Christmas around the world

Merry Christmas to everybody!

1- CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD

Let's watch a video about "Christmas around the world" first:

1.1- WRITING

- What Christmas customs can you see in this video? ..............................................

- What Christmas decorations are used in your town? ..............................................

- How do you decorate your own home at Christmas? ..............................................


2- CHRISTMAS CAROLS

A Christmas carol (also called a nöel) is a song or hymn whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.

2.1- LISTENING & READING:

Now we are going to listen to a typical Christmas carol:

2.2 - READING

The author and composer is unknown. However, this song may date back to the 16th century.
Now read the lyrics of this traditional carol:

WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

We wish you a Merry Christmas.
We wish you a Merry Christmas.
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year.

Glad tidings we bring
To you and your kin.
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year.

Now bring us a figgy pudding.
Now bring us a figgy pudding.
Now bring us a figgy pudding
And a cup of good cheer.

We won't go until we get some.
We won't go until we get some.
We won't go until we get some,
So bring some out here. 

Glad tidings we bring
To you and your kin.
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year.

2.3- VOCABULARY

What's the meaning of the following words? You can look them up in a dictionary!
1) tidings
2) kin
3) a fig
4) a figgy pudding
5) a cheer
 
2.4- SPEAKING - KARAOKE TIME

Watch the video again once or twice and then sing the song aloud!

That's all my friends!
I wish you a Merry Christmas to you and your kin!
:-)

Storytelling (I)

 Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and to instill moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and narrative point of view.


1. SPEAKING ACTIVITY

Here you can see the titles of different traditional tales.

Which one is your favourite? ......................................................................................
Why? ...........................................................................................................................
Can you think of any other traditional fairy tales? .....................................................

2- READING ACTIVITY.

We are going to watch a gothic fairy tale now.
It is a short animation film called "Comedy" (Kigeki) and it was directed by the Japanese Kazuto Nazakawa in 2002.

3.1 - WRITING ACTIVITY 1

Answer these questions:

- Did you enjoy this tale? Why or why not? ...........................................................
- What do you think about it? .....................................................
- Can you think of any similar tales?...........................................

3.2 - WRITING ACTIVITY 2

Write a short composition answering this question:
"Do you like telling stories? Or do you prefer listening to them? Why?"
......................................................

I hope you enjoyed this storytelling post. Please comment here if you want me to publish more posts about storytelling!

- THE END -

See you all soon!  :-)

Four Seasons in One Day

Autumn is beginning in Southern Spain.
This is a season with changing weather: hot or cold; sunny, cloudy or rainy...
Have you ever experienced "four seasons in one day" in your hometown?

ACTIVITY 1 - LISTENING:

Let's watch the video of a song talking about "4 seasons in 1 day" first!

 

 

Well, it's clear that it talks about weather, but does the song talk about any other topics?

 

ACTIVITY 2- LISTENING AND READING

Let's watch the song again in this subtitled video and read the lyrics carefully:

ACTIVITY 3 - WRITING or SPEAKING

What do you think now? Does it talk about anything else?
Is weather the most important topic of the song? Why or why not?

By the way, "4 Seasons in 1 day" is a 1992 song by an Australian group called Crowded House.
I hope you enjoyed the song! See you soon!
:)

London 2012 Olympic Games (2) - Olympic Songs from Barcelona 1992 to London 2012

Olympic Songs from Barcelona 1992 to London 2012

Listen to all these Olympic songs and choose your favourite one! :)

1) Barcelona 1992:

Sarah Brightman and José Carreras: "Amigos Para Siempre" (Friends for Life)

 

 

Chorus
Amigos para siempre
Means you'll always be my friend
Amics per sempre
Means a love that cannot end
Friends for life
Not just a summer or a spring
Amigos para siempre

2) Atlanta 1996:

Gloria Stefan: "Reach"

3) Sydney 2000:

Magic Voices: "Australia"

4) Athens 2004

Giannis Kotsiras: "Pass the flame"

5) Beijing 2008

Sarah Brightman and Huan Liu: "You and Me"

 

 

6) London 2012

WRITING & SPEAKING Activity
Think about your dream London 2012 official song!

Now it's your turn to become a lyrics writer!  :)

1- What kind of official song would you like for London 2012?

__Slow and Classy    __Catchy and rhythmic  __Loud and wild

2- Who would be your favourite singer or singers for this song? .........................

Why? ......................................................................................................

Where are this singer or these singers from? .........................................

3- Which 4 words would you include in the lyrics?

Word 1- .............. Word 2- ............. Word 3-.......... Word 4-.............

4 - Write the Chorus of the song in 4 lines using at least one word in each line.

Line 1- ................................................................................ (word 1)

Line 2 - ................................................................................ (word 2)

Line 3 - ................................................................................ (word 3)

Line 4 - ................................................................................ (word 4)

I hope you enjoyed all the olympic songs and creating your own song too!
Write to you soon!   ^_^
 

One week for the London 2012 Olympics!
Countdown from 7 to 1!     7!..................

English Language and Learning Other Languages

Hello everybody!
As I see in the polls of this blog that one of your favourite topics is Language & Communication,
today we are going to talk about languages.

A) First, let's look at the following poster about the importance of English language in the world.

SPEAKING  - IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT
 1) "1 out of 5 persons in the world speaks English as a native, second or foreign language"
We always think about English speakers from the UK and the USA.
But 125 million of English speakers come from India! Wow!
Did you know that? Have you talked to any English speaker from India?

2) "English belongs to everyone or to no one".
Do you agree with this sentence? Why or why not?

**************************************************************

B) Now, we are going to talk about languages from a different point of view.
What are the hardest languages to learn for the English speakers?
Any ideas before reading this poster?  :)

 

B.1) Easy languages to learn (around 600 class hours to master)
Spanish - Portuguese - French - Italian: "Latin Romance" languages
Dutch (Aafrikans) - Swedish (Norwegian): Germanic languages.
SPEAKING  - IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT
B.1.1) Spanish is easy for English to learn! Surprised? Why or why not?
B.1.2) English is a Germanic language. Other Germanic languages as Dutch are easy for English speakers.
But not easier than Latin languages. Why? What do you think about this? 



B.2) Medium languages to learn (around 1100 class hours to master)
Hindi - Russian - Turkish - Thai - Greek - Finnish.
SPEAKING  - IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT
B.2.1) Any surprises here?
Why do you think these languages are more difficult to learn for an English speaker?

B.3) Hard languages to learn (around 2200 class hours to master)
Arabic - Japanese - Chinese - Korean
SPEAKING  - IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT 
B.3.1) Did you think these were the hardest languages to learn before reading the poster?
Why or why not?
Is one of these languages your mother tongue? Have you ever studied one of these languages?
They say they are the languages of the future together with English and Spanish, of course!

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That is all for now my friends! I hope you have enjoyed this post.
Please complete the polls on the left side of my blog.
This way, I will know which topics are more interesting for you.
And keep studying foreign languages, of course!  :)

Easter in Spain, the UK and the USA - Semana Santa (Pascua) en España, Reino Unido y USA

We are going to watch some short videos about Easter in Spain and the UK.
Vamos a ver algunos vídeos cortos sobre la Semana Santa / Pascua en España y en el Reino Unido.

Easter Week in Spain / Semana Santa en España:

 

Easter in the UK / Pascua en el Reino Unido:

And to end with, a Happy Easter children's song with the US Walt Disney characters.

Y para terminar, una canción infantil de Feliz Pascua con los personajes americanos de Walt Disney.

Enjoy it! Happy Easter to everyone! :) 
¡Que la disfrutéis! ¡Feliz Pascua / Semana Santa a todos! :)

Today is EARTH HOUR 2012: Saturday 31 March 20:30-21:30 PM

31st of March: today is Earth Hour 2012!
I will switch off my lights from 20:30 to 21:30 PM
Here you can find some fun things you can do during Earth Hour

http://inhabitat.com/9-fun-things-you-can-do-during-earth-hour-2012

What are you going to do tonight? Post a comment please!

=============================================================

31 de Marzo: hoy es el Día del Planeta!
Apagaré todas las luces de las 20:30 a las 21:30 PM
¿Qué harás esta noche? ¡Escribe un comentario!

Aquí volvemos a publicar un vídeo en inglés subtitulado en español. ¡Una combinación ganadora! :)

Updated: 12:15 PM

Earth Hour - Our World Is Brilliant (WWF-UK)

Picture a world Where people and Nature Thrive...
Imagina un mundo donde las personas y la naturaleza prosperan...

Your light switch is just the start!  :)
¡Apagar el interruptor es sólo el comienzo! :)

 Updated: 11:39 PM

Some photos showing the success of the Earth Hour 2012 around the world!

 

Can you identify all these cities around the world?

American continent is not included because they are starting their Erth Hour by now!
I hope you enjoyed it! Keep doing things to save our planet! :)

Australian Song

1- BRAINSTORMING
Australia is a wonderful country! In fact, it is a big island and a continent at the same time.
What do you know about Australia?
Write ten key words about Australia in your notebook:
1- ................ 2-......................... 3- ............................ ; 10- ....................................

2 - LISTENING ACTIVITY:
This Australian song was played during the TV broadcasting for the official National Day of Mourning for the victims of the February 7 2009 Victorian bushfires.

2.1- First time, listen to the song and read the lyrics of the song in the video.

You also have the lyrics here:

(Chorus)
We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream and sing with one voice
I am
You are
We are Australian

I came from the dream time
from the dusty red soil plains
I am the ancient heart - the keeper of the flame
I stood upon the rocky shore
I watched the tall ships come
For forty thousand years
I'd been the first Australian
I came upon the prison ship
bound down by iron chains
I cleared the land, endured the lash and waited for the rains
I'm a settler
I'm a farmer's wife on a dry and barren run
A convict then a free man
I became Australian
I'm the daughter of a digger
who sought the mother lode
The girl became a woman on the long and dusty road
I'm a child of the depression
I saw the good times come
I'm a bushy, I'm a battler
I am Australian

(Chorus)

I'm a teller of stories
I'm a singer of songs
I am Albert Namatjira
and I paint the ghostly gums
I am Clancy on his horse
I'm Ned Kelly on the run
I'm the one who waltzed Matilda
I am Australian
I'm the hot wind from the desert
I'm the black soil of the plains
I'm the mountains and the valleys
I'm the drought and flooding rains
I am the rock, I am the sky
The rivers when they run
The spirit of this great land
I am Australian

(Chorus)

We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream
And sing with one voice
I am, you are, we are Australian.

2.2- The second time you watch the video, sing it! Karoke time! :)

3- WRITING ACTIVITY
3.1 - There are many characteristics and attributes of all-time Australian people and landscapes in this song.
Look up the following words of the song in a dictionary:
the rocky shore -
the prison ship-
a settler -
a convict-
a free man - 
a digger -
the long and dusty road-
a bushy-
a battler-
a teller of stories-
a singer of songs-
the hot wind of the desert -
the black soil of the plains -
the drought and flooding rains -
the spirit of this great land -

3.2 - Now look for all the verbs in the song and complete a chart with the three forms:Infinitive - Past Simple - Past Participle
to be              was/were       been
to come             came          come
...........           .............         ..................

3.3- Have you learnt anything new about Australia? Well done!
Tell us about it adding a comment to this post! :)

Celebrating Saint Patrick's Day - 17th March

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. It is celebrated on the 17th of March in Ireland, of course.
But wait, only in Ireland? In fact, Saint Patrick is being celebrated all around the world this weekend!
Watch this video to understand why everybody "goes green" these days.

Even the sheep go green! :)

And now let's see a funny video with some tips about "How to be an Irish!"

Ending with a "Kiss me, I'm Irish! OK!"
I hope you enjoyed these videos! Are you feeling "more Irish" now? ;-)
Happy Saint Patrick's weekend to everyone, Irish and not Irish!

Coldplay - The Scientist

We have a "different" song today, it's a homemade animation video with subtitles in English.

 "The Scientist" is the second single from British alternative rock band Coldplay's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for the album. It is built around a piano ballad, with its lyrics telling the story about a man's desire to love and an apology. The song was released in the United Kingdom as the second single from A Rush of Blood to the Head and reached number 10 in the UK Charts. It was released in the United States as the third single and reached number 18 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks.

The Scientist (Coldplay, UK 2002)

Come up to meet you
Tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart

Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
Running in circles; coming up tails
Heads on a silence apart

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science; science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart

Tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing our tails
Coming back as we are

Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start

Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
X4

I hope you like it!
KARAOKE TIME! :)

EARTH HOUR 2012: Saturday 31 March 8.30 PM.

EARTH HOUR 2012: Saturday 31 March 8.30 PM. PLEASE SHARE IT! Thanks! :)
LA HORA DEL PLANETA 2012: Sábado 31 Marzo 8.30 PM
¡POR FAVOR, COMPARTE ESTO! ¡Gracias! :)

This Earth Hour 2012: 8.30pm, Saturday 31 March, celebrate your action for the planet with the people of world by switching off your lights for an hour, then go beyond the hour.
La Hora del Planeta 2012: Sábado 31 de Marzo de 2012 a las 8.30 PM, celebra tu acción por el planeta con la gente de todo el mundo apagando todas las luces por una hora. Continúa haciendo otras cosas por el medio ambiente después.