Our time, our clock

Leonard Cohen speech

Super Size Me - first 5 minutes

I played this clip in class because we were in the middle of a whole unit about food. My students loved it because it's quite a famous documentary and it was something different.

We watched it in class, I wrote down basic vocabulary that we learnt later, we discussed about bad eating habits, fast food in their lives... etc and I asked them to write a composition about their eating habits. That way, we practised listening, speaking and writing.

Christmas Traditions Around the World

La emotiva conferencia de Lizzie Velasquez en TED (subtitulada al castel...

1. Did you like the video?

2. What was the most interesting part of Lizzie's speech?

3. Choose one sentence/word/expression that was inspiring for you.

4. What did you learn from her speech? Share your ideas.

5. WHAT DEFINES YOU?

La reina Letizia hablando inglés

Queen Letizia speaking English! 

What do you think about her speech? 

Accounts of Kennedy's Assassination

Virgin America Safety Video

Watch this funny video! You can review vocabulary of airline companies, phrasal verbs and specific words in an entertaining way! ENJOY!!!! 

Consejos básicos para pronunciar como un nativo

TRES CONSEJOS BÁSICOS PARA PRONUNCIAR COMO UN NATIVO 

“Sabes, Will Shakespeare tenía razón. El mundo es un teatro y tú eres siempre juzgado por como actúas. Especialmente en el campo de los negocios, tienes que ser capaz de aprender a expresar bien tu mensaje.

Hay tres pautas que son cruciales para reducir tu acento [español] si quieres presentar [una propuesta] en inglés y el primer punto puede sorprender a la gente.

1. TU ACENTO NO ES EL PROBLEMA

Durante años se les ha dicho [a los extranjeros]: ”Por favor, ¿podría usted hablar un poco más despacioporque no puedo entender su acento?”. Sin embargo,  yo te digo: “¿Sabes qué?,  el problema no es tu acento”. Tomemos como ejemplo a Jackie Chan. En cuanto ese hombre abre la boca puedes también escuchar su [acento] lengua materna e incluso así siempre lo entendemos y, de hecho, amasa una gran fortuna actuando en películas americanas.

2. El LENGUAJE TIENE RITMO

…Lo que nos lleva al segundo punto. El tema principal en la reducción del acento (de la lengua materna) esescuchar la música en el lenguaje, porque el acento no es el problema; el problema es que intentas hablar mi lengua con el ritmo de tu propia lengua y por eso no puedo entenderte. El inglés es una lengua con ritmos [compases]. Todo lo que decimos puede ser acompañado por el ritmo de un tambor. Tienes que entrenar tu oído para escuchar las diferentes notas musicales y, a la vez, debes percibir losgolpes rítmicos. Practícalo así y muy pronto estarás hablando con el mismo tipo de melodía que Jackie Chan.

3. HABLAMOS CON ‘UNIDADES DE SONIDO’

El tercer punto,  especialmente en inglés y particularmente en inglés americano, se refiere a que nosotros no decimos las —palabras—una—a—una. No. Nosotros hablamos con unidades de sonido.

• WHEREZBob? (Where is Bob?—¿Dónde está Bob?
• BOBIZON thephone (Bob is on the phone)—Bob está al teléfono

Nosotros nunca decimos las palabras una a una, por eso siempre les digo a los cliente [estudiantes] de ‘Reducción del Acento’: “Todo lo que has aprendido hasta ahora sobre la lengua inglesa lo has aprendido a través (through) de libros de texto. Pero cuando estás aprendiendo a hablar el idioma, olvídate (get rid of) de todo eso. Porque tú no quieres mirar, no quieres leer, lo que quieres es escuchar. Porque tú ves y lees las palabras una a una, pero nosotros no hablamos de esa manera.”

Thanks to www.aprenderingles-sila.com 

White Doll, Black Doll. Which one is the nice doll?

                  

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS EXPERIMENT? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS! 

Comparatives and Superlatives

Watch this video and pay attention to the use of comparative and superlative structures. Do you understand all of them? Do you agree with these people? 

                               

Now it's your turn! Answer these questions writing a comment below. Ready? 

1. What is the most interesting place you have been to?
2. What subject are you worst at school? and best? 
3. What is the tallest building you have been to?
4. Who is the strangest person you have met?
5. What is the most serious problem in the world today?
6. What is the most delicious thing you have recently eaten?

Job Interviews : Dos and Don'ts

The topic of this week in class is "Job Interviews". We are revising how to make questions if you interview someone for a job and we are also practising appropiate answers if you are interviewed for a job. I uploaded this video with more information about dos and dont's in a job interview. Watch it the times that you need and answer the questions below. We will talk about it in class, so take notes! 

1. What should women wear in a job interview? Do you agree with this?
2. What is the appropiate answer for "tell me about yourself"?
3. What can you say when you are asked about your weaknesses? Refer to the video
4. Write an example of inappropiate questions.
5. What is a resumé?

Answer these questions and we'll correct them in class.

Get ready for the interviews that we are role-playing tomorrow!

The History of Halloween

Somebody That I Used To Know Gotye (With Lyrics)

This song in now one of the most famous songs in the UK and also in Spain. Let's  work with it to review some aspects of the language. Read this and then listen to the song: 

• lonely -------> solo, solitario. Do you know the difference between alone and lonely? You are alone when you are with nobody else. You can feel lonely when you are with people. 
• ache ------->  dolor . Do you know how to pronounce this word? Listen to the song!
• addicted to -------> adicto a. Remember you need the preposition to after addicted. 
• kinda -------> kind of
• make sense -------> tener sentido. I'm tired of writing "this doesn't make sense in my students' essays!"
• Remember that glad is a synonym of happy
• cut somebody off -------> desentenderse de alguien, aislar a alguien
• even -------> incluso. This is a very common word in English. English speakers use it a lot. I don't even know his name
• though  -------> although . It is always at the end of the sentence 
• stoop low -------> rebajarse, llegar tan bajo
• used to + infinitive -------> solía. Very common in English to talk about our past lives
• screw somebody over -------> jugársela a alguien
• rough -------> hard, difficult

Did you like the song? What do you know about his singer Gotye? What kind of music does he play and sing? Feel free to give your opinion! 

The Life of Charles Dickens in less than 5 minutes (BBC)

For my students of 4º and 2º E.S.O who are reading books written by Dickens , for students who need to practise listening skills, for teachers who may use this video in class and for literature lovers.

Choose two questions and answer them: 

1) What can you say about Charles Dickens's family? 

2) What was his first job? 

3) Mention unusual things about the life of Charles Dickens 

4) Which countries did he visit? 

5) Why did his marriage with Kate end? 

6) What happened with "Our mutual friend", one of his most famous works?

7) When did Charles Dickens die and why?

8) Write the name of some of his most famous works 

9) Did you like the book you read in class? Why? Why not? 

10) Why is Dickens such an important author? Write your opinion 

Green Day - 21 Guns /Listening Practice

                             

  DO YOU KNOW WHAT’S WORTH FIGHTING FOR,

WHEN ITS NOT WORTH  ____________  FOR?

DOES IT TAKE YOUR ____________AWAY

AND YOU FEEL YOURSELF SUFFOCATING?

DOES THE  ____________ WEIGH OUT THE  ____________ ?

AND YOU LOOK FOR A  ____________  TO HIDE?

DID SOMEONE BREAK YOUR  ____________  INSIDE?

YOU'RE IN  ____________  

ONE, 21 GUNS

LAY DOWN YOUR  ____________  

GIVE UP THE  ____________  

ONE, 21  GUNS

THROW UP YOUR ARMS INTO THE  ____________  ,

YOU AND I

WHEN YOU'RE AT THE END OF THE  ____________  

AND YOU LOST ALL SENSE OF  ____________  

AND YOUR THOUGHTS HAVE TAKEN THEIR TOLL

WHEN YOUR MIND BREAKS THE SPIRIT OF YOUR  ____________  

YOUR FAITH WALKS ON BROKEN  ____________  

AND THE HANGOVER DOESN'T PASS

NOTHING iS EVER BUILT TO LAST

YOU’RE IN  ____________  

ONE, 21  GUNS

LAY DOWN YOUR ____________  

GIVE UP THE  ____________  

ONE, 21  GUNS

THROW UP YOUR ARMS INTO THE  ____________  ,

YOU AND I

DID YOU TRY TO ____________  ON YOUR OWN

WHEN YOU BURNED DOWN THE HOUSE AND HOME?

DID YOU STAND TOO CLOSE TO THE ___________  ?

LIKE A LIAR LOOKING FOR FORGIVENESS FROM A  ____________  

WHEN IT'S TIME TO  ____________  AND LET DIE

AND YOU CAN'T GET ANOTHER TRY

SOMETHING INSIDE THIS  ____________  HAS DIED

YOURE IN  ____________  

ONE, 21 GUNS

LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS

GIVE UP THE  ____________  

ONE, 21 GUNS

THROW UP YOUR ARMS INTO THE  ____________  ,

YOU AND I

Listening to music is one of the best ways to learn a language. This is my first suggestion, one o my favourite songs. 

•  Do you like Green Day? 
•  What is this song about? 
•  What are the missing words? 
• Use the dictionary to look for all the words you don't know 
• If you are a teacher, which songs do you usually play in class?

For teachers and students 

Escuchar canciones es una de las mejores maneras de aprender un idioma. Aquí te dejo una de mis favoritas. ¿qué palabras faltan? ¿qué otras canciones has escuchado en inglés para aprender? Si eres profesor/a, maestro/a ¿qué canciones pones a los alumnos? Espero vuestros comentarios! 

Don't insist on English!

This is an interesting VIDEO about teaching English and the importance of this foreign language. It shows a different perspective; a different way to see the power of English. 

Watch it and let me know what you think about it: 

• Do you agree with Patricia's point of view? Why? Why not?
• Is the teaching of English based on commercial purposes?
• Is the world's focus on English preventing the spread of great ideas in other languages? 
• Does our world need a lingua franca? Or are we giving too much importance to one single language? 
• Is there any word in the speech that you don't know? Do you know the meaning of all the words? 
• Is there anything you want to comment? 

For teachers, intermediate and advanced students and for any English lover.