good@English

Giving directions

2011-11-23T01:27:00.001-08:00

picture by Ramon Cutanda, Flickr

We've been reviewing how to give directions today in class. I stumbled upon this fantastic site from the BBC World Service that sums up all the points really well. It's got listening and vocabulary exercises as well as the language you'll need --go check it out!

Giving directions

Ps. The video we watched about Stockholm belongs to this Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/PandaCruises

As I said, it's a very nice way of seeing the actual experience of a tourist on a cruise tour and see some Baltic highlights :-).

The Tell-Tale Heart

2011-10-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

The Tell-Tale Heart is one of the most famous short stories by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. In 1953, Columbia Pictures adapted the story into a very scary animated film. There are many versions on Youtube, but I chose this one because it is subtitled in Spanish :-)

I think it is a great way to celebrate Halloween!

News resources for intermediate students

2011-09-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

We have been discussing today a few resources for reading news that you can use if you are at an intermediate level (I will update this if I find more)

Onestopenglish.com Monthly topical news lessons from The Guardian. These are reading exercises based on news adapted from the UK newspaper The Guardian. They have three different levels: elementary, intermediate, and upper intermediate. There are teacher's notes and answers.

Inside Out e-lessons offers a weekly reading e-lesson, which is often based on current news as well. The level is different every week, and it ranges from pre-intermediate to upper intermediate so be careful. There are teacher notes, answers and a glossary.

Despite the old-fashioned design, http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ has very complete lessons based on current events, complete with an MP3 file that you can use for listening practice.

That's all for now! Again, I'll update this if I find more info.

Useful links for tourism students in Madrid.

2011-09-18T01:02:00.000-07:00

This year I'll be working at a school of hospitality and tourism with adults, so I'm going to share a few links that may come handy:

(by Tagon)

1) Groups for language exchange in Madrid.

(To my high school ex-students, please note that these are intended for adults!)

http://www.multilinkual.com/
http://madridbabel.weebly.com/

Both groups have facebook pages associated to their websites. Apart from meeting regularly in Madrid for exchanges, dinners, visits to the movies and parties, they sometimes organize trips to different areas in Spain. For obvious reasons, this is great practice for students of tourism!

2) In Madrid newspaper.

Great for finding one-to-one language exchanges and for general information about news and events in Madrid, as well as stories about everyday life for expats here. You can get the newspaper in most Irish Pubs along the city at the beginning of the month. It's free so you need to hurry, they run out really fast! If you can't get hold of a copy, you can always check their website: http://www.in-madrid.com/

(by Tagon)

3) A few travel sites I like:

http://www.quirkyguide.com/ A nice travel site full of interesting articles about little known sites and events.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ This is a travel site for backpackers mostly, but it is packed with information and you can do a lot of research on real questions and problems that occur to tourists through their forum, the Thorn Tree section.

http://wikitravel.org/ follows the wikipedia structure to give information about countries and cities, specifically oriented towards travelers.

http://iwannagothere.com/ is a website that compiles traveler experiences in different countries and cities. It's great to find information about off-the-beaten-track attractions.

Fevered Mutterings is a blog by a friend of mine, Mike. He's currently working at http://travelllll.com/ and, being an experienced globetrotter, he's my main source for travel advice so you might want to check these sites out, too. You might want to look at his huge blogroll for more inspiration, too :-)

4) A few English as a Second Language sites you'll need to use:

http://www.wordreference.com/es/ THE online dictionary. You can also download an application to check the dictionary on your phone via Wi-fi or 3G. Great for having a lightweight dictionary always available.

http://www.forvo.com/ A pronunciation dictionary, especially useful for proper nouns and other words that may not be in a dictionary. Real native speakers record the words so you can listen to how they are pronounced. You can also contribute to it on the Spanish section.

http://simple.wikipedia.org/ is the simplified English version of Wikipedia. It's good for English learners who might feel a bit overwhelmed by the main English Wikipedia.

And, last but not least, http://www.agendaweb.org/ is a great site to look for general English practice, especially grammar exercises. It compiles activities from a large number of ESL websites all over the internet.

past simple review (repost)

2011-05-23T03:52:00.001-07:00

We are going to review the past simple today. We are going to use the following websites:

bradleys english school jigsaw 1

bradleys english school jigsaw 2

bradleys english school jigsaw 3

bradleys english school jigsaw 4

bradleys english school jigsaw 5

English for you gap game

wordmania concentration game 1

wordmania concentration game 2

manythings concentration game 3

bradleys-english-school concentration game

crossword

pumpkinandcompany gap game

learnenglishfeelgood.com gap game

For even more exercises, you can visit http://agendaweb.org/verbs/past_simple.html

Practice for was/were (1st ESO --A1)

2011-04-29T04:05:00.000-07:00

We are going to practice the past simple of the verb to be, using www.agendaweb.org. Follow these links:

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=539

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=929

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-exercise-1.html

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-exercise-2.html

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-exercise-3.html

http://www.eflnet.com/grammar/tobepast.php

http://www.englishbee.net/lessons/inter_exer/was_were/was_were_1/was_were.htm

http://www.englishbee.net/lessons/inter_exer/was_were/was_were_2/was_were_2.htm

If you finish early, you can find more exercises at:

http://agendaweb.org/verbs/to-be-past-exercises.html

Relative sentences

2011-04-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

As promised, this is the presentation about relative sentences that we saw today at 3ºA.

Relative sentences (1) english version

View more presentations from Elena (IES Beatriz Galindo)

the Fukushima accident

2011-04-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

We have been talking about the Fukushima accident in class today. This video explains what happened very well:

Exercises for 1st ESO

2011-04-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

These are the exercises you can try for today:

Review on this website: http://www.actiweb.es/scigarran/unit_6.html

Practice BE-CAN-DO-HAVE (especially the CAN exercises in green)

Practice the possesive adjectives AND the possessive pronouns (start with the green exercises)

Practice the vocabulary of the house

Practice the vocabulary of animals

Remember: there are things that will go in the exam we cannot practice today. Remember to study them anyway!!

A small reminder for 3ºA

2011-02-21T02:17:00.000-08:00

The posts with the presentations for the conditionals are here:

First conditional

Second conditional

Third conditional

How to motivate kids to learn science

2011-01-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

(Borrowed from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, a comic blog. I thought it is absolutely right :-) )

The present simple

2011-01-13T02:18:00.001-08:00

A beginners presentation, for my students of 1st of ESO.

Present simple

View more presentations from Elena (IES Beatriz Galindo).

Oh! those apostrophes!

2010-12-30T12:41:00.000-08:00

I ran into this video through the @AdviceToWriters twitter account and I thought it was quite funny:

Deciding when to use an apostrophe is hard for learners of English as well as for native speakers. The most problematic one is definitely <'s>.

So just to make it clear, these are the three situations where <'s> is grammatically correct:

1) When it indicates possession: This is Christine's backpack.
2) When it substitutes the i in IS: Kevin's happy.
3) When it substitutes the ha in HAS: She's got a nice cat.

That's IT!! So, NEVER use <'s> for plurals!!! (you'll find plenty of those mistakes in the video)

Let it snow!

2010-12-21T00:52:00.001-08:00

Well, it will be Christmas this Saturday!

So, here goes our Christmas song for the year: Let It Snow. It's a traditional song and there are dozens of versions of it by many singers, from Boyz II Men to Frank Sinatra.

Here's a slow version by Kylie Minogue, with lyrics:

And here's a slightly different heavy metal version by Twisted Sister. This version is one of my favourite Christmas songs ;-)

Be precise!

2010-10-03T13:54:00.001-07:00

Back to school!

Ok, we returned a couple of weeks ago, but I really didn't have much to post about.

This year I want to start with a video that's slightly harder than usual, but I think it's a great poem and it definitely stresses a good point --it's important to speak your mind clearly, and be precise!

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

Before we watch Slumdog Millionaire

2010-05-10T03:30:00.000-07:00

On Friday we will watch Slumdog Millionaire. But before that, we are going to check how much we know about the film and about India.

For the first questions, go to http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/India and answer the following questions:

a) What is the capital of India?
b) What is its population?
c) Which Indian language has the largest percentage of speakers?
d) Go to the economy section. What percentage of the population in Indian live on less than 2 dollars a day?
e) Go to the religions section. What are the two most important religions in India?
f) Search on wikipedia what Bollywood is.
g) Now go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/81st_Academy_Awards. How many nominations did Slumdog Millionaire have? How many did it win?
h) Watch the trailer. What can you tell us about the setting, the characters and the story?

Reported Speech (2) Questions and commands

2010-04-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, this is quite self-explanatory...☺

Reported speech (2)

View more presentations from Elena (IES Altair).

Reported speech (1): affirmative and negative sentences.

2010-04-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here we have the presentation for the reported speech (estilo indirecto) for affirmative and negative sentences. You can find some exercises to practice at http://www.agendaweb.org/verbs/reported_speech.html

Reported speech (1)

View more presentations from Elena (IES Altair).

Think outside the box

2010-03-30T04:26:00.000-07:00

The expression "Think outside the box", in English, means that you have to think differently and be creative to be noticed.

I thought of this expresion today when I saw this article. It is about people who decided to make their resumes (also called curriculum vitae) a bit more interesting than the usual ones.

I know some of you are already thinking of looking for a job, so maybe this will inspire you!

http://resources.savedelete.com/70-most-artistic-and-creative-resumes-of-all-time.html

do a test that's not for school!

2010-03-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

The website blogthings has a lot of funny tests to do in English. If you want to practice English and have a laugh, why don't you give it a try?

You Have Your Life to Smile About

It's funny to ask you what you have to smile about, because you always have something that's making you happy.

You are a naturally smiley person, and you are happy with your life. You feel like you have to be.

You see happiness as something under your control. You don't think there are any big secrets to being happy.

If something isn't going well, you fix it. You're proactive in making sure that you're living the best life possible.

What Do You Have To Smile About?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

By popular demand, "Crawl", by Chris Brown

2010-02-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

...ok, by "popular demand" I mean the class of 3B, and by "class of 3B" I mean, of course, Yaiza. XD

...and the third conditional!

2010-02-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

... this is the last one, I promise ;-)

Conditional Sentences (3)

View more presentations from Elena (IES Altair).

The second conditional

2010-02-08T03:27:00.000-08:00

I know, a bit late!

But better late than never!

Conditional Sentences (2)

View more presentations from Elena (IES Altair).

The first conditional

2010-02-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a summary on how and when to use the First Conditional.
At the end of the presentation, you will find links to exercises to practice, and a song :-)

Conditional Sentences (1)

View more presentations from Elena (IES Altair).

Tomorrow I'll post another presentation on the second conditional- keep an eye on this space!

Happy, by Leona Lewis

2010-02-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

Some of my students of 3rd of ESO are great fans of Leona Lewis, so I'm dedicating this song to them!

Notice how Leona uses a lot of contractions for common expressions in English, for example:

'cause =Because
gotta= have got to
wanna= want to
tryna= trying to
outta = out of

(This is because prepositions and connectors in English sometimes are pronounced with a weak sound, a sort of weak "a").

Some other linguistic notes:

safe as could be = as safe as possible

So what : (click on this link)

In vain (click on the link)

One for the future forms!

2010-01-26T11:43:00.001-08:00

A summary of the future forms for my students of Primero de Bachillerato. Make sure you have a look at the activities and music videos at the end of the presentation :-)

Future Forms

View more presentations from Elena (IES Altair).

So, what is English made of?

2010-01-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

The video below is a poem by the young poet Dizraeli. It is a bit difficult to follow if you don't have a good level, so concentrate only on the written words and on the rhythm of the poem.

In the poem, Dizraeli talks about how English is a language that is used by many different people around the world, in different media, spoken by a lot of people from different countries, and which borrows terms from many different sources.

(a special thanks to the Macmillan Youtube channel!)

A travel composition

2010-01-12T00:50:00.000-08:00

Today we have looked at how to write a composition about traveling in Primero de Bachillerato. I have decided to post a powerpoint example about Scotland, I place I lived in in 1999-2000 as an Erasmus student (so long ago!)

Composition Scotland

...as I suppose you'll be studying hard for your exam in January...

2009-12-30T01:49:00.000-08:00

...I give you here a song that will both encourage you to study and present a few examples of the present perfect in action... ;-)

...and happy new year!!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-22T05:29:00.000-08:00

Remember you can look up the words you don't know in the dictionary.

Enjoy the holidays, rest, have fun and come back charged and ready for the next term!

The present perfect

2009-12-01T00:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a presentation about the Present Perfect for the students of PRIMERO de Bachillerato. If you are on a lower level, you might find it a bit difficult...

Present Perfect

View more presentations from atabay.

Riding out the recession

2009-11-25T03:49:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, our school received an interesting visitor. His name is Sean, he is 21 years old and comes from Cornwall, England. He wants to ride a bike all the way from Cornwall to Cape Town, in South Africa! He is doing it to help some charities. While he was riding accross Madrid, he got lost and stopped here to ask for directions, and we were talking with him for a while. Later Antonio drove him to Pinto, and there he continued his trip.

If you want to know more about his project, you can click on http://www.ridingouttherecession.co.uk/about_me.html. There you can donate to the charities he is supporting, too.
You can also see what he is doing by following him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SeanMaher88

past simple review (repost)

2009-11-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

We are going to review the past simple today. We are going to use the following websites:

multiple choice, www.better-english.com

bradleys english school jigsaw 1

bradleys english school jigsaw 2

bradleys english school jigsaw 3

bradleys english school jigsaw 4

bradleys english school jigsaw 5

English for you gap game

wordmania concentration game 1

wordmania concentration game 2

manythings concentration game 3

bradleys-english-school concentration game

crossword

pumpkinandcompany gap game

learnenglishfeelgood.com gap game

For even more exercises, you can visit http://agendaweb.org/verbs/past_simple.html

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of work this time... just enjoy the video!

Summer Cat, by Billie the Vision and the Dancers

2009-09-18T09:12:00.001-07:00

On this youtube video you can listen to the song and read the lyrics

The Summer cat title refers to the fact that many people abandon their pets (cats or dogs, usually) when the summer comes and they go on holidays. This songs talks about a man whose girlfriend leaves him after the holidays, probably because she's going back to her home.

Read this USEFUL VOCABULARY before you listen to the song:

Hold so close — abrazar tan fuerte

Wanna — want to

chilly wind —viento frío

whip —golpear (a veces también significa batir)

cheeks —mejilla

gonna —going to

wave my hand — mover la mano

Worn out hat — sombrero viejo

broken hearted —con el corazón roto

break into —entrar en un sitio por la fuerza (e.g. para robar)

whisper —susurrar

instead —en vez de (hoy)

clouds —nubes

naive —ingenuo

Chocolate Cake, from Nigella Feasts

2009-09-10T03:23:00.000-07:00

Nigella Feasts is a TV program with celebrity chef Nigella Lawson. On this Youtube video she's going to cook a chocolate cake. Watch the video and the slideshow and answer the questions:

Chocolate Cake

What do you think of the cake? Would you like to bake one?

Would you like to share any recipes yourself?

Life in Britain

2009-05-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

Lesson 8 Social Life In Britain

View more presentations from Patrickwolak.

Here are some details about life in Britain. Find out the following details:

1) When do men usually get married in Britain?
2) What is the most expensive type of house in Britain?
3) Does the traditional English breakfast have eggs?
4) Is Indian food easy to find in Britain?
5) What is a kilt?
6) Who is Vivienne Westwood?
7) Give the name of ONE member of the Beatles.
8) Give the name of ONE song by Oasis.
9) What is Hogmanay?
10) When is Guy Fawkes' Day?

Leonard Cohen and the First Conditional

2009-04-24T03:54:00.000-07:00

A Song With The First Conditional

View more presentations from Elena (IES Altair).

Coming soon: two songs with the Second Conditional :)

Class pictures

2009-03-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

Dawoud Bey is an American photographer and a professor of photography at Columbia College, Chicago. He was born in Queens (New York City). One of his specialities is making photographies of teenagers. On his site, http://www.dawoudbey.net/, you can find many examples of his work. Today we are going to focus on his most recent work, Class Pictures, which was reviewed by Time Magazine. Each of the picture has a few sentences about what the subjects think that defines them -- their personality, interests, family or everyday life. Follow the link to answer these questions. You can work in groups and use the dictionary:

Teens in America:Class Pictures

GROUP A

Why does Simone think she's part of a minority?
Why does Kevin think his father's death had a positive side?
What does Ziarra want to study when she's older? Why?
What is Austin's favourite sport?

GROUP B

Is Danny always outgoing and outspoken?
What did Marieke do at dinner when she liked a book?
What does Omar think people notice first when they look at him?
How has Christopher's cancer changed his personality?

GROUP C

Does Sarah think being "Normal" is important?
What's special about Jordan's family?
What attitude does Isabel hate?
What motivates Rasec?

GROUP D

How many languages does Usha speak?
Does Alejandro want to have a brother or a sister?
When is Robert getting married?
What does Shalanta want to study when she's older? Why?

As an extra work, you can take a picture of yourself and write a text about it.

online exercises with comparative adjectives

2009-01-12T01:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a compilation of websites you can use to practice comparative and superlative adjectives.

English Zone

Better English lessons (1)
Better English lessons (2)

Interactive Workbook (Pedro F. de la Iglesia)

Study Zone

Eric Squire's web

A very smart bunny

2008-04-13T05:01:00.001-07:00

Nazbatag is a new device that allows you to connect the internet and get instant information.

Embedded Video

Which of these things can the nazbatag NOT do?
a) vibrate
b) check the weather
c) read your e-mail to you

Blogged with the Flock Browser

An interesting graffitti

2008-04-05T06:37:00.001-07:00

View the original picture at Flickr

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The Memory Man

2008-02-06T23:52:00.000-08:00

Stephen Wiltshire was born in London on 24th April, 1974. When he was three years old, he was diagnosed as autistic. He had no language, could not control his emotions and lived entirely in his own world.

At the age of five, Stephen was sent to Queensmill School in London, a school for children with special needs. Teachers soon saw that he communicated with the world through the language of drawing; first animals, then London buses, and finally buildings. These drawings show a masterful perspective, and a natural capacity for art. When he was eight, Stephen saw in a schoolbook pictures of an earthquake, and started drawing cities after the effects of imaginary earthquakes. He drew most of the major London landmarks.

His teachers at Queensmill School wanted to encourage him to speak, so they temporarily took away his art materials. Stephen then spoke his first word - "paper." He learned to speak fully at the age of nine.
Stephen has appeared in various documantaries since he was a child. In one of them, in 2001, he flew over London by helicopter and drew a detailed and illustration of it from the air in three hours; his drawing included many monuments. He has also drawn Tokyo, Rome, Hong Kong and Frankfurt. (adapted from Wiltshire's site http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/)

He is right now in Madrid. During this week, he has flown by helicopter over the city centre, and is currently working on one of his drawings. You can see him from the 4th to the 8th of February at the Palacio de los Deportes.

You can also visit his website gallery, at http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/gallery.aspx
or see some videos at http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/download_video.aspx?Id=1239&Mode=Mac

(see also the El País article, in Spanish Stephen el Memorioso)

A Bob Marley song

2007-12-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

We have listened in class to
Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. It's a very simple, easy to follow song. You can find the lyrics in many places over the internet, for example here. You can listen to the song below:

Here are some facts about Bob Marley. Three of them are false. Which ones do you think are the false ones?

1.Some people think he's the prophet of a religion called Rastafarianism.
2.He's the grandfather of Beyonce Knowles.
3.His father was white, and some people treated him badly for this reason.
4.He died of foot cancer.
5.He could play 9 different instruments.
6.He had 13 children.
7.He was awarded the Peace Medal of the Third world by the United Nations.
8.He is Jamaican, but he was born in Ethiopia.

(Hint: try looking at the Wikipedia article on Bob Marley)

Sing and complain

2007-12-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

It all began when two Finnish artists,Telervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, realized people put a lot of energy into complaining. There is an expression in Finnish, "Valituskuoro", that literally means Complaint's choir. The two artists thought it would be interesting to make that expression a reality. They started in the city of Birmingham. The members of the Choir collected their complaints about everyday life and then put music to it. Soon, the Complaint's choir became a worldwide phenomenon. There are Complaints Choirs in Birmingham, Helsinki, Hamburg, St. Petersburg, Jerusalem, Melbourne and many places more. You can see the full choir list and other videos at the complaintschoir.org website, as well as the full history of the choirs.

Here is the Canadian example -- don't worry, the song has subtitles!

What things would you complain about?

Before we watch Nightmare before Christmas

2007-12-05T10:30:00.001-08:00

I think it would be nice that you listen to one of the songs of the film. The song on the video is a more animated version by the singer of the rock band Fall Out Boy

Here are the lyrics of the song. Remember you can look up any word you don't understand at the Wordreference dictionary.

What's this? What's this?
There's color everywhere.
What's this?
There's white things in the air.
What's this?
I can't believe my eyes.
I must be dreaming.
Wake up, Jack, this isn't fair.
What's this?

What's this? What's this?
There's something very wrong.
What's this?
There's people singing songs.

What's this?
The streets are lined with,
Little creatures laughing.
Everybody seems so happy.
Have I possibly gone daffy?
What is this?
What's this?

There's children throwing snowballs,
Instead of throwing heads.
They're busy building toys,
And absolutely no one's dead.

There's frost on every window.
Oh, I can't believe my eyes.
And in my bones I feel the warmth,
That's coming from inside.

Oh, look.
What's this?
They're hanging mistletoe, they kiss.
Why that looks so unique, inspired.
They're gathering around to hear a story.
Roasting chestnuts on a fire.
What's this?

What's this?
In here they've got a little tree, how queer.
And who would ever think?
And why?

They're covering it with tiny little things.
They've got electric lights on strings,
And there's a smile on everyone.
So, now, correct me if I'm wrong.
This looks like fun.
This looks like fun.
Oh, could it be I got my wish?
What's this?

Oh my, what now?
The children are asleep,
But look, there's nothing underneath.
No ghouls, no witches here to scream and scare them,
Or ensnare them.
Only little cozy things,
Secure them in their dreamland.
What's this?

The monsters are all missing,
And the nightmares can't be found.
And in their place there seems to be,
Good feeling all around.

Instead of screams, I swear,
I can hear music in the air.
The smell of cakes and pies,
Are absolutely everywhere.

The sights, the sounds,
They're everywhere and all around.
I've never felt this good before.
This empty place inside me has been filling up.
I simply cannot get enough.

I want it, oh, I want it.
Oh, I want it for my own.
I've got to know.
I've got to know.
What is this place that I have found?
What is this?

Fall Out Boy - What's This? (Nightmare Before Christmas Cover) Lyrics

Question: At which point in the film do you think this happens? (Leave your answer in a comment)

Blogged with Flock

Can you save energy just by changing your search engine?

2007-10-30T02:34:00.000-07:00

That's what the people from Blackle think. According to them, a monitor uses more energy when it is displaying a white screen, so if the screen in your computer is showing a dark website, you are actually saving energy. So if the original version of Google was black, it is believed that we could all save up to 750 Megawatt-hours a year.

Critics argue, on the other hand, that the site is difficult to read, and that the energy you can save is less than the site claims. For a more detailed discusssion you can go to the wikipedia article on Blacle

What do you think? Do you think it is a useful initiative? Would you use this search engine?

A transparent frog!

2007-09-30T10:16:00.001-07:00

Hiroshima scientists create transparent frogs ::: Pink Tentacle

The Japanese scientists that have created them claim that transparent frogs will help them observe different processes like cancer or other changes in internal organs. Besides, the frogs will not be harmed.

What do you think? Do you think it is right to experiment with animals in some cases? How about genetically modifying them? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of it? Do you think the creation of these transparent frogs is going to be useful?

Blogged with Flock

The world from an anorexic girl's eyes

2007-09-18T00:49:00.001-07:00

This is a Swedish ad against anorexia. One of the biggest problem that anorexic people have is that their way of seeing the world is distorted.

ABKontaktTheMirror
Uploaded by baronrojo

How about you? Do you think you see yourself as you really are?

Blogged with Flock

What do teachers make? -- a poem by Taylor Mali

2007-06-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

The following video is a slam poem by the New York city poet and teacher Taylor Mali.

Slam Poetry is a type of poetry that is performed live and is very close to rap, but without music.The name "slam" comes from the fact that this kind of poetry is competitive. Just like with rappers (as you could see in Eminen's movie 8 Mile), there are slam poetry contests, and Taylor Mali is actually one of the most successful slammers of all time. In the United States, some people use the saying "those who can't do, teach", meaning that teachers are usually professionals who could not find jobs related to what they studied, and are "stuck" with a job that is usually not very well paid. The expression "what do teachers make?" is a pun -- the expression "what do you make" generally means "how much money do you earn", but Mali changes it to express that teachers make students work and think, among other things.

What do you think is more important? the amount of money you earn or the impact your job has in other people? (for ideas, you can check also the comments on the original youtube site for this video)

Please read the written version of the poem here. In that website you will also find information about Taylor Mali as well.

The shoe song

2007-05-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

1.

In this song, Paolo Nutini talks about how great his new shoes make him feel. First, I want you to listen to the song and see how much you understand just listening and looking at the video without looking at the lyrics.

________________________

_______________________

Artist: Paolo Nutini
Song: New Shoes
Album: Popular Songs

2.

Now, look at the lyrics of the song. The paragraphs are jumbled (in a different order).

Which paragraph is the chorus?

Can you order the rest of the paragraphs correctly? You can listen to the song again.

A. Hey, I put some new shoes on,
And suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
It so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
But long on time,
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
And I’m running late,
And I don’t need an excuse,
'cause I’m wearing my brand new shoes.

B. Woke up cold one Tuesday,
I'm looking tired and feeling quite sick,
I felt like there was something missing in my day to day life,
So I quickly opened the wardrobe,
Pulled out some jeans and a T-Shirt that seemed clean,
Topped it off with a pair of old shoes,
That were ripped around the seams,
And I thought these shoes just don't suit me.

C. Take me wandering through these streets,
Where bright lights and angels meet,
Stone to stone they take me on,
I’m walking to the break of dawn.

Take me wandering through these streets,
Where bright lights and angels meet,
Stone to stone they take me on,
I'm walking to the break of dawn.

D. Woke up late one Thursday,
And I’m seeing stars as I’m rubbing my eyes,
And I felt like there were two days missing,
As I focused all the time,
And I made my way to the kitchen,
But I had to stop from the shock of what I found,
A room full of all my friends dancing round and round,
And I thought hello new shoes,
Bye-bye them blues.

3.

Now, match these words with their definition looking at the text

Words

Definition

To be short on money

To stroll/ to wander

Brand new

To top it off

Ripped

Seams

To suit

Dawn

To take a walk

To have very little money

Broken, when we refer to clothes or shoes (rasgados)

To look good on somebody

To complete something successfully

The borders of clothes or shoes (costuras)

When the day begins

Completely new

4.

What things make you feel better? Leave a comment!

Spiderman!

2007-05-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is the last Spiderman trailer. What do you think the film is about? What kind of deductions can you make from the trailer?

A science fiction book about the early days of American history

2007-04-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

Jamestown -a Novel

Check it out at Amazon.com. You can also read the interview with the author, Matthew Sharpe:

The life of a Japanese college girl

2007-04-20T03:08:00.000-07:00

Is her life very different from yours?

What things are similar?

"you can change the spelling without changing the language"

2007-04-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

That's what the The Simplified Spelling Society. believes. They are campaigning for a way to spell English that reflects better how it really sounds. Similar reforms have been done in Spanish, French or German, but the transformation of English would probably be much greater.
Simplified Spelling Society: "Let's get phonetic" - Yahoo! News

What do YOU think? Do you think it can be done? Would it really be a good idea? What about things written in the old spelling?

At English Spelling Problems you can find many of the biggest problems with spelling in English. Surely you know already there are more than a few ;-)

Welcome!

2007-04-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

This is going to become a class blog. For the time being, just a little welcome picture....

good@English

Giving directions

The Tell-Tale Heart

News resources for intermediate students

Useful links for tourism students in Madrid.

past simple review (repost)

Practice for was/were (1st ESO --A1)

Relative sentences

the Fukushima accident

Exercises for 1st ESO

A small reminder for 3ºA

How to motivate kids to learn science

The present simple

Oh! those apostrophes!

Let it snow!

Be precise!

Before we watch Slumdog Millionaire

Reported Speech (2) Questions and commands

Reported speech (1): affirmative and negative sentences.

Think outside the box

do a test that's not for school!

By popular demand, "Crawl", by Chris Brown

...and the third conditional!

The second conditional

The first conditional

Happy, by Leona Lewis

One for the future forms!

So, what is English made of?

A travel composition

...as I suppose you'll be studying hard for your exam in January...

Merry Christmas!

The present perfect

Riding out the recession

past simple review (repost)

Happy Halloween!

Summer Cat, by Billie the Vision and the Dancers

Chocolate Cake, from Nigella Feasts

Life in Britain

Leonard Cohen and the First Conditional

Class pictures

online exercises with comparative adjectives

A very smart bunny

An interesting graffitti

The Memory Man

A Bob Marley song

Sing and complain

Before we watch Nightmare before Christmas

Can you save energy just by changing your search engine?

A transparent frog!

The world from an anorexic girl's eyes

What do teachers make? -- a poem by Taylor Mali

The shoe song

1.

Artist: Paolo NutiniSong: New ShoesAlbum: Popular Songs

2.

3.

4.

Spiderman!

A science fiction book about the early days of American history

The life of a Japanese college girl

"you can change the spelling without changing the language"

Welcome!

Artist: Paolo Nutini
Song: New Shoes
Album: Popular Songs