TIPS FOR AUTONOMOUS LEARNING

Natalia López Zamarvide,

CIFE Juan de Lanuza

(Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/

natalialzam@gmail.com

https://natalialzam.wordpress.com

/2015/03/01/eoi-calatayud/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Methodology

• Real materials (mostly)

• Free resources

• Writing down, recording

• Making the most of time

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

• What’s my level of English?

• Reading

• Listening

• Writing

• Speaking

• Vocabulary / grammar

• Don’t be a tourist

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

IMMERSION

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Use English in everyday life

–Mobile phone settings/

computer…

–Recipes

–Any internet search

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

1. MY LEVEL OF ENGLISH

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

1. Level of English http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/cual-es-mi-nivel-en-un-idioma/

• Common European Framework of Reference for

Languages (CEFR)

• DIALANG

• Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa

(INEE) -preguntas de comprensión (desde A1

a B2)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Other tests

• https://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2015/01/

21/duolingo-test-center-cual-es-mi-nivel-

de-ingles/

• http://www.britishcouncil.org/aptis/prepar

ation-material (Aptis, British Council

certificate)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

2. READING COMPREHENSION

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

• Reading:

– To understand

– get information

– To improve writing / speaking

– For fun

• making notes, underlining,

highlighting>>>> incorporating expressions

into your vocabulary

• Types of texts:

– news

– literary

– pedagogical

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

news

• http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/

• http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/

• http://www.newsenglishlessons.com/ (B1)

• http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ (B1)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Pedagogical texts

• http://www.gcflearnfree.org/reading/readin

gcomprehension

• http://www.eslfast.com/

• http://www.5minuteenglish.com/reading.htm

• http://www.world-

english.org/english_reading.htm

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Literary texts

• http://www.world-english.org/stories.htm

(Classic short stories)

• Roald Dahl: Lamb to the Slaughter / The

Landlady

• Peter Ackroyd

(http://literature.britishcouncil.org/pete

r-ackroyd) (B2+)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

3. LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Watch TV online

• http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2013/12/1

6/ver-programas-tv-otros-paises-por-

internet/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Real videos subtitled in

English

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Podcasts

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts

• http://learningenglish.voanews.com/podcast

/0.html

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

BBC PODCASTS (A2-B1)

http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/bbc-podcasts/

• The English We Speak

• 6-minute English

• 6-minute Grammar

• 6-minute Vocabulary

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

BBC PODCASTS (B2) http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/bbc-podcasts/

– The Listening Project

– From Our Own Correspondent

– Woman’s Hour

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Digital radio

• Phone-ins

• News bulletins

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Songs

• Musixmatch

• http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/10/23/musixmatch-lyrics-

player/)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

• http://musicenglish.co.uk/

• http://www.lyricstraining.com/

• http://www.lyricsgaps.com/

• http://www.its-

teachers.com/interact/songs/default.asp

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Films

• http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/pelicu

las-para-aprender-ingles/

• http://www.yourlocalcinema.com/ (trailers

subtitled in English for people with hearing loss)

• http://www.simpleenglishvideos.com/

• http://cinema.clubefl.gr/

• http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/eslvideo/index.html

• http://www.multimedia-english.com/contenidos/listado/videos

• http://dvd-subtitles.com/trailers.html

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

TV shows

• http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2013/09/1

7/series-para-aprender-ingles/

• Watch TV shows(online; free; English

subtitles): http://ororo.tv/en

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

News

• http://www.newsinlevels.com/

(Euronews,transcription)

• http://www.englishblog.com/ (words that appear on

the media, updated almost daily)

• http://www.reuters.com/news/video/reuters-tv

(transcription)

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/ (BBC news for

children / teenagers- easier to understand)

• http://www.cnn.es/studentnews/ (transcribed and

subtitled)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

listening comprehension

exercises

• http://www.listenaminute.com/

• http://www.listen-and-write.com/

• http://www.examenglish.com/index.html

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

4. WRITING

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

DOs AND DON’Ts

Don’t just answer the

question

show off!

Don’t think about what you

want to say in Spanish (the

exact sentence) and then

translate

•What can I say in English?

•What ideas do I want to

express?

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Tips for writing

• There’s no need to give your true opinion

about a topic>>> show your strategies, and

your level of English

• Draft- plan your writing (structure, guide

your text towards where you want it to go)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Tips for writing

• Simpler sentences than in Spanish (less

subordination)

• Use commas, colons, stops, full stops

• Group ideas in paragraphs

• Coherence inside the paragraph/between

paragraphs

• Use links properly

• Proper use of grammar and vocabulary

• Self-correction / external correction

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Diccionary: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

• Bilingüe / MONOLINGÜE

• British / American / Learner’s / Advanced…

• Phonetics/ pronunciation

• Take the meaning / word you need (not

necessarily the first one)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

LANGUAGE EXCHANGE ver también: http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/para-profesores-en-apuros/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

5. SPEAKING

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Tips

• Record yourself speaking

• Think in English/ talk to yourself in

English

• Speaking groups (people learning)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Language exchange with native

speakers

• Skype, e-mails, chats…

– http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/ (voice and text

Exchange)

– http://www.conversationexchange.com/ (live practice,

pen-pals and voice / text chats)

– http://www.sharedtalk.com/ (voice / text exchanges)

– Other websites:

http://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/your-top-10-

language-exchange-websites-for-speaking-english-

fluently/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

PRONUNCIATION

• Wrong pronunciation can hinder

understanding

• http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

• http://www.forvo.com/ (native speakers

have recorded themselves pronuncing words,

names, place names…)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Tips for the exam

• = writing- use expressions that will make

you “look good” (show your level)

• Monologue: use of discourse markers (now

then, I mean, you know…).

• Interaction: it’s not 2 monologues, one

after another!

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Expressions to use in an oral

test

• https://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2015/02/

25/expressions-to-use-in-a-speaking-test-

monologue-interaction/

• http://mythatsenglish.blogspot.com.es/2014

/11/madrid-teacher-talking-about-

classifieds.html

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Interaction

• question tags, to engage the other speaker in the

conversation / give the floor / ask opinion

• Expressions such as don’t you think?

• Expresssions such as no, not really (instead of a

plain “no”)

• Showing agreement: definitely, absolutely…

• Showing disagreement: I’m sorry to disagree but…

• Show that you agree partly, but still…: I see your

point, but…

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Usual topics

• http://englishinguiaintermedio.wordpress.c

om/2014/01/21/topics-for-the-speaking-

test/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

6. VOCABULARY

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

• Supports production

• Active & passive vocabulary

• Vocabulary in context: lists without a

context, not very useful

• Sources: texts, articles, films, series,

radio, songs …

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

How?

• Writing down expressions / jotting them down

(notebook, Evernote…)

• Flashcards: http://quizlet.com/

• Mind maps:

– https://bubbl.us/ https:/

– /www.text2mindmap.com/

– http://popplet.com/

• Visual dictionary: http://visual.merriam-

webster.com/index.php

• How many words do you know?:

http://testyourvocab.com/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de

Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Expressions in context

• http://fraze.it/: find expressions, set

phrases, in real contexts

• Oxford Online Collocation Dictionary

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

7. GRAMMAR

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Support for skills

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/6min_

gram (BBC 6-minute grammar, podcast)

• http://www.agendaweb.org/

• http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/

• http://www.roadtogrammar.com/welcome/winlo

ad.swf

• http://autoenglish.org/basicgrammar.htm

• Use of English : http://www.flo-

joe.co.uk/fce/students/tests/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

• http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/

apps/learnenglish-grammar-uk-edition

• https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/murphys-

english-grammar-in/id848215354?mt=8

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Resources organized by

categories

• https://delicious.com/natalialzam/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

8. DON’T BE A TOURIST

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

• “solo se aprende el idioma yendo al país”

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

LISTENING

• Watch a radio / TV show being recorded:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/tickets/ (UK)

• http://www.applausestore.com/home (UK)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

LISTENING & SPEAKING

• Greeters:

• http://www.globalgreeternetwork.info/

• http://www.londongreeters.org/

• Google the name of the town / city you’re

going to visti + greeter, for example,

“Canterbury Greeters”.

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Londres: Ragged School Museum http://www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Londres: Alternative London

Tour http://www.alternativeldn.co.uk/

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Free walking tours

• Londres:

– http://www.gotomidtown.co.uk/walks/

– Free walking tours in Paddington:

http://www.inpaddington.com/walks

• Hastings:

– Old Hastings Preservation Society

• Bath:

– http://www.bathguides.org.uk/when-where.html

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Free guided tours (museums)

• http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/f/free-talks-tours/

• http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-

britain/daily-activities-and-events/free-daily-

guided-tours

• http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/planning_you

r_visit/free_tours_and_talks.aspx

• See museum websites

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

http://watchinenglish.blogspot.com.es/2013/10/the-story-of-keep-calm-and-carry-on.html

http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/

natalialzam@gmail.com

Natalia López Zamarvide

Asesora C. lingüística

CIFE “Juan de Lanuza”

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan

de Lanuza (Zaragoza)