In my classes I have often mentioned how challenging it can be for students to break down the (B2) barrier that prevents them from keeping opinions and emotions out of their conversations. It is undeniable that expressing a personal view is an essential part of many verbal exchanges. It is also true that some debates call for a radically different approach. When things get technical, personal opinions may become quite irrelevant. Think about the description of the protocols designed to handle an outbreak of novel coronavirus disease. How necessary is it to "get personal"?
Nevertheless, at the intermediate level, there is a common tendency to use personal subjects (when people celebrate) instead of a less personal phrase (e.g. long-standing traditions). Granted. In a conversation about national celebrations "people" will eventually come up, but a versatile speaker should be able to dispense with constant references to... "people". The first sentence of this paragraph may actually be an example of the detachment I'm refering to. Notice that I wrote "there is a common tendency to use...". I could have chosen something like "students tend to use...", but I didn't. Do you see the difference? Enough said.
In the video below I discuss some simple tricks that might help you overcome that particular B2 obstacle.
N.B. The deadline for the essay writing assignment is March 4.
C1.1 students. You can still send me your essay explaining why some historic figure deserves global recognition.
C1.2 Castro: a review of a book or film.
C1.2 Laredo: the essay about a day in the life of an ASL interpreter (based on those three different sources we worked on in class).
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