EOI – MONÓLOGOS

1. Estructura

INTRODUCTION

My name is

I’m going to talk about

First of all, I’ll talk about

First of all, I’m going to explain how....

Then, I’ll move to...

Finally, I’m going to give you my opinion about...

BODY

From my point of view...

The advantages are...

The disadvantages are...

In my opinion...

I’m sure that...

However, I’d like to point out...

Nevertheless, as you see here...

I’d like to say...

To illustrate this point..

I agree with the idea...

I don’t agree with the idea...

CONCLUSION

To sum up...

In conclusion...

Let me summarise what I’ve just talked about...

 - Which way of staying in touch with your friends do you prefer? Why?

- How has the way of staying in touch with people changed over the years?

- What are the advantages or disadvantages of each of these options?

(Introduction)
My name is Juan Álvarez. I'm an IT professional and I live in Valencia. I'm going to
talk about how I like to stay in touch with friends.

(Body)
First of all, I would like to say that I stay in touch with friends in person and on the
internet too. I prefer to see my friends in bars, pubs or at home because
communication with them is a lot easier. You can find out how they feel, you can
see their gestures, listen to them and check whether they are in a good or bad
mood.

On the other hand, I don't mind staying in touch with them through Facebook or
Twitter. Personally, I use Facebook to stay in touch with friends that I can't see
because they live in another city or country.
This is one of the advantages of using Facebook to stay in touch with friends.

Another advantage is that communication can be instant even if your friends are in
different cities. You can also use Facebook to share interesting information and
pictures with your friends, which is always nice.

Talking about disadvantages; the main one for me is that it's a very impersonal way
to communicate, you need to see your friends to know how they really feel and to
ask them for advice, for example. This is easier when you see your friends in
person. Another advantage of seeing yours friends in person is that you can talk
longer without getting tired. If you are on a social network such as Facebook, you
have to be typing all the time unless you communicate by videoconference.

One disadvantage of meeting your friends personally is that it takes much longer,
and sometimes it's more expensive. You have to go to a certain place to meet them
and pay for the food and drinks you order. But, in my case, I don't really mind
spending my money this way because for me it's always nice to see my friends.

To answer the question"How has the way of staying in touch with friends
changed?", I'd say that now it's much easier than in the past, because it's not
necessary to travel anywhere to know how they are doing, with a single click you
can access Facebook and see the updates they have written on Facebook, the
pictures they have posted or send them an instant message.

(Conclusion)
In conclusion, I'd like to say that even though nowadays it's much easier to stay in
touch with your friends, it's also much easier to break up with them. All you need is
to unfriend them on Facebook. That's the reason why I prefer to meet up with my
friends in a pub or bar, or even at home
 2. Ejemplos de monólogos

THE ENVIRONMENT

 Do you ever worry about the environment? Are you self-conscious about the
environment?
 What are the biggest environmental problems in the world?
 Is there a problem with clean water in your country? If so, why is there a
problem?
 What can governments do to save our environment?
 What can individual do to help the enviroment? Give reasons.

Nowadays, our natural environment is suffering more and more the terrible
human impact. At the moment, there are a lot of environmental problems, like
deforestation, the destruction of the ozone layer, acid rain, the greenhouse
effect, pollution in the air with traffic fumes, and harmful chemicals which are
released into the atmosphere and so on. All this take parts of a terrible situation
and involves awful drawbacks in our planet.

The destruction of the rainforest causes that many animals are wiped out, fish
supplies are depleted through overfishing and pollution is very harmful for us.
Besides, there are methods of electricity generation which emit greenhouse
gases, and contribute to global warming.

Our governments have to improve their natural measures. It is important to

support alternative source of power, like solar stations, wind power… These
one should be easy to live and work with, safe, practical, cheap and clean. On
top of that, they are highly productive and friendly with the planet. Besides, our
governments should have laws and hard punishments for illegal hunting,
encourage countries to control the number of trees which are cut down or
reduce gases emitted from factories.

On the other hand, we all have to be aware about this problem, and contribute
to the conservation of our planet with measures such as switching off the lights,
riding bicycles, insulating our houses, using public transport, using less petrol
and electricity, saving on water, recycling our rubbish. In this way, we all can
contribute to save our environment and wildlife.

Our environment affects all of us. We share the same planet. We all have to be
aware of the necessity of improving our natural world. The environmental
organizations play an important role, but we all can do a little effort in being
much more ecological.
 CRIME

What do you think are the main causes of crime in your country?

 Do you have any other suggestions for reducing crime in your local area?
 Do you think the police should carry guns?
 Do you think the death penalty is a valid form of punishment?

Nowadays, crime is an everyday problem for citizens, and causes insecurity

and sorrows. There are a lot of kinds of crime, such as: kidnapping, murders,
smuggling, forgers or arson. In my country, due to the bad economic situation
which we live at the moment, shoplifting, burglaries and drug dealing are being
increased more and more than ever before. It’s thought to be caused by
unemployment, poverty, social exclusion problems… which are suffering our
society. On the other hand, murders are not common in my country, but, one of
the main causes of murder in Spain is Domestic Violence. Some men develop
criminal tendencies because of numerous frustrations, and they accuse their
wives or companions of their problems, they can become “real monsters”.

As individuals we all can try to help other people not to be robbed or assaulted.
It’s advisable that if you see someone who is being assaulted, you don’t
interfere, simply call the police. You could be injured so, try to help and keep
calm as far as possible. Besides, another measure could be the presence of
more police in our streets, in order to keep an eye on us.

Crime represents a threat to the welfare of our society and it must be abolished.
But, criminals cannot be reformed until they are apprehended and brought to
justice. Psychologists and specialists are responsible for the welfare of criminals
and their restoration. Only those who commit the most serious crimes are
punished severely. On the other hand, they have to fulfil their sentences and
pay for their guilt completely. Criminals must stay in jail all the time they have to
pay for their actions, I mean, they shouldn’t come out earlier.

Community Service is the best punishment for young people who commit a
minor offence. It is aimed to persuade teenagers not to reoffend. Criminal
youngsters are punished with suitable punishments, like cleaning the streets,
taking care of elderly people, painting white street walls and so on… So that,
they have an enriching experience and they can realize that they can be helpful
for society.

As for the Death penalty, I personally believe that under any circumstances, it
has to be accepted. It is an eyesore, which has to be abolished. Criminals have
to pay for their actions in prison. Nowadays, it’s a controversial topic, but in a
civilised country it cannot be taken into account.
 SHOPPING CENTRES

 Are big shopping centres good for city development?

 Shopping centres vs. small shops
 Malls and shopping centres as leisure providers
 Shopping centres: temples of mass consumerism?

Since few years back, we are seeing that malls and Shopping Centres are
being more and more successful ways of making money in our lifestyle. They
are huge buildings which are built on the outskirts or commercial areas of our
cities. There, you can buy absolutely everything. A great variety of stores are
there, in the same place, shops like: supermarkets, clothing stores, shoe
shops… There, you can find a wide range of products, but especially you can
pick up bargains because there are usually a lot of sales.

All products are well laid out, their window displays are very attractive,
sometimes there is a pleasant music, a wide range of products, prices are
clearly marked….Everything is thought for customers to spend their money, and
to come back for their following shopping.

Some years ago, people used to buy in little shops. People have everything at
the doors of their houses. But now, many of these have closed. Local shops
could not compete with these malls. And now, people do their shopping in
these big shopping centres where they buy for the week, for a longer period.

Besides, you can have a lot of facilities to make you have your shopping
easier. They become a leisure centre. You can find cinemas, restaurants….
you can spend and enjoy all the day there, having a lunch, watching a movie,
taking a coffee…. It is very common to see entire families spending the day
there. It is considered as an outing. It is very important to have a free car park
too. Besides, these places normally have a special place where you can leave
your children attended by child minders while you do all your shopping and
have sport facilities like ski slopes.

Malls are becoming a successful way of spending your spare time. But, on the
other hand, we are creating consumer societies. The most important advantage
is that these malls create employments. But, in today’s consumer society, malls
and shopping centres are transforming in a fashionable way of shopping, and
something, like unique to spend your free time, and this way of thinking can be
dangerous.
 LEARNING LANGUAGES

I am going to talk about the importance of learning languages and how teaching
methods have been developed for last 50 years.

Nowadays, due to new technologies, global system, internet... our society is

changing more and more towards a global world, where people can
communicate with far away people, and so, learning languages is a must
question. It’s absolutely necessary for us because of our growing international
contacts with all the countries of the world.

There are plenty of reasons why we should study foreign languages.

In the first picture, we can see how a father encourages his son to learn
languages. It’s very important to learn languages during the childhood, as a
second language.

Also, there are a lot of ways of learning languages. The second picture
shows a new method to learn Spanish. There is a wide range of ways: travelling
abroad can be an enriching experience, getting into their culture… besides, you
can study through internet at home. On the web there are a lot of podcasts,
videos which can improve your pronunciation skills. On the other hand, if you
have a chat room you can chat with foreign people. Internet is a useful tool to
learn. The third picture expresses this idea. Besides, you should keep your
traditional way of learning, with workbooks, CDs because grammar is essential
to learn a language. Another suggestion would be watching TV in original
version, reading abroad press, keeping in touch with foreign friends.
.
As far as I’m concerned learning foreign languages is very important
nowadays, because we live in a global society. English is the most important
language, because is the language of international business. Multinational
Companies, Google, Microsoft… run their businesses in English.

So that, people should communicate reasonably well in English.

People in public life really ought to be able to speak fluent English. In this way,
people would be more thoughtful to improve their English.
 MONEY

 How important is money in today’s society?

 Which is the safest way of paying for something? How far do you agree that
people who regularly pay for things online risk becoming the victims of fraud or
identity theft?
 In the future, traditional forms of money, coins banknotes and even cheques will
completely disappear within the next few years and be entirely replaced by
credit cards and other mechanical or digital methods of paying. What is your
opinion?

In today’s consumer society, money plays a vital role. We all are dominated by
the feeling of spending money and buying material possessions. As a matter of
fact, having money can show your status in our society: having a good car,
wealthy possessions, living in an upper-class neighbourhood and that can be
representative of real happiness. On the other hand, we are likely to have
endless mortgages, high invoices, others instalments… besides, the standard of
living has risen a lot over the last years, and we can see how families can’t
afford it due to their mortgage and the cost of living in general. It’s for this, that
money is very important for us.

Recently, due to new technologies and the use of the internet, we can buy and
pay by the internet. It’s an easy and comfortable way of payment, and it is
becoming more and more popular, but it can carry fraud and cheating. With a
credit card’s number, you can purchase absolutely everything on the net. And, it
is very easy to have an identity theft and be cheated. Nowadays, there are a lot
of research and studies to avoid this way of fraud, but internet is not the safest
way of payment. Just with a click, you can pay any amount of money so, people
should be aware of this problem, and be very self-conscious with their shopping
on the web. In my opinion, I think that the safest way of paying for something is
face to face, but nowadays we all are dominated by the internet, because is
very easy to achieve goods and services on the net.

In a near future, coins and paper money are likely to disappear and be replaced
by digital methods: through mobile phones, advanced credit cards. It may occur
but as far as I am concerned, I think that that moment may happen in a long
term. Nowadays, there are a lot of people, specially elderly people, who don’t
know how to pay using the internet or their credit cards… but banking in general
works in this way thus, digital methods of paying and paper money’s
disappearance will take place in a not too far future.