London 2012 Olympic Games (I) - Getting Ready (DO YOU REMEMBER?)

Hi everybody! London 2012 Olympic games are coming at last!

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad, are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012.




1- This is the official clear logo for the games with 4 different colour combinations:

And this is the official logo in 4 colours, all of them will be used.

1.1 - Which colour would you prefer for the logo? Why? ...................................................................
1.2 - Which colour would be the best for the 2012 London Olympic Games? .....................................

 2- Now you can watch a promotion video of these Olympic Games.

2.1- What do you think about this video? Do you like it? Why or why not?

2.2- Can you name the different sports you are watching?
2.3- The first sport is.... and the first sportman / sportwoman is.................... from .................
2.4- The last sport is.... and the last sportman/sportwoman is..................... from ...................
2.5- I can also watch these summer sports: ..............,.................,..................,..............,.....................
2.6- Are there any other summer olympic sports which are not in this video?
       Name them! ................................................................................................................................


3- Now you can have a look at the London 2012 Official Website:
http://www.london2012.com/

Today - for example - you can watch the Torch Relay to London Live in this link:
http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/video/live.html

Enjoy the previous days to the Olympics!
And comment what you're doing to prepare for the Olympic games in this post!   :)

Science is Rock and Roll (LEVEL: Intermediate/Advanced)

"Science is Rock and Roll" - Jack Black, The Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, Bono, Miley Cyrus, Just Bieber (and more!) speak out about science in the following video.

KEY WORDS: amazing - creativity - Engineering - experimentation - fascinating - future - geek - (to) invent - nerd - progression - robots - Robotics - Science -Technology.

1) WRITING: Before watching the video write your opinion about these two questions:
1.1) Do you love Science? Why or why not?
.............................................................................................................
1.2) Why do you think that Science is so important in our modern world?
............................................................................................................

2) LISTENING: Now watch the video for the first time. Listen and try to get the main ideas of the video.

2) LISTENING: Watch the video again and listen to these 6 sentences. Pause the video when necessary and write the time of the video and the person who said it. You can watch the video 2 or 3 times if you need it!

SENTENCES                                                                     TIME                        WHO SAID IT

‎1) "Science to me is music"                                                    0:04                       The Black Eyed Peas

2) "Without Science we'd still be cavemen" 

3) "It's the very basic elements of life" 

4) "I think that Robotics and Science, that's the future" 

5) "Science is Rock and Roll." 

6) " ...but Science rocks!"
 

3) SPEAKING: What do you think about these ideas? Do you agree with them?
Any other thoughts about the importance of science today?
......................................................................................................................................

4) WRITING:
Write a composition (200-300 words) about "Science in our modern world" using some of the ideas of the video and giving your own opinion about them. Add your own ideas about Science too!

 

Spring is Coming (Part II)

Hello everyone!
Yes, spring is coming again! Some photos to show it...  :-)

At the beginning of the spring flowers are blooming and  trees are blossoming.... It's wonderful!

Look at some spring photos from all around the world. In your opinion, where are they from?

Spain - Japan -Belgium - UK
France - USA - Singapore

 

 

 

And now we watch a video about cherry blossoms. When we talk about cherry blossoms, we usually think about Japan.
But this time, it's an American video. Enjoy it!

Spring is coming! Have a good time, my friends! :-)

Spring is Coming (Part I)

 Hello everybody!
Spring is coming... at last!
How was the winter in your hometown? Cold, snowy and rainy or maybe dry and mild?
And how is the springtime coming? Windy and wet or dry and sunny?
Anyway, spring is here to stay.

Let's watch some videos about the arrival of the spring:

1) A funny video to start with. Spring is here! Wake up, everybody!

 

 And a song about the Spring, too! 

 

One of the funniest American traditions is called "the Groundhog Day".
Do you know it? What is it about? And what does the groundhog say?

We will talk more about it in another post!
 
Just to finish, how do you say "Spring" in your own language?
Here you have a cute cat poster about it! Enjoy it! :)

 










 

That's all for now, my friends!
Comment about the post if you want to practise English.
Keep calm, spring is coming. Enjoy it!  Bye bye!  :)

Celebrating Earth Day 2016

On the 19th of March 2016 we are celebrating the Earth Day once again.

The logo and hashtag this year is 'Change climate change - Shine a light on climate action'

But what is the "Earth Day"? 
The Earth Hour is an event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
It was started in 2007. It is held on the last Saturday of March every year.
The WWF asks people to turn off their lights and appliances for one hour.
They want to raise awareness for climate change.

You can read more information about Earth Day 2016 in these webpages:

http://www.earthhour.org/

https://worldwildlife.org/


LISTENING / READING ACTIVITY.

Watch the officials videos of the Earth Day 2016 to know more about it:

Now watch this video and think about our present environmental actions
and the possible future consequences for the world we live in. 

What are you going to do to celebrate Earth Day 2016?
You can meet your family and beloved ones for a quiet "candle-lit dinner"...
or maybe organise an outdoor dinner under the moonlight for your friends!

So, let's celebrate this special eco-friendly weekend when we celebrate
the start of the spring and we also protect our planet Earth!
Roll on Saturday, Roll on the Earth hour!  :)

Halloween History vs. Halloween Stories

This weekend, the 31st of October, is Halloween.
But what is REALLY the Halloween festival?

We all know about dreadful and horrible Halloween stories like this:

Spooky pumpkins , killer clowns, monsters, witches, vampires, zombies, ghosts and ghouls...

And there are also some  funny stories or parodies about these spooky characters, such as this:

 

Count Duckula is a vegetarian vampire and he is also very polite and good!
Look at the intro of this TV Series. What words and expressions do you understand?

And now with the subtitles. It's really funny! :)

All these stories are horrible and spooky, funny and entertaining but...
do we know the real history of Halloween?
Let's have a look at it!

 

Una versión simplificada de lo que ocurre en  Halloween en español aquí:

Well, I think we all know more about the REAL Halloween festival now.
I hope you enjoyed this special Halloween post, my friends!

Happy Halloween to everybody! Be spooky and scary!
Good night out there, whatever you are!  3:)

P.S: We're going to a Halloween costume party! (Look below)
Have you already prepared your spooky toffee spider cakes? Terrifyingly Yummy! :-P

FOOD - Meat and Fish (I)

Hello, my friends!
Today we are going to talk about proteins, of course.

 








And, more specifically, about Meat, Poultry, Eggs, Fish & Seafood.














 Let's see some vocabulary of meat, poultry and seafood first:

 
And now, some more fish, divided into white fish, oily fish and shellfish/seafood:

Hmmm.... if you're not a vegetarian, you're probably feeling hungry now! :-P

To finish, let's see how you can ask for your favourite steak at a restaurant with this image:

SPEAKING & WRITING -  ACTIVITY.

What about you? Answer these questions!

NOTE: If you are a vegetarian, then probably you will not enjoy the following questions.
But, anyway, that's very common English vocabulary and you have to know it!

1) Are you a vegetarian? Why or why not?
2) Do you prefer fish or meat? Why?
3) What's your favourite meat? Why?

4) What poultry do you usually eat at Christmas? Is it your favourite?

5) And what's your favourite fish? Why?

6) What about your favourite shellfish/seafood? Why?

7) How often do you eat fish? Do you think it's enough? 

8) Do you like eggs? How many eggs a week you have? How do you cook them?

9) Have you ever tasted any special meat or fish?  (e.g.: from foreign species, such as the kangaroo  meat in Europe)
  Where? Did you like it? Any reasons why or why not?

10) Which meat or fish you don't like or hate and why?

Well, I hope you know something else about meat, poultry and fish by now.

We will go on talking about food soon. Enjoy your meal! :)

An Eco-friendly Weekend (II): Earth Day 2013

We go on with this special eco-friendly weekend. Roll on Saturday - the Earth Day 2013!

2) On Saturday the 23rd of March, we celebrate "Earth Day"
READING ACTIVITY.

What is the "Earth Day"? 
The Earth Hour is an event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
It was started in 2007. It is held on the last Saturday of March every year.
The WWF asks people to turn off their lights and appliances for one hour.
They want to raise awareness for climate change.

You can read more information about Earth Day 2013 in these webpages:

http://www.earthhour.org/

https://worldwildlife.org/


LISTENING ACTIVITY.

Watch the official video of the Earth Day 2013 to know more about it:




  What are you going to do to celebrate Earth Day 2013?
You can meet your family and beloved ones for a quiet "candle dinner"...
or maybe organise an outdoor dinner under the moonlight for your friends!

Anyway, enjoy this special weekend when we celebrate the start of the spring
and we also protect our planet Earth!
:)

An Eco-friendly Weekend (I): World Water Day

Welcome to my blog!
This weekend is special: we are thinking about the water, the environment and our planet.
Let's start with Friday celebrations!

On Friday the 22nd of March, we celebrate "World Water Day".

 


READING ACTIVITY.


  What is the "International World Water Day"?  Read this:

	International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

You can read more information about World Water Year 2013 in this webpage:
http://www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/home/en/

LISTENING ACTIVITY.
 
  This is a Video Message from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (South Korean)
on the importance of Water Cooperation, the theme of World Water Day 2013.
Watch the official video of the United Nations to know more about it:

  

WRITING ACTIVITY.
 
The ending of the video is: "Water is life".
Answer the following questions.

1) "Water is life." - Do you agree with this sentence? Why or why not?
........................................................................................................
2)  Why is water so important?
.......................................................................................................
3) What can we do to save water every day?
......................................................................................................
That is all my friends! 
Please share this post and celebrate World Water day with your family and friends!
:)

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!..................