1.- Sign in using a personal email account (remember your password for future access)
2.- Fill in general info (teacher´s recommendation, improve English, etc)
3.- Choose "TEST YOUR LEVEL" option and follow instructions.
4.- Enable your microphone, repeat words, sentences, record messages and chat according to the activities proposed. This will be recorded as part of the test.
5.- When you get the final speaking report, check stregths and weaknesses, suggestions, analyses and send the LINK by mail to your teacher (there´s a "certificate" and a "share" button) similar to this https://app.smalltalk2.me/reports/cpwhateverthenumber73or referenceXXX00112233
Test your level and send the feedback and final report link to your teacher by mail:javier.martinez@educantabria.es before
Having a role model can affect someone negatively.
Should dyed hairstyles be allowed in school?
Can a bad upbringing be an excuse for a felony?
Social media – a blessing or a curse?
It’s possible to learn to love somebody.
You don’t need a college degree to be successful.
Your past does not define you.
Does watching fantasy films affect our perception of reality?
Should there be a mandatory number of trees per square kilometer?
Should people older than 65 be able to be politicians?
Should healthcare be state-owned or privatized?
Is immortality a blessing or a curse?
Is the sous-vide method of preparing meals worth trying?
Should self-driving cars be illegal?
Should sharing hoaxes and false information on the Internet be severely punished?
Should students do a part-time job while they are still studying?
Sessions with a therapist should be mandatory for kids and teens
Every country in the world should ban cigarettes.
Every country in the world should stop producing and selling plastic bags and bottles.
Field trips to prisons should be mandatory to help lower the crime rate.
Scientists should pair people up for marriage based on DNA.
A new universal language should be taught in every school.
Should universities be apolitical?
Do orphans have the same opportunities to be successful as children from complete families?
Should the state have more control over our privacy?
Introduction
Paragraph 1: state topic (summary of the topic without giving your opinion)
Main Body
Paragraph 2: arguments for & justifi¬cations, examples, and/ or reasons
Paragraph 3: arguments against & justification, examples, and/or reasons
Conclusion
Final Paragraph: balanced consideration/ your opinion directly or indirectly
Useful expressions and linking words/phrases
• To list points: Firstly, First of all, In the first place, To begin/start with, Secondly, Thirdly, Finally • To list advantages: One/Another/A further/An additional (major) advantage of… is … The main/greatest/first advantage of… is … • To list disadvantages: One/Another/ A further/An additional (major) disadvantage/drawback of. The main/greatest/most serious/first disadvantage /drawback of… Another negative aspect of… • To introduce points/arguments for or against: One (very convincing) point/argument in favour of… / against,
A further common criticism of… / It could be argued that….. often claimed/suggested It is widely argued maintained that….. generally felt/believed/held
Some/many/most people/experts/scientist/skeptics/critics claim/suggest/argue/feel that… maintain/believe/point out/agree/hold that… advocate (+ing/noun)/support the view that… oppose the view that… are in favour of/against… are of the opinion that/convinced that… are opposed to…
• To add more points to the same topic: in addition (to this), furthermore, moreover, besides, apart from, what is more, as well as, not to mention (the fact) that, also, not only … but also/as well, both … and, There is another side to the issue/question/argument of…
• To make contrasting points: on the other hand, however, still, yet, but, nonetheless, nevertheless, even so, it may be said/argued/claimed that,… others/many people oppose this viewpoint/strongly disagree…, claim/feel/believe this argument is incorrect/misguided although, though, even though, while, whilst, whereas, despite/in spite of (the fact that), regardless of the fact that Opponents of … argue/believe/claim that… The fact that… contradicts the belief/idea that… While it is true to say that…, in fact… While/Although …, it cannot be denied that…
Useful expressions and linking words/phrases
• To introduce examples: for example, for instance, such as, like, in particular, particularly, especially, This is (clearly) illustrated/shown by the fact that… One/A clear/striking/ typical example of (this)… The fact that…. shows/illustrates that… • To emphasise a point: clearly, obviously, it is obvious, naturally, of course, needless to say, indeed • To express reality: In fact, the fact (of the matter) is, actually, in practice, it is a fact that, in effect • To make general statements: as a (general) rule, generally, in general, on the whole, by and large, in most cases • To make partially correct statements: to a certain extent/degree, to some extent/degree, in a way/sense, this is partly true (but), to a limited extent, there is some truth in (this), in some cases, up to a point • To explain/clarify a point: in other words, that is to say, this/which means that • To express cause:
owing to, due to (the fact that), on account of, on the grounds that, given that, because, as, since • To express effect:
therefore, thus, as a result/consequence, consequently, so, for this reason, if… were to happen, … the effect/result would be… • To express intention:
to, so as to, in order to, so that, with the intention of (+ing)
One/A clear/striking/ typical example of (this)… The fact that…. shows/illustrates that… • To emphasise a point: clearly, obviously, it is obvious, naturally, of course, needless to say, indeed • To express reality: In fact, the fact (of the matter) is, actually, in practice, it is a fact that, in effect • To make general statements: as a (general) rule, generally, in general, on the whole, by and large, in most cases • To make partially correct statements: to a certain extent/degree, to some extent/degree, in a way/sense, this is partly true (but), to a limited extent, there is some truth in (this), in some cases, up to a point • To explain/clarify a point: in other words, that is to say, this/which means that • To express cause:
owing to, due to (the fact that), on account of, on the grounds that, given that, because, as, since • To express effect:
therefore, thus, as a result/consequence, consequently, so, for this reason, if… were to happen, … the effect/result would be… • To express intention:
to, so as to, in order to, so that, with the intention of (+ing)
In conclusion, On balance, All things considered, Taking everything into account/consideration, To conclude, To sum up, All in all, Finally/Lastly,
- it can be said/claimed that … - it seems/appears that… - it would seem that… -it is likely/unlikely/possible/foreseeable that … - it is clear/obvious that… -. there is no/little doubt that … - it is true to say that … - although it must be said that … - it may be concluded/said that …
OPINION ESSAY: ADVANTAGES-DISADVANTAGES
1-INTRO:
1.1 For the great majority of people ______________________________________________________.
A problem that is often debated nowadays ________________________________________________.
Who cares about ____________________________________________________________________?
1.2 It is a well-known fact that _______________________________________________________.
Besides, recent studies show there are ______________________________________________.
1.3There are reasons to believe that ______________________________________________.
2.1 A lot of people claim that__________________________________________________
2.2 What is more, ____________________________________________________________
For example, ________________________________________________________________.
2.3-While/Although______________________________ it cannot be denied that_____________
Another point worth considering has to do with____________________________________
3-REFUTING:
3.1In contrast to this idea, ____________________________________________________________, so it is not easy to ___________________________________________. Whereas, in comparison,___________________________________________.
3.2However, we should also consider___________________________________. On the other hand, __________________
2.3 Therefore, it is reasonable to think that _______________________________________.
4-CONCLUSION:
4.1 This bring us the question whether ___________________________________________________, it is highly probable __________________________________________________.
4.2 In my opinion, _________________________________________________________From my point of view, ______________________________________. Maybe in the future_____________________
Remember these tips to carry out the task of mediation:
You are given a text in English, that you have to mediate into English as well –>Read the task carefully, and, depending on what you are asked to do, use the appropriate mediation strategies:
summarise: describe the main ideas of a text for your friend.
select some of the most relevant points of the text: decide what is important for your friend (think of the context described in the task), and talk about that.
In all cases: REPHRASE: use different words than those in the text (use synonyms, explain, adapt the language…)- the objective is for your friend to understand the text you are writing. [He/She won’t see the original text, only yours].
Typically, you will be asked to write an email or a note to a friend.
Don’t beat about the bush—> go to the point: mediate the information in the text, and do not add any extra information which is not there.
You are being tested on your MEDIATION skills (how clear you are when explaining ideas, how organised, how helpful to other people…): do not obsess about showing off how good your English is (you will have to do that in the writing tasks). If you can use beautiful English while being clear and organised, that is great, but there are no extra points in the mediation tasks for showing a wide range of language.
These are some resources to help you write your mediated text:
This is a possible mediated text for you to see what you are expected to do (this is not THE only correct option: any clear, organised, helpful text will be OK):
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).
Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A letter was written.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
Examples of Passive
Tense
Subject
Verb
Object
Simple Present
Active:
Rita
writes
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
is written
by Rita.
Simple Past
Active:
Rita
wrote
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
was written
by Rita.
Present Perfect
Active:
Rita
has written
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
has been written
by Rita.
Future I
Active:
Rita
will write
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
will be written
by Rita.
Modals
Active:
Rita
can write
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
can be written
by Rita.
Examples of Passive
Tense
Subject
Verb
Object
Present Progressive
Active:
Rita
is writing
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
is being written
by Rita.
Past Progressive
Active:
Rita
was writing
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
was being written
by Rita.
Past Perfect
Active:
Rita
had written
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
had been written
by Rita.
Future II
Active:
Rita
will have written
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
will have been written
by Rita.
Conditional I
Active:
Rita
would write
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
would be written
by Rita.
Conditional II
Active:
Rita
would have written
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
would have been written
by Rita.
Passive Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
Subject
Verb
Object 1
Object 2
Active:
Rita
wrote
a letter
to me.
Passive:
A letter
was written
to me
by Rita.
Passive:
I
was written
a letter
by Rita.
As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually dropped.
Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.
Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says – it is said
Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.
The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.
Remember these 
You are given a text in English
, that you have to mediate into English as well 
These are some resources to help you write your mediated text:
Once you have written your task, why don’t you 
