English, baby!

Hello everyone! Christmas are almost here and so are the term exams at the school. I bet you are all trying to find sites and webs to help you with your weaknesses, mainly listening, speaking and grammar. And that is the reason of this post, to introduce you to a website which provides a wide range of useful exercises and activities for those who enjoy using the net as an interactive tool. Give a try and tell me what you think of it. All you need to do is click on the pic and will be directed to one of their activities about giving advice.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

PASSIVE VOICE

Using Glogster I have created this presentation about the passive voice. You only need to to right-click and choose the full-screen mode, to have a complete version of the presentation. Enjoy!!!

Another celebration: Thanksgiving Day

And here is another one! This time it is about Thanksgiving. This American one-day holiday is very well known all over the world, but do we really understand the origins and history behind this American tradition? Take a look at the documentary and the enjoy the exercise about Thanksgiving day. Do not forget to leave some feedback: either positive or negative, both will help.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

(WIKIPEDIA)

Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.) The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7 November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during war; this was possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Learn About Remembrance Day

Something to never miss out when writing: Punctuation.

Hi everyone! I hope you are still enjoying the amazing videos offered by The Teacher. Today I would like to tackle a very worrying issue dealing with your writing: Punctuation. I know it is a long time most of you left school and you are so much used to chatting, where commas, full-stops and all those little annoying bits and bobs are "of no use", but we must all realize that those writing marks are very important if we want to be understood. Punctuation marks are as important as words themselves and their proper use may be crucial for a successful writing. To get a whole range of useful tips about punctuation just go to this site "How to use English Punctuation". They also provide lots of how-tos on different matters, check it out!!

The teacher: a fresh view on idoms

Hello everyone,

Sorry for being so quiet these past few weeks, but the beginning of the school year has been a tough one for me, lots to take on and very little time to devote to this site. But everything seems to be back to where they belong and I can start taking some time for this project, mine and yours. Before I go into the topic of the heading, I would like to invite all of you to post comments and suggestions to improve this blog.

Now, BBC, as usual, have thought of a way to give listeners of all around the world a the opportunity to use their site to learn the language. Therefore, they created a section within their web page which is called BBC Learning English, where you can find all sorts of activities, quizzes, listening, materials and many more. One of those exciting features is as a section called The Teacher, the aim of it being teaching idiomatic expressions in a very fresh and original way. I will not spoil the surprise, but I would like to give you a bite of what the site has in store.

By the way, you have the opportunity to post your own sentences with the idioms explained on the video.

I want to make clear that the copyright of these clips belongs to the BBC.

And summer is finally over!

Having fun everyone? Hope so, you still have another week before lessons start. This post is just to announce that we are back to the classroom on the 14th and 15th of September. I still do not know exactly what levels I will be teaching, but I have made the decision to keep up with this blog for all of my students, past and future. So you are welcome to make any suggestions you think it may help us all improving. Come on in and start giving ideas, my ears and eyes are excitedly open. Looking forward to reading and hearing from you.
C U Soon.

Enjoy your holidays

Hi guys! I hope you are all enjoying all the spare time you have now that the lessons and exams are over. In this post Iwould like to wish you the best for the summer and say goodbye till September when the school opens its doors for another exciting year. But I want to recommend, as well, a few sites which may be helpful to do some practice or revision. I have already mentioned Busuu.com, a website where you can learn and practice your English and make friends at the same time. Other socialnetworks with the same features are Babbel, livemocha, sharedtalk, italki and, finally, xlingo.

Amazing, is it not? Well, hope you enjoy all the possibilities these sites have to offer and see you after the summer. ENJOY!!!!

Flashcards for the speaking exam

Hello! The English department has already posted some links to a few documents with very helpful examples of flashcards for the oral exam. These stuff comes from the EOI in Valencia and looks pretty good. Here is the link to their blog. I know they'll be of great use. See you.

Listening stuff to tune up your ears

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted anythig for quite a while but as you know I got married and just got back from my honeymoon. Anyway, the reason of this post is to draw your attention to the widget on the left because I have been selecting on my google reader some interesting audio stuff so you can open up your ears. Most of them are just raw material, that is to say, no exercises just plain tracks about all sort of topics. I hope they might help you with ones of your most heatred skill practices. If there is any you particulary like or think it is interesting don't hesitate, be generous and post a comment so as to help the rest of the visitors. Let's keep the community growing bigger. Best regards.

Modals of obligation

Hello! A new moth and we are getting closer to the end of this school year. But before that happens, we still have time to improve our skills before the final exams. I have seen how difficult has been for you to get the knack of modal verbs expressing obligation. For that reason, I've been searching the net to provide you with some extra material that could help you.

1. If you follow this link, it will take you to a multiple-choice exercise on Englishclub.com. This place also provides with a wide range of exercises and grammar explanations which can be really handy.
2. This other link will lead to a different site but the purpose is the same to help you with the modals of obligation.

Hope you find them both useful.

Being passive is useful sometimes!!

At least when we do not have a clue about the actor of an action or we do not want to give that information straight away! That is why passive voice is so useful and that is the purpose of this post. Follow this link and find out what the BBC section for language teaching have to offer, not only to study the passive, but also a good amount of activities tackling a wide range of grammar points. Come on, do not be passive and take some action!! Your English needs you.

Giving directions

Hello boys and girls! Looking for some kind of teaching material for you I have come across this site run by the BBC and which is meant to give some backup to those who are learning the language. As it is only a few days ago we worked about giving directions, I have chosen in the how to... section an activity where you can practice a bit. Do not miss the opportunity to browse all over the section, the amount of stuff is unbelievable!

Another surprise on Britain's Got Talent

This third season of Britain's Got Talent is being highly productive. Last week we had a Scottish unemployed housewife with an outstanding voice. Her success was such that celebrities from all over the world -Demi Moore, among them- felt really touched by her performance and spoke up for her. If you have not managed to watch it, here is the link.

However, the second week has brought another surprising performer. He is really young and what an extraordinary voice! I will not give any more details by now, but get ready for an amazing surprise. I only want you to send a reply with the reactions to the video and the titles of the songs this little mister wonder sings. If you find the lyrics on the Internet you can also include the link. Let's get amazed!!!