HAPPY 2011!

HAPPY NEW YEAR BABIES!

May the year 2011 be a time of peace and happiness for all mankind!  And may all your dreams come true ! Hugs for all of you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

Merry Christmas my dears! 

Have a nice time with your family and friends! If you have time to have a look, here you have a video where the Muppets ( we know them as "teleñecos" ) sing one of the most typical Christmas carols among children of English speaking countries.

There's also a funny Christmas game on the web that you can try on the following link. Click on the "Christmas Gift Escape" and follow the instructions:

http://www.games-walkthroughs.com/2008/12/christmas-gift-escape-walkthrough.html

The ChubbChubbs are coming!! Enter the competition and get a prize!

Hi my dears!

I know you are having a very stressful time with so many exams in such a short period of time. That's the reason why I've decided to upload this beautiful short film for you. If you ever feel like an alien and think that your dreams will never come true, watch this sweet and funny jewel! I'm sure you'll feel better.

Oh, just in case you want to sing the songs that appear in the short film, click on these links:

                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwPEHeRa39k&feature=fvw 
                                          ("Respect" by Aretha Franklin)

                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx0Shn5Hvpc
                              ("Why can't we be friends?" by Smash Mouth)

By they way, I've got two questions for you:

1.- "Why can't we be friends?" was part of the soundtrack of a very famous film in the 90s. Do you know which one? Who were the leading actors?

2.-In the film, we can also see a funny character from a very well known science-fiction saga.  Which famous saga? What's the name of the character?

 There will be a prize for the first person to guess it!!

The Chronicles of Narnia 3

Watch out girls and boys!

Another fantastic movie is coming to the cinemas this December! This time we have "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", the third part of a very famous saga based on C.S. Lewis's novels. I've uploaded the theatrical trailer with Spanish subtitles so that you may follow the story easily. Enjoy it! ( and try to see films in English ).

Learning English with Adverts: "Nespresso, What else?"

Hi there!

We've sometimes talked about Nespresso adverts in class. It's not only an opportunity to see George Clooney in action,  but also a useful way to learn a little English while you're watching TV. Why not? Have a look at the two most recent adverts: In Heaven (part I) and The Taxi (part II). Have fun and see how much English you can understand without the help of subtitles!!

THE POWER OF A SMILE

Hi again! I hope you've had a wonderful weekend!

Today, one of my students sent me a link to a very nice video. I already knew the video and had seen it. It's called  "Validation". Some teachers have used it , above all, during tutorial classes in different levels. Here you have the links ( for part I and part II ). They are in English with Spanish subtitles, so don' worry about being able to understand it. It's a way to encourage people to be positive and see the good things in us!! A simple smile and a nice word can make miracles and they may even change people's lives! Have a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHI6Lsxio5I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeCi2S2qA9o

WELCOME TO NEW YORK ! ( More extra listening )

This is a new video, this time about an exciting city, New York. "The Big Apple", as it is world wide known, is an amazing city full of interesting places to see and lots of things to do at all times. That's why it is also known as "the city that never sleeps". Although the video is longer than that about London, don't worry as it is easier to understand, so let's go on a trip to New York!! ( You'll have the listening comprehension exercises next week ).  Try this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-58nsUMFs8

By the way, is there any city or country  that  you have ever dreamed of visiting some day? I'm looking forward to seeing your comments. Have a nice weekend!

JACK-JACK ATTACK

Hi!    
 Surfing the Internet I came across a very funny short film that I hadn't seen for years: "Jack-Jack attack", part of the Pixar film "The Incredibles". Apart from being useful to practice your listening comprehension in English, you'll have real fun! Have a look and tell me what you think.Would you dare to work as a baby sitter with such a baby? I simply adore him!  Click on the following link and have fun:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxd7W7q-THw

Let's go for a tour around London ( Extra listening exercise )

Hi there! Since we don't have so much time to do listening comprehension exercises in class, I'd like you to listen to this video about London carefully. Next week, I'll give you some listening activities to do while you're listening to it. Have a nice weekend and keep on listening to anything you can in English!

If you have problems to see the video, click on the following link:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATroztDophc



"Gomaespuminglish" Basic English for very very beginners, or not?

No coments!! Just have a look! If you need more English lessons similar to this one, you'll find plenty of them in http://www.youtube.com/. By the way, do you think I should wear such a cute beret in class? I love it!!

Hit the Road Jack!!

As I promised you today, here you have the famous song by Ray Charles "Hit the road, Jack", a perfect example of the use of one of the idioms that we learned today in class: " to hit the road". By the way, pay attention to the phrasal verbs which also appear in the song! Have a nice weekend and see you on Monday!



Bonfire Night And The Gunpowder Plot - The Real Story Of Guy Fawkes

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November!!

Do you know why is this date so famous in British history? Do you know what is celebrated on Bonfire Night? It all has to do with a famous gunpowder plot and a man called Guy Fawkes who was part of a group of Catholics. They tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605 in order to overthrow the king at that time, King James the 1st. Here are the typical rhymes sang for Guy Fawkes on Bonfire night:

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

If you are interesting in knowing more about the story of Guy Fawkes, try these links:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Guy.html

http://www.edenbridgetown.com/bonfire_night/bonfire_society/history1.shtml

Wishing you a frightening Halloween night!

Be careful! Anybody could visit you on Halloween night! Even the pizza deliverer ... je je je. Try this link:


http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3125133/graphic1

How to pronounce "I would like to buy a hamburger"

Hi!  Do you think you have problems to speak English properly? Forget about that and don't miss this short and  hilarious video about how a person tries to pronounce a sentence in this language. It's incredibly funny! Have a look at the desperate teacher! I sometimes feel the same ( just kidding! ). 

 

HALLOWEEN IS HERE AGAIN !

Halloween is coming!!! It's a special time for both British and Americans. On the night of the 31st October, children all around the world, mainly in the UK and the USA, wear spooky costumes and knock on their neighbours' houses to ask for sweets while they shout "trick or treat". It's a very ancient custom whose origins go back to Celtic times. It's a time for listening to frightening stories about ghosts, witches, vampires and all kind of freaky monsters. There are very good films you could see at this time of the year, if you are daring enough!! The world of cinema is full of horror stories but I've found others which combine horror with tenderness and love. Don't lose films such as "Corpse Bride" (La Novia Cadáver) by Tim Burton or "Coraline" (Los Mundos de Coraline) by Henry  Selick. You'll have a nice surprise!! But, above all, I'd like to recommend you a film from 1993 which I consider a  masterpiece: "HOCUS POCUS". It's a surprising story taking place during Halloween which mixes horror, magic, friendship, love and lots of fun. And don't miss the fancy dress party scene ! You'll love the witches singing "I put a spell on you"!! (http://www.youtube.com/  is full of scenes ). Have fun and HAPPY HALLOWEEN to everybody!

 

Learning English through movies

Friday, 15th October 2010

Hi again! As I told you in our class today, one of the funniest ways of learning English is by using films (or movies) and the Harry Potter films are a good option if you want to enjoy listening to actors speaking with British English accent. So here is a trailer of the next Harry Potter film : "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". As part of your homework, you could try and see if you understand what the actors and actresses say. Have a nice weekend!!

Have a look at this trailer of the 1996 version of the film "The Canterville Ghost". We have it as a mandatory reader this year and it will be fun to see if the version of the story which appears in the film has something to do with that of the reader.

Hi and welcome to my English blog!!

This is a project aimed to help my students of 1º Bachillerato at the IES Vecindario to enhance their skills in English. I hope we can use it to share interesting information while we have fun discovering other ways of  improving our knowledge of the English language!! Let's get started!