Irregular Verb Rap

Some teachers are good at rapping; others - myself included - would not even try it... ;-)

Speaking Practice

Dear NI2, 
here's the link to four cards on some of the topics we've studied in class so far. Choose one and get ready for a mini presentation (3-4 minutes) you'll have to do next Wednesday. Work on the vocabulary (of course, pronunciation included), the grammatical constructions, the structure of your text, the linkers you will use to connect the different parts of your presentation.

And have a wonderful long weekend!

Sharing housework

Dear NB2,

here's the video we saw yesterday in class, in case you want to listen to it again. Do you agree that if the couple shares the housework, the risk of divorce is higher? You can write your reactions in the comments.
Have a nice weekend!

Comparative adjectives

Another silly song... ;-) This one to practise comparatives. Fill in the gaps with the missing words, which are comparatives and one irregular superlative. You'll learn an idiom, too: "What doesn't kill you, makes you_________"

You know the bed feels _________
Sleeping here alone
You know I dream in colour
And do the things I want
You think you got ____ ________ of me
You think you had the last laugh
Bet you think that everything good is gone
Think you left me broken down
Think that I'd come running back
Baby you don't know me, cause you're dead wrong
Chorus
What doesn't kill you makes you ___________
Stand a little ___________
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes you a fighter
Footsteps even _________
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you makes you __________, ___________
Just me, myself and I
(Repeat)
You heard that I was starting over with someone new
They told you I was moving on, and over you
You didn't think that I'd come back
I'd come back swinging
You try to break me but you'll see
Chorus
What doesn't kill you makes you ___________
Stand a little _________
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes you a fighter
Footsteps even _________ 
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you makes you _________, _________
Just me, myself and I
(Repeat)
Thanks to you I got a new thing started
Thanks to you I'm not the broken hearted
Thanks to you I'm finally thinking 'bout me
You know in the end the day you left was just my beginning
In the end...
Chorus
What doesn't kill you makes you _________ 

 Stand a little _________ 
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes you a fighter
Footsteps even _________
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you makes you _________, _________
Just me, myself and I
What doesn't kill you makes you _________ 
Stand a little _________
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone

Merry Xmas!

Music: Death Cab for Cutie

The Great Spanish Crash

I know today is not the day for this kind of post, but you can watch the video any time, when you feel like it. It's interesting to know how other countries see us, so here's the BBC documentary certain people didn't like in Spain...

Speaking was never easier

Hi again!
Today I'm feeling better and I've been searching for tools and widgets that can be interesting for us. The previous post was about using the "Lingro" dictionary while reading online, and this one is about a widget I just installed so that you can record messages and send them over to me. It's funny because you're very shy and don't even send written messages to me through the blog, so... I'm not very sure what to expect ;-) 
You just have to click on the microphone tag on the right and start recording on your computer. I'll receive the message but it won't be automatically published in the blog if you don't want to. I've already figured out ways to publish your spoken comments as well, if you want me to ;-)

Speaking exercise proposal: why don't you leave a message explaining the type of ordinary moment you love most? Here's mine
And many other beautiful ones in this video


(A good exercise with this video is to try and describe all the types of moments that are shown; that'll be good for your vocabulary building!)

Let's defend public language teaching!

¡Defendamos la enseñanza pública de idiomas! from Matthieu Davière on Vimeo.

Word order

Hi!
Here's an example of word-by-word translation from Spanish into English

Spanish allows for a freer word order than English. In English, if a verb has a direct object, the verb and the object are kept together. In the billboard, the "bike" is the direct object of the verb "rent", so the advertisers should have written "Rent your bike here"
Of course there are exceptions, like in the following passage, which is the beginning of a story I've just read:

"On the bench outside the station, I sat and waited. The station had been open when the train arrived, but now it was locked. Another woman sat at the end of the bench, holding between her knees a string bag full of parcels wrapped in oiled paper."

In this case, the direct object ("a string bag full of parcels wrapped in oil paper") is very long, 

so "between her legs" comes first and the direct object is left for the last part of the sentence.

Spanish advertising is full of incorrect English, so watch out!

The "poorest President" in the world

Watch this video and try to answer the questions below, which I have taken from Ian James' wonderful blog for English teachers:

1. How does international media refer to José Mújica?
2. Where exactly is his house?
3. How does José Mujica define poor people?
4. What does he own according to his latest declaration of wealth?
5. What does he do with his salary?
6. What is his political background?
7. What does the man interviewed say about his lifestyle and political record?
8. What do his approval ratings say about his popularity?
9. What does his main political rival accuse him of?
10. What does Mújica hope for in the future?

You can find the answers in the comments, as always ;-)