Christmas 2010 is coming!!! Let's get ready for it...

Christmas is almost here!!! So, as you know, we should get ready for it. Here you'll find whatever is necessary to make the most of the incoming Chistmas season.

First, we would like to invite you to our traditional Christmas Party, which will take place on the 20 December, from 7 p.m. onwards, in room 4.

There will be:

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  A cooking contest: there will be a prize for the best savoury dish and for the best sweet dish. Click here to read the contest rules.



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  A Christmas card contest: there will be a prize for the best card, which will be sent to wish a Merry Christmas to the other Official Language Schools in Andalucía. Click here for the rules to participate.



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  A Christmas Trivia contest: let's see how much you know about Christmas in English and French-speaking countries!



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  There will be Christmas carol singing: the students belonging to each level will be singing a different carol.

SO WE REALLY HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!! DON'T MISS IT!!!

So, before watching a couple of videos with the Christmas Carols, let's learn a few facts about Christmas:

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  Click here to watch some Christmas videos on history.com



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  Visit Santa's village on northpole.com. You can write your letter to Santa, chat online with two of his elves, play interactive games...



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  What is "Boxing Day"? Find out by clicking here.

And now, without further ado, let's get to business. SINGING!

This is the carol for the singers of 1º de Nivel Básico: THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS.

Below you have the video for the singers of NIVEL INTERMEDIO: GOD REST YE, MERRY GENTLEMEN.

Don't miss the party!!! It will be fun!

Were were you, and what were you doing, on December 6, 1978?

Dearest students and readers of this blog,

It is not usual for me to deal with issues that have to do with Spain and its culture in this blog, because, as you know, it is dedicated to "All things English" or in English, at least. But this time I'm going to make an exception. I have been asked to prepare a little something that has to do with the Spanish Constitution, whose making we are celebrating next 6 December.

As you know, the Spanish Constitution is "the fundamental law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted on foot of the 1978 referendum, as part of the Spanish transition to democracy. It was preceded by many previous constitutions of Spain.

The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the Constitution of 1812. After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, a general election in 1977 convened the Constituent Cortes (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving the constitution.

A seven-member panel was selected among the elected members of the Cortes to work on a draft of the Constitution to be submitted to the body. These came to be known, as the media put it, as the padres de la Constitución or "fathers of the Constitution". These seven people were chosen to represent the wide (and often, deeply divided) political spectrum within the Spanish Parliament, while the leading role was given to then ruling party and now defunct Unión de Centro Democrático (UCD).

Gabriel Cisneros (UCD)
José Pedro Pérez-Llorca (UCD)
Miguel Herrero y Rodríguez de Miñón (UCD)
Miquel Roca i Junyent es:Miquel Roca (Convergència i Unió)
Manuel Fraga Iribarne (Alianza Popular)
Gregorio Peces-Barba (PSOE)
Jordi Solé Tura (PSUC)

The writer (and Senator by Royal appointment) Camilo José Cela later polished the draft Constitution's wording. However, since much of the consensus depended on keeping the wording ambiguous, few of Cela's proposed re-wordings were approved. One of those accepted was the substitution of the archaic gualda ("weld-colored") for the plain amarillo (yellow) in the description of the flag of Spain.

The constitution was approved by the Cortes Generales on October 31, 1978, and by the Spanish people in a referendum on December 6, 1978. 88% of voters supported the new constitution. Finally, it was promulgated by King Juan Carlos on December 27. It came into effect on December 29, the day it was published in the Official Gazette. Constitution Day on December 6 has since been a national holiday in Spain." (Source: wikipedia)

If you are interested in reading the Constitution, or at least, in flicking through it and reading some of its articles, click on the Constitution page above. (In Spanish)

Here you have some important events that took place in 1978:

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  February 1: Hollywood film director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France, after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.


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  February 15: Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Pensacola, Florida.


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  March 1: Charlie Chaplin's remains are stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.


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  March 3: The New York Post publishes an article about David Rorvik's book The Cloning of Man, about a supposed cloning of a human being.


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  June 19: Garfield, which eventually becomes the world's most widely syndicated comic strip, makes its debut.


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  September 17: The Camp David Accords are signed between Israel and Egypt.


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  September 28: Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days of papacy.


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  November 7: Indira Gandhi is re-elected to the Indian parliament.


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  November 27: In San Francisco, California, Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White.

So the question, at this point is:

HOW OLD WERE YOU, WHERE WERE YOU, AND WHAT WHERE YOU DOING ON 6 DECEMBER 1978? Please WRITE A COMMENT WITH YOUR ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

Students become poets against gender-based violence

Last Wednesday and Thursday we dedicated part of our class to remember those women who are abused, battered, humiliated, raped or, simply, murdered. Our students were asked to write a poem that responded to the phrase "No to gender-based violence." Enjoy the result.

Say no to gender based violence

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Things to be thankful for. THANKSGIVING 2010

Thanksgving, one of the most important festivities in the US, is almost here. The time is come to learn about how people celebrate it.

Did you know that...

...Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November?
...in Canada, Thanksgiving is in October?
...the turkey, the cornucopia, the corn or the pumpkin are the symbols of this holiday?
...people give thanks for everything good in their lives?
...every year, the President of the United States pardons the life of a turkey, which ends up in Disneyland?
...every year, there's a spectacular parade in many American cities like New York or Chicago?

If you want to read about Thanksgiving traditions, click on the image below:

Now some history. What's the origin of this festivity? Where do its main traditions come from? Take some time to watch this video:

YOU ARE THE HISTORIAN. Hey, don't miss this!!! Click again on the picture below if you want to find out more about the festivity. It will be worth your time, believe me!!

And to finish, let's have some fun:

For all of you, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

NI (B1) - Gradable and non gradable (strong) adjectives

Hello everyone!

Next week we're going to speak about two different categories of adjectives: GRADABLE & NON GRADABLE. You have a fairly comprehensive summary of the main points related to this topic in your books, but there are a few websites you might find interesting to have a look at.

So here we go!

First, from the British Council website, with exercises. Click here.

From Englishclub.com, check what you need to know about gradable/non gradable adjectives by clicking here and then practise with this quiz.

Absolutely amazing, isn't it?

NI (B1) - Question tags are interesting, aren't they?

Question tags: In English, it is a phrase added to the main part of the sentence, inviting the listener to confirm or give an opinion about the comment. It is composed of two parts: the auxiliary verb, determined by the principal verb, in negative form (or affirmative if the principal verb is negative), followed by the pronoun, determined by the subject. (source: worldenglish.org)

We have seen question tags in class, but I'm pretty sure you could use some extra help, couldn't you? So here you have a very interesting video and some useful link to practise question tags further. Alright, let's get to work, shall we?

Here you have a very interesting and clarifying video about question tags. Enjoy!



Now, read a summary of the rules you have watched in the video. Click here.

For some practice on the intonation of question tags, click on Grammar Challenge from the BBC Learning English website.

And for some extra practice, click on the following links:

• English-hilfen.de
• English grammar 4 u
• saberingles.com
• auto English

1º NB (A1) At the airport

In the practical English section of our student books of 1º and 2º de nivel básico we study the vocabulary of airports, of flying. As we travel a lot nowadays, we might find this extremely practical. If you want to go deeper into this subject, go ahead and have a look at these videos:

Apart from this, if you want to go a little bit further, GO TO THE BLOG ARCHIVE, AND LOOK FOR THE ENTRY POSTED ON 11 NOVEMBER 2008.

Enjoy your flight!!

El País in English!

From this week the English version of EL PAÍS is available to read online. Enjoy a selection of news, business, culture, sports and comment, taken from Spain's top daily. Click on the logo to read the paper.

There will be a permanent link on the sidebar of this blog. Enjoy!

Royal Engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton

"At last!!!" must have thought the British people and, most particularly, the bride-to-be. After seven years of "unofficial" relationship, and even a temporary break-up, His Royal Highness Prince William, the eldest son of Prince Charles of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, and second on the line of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has announced his engagment to Miss Catherine Middleton, whom he met while stuying at the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland.

Here's the statement announcing the engagement:

His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton are engaged to be married

16th November 2010

The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton.
The wedding will take place in the Spring or Summer of 2011, in London. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.
Prince William and Miss Middleton became engaged in October during a private holiday in Kenya. Prince William has informed The Queen and other close members of his family. Prince William has also sought the permission of Miss Middleton’s father.
Following the marriage, the couple will live in north Wales, where Prince William will continue to serve with the Royal Air Force."

Source: http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/

Did you know that...

"The Act of Settlement (1701) lays down that only Protestant heirs of Princess Sophia, granddaughter of James I,may succeed to the British throne. Neither Catholics, nor those who marry a Catholic, nor those born out of wedlock, may remain in the line of succession."

This means that no Catholic, or person married to or descending from a Catholic can ever become a monarch of Britain!!

Well, let's take advantage of the situation to learn VOCABULARY ABOUT MARRIAGE AND WEDDINGS. Click here.

Here you have a video with the first appearance of the couple after the engagement, at the traditional photocall:



As the sound is not very good (the flashes of the cameras are too loud!), here you have the transcription of what was said during this meeting with the Press.

Now, watch the video of the first interview of the happy couple after the announcement:

Interview to H.R.H. Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton on their engagement.




Would you like to see other weddings in the British Royal Family? Watch the video below:

We'll keep you updated with the news about this Royal Wedding!

Gunpowder, treason and plot...

"Remember remember the fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot..."

November 5, 1605, a solitary figure is arrested in the cellars of Parliament House. Although he first gives his name as John Johnson, a surprising series of events begins to unfold under torture. Guy Fawkes, as he is really called, is one of thirteen who have conspired to blow up the parliament, the King, and his Lords...

This historical event originated one of the most characteristic festivities of the UK, BONFIRE NIGHT. Do you want to know more? First, the history. Watch the video below:



If you want to read the history behind Guy Fawkes' Night, click here.

Then, the festivity itself. Bonfires, fireworks, 'a penny for the guy...' Find out more. Click on the picture:

AND NOW, YOU CAN PLAY THE GUNPOWDER PLOT GAME. Discover the barrels of gunpowder and stop the conspiracy. SAVE ENGLAND AND THE KING!!

Seville European Film Festival - Let's go to the cinema together

As it is tradition, the school is going to the cinema. Every year Seville hosts an European Film Festival, and we have selected one film for you to go and see. Remember that all films are subtitled in Spanish!! So don't worry!

This year we're going to see Mr Nice, directed by Bernard Rose. UK. 121 min. To go the the official website of the film, click here.

Cast: Rhys Ifans, Chloë Sevigny, David Thewlis, Elsa Pataky and Luis Tosar.

Plot: The film tells the story of Howard Marks, an elite British drug smuggler. To know a little bit more about the real Howard Marks, click here.

Here you have the trailer:

NI (B1) A Halloween story made by the students of Nivel Intermedio B

Last Thursday, I asked my students in Group B of Nivel Intermedio to make up a good Halloween story. I gave them the beginning, and they created a scary story with their personal touch. This is the result. Good job!!

A scary story

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