Inforum Warm Up Intermediate: Recent Episodes
Inforum WarmUp Intermediate
Welcome back to the final blogcast of the Inforum Intermediate Warm Up course!
We hope that you have enjoyed learning with us and that you will continue on to try the upper intermediate course – a good challenge. The owner, Simon, also told me that he hopes you’ve learnt a lot about Australia and feel connected to our school! He also said that he was looking forward to meeting you all in person!
Oh, what grammar did I just use there? You’re right, reported speech!
But don’t worry, this blogcast isn’t just about reported speech – it is about something far more enjoyable…
Past perfect AND reported speech
These are two grammar points that are often quite difficult, and that’s okay!
Due to ‘going back’ rule – we frequently use past perfect in reported speech. Here are some examples:
Direct: What did you say about me to the coppers?
Reported: She asked me what I had said about her to the coppers.
Direct: I did my homework.
Reported: She said she’d done her homework.
Direct: I’ve loved you since I first laid eyes on you.
Reported: He told me that he’d loved me since he had first laid eyes on me.
See, when someone uses past tense in direct speech, you must report that in past perfect! And very often people do say things in past tense – that’s why these two grammar points together are so important to practice!
Now… more on past perfect. I want to tell you NOT to be afraid of using the double had “had had” – I know that it sounds strange but let me tell you that it is perfectly normal in English! Sometimes students have told me that they wish they’d had someone tell them that when they’d first learnt past perfect.
But see what happened there? We often contract the first had, which means in quick speech it is hard to hear, so maybe you think that native speakers do not use had had – but we do! So, make sure you do too!
Let’s look at a few more examples, the more times you hear it used, the better it will sound!
When Mary arrived, John had had breakfast already.
Real Madrid had had five penalties by the second half.
What about this one…All the money he had had had had no effect on his happiness.
What! A double had had! Craziness! Sorry, but it is true, this is a grammatically correct sentence in English. Can you think of any examples similar in your language? If you can please share it with me in our last online intermediate class! See you soon!
Hello once again and welcome to the final episode of week three’s blogcast!
This week you extended your knowledge of present perfect simple and future forms. By now you already know that these are all essential things for you to know so that you can communicate effectively in English. What I want to focus on in this blogcast is the pronunciation of the -ED sounds which you hear on the end of verbs and adjectives.
Pronunciation can be tricky in English – did you know that there are 44 sounds in the English language? These individual sounds are called phonemes and as you have seen English is not phonetic, like many other languages, the spelling and pronunciation are often completely different!
So for your understanding and comprehension it is essential that you do a little bit of work on pronunciation.
Let’s take a look at words that end in ED..
We never pronounce the ED on the end of word which end in ED. We have 3 different sounds that we use instead (1) /id/ (2) /t/ (3) /d/. Let me show you some examples.
(1) /id/ wanted, needed
So we can say that when words end in a /t/ or /d/ sound we need to pronounced the ED like/id/
(2) /t/ helped, looked, watched, fixed, danced
Here the ED sounds like T – so when a word ends in a /p/, /k/, /sh/, /ch/, /gh/, /th/, /ss/, /c/, /x/ sound we need to pronounce the ED like /t/. These are also called voiceless sounds, that means if you put your hand on your throat you can’t or you shouldn’t feel anything. Try it! (If you can feel something then you are pronouncing that sounds wrong!)
(3) /d/ called, cleaned, offered, loved, used, enjoyed, amazed – so when words in a /l/, /n/, /r/, /g/, /v/, /s/, /w/, /y/, /z/ sound then we need to pronounce the ED like D. These are called voiced sounds, that means if you put your hand on your throat you can your vocal cords vibrating – try it!
Now I am going to pronounce some more ED ending words – think about which of the 3 rules they fall under and pronounce them correctly after me! Painted, walked, dived, frightened, tired, excited, annoyed, disappointed, disgusted, realized, brushed, stuffed
I hope that will help you sound like a true English speaker!
Have a great weekend and see you next week!
Welcome back Inforum Warm-Upers! This week on our blogcast we’re going to trip to Byron Bay! You have probably heard of Byron Bay before but you might not know how to get there or what to do there, so listen along as Francois and Yui take you from Southport – Byron Bay!
Hello! Welcome back to the Inforum’s Intermediate Warm Up – this is week 2 session 3.
Today we are going to be looking at a news story about Australia.
While you are listening take note of any passives that you hear!
Hello and welcome to the evening news, let’s take a look at the heart of Australia where a very important decision has been made. Last year it was decided that the climbing of Uluru would be banned. Uluru is a very important indigenous site in the Northern Territory. It is the world’s largest rock and used to be called Ayers Rock. Tourists have been attracted for decades by this stunning phenomenon. However, it is now off limits as it is a sacred site in Anangu culture. The Anangu people campaigned for the ban.
Initially, the ban was mostly respected by tourists. Only 16 per cent of visitors climbed it. A local man who grew up in a tiny village near Uluru spoke about its importance. He said: "That place is a very sacred place. That's like our church." He added: "We don't want you to climb the rock. All of our stories are on the rock." He believes tourists who climbed Uluru had no respect. Another resident said he would not be allowed to climb Australia's parliament. That’s true!
That’s all for tonight’s news story – until next time.
Could you hear any passive sentences? I hope you learnt something interesting about Australian indigenous culture.
If you don’t know about Uluru, you should google it! It is so interesting 😊
See you next week!
Hi all! Welcome back to the final podcast of week one.
We hope these classes have been interactive and helpful!
This last podcast is going to show you different ways to use the things that you have learnt this week in normal conversations.
So, this week we reviewed (or learnt) simple and continuous tenses in the present and past plus vocabulary about people you know and everyday activities.
Using the present tense is useful to talk to your new friends. A conversation could go like this:
Jose: Hey what are you doing? I am thinking of going to Melbas tonight, do you want to come?
Julia: Oh, hey Jose, Melbas sounds fun, doesn’t it?
Jose: Yeah, it’s a place where a lot of students hang out with their friends.
Then we can use the past tenses to tell our classmates about our life in our country before we came to Australia. Just like
Jose: Julia I just heard how in Brazil they have a big carnival every year, don’t they?
Julia: Yeah Jose we do, I used to go every year with my boyfriend. Actually, one year I was dancing in the streets when I met a famous Brazilian actress! My colleagues didn’t believe me, but my neighbour saw it and I have a photo!
So, there you go, using our new grammar and vocabulary once you arrive in Australia is going to be a breeze (be really easy).
See you all next week!
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to week one session two of Inforum’s WarmUp Podcasts.
Each week you will be taken on a journey by your narrator, Ashlee, and special guests to explore popular destinations on and around the Gold Coast.
This week two Inforum students, Sarah & Jane, will visit the booming destination of Burleigh Heads.
The sun was shining and the birds were singing, it was a beautiful summer’s day on the Gold Coast with tops of 32O. The girls had been studying hard all week but it was finally their day off and they were going to enjoy it!
Sarah: Hey Jane, we’ve been studying hard all week and I haven’t explored almost ANY of the Gold Coast since I arrived! Do you want to visit Burleigh Heads with me?
Jane: Sure, I really need a break from studying! How do we get to Burleigh?
Sarah: I asked the student committee yesterday and they told me that we would have to catch the southbound tram to Broadbeach and then from Broadbeach take the bus to Burleigh.
Jane: Cool, sounds easy enough! Do you have a Go Card? I just got mine from 7/11 yesterday.
Sarah: Yep, I have one. My friend got a fine for not tapping on at the station so let’s make sure we do that!
Jane: Definitely, I can’t afford a $300 fine!
So the girls packed their beach bags with sunscreen, towels, sunnies (sunglasses) and swimmers (swimming costume) and set off! It was hot outside but the airconditioned tram provided them some relief. After 40 minutes of public transport they arrived at their destination.
Jane: Woaaaaahhhh, it is like another world down here, this is so cool!
Sarah: Yeah look at that sick point break, the waves are pumping!
Jane: Yeah and there is a lot of hotties around. Let’s jump in the water!
Sarah: Okay, we should swim between the flags so we don’t get stuck in a rip or sweep!
Jane: You’re right, I don’t want to be on the Gold Coast version of Bondi Rescue! Haha
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Jane: The water is so cool on my skin, but pfft these waves are huge!
Sarah: Yeah, you have got to be careful. But the water is so clear that I can see my feet and even some small fish!
Jane: haha, cool!
Sarah: Want to go in and sunbake for a little? I need a tan!
Jane: Yes, but just for a bit I don’t want to end up like a lobster on my first beach day!
The Australian sun was shining and the U.V rays were high, the girls could feel it on their pale skin and so they decided to head to James St, arguably the most trendy street on the Gold Coast.
Sarah: James St sure is the place to be! There are more cafes than people almost!
Jane: Haha, you’re right but I do love coffee so I am not complaining!
Sarah: There are so many healthy food options, maybe I will get skinnier living on the Gold Coast!
Jane: Well at least it offsets some of the drinking we do on Thursday nights.
Sarah: haha! Oh look at that little boutique, let’s go shopping!
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Jane: Alright I have spent almost all my money on cute dresses, get me out of here!
Sarah: The sun is about to set and I hear that Burleigh Hill is the place to be during sunsets.
Jane: Okay, let’s check it out but before we do we should grab some wine and cheese and have a picnic!
Sarah: Haha that is so instagramable, let’s do it!
So the girls watched the sky turn an array of pinks and oranges as the sun set in the west among crowds of other people who all wanted to get that perfect Instagram shot! When the sun was long gone they got the bus and tram back to Southport, it sure had been an eventful day!
…
Well, that is all for today’s podcast guys! I hope you enjoyed your auditory tour of Burleigh Heads.
Next week we will explore the infamous Byron Bay!
Hi everyone! Welcome to the first week of the Inforum Warm Up! My name is Ashlee and I just wanted to introduce myself. I will be one of your teachers over the next four weeks. We are so sad that you can’t be here on the Gold Coast right now studying at Inforum because of the Corona Virus. We know that this was your dream and some of you have been planning this for months or even years! We understand that this has taken a lot of effort to save and organise.
But please don’t worry! That is why we have made this online course for you – so that you can still study with us, and get a small taste of our school, our teachers, and everything the Gold Coast has to offer.
Throughout this 4 week course, we plan to teach you some intermediate level English, introduce our local places to you, and have as much fun as possible. If you are in lockdown at the moment, or your life has changed a lot, please join us in this exciting new way to study. We are sure you will get a lot of benefits, and be better prepared when you finally do get to come to Australia for real.
OK guys, so now let’s talk about the Intermediate course a little bit. Every week, you should log on to the Google Intermediate Classroom, and do three sessions of self-study. Each session will include the following amazing elements that we have made just for you:
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A video produced by one of our lovely staff members, either Anthony, Ashlee, or Che.
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A set of tasks that you can complete by yourself to practice what you learned in the video presentation.
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A once-a-week online class with one of our amazing teachers. In this class you will be able to practice the language points, listen to the teacher explain things, and ask questions. We will also have some group online classes so you can meet your future classmates!
Wow, what a lot to take in!!
OK guys we are not finished yet! So in addition to the above, you will also be able to listen to our original podcasts or read our original blog that will teach you all about our school and the Gold Coast (and hopefully motivate you to keep studying hard and going for your dreams), and you can interact directly with your teacher and the other students from all over the world on the “STREAM” part of your Google Classroom.
We’re really looking forward to meeting everyone, studying English together and exploring some of the Gold Coast.
-Ashlee