Wednesday 26 November 2014

The Future

Below you can take another look at the Powerpoint presentation about the future we saw in class.



Now you can do a few exercises to practise what you have learned.

Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Intermediate Podcasts

Dear Students:

Ky (CC BY 2.0)
Here's a list of podcasts you might want to use to improve your listening skills. For each episode there are activities that you can do. Good luck!
A couple of podcasts that you can use in case you want to improve your pronunciation:

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Guy Fawkes

Remember remember the fifth of November
Dominic Alves (CC BY 2.0)

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

Guy Fawkes' Night is celebrated by people across the UK. The 5th November marks the anniversary of Guy Fawkes' failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament, King James I and the entire English government.

Luckily, the plot failed but why do people in the UK continue to celebrate such a violent event more than 400 years after the actual attempt?

If you want to know more about the gunpowder plot, read this text and listen to the radio programme.

Do you want to know more about the history of the nursery rhyme? Check out this website.

When did you start learning English?

Seven famous football players, including Didier Drogba and Petr Cech, are interviewed about their life in England and learning English. Watch the video and read the transcript to find out what they said.

So, when did YOU start learning English? As usual, drop a comment below.

Thursday 23 October 2014

Intermedio: Friendship

We've been talking about friendship over the last couple of weeks. I'm sure you're familiar with the BBC Learning English Series, The Flatmates. Why not try doing the following exercises on the subject of friendship?

1) The Episode: First of all, listen to the episode.
2) Language Point: Now read a list of vocabulary about the different aspects of a friendship.
3) The Quiz: Finally, try a quiz about the language point.

Are you good at singing? Perhaps you'd like to try to sing along to the following karaoke song about friendship, or ask a friend to sing with you. Good luck!

Sunday 22 June 2014

Summer is coming

Dear Students,

BRIAN STABLYK, GETTY
As you know, summer is already upon us, and cultures all around the world celebrate the summer solstice. You can enjoy some beautiful photos of the celebrations here.

Don't forget to devote part of your free time to practising your English. You can do so by reading, watching films or TV programmes in English or, even better, talking to the many tourists that visit us during the summer.

Intermediate Students: you can start reading graded readers that correspond to the B2 level. Here's a list of recommended readers, and online resources: Intermediate List.

Advanced Students: you can read / watch virtually anything. Here's the list I sent you at the beginning of the year with a few more additions: Advanced List.

Have a great summer!

Wednesday 4 June 2014

World Cup 2014

Get ready for the World Cup by watching the animated histories of the teams.

You can also read about the anti-World Cup protests.

You can also listen to a fantastic podcast episode about Pele and "the beautiful game" in Brazil.

So, are you for or against the celebration of the World Cup in Brazil? As usual, leave your comments below.

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Sugar Man

Searching for Sugar Man is a documentary film directed by Malik Bendjelloul (who sadly died yesterday), which details the efforts of two Cape Town fans in the late 1990s to find out whether the rumoured death of the American musician known as Rodriguez was true, and, if not, to discover what had become of him. 

Rodriguez's music, which never took off in the United States, had become wildly popular in South Africa, but little was known about him there.

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Monday 17 March 2014

Intermedio: Food

What do you know about traditional British food? Check out the following website and find out more about
Shermeee
sandwiches, fish and chips, roast dinners, delicious pudddings, and some main courses with strange names, like Bubble and Squeak or Toad-in-the-Hole.

If you want to know how to pronounce words connected with food, click on the pictures.

Finally, a couple of listening exercises about food:
  • Listen to a conversation between a woman, Lucy, and a man, Mike, about a new burger restaurant called ‘Burger Fest’ and decide if each sentence is correct or incorrect.
  • Listen to Doug and Jackie talk about going on a diet. Then you can read the programme script here.
  • Watch the video about the origins of hot dogs and then play the game.

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Opinion Essay / For and Against Essay

Do you need help to write essays for school or for English exams? Check out these great activities:
Charles Jeffrey Danoff







Tuesday 18 February 2014

Avanzado 2: 30-WORD STORY COMPETITION

Click on the previews to read the fascinating short stories below.

He was telling the truth

PicLit from PicLits.com

Tied dreams

PicLit from PicLits.com

Jellyfish

PicLit from PicLits.com

Below you can find the rules for the 30-WORD STORY COMPETITION. 
Don't forget to participate! You can win a prize!

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Intermedio: First Conditional and Future Time Clauses

Hi everyone!

If you want more information on the First Conditional, listen to this episode of "The Flatmates". Then, read this information on the First Conditional, and finally, try this quiz.

And here are some more exercises:
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3

You can visit the following websites in case you want to learn more about Future Time Clauses.
Theory
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3

Finally, here is a fantastic song by Leonard Cohen. If you listen carefully, you will find a lot of examples of the First Conditional.


If you want to read the lyrics, click here.

Friday 7 February 2014

Avanzado 2: Exit through the gift shop

If you want to find out more about grafitti artists and the world of street art, I recommend watching the following documentary. Enjoy!

Thursday 6 February 2014

Avanzado 2: Soap Operas

Visit the following websites if you want to find out more about soap operas: