Xmas Time

Well, I have some good and bad news for you, let's start by the good one... Christmas is coming so you are going to have more time to spend with your family, eat and drink a lot, give and receive lots of presents... or maybe that was the bad news... well ... don't know. But you are definitely going to have some holidays, aren't you?

Although it might be the case that by now some of you are sick of hearing about Christmas as every time this holiday seems to start earlier. Well, some more good news is that if you are tired of Spanish Christmas you can always learn more about other traditions all around the world, especially those of some English speaking countries, for instance, the UK, the US...

Let's start with a common tradition in most cultures, Christmas Carols, do you like singing? and singing Xmas carols? In case you don't know the answer to that question yet, you can try and see with this very famous Xmas Carol:

Song lyrics | All I Want For Christmas Is You lyrics

This song became very famous a few years ago with a film called Love Actually. It is located in London and, although is at Xmas time ... yeah I know ... there are like 1,000 Xmas films on TV every day during this period of the year, but trust me this one isn't the typical one, so if you haven't seen it yet, it could be a good oportunity, here you have the trailer.





Other common tradition all around is food, so here you can find some very famous Christmas recipes in English culture:

Christmas Recipes

Here you have some more mix ability practise related to this topic:

Christmas Gift Listening - Multiple Choice
General Xmas Trivia - Quiz

Finally, you can read a bit about how popular online shopping is even more at Christmas and you can even have a look at some webs, maybe you get some ideas for your own Xmas gifts, good luck!

Christmas shopping stalls Walmart.com
The Great Christmas shopping price fix
somucheasier.co.uk - online shopping webpage
Great Christmas gift ideas - online shopping webpage

How much technology is in your life?

How much technology do you use in your everyday life? And how much Technology related vocabulary do you know? Let's see by testing your techno-jargon with the following test:

Test your Techno-jargon

Do you have a computer or a laptop at home? Do you use a Microsoft PC or an Apple Mac? In Europe Macs are not so popular but they are getting more and more popular everyday as they are already in places as, for example, the US .

Watch the following video: Apple Boy vs Microsoft Man where both are compared in quite a funny way:

And now that we have started to enjoy why stop it? Watch the following cartoons about Gates vs Jobs or what's the same Microsoft vs Apple, it's great!

If you still feel in the mood for more technology related issues here you can read some news articles about some of the latest developments in technology:

Can Google Wave replace e-mail? (CNN.com)
20 new techie gadgets not to be missed (time.com)

Out & About

Guess what? There is a wonderful website with a section called 'Welcome to London' where you can follow some characters through a series of situations as they arrive and settle down in the city. What is really good about this is that you can listen to the typical conversations taking place when you are visiting a city. Useful, isn't it? Even more if some of you are lucky enough to go abroad this Christmas!

Welcome to London

The IT Crowd

As you seemed to enjoy the episode from The IT Crowd we watched in class, here you can find some bits and pieces about the next episodes. Have fun:

The IT Crowd Bits and pieces from YouTube

Now, if you want to know a bit more about this TV series, its actors or you just want to watch more episodes or clips, have a look to the following links, enjoy!

Official Website
The IT Crowd in Channel 4 - episodes and clips

Did you enjoy it? I hope so. Now... let's focus on more formal issues, if you remember we used the first episode of this TV series to review the 'not-so-popular' phrasal verbs we worked in unit 1, what a about some more practice... come on... let's try:

Face up to Phrasal
Funky Phrasal Verbs - bbc

Thanksgiving Day

Hey, this year November 26th is Thanksgiving Day. This holiday has not a fixed day, it's not like Christmas Day... but it is always celebrated on the last Thursday of November.

Anyway you are problably familiar with it due to a lot of American TV Series we normally watch. Unfortunatelly not always in original version, am I right? Well, don't worry about the past... think about the present and watch the following videos, hope you have fun!



What about Friends, Thanksgiving and Brad Pitt...



And a bit of American football...

Let's learn a bit more about this special day in American culture, some special recipes for this day...

Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Day (traditions around the world, recipes...)

Well, by now you know the US is not the only country where Thanksgiving is celebrated. Do the following listening activity and learn how different it is celebrated in other countries such as Canada. Then try the cloze test, thus you will be also pratising for the exam in June.

Canadian Thanksgiving (Listening practice)
Thanksgiving Cloze (Reading practice)

Pronunciation: <-ed> endings

Once upon a time... there were some Spanish students of ESL (English as a Second Language) who still, at NI2 level, had some difficulties with the pronunciation of <-ed> endings. One day, they were fed up with this constant difficulty and decided to do something to definitely improve their chances to improve their pronounciation in this matter. That day, when they realized they just needed some more practice and be a bit more careful when speaking, was one of the happiest days in their lives because... Ok, ok, yes... I know, I'm being a bit dramatic and perhaps I overreacted but, come on, you definitely need to do something to improve you performace so...here are some links to make that tale come true:

First of all, watch a video where an English teacher explains the main rules of Past Simple pronunciation:



You know songs are a great source to improve your pronunciation, so here you have a couple for further practice:

A not so famous song but with lots of explanations:



A more famous song where you can listen, not only to some Past Simple endings but also to the <-s> for the 3rd singular person in the Present Simple and, of course , some Connected Speech examples:



And finally, a bit more formal practice:

Past Simple Pronunciation (Exercise 1)
Pronunciation Simple Past Ending (Exercise 2)
What does the -ed sound like? (Exercise 3)

Healthy Lifestyle

We've all met them, that irritating woman who turns up at a school reunion 20 years later looking almost the same age as the day she left school. Or the middle-aged man who can beat people half his age on the tennis court.

What a lucky group of people! Don't you think? Well, by now we have learnt that several factors play an important role in all that: genes, lifestyle, diet, personality... but it seems that the place where you live in is also important! There are several well known places around the world famous for their longevity rates. If you want to learn a bit more about them, watch the following videos:



Longevity in Andorra:



Longevity in Okinawa:



Now that you have listened to some information about the healthiest places in the world, let's see how unhealthy are some other countries, which one are you thinking about? Yes... me too.



Finally, learn more with the following links which include news articles, listening comprehension, quizzess... Enjoy!

Stories about aging and the elderly (news article, video, quiz)
Language after stroke - BBC Learning English (listening)
The Health Quiz - New York Times
Staying Young Aging Quiz

Heathcare in the USA

I'm almost sure you have heard some news about the public debate on the American healthcare system, am I right? Well, since Obama is in the White House he has been trying to reform the current healthcare system in his country. In case you just listened to this information in Spanish, here you can watch Obama explaining the main points of his plan for a universally free healthcare, this time in English!

This week, after all those discussions, the House has passed the Health Care Reform Bill, if you want to know a bit more you can read some news articles from the links below and even, go to the Media section (on the right hand side of this blog) and watch how the CNN or the BBC , among others, covered this issue:

House passes Health Care Reform Bill - cnn.com

Sweeping Health Care Plan Passes House - nytime

Senate Finance Committee Votes to Pass Healthcare Reform Bill - guandian.co.uk

Questions, questions and... more questions

'If you want a wise answer, ask a reasonable question.' Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, novelist and dramatist.

'To be or not to be that is the question...' [Hamlet]
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet ans playwright.

These are a couple of very famous quotations about the importance of questions. In Unit 1 we were working with this issue, what about some further practice? But first, go to the following link and watch this video about How to ask questions in English:

How to ask questions in English - Video

I know... I know... working with all the different types of questions can be a bit difficult, so why don't practise a bit more and improve your average performace?

Questions Ending in Prepositions - bbc quiznet

Questions with prepositions - OUP Good Grammar Book - Ex. 2

Subject & Object Questions

Indirect Questions - bbc radio + practice quiz

Question Tags (Form) - bbc radio + practice quiz

Question Tags (Pronunciation) - bbc radio + practice task

If you want to know a bit more about questions, here you have a couple of videos about 'open and close questions'.

Grundtvig Programme EOI Villaverde 2009

You know this year our EOI has enterred this Programme, that means we have to prepare a project in order to introduce our EOI to the rest of the participants who will be meeting in Turkey next November 18th. You know that's why I have been asking for your participation, in your case as students of NI2, handing in typical recipes from Spain or Madrid,. By the way, thank you very much because most of you handed them in. I have thought maybe you would like to know what this programme consists on or even why it is called 'Grundtvig', was s/he a famous person in the past? Well, you could have a look to the following links and learn more about all these things.

Wikipedia: Grundtvig Programme

European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme

Who was Grundtvig?

Guy Fawkes' Night - November 5th

Remember, remember
the fifth of November
gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason
why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

November 5th is celebrated in England as Guy Fawkes' Night. It is named after a member of a group of Catholic conspirators who, in 1605, plotted to blow up the English Houses of Parliament with gunpowder. Let's find out more about this special date:

Guy Fawkes Night & the Gunpowder Plot
Guy Fawkes & the Bonfire Night
British History: What if it had succeeded?

What about watching how people celebrate that night?

Well, let's check if you've learnt something after all this information, I'm sure you did!

Listening & Reading
Bonfire Night Puzzle - BBC
Guy Fawkes Night Quiz (easy)
Guy Fawkes Night (tricky)
Chants & Rhymes
Planning for this Night

Fawlty Towers

It was in 1975 when this comedy series, or sitcom, made a whole nation laugh. At that time, everybody in Great Britain started to raise their eyebrows and say "¿Qué?" in Spanish imitating Manuel, the hotel's bellboy and waiter, who is from Barcelona. In case you want to know more about it, here you have the official webpage:

Fawlty Towers Webpage
Episodes Guide
Fawlty Towers in Wikipedia

If you enjoyed the episode we watched the other day in the class called "Communication Problems", you are going to love this small sketch where there are more misunderstandings between Mr. Fawlty and Manuel. Enjoy!

And now, would you like to watch the characters back together nowadays?

/rɪˈvɪʒən əv fəˈnetɪks/

Improving our pronunciation is not an easy task, but it doesn't mean it cannot be a funny one. Watch this video, is it familiar for you?

Well, now... do you feel like improving your own pronunciation? Yeah... I think so, here you have some links to practise English phonetic symbols and sounds. Hope you all enjoy it! Remember, it is essential to be able to read the symbols in order to improve your listening and speaking so, what are you waiting for?

English Phonology: 1-7.

English Phonetics (vowels, consonants, BrE vs AmE...)

The Sound of English & the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Phonetic Symbols & Sounds

Pronunciation Tips from the BBC

Phonetic Exercises & Quizzes

Minimal Pairs & Instant Sound

Dictionary with Instant Sound

And now, enjoy even more with this video about punctuation. It's great!

HALLOWEEN TIME

Hi everyone! As you all know next Friday we' re going to join the rest of the students at EOI Villaverde to listen to some spooky legends. Don't forget you can also take part in the Halloween Quiz where you and your partners will show how much you know about it. Come on... don't be shy and join us! Here you have some quizzes and more activities so that you can practise a bit and have fun!

Quiz on Halloween 1
Quiz on Halloween 2
Halloween Origins Quiz
Halloween Costumes Quiz

Interactive crossword
Scary Webquest
Idioms & Proverbs for Halloween



If you feel like learning a bit more... don't stop and carry on...

Listening: "A Halloween Journey of the Night I Chickened out"
The 5 Most Haunted Places in the UK
Hookery Cookery

KARAOKE TIME!

It seems some of you enjoyed this song in the previous session so if you feel like having some more fun... watch this video and don't forget to sing along! Remember you also have the lyrics inside the music section on the right hand side.

And now it's time to see how much influence ABBA still have in our time, watch Benny and Bjor being interviewed about the Mamamia Movie.

Don't you think maybe it's time to see how much you remember or already know about ABBA? Let's try some of the following quizzes...

ABBA Facts Quiz
ABBA in Fun Trivia (different levels)

Come on, come on... don't worry if your score was low... what about learning a bit more for the next time?

ABBA in Wikipedia

I know... I know... I promise this is the last thing I ask you to do related to ABBA! Have you ever watched these movies? Here you have the trailers of these two famous films related to ABBA.