General English Lower Intermediate Level
Lesson 15
Great minds
1. Watch the video
Expression to work on
I have a full time job but I like learning new things in my spare time
At the moment I am studying Spanish, I am enjoying it, but I am finding it quite difficult
Today we are asking people about learning new things
I am learning to speak another language actually, I am learning French, I am also learning to drive
I am learning to play golf at the moment, my husband and my son play golf, and when we go on holiday, I feel that I want to be able to play golf with them
I am learning to speak Spanish
I am learning aerobic
Well, I’ve learning to play the guitar for about 15 years now, It is a constant process, I am still learning a bit yet
I am learning yoga at the moment and I find it quite hard
The courses I am taking are training courses for leadership, negotiation, evaluation
I am learning to paint and enjoy evening classes
I am studying part time after work
I am learning how to design a website at the moment
I am in a quire, singing I guess is pretty much the only thing I am doing at the moment
At the moment I am taking up a new instrument, it is a traditional instrument, let me show you
What’s the most difficult thing you have ever learnt?
Patience I think
Aerobic
Courage
Learning a language is particularly difficult for myself, so probably learning Spanish
The most difficult thing I have ever learnt is mentoring Chinese. I did it in the evening classes a few years ago
And I found it really really difficult
Probably the Capuela, which is a Brazilian dance, I thought it was very difficult because it had many unusual body movements to learn
Learning to drive was the most difficult
I think I found French very hard at school
I learnt to play the trumpet at school, that was pretty difficult and may be learning to drive I hate learning to drive.
Questions
- What are you learning at the moment?
- What did you learn a few years ago?
- What is the most difficult thing you have ever learn?
Present perfect and ‘for’/’since’
Meaning and use
The present perfect is often used to talk about situations that started in the past and are continuing now. We sometimes use the present perfect in a question with how long to ask about how long a present situation has continued.
- How long have Sasha and Tanya been married?
We talk about how long using the words for and since.
For = throughout (a period of time).
- They’ve been married for six months.
Since = from (an exact point in time) until now.
- They’ve been married since March.
We can also use present perfect + since + past simple.
- I haven’t seen Tanya since we graduated.
Form
The present perfect is made with subject + have/has (positive) or haven’t/hasn’t (negative) + past participle.
- For is used with a length of time.
- Since is used with a specific point in the past.
- for: ten minutes, one hour, two days, a week, three years, a long time
- since: 10 o'clock, Friday, November, 2013, Easter
- I’ve lived here since 2012.
- I’ve worked for this company for 20 years.
- We haven’t seen her for ages.
- She hasn’t been back to the UK since 2009.
- Have you known Sasha since last year?
- Have you lived here for more than two years?
- How long have you known him?
- Have you known Sasha a long time?
Take note: present simple and present continuous
We cannot use the present simple or present continuous with for and since.
- WRONG: I know him for ten years.
- CORRECT: I’ve known him for ten years.
- WRONG: I’m living here since 2002.
- CORRECT: I’ve lived here since 2002.
Take note: present perfect / present perfect continuous
With verbs like work and live, which can describe permanent or temporary situations, we usually use the present perfect + ‘for’ / ‘since’ for a long period of time. For a short period, we use the present perfect continuous.
- I’ve worked for this company for 20 years. (present perfect)
- I’ve been working here for a week. (present perfect continuous)
Take note: present perfect / past simple
If a situation is finished, we use the past simple + ‘for’, not the present perfect:
- I worked for that company for 20 years and then I retired.
Spoken English
In informal writing and in speech, we often use a contraction with the auxiliary verb.
- I’ve lived in Amsterdam for twelve years.
When you listen to someone using a sentence with for + a period of time, listen carefully to the verb. It is sometimes difficult to hear the difference between, for example, I’ve lived in New York for five years and I lived in New York for five years, but it makes a big difference in meaning. It tells us whether the speaker still lives there or not.
Activity 2
How has the World Service changed?
"Whether you like it or not, you have to work with other colleagues"
He has worked at the BBC World Service for a long time - but how long exactly. Listen to him speak about his experience to find out.
Listen to the audio and try the activity
Raymond Li
Chinese Service Editor
My name is Raymond Li. I'm the Chinese Editor at the BBC World Service. I've worked for the BBC since 1991.
I think the major change we have seen so far since moving to Broadcasting House is about collaboration and integration with other BBC production units. In the past we were working in more like a silo. But nowadays we are in a very big, open office and we are sitting together with other colleagues. So, whether you like it or not, you have to work together with other colleagues.
BBC Chinese Service has stopped producing radio programmes. Since then we have been focusing on producing online content. I would say the internet has changed radio broadcasting tremendously, in terms of the skills requirement for the radio producers or broadcasting journalists.
How much do you remember from the interview? Try this activity and answer the questions.
Questions about the Chinese Service
Read the questions and choose the correct answer
Activity 3
Changing jobs
Different jobs, different experience
So far in this session we have learned about someone who's worked at the BBC for a long time. Now it's time to hear from someone who joined the BBC more recently. Sourena is a broadcast journalist, and he's going to tell us a bit about his experience.
Listen to him speak and see if you can work out the link between Iran, fashion and the BBC. And don't forget to listen out for the present perfect!
Listen to the audio and complete the activity
Sourena, BBC broadcast journalist
Hi. My name is Sourena and I'm from Iran. I'm a broadcast journalist, but before that I worked as a fashion designer for five years in Iran.
When I was in fashion, I had my own label. So, I was responsible for designing, making and selling all my clothes and accessories. It was a stressful but exciting experience. Now, I’ve worked for the BBC since 2012. So, I've worked here for about three years.
Since I joined the BBC, my working life has changed a bit. As a journalist, I present, record, edit, upload things to our website. The most exciting thing I've done as a BBC journalist was when I reported on the Oscars live on camera. It was a brilliant opportunity to use my fashion knowledge as a journalist.
He talked about his experience using the present perfect in different ways. We've already seen some of these, with for and since and time references. But there was one more way that we can use the present perfect that we heard.
Try this activity and see if you get it right!
Sentences about Sourena
Match the first half of the sentence with the correct second half to describe true facts about Sourena
So Sourena used the present perfect with a reference to an event to describe his experience. He said:
Since I joined the BBC, my working life has changed...
The reference to the event here is in the past simple, but he could also say this:
Since joining the BBC, my working life has changed...
So with since we can use a past simple statement or a gerund and then use the present perfect. Here are two more examples:
Since I moved to the UK, my English has improved a lot.
Since moving to London, I have started to spend more money on rent.
The present perfect is often used to talk about situations that started in the past and are continuing now.
We talk about how long using the words for and since.
for = throughout (a period of time)
They've been married for six months.
since = from (an exact point in time) until now
They've been married since March.
We can also use present perfect + since + past simple.
I haven't seen Tanya since we graduated.
The present perfect is made with subject + have/has (positive) or haven't/hasn't (negative) + past participle.
1. Learn the topic vocabulary
2. Learn the grammar rules
Activity 1
How long have you lived here?
Students speak about living in the UK
In this photo, you can see Jie, Kinga, Arta, Javier, Melissa and Maryam. They’re all studying English at a college in London and they’ve all lived in the UK for a while. Listen to Melissa, Arta and Maryam. They spoke about coming to the UK.
But who do you think has been here the longest—and who has lived here the shortest time?
In this photo, you can see Jie, Kinga, Arta, Javier, Melissa and Maryam. They’re all studying English at a college in London and they’ve all lived in the UK for a while. Listen to Melissa, Arta and Maryam. They spoke about coming to the UK.
But who do you think has been here the longest—and who has lived here the shortest time?
Hello. My name is Melissa and I come from Switzerland.
I have lived in the UK for one year and three months. I think the most interesting thing that has happened to me since I’ve moved here is me having this opportunity to learn English and be able to speak and write this language.
My name is Arta. I come from Albania.
I have lived in UK since 2012. Since I moved to the UK I improve a little bit my English, I’ve bought a house in here and I start a job.
My name is Maryam Sadat. I come from Afghanistan.
I have lived here for eight years. The most interesting things are the freedom, peace and the opportunity to achieve my goals.
If you've listened carefully enough you would have heard that Maryam has lived in the UK the longest—for 8 years. Melissa has only lived here for one year and three months—that's the shortest time of the three. Arta said she has lived here since 2012, which is over two years—so she’s in the middle.
In this activity you’ll see some jumbled sentences about all the students. Can you put them in the correct order? And remember that you’ll need to change the verb form from I have to something different.
Make present perfect sentences
Put the words in the correct order. Be careful – there are some words that you don’t need!
How did you do? Remember that when we are talking about someone else, we will use he or she in our sentences. This means we have to change the verb have to make the present perfect correctly. Here’s a reminder of the form:
He has lived in London for 3 years.
She has studied at the college for 3 months.
When we are speaking, we often contract the verb has like this:
He’s lived here for 3 years.
She’s studied at the college for 3 months
Session Grammar
- for = throughout (a period of time)
- They’ve been married for six months.
- She's lived in England for eight years.
- We haven't seen her for ages.
- He hasn't been in the office for a week.
- Have you lived in the UK for more than two years?
Activity 2
Since I moved here...
Achieving my goals
Have you ever moved to a different country? What's the most interesting thing that has happened to you since you moved?
The six students you saw in Activity 1 also answered this question. Read their answers and have a look at how they use the present perfect to talk about their experiences. If you really need help, you can listen to their answers as well.
Read the text and try the activity
What's the most interesting thing that has happened to you?
-
MelissaI think the most interesting thing that has happened to me since I've moved here is me having this opportunity to learn English and be able to speak and write this language.
-
JavierI think that the most interesting thing for me was that I meet new, nice friends. And I'm sure that will be forever.
-
ArtaSince I moved to the UK, I improve a little bit my English, I've bought a house in here, and I start a job.
-
JieYeah. I think the most interesting thing is weather. The weather I find strange. And it's rainy all the time, foggy. Like four seasons a day.
-
MaryamThe most interesting things are the freedom, peace and the opportunity to achieve my goals.
-
KingaTo learn English and went at the O2 Arena to see my favourite popstars and travel around Europe and around the UK.
Now you've read what the students said, how much can you remember about what they said? Try the activity to make sentences about what they've done.
Students experiences
Choose the correct words to describe the students' experiences of life in the UK