can’t.

Apple’s operating system can therefore make presumptions about the hardware it will be functioning on because Apple can extensively test its operating system with every piece of hardware it releases. Microsoft doesn’t have this luxury, as dozens of manufacturers create hardware for Windows. This is where device drivers come into play, and why certain accessories or programs might be incompatible from one Windows computer to another.

The obvious downside to siding with Apple is that you’ll only ever have one machine to choose from. This leads to inflated prices, which is why an $1,099 iMac is seen as a bargain. OS X and iOS are both regularly lambasted for bring closed off in comparison to other mobile and desktop operating systems as well. You have more freedom on Windows to customize both hardware and software than you ever will on a Mac.

All of this may sound redundant to those of you who understand the technical distinctions between Macs and PCs, but everyone else should take a few minutes to watch the video above.

From http://bgr.com/2014/06/26/differences-between-mac-and-pc/

By Jacob Siegal

Are you a Mac person or a PC person?

by Column Five Media.

Work Abroad

How studying or working abroad makes you smarter!

2º de Bachillerato - Unit 1 Extra Worksheets

Unit 1 - Reinforcement
Unit 1 - More Practice

Click, baby, Click!!

Tim Berners-Lee: A Magna Carta for the web

Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web 25 years ago. So it's worth a listen when he warns us: There is a battle ahead. Eroding net neutrality, filter bubbles and centralizing corporate control all threaten the web's wide-open spaces. It's up to users to fight for the right to access and openness. The question is, What kind of Internet do we want?

Leonardo DiCaprio demands UN to take climate change seriously

"None of it is hysteria. It's a fact"

English for IT

Here are a couple of videos with some useful vocabulary for IT.

The sounds of British English

Here is a British Council phonemic chart you can use to practice pronunciation. You can download it to your computer as well!!
Just click on the chart to access the website!

Escuela Oficial de Idiomas

Abierto el plazo de preinscripción en las Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas de Madrid.
Plazo: 22 de abril al 9 de mayo (ambos inclusive).
Para obtener más información y acceder a las páginas web de las Escuelas Oficiales de Madrid haz clic aquí.

Plazos de Solicitud de Admisión en las EEOOII

Se han publicado los plazos de presentación de solicitud de admisiónpara las Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas de Madrid.
La documentación podrá presentarse entre el 22 de abril y el 9 de mayo de 2014, ambos inclusive.
Podéis consultar la información más detallada en el BOCM del 1 de abril de 2014.

Becas para la participación en programa intensivo de inmersión lingüística en inglés

Becas para la participación en un programa intensivo de inmersión lingüística en inglés en España

Convocadas becas para la participación en un programa intensivo de inmersión lingüística
en inglés en España, destinadas a estudiantes de Bachillerato, de Grado 
Medio de Formación Profesional, de Artes Plásticas y Diseño, de Enseñanzas
Deportivas, de Enseñanzas Profesionales de Música y Danza y de Idiomas de
Nivel Intermedio y Avanzado.
Plazo: 20 días hábiles desde el 11 de marzo de 2014.

Podéis consultar la convocatoria aquí.

Programa de Inmersión Lingüística en inglés para alumnos

Programa de Inmersión Lingüística destinado al alumnado del último ciclo de la Educación Primaria y del primer ciclo de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. Se convocan, en régimen de concurrencia competitiva, 2.200 ayudas para la participación en una de las colonias de dos semanas de duración, organizadas por el Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte durante el mes de julio de 2014.
El plazo de presentación es de 15 días hábiles a partir del 26 de febrero de 2014.

Podéis consultar la convocatoria pinchando aquí.

Food Pyramid

Look at the food pyramid. Do you think the foods you eat every day are healthy?

Imagine you are a congressional committee responsible for recommending what the government should do to fight the obesity epidemid and regulate the fast food industry. Here are some ideas:

1. Limit restaurant hours
2. Sales tax on fast food
3. require that warning labels are posted on food packaging / restaurant (like the one we find on tobacco)
4. require that alternative healthy choices be offered...

Do you think thease are good ideas, can you think of any other ideas?

Fast facts about Fast food

You've watched the documentary Supersize Me! Now, please have a look at the  following infographics about fast food and discuss the questions below.

• Do you ever eat in fast food restaurants? Why / Why not?
• Do you think fast food restaurants are responsible for making people fat?
• If fast food is unhealthy, should it be banned or restricted? Is eating it a matter of personal choice?

An airline commercial that's gone viral on Youtube: real-time giving

Watch the video and read about it here.