Merry Christmas!

DENUNCIAN FALLOS EN LA MEGAFONÍA EN UN EXAMEN OFICIAL DE INGLÉS

25 de los 591 aspirantes al título de First Certificate presentan una reclamación al British Council. Los afectados se quejan de ecos en la prueba que mide la comprensión auditiva. La convocatoria tuvo lugar en la Feria de Muestras de Valencia y los afectados denuncian que se escuchaban huecos y reverberaciones durante la prueba del listening. 

Fuente: Levante - El Mercantil Valenciano 14/12/14

ENGLISH FOR IT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

New textbook for IT and Telecommunications students! The book is aimed at those students who study vocational training courses (Ciclo Superior) in IT and telecoms or in anything related to technology. It is a book written by English teachers for English teachers who have to teach specific and technical vocabulary to their students. The book contains 6 different sections: vocabulary, reading, grammar, listening, speaking and writing.  It also provides students with listening transcripts, glossaries and a grammar reference. Teachers can also have at their disposal the teacher's book with schemes of work, the key and exams in digital and paper format. 

Accede aquí a la unidad de muestra

Educàlia Editorial 

610 888 870 

Verónica Real - Belén Pascual 

educaliaeditorial@e-ducalia.com 

basicenglishforit@gmail.com 

La reina Letizia hablando inglés

Queen Letizia speaking English! 

What do you think about her speech? 

WELCOME!

After some months of a lot of work and relax , I am back with my posts about the English language and culture.

This first post is for the people who are studying English this year.

- What do you think about the new classes?

- How do you feel about your English level?

- What are the most difficult parts of the subject for you ?

- And the easiest parts? 

- Where do you study English (school, academy, on your own)?

- What are your expectations for the following months?

- What would you like to do in your foreign language classes?

- To what extent is English important in your life?

FUCK

Do you know the meaning of FUCK? What do the letters F.U.C.K stand for? 

FORNICATING UNDER CONSENT OF THE KING

In ancient England you could not have sex unless you had consent of the king or unless you were in the Royal Family. When couples wanted to have a baby, they asked the king for permission and the king gave them a placard that they hung on their door while they were having sex. 

MY PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE -----> HACKNEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE (LONDON)

As some of you know, I was granted a Training Period in a college of London for one week. I chose the Hackney Community College because some of my colleagues had already been there and because it is a similar college to the one I am working in right now. To avoid a lengthy text, I'll be mentioning the MOST INTERESTING THINGS  I saw and learnt throughout this week and that I consider interesting for you. You can compare them to our Spanish educational system. 

1. The maximum number of students per class is 20. They usually have a small number of students, mainly in foreign language classes. (Do you know how many students in a class are there in Spain?) 

2. Students and teachers have one week off every six weeks of class. Apart from these weeks and the holiday banks, they enjoy summer , Christmas and Easter holidays. They have 32 weeks of class and 20 weeks of holidays. (Do they have more holidays than Spanish students/teachers)? 

3. Vocational Training (FP) is similar to the Spanish system. They have 3 levels (LEVEL 1, LEVEL 2 and LEVEL3 which consists of 2 years). Level 1 is for students who did not finish secondary education or do not have the necessary qualifications to get into university. Once they finish Level 3, they can access university (it would be something similar to ciclos medios and ciclos superiores). 

4. Teachers can have other jobs. For example, the P.E teacher also works in a gym, or the psychologist of the school works in a hospital once a week... So some of them work part-time. The reason for this according to them is.... "If I had to work here full time, I would get crazy" :) 

5. In ALL classes, teachers have support teachers, that is, assistants who help students with their difficulties or help the teacher with other tasks. (Do we have this in Spain?) 

6. Students do not have a fix time for lunch. They have lunch when there is a break between classes (usually at 11:30 or 12:00). They eat something in the cafeteria  and then go back to their classes. 

7. There are 51 policies and procedures devised by the school itself. Although the attendance policy is one of them,  attendance is not compulsory to pass the modules. For teachers it is not a requirement. It is curious, though, that I was not allowed to get into the school one morning because I was chewing gum! 

8. The main problems for teachers here are: the students' use of mobile phones in class (really??? I can't believe it!) and lack of attendance. 

9. Teachers have 23 hours a week of class and get paid 2.000 pounds a month. They also use a lof of new technologies in class. They have digital boards and make their classes very visual. They also make their students participate in an active way in their classes. Most of them do not use textbooks.  (Is it that way in Spain?) 

10. I talked about our educational system in Spain to a group of students and teachers and I would like to share with you the questions they made: 

• How is it possible that you've got classes with more than 30 students? 
• Why don't you have teacher assistants if you have so many students per class? 
• What do you do with students who have special needs and learning difficulties if you don't have assistants? 
• Aren't teachers in public schools better qualified and prepared than teachers in private schools after passing hard state exams? 
• Considering public schools are free for everybody, why are private schools the first choice for parents? 
• Why do you need two hours for lunch? (talking about primary and secondary schools) 

I could be writing for days about all this but I think these 10 ideas are a pretty good summary of the most curious things I've learnt. Feel free to add more ideas, comment and ask questions. 

And of course... THANK YOU for reading this post! There is no point in living such a good experience if I cannot share my feelings with you! 

DAYS OF THE WEEK

Do you know where the days of the week come from?

SUNDAY: The day of the sun

MONDAY: The day of the moon 

TUESDAY: The day of Tuisto, the god of war. 

WEDNESDAY: The day of Woden. Woden is the god of Northern religions. 

THURSDAY: The day of Thor, the god of thunder. 

FRIDAY: The day of Freya, the goddess of fertility. 

SATURDAY: The day of Saturn, the Roman god. 

These names were made up by the Vikings who got to Great Britain in the 8th century. 

* Thanks to MªCarmen (tourism class) who brought this curious information to class last week. 

English is a crazy language

Coloquios en inglés para adultos

La Biblioteca Pública de València ha posat en marxa " Cultural Talks ", un programa de col·loquis i trobades en anglés dirigit al públic adult interessat en l'aprenentatge de l'idioma i a la comunitat angloparlant de la Comunitat. Les trobades se celebraran amb caràcter trimestral i l'objectiu és posar en contacte a persones de parla anglesa interessades a practicar el nostre idioma amb aquells que intenten millorar el seu coneixement de l'anglés.

Esta xarrada s'emmarca en un programa de col·laboració entre la Conselleria d'Educació, Cultura i Esport i l'escola del British Council , iniciada fa un any a través de la Biblioteca Pública de València, amb l'objectiu d'afavorir l'acostament cultural i fomentar l'aprenentatge dinàmic de la llengua anglesa entre la població.

El 7 de febrer va tindre lloc el primer col·loqui amb el títol " Living in our Digital Age".

En esta línia, fa un any la Biblioteca va inaugurar la secció English Córner for Young People , dedicada exclusivament a fons en anglés, on l'últim dijous de cada mes el British Council celebra diverses activitats de caràcter lúdic per als més menuts.

Per a més informació: Biblioteca Pública de Valencia: horari de dilluns a divendres de 9:00 a 20:30. Direcció: c/ Hospital, 13 Valencia. Teléfono: 96 256 41 30

CURSOS IVAJ DE IDIOMAS

Hi everyone! 

If you are interested in studying English abroad, this is your opportunity. The IVAJ (Instituto Valenciano de la Juventud) offers a wide range of courses to study English in many English speaking countries: Ireland, England, Australia, The States... There are courses aimed at beginners, experts, teachers, intermediate levels... so you can find the perfect course for you. These courses provide the students with opportunities to learn English (5 hours per day approx.) and also to live with non Spanish speakers and use the language to communicate in daily and common real life situations. The only requirement is that applicants must be from 16 to 35 years old. 

Have a look at the course catalogue 

Click here

http://www.gvajove.es/ivaj/opencms/IVAJ/es/formacion/estudiar_idiomas/cursos.html