Vocat ional English

w
Ne
Basic English for Informat ion Technology

Dear English t eachers,

We are proud t o present Basic English for Information Technology, a coursebook designed for st udent s of
vocat ional courses on Informat ion Technology. The book contains act ivit ies t hat w ill help your st udent s
develop t he four skills: Reading, Writ ing, Listening and Speaking, as w ell as t he vocabulary and grammar t hey
w ill need in real w ork sit uat ions.

Benvolgut s professors i professores d anglés,

Ens complau present ar-vos Basic English for Information Technology, un quadern dissenyat per a est udiant s
de cicles format ius relacionat s amb la informàt ica. El llibre cont é act ivit at s que ajudaran els vost res alumnes a
millorar les quat re dest reses de la llengua: Reading, Writ ing, List ening i Speaking, a més del vocabulari i la
gramàt ica que necessit aran en sit uacions reals de t reball.

Est imados profesores y profesoras de inglés:

Nos complace present aros Basic English for Information Technology, un cuaderno para est udiantes de ciclos
format ivos relacionados con la informát ica. El libro cont iene act ividades que ayudarán a vuest ros alumnos a
desarrollar las cuat ro dest rezas de la lengua: Reading, Writ ing, Listening y Speaking, además del vocabulario y
la gramát ica que necesit arán en sit uaciones reales de t rabajo.

The coursebook offers

with

Right level for vocat ional t raining courses

au
d i o CD
Real w ork sit uat ions -t elephoning, socializing, and reading
t echnical informat ion Basic English for
Int eract ive speaking t asks relevant t o t he st udent 's needs
Information Technology
Specific vocabulary in t he area of Informat ion Technology
List ening pract ice in every unit
Glossary of key t opic-relat ed vocabulary
Audio CD included
Teacher’s resource pack w it h t eaching programme, t erm
t est s and answ er key

Cont act

Educàlia Editorial
educaliaedit orial@e-ducalia.com
Tel. 96 327 35 17 | 610 900 111 | 610 888 870
Belén Pascual Verónica Real

Belén Pascual - Verónica Real

basicenglishforit @gmail.com
 ud
h a io

CD
wi
Basic English for
Information Technology

Belén Pascual Verónica Real

Primera edición, 2012

Autoras: Belén Pascual Lence / Verónica Real Morte

Maquetación: Daniel de las Heras Stammers / Verónica Real Morte
Ilustraciones: Alma Pascual Lence
Edita: Educàlia Editorial
Imprime: Publidisa, S.A.
ISBN: 978-84-15161-88-2
Depósito Legal: V-2268-2012

Printed in Spain/Impreso en España.

Todos los derechos reservados. No está permitida la reimpresión de ninguna parte de este libro, ni de imágenes ni de texto, ni
tampoco su reproducción, ni utilización, en cualquier forma o por cualquier medio, bien sea electrónico, mecánico o de otro
modo, tanto conocida como los que puedan inventarse, incluyendo el fotocopiado o grabación, ni está permitido almacenarlo
en un sistema de información y recuperación, sin el permiso anticipado y por escrito del editor.

Alguna de las imágenes que incluye este libro son reproducciones que se han realizado acogiéndose al derecho de cita que
aparece en el artículo 32 de la Ley 22/18987, del 11 de noviembre, de la Propiedad intelectual. Educàlia Editorial agradece a
todas las instituciones, tanto públicas como privadas, citadas en estas páginas, su colaboración y pide disculpas por la posible
omisión involuntaria de algunas de ellas

Educàlia Editorial, S.L.

Mondùver, 9, bajo, 46025 Valencia
Tel: 963273517
E-Mail: educaliaeditorial@e-ducalia.com
http://www.e-ducalia.com/material-escolar-colegios-ies.php
Basic English for
Information Technology

Prólogo

Basic English for Informat ion Technology es un cuaderno elaborado para alumnos que est udian
inglés aplicado a la informát ica. Est á pensado y diseñado para el Ciclo Format ivo de Grado
M edio de Sist emas M icroinformát icos y Redes (SM R) así como para ot ros Ciclos de Grado M edio
relacionados con las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación en los que se impart e inglés
t écnico. Además, puede ut ilizarse en Secundaria para impart ir la asignat ura de informát ica
siguiendo la met odología CLIL (Cont ent Language Int egrat ed Learning).

En los últ imos años, el inglés se ha implement ado en muchos ciclos format ivos t écnicos con el
objet ivo de que los alumnos aprendan y perfeccionen el idioma para poder usarlo en sus
fut uros puest os de t rabajo. Consideramos que al t rat arse de est udios pertenecient es a una
rama t écnica, es necesario que el alumno adquiera conocimient os de inglés específico. Sin
embargo, el profesorado de idiomas encargado de impart irlo no es siempre expert o en la
mat eria, lo cual dificult a el poder proporcionar al alumno contenidos específicos en el idioma
ext ranjero. Est o, unido a ot ros fact ores como las pocas horas dedicadas al inglés o el perfil real
del alumnado, hacen que el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje de lenguas ext ranjeras sea más
complicado.

El objet ivo de Basic English for Informat ion Technology es suplir t odas las carencias citadas
ant eriorment e. Queremos proporcionar al alumno un mat erial específico adapt ado a su nivel
con el cual poder aprender inglés básico enfocado a la informát ica. Queremos t ambién facilit ar
al profesor un mat erial sencillo, básico y específico que se adapt e a las circunstancias educat ivas
de hoy en día.

El libro cont iene 9 unidades, 3 por t rimest re. Cada unidad cuent a con act ividades para pract icar
las cuat ro dest rezas del inglés (comprensión oral, comprensión escrit a, expresión oral y
expresión escrit a) además de gramát ica y vocabulario. El libro del alumno cont iene las
t ranscripciones de los list enings y un glosario con el vocabulario específico más import ante de
cada unidad y viene acompañado de un CD para las práct icas de audio.

Para el profesor hemos elaborado un paquet e de recursos que incluye la programación del
curso, las soluciones a los ejercicios y los exámenes para cada evaluación.
Vocabulary: Uses of comput ers. St udying IT Grammar: Present simple. Adverbs of frequency Speaking: M eet ing new people
Reading: Comput ers in everyday life Listening: School rout ines W riting: Personal use of comput ers

Vocabulary W ork in pairs. Ask your partner the follow ing

questions:

Uses of computers How oft en do you use comput ers?

What do you use comput ers for?
Do you st udy IT? Do you like it ? Why?
Why not ?

Look at the pictures. W hat do w e use W rite true sentences about you using
1 computers for? W rite some uses.
3 the follow ing expressions.
________________________________________
________________________________________
a) Play comput er games
________________________________________
I play comput er games every day. M y favourite
________________________________________
one is The Sims.
________________________________________
________________________________________
b) List en t o music
______________________________________

______________________________________
2 Complete the following definitions:

c) Wat ch videos and films

t ype t ext s - surf t he int ernet - st ore dat a -
send emails - visit w ebsit es - creat e blogs ______________________________________

______________________________________
a) I usually __________________ w hen I need
informat ion about a t opic.
d) Read new spapers
b) I __________________ w hen I am t ired of
handw rit ing. ______________________________________

______________________________________
c) I __________________ t o my friends every day.

d) You can __________________ about w hat you e) Chat w it h friends

like and people can read t hem.
______________________________________
e) Type w w w t o __________________. ______________________________________

f) If you __________________, t hey w ill be safe.

1
Vocabulary Jim studies IT. This is his timetable. Discuss
the follow ing aspects w ith your partner:
Studying Information Technology
What subject s does Tim st udy?
When does he usually st art / finish classes?
What do you t hink is t he most difficult
subject ? Why? And t he easiest one?

My t imet a bl e
M on d a y T ue s d a y Wed nesd a y T h ur sd a y F r id a y
Comput er Pr of essiona l
0 8 :3 0 -9:2 5 N et wor k s En gl is h N e t w or k s Prepositions
M aint enan ce Tr a ining
Oper a t ing Comput er Oper a t ing I have English on M onday.
0 9:2 5 -10 :2 0 N et wor k s N et wor k s
Sy st ems M aint enan ce Sy st ems We don't have class on Sat urdays.
Oper a t ing Comput er Oper at ing Of f ice
10 :2 0 -11:0 0 N et wor k s Sy st ems M aint enan ce Sy st ems Sof t war e I alw ays go t o school in t he morning.
B R E A K
They play foot ball in t he aft ernoon.

Of f ic e Comput er Of f ice Of f ice She st art s school at

at half past nine.
11:3 0 -12 :2 0 N e t wor k s
Sof t wa r e M aint enan ce Sof t wa r e Sof t wa r e
I usually st udy at
at night .
Of f ice Comput er Of f ice Comput er
12 :2 0 -13 :10
M aint enan ce N et wor k s Sof t wa r e M aint enan ce
Sof t war e
I go t o school from M onday to
to Friday.
Pr of essional Of f ice Comput er
13 :10 -14:0 0 En gl is h M aint enan ce We st udy Net w orks from
from 11:30 to
to 12:20.
Tr ainin g Sof t wa r e

Complete the definitions w ith the correct Is your timetable similar to this one?
4 subjects.
5 Answ er the questions about your timetable.

a) _____________________: You st udy a foreign a) What t ime do you usually st art and finish?
language. It is necessary t o underst and specific ______________________________________
w ords and communicat e w it h foreign cust omers. ______________________________________
b) What ’s your best day? And t he worst ? Why?
b) _____________________: You learn t hings ______________________________________
about t he w orld of w ork: right s, payment s, CV. ______________________________________
c) What are your favourit e and least favourit e
c) _____________________: You learn about subjects? Why?
programs such as Word, Excel or Pow er Point . ______________________________________
______________________________________
d) _____________________: It is import ant t o
know w hat int erconnect s comput ers in a limit ed
area such as school, home or office building. How w ill your t im et able be next year?
@
Search the Internet or ask one of your teachers

e) _____________________: You st udy t he _ to find out the name of the subjects.

______________________________________
soft w are programs t hat enable t he comput er
______________________________________
hardw are t o communicat e and operat e w it h t he
______________________________________
comput er soft w are. ______________________________________
______________________________________
f) _____________________: It is t he habit of ______________________________________
keeping comput ers in a good st at e of repair. ______________________________________
______________________________________

2
 Reading
1 Read the follow ing texts.

Now adays computers, and especially the Internet, have become an essential part of our
lives. Almost every single person ow ns or uses a computer to watch films, play games, or
send email in their free time and many people find them really helpful for their jobs.

M y t ime is precious so I use a t ablet t o help me organize my day. In t he office I

Kathy have a comput er w here I keep a record of my pat ient appoint ment s and st ore
medical records. Bot h devices are synchronized w it h t he PC t hat I have at home.

I oft en use comput ers. I prepare exams w it h a w ord processor and I calculate t he
marks w it h a spreadsheet program. I also use present at ion programs t o w rit e Steve
explanat ions and show t hem in class.

I am unemployed but I have t o look aft er my lit t le t w ins so I need t o st ay at home

Sophie most of t he t ime. Tw ice a w eek I order goods online and t hey are delivered t o my
door. When I w ant t o cont rol my finances I connect t o my bank comput er syst em.

I w ork from home, so I don't need t o t ravel to t he office. I use my PC t o make

det ailed draw ings and send t hem t o my clients. I never see t hem because w e Matthew
communicat e via phone calls or emails.
When someone w ant s t o borrow a book, I scan t he bar code and t he device tells

Janet t he comput er syst em all t he informat ion about it . It can also send reminder
let t ers t o members w ho have t o ret urn books.

Reading comprehension Vocabulary

2 Read the texts again. W hat are their jobs? 4 Find w ords in the texts w ith these meanings.

a) Kat hy _______________________
a) To keep informat ion in a comput er.
b) St eve _______________________ _______________________

c) Sophie _______________________ b) A comput er program t hat st ores dat a in t ables

and analyses it by using formulas.
d) M at t hew _______________________ _______________________

e) Janet _______________________ c) To be out of work.

_______________________

d) To ask for a product t o a shop.

3 W rite the name of the correct person. _______________________

a) __________ uses office soft w are t o w ork.

e) A machine used for a specific t ask. A gadget .
_______________________
b) __________ checks her account s.

c) __________ and __________ w ork at home.

W ork in pairs.
d) __________ has creat ed a dat a base.

e) __________ doesn’t usually go t o t he M ake a list of ot her jobs w here comput ers
supermarket . are used. Explain w hat t hey are used for.

f) ___________ uses a barcode reader.

Two

3
Grammar
Present simple Adverbs of frequency

Present simple (Affirmative / Negative / Interrogative) Adverbs of frequency

We use t he comput er every day. M y brot her often dow nloads music.

Our English t eacher uses t he comput er in class. She alw ays uses skype t o t alk t o her friends.

You don’t have a lapt op at home. M y fat her usually reads magazines about t echnology.

He doesn’t have a print er at w ork. I hardly ever read blogs.

Do t hey send emails t o t heir friends? We sometimes t ake phot os w it h our digit al camera.

Does he send t ext messages t o her girlfriend? M y friend Paco never print s document s.

1 Complete the rules w ith examples from the tables above.

Pr esent simple Ad ver bs of f r eq uency

le t o...
- We use t he Pr esent Simp ar e used
ines et imes or of t en
a) descr ibe habit s and r out - Always, never , som
ar e happenin g now t ense.
b) act ions t hat _________________
wit h t he _________
c) descr ibe f eelings

le of I / you/ t hey/ we t heir f r eq uency:

- We f or m t he pr esent simp bs accor ding t o
f ir mat ive wit h t he ver b and in nega t ive wit h - Or der t he ad ver __
in af
t he ver b. ++++++ __________________
____________ ___ + and ______ ___ __
+ +++
+ + ++++ ______ ___
____ ____ _____________ __________________
__
Example: ________________ +
+ + ++++ __
+ + +++ __________________
___ ______ ___________
++ +
f er ent wit h he/ she/ it . We __________________
__
- The pr esent simple is dif + -
t he ver b. -
use _______________ + wit h
_________________
Example: ____________________

2 Complete the sentences w ith the correct
form of the verbs in brackets. Use the present
simple.
a) We ________________ (use) a lapt op in class.
b) David ________________ (read) books in a
reader device.
c) M y sist er ________________ (not scan)
document s.
d) They ________________ (t ype) informat ion
int o a comput er.
e) M y friend Sarah ________________ (not t ake)
pict ures.
3 W rite the sentences in the correct order.
a) never / plays / comput er / he / games
__________________________________________
b) somet imes / Will / funny / makes / videos
__________________________________________
c) uses / t he / M eredit h / w ebcam / alw ays
__________________________________________
d) dow nload / I / usually / music
__________________________________________
e) print / hardly ever / phot os / I
__________________________________________
f) t heir / mails / send / t hey / oft en / t o / friends
__________________________________________

4
 Grammar

4 Look at this table comparing the activities of different people. Complete the column about you.

M y friends
Brad M iss Parker You Tom
and I

Play comput er games Alw ays Never Somet imes Oft en

Use t he scanner Somet imes Alw ays Usually Never

M ake backup copies Usually Oft en Never Somet imes

Spend money
Never Somet imes Alw ays Hardly ever
on t echnology

List en t o music Hardly ever Usually Oft en Alw ays

5 W rite sentences using the present W ork in pairs. Describe the image. W hat does
simple and adverbs of frequency about Rose do every day?
these people.

Brad alw ays plays comput er games. Use present simple in affirmative and negative
form. Then make questions about the picture
Brad ______________________________________ to your classmates.

Brad ______________________________________

M iss Parker ________________________________

M iss Parker ________________________________

M iss Parker ________________________________

M y friends and I ____________________________

M y friends and I ____________________________

M y friends and I ____________________________

Tom ______________________________________

Tom ______________________________________

Tom ______________________________________

5
List ening
School routines
1 Listen to Lisa talking about her daily routine in a Spanish vocational school. Then, choose the correct
answ er a, b or c.
1. How does Lisa go to school?
a. She goes by car.
b. She t akes t he bus and t he underground.
c. She w alks w it h her friends.
2. W hat kind of things does Lisa take to school?
a. Books, not ebooks and a comput er
b. Pens, not ebooks and a comput er
c. Books, pens and a comput er
3. W hy does Lisa use her ow n laptop in class?
a. Because t hey haven't got comput ers in t he
classroom.
b. Because t he comput ers in t he classroom
are t oo old and slow .
c. Because she only likes w orking on her
lapt op.
4. W hich school subject does Lisa NOT mention?
a. Web applicat ions
b. Office soft w are
C. Net w ork services
Imagine you are interview ing Lisa. W rite
2 five questions to ask her about her classes
in England.
1.__________________________________
__________________________________
2.__________________________________
__________________________________
3.__________________________________
__________________________________
4.__________________________________
__________________________________
5.__________________________________
__________________________________
6
5. W here does Lisa usually have lunch?
a. at home
b. in a rest aurant
c. in t he school cafet eria
6. W hat time does Lisa finish school?
a. at about 8:15 pm
b. at about 8:30 pm
c. at about 8:45 pm
7. The differences betw een the course in Spain
and in England are…
a. t he subject s and t he t raining period
b. t he t imet able and t he subject s
c. t he t imet able and t he t raining period
W ork in pairs. Talk w ith a partner and describe
your life as a student.
How do you go t o school?
Describe your school. What facilit ies
does it have? What st udies does it offer?
Where do you have lunch?
What do you do during t he break?
What do you do aft er school?
Do you have any friends? Describe t hem.
Find out about learning IT in Great Britain.
@
Are t here vocat ional t raining courses?
Do t hey st udy t he same subject s?
Would you like t o study t here?
What do you t hink are t he main differences
bet w een Spain and Brit ain?
 Speaking
M eeting new people

1 Read the follow ing dialogue and listen to it. Look at the expressions in bold and translate them into your language.

Amanda Hello, my name's Amanda. What 's your name?

M ario Hi, I'm M ario. Nice to meet you.
Amanda Nice t o meet you t oo. Is it your first day here?
M ario Yes, it is! I'm a foreign st udent .
Amanda Really? Where are you from?
M ario I'm from Spain. And you?
Amanda I w as born in Bost on but I live in Bright on.
M ario What do you st udy?
Amanda I st udy a vocat ional t raining course in Comput er Science.
W hat about you?
M ario I st udy a vocat ional t raining course in Commerce. I'm in
first year. W hat year are you in?
Amanda I'm in first year t oo.
M ario Are you going t o t he w elcome part y t onight ?
Amanda No, I can't . I have t o w ork.
M ario What do you do?
Amanda I w ork for a small IT business. I assembly Pcs.
M ario Oh, t hat 's great ! I have t o go now. See you soon!
Amanda Ok, bye-bye!

2 Now it is your turn. W ork in pairs and role-play a similar situation.

Student A Student B

Step 1. Int roduce yourself t o your part ner. Step 1. Int roduce yourself t o your part ner and
Ask him/ her at least t en quest ions about him answ er his/ her quest ions. Then ask him/ her
/ her. Then answ er your part ner's quest ions. at least t en quest ions about him / her.

Step 2. Int roduce your part ner t o t he rest of Step 2. Int roduce your part ner t o t he rest of
t he class. t he class.

Remember t o add an -s t o t he t hird person Remember t o add an -s t o t he t hird person

singular. He w orks in a shopping centre. singular. He w orks in a shopping centre.

Where
Where do
do
How
How dodoyou
Where you
do
you live?
you live? I live in a village cometyou
come live?
ot oclass?
class? I usually t ake
I live in a village
live in a village
called Aldaia.
called I
Aldai a. t he undergroun aked.
lly t a.
usuaAldai
Icalled t he
und ergr oun d.

7
Writ ing
Personal use of computers

1 Read this text about Lindsey and Lee Yun.

Lindsey is 19 years old and lives in Not t ingham, England. She

st udies Psychology at Not t ingham Universit y. She likes going out w it h

her friends and reading romant ic novels. There is one t hing Lindsey hat es.

She hat es comput ers. She doesn't like t echnology and she doesn't like

w orking w it h elect ronic devices. M ost of her friends have ebooks, iPads

and iPhones but she prefers her t radit ional mobile phone and a real book.

How ever, Lindsey uses comput ers every day because her boyfriend lives in Thailand and she needs her lapt op t o

communicat e w it h him. She dow nloads free programs to call him and she somet imes uses t he w ebcam.

Lee Yun, her boyfriend, is a DJ. He loves comput ers and uses
t hem a lot . He creat es his ow n songs w it h a digit al music mixer and

t hen t ransfers t hem t o his PC. He usually uploads t he new songs t o t he

w eb t o share t hem w it h ot her people.

In his free t ime Lee Yun enjoys dow nloading his favourit e music ont o

his iPod. He also w at ches videos online.

2 Read the text and answ er the follow ing 3 Find these elements in the text and
questions: underline them:

a) What does Lindsey like? a) Three examples of present simple affirmat ive
____________________________________
____________________________________
b) One example of present simple negat ive

b) What does Lindsey hat e? Why?

c) Three adverbs of frequency
____________________________________
____________________________________

c) Are Lindsey and Lee Yun different ? Give W riting task

examples.
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
d) What does Lee Yun use comput ers for?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
W rite a composition about your experience w ith
computers.
Paragraph 1: Studying IT
- Why do you st udy IT?
Paragraph 2: Personal use of computers
- How oft en do you use t hem? What for?
Paragraph 3: Importance of computers
- Are comput ers import ant in everyday life? Why?
- Could you live w it hout comput ers?