St Patrick's Day

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, an annual feast which celebrates Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland.

If you want to learn about the history of St. Patrick and some other Irish traditions, watch the following video.

Pancake Day

Dear Students,

Today is Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, which is a special day celebrated in many countries around the world. On this day many people eat pancakes. If you want to know more about Pancake Day, and learn how to make pancakes, visit the following websites:

• Reading and recipe
• Reading and listening exercises
• More exercises

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.

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.

Intermedio: Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

What is the best way to remember Nelson Mandela?...

You can learn more about Nelson Mandela:

• Video Quiz
• Quotes

Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination:

• British Council
• ESL Holiday Lesson

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.

Year 3: Halloween

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.
Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.

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If you want to find out more about Halloween, you can visit this website.
You can do the following reading exercise. It might be very useful if you are thinking of buying a house.

Happy Halloween!

Anti-Valentine's Day

If you don't feel like celebrating Valentine's Day this year, why not throw an Anti-Valentine's Day Party? To get in the Anti-Valentine mood, here are a few websites you might find interesting.

• Original date excuses (To use in case that "special" someone asks you out and you don't know how to say no.) 
• Anti-Valentine's Quotes (My personal favourite: "I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.") 

Have you got any other suggestions to celebrate Anti-Valentine's Day? What about other original excuses or quotes? Please, feel free to leave a comment.

HAPPY ANTI-VALENTINE'S DAY!

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King’s birthday, January 15.

King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000. If you want to read more about Martin Luther King, click here.

Now, after reading a little bit about MLK, you can have a look at this video. This is his most famous speech.

Have a look at part of Martin Luther King’s speech. Try to fill in the gaps with the words in the box. Here you have the keys.

Year 2: Halloween

Have you ever been so scared you were shaking like a leaf? What are you scared of and why?

Watch this video and find out what some people in London said.

Now watch this video if you want to learn some idioms of fear. You can make your comments below.

Happy Halloween!!!

Year 1: Listening Past Simple / Easter

Two listening exercises: listen to this recording and do the exercises.



If you want to know more about Easter traditions and the origins of Easter, read this text.
Easter is the Time of Springtime Festivals

Year 1: St Patrick's Day

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, an annual feast which celebrates Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland.

If you want to learn about the history of St. Patrick and some other Irish traditions, click here.

Then try this quiz.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Year 4: St Patrick's Day

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, an annual feast which celebrates Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland.

If you want to learn about the history of St. Patrick and some other Irish traditions, watch this video.



Now you are ready to read this text to find out more about some Irish traditions.

And another video from History.com.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Year 4: International Women's Day

Among the many things that New Zealand is famous for, it was the first country to grant women the vote. Many of us take the right to vote (suffrage) for granted but today (International Women's Day), we focus on the courageous women who fought hard to achieve equal rights. And the battle doesn’t go as far back as some may think; Switzerland only achieved suffrage in 1971, while South Africa didn’t achieve it until as recently as 1994.

Read the following text to find out more about those women and their extraordinary stories.

Now check your answers.

To know more, check out the following websites:

• The Suffragettes
• The First International Women's Day was celebrated in 1911
• Some Gender Facts

In some countries, women still have to fight to get equal access to education. Video script

Gender Facts

Next week we celebrate International Women's Day. The first International Women's Day was celebrated in 1911, so this year marks the centenary of this day of global celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.

Here are some gender facts that will get you thinking:

• Of 1.2 billion people living in poverty worldwide, 70% are women
• 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women
• Women own around only 1% of the world's land
• Only in Japan and Peru are women more active in starting a business than men
• Women do two-thirds of the world's work but receive only 10% of the world's income

Source: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/facts.asp

Now watch this video in which James Bond is challenged by M to think about gender inequality.

Tell us what you think by leaving a comment.

Year 4: Groundhog day

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.


And this is a clip from the comedy film Groundhog day.

Digital Xmas

Year 4: Remembrance Day

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the guns of Europe fell silent. After four years of terrible fighting, The First World War ended. This moment is still commemorated by millions of people in Britain every year.

Find out more about Remembrance Day.

Now you are ready to do the crossword.

Year 1: Bonfire night

Bonfire Night is celebrated across the UK on 5 November. The date marks the failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament by Guy Fawkes along with a group of co-conspirators in London in 1605.

Find out more about...

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire night

Bonfire Night Traditions in the UK

Year 4: Guy Fawkes

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

This November 5th is Guy Fawkes' Night and it will be celebrated by people across the UK. This year is the 405th 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, you can watch this BBC documentary:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Then do the crossword and play this game.

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