Christmas time.

Here you have a video from Anglophenia with the differences between British and American Christmas.

Similes

This is from Oxford Word Skills Advanced. Enjoy it!

time to play

Here you have a link to a page to practise similes.  It has been taken from the webpage English Club.
Have fun!!

Where there is a will there is a way II

... and motivation does help. Merry Christmas!!

My treasure possession.

This is a little treasure written by Begoña G. Q.

MY TREASURED POSSESSION

I own an antique full-length mirror with a simple light wood frame that belonged to my grandmother and then my aunt Carmen. It was made in a small village near Santiago de Compostela in the 1940s by my grandfather Manuel. My grandfather made this mirror for his wife´s job, my grandmother Carmen, who was a seamstress. My aunt Carmen, being three years old, inherited this mirror because her mother died very young. And the relatives who took care of my aunt gave her the mirror when she decided to be a seamstress.

The mirror reminds me of my childhood because when I went to my aunt Carmen´s house in Bilbao, she would be sewing in the sewing room and I would play at being a client with the pieces of cloth in front of the mirror. Sometimes the real clients came to try their made-to-measure dresses or suits on and I used to help my aunt with more enthusiasm than skill. I loved the way women looked at themselves in the mirror wearing my aunt´s creations.

When my aunt died, the mirror was handed down to my father. He offered it to my sister and me and, although I looked forward to having the mirror, I did say nothing because my sister is my aunt´s goddaughter and I thought that she would like to have it. However, my sister remembered our childhood days at my aunt´s house and the famous question that I asked my aunt one day: "How many people will have looked at themselves in this mirror along the time?" Due to this, my sister considered that the mirror had to be bequeathed to me. And in this way my treasured possession came to me in Badajoz. Needless to say that it has great sentimental value and I still wonder about the number of people who looked at themselves in it in different periods and places...

Where there is a will there is a way.

Quite often, when we are in class, I encourage you to believe in yourselves. I know you can reach as far as you aim to. There is work to do -remember our three times a day rule- but if you believe you can do it, you sure are on the right track.

This is part of a programme in which BBC interviewed 100 women. Simone Biles is just an example of someone  who believes in herself. Pay particular attention to minutes 2'42 & 3'42

Grouping rhyming words 1

These are some exercises from Test your Pronunciation Penguin English Guides by Michael Vaughan-Rees.  Rearrange the words according to their correct pronunciation.

What do the British do better than the Americans?

This is an article published on The Independent.

23 things British people do better than Americans

BBC learning gives us a hand ....

... with some common mistakes. In this case, as seen in class, with the word order in Indirect questions and something else.

I hope you enjoy it!!!

Pet hates

or pet peeves

I am going to give you some links to find out people's top pet hates. What about leaving yours on the comment box?

From The telegraph:  The 100 most annoying things: poll

From "the student room"

From "head rambles blog"

In five words

 

Jump media player

Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

In five words: What the EU referendum says about Britain

This is what has been published on BBC News. 

If you are curious, use the link to watch it.

Summer time.

I know my students have finished their lessons, but I want to believe their passion for English doesn't need a rest. I have realized that your reluctance to leave comments on the blog, doesn't stop you from checking it every now and again. Therefore, I have decided to keep sharing things with you. ... And if one day you decide to leave a comment I will be more than happy ;)

Homophones II

Homophones ....

.....  are words which sound exactly the same but have different meaning and spelling. Getting to know them could help you with your pronuntiation and your listening skills.

I am going to give you two sentences, an easy one -to build up your confidence- and a difficult one -to challenge you- so that you tell me the homophones, which I give you just with the phonetic transcription:

Your /sΛn/  was playing in the /sΛn/.
The /stɔ:k/ ate the /stɔ:k/ of the cherry.

...and now ... could you think of more examples using homophones in the same sentence??? Please share your examples in the comment box.

Money and banking

This is an exercise to enlarge your vocabulary on this matter.

Shakespeare 400 Death anniversary.

This is what the British Council have prepared as a teaser for the celebrations they will hold.

Enjoy it!

And here you can read some famous Shakespeare quotes.

The Queen Elisabeth's 90th Birthday

Check this.

Here you have a link to the celebrations that are being held today to commemorate such important anniversary. from BBC News

If you want to know more ....

The importance of Windsor Castle.

Here you have a video from the BBC News to learn about its significance.

Brexit vs Bremain

The official campaign period for the UK's referendum starts today.

Here you have several links to be informed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/02/18/eu-referendum-brexit-explained_n_9265670.html

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/07/eu-referendum-everything-you-need-to-know

https://www.scenesofreason.com/eu-referendum-explained/

Writing a discurssive based on a video.

This is the article that appeared on The Guardian. It will help you  with the task proposed in class.

Mindfulness

Now that you have seen this video about MINDFULNESS from the BBC, would you like to try it?
Whether you would or wouldn't, leave your answers in the comment box.

Storytelling

We have been working on storytelling in the last few sessions, here you have a good example of it. I'm positive you'll love it.

And if you'd like to know more about this wonderful storyteller, here's the link to his webpage.

speculation & deduction in the past

This is something we may find it difficult to "come to terms with". Let's think of songs that could help here.

The first one I can think of is Pretty Woman OST "It must've been love"

Then I think of "When I was your man" by Bruno Mars

or "I should have known better" by The Beatles

or "I should have known better" by Jim Diamond

or "I could have danced all night" from My fair lady 

And all the ones you feel like sharing ....

Sounds explained.

Have you heard of   Learn English with Let's Talk - Free English Lessons ?

Here you have an example.

The importance of clarity.

There is a very interesting article on Speak Up Magazine number 366. I would like you to read it and give me feedback with your opinion. 

Animal sounds

practise your /p/

Ana is going to be your phonetics teacher for today. Listen carefully and enjoy the video!!

New Year's Resolutions

... As seen by FRIENDS