Thursday, January 28, 2010

Listen and play

This is my last discovery on the net: Oren Lavie (Tel Aviv, 1976), singer, songwriter, playwright and theatre director. His album, The Opposite Side of the Sea has been a success with more than 10 million and a hundred reproductions only on youtube. The song I've chosen, Her Morning Elegance is the first single. It has been nominated on the last Grammy Awards for best short form music video. He has recorded it by using the stop-motion technique with a very original effect on the performance.
By any chance, can you find some mistakes on the lyrics? Have fun!




Lyrics | Her Morning Elegance lyrics

Monday, January 25, 2010

Grants



Travelling abroad is an unforgettable enriching experience. You cannot miss the chance of learning a language and its culture! If you want to get more information, ask your foreign language teachers or have a look to these links:

Programa Idiomas y Juventud 2010 (información general)
Exchanging programmes   (intercambios escolares)
Stays in a foreign country (estancias en el extranjero)

Adverbs

Here you are a revision of the formation of adverbs using -ly at the end of an adjective. Practise as much as you can. The exam is closer!!!

Exercises Level 1  Level 2  Level 3  Level 4
-Adverbs of place
-Adverbs of manner
-Adverbs of frecuency
-Adverbs of time


Saturday, January 23, 2010

Sweet stars for teatime

 
It's very cold outside and I'm having a cup of tea with some biscuits. Here you are a very easy biscuit recipe to go with a boiling tea or hot chocolate. There are many other ones to add new flavours to your breakfasts, afternoon snacks or dinners. Anyway, as I have a sweet tooth, I'll be blogging them little by little. That's for sure. Yummy!!!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Simple present (Revision) and directions





These tests have been selected for my dear pupils of 2nd. PCPI who show a lot of interest to improve their English.

Present Simple
Asking for and giving directions Exercise 1  Hangman

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Stupeur et tremblements

This is the title from a novel by Belgium writer, Amélie Nothomb. I really enjoyed its reading. The narrator tells how misunderstandings and misinterpretations can damage human relationships. In this very case, the main character arrives in Japan and she discovers a new culture and a huge gap in communication. But the writer uses her irony and sense of humour to face these setbacks. This is the case I'm going to tell you about.
The setting is not so far! Yesterday I was informed about a person who has a blog.Then, I had a look on its news. At first, it was interesting because she had posted her own working experiences, I think. However, what surprised me most was I found two entries which came from my blog...Was it a coincidence? Lack of new ideas? I don't hope so! Then, what is the point of creating a blog if you don't share your likes, experiences and emotions? I like reading my friends' entries, comment on them and, why not, get new viewpoints for my own ones. But, this is NOT a question of quantity, I mean, to increase the scoreboard of visitors to your blog. We want to use this resource to improve something, define that something yourself. I do it to help people learn English. I try my best. But I don't use other authors' contents pretending they are mine. At least, quote the sources. Be original and don't let your followers down. Their astonishment can be bigger than Nothomb's heroine and their disappointment even worse. Get the message!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

At the hairdresser's




Useful vocabulary

 Game
 
 Video1   Video2

CARS


Vocabulary

Vocabulary and pictures 

Definitions 

Video

Simple Past vs. Past Continuous


As we have studied these tenses, here you have a selection of links that may be helpful. You can revise your grammar, practise doing some tests and check your answers.


Tests level 1  2  3

Past Continuous (Revision)
Exercises 
Tests level 1  2  3

Exercises and tests

A song for tolerance



30th January is Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary. His message was the use of the "non-violence" to fight for peace.
As we are celebrating the School Day of Non-violence and Peace at our high-school in few weeks, we are going to work on a common activity: here you are Michael Jackson's song Black or White. You can listen and follow the lyrics the times you want. Try to understand his message and have fun!



Sunday, January 10, 2010

Meet Vancouver Mascots

Let's watch this video about 2010 Vancouver mascots.
Which winter sports are their favourite? Which ones are yours? Have fun!

Vancouver 2010: Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games


Left, Vancouver mascots.
The Olympic Winter Games will be held from 12th to 28th of February in Vancouver, Canada. In addition to this town, Whistler will be the venue for alpine skiing, luge, skeleton and bobsleigh.
This is the second time Canada hosts the Winter Olympics. The previous one was in Calgary, in 1988. Many countries have played home to the Winter Olympics. These are the case of France (three times),the United States (four times) and Italy, Japan, Austria and Norway which have hosted the Games twice.
Although fewer countries participate in the Winter Olympics, it has become an unavoidable event that winter sports lovers cannot miss.

The Winter Olympics background
The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France, 1924.
Figure skating and ice hockey had been events at the Summer Olympics prior to this date. The Games were held every four years from 1924 until 1940 when they were interrupted by World War II.
The Winter and Summer Games started again in 1948 and were celebrated on the same year until 1992. At that time, the Winter Games split from the Summer Games, and were begun to be celebrated on alternating even years.
The first Olympic Winter Games to be held on this new schedule was in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway.

The Paralympics' Winter Dream
In 1976, in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, the first international winter games for handicapped people were celebrated. There were about 250 athletes coming from 14 countries. 24 years later, the first Paralympic Winter Games took place in Albertville, France, in 1992.

Which winter sport do you prefer most? Just have a look to its official site and learn more about them. Moreover, you can follow the Olympic Torch relay and know about its bearers.
2010 Vancouver Winter Games

 If you want to learn about British Columbia and its people, you will discover a melting pot of cultures as well.
Visit Vancouver



Monday, January 4, 2010

2010, Compostelan Holy Year

Since 1122, Pope Calixtus II established the Jacobean Holy Year, or Jubilee, when the feast of the Apostle Saint James, 25th. July, falls on a Sunday.
Celebrated in literature, music, art and history, this pilgrimage led to the building of hospitals and lodgings, cities and villages, and the planning of new roads, bridges, cathedrals and churches. The road became a melting pot of cultures to the spread of tendencies and ideas all over the Continent, a meeting point of peoples and languages and the supporting axis of the first European common awareness.
Nowadays the pilgrimage to Santiago represents the brotherhood between traditional and modern times within a matchless natural frame and a unique cultural heritage. There are several routes to reach Santiago de Compostela. Which one are you interested in? If you want to participate, you can get more information on this link to the official website.
From Spain, I invite you to live this enriching unforgettable experience.