Happy Book Day!

Today is Book Day and I'd like to invite you to read a story by Alistair MacLeod, of one of my favourite Canadian authors. He died three days ago, which made me really sad...

I can't post a PDF with the story in the blog, so for now, enjoy his reading (starting around minute 6)

April Fools

Yesterday, the Tu.& Thurs. group was fooled from beginning to end ... and we had a good laugh about it... If you want to know more about the tradition, read this article about April Fools

Spanish and British educational systems

Dear All, 
since we've started a new unit on education and work, here's a chart where you can see equivalences between the Spanish and British educational systems

Harlots, Housewives and Heroines

Dear All, 
a colleague sent me a link to a BBC series that looks wonderful. If you like history, or you're simply interested in the history of women, you can watch 12-minute episodes like the one below (the first one in the series)



I haven't had time to exploit the video with questions, but I will at some point in the near future ;-)
Thanks, José María!

Cultural Day

Dear All,

next Monday 9th December, we'll hold a cultural day in our school. You can check the programme here. As we have traditionally done, there will be a cooking contest and, as students of English, you may participate by making a dish which is typical from one of the countries where English is spoken. There are two categories: sweet and savoury. You can find the rules of the cooking contest here.

Now, what dish are you thinking of cooking? Need any ideas? Maybe these links can help ;-)

Scottish recipes
Welsh recipes
English recipes
Canadian recipes
U.S. recipes
Australian recipes
New Zealand recipes
Indian recipes
Jamaican recipes
Nigerian recipes

And if you wish to be part of the contest jury, please sign up at the reception, where María is.

Doris Lessing

Sad...

Greenwich Village, New York

A virtual visit to the Tate

You are going to listen to the Tate Director, Penelope Curtis, talk about the organisation of works in the gallery. Read the following sentences before you listen, and decide whether they're true or false, according to what you hear. 

0. Example. Over the last three years, the Tate has re-hung its collection to organise the works of art according to different schools. - F (The collection has been reorganised chronologically)

1. Before the changes, the sculpture dating from 1908 could be seen together with works from the Victorian period.

2. The sculpture and the painting of naked bodies have been put together because they belong to the same artist. 

3. According to the Tate Director, the Gwen John painting makes female viewers think about solitude. 

4. The painting by Mona Hatoum speaks about how politics and democracy make us free. 

5. Sonia Boyce’s work deals with the policies made to favour the Church in Britain. 

6. The painting by Richard Hamilton refers to Northern Ireland street protests against the British Government. 

You can check your answers in the comments below, and you can read the transcript here 

Watch many other wonderful videos from the Tate here!

Banksy's latest work

Any reactions? Leave a comment below!

Kindness meter

Dear NI2,
this is the object I told you about in class yesterday, whose exact name I couldn't remember. It's called "kindness meter" (not "charity meter"). 

You can find the definition from Wikimedia here

David Alan Harvey

Dear All,
here's a video my sister sent to me and I enjoyed watching. You should try to watch it without reading the subtitles and a second time, if you need to, checking the vocabulary you didn't understand with the Spanish subtitles.

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

Learn about the celebration of the fifth of November by reading the text in this page.

The following is a nursery rhyme that summarizes the events:

Remember, remember

the fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot.

We see no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot!

Guy Fawkes, guy, t'was his intent

To blow up king and parliament.

Three score barrels were laid below

To prove old England's overthrow.

By god's mercy he was catch'd

With a darkened lantern and burning match.

So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.

Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king.

And what shall we do with him?

Burn him!

And here's a game for you to check the understanding of the plot while having fun!

Happy Halloween!

Hi there!

Here's a video on the history of Halloween. Listen and answer the questions below:

1. The history of Halloween starts with ...................... (a diverse group of tribal societies from Europe).

2. The end of the harvest season was celebrated on .................. (date)

3. Why was it a magical night?

4. On Samhain (pronounced /sauin/), people sat around .................

5. When did the church start to appropriate the pagan festivity?

6. Both the pagan and catholic festivities had to do with ...................

7. "hallow" means .......... or ..........

8. Who brought the holiday to the United States? When?

9. Some of their customs included bobbing for apples and "playing tricks on ...........

10. The young pranksters wore ........... not to be recognised.

11. In the 1930s the holiday became dangerous because of ..................

12. What is Halloween's holiday greeting?

(The answers are in the "comments")

William Blake

There's an exhibition of William Blake's etchings and paintings at the Caixa Forum. My colleague Gabriel has organized a tour in English for 19th October which, in principle, is aimed at Advanced students. If you're interested, ask Gabriel if there are any vacancies. The visit will take place in the afternoon and is really worth doing.
Here's a video about the English poet and painter. Enjoy!

Ken Loach's Films

Hi there!

The British film-maker Ken Loach has decided to show his films for free on a You Tube channel.

Thanks very much, José, for sharing this with us!

Lamb Curry

Here's one of Jamie Oliver's performances for you to enjoy. I gave the lyrics to the Mo. & Wed. group yesterday, and will give them to the other groups today as well. You can do a little activity with it:

1. Mark the names of food in red
2. Mark the names of kitchen utensils in blue
3. Mark the names of kitchen actions in green

Sing along and cook it well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is celebrated today in the US. (In Canada, they celebrate it on the second Monday in October). Watch this video and google "Thanksgiving" to learn more about this festivity.

Brit vs. US movies

Hi there!

esp. dedicated to those of the NA1 who want to create a group to go to the movies... (thx Philipp!)

Boxing Day

Have you ever heard of "Boxing Day" in Anglo-Saxon cultures? Do you associate it with the sport practiced in the ring? Hm, then you'd better have a look at this webpage to learn about it ;-)

Thanksgiving

Hi there!

Here's a video for you to learn about Thanksgiving Day, which is celebrated today in the US.