GOODBYE 2010-11

Definitely too late to say goodbye this year, but, in fact, some of us are still working!

Anyway, and first of all, congratulations to all our Bachillerato 2 students! All of them passed Selectividad and a lot of them with really high marks. We are really proud of their work.

I hope everybody learnt many interesting things this year, both from an academic and a personal point of view.

As you know, I like songs. This time I'll say goodbye with a video you can watch on Youtube by clicking here. It's a song called "My sweet Lord", by George Harrison, one of the Beatles, who died some years ago. The song here is sung by Billy Preston, somebody who was always very near the band, and some of the best musicians and singers of the 70's are on the stage: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, and even, George Harrison's son, who looks like him a lot. The concert was a beautiful homage to this great composer.

I hope you will enjoy the song. Have a very nice, relaxing summer!

GOOD LUCK TO OUR BACHILLERATO 2 STUDENTS

Last week we said goodbye officially to our students of Bachillerato 2. This has been a hard year for all of them, but I'm sure it was worth the effort. I hope all that hard work made them more mature and, of course, it will surely be very useful in the future, first in Selectividad, and, later, in their future studies at university. I wish them luck, both to those who will have to wait to September to see better results and to those who will start their university entrance exams next 13th.

As I told them not long ago, it was a pleasure to have the chance to teach them. Good luck!

THE BLIND SIDE

Hi, again, after so long! So much work! The reason for this new entry is something we said in the ESO 4 lesson today when we were talking about the films that we like. Manuel mentioned the film called "The Blind Side". Sandra Bullock stars the film, she even got an Oscar Award for the main role in it. However, the important thing here is that the film is a true story.

When you click on the word trailer, you'll be able to see some minutes from the film with Spanish subtitles. Some people may think that it's just another silly American film if you only see the trailer, but the thing is, it is a true story that makes you learn about important things in life.

I really recommend watching it. You'll understand the metaphorical meaning of "blind side" when you watch the film, I hope.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

I hope there'll come the day that we don't have to celebrate a women's day. That'll be the day when men and women will be really equal in every country and in every aspect. That day both men and women will get the same pay for the same work in their jobs; they'll have the same education opportunities; they'll share housework and responsibilities; women will have the same possibilities to reach high positions in governments and corporations; women will be respected by their husbands, their partners. That day a woman will be valued as a man is in any society now. That day no man will decide for any woman.

For those interested in reading a little bit about the International Women's Day, click here. You can also watch this video about the journey of women's rights.

SOUL

Hi, again! This is a special message for some of my ESO 4 A students, but everybody is invited to enjoy it.

Today we talked about music. Some didn't know what soul is. You can read about this music on Wikipedia by clicking on this word, but the best thing to know about it is, to listen to some of it. By clicking here you'll listen to 11 minutes of duets by the greatest soul singers of all times. Maybe some of you will like it, and some others won't, but still, you'll know about it. Personally, I like it very much!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

The gift of love. The gift of peace. The gift of happiness. May all these be yours at Christmas and throughout the New Year.

Enjoy Coldplay's new Christmas song. You can read the lyrics on this website. And here you are a Christmas card from your teacher. Enjoy your holidays!!

FIGHTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

25 November was designated by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The Assembly invited governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities to raise public awareness of the problem on that day.

We are aware of how terrible this problem is so it's worth mentioning in this blog. There is a very interesting report about the topic on this UN (United Nations) link. You can also watch the video in English released by http://www.saynotoviolence.org/

THE PEOPLE THAT WE ADMIRE

Hi again, my dear students

Probably some of you still remember one of the questions in the activity we are doing with Cherrelle, our American assistant teacher, these days. The question is, "Do you admire anybody? Who do you admire?".

Both Cherrelle and I were really surprised when we saw that most students didn't admire anybody, perhaps because we admire not only one, but different people. It is true that some of you answered the question: one of you admired her strong mother and another her intelligent father. One student also admired Rafael Nadal for his personality, he said. These were really interesting contributions.

In my opinion, it is good to look up to (=admire) people who are really worth it for their work, effort and good values. In my case, many of the students that have known me for many years already know that Nelson Mandela's life is an example of honesty that I have always admired.

Today, I'll also tell you about a lady from Burma who has been in the news recently and who is worth knowing about. Her name is Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been kept in prison and under home arrest for many years just for defending democracy and peace in her country. If you want to know a little bit more about her, you can read the information on this link. You'll find more things on Wikipedia, of course.

For those who want to know about Nelson Mandela, you can learn something about his life here.

HALLOWEEN

All of you know 31st October is an important day in English speaking countries, especially in the USA. Our very nice American assistant Chrerrelle told some of you and will tell others next week about this tradition in her country.

Now I'd like to share this old postcard from the New York Public Library with you. Next to the picture you can see some tips about how to get rid of witches. One of the obsessions at that time was to protect themselves from evil spirits on Halloween. Remember the tradition of putting the jack o'lantern on the window sill. Click on the postcard to read the Halloween Precautions.

If you want to see some more postcards of this beautiful collection, called "Haunted Postcards", click on this link.

Finally, by clicking here, you'll be able to watch a short video about Halloween made by http://www.linguaspectrum.com/.

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE

A song is always a good way to start the school year, especially if it is this song called "Always look on the bright side of life". Those who have seen "Life of Brian", the film, will recognize it. Today in the lesson with my ESO 4 I advised my students to "Always look on the bright side of life". Now, you can read the lyrics by clicking here and you can listen to the song in the video. I hope you'll enjoy it!

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!

Hi, everybody, my old and my new students!

Here we are again after a nice summer rest. I'd especially like to welcome my new students this year. I hope all of you take the most of the possibilities that this year offers you both at school and in life, in general. I hope you will make and keep good friends, have a nice relationship with teachers and, of course, learn a lot. Your future will thank you for your effort now.

To those who are visiting my blog this school year for the first time, I advise you to have a look at last year's entries. You'll find stories, music and lyrics and other things to have fun and learn English.

Also, remember that you can learn or check pronunciation and meaning or find information in the dictionaries and encyclopedias on the right.

Finally, by clicking on My Delicious, you'll find lots of websites where you'll be able to practise your English in very different ways -listening, conversational English, grammar, vocabulary, etc.

Welcome, again! I wish you a school year full of interest and new experiences!

GOODBYE 2009-10

Hi, everybody! Time to say goodbye. After a hard year's work, summer is here. I hope that you got what you expected in all aspects -at school, with friends, family... I wish you all a happy summer holiday.


Just one song to finish this school year, a song we listened to in ESO 4 not long ago. For those who don't have the lyrics, click here and sing along. See you in September!

ENGLISH WITH MUSIC

Hi, again, after some time. Here is a new website where you can listen to and sing along the latest songs at the same time as you read the lyrics. Click on this link and you'll go there. You'll find music from all your favourite bands -Black Eyed Peas, Kesha, Abba, Beyoncé ... Try now and enjoy it!

CHARLES DICKENS

I hope that my students of ESO 4 really enjoyed the play today. You'll let me know next Tuesday. For those who haven't had enough of Charles Dickens, here it is a very original animation about his life. Below on the same page you can also learn a little bit more about him or even play a game. I hope you like it!

PRACTISE ENGLISH WITH SONGS

I know that many of you love songs and like learning English with them. Try this link to listen to some of your favourite songs, watch videos and practise your English at the same time. Try to understand the words of the song as it goes. There are three levels to do that, beginner, intermediate and expert, and three levels of songs. You choose the song and the levels. Why not try Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" now? I hope you'll enjoy it!

STORIES

Do you like stories? Do you like fairy tales? If you want to listen to those stories that your mother or your grandparents used to tell you when you were a child, click here and you'll enjoy the magic of listening to them in English. You can also read the stories afterwards. Enjoy yourself!

SOME MORE LISTENING PRACTICE

Reyes, this is especially for you. If you want to practise listening comprehension, you can find conversations at different levels with multiple choice activities on this website. You can also listen to passages by clicking on this link, and, finally, on the last website you'll find a list of links for listening practice. One of them is bbc.co.uk, always useful to learn the English language.

MOVING ABOUT IN LONDON: listening practice

For those who enjoy listening to English and for those who want to improve their listening skills, here you are some typical conversations moving about in London. I hope you'll find them interesting and useful.

EXERCISES ABOUT FUTURE

For all those students, especially for those in ESO 4, who want some more practice on the different types of future, please click here. In this other website, you will not only find exercises about the future, but also on many other structures. I hope they'll help you understand better.

LONDON

This is the tower of the Houses of Parliament, perhaps the most famous view in London.

Everybody that has been to London thinks that it is an exciting city, worth visiting for its historical places, its theatres and museums, its beautiful large parks and for its river Thames. Get to know a little bit more about this wonderful city by clicking here.

WELCOME TO MY BLOG

Dear students and friends,
Welcome to my blog. I hope this will be a place to meet and share, to show our creativity, to learn words, to practise our English, to enjoy the pleasure of listening to a song, reading a poem or smiling at a nice comment. I look forward to your contributions.