HAPPY NEW YEAR

I'd like to wish all my students and those who pass by a very Happy 2011 with the help of ABBA.

NATURAL DISASTERS

Natural Disaster Hot Zones in the World

 
1.- Watch the following presentations by students in 3rd ESO, who tell us about their experiences with natural disasters.

2012-13 school year

3ºAB



3ºCD



2011-12 school year





2010-11 school year






2.- Check your vocabulary about the weather in the following test





3.- Let's revise the words for natural disasters

Clipped from: www.learningchocolate.com (share this clip)

4.- Now try the following test and see if you could survive a natural catastrophe. Good luck!!!

LIFE STORIES

I'd like to invite you to visit the Life Stories created by students in 4th ESO and vote for the cutest, the best, the greatest book, the one you like best.










WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE LIFE STORY MIXBOOK?... at AnswerGarden.ch.

INTERNET IS BACK!!!

Internet is back!!! After nearly two months of cut-off, Internet is back to the Language Lab, so let's celebrate by surfing some interesting funny amusing sites.
Click on the links below depending on your interests. 

Fun and easy online karaoke

Dictations On Line

JoyTube Games

ESL Games All levels

British Council Games

Interactive Site

Take the phonetic challenge 

Learn English while watching videos

     
                   

Akinator, the genie that reads your mind

Listening to songs

CHRISTMAS SONG COMPILATION

Christmas is back and we'd better soak it up. Let's start with a selection of traditional Christmas songs from all times.

4th ESO MULTIPLE CHOICE REVISION TEST

Remember this term grammar and vocabulary test will be on Thursday 16th December. It's time to start revising.Take the following test and see how well you do. 

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR WORLD?

Try the following challenge and test your knowledge on geography.

The Traveler IQ challenge ranks geographic knowledge of cities such as: Budapest, Montgomery or Palm/Eagle Beach by comparing results against 6,292,837 other travelers. Brought to you by TravelPod, a TripAdvisor Media Network member

THANKSGIVING AND BLACK FRIDAY

Thanksgiving, one of the major holidays in the US, is coming-up in a couple of days and I would like you to learn a little more about this festivity and another close controversial day.


Listen once to one of the following tracks and find other students in the class who listened to the same track. Listen to it again and share within your group all the information you understood. Discuss the details and try to answer the questions in the corresponding file.  Now tell the other half of the class about the holiday.






Questions

Now you can read the text here



Questions

Now you can read the test here

Respond to this post writing a comment that answers this question: 
What are you thankful for?

Now try this thanksgiving quiz, if you darec

GALILEO GALIEI NEWSPAPER

Below you can find the newspaper created from the news reports written by students in 4th ESO in 2010 and 2011 and published in issuu. 

Open publication - Free publishing - More school papers

Read ONE of the reports and make a comment below explaining what the news is about and give your opinion

READING ALOUD: A KISS BEFORE DYING by 1st BTO STUDENTS

In this oral assignment you have to choose a 15-line extract of "A Kiss Before Dying" and work on its pronunciation and intonation. Listen to it on the CD until you learn the pronunciation of all the words and the correct intonation. Then read it aloud into the VoiceThread below.


If you have never done a VoiceThread before, you will need to Register. Just fill in the information with your name, surname and email address. Customize your profile with a picture!!!







Deadline: December 10th


FEEDBACK ON YOUR READING

READING ALOUD: K'S FIRST CASE BY 3rd ESO STUDENTS

In this oral assignment you have to choose a 10-line extract of K's First Case and work on its pronunciation and intonation. Listen to it on the CD until you learn the pronunciation of all the words and the correct intonation. Then read it aloud into the VoiceThread below.


If you have never done a VoiceThread before, you will need to Register. Just fill in the information with your name, surname and email address. Customize your profile with a picture!!!






Deadline: December 9th

FEEDBACK ON YOUR READING

THE VELVET REVOLUTION

Tereza has told you about The Velvet Revolution and I'm sure you have learnt lots of things you didn't know before. Now it's time for you to tell me all about it in the following VoiceThread.



Deadline: November 22nd

Feedback on The Velvet Revolution Voicethread

READING BOOKS 2010-2011

These are the titles of the books you will be reading along this school year. Look at your course and level to know a little more about it. Ask your teacher about the book you must read according to your level.  Have fun!

1º ESO

"Vampire Killer" Ed. Oxford (Starter Level) 1ºESO. LOWER LEVELS

'I am a vampire killer . . . and now I need help,' says Professor Fletcher to Colin. Colin needs a job and he needs money - but do vampires exist or is the professor crazy?









"Kidnap" Ed. Oxford (Starter Level) 1ºESO. ALL LEVELS

One cold winter morning, a famous movie star and her teenage daughter are driving along a country road...

A blue van is waiting for them. Tom is in the van, but he's not a kidnapper - he's an artist. He usually draws pictures for adventure stories. Now he's in a real life adventure.







"Tales of the Alhambra" Ed. Burlington  1ºESO. HIGHER LEVELS (VOLUNTARY)

Travel back in time to the Alhambra, a place of magic and mystery. Peregil, a water carrier, discovers an ancient spell to recover hidden treasure, but he isn't the only one looking for it. Don Vincent, a poor student, finds a magic ring that leads him to the treasure of the Alhambra. Ibrahim, an Arabian astrologer, helps King Aben Habuz conquer his enemies, but the king must pay the price. Washington Irving will captivate you with this collection of popular tales. 




 2º ESO

"The Curse of the Mummy" Ed. Oxford (Dominoes One) 2º ESO ALL LEVELS

For thousands of years the dead body of the young king Tutankhamun slept under the sands of Egypt. Then, in the autumn of 1922, Howard Carter and his friends find and open his tomb door. These are exciting times, and Carter's young helper Tariq tells the story in his diary.

But soon people begin to die. Who or what is the killer? Is Tutankhamun angry with them for opening his tomb? And who is the beautiful French girl with the face of Tutankhamun's long-dead wife?




"Tales from the Thousand and One Nights" Ed. VicensVivens (Black Cat Step 1) 2º ESO ADVANCED LEVELS (VOLUNTARY)

A selection from the famous collection of Oriental stories known as the One Thousand and One Nights, including the classic favourites Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Sindbad the Sailor.
Travel through the streets of old Baghdad, around luxurious palaces and fragrant gardens in India, to desert islands in the China seas… all in the company of kings, sultans, princesses, merchants, enchanted horses, sailors and thieves.






 3º ESO

"K's First Case" Ed. Longman. 3ºESO. HIGHER LEVELS 
                            

                                                                                                                                                                                   
Sir Michael Gray is the victim of a murder and he was very rich. Katrina Kirby - or K as she is called - is a detective and she wants to find out who the murderer is. But there are lots of suspects.This is K’s first case. Can you help her find the murderer?










4º ESO 

"Slam" 4º ESO. ADVANCED LEVEL

Fifteen-year-old Sam is an ordinary, nice kid. He gets along pretty well with his single mom, who had him when she was 16. He does OK in school, and has a few not-very-close friends. He likes to skateboard, and idolizes Tony Hawk, whose poster he talks to about his troubles. He meets a pretty girl, Alicia, and they start a passionate relationship. After a while the passion cools, and they split up. But then Alicia discovers she is pregnant, and she is determined to have and keep the baby. So begins a journey for which neither of them is ready.







 

"The Short Cut" Ed. Stanley. (Level 1) 4º ESO. LOWER LEVELS

In this thrilling story set in an African country devastated by war, a youn girl fights for her father's life taking a [shortcut = atajo] to maturity. Topics for reflection and discussion: family arguments, generational gap, therealization of what really matters in life. 










 1º BTO

"A Kiss Before Dying" Ed. Macmillan. ALL GROUPS.

A powerful, hard-hitting adult story of murder and suspense by one of America's foremost novelists, which since its publication in 1954, has been made into several very successful feature films.

WEBSITE ACTIVITIES FOR ESO

Click on your school book if you want some fun while you revise your English.

WEBSITE ACTIVITIES FOR 1ST & 2ND BTO

If you want online material for extra-practice on reading, grammar and listening to improve your English, just click on the following links and start practising:

QUESTION WORDS

Let's revise question words. Save the monkeys from global warming!!

FORMS OF THE VERB TO BE

El verbo TO BE, que en castellano se traduce como SER o ESTAR, en el idioma inglés goza de una particular importancia. Su significado depende del sentido de la oración. Por ejemplo:

I am a doctor. Soy un doctor. (Se aplica como verbo ser)
I am in my house. Estoy en mi casa. (Se aplica como verbo estar)

En el siguiente cuadro se puede observar su conjugación en Presente:

Tanto en el modo afirmativo como en la forma negativa pueden utilizarse las siguientes contracciones:

1º ESO: BASIC ADJECTIVES

Watch the following presentation to revise the basic adjectives studied in Unit 1:

Basic Adjectives

.

THE POWER OF A PHOTO

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” More than the mechanical recording of events, photography has the power to convey a mood or share our insights with others. It has the power to capture not only our perfect moments of love and happiness, but also searing images of cruelty and poverty. It has the power to preserve in a rectangular frame the beauty of a thousand sunsets, the joys of parents seeing their child just learning how to walk on its own, and the sublime happiness of students graduating after years of hard work and sacrifice.

In the VoiceThread below you are going to watch a video about how a picture made a difference. Watch the video and answer the questions orally.

Instructions for new students on how to use VoiceThread:

When you click on "Comment" you will be asked to sign in. Once you have signed in, you will be able to make your contribution. To comment click on the "comment" link. There you will have the choice of either recording your voice (microphone icon), typing your words (letter "A" icon), or using a web camera (camera icon). This time you will be using the mic. You can listen to your comment before saving. If you are happy with your recording, be sure to save. If not, hit cancel and you may re-record as many times as you wish. Please no inappropriate commenting.





Deadlines: 
4thB: Sunday 30th October
4thA: Friday 4th November

FEEDBACK ON YOUR VOICETHREAD


4thA
4thB

PHONETICS IV

This time you are going to try Unit 5 in the BBC Site about /əʊ/ and /o/. 

If you think that is all you should know about phonetics, you are wrong. When you finish you can start taking the Quizzes  on that same page.

If you need extra explanation on any sound, click here and you'll get to learn how to pronounce all the symbols and sounds in English.

Write a comment on how you did with the quizzes.

LISTENING TO AND TELLING STORIES

Today, each one of you is going to listen to a story as many times as you need for comprenhension. Take notes while listening because you will have to retell your story to the rest of your classmates as detailed as possible using your own words.
Choose one of the following stories:


1.- The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne:




2.- Doctor Heidegger's Experiment by N. Hawthorne:





3.- A Municipal Report by O'Henry:




4.- The Exact Science of Matrimony by O' Henry:




5.- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by W. Irving:




6.- The Devil and Tom Walker by W. Irving:




7.- Luck by Mark Twain:




8.- The Californian's Tale by Mark Twain:




9.- The Lady in Black by Eleanor Porter:




When we finish the activity you will read one extract of your story aloud (the first 15 lines, for example) in the VoiceThread below:








I hope you liked the activity. I think most of you really got to tell your story quite accurately and indeed you were speaking for a while, so I'm very satisfied with the outcome of this activity. I would like to know about your impressions. Please write a comment with them.

Now that we have finished with the first part of the activity, you can read the script of your story and read the first 15 lines aloud into the VoiceThread above in PERFECT ENGLISH!!!

Deadline:  Monday Nov 8th

FEEDBACK ON YOUR READING

PHONETICS III

Let's go with some more pair discrimination. Today you're going to study the differences between /ɔː/ and /əʊ/ in Unit 3 at the BBC site. Watch the videos on the two sounds first of all.


You also have to learn about three more sounds: /e /  /æ/ and /ʌ/. Listen to the videos and do Unit 4

When you finish you can do more practice here
Let's start testing ourselves. Do this short test and tell me how you did.

ADJECTIVES DESCRIBING PERSONALITY

We are going to learn adjectives to describe personality.

1.- Try to save the little fish from the shark by providing the right adjective for each definition. You can check page 8 in your books. Good luck!!!




2.- Now look at the following presentation and guess the adjectives to describe each slide. Write them down as a post.

Personality adjectives

3.- Download the following sheet, try to think of the correct adjectives for each picture and add the eight sentences about yourself in your comment. Don't forget to include your name, surname and group.


4.- Now try the following personality tests to know a little more about yourself

TERESA'S LESSON: THE CZECH REPUBLIC

As you all know, this year our school has a new assitant teacher as part of the Commenius Project we are involved in. She is going to help the English Department develop the oral competence in our students. 
You need to report to me about the lessons you have with her to make sure you know how to make the most of them. This time you just need to make a short comment on the voicethread below. Listen to my instructions.


Instructions for new students on how to use VoiceThread:

When you click on "Comment" you will be asked to sign in. Once you have signed in, you will be able to make your contribution. To comment click on the "comment" link. There you will have the choice of either recording your voice (microphone icon), typing your words (letter "A" icon), or using a web camera (camera icon). This time you will be using the mic. You can listen to your comment before saving. If you are happy with your recording, be sure to save. If not, hit cancel and you may re-record as many times as you wish. Please no inappropriate commenting.







Deadline: Thursday 14th October

Now listen to your classmates and make a comment about the voicethread you liked the best.

 

VERB TO BE

Let's revise the verb TO BE with students in the 1st year. Answer the questions correctly and you'll be the first to finish the race.

COUNTRIES AND NATIONALITIES

Let's revise countries and nationalities with 1º ESO. Rescue the monkeys by finding the words in the word grid. Read the instructions first.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: Show Overview

How I Met Your Mother is a comedy about Ted and how he fell in love. It all starts when Ted's best friend, Marshall, drops the bombshell that he's going to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Lily, a kindergarten teacher. At that moment, Ted… More realizes that he had better get a move on if he too hopes to find true love. Helping him in his quest is Barney, a friend with endless, sometimes outrageous (escandalosas) opinions, a penchant (tendencia) for suits and a foolproof (infalible) way to meet women. When Ted meets Robin, he's sure it's love at first sight, but destiny may have something else in store. The series is narrated through flashbacks from the future, voiced by Bob Saget.
The theme song is "Hey Beautiful" by The Solids
In Belguim, the show is known as Comment je l'ai rencontrée (How I Met Her)
In Finland, the show is known as Ensisilmäyksellä (At First Sight)
In Portugal, the show is known as Foi Assim Que Aconteceu (This Is how It Happened)
In Brazil, the show is known as Como Eu Conheci Sua Mãe, an exact translation.
In Spain, the show is known as Cómo conocí a vuestra madre, an exact translation.
In Latin America, the show is known as Cómo conocí a tu madre, an exact translation.
In Italy the show is known as E alla fine arriva mamma! (Finally, Your Mother Arrives!).





If you click on Episode, you will get the vocabulary sheet with words and expressions prepared by students in APLE2 for each chapter.


You can also watch the episode online from my site in case you miss a lesson. 




Episode 1: Pilot (Original Airdate: September 19th, 2005)

When Ted's best friend Marshall proposes to his girlfriend, Lily, Ted realizes he'd better get a move on if he hopes to find true love. Ted soon meets Robin in a neighborhood bar, immediately becomes smitten and scores a first date. But when Ted can hardly wait to see her again, his eagerness threatens to scare her away.

Episode 2: Purple Giraffe (Original Airdate: September 26th, 2005)

In a desperate attempt for a second date, Ted invites Robin to a party he is throwing. However, she doesn't show up and he keeps throwing parties in the hopes she will finally arrive. 



Episode3 : Sweet Taste of Liberty (Original Airdate: October 3rd, 2005)

Ted agrees to let Barney spice up his love life, and ends up on a crazy adventure of flying to Philadelphia, encountering the law and visiting the Liberty Bell.




Episode 4: Return of the Shirt (Original Airdate: October 10th, 2005)

Ted's outlook on his continuing search for love is altered when he rediscovers a shirt that has not seen daylight in years. Meanwhile, Barney amuses himself by coaxing Robin into sacrificing her job by saying completely outlandish things on air live for a cash reward.






Episode 5: Okay Awesome (Original Airdate: October 17th, 2005)

Ted and Barney start checking out the club scene with their friend Robin, whereas Lily and Marshall try to participate in some more "grown-up" activities, as they draw slowly nearer to their wedding.



Episode 6: Slutty Pumpkin (Original Airdate: Oct/24/2005)

Ted makes his yearly pilgrimage to the rooftop Halloween party in search of a girl dressed as a pumpkin who he met years ago. Meanwhile, Robin is dumped after driving her new boyfriend away with her independent ways.




Episode 7: MatchMaker (Original Airdate: Nov/07/2005)

When a matchmaker with a 100 percent success rate turns Ted away because he is not compatible with any of the available women in her database, he is still determined that he is going to find his match. After getting information from the matchmaker’s computer on the sly, Ted pays a visit to a very cute, but very taken, dermatologist in an effort to debunk the prediction that there are no women out there for him. Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily are obsessed with ridding their apartment of an unsightly critter.


Episode 8: Duel (Original Airdate: Nov/14/2005)

As Lily becomes more of a permanent fixture in Ted and Marshall's apartment, Ted feels like he is being edged out of the mix by his engaged roomies. Petrified of being left alone and homeless, Ted tells Marshall that when he and Lily are married, he wants the apartment. The problem is that Marshall wants to keep the place too, so they settle it like real "grown-ups"--launching into a sword fight that leaves one man down for the count.


Episode 9: Belly Full of Turkey (Original Airdate: Nov/14/2005)

When Ted and Robin decide to help feed the homeless on Thanksgiving Day, they are in a state of disbelief when they run into Barney and discover that he is a regular volunteer at the homeless shelter. Thanksgiving doesn't end there for the trio, for they end up somewhere that only the "real" Barney would bring anyone to for a holiday meal. Meanwhile, things do not go very smoothly when Marshall and Lily pay a holiday visit to Marshall's family in Minnesota.



Episode 10: The Pineapple Incident (Original Airdate: Nov/28/2005)

After Ted overdoes it during a night out on the town, his friends help him to put together the pieces of his antics the next morning.

With the encouragement of his friends, Ted decides to let his hair down for a change and ends up having a fun and adventure-filled evening. However, now the problem is that he can't quite recall everything that transpired over the course of the evening and now he must rely on his friends to fill him in on the night's misadventures.   




Episode 11:  The Limo (Original Airdate: Dec/19/2005)

Ted surprises his friends with a styling and well-planned out New Year's Eve excursion around the Big Apple.

After spending New Year's Eve apart from his friends last year, Ted is dead-set on ringing in this new year with his best pals at his side and doing it in style. As Lily, Marshall, Barney and Robin are chauffeured around town in a limo hired by Ted, the night takes some interesting twists and turns -- and when the clock strikes twelve, Ted may end up getting that kiss he has been longing for or at least the promise of something good to come.



Episode 12:  The Wedding (Original Airdate: Jan/9/2006)

Ted is planning to bring Robin as his date to a wedding but the bride says he did not RSVP with a guest. When he goes around her and gets permission from the groom, a man named Stuart. Ted's fantasy with Robin is in trouble unless he finds a way to get them back together.



Episode 13:  Drumroll, please (Original Airdate: Jan/23/2006)

At a wedding, there's instant attraction between Ted and a woman. Both agree to preserve the evening in memory by not exchanging names or numbers, but Ted falls too hard to let it go and tries to find out her identity.



Episode 14: Zip, Zip, Zip  (Original Airdate: Feb/06/2006)

After agreeing to take things slowly and not have sex for a month, Ted and Victoria decide that they have waited long enough. With Marshall and Lily out of town, the timing seems perfect. However, when the two change their plans and decide to stay home, they end up hiding in the bathroom in an effort to avoid ruining the moment for Ted. Meanwhile, Robin replaces Ted as Barney’s wingman for a boy’s night out.




Episode 15: Game Night  (Original Airdate: Feb/27/2006)
As Barney shares his most embarrassing moment with the gang we see flashbacks of what he was like before he started wearing suits all the time and sleeping around, and learn what caused him to change.




Episode 16: Cupcake  (Original Airdate: Mar/06/2006)
Just as things are going so well with Ted and Victoria's relationship, Victoria gets her dream offer and the couple is confronted with some hard decisions about their future. Meanwhile, when Lily ruins a very expensive wedding dress and Barney talks Marshall into buying a very pricey suit, Marshall is forced to interview at Barney's company and give up his dream of working for an environmental law firm in order to earn more money.





Episode 17: Life Among the Gorillas (Original Airdate: Mar/20/2006)

After a rough start on the new job at Barney's company, Marshall conforms in order to be accepted by his crude and obnoxious "frat boy" co-workers. However, he soon realizes that staying true to himself and his relationship with Lily is what is truly important. Meanwhile, Ted is convinced that Victoria is going to dump him after receiving a "let's talk" e-mail, so when the phone rings and it is Robin inviting him over late night, Ted must decide between going to Robin's place or waiting for Victoria's call.




Episode 18: Nothing Good Happens After 2am (Original Airdate: Apr/10/2006)

Convinced Victoria is about to dump him, Ted accepts a late night invite to Robin's place. When Robin inquires about his relationship with Victoria, Ted tells her that they broke up. As things start to get hot and heavy between them, Ted's lies are eventually exposed and his theory "nothing good happens after 2 AM" proves to be true. Meanwhile, Barney tries to convince Marshall and Lily that the best things actually do happen after 2 AM



Episode 19: Mary the Paralegal (Original Airdate: Apr/24/2006)

Everyone is invited to a banquet when Robin is nominated for a news award, and Barney sets Ted up with a hot "date".



Episode 20: Best Prom Ever (Original Airdate: May/01/2006)

Lily and Marshall's wedding date has just been pushed up, and in order to hear a potential band for the big wedding, Lily crashes a high school prom.



Episode 21: Milk (Original Airdate: May/08/2006)

When Lily's car breaks down on the way to a secret appointment, Ted changes a very important date to come to Lily's rescue. However, Lily drives off after confidentially telling him that she is on her way to an interview for a summer arts program that would derail her wedding. Despite Ted's input, Lily decides that she must go through with the interview or she will always wonder what could have been. After several months, the matchmakers finally comes through with a match for Ted.



Episode 22: Come On (Original Airdate: May/15/2006)
In an attempt to capture Robin's heart, Ted declares his love to her. Once again, Robin resists and prepares for a weekend away with her co-anchor, Sandy. Ted makes one last romantic gesture which leaves their fate as a couple in Robin's hands. Meanwhile, when Marshall finds out about Lily interviewing for a summer program, a heated fight ensues.