Pub quiz with 1st Intermediate group 112 :-)

I wish I had taken photos of all four quizzes but I guess one is better than none. Love to all!

Thursday Dec 20th, 1.15pm. The quiz has just started!

Background, from left to right: Salva, Míriam, Vero, Ana, Laura, Marcos, Toni, Ximet, Cris, Álvaro, Inés and Alberto

Foreground, from left to right: Maite, Enrique, Ricardo and Mª José

2nd Intermediate: Addictions and 'used to'

Homework for this week: Log in our Voxopop talkgroup and discuss addictions, obsessions, etc, using used to to talk about habits in the past and establish a contrast with what you do now using usually and be used to. There's a sample here. If you can't see the 'Play All' button when you get there, click on the refresh button of your browser. / Si no ves el botón 'Play All' al llegar ahí, haz clic en el botón de actualizar de tu navegador.

Please don't procrastinate this as we'll be talking about this for just a week or two.

Here's a transcript of my discussion in case you need it:

I started smoking at 14. At first I was on one or two cigarettes a week, but it soon became something a lot more serious. By 15 I smoked half a packet a day. I was so hooked on nicotine I used to go to bus stops to collect the cigarette butts people dropped so I could roll a new cigarette using that tobacco! As I didn't get pocket money from my parents, being able to buy cigarettes was one of the main reasons why I started doing little temporary jobs like babysitting or handout advertising. In my 20s I didn’t use to smoke less than a packet a day, particularly during my time at University. 

However, over 15 years ago I started taking Bible lessons and learnt that Christians should keep their minds and bodies clean. The fact that it mattered to God gave me the motivation and willpower I lacked to give up smoking. Today, I don't even miss it. I usually see others smoke and I don’t envy them at all. In fact, I’m so used to being a nonsmoker that when I sometimes come across an old photo of me holding a cigarette it just feels so odd! I say to myself 'Wow, look, it's true. I used to smoke!'. I’m so glad I’m not a cigarette addict anymore.

1st Intermediate: Transport + comparatives & superlatives

Homework for this week: Log in our Voxopop talkgroup and discuss means of transport using comparatives and superlatives. There's a sample here. If you can't see the 'Play All' button when you get there, click on the refresh button of your browser. / Si no ves el botón 'Play All' al llegar ahí, haz clic en el botón de actualizar de tu navegador.
 

Don't leave this for later. We'll be talking about this for a week or two only!

You might want to have a transcript of my discussion:

I wouldn’t say that travelling by bike in Valencia is a particularly dangerous thing to do. I’ve been a cyclist for many years, and in my experience, most motorists and motorcyclists are careful not to endanger the cyclists. However, it is true that although there aren’t many accidents with cyclists involved, when there’s one it’s often fatal. In any case, travelling by bike in Valencia is safer than travelling by moped, which is very popular with teenagers. These young motorists take too many risks, which causes really bad accidents every week.

As for travelling by car, I find cycling’s not only the healthiest means of transport I can think of, but it’s also a lot more exciting than driving. I got my driving license in May, in fact, I’ve been driving to work since September, and it gets rather boring at times, as most of my driving takes place on the motorway where things are quite monotonous, so what I do is listen to music, audiobooks, and radio stations to stay focused. Before I got my license I travelled to work by train, which is a lot cheaper than travelling by car, but not as convenient. Driving to work is saving me over 10 hours a week!