A1 - Housing

Dear students of 1º de nivel básico: unit 6 deals with the vocabulary of the house, its rooms and its furniture. Why don't you take some time to have a look at this? You will surely find it useful.

Which of these houses is: a DETACHED house, a SEMI-DETACHED house? A TERRACED house? A block of FLATS? A COTTAGE? A BUNGALOW? Click on the word "comments" at the bottom of this entry and tell me which is which.

Now read the description a 10-year old English boy makes of his house:

1. The kitchen

2. The living room

3. The bathroom

4. The bedroom

5. The garden

And finally, visit our VIRTUAL HOUSE

If you can read this, thank a teacher (Anonymous)

I've traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,

Old stars and hopeful beginners,

I've been where no-one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket

To the wonderful world of books.

~ Anonymous ~

Today the world celebrates the existence of books and the pleasure of reading them, by remembering two great men who died on the same date, April 23, 1616: William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

Can you recognise these two extracts? Whose are they?

"In a village of La Mancha, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind, there lived not long since one of those gentlemen that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean hack, and a greyhound for coursing."

"To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them?

To die: to sleep; No more;

and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub"

My dear students, this time you are going to use this blog to tell me about a favourite book of yours. I know it is very difficult to pick only one, but please try. Click on the work "comments" and the bottom of this entry, and write a short paragraph about the favourite book of your choice, explaining why you like it. I will start, ok?

One of my favourite books is this, Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand. I discovered it (well, it is a play) through the film starred by Gerard Depardieu in 1990, and I literally fell in love with the story. The film is excellent, by the way. I definitely recommend it.

Cyrano deeply moves me. An extremely witty, talented man, deeply in love with someone who cannot see beyond physical appearance. Someone who despises and undervalues himself. And someone totally selfless, capable of sacrificing himself for the benefit of others. For all this, his only satisfactions come from holding his head high by being proud in his independence. But he is a sad soul who is incapable of leaving the object of his affection, in spite of the pain it causes him. The text is quick and witty and the story, moving. Definitely recommended!!!

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN. CLICK ON "COMMENTS" AND WRITE A SHORT TEXT ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK, EXPLAINING WHY YOU LIKE IT.

ENJOY THE DAY!!! HAPPY INTERNATIONAL BOOK DAY!!

The different degrees of comparison

In 2º de nivel básico we are studying the comparatives now; in 1º, it's just a matter of time. So, as always, a little bit of "cyberhelp" comes in handy:

Click here for some theory.

Click here for some practice.

Now let's play: the Crazy Quiz

For some examples of equality, have a look at this cartoon:

And now, comparative of inferiority.

Enjoy!!

A1/A2 - The Use of the Article (or when to omit it)

Articles! Well, I don't mean that kind of articles, the ones you find on a newspaper, obviously. I mean the indefinite articles "a/an" and the definite article "the." It's a tricky grammar point sometimes, especially if we compare the use of articles in Spanish and in English. So here you will find some extended indications as when to use either of them.

Click on the OWL to learn about articles:

Click here for some practice.
...or here
...or here (only the green section - lower intermediate)

Greatest Hits 1º - Santana (feat. Chad Kroeger) - Into the night

A selection of the best songs, according to the students of 1º de nivel básico, is soon to be reseased. Meanwhile, here's the first single available in the market for you to enjoy:

For the lyrics, click on the image of the music scores below.

To be continued...

Easter is coming

Easter is almost here. And we haven't had the time to speak about it in class. Fortunately, we have this blog to compensate for the lack of time. Here you will find an insight into the traditions and celebrations in English-speaking countries.

Please take some time to have a look at this presentation made by Gemma Murcia Powell, an English teacher at the Official Language School in Gijón. Here you'll find the essentials of this festivity. Thanks, Gemma!!

Easter

View more presentations from leticiaeoimairena.

Have a look at one of most popular Easter traditions in America: the Easter Egg Hunt (US)

April Fools Hoaxes

HOAX: An act intended to deceive or trick. (source: thefreedictionary.com)

PRANK: A mischievous trick or practical joke. (Source: thefreedictionary.com)

PRACTICAL JOKE: trick to purposely make someone feel foolish or victimized, usually for humour. (source: wikipedia)

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day, although not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes or pranks of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbours, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible (=easily deceived.) Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon: like UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool". Elsewhere, such as in Ireland, France, and the USA, the jokes last all day. (Source: wikipedia)

Click on this link to read the hoax published yesterday on THE GUARDIAN. (For some help with this article, click here.)

Some famous hoaxes on television:

THE SWISS GROW SPAGHETTI ON TREES - 1957


BBC FLYING PENGUINS