It's St Patrick's Day 2016!!!

Dear students and readers of this blog,

Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially St. Paddy's Day or simply Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa AD 385–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17.
The day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Montserrat. In Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday. (Source: wikipedia)


First of all, don't miss the video just below if you want to know something more about the History of St Patrick's Day.

For Basic level students, here's some info on St. Patrick's Day.

What if you were walking around your town one day, and people suddenly started dancing? Watch the Riverdance Flashmob at Sydney's Central Station on Saint Patrick's Day 2012:




Now, some Irish songs that are perfect for a good St Patrick's day celebration.

Star of the County Down  (Irish Rovers)



Star Of The County Down Lyrics

Near Banbridge Town in the County Down
One morning last July,
Down a boreen (=path) green came a sweet colleen (=girl)
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen (= brillo) of her nut brown hair.
Such a winsome (=adorable) elf, I'm ashamed of myself
For to see I was starin' (=looking) there.

[Chorus:]
From Bantry Bay up to Derry's Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
And I looked with a feelin' rare,
And I say's, say's I, (=I asked) to a passer-by,
"Whose the maid with the nut brown hair"?
Well he looked at me and he said to me,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the star of the County Down".

[Chorus]

She'd soft brown eyes with a look so shy
and a smile like a rose in June.
And she sang so sweet what a lovely treat,
as she lilted (=sang)  an Irish tune.
At the Lambuth dance I was in the trance
As she whirled (=danced) with the lads (=men) of the town.
And it broke my heart just to be apart,
From the star of the County Down.

[Chorus]

At the Harvest Fair she'll be surely there
So I'll dress in my Sunday clothes,
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked
Right for a smile from the nut brown rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Till my plough was a rust coloured brown.
And a smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down.

Lyrics from <a href="http://www.elyrics.net" rel="nofollow">eLyrics.net</a>

Spancil Hill, by The Corrs



St. Patrick's Day is also widely celebrated in the US, especially in the cities like New York and  Chicago. We have learnt that, in Chicago, the river turns green (the colour of the festivity, the colour of Ireland) every 17 March. Watch this video to see how:

Have a happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit !!

NB 2 - File 7A: Visiting the National Portrait Gallery

Dear students & readers of this blog,

We know that London has many museums, but now we are going to talk about one of the most interesting, yet least known of all: the National Portrait Gallery. 

It is situated just off Trafalgar Square, at a 5-minute walk from the National Gallery. It houses portraits, both paintings and photographs, of outstanding British men and women. Here you have some practical info, just in case you are planning to visit London soon:

IMPORTANT INFO

Address

2 St.Martin's Place

London WC2H 0HE, United Kingdom

Cómo llegar

‎

020 7306 0055

Nearest tube/railway station

Leicester Square (Northern & Picadilly Lines)

Charing Cross (Norther & Bakerloo lines)

Admission

Free

Opening Times

Saturday to Wednesday from 10:00am to 6:00pm 

Thursday and Friday from 10:00am to 9:00pm

                                                                                                      www.npg.org.uk

As we saw in our textbooks, some of the people featured in the museum are:

HRH the Duke of Windsor and the Duchess of Windsor (aka Edward VII & Mrs Wallis Simpson.

Edward VIII was King for just a few months. As he was in love with Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American woman who was divorced, he abdicated, and became the Duke of Windsor. They were together for the rest of their lives.

Click on their names above if you want to read more about their biographies.

Henry VIII of England 

Henry VIII was the king of England. He was famous for starting the Church of England. He was also married six times. Two of his wives were executed. He was a poet, a singer and a sportsman in his youth, but in his old age he was changeable and tyrannical. He was Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary some people called her), and Elizabeth I's father.

The Brontë Sisters: Charlotte, Emily & Anne.

Charlotte, Emily and Anne were born in Yorkshire. They were all remarkable writers, but only Charlotte was famous during her lifetime. They were the authors of some of the most famous novels of English literature: Jane Eyre (Charlotte), Wuthering Heights (Emily) or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Anne).

Click on their names above to learn more about their biographies.

Helena Bonham Carter

She was born in London. She is an actress. Her first significant role was in the film A room with a view. Her partner was film director Tim Burton. They have two children.

Click on her name above to learn more about her biography.

Now let's play a game. I'm going to give you five clues about two famous people, and you are going to say who I'm talking about, okay? Let's go:

Celebrity no. 1

1- He was an English writer

2- He was born in the 16th century.

3- He was married with three children

4- He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon

5- He was the author of plays such as Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet.

And he is...

William Shakespeare

Celebrity no. 2

1- She was born in Los Angeles in 1926.

2- She was a famous actress.

3- She was blonde and very beautiful.

4- Her real name was Norma Jean Baker.

5- She was married to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller.

And she is...

Marilyn Monroe

Now let's see if you guess this one. These are the clues:

- He was born in a city in South Africa.

- He was an anti-apartheid activist.

- He was in prison for many years.

- He was the 1st black president of South Africa.

- He was married three times.

So...who was he? 

WRITE A COMMENT WITH THE ANSWER, IF YOU KNOW IT. ALSO, WRITE A COMMENT WITH THE CLUES YOU WROTE IN CLASS. LET'S SEE IF WE GUESS THEM!!!

For some theory on was / were, click here.

NB 2 - If you love somebody, set them free

Dear students & readers of this blog,

As our classes are usually so packed, we don't have enough time to listen to music with the lyrics. And actually, this is a great way of learning new vocabulary and expressions, as well as of learning about pronunciation. So, with the excuse that, in our Basic 2 class we have studied the INDEFINITE PRONOUNS, we are going to listen to some music.
For some info on indefinite pronouns, click here.

What about Sting?

Here is Sting's song "IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY, SET THEM FREE", a song included in "The Dream of the Blue Turtles", his first solo album after leaving The Police, and it was released in 1985. Now watch the video, listen to the song, and fill in the gaps in the lyrics below:

"If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"

VERSE (=estrofa) 1

If you need somebody, __________ my name
If you want someone, you can ___________ the same
If you wanna ___________ something precious
You got to lock it up and _____________ away the key
If you want to hold onto your possessions
Don't even ______________ about me

Chorus

If you love somebody,

If you love someone,

If you love somebody, 

If you love someone

set them free

VERSE 2
If it's a mirror you want, just _________ into my eyes
Or a whipping boy, someone to despise
Or a prisoner in the dark
Tied up in chains you just __________ ____________
Or a beast in a gilded cage
That's all some people ever _____________ to be

Chorus: if you love somebody...

VERSE 3
You can't ___________ an independent heart
Can't tear the one you _____________ apart (tear someone apart)
Forever conditioned to _____________ that we can't live
We can't live here and be happy with less
So many riches, so many souls
Everything we see that we want to ______________

VERSE 1 REPEATED

 Chorus

For the full lyrics, click here. 

NB 1 - File 6B: how to say the date

Dear students & readers of this blog,

First of all, I want to apologize for having been absent for so long. These have been very busy months for me, since we came back from our Christmas holidays. But here I am again, ready to suggest you ways of practising your English at home.

In our Basic 1 class we have been studying how to say the date. Here you have some links that can help you study and practise at home.

First, you need to know the ORDINAL NUMBERS in English. Click here for a list...and more.

Next, you need to learn how to say THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR. Please take a few minutes to check the video below:



And finally, you need to be able to know how to say the YEARS correctly. Click here.

Here you will find a SUMMARY of everything. Don't miss it!

So...WHAT'S THE  DATE TODAY? Practice by writing a comment to this post.