Dear Sir or Madam

Manel

XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXX

The Director

LingoLearners – School of English

221B Blacksmith Street

NE1 7RU Newcastle 

United Kingdom

November 29, 2016 

Dear Sir or Madam,

After having seen your advertisement in the newspaper, I am writing this letter to enquire about English summer courses at your school.

I am 33 years old and I have been studying English for three years in my local English school. However, I am sure that I need to improve many issues, in particular my level of oral comprehension and vocabulary.

It is for these reasons that I would be grateful if you could send me further details regarding courses in July 2017, especially the starting dates and how many hours a day. With reference to the mention about ‘small friendly classes’ I would like to know the number of students in each class approximately. In addition, I would like to know details about the different planned trips and how much they cost.

Finally, I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide me with some information about accommodation with host families.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

Manel

[Composition #2, 4th Level] 

Roman the "philo-lover"

Roman is probably the only one philosopher in Terres de l’Ebre. Born in Tortosa in 1982 he was the first child of his parents. They lived in Tortosa, in a little house where Roman didn’t even have a window in his room. When he was four, they moved to Campredó, where he had his first sister.

His first years at school were quite difficult. He used to be more thoughtful than other children at his class and this caused him some problems, with teachers because he used to question them and with other students who didn’t agree with some of his playtime’s social theories. Unfortunately, more than once he was punched in the mouth.

These situations made him feel insecure about his thinking and himself. He felt like a weird boy. When he had to start the university he was such an insecure boy that he bought big glasses just to hide under them. Luckily, in Barcelona he found another atmosphere, he was spot on with the degree he chose: Philosophy.

Nowadays he writes for some digital magazines and he makes the most of his imagination writing incredible little stories about his magical routine life. He also manages some philosophy cultural events around Catalunya and he is a happy philosophy teacher. Although he was able to adapt himself to a world which is not prepared for people so sensitive like him, it wasn't easy to be born being a philosopher in a land which wasn’t ready for it.

What a surprise!

To: alex_royal_stark@fakemail.net
From: manelcat@gmail.com
Subject: What a surprise!


Dear Alex,

How are you?

This week is terrible in my office and I haven’t got time to call you. I get home very late, so I’ve decided to send you an email and tell you some crazy news that I’m sure you will enjoy.

A few days ago, my brother Sam was at home when somebody knocked at the door. He opened and saw a strange guy with a white-haired beard and a bright cap. He was George R. R. Martin, the famous writer of A Song of Ice and Fire. You know my brother is a great fan of books, so when he recognized him, he was excited.

Martin had to go to the TV studios for an interview, but his car suddenly broke and it stopped just in front of my brother’s house. Martin usually travels with his team, but that day he went alone. Sam picked up Martin and took him to the studio. Meanwhile, they were talking about the books. Martin told him that he has just finished his last book and he was going to a press conference.

In gratefulness, Martin invited my brother to act in Game of Thrones ––the TV show–– as an extra!! He will be a soldier on her Majesty Daenerys Targaryen’s service! That’s awesome! Martin also dedicated a book and gave him two tickets for the premiere.

He is playing tomorrow at 10:00 h and next month we’re going to watch him on TV! He doesn’t have to say anything. He only has to hold a spear and a shield, and pretend to be a rude-looking guy! LOL.

See you on Friday, Alex. Cheers!



[Composition #4, 2nd Level]

Concerning New York (oral presentation)

I’m going to speak to you about the city of New York. I’ve never been in New York, but it’s a city that always has attracted my attention and I hope to visit it someday.

New York City is located on the East coast of the USA, exactly in the state of New York. In spite of being one of the biggest cities in the world, New York City is not the capitol of its own state, which is Albany —a city smaller than Reus. This also happens in other states: for example the capitol of California is not Los Angeles or San Francisco, but is Sacramento; or in Texas the capitol is Austin, instead of Dallas or Houston.

New York City is composed of five boroughs: Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens. The Bronx is the only one that is located in the continent, the others are in islands.

New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with a population of 8.5 million. The whole population of Barcelona, Munich, Rome, Paris and Dublin could live together in the five boroughs of New York.

New York City has an area of 1.200 square kilometers. That’s a big extension, but to understand its size better is interesting to compare it with a more familiar area. This is Tortosa* and this green rectangle is Central Park on the same scale. If you walked from the McDonald’s to the university in Remolins you would walk half of Central Park. Obviously, Central Park is a little part of Manhattan, and Manhattan is the smallest district of New York…

New York City has many monuments and issues to speak about, but I have only five minutes. I’m going to talk about some of the most iconic places to visit in New York:

Grand Central Terminal. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century, and even today is the largest train station in the world. It has 44 platforms and half a million people transit every day through this space. It’s been used as a set in many films, like Superman, Armageddon or Modern Times.

The Statue of Liberty. Its real name is Liberty Enlightening the World. It’s a 46-meter-high neoclassical sculpture placed on Liberty Island. It was given as a present by the French government to commemorate the centenary of the American Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776). It was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and was built by Gustave Eiffel in France with 31 tons of copper.

Central Park. It’s a great green lung placed in the middle of Manhattan, which is taken every day by thousands of New Yorkers and visitors to rest in the grass, take photos or simply walk around. The park also has lakes. The biggest one is the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. It’s a popular place to practice jogging and biking. Actually, there are too many people that authorities established to run only in clockwise direction, in order to avoid crashes.

The Empire State. The Empire State Building is 443 meters high and was the first skyscraper in the world to contain over 100 floors. It hosts 1.000 offices and has its own postal code. The last 30 floors can change the light color. This system is used to commemorate special events and anniversaries and there is an official calendar on its website where you can know upcoming lightings.

(*) See the presentation file.

[Oral presentation, 4th Level]

Article based in the former post "Concerning New York"