Welcome to the Elementary Class!: Recent Episodes
Inforum
Welcome back to the final Upper Intermediate blogcast of the Inforum Warm Up! Wow, these four weeks sure have flown by, haven’t they? We hope that this has been a good introduction to our school and what your life will be like in Australia. Rest assured, that once you arrive and start classroom in the face-to-face environment it will be even more interactive and amazing (if that is even possible!).
This week you did some work on reported speech, which you’ve undoubtedly covered multiple times over your English-learning career. You know it, you know the examples, you know why we use it – you’re well on your way to becoming fluent! And having a strong academic English base is really important, especially if you plan to work, go to university, conduct research etcetera in English. However in real life English doesn’t always go like this and when you move to Australia you will find some very interesting native interpretations of the grammar which you’ve been learning in class. I guess this happens in all languages around the globe, but this happens with English especially as it is so widely spoken and often used as a lingua franca between two non-English speaking nations. Because of this many dialects and ‘pidgin’ languages are created and grammar rules are thrown out the window! It’s awful, but you need to be aware that it does happen and be ready to face it in real life!
I’m now going to show you two different ways that native speakers report what others have said, and no, one of those ways isn’t reported speech. Listen to this example and see you can hear the differences:
Jorge: Did you hear that Melinda got arrested?
Marie: Yes, I saw her mother yesterday and she was like “Mel got arrested for public intoxication! They were so rough with her, it is just awful!”
Jorge: Right. Well, I am not surprised she does love to drink a few coldies on a Friday arvo!
Marie: I know, so I tried to get out of the conversation and not say what I thought but then she went “The coppers here are so horrible, don’t you agree?”
Jorge: Pfft, she hasn’t lived in another place then, has she? The police here are so fair and just!
Marie: I know. It was so awkward, even more so when she goes “I hope you will all send her some cash, life in prison is exxy and she doesn’t deserve it”
Jorge: Uh, the nerve!
Could you hear the two different ways Marie reported her conversation?
The first was using – S + was/were + like + direct speech
The second was using – S + go/goes/went + direct speech
What is so interesting about the second way is that the speaker switched between using present and past tense?! Ugh, just to make it all more confusing for you, apparently native speakers can’t even stick to one tense!
Anyway – these two ways are quite common in informal language and we often use a mix of these ways in order to not make the conversation sound boring or repetitive! Just please remember that these are informal and so they should not be used in an academic context!
Well guys I hope that this doesn’t scare you off talking with native speakers! It was intended to make you feel more prepared and comfortable – remember you can still use your perfect grammar all the time, you do not need to do what the natives do!
Welcome back to the last session of week 4!
This week you leant about present continuous, two-word questions AND future grammar! WOW! What a big week. All of these things will be very useful for your life in English.
Listen to this conversation between friends and see if you can find an example of going to, will, suggestions, present continuous and two-word questions. Then try practicing with your teacher and classmates online next time!
Jorge: Hi Marie, what type of ice-cream are you eating?
Marie: I am eating a “Golden Gaytime”, it is the most popular ice-cream in Australia!
Jorge: Sounds delicious! Well, I am going to surf in the morning, do you want to come with me?
Marie: Alright! I really want to go to Snapper Rocks, shall we go there?
Jorge: Yeah, the waves there are the best. After, I would like to eat breakfast so bring some money!
Marie: Okay! How long will we spend surfing?
Jorge: Let’s see how the waves are but probably two hours.
Marie: Alright sounds good. I just want to be back before lunch time.
Jorge: We can do that! Alright, my mum is calling me, I have to answer!
Marie: Yes you do! Tell her I say HI!
Could you find an example of all the different types of grammar? I hope so!
Well that is all for the Elementary Warm Up course, we hope had fun, learnt some English, learnt about Australia and we also hope to see you in the Pre-Intermediate level!
Welcome back to the final podcast of week 3!
This week we learnt about past simple, comparatives and superlatives.
These are all very useful points in English, with these points you can tell your new friends about things that you did in your country and compare you country with Australia!
When you arrive in Australia your life might be very different from life in your country. So a conversation between two students from different countries might go like this:
Yurina: Hi Joao. What did you do in Brazil?
Joao: Hi Yurina, in Brazil I was a banker but in Australia I am a student. It is very different, I worked from Monday – Saturday. Now, I only go to school 4 days a week! It is very relaxing. But I miss the food in Brazil, my mum cooked for me every Sunday! Now, I have to cook by myself and I am not very good. Brazil and Australia have a similar climate but the beach in Australia is cleaner. It is the best. Do you have beaches in Japan?
Yurina: Yes we do, but, Japan is colder than Australia and the beaches in Australia are more beautiful. When I was a child I went to Okinawa with my family every summer. We stayed in a hotel on the beach and snorkelled every day. We didn’t want to go back to Hokkaido where it was cold!
Did you notice many past tense verbs? What about irregular ones? Irregular verbs are tricky because there is no rule, you just need to practice a lot! Also, with past tense be careful because the pronunciation is different to the writing.
We never pronounce the ED on the end of past simple words! We have 3 different sounds we use (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 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/.
(3) /d/ called, cleaned, loved, used, enjoyed, amazed – so when words in a /l/, /n/, /r/, /g/, /v/, /s/, /w/, /y/, /z/ sounds then we need to pronounce the ED like D.
Here are some more examples. First, listen to me and then try to repeat it the same way!
Painted, walked, dived, frightened, tired, excited
Well that is all for today’s blogcast! I hope you enjoyed your third week of Inforum’s Warm Up course, see you next time!
Hello everyone! Welcome back to the Warm Up blogcast.
This week we are going on a road trip to Brisbane, but because we learnt about Past Simple you are going to hear two students, Marie and Johan, tell their homestay mum, Laura, about their trip! So make sure you listen for all the irregular past tense verbs and write them down!
Laura: Marie! Johan! Welcome home, what did you do today?
Marie: We went to Brisbane! It is the capital city of Queensland, so it is bigger than the Gold Coast.
Laura: Yes, my father was born there. How did you get there?
Johan: We took the tram from Southport Station. Then we got off at Helensvale train station and took the train to Southbank station. It only took about 1 hour. Don’t worry we used our go cards!
Laura: That sounds great. What did you do in Brisbane?
Marie: First, we walked around Southbank. It was very sunny so we had to wear our hats. We drank a cold juice and watched the ducks swimming in the lake. After that we walked across the Story Bridge into the CBD.
Johan: Marie wanted to go shopping on Queen Street Mall. She bought so many things! There were a lot of shops and people. We ate lunch on the mall and then we walked to the Queensland museum.
Marie: Yes, did you know that it is free? We were surprised. We spent many hours there walking and looking at different exhibitions. We learnt about some famous people and animals. It was a good way to practice our English.
Laura: Oh how wonderful!
Johan: Yes, then we took the river cat, it is a big boat called a ferry. It was also free! It was very nice to take the ferry and see the river.
Marie: We got off at Eagle Street Pier and walked to Howard Smith Wharf. There is a big brewery there and some food trucks. There were lots of young people and we met some new friends! We also listened to live music.
Johan: Yes, the craft beer in Australia is very tasty. The place was very cool. It is under a big bridge and at night the bridge changed colours with many lights! To get back to the train station we rented LIME scooters, they are electric scooters you can use in the city to go faster.
Laura: Wow, you must be tired! You did so many things.
Marie: Yes it was a long day! I need to go to sleep.
John: Me too!
Laura: Goodnight!
That is all for today. I hope you enjoyed learning about Brisbane!
Hello! Welcome back to week two session two of Inforum’s Warm Up. Today we are going to go to Byron Bay by car!
It was hot and sunny day so Francois and Yui wanted to go to Byron Bay, a famous place one hour south of the Gold Coast. But to go there they needed to rent a car…
Yui: Hi Francois, can we rent a car in Australia?
Francois: Yes we can, we need: a drivers licence and a credit card.
Y: Great. Where can we rent a car?
F: There are many car rental shops. Let’s go to Budget Rental, we have this shop in France too.
Francois and Yui went to the car rental shop, but they we’re nervous about what to say. Lucky people in Australia are very nice.
Lucy: Hi, welcome to Budget rentals! How can I help you?
F: Sorry can you say that slower please?
L: Sure, how can I help you?
F: We want to rent a car.
L: Okay, how many days?
F: 1 day please.
L: Okay, do you have your drivers licence and credit card?
F: Yes
L: Okay, done, let’s choose a car!
Francois and Yui were excited. They chose a small, white car.
Y: I like driving, can I please drive?
F: Sure!
Y: Wow, the drive is very beautiful.
F: Yes, it is. There are a lot of trees in Australia.
One hour later they arrived in Byron Bay!
F: Woah! Look at the beach, the waves are really good, I want to surf!
Y: Ok, you surf and I am going to sunbake.
F: Ok, lucky there is a surf shop here so I can rent a board.
Y: Is it expensive?
F: It is only $30 for a day. If I surf more, I will buy a board.
Y: Did you have fun surfing?
F: Yes! But now I am hungry.
Y: Ok, let’s get some food and then go to the lighthouse.
Francois and Yui walked on the main street where there were many different restaurants and cafés. After Yui did some shopping because there were some nice, small shops. Then they drove the car for 10 minutes to the light house parking.
F: People here are very relaxed, I like it.
Y: Me too! Cool, look at the lighthouse and the beautiful views. I can see dolphins in the water!
F: Oh look and there is a whale! You can see whales in Australia from May – November.
Y: Quick! Take a photo of me!
F: Ok, you have a photo, now can we drink a beer?
Y: Yes! We can go to the Beach Hotel, it is in front of the beach and they have live music.
F: Sounds good.
Yui and Francois were having so much fun and met many other people so they decided to stay in Byron Bay for one night. There were many, many hostels so it was easy to find a room.
Y: Next time we should camp at Broken Head beach!
F: Okay! Sounds like a plan.
That is all for our road trip today! See you next time!
Hello!
Welcome back to the third blogcast of week 2.
I hope you had a great week and enjoyed Inforum’s Warm Up Course.
Today we are going to see how you can use the grammar in real conversations when you come to Australia!
Everything you learnt this week is very useful, you will use this grammar ALL the time 😊
We often use there is/are to talk about what we can see around us or to talk about things from our country. A conversation with a new classmate might go like this:
Joanna: Hi Yuko, do you like Australia? There are some beautiful beaches.
Yuko: Yes Joanna, there are! I can swim, so I love the beach. I often swim in the morning when there are not many people.
Joanna: That’s good! Have you seen any Australian animals?
Yuko: Yes there is a magpie that lives in a tree near my house.
Joanna: Does it like to eat bread?
Yuko: Yes it does! But it makes loud noises so I usually can’t sleep in!
Wow! In that small conversation we used ALL our new grammar.
Can you find an example of: adverbs, there is, there are, articles, he/she/it questions, some/any and can ?
To practice this grammar more write some sentences using the grammar and then practice them with your teacher and class next Friday in your lesson!
See you soon!
Welcome back to podcast 3! Today we are going to look at a very important topic for your life in Australia – how to use the simple present tense. The simple present is great to talk about:
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life in your country
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yourself
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your routines, and
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differences between countries.
Let’s look at these above topics one by one.
When you come to live in a new country like Australia, one of the things you will want to talk about with your friends and host family is life in your country. Let’s imagine you are having a big Australian dinner with your host family, and your host mum asks you what you normally eat in your country. The conversation could go something like this:
Host mother: So Jose, what do you normally have for dinner in Spain? Do you have steak like we do in Australia?
Jose: No we don’t. Dinner is much smaller in Spain. We usually have some fresh seafood or some roast chicken with rice.
You can also use the simple present to talk about your likes and dislikes when you come to Australia. You could say something like:
Maria: I don’t really like to play beach volleyball. Let’s play soccer instead.
Another way to use the simple present is when you describe routines in your life. This can be really useful if you need to make an excuse. Here’s an example:
Jose: Hey Yuko, do you want to swim tomorrow morning before breakfast?
Yuko: Well actually, I always meditate for an hour before breakfast, so could we do it in the afternoon?
Finally, the simple present is great when you make a new friend in Australia, and you want to talk about differences between your countries. Here is Jose again:
Jose: In Spain, we always have a siesta after lunch. Why don’t you do that in Australia?
OK guys, so when you get to Australia, why don’t you start to use these simple present phrases as soon as you arrive!
Keep studying hard!
Hello, welcome to Inforum’s Warm Up Podcast.
In this podcast you are going to listen to different stories of people visiting different places around the Gold Coast.
Today our travellers will go to Burleigh Heads. They will tell you how to take public transport and what to do in Burleigh Heads. (This will help you when you arrive on the Gold Coast)
It was a beautiful, sunny day on the Gold Coast so two Inforum students decided to go to Burleigh Heads because it was their day off.
Jane: Hey Sarah! Do you like the beach?
Sarah: Yes, I do!
Jane: Ok! Let’s go to Burleigh Heads to swim and relax.
Sarah: Awesome. How do we get there?
Jane: We have to take the tram and the bus. Come on, I’ll show you!
The girls got dressed in their swimmers and packed a bag with a towel and sunscreen. Then they were ready to go!
Sarah: Okay, we are at the tram stop. Which way do we go?
Jane: We need to go South. So tap your Go Card here and get on the tram.
Sarah: Wow, it is so easy!
The girls spent 20 minutes on the tram and then they arrived at Broadbeach South.
Jane: Ok, now we are at Broadbeach South station. You need to tap your Go Card off and then we need to take the 700 bus to Burleigh Heads. Make sure you tap on when you get on the bus!
Sarah: No worries!
After 20 more minutes on the bus the girls arrived to Burleigh Heads.
Sarah: WOW this place is so beautiful. I can see many people on the beach and also some surfers.
Jane: Yes! I can see an ice-cream shop. Do you want an ice-cream?
Sarah: Yes, let’s get one. I want a chocolate ice-cream!
After enjoying an ice-cream it was time to swim!
Jane: It is hot today but the ocean is cold.
Sarah: Yes it is nice. We need to swim inside the flags so we don’t get in trouble.
Jane: That’s smart.
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Jane: Okay, let’s sunbake for a little.
Sarah: Yes, but first we should put on sunscreen!
Jane: You are right Sarah, we must be sun safe.
…
Sarah: Mmm, I am hungry!
Jane: Perfect, let’s look at James St, it is a really popular street with cafes, restaurants and shops.
Sarah: That is perfect! Let’s go!
The girls ate lunch, Jane had chicken parmigiana and Sarah had a BLT which is a sandwich of bacon, lettuce and tomato. Burleigh is also a popular place for juice so they drank juice too and went shopping.
Jane: Sarah, what a wonderful day!
Sarah: Yes, and now the sun is about to set.
Jane: Well it is Sunday and a lot of people sit on the hill and watch the sunset.
Sarah: Sounds beautiful. Let’s buy some wine and cheese to enjoy while watching the sunset.
Jane: Perfect.
The girls watched the sunset on Burleigh Hill and finally they took the bus and tram back home to Southport.
That’s all for today’s adventure podcast – next week we will explore Byron Bay a popular tourist spot!
Hi everyone! Welcome to Inforum Warm-Up. I am Ashlee and I will be one of your teachers! We are SO sad that you can’t come to the Gold Coast because of Corona Virus. We know that coming to study English at Inforum was your dream.
But please don’t worry! That is why we have made this online course for you – so that you can still study with us, meet our teachers and other students AND we will also tell you about all the beautiful things you can see and do on the Gold Coast.
In this 4 week course, we plan to teach you some basic elementary 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 Elementary course a little bit. Every week, you should log on to the Google Elementary Classroom, and do three sessions of self-study. Each session will include these amazing elements that we have made just for you:
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A video produced by one of our lovely members of staff, 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. And we will also have group sessions so you can meet other students.
OK guys we are not finished yet! You will also be able to listen to our original podcasts and read our blogs 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 also talk with your teacher and other students on the STREAM in google classrooms.
We can’t wait to meet you online and help you to speak English well!
- Ashlee