As you probably know, March 8th is the International Women's Day. As its own name shows there are lots of celebrations all around the world, so if you feel like learning more about this day and the situation of some women in this 21st century world, you can watch these videos, starting with what the UN Secretary General have to say about this day:
We all know some years ago there were a lot of things women weren't allowed to do, i.e. they couldn't vote, buy a house or open a bank account alone, yeah I know, unbelievable! Well, fortunately, those things changed, and some others are still changing.
It might sound a bit funny, but if I think about how women finally got the rights that belong to them from the beginning, one of the things that comes to my mind is the film Mary Poppins. Do you remember the children's mother? She was part of the suffragette movement. There was even a song, Sister Suffragette, about it. Fancy listening to it?
Once we have enjoyed this song and remembered a time when we were younger, let's take this matter a bit more seriously. If we think about women being treated unfairly around the world, one of the first things that comes into our mind is women living in Arab or Muslim countries. Watch the following interviews and listen to what these two important women living in that part of the world have to say about these issues:
Sales period after Xmas is finished and I have some questions for you... did you buy lots of things just because they were cheaper than usual ? or did you just buy things you are sure you are going to wear? I think if I did a survey, probaby 95% would choose the first option, isn't it true?
Well, I love starting my day wearing something new, but I hate going shopping on a Saturday afternoon! Why? Because you end up spending your free time in a place full of people where the only thing you are sure of is that you are going to waste a lot of time queuing for everything: for a parking space, for you turn in the changing rooms, or to pay for what you bought...!
Nowadays, a lot of people choose another option, i.e. going shopping online by visiting different webpages where you can buy many different items that later on are deliveried at your door and what is best without waiting or queues! Have you ever tried it? You can even shop online in the same places you usually go shopping. Have a look to the following links:
How do you choose the things you normally buy? Do you just go to a shop and get something you like? or do you buy something you have already seen somewhere else, for example, a fashion magazine? If so, do you usually buy fashion magazines? or do you sometimes have a look to them when given the opportunity? As you know, you can visit them online, so have a look:
What's your favourite magazine? Maybe Vogue? Well, I don't know, anyway, watch the following videos from a CNN's programme called Revealed where the editor of Vogue Paris takes you behind the scenes of one of the world's most glamorous magazines (March 09).
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
If you liked the documentary, read more about her and her work in the following links:
Do you know that if you want to be a British citizen you have to pass a computer-based test? It is called Britishness Test. Ok, maybe you have not exactly been thinking about that, but... wouldn't it be funny to give it a try and see how many right answers can you get after all these years of learning the language?
I imagine you have heard some news about this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, yes, the US President, Mr. Obama, where you surprised when you found it out? I mean, is the President of a country as the USA the best example of PEACE? Do you think the board who selected the winner had real time to see how much of Mr. Obama's nice plans have been accomplished so far? Or they just selected him because he is not George W. Bush?
Well, perhaps this could be a good topic for some of your class presentations, you know those small little tiny presentations you have to prepare this year... you and I know what we are talking about, don't we?
Anyway, here you have some more information about this year Nobel Peace Prize and how this issue has been covered by the international media:
BBC - Please don't miss the Videos & Audios section CNN - Read and Watch
By the way, do you know who was Alfred Nobel? Among other things, he was the inventor of dynamite, isn't it surprising? and what do you know about the history of the Nobel Prize? Let's check what you already know and learn more with the following links:
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:
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:
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!
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:
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:
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!
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!
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:
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...
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.
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:
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!
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:
'If you want a wise answer, ask a reasonable question.' JohannWolfgang 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:
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?
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.
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:
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:
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?
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?
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!
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...
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.
