English Expression: Level the playing field. This week in class we are talking about inclusive language. This is hard to do with idioms, as they are notoriously not inclusive. In the example given today, someone may say that it is NOT inclusive because it uses sports and so you may need to understand baseball, in this case, to understand the meaning. However, I am using it today because I think it has an important message.
LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD
Make a situation equal so that everyone has the same opportunity
Adjust a situation so that everyone has the same chance of succeeding.
Quotas were created at businesses to level the playing field for women.
In order to level the playing field, we need to make the class financially accessible to everyone.
A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
Conditions that allow everyone to have the same opportunity to succeed in a situation.
It’s not a level playing field. How can children play in the same tournament as adults?
We have put quotas in place in order to create a level playing field.
English: Inclusive language. As society evolves, so does language. It’s important to make sure that you are using language that is inclusive and does not discriminate against individuals in and out of the office.
INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE
language that does not discriminate
language that represents different people in a positive way
GENDER INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE
to refer to the male and female workers in your business, use workforce, personnel or staff.
There are 200 men and women that make up our worforce.
manpower is a sexist word that refers to a time when women did not work. It also sounds as if men are powerful and women are not.
Other examples of gender inclusive language includes saying ‘Hello everyone’ instead of ‘Hello guys’ to refer to women and men.
please stop calling women over the age of 18, girls. They are women. Calling them a girl sounds as though they are innocent or incapable.
Women make up 50% of the Board of Directors.
Refering to men and women as female or male staff members/members of staff is also an acceptable,
The male members of staff are requesting a new changing room.
Inclusive language for people with disabilities
Disabled member of staff or a person with disabilities, although is not a great alternative, it is what we have as of November 2023.
If we want to invite Arantxa for lunch, we need to make sure that our house is accessible for someone with a disability.
Handicapped and differently-abled were both terms that were used at one point and are no longer seen as positive.
Know someone who has a disability? Ask them how they prefered to be called.
Age inclusive language
nobody wants to be called old, so stop using this word and use elderly to talk about people over the age of 70.
The elderly are often excluded from society.
For those staff members who are up in age, try experienced worker, senior worker or senior member of staff.
Our senior workers are our most valuable members of staff.
Inclusive language about one’s sexual orientation
Don’t asume that the person in front of you is married and that they are to a man or a woman. Instead of asking about their husband or wife, ask about their partner.
Don’t asume a man dates a woman and vice versa, ask if they are dating anyone.
There exist lots of different ways in which LGBTQ+ liked to be addressed. If you aren’t sure how to address someone, ask them.
Again, if you aren’t sure how to address people at work, at a bar or at the dinner table, ask them.
Vocabulary in English
Now that you have seen English: Inclusive language, have a look at our other Vocab Rehab Posts.
Cursos inglés
En la Escuela de idiomas de la Camara de Comercio tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades.
Curso de conversación inglés. Los jueves de 17:30 a 19:00 empezamos cursos de conversación en inglés en la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava en la Calle Manuel Iradier 17. Se consiste de un grupo reducido.
¿Que hacemos en un curso de conversación?
Primero te digo lo que no son los cursos de conversación. No son solo de conversar libremente. Por eso tienes amigos.
En los cursos de conversación:
leemos artículos sobre current events y hablamos del impacto
aprendemos vocabulario nuevo y lo ponemos en práctica
vemos vídeos cortos y ofrecemos nuestros opiniones
hablamos en confianza y sin ser juzgados por nuestro nivel de inglés
recibimos feedback sobre la gramática, pronunciación y vocabulario que usamos
incrementa nuestro nivel de fluidez
trabajamos las dos áreas que nos cuesta más ya que no vivimos en un país donde se habla inglés habitualmente – la escucha y la habla
Cursos de inglés
Ya que has visto Curso de conversación inglés, puedes ver los de más cursos de inglés que ofrecemos aquí.
Inscríbete en nuestros cursos aquí o ponte en contacto con nosotros a idiomas@camaradealava.com
English Expression: Brush up on something. It’s that time of year to brush up on your English. Hay cursos de inglés para todos los niveles este trimestre, así que no lo pierdes.
BRUSH UP ON SOMETHING
to improve your knowledge or skill on a topic that you previously learned.
to remember information or skills that you once knew.
I really need to brush up on my French. I was in France and kept using Spanish.
We are signing her up for a IT coourse to brush up on her skills before she returns to work.
En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. También somos un Centro Examinador del Oxford Test of English, una prueba de nivel de A2, B1 y B2 con certificado. Para recibir más información sobre nuestros servicios de inglés, escribe a idiomas@camaradealava.com o llamar a 945 150 190.
Cursos para niveles A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 y C2
Inglés para negocios / Business English
Curos InCompany for empresas
Preparación de exámenes de Cambridge, EOI, EILTS, Oxford Test of English
En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava tenemos una oferta de Cursos gratuitos de inglés desde octubre a diciembre 2023. Los cursos están 100% subvencionados por el Departamento de Trabajo y Empleo de Gobierno Vasco, organizados por el Ayuntamiento dentro de su plan de logística e impartidos por la Cámara de Comercio.
CURSOS DE PREPARACIÓN DE EXÁMENES
1. Inglés: Preparación certificaciones de Oxford. Nivel básico A2.
En la Escuela de idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio, tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ya que has visto Cursos gratuitos de inglés, puedes ver los de más cursos aquí.
Ponte en contacto con nosotros: idiomas@camaradealava.com o llamar a 945 150 190.
English Vocabulary: sign up. This phrasal verb is a very important one to know. This month you need to SIGN UP for English class, dance class, art class or any other activity that you are hoping to be a part of. My kids always make the mistake of saying to me, ‘Did you inscribirme in the class?’ And I respond, ‘No, I signed you up.’ It’s such a basic phrase, but even they never seem to use it.
SIGN UP
Phrasal verb. Learn more about how to use phrasal verbs here.
to join or agree to be a part of an activity or event.
En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava, tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Puedes mirar nuestros cursos y horarios aquí o pónte en contacto con nosotros a idiomas@camaradealava.com
Inglés General A2, B1, B2, C1, C2
Inglés para negocios (Business English) A2, B1, B2, C1, C2
Preparación de exámenes de Cambridge, Oxford Test of English y EOI
English Vocabulary: Raise, Rise, Arise. These three verbs can be very confusing. So, let’s break them down one by one.
Raise
Raise is a regular verb, which means that raised is the past and past participle.
It is a transitive verb which means that an object must follow the verb. This is the main difference between raise and rise. To learn more about transitive verbs click here.
We need to raise something.
He raised his hand. (hand is the object)
The government raised taxes (taxes is the object)
Rise
Rise is a irregular verb. Rose is the past tense and risen the past participle.
It is intransitive, so it is not followed by an object. Click here to learn more.
The temperature is rising. (no object needed)
She rose. (no object needed)
Arise
Arise, like rise, is an irregular verb. Arose is the past tense and arisen is the past participle .
It is also intransitive, so it is not followed by an object.
Arise means that something presents itself.
Should the need arise, … (should the need present itself…)
Collocations
It’s important to learn vocabulary in context. So, here are some of the words that tend to ‘collocate’ with Raise, Rise and Arise.
Raise
a question, a point,
I would like to raise a question here.
your hand, her leg, their heads
Please raise your hand if you know the answer.
standards
If you want to past the audit, your company must raise its standards.
En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Álava tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotros para saber más idiomas@camaradealava.com
English Vocabulary: Backlash. Some say that all social issues face backlash at a certain moment. What kinds of rights are facing backlash by you?
BACKLASH
A reaction that goes against a previously popular idea or person.
A reverse movement.
a negative reaction to something
There has been a backlash against women’s rights in the US.
Governments who make very liberal or very conservative laws often face a lot of backlash from opposing sides and from their own side if they think their ideas are too extreme.
COLLOCATIONS WITH BACKLASH
Collocations are words that go together. Stop learning vocabulary by itself and learn it with the words that are used with it. Learning this way will also help you memorize the words more easily.
VERBS
Experience, face
The government is facing a backlash from Feminist Movements on both sides.
She is experiencing a backlash for not having consulted her partners.
Cause, create, prompt, provoke, spark
The gas company provoked a backlash for increasing their prices.
It was quite predictable that his message was going to spark a backlash from his voters.
Anticipate, expect, fear, predict
They should have anticipated the backlash and had a strategy to deal with it.
Even though she feared a backlash, she went ahead with the new regulation.
ADJECTIVES
Consumer
They promted a consumer backlash by not giving employees paid holidays.
Political
The Right is experiencing political backlash for having attacked their party’s famous icon.
Public
There will be strong public backlash to the increased retirement age.
Violent, racist, serious
Many States are facing a violent backlash from anti-immigrant supporters.
After COVID, many member of the Asian community incorrectly received racist backlash.
Would you mind? Although this seems like a very simple phrase, it can get quite confusing. M1nd in this question means ‘to bother’ or ‘molestar‘ in Spanish. The tricky part is in the answer. No, it doesn’t bother me or yes, it does bother me.
ASKING FOR PERMISSION
This is an indirect way of asking for permission for something. It is quite commonly used in English. Pay special attention to the answers.
DO YOU MIND?
Do/Does (someone) mind + if + subject + present simple
Informal way to ask if something bothers you or makes you uncomfortable.
Do you mind if I call you Joe? (Does it bother you if I call you Joe?
No, I don’t. (You can call me Joe)
Yes, I do. (I don’t want you to call me Joe.
Do you mind if he comes?
¿Te importa que venga?
informal
No, I don’t
No, no me importa
Yes, I do
Si me importa.
WOULD (someone) MIND?
Would (someone) mind + if + subject + present simple
Polite way to ask permission from someone, by asking if it bothers them.
Would he mind if I use his phone? (Can I use his phone?)
No, he wouldn’t. (You can use it)
Yes, he would. (I don’t want you to use it.)
Would she mind if we met after class?
¿Le importaría si quedamos después de clase?
Polite
No, she wouldn’t.
No, no le importaría.
Yes, she would.
Si, si le importaría.
Would (someone) mind if + past simple
Would someone m1nd + if + subject + past simple
Would she m1nd if we didn’t go together (Would it bother her if we went separately?)
No, she wouldn’t. (we can go separately)
Yes, she would. (I would rather go together)
Would he mind if we arrived late?
¿Le importaría que llegáramos tarde?
Polite and Formal
No, he wouldn’t
No, no le importaría.
Yes, he would.
Si le importaría.
Would (someone) mind + me/my + ing… ?
Would they mind me leaving early? (Will it bother them if I leave perfore expected?)
No, they wouldn’t (It is OK if you leave early)
Yes, they would. (I will not be happy if you leave early)
REQUESTING HELP
We can also use this question form to politely request help from someone.
WOULD (someone) M1ND + ING
Would (someone) mind + ing…?
Would Carol mind picking up my daughter from school? (Can Carol and/or does Carol want to get my daughter from school?)
No, she wouldn’t (I can get her)
Yes, she would. (I can’t or do not want to get her)
ANSWERING NO OR YES
As you have seen in the previous examples, you can answer these types of questions with ‘Yes, I do/would’ or ‘No, I don’t/wouldn’t’. However, it quite common to use some of the following phrases as well.
En la Cámara de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio, tenemos clases para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotras a idiomas@camaradealava.com o ver nuestros cursos pinchando aquí
English Expressions: Hang in there. It’s May, the weather is getting nice and we still need to make it through some months before we can enjoy the summer. Hang in there!!! You can do it.
HANG IN THERE
A way to tell someone to keep trying even if things are difficult
Used to encourage someone to not give up.
I know it has been a rough month, but hang in there. Let me know if I can help with anything.
I know you are tired, but hang in there. You only have 5 more minutes left.
English Vocabulary: Strike. May 2nd is an International Worker’s Rights Day. In countries all over the world, people are striking for better working conditions and better pay. There are many ways to use the word strike, so let’s take a look at some of them.
STRIKE (verb)
to refuse to continue working due to an arguement with your boss. Usaully over working conditions, pay, etc.
One person or a group of people can strike.
We are striking for better working conditions.
The teachers strike every year on the same day to raise awareness about a variety of educational concerns.
Strike can also mean to forcefully hit someone or something
He is in jail after striking a woman on the street for no reason.
Julie struck the football so hard that it hot the back wall.
Something that happens all of a sudden and has a major impact, usually negative.
The lightning struck the building and killed three people.
The storm is moving fast and they say it will strike within the hour.
GO ON STRIKE
Same meaning as strike.
The French workers are going on strike this weekend.
They went on strike last week.
STRIKE (NOUN)
A perdiod of time that a worker does not work due to arguement with management about working conditions, pay, etc.
The man died in prison after a 90-day hunger strike.
The workers are calling for a nationwide strike to happen next month.
A strong hit
The strike to his head may cause permanent damage.
The building was damaged by the lightning strikes.
Other meanings and collocations with strike
The clock strikes midnight in 5 minutes! (sounds a bell or turns that time)
He struck out their best hitter (baseball reference)
In baseball you only have three stikes and you’re out!
She stuck the ball as hard as she could. (hit the ball hard)
They said it wasn’t a good idea to teach children how to strike a match. (light a match)
I’m so mad I want to strike them from the list of attendees. (to take someone off a list)
When the country struck oil, everyone suddenly wanted to be their best friends. (found oil)
We finally struck a deal with them and we start work on Monday. (made an agreement)
Doesn’t it strike you as odd that she never even called? (to seem strange)
Although my partner didn’t want me too, I decided to take part in the strike. (join the strike)
There have been so many air strikes in the last week that I think most of the people have left the city. (military attacks from the air)
Join us for an English Rountable Discussion. We will be thinking about why it is valuable to know where we really want to go. Also, why is it important to know this before you get there.
DETAILS
When: May 4th, from 18:00 to 19:30 Where: Manuel Iradier 17, Vitoria How to register: Please sign up for the event here.
WHO WILL BE SPEAKING
Annie Hintz – I am happy to be hosting this roundtable discussion at the Chamber of Commerce in Alava where I work. As host I hope to open up the discussion to everyone so we can all enjoy a hearty conversation and in English.
There will be three other English teachers involved in the roundtable and an Associate Profesor at UPV/EHU
English Vocabulary: Sibling. Sibling is such a commonly used word. So, we do so few people know about it? How many siblings do you have?
SIBLING
A sister or a brother or both.
This is good to use instead of asking how many brothers and sisters someone has
It’s also very useful when you have several sisters and brothers.
How many siblings do you have?
I heard he has 13 siblings!
I don’t have any siblings.
Learning English Vocabulary
It can be difficult to remember all the vocabulary that you need to learn a new language! As the saying goes, ‘Practice makes perfect’. There are number of ways to improve vocabulary:
Take our English quizzes on Instagram (@blogglish) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Read! Read as much as you can. Read things that are at your level and try to pick up on the vocabulary based on the context of the sentence.
Try to work in the vocabulary words we teach you here every week into your everyday conversations.
Write in English. Even if you don’t write correctly, writing is a great practice.
English Expression: Hammar out the details. Although this expression sounds a bit strange, it’s actually used quite often. If you hammer something like a glass cup, it breaks down into many little pieces. So, the expression means we are going to figure out all the little details.
HAMMER OUT THE DETAILS
to discuss something in detail in order to come to an agreement
So, we know that we are going to Malaga this summer, but we still need to hammer out the details.
The course starts this Saturday but they still haven’t hammered out the details.
There are so many expressions in every language. Not living in an English speaking country can make it difficult to learn all of them. Here are some tips on how to learn and use English expressions.
Read – books and articles are full of English expressions. So, take advantage of them. Choose a book that is challenging but easy enough to enjoy. You don’t have to look up every word. Try to understand the meaning from the context.
Watch TV series in English – I know it can be difficult sometimes. You get home late and at the end of the day you just want to relax. Well, start watching something at breakfast or lunch time. Don’t leave it for the end of the day. Small hint – comedies use more colloquial language so it can be harder to understand. Find a story that is easy to follow and doesn’t jump around a lot.
Listen to podcasts – there are so many podcasts out there that are quite short. Look for ones that are 3 to 10 minutes, then work your way up to 20 minutes.
Try to use the expressions we post weekly in a conversation. Not having conversations in English? Think about how you could use it in a conversation in your own language. You don’t have to say it out loud, but you can think about how to use it.
Make a mind map! If you’re a visual learner, make a map of the expressions, separating them into categories.
Cursos Intensivos B2 y C1 Inglés Gratuitos. Cada julio preparamos los/las alumnos/as para pasar sus exámenes de B2 y C1 de Cambridge y Oxford Test of English. Este verano los cursos intensivos están 100% bonificados. Quiere decir que puedes recibir 60 horas de inglés de alta calidad gratuitamente.
CURSO INTENSIVO B2
Preparar el alumnado para el examen de B2 de Cambridge y/o Oxford
OBJETIVO
dar un empujón intensivo sobre el Speaking, Listening, Reading y Writing antes de realizar el examen de B2
revisar puntos gramaticales
incrementar el vocabulario necesario para el nivel B2
recibir instrucción sobre cómo mejorar el Speaking para el examen
organizar ideas y estructurar diferentes formatos de Writing con correcciones individualizadas
aumentar la capacidad de escuchar para periodos largos y poder distinguir la información relevante
completar más de 15 exámenes de prueba dentro y fuera de clase
aprender trucos para cada destreza del examen
CURSOS INTENSIVO C1
Preparar el alumnado para el examen de C1 de Cambridge y/o Oxford
OBJETIVO
dar un empujón intensivo sobre el Speaking, Listening, Reading y Writing antes de realizar el examen de C1
revisar puntos gramaticales
incrementar el vocabulario necesario para el nivel C1
recibir instrucción sobre cómo mejorar el Speaking para el examen
organizar ideas y estructurar diferentes formatos de Writing con correcciones individualizadas
aumentar la capacidad de escuchar para periodos largos y poder distinguir la información relevante
completar más de 15 exámenes de prueba dentro y fuera de clase
aprender trucos para cada destreza del examen
Cursos Inglés
Ahora que has visto Cursos Intensivos B2 y C1 Inglés Gratuitos, puedes ver los de más cursos que tenemos en la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava pinchando aquí
