Applying for a job

 Applying for a Job

Here are some useful exercises for you to practice vocabulary, grammar and even writing skills regarding job applications and interviews. When you have finished, you can check the key posted hereby. Click on the links for more information!

GET THAT JOB (BBC)

If you have ….1.... the interview stage, your CV and letter of application must have been ….2.... ! The company now wants to know more about you. But there is still more work to do if you want to get that job! Make sure you have ….3.... the company as thoroughly as possible - use the Internet, company reports, recruitment literature etc. …..4..... yourself of why you applied to this company. Make a list of the skills, experience, and interests you can ….5.... the organisation. Finally, try to ….6.... the questions you will be expected to answer - imagine you are the interviewer!

1. gained / reached / arrived / achieved
2. effective / important / impressive / significant
3. researched / discovered / inquiered / examined
4. remember / remind /imagine / summarise
5. show / present / offer / demonstrate
6. ask / suggest / give / predict

Key

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/getthatjob/unit4interview/page1.shtml

1. gained / reached / arrived / achieved
2. effective / important / impressive / significant
3. researched / discovered / inquiered / examined
4. remember / remind /imagine / summarise
5. show / present / offer / demonstrate
6. ask / suggest / give / predict

Covering Letters

Letter Content. Here is a list of points you should include:

Say that you would like to apply Say where you found out about the job Say why you would like the job

Say why you are qualified to do the job Say you can provide more information if necessary Say when you would be available for interview

Useful phrases: choose the best option for each gap

Dear Mr Saleh,

I am writing to ….1.... for the position of Editorial Assistant which was ….2.... in the latest edition of Gulf News.
I am currently ….3.... by a Market Research company as a research assistant, but am keen to ….4.... a career in publishing, because I enjoy reading and write my own poetry.
As you will notice on the ….5.... CV, I graduated in European Literature. At University I gained considerable ….6.... working on the student magazine, so I am ….7.... with editing techniques. I work well under ….8.... and enjoy working in a team. In addition, I speak English ….9.... .
I would be ….10.... for interview from next week. Meanwhile, please do not ….11.... to contact me if you require further information.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,

Margaret Roan

1. apply / ask / request
2. shown / advertised / presented
3. worked / employed / used
4. want / pursue / take
5. included / mentioned / attached
6. experiment / expression / experience
7. familiarised / femiliar / familiar
8. anxiety / demands / pressure
9. excellently / fluently / strongly
10. available / around / accessible
11. hesitate / wait / stop

Here are some common phrases you might use when applying for a job. However, the prepositions are missing - type out the correct ones choosing words from the table below.

to

of

under

in

for

I would like to apply ….......... the position If you would like to discuss this …........... more detail I enjoy working …............. pressure I was ….................. charge I was responsible ….................. With reference ….................

Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/getthatjob/unit3coverletter/page3.shtml

and listen

Key

Dear Mr Saleh,

I am writing to ….1.... for the position of Editorial Assistant which was ….2.... in the latest edition of Gulf News.
I am currently ….3.... by a Market Research company as a research assistant, but am keen to ….4.... a career in publishing, because I enjoy reading and write my own poetry.
As you will notice on the ….5.... CV, I graduated in European Literature. At University I gained considerable ….6.... working on the student magazine, so I am ….7.... with editing techniques. I work well under ….8.... and enjoy working in a team. In addition, I speak English ….9.... .
I would be ….10.... for interview from next week. Meanwhile, please do not ….11.... to contact me if you require further information.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,

Margaret Roan

1. apply / ask / request
2. shown / advertised / presented
3. worked / employed / used
4. want / pursue / take
5. included / mentioned / attached
6. experiment / expression / experience
7. familiarised / femiliar / familiar
8. anxiety / demands / pressure
9. excellently / fluently / strongly
10. available / around / accessible
11. hesitate / wait / stop

I would like to apply the position
If you would like to discuss this more detail
I enjoy working pressure
I was in charge

I was responsible

With reference

STRONG ADJECTIVES

They have the idea of "very" and are followed by a normal adjective

Examples

• gorgeous = very beautiful
• huge = very big

Base Adjectives	Strong Adjectives
beautiful	gorgeous
ugly	awful
dirty	filthy
good	superb, great, fantastic
bad	terrible
happy	thrilled
angry	furious
hungry	starving
tired	exhausted
funny	hilarious
big	huge, enormous
small	tiny
fat	obese
scared	terrified
cold	freezing
hot	boiling

With strong adjectives, for intensifiers we normally use: absolutely - exceptionally - particularly - really - quite

The film was absolutely awful.

He was an exceptionally brilliant child.

The food smelled really disgusting

Very, absolutely and really are used differently according whether the adjective is a base or a strong one:

	very	absolutely	really
Base adjectives
Strong adjectives

Examples:

• He was very happy; he was absolutely thrilled.
• He was really happy/thrilled.

Intensifiers with comparatives and superlatives:
We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with comparative adjectives: much - far - a lot - quite a lot - a great deal - a good deal - a good bit - a fair bit

• He is much older than me.
• New York is a lot bigger than Boston.
• We use much and far as intensifiers with comparative adjectives in front of a noun:
• France is a much bigger country than Britain.
• He is a far better player than Ronaldo.

We use these words as intensifiers with superlatives: easily - by far - far

• The blue whale is easily the biggest animal in the world.
• This car was by far the most expensive.

To practise this grammar point, please go to tolearnenglish.com or english file. For all the other grammar points in this unit (quantifiers, articles, infinitive/gerund), please go the OUP website here.

INFINITIVE OR GERUND?

See this presentation; I hope it helps you:

Inf Ger NI2
If you want to play while you learn, you can try this duel game from englishmedialab.com.

Male brains vs Female brains

"A tale of two brains"

Mark Gungor

In this video Mark Gungor, a marriage expert, talks about the difference between male brains and female brains in a very humorous way. Are you ready to have a laugh?

I WISH...

Would you like things to be different? Then, MAKE A WISH.... and remember...
1. when  we make a wish about the present,  we use 

If only / I wish + simple past

Example:

If only I knew how to use a computer. (I don’t know how to use a computer and I would like to learn how to use it) 

I wish I spoke Italian. (I don't speak Italian) 

Now listen to Avril Lavigne, enjoy the song and sing along

2. To express a wish about the past (usually regretting something):

If only / I wish + past perfect

Example:

If only I had woken up early. (I didn't wake up early and I missed my bus.) 

I wish I hadn't eaten so much. (I ate a lot.) 

3. When you wish that SOMEONE ELSE would do something (you are usually impatient, or you complain about something you don't like / annoys you):

I wish / if only + would + verb

Example:

I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the time (I'm annoyed because you always come late and I want you to arrive on time) 

I wish it would stop raining. (I'm impatient because it is raining and I want to go outside.)

Finally, to practise a little, go here. to better-english.com, myenglishpages.com... In busyteacher you'll find some sentences and their answers below (please, don't look at them until you've done them first). 
Tolearnenglish has exercises for present wishes, regrets, and past situations, and more...

Comments by ZingerBug.com

Slow Down, you move too fast - Unit 5a

Slow food in a fast world

Task: Watch the video and post your comments about the advantages and disadvantages of slow food. Would you join the movement?

Enjoy!

Asking questions in English

How to ask questions in English

Having difficulties writing questions ? Then check this link, it will be very useful. Click here!

Note: who, what and which can be the subject of the question. In that case you don't need the auxiliary.

Who is coming for lunch? (who is the subject) "Maria is coming for lunch".

Who do you want to invite for lunch? (you is the subject) "I want to invite Patricia".

What food is typical in Mexico? (what is the subject) "Tacos is typical in Mexico"

What food do you normally prepare for Christmas? "I normally prepare turkey"

Used to

USED TO/GET USED TO/BE USED TO

Hello again!
I hope this presentation we saw in class can help you remember the different ways we have in English to express HABITS.
USED_TO
->To do some exercises click here, here, and here. It gives you the chance to practise and correct yourself. Have a go!

Speaking Singlish

Speaking Singlish

Hi students! As you know, English is not only spoken in the U.K. and in the U.S.A. It is spoken in many other countries around the world. But why not creating a new variety of the language? That's what they have done in Singapore. There they speak Singlish which is a variety of English, incorporating elements of Chinese and Malay [from a blend of Singaporean + English]. Have you ever heard about Spanglish? Do you know where it's spoken? Do you know any examples? What do you think about it?

You can leave your comments here and share your knowledge with the others!!!

HAVE SOMETHING DONE

These two videos explain quite clearly how this passive structure works:

 


Explanation ecenglish.com. and elblogdelingles.
Exercises: here, here, here , here.

MAKING CONVERSATION

How can we sound more natural when we speak? That's the million-dollar question, but let's see some expressions which can help us improve our speaking. 

Something we sometimes do is gossip and talk about other people's lives. Listen to this lesson from the BBC to learn some useful expressions and do some exercises.

If you listen to this, you can also practise how to show interest. Here you have some more ways of showing interest and surprise. Here go some expressions we use in informal English:

How to express shock:

• I was shocked to hear the news.
• I was stunned / taken aback by the news
• The news came as a complete shock.
• We're all in complete shock.

How to express disbelief:

• I just can't believe he won the race.
• It's unbelievable that they got married
• I just can't imagine they were able to get along with each other.

Come on, you can't be serious. You're not serious, are you? You're lying, aren't you? Really? It's wrong, isn't it? She is not serious, is she?

You're joking, aren't you? You're kidding me You're laughing at me You're pulling my leg I can't believe you!

Last but not least, this page will offer you lots of expressions for almost any situation you can think of.

RELATIVELY SPEAKING

Hi!

This is the presentation which we used in class. As a matter of fact, it's a revised and improved version of the previous one.

Relative Clauses by Pili

Now let's practise: if you visit ego4u.com, you can use relative clauses in definitions, here you can decide if the pronouns are necessary or not, here you can decide what type of clauses they are, then write some yourself here, or in a text,. Finally, you can do these tests: test one, test for level 2, for level 3 and for level 4. 
Good luck!

SOME MORE MISTAKES

This is the second presentation; the third one is still "cooking up".

MISTAKES

Hello! These are some of the mistakes you're still making. Have a look at this presentation to see if we can avoid any of them in the future. Another similar presentation will be coming soon. I'm still working on it.

mistakes_NI2.pdf by