FESTIVALS IN NOVEMBER: From Halloween to Bonfire's Night

Today we are travelling around the world to watch a video and read a text about some typical English-speaking festivals and traditions celebrated on the first week of November. I hope you enjoy the trip! :)

1) Let's start with Halloween, of course!

We are travelling to the USA, fasten your seat belts please...

Halloween Scares up Tricks, Treats in US 

Every year, on the last day of October, children in the U.S. dress up in their most creative costumes to celebrate Halloween. In this report by VOA's Laura Ellsworth, Jim Bertel tells how this big event for children has also become an event that means big profits for some businesses.

 

 QUESTIONS ON THE VIDEO

1.1) Which are the origins of Halloween? Did you already know them? .....................................................

1.2) How is Halloween celebrated in your own country? .........................................................................

 

2) And now let's travel to the UK to celebrate Bonfire's Night!

Read the following article about this traditional UK festival celebrated on the first Saturday of November.

Light it up on Bonfire's Night

 QUESTIONS ON THE READING

2.1) Did you already know the origins of Bonfire's night? ........................................................................

2.2) Have you ever watched a Bonfire's night celebration in the UK? What did you enjoy most? ...............

Smell like a Monster (LEVEL: Intermediate)

Commercials (or TV advertisements) use a very specific vocabulary and images to attract potential buyers.
Today we are going to watch and compare a couple of videos: a real TV commercial and a parody of the same TV commercial.

KEY WORDS:  (to) advertise - advertisement - buyer - clam - commercial - deodorant - diamonds - parody - products - scent - (to) smell 

1.1) LISTENING ACTIVITY
Let's have a look at the original video first:
 

 
1.2) WRITING & SPEAKING ACTIVITY
QUESTIONS 
1- Have you watched this commercial before? ........................ When and where? ...................................
2- Which product is advertised? ............................................................................................................
  
2.1) LISTENING & READING ACTIVITY
Now let's watch the original video subtitled in English:

2.2) WRITING & SPEAKING ACTIVITY
QUESTIONS 
1- Which are the main characteristics of the product? ..................................................................
2- Do you think it is a good advertisement? ............. Why or why not? ........................................
3- Do you like the commercial? ..............Why or why not? .........................................................

3.1) LISTENING & READING ACTIVITY
And now let's have a look at this parody video by Sesame Street:

3.2) WRITING & SPEAKING ACTIVITY
QUESTIONS 
1- Had you watched this parody commercial before? .........................When and where? ...............
2- Which product is advertised? ....................................................................................................
    Which are the main characteristics of the product? .....................................................................
3- Do you like the commercial? ................................Why or why not? ...........................................
4- Compare the two commercials. Which commercial do you prefer? .......... Why? .........................

That's all folks! I hope you enjoyed the two videos! :)

European Union: 27 Countries,1 Single Market: (LEVEL: Intermediate)

  The European Union consists of 27 countries sharing 1 single market.
26,836 citizens in 27 EU Member States have been interviewed for the latest Eurobarometer survey on the Single Market. Their views are summarized in the following video.

KEY WORDS:  awareness - (to) be treated - (to) benefit - brand products - citizens - competitive - concern - (to) counterfeit - corruption - currency - e-shopping - fake products - favouritism - goods - hairdresser - language barriers - perception - procurement - trade - working conditions.

READING ACTIVITY (INTERMEDIATE LEVEL)

A) Watch the video twice:
1) The first time, watch it non-stop and try to get a general idea.
2) The second time, pause it when necessary to read all the messages in detail and think about them.

WRITING & SPEAKING ACTIVITY (INTERMEDIATE LEVEL)

A) What do European people think? ............................................................................................................

B) List the advantages of  having 1 single EU Market ...................................................................................
C) List the disadvantages of having 1 single EU Market ...............................................................................
D) What do you think about it? ...................................................................................................................

OPTIONAL: READING & WRITING ACTIVITY (ADVANCED LEVEL)

The full results of the survey are available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/strategy/index_en.htm#20concerns

Check them and write your opinion about them.

Moving Planet - Join the Global Movement

Moving Planet - Join the Global Movement

Moving Planet is a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis. Come on bike, on skates, on a board, or just on foot.
It takes place in September 24, 2011 in different cities around the world. 

You can check the activities organized in this web:
Moving Planet Web

Enjoy it! :)

Ireland & Spain - A National Alphabet (ALL LEVELS)

READING Activity: An alphabet of Ireland, the Emerald Isle
Have a look at this alphabet of Ireland I made up after visiting this island in summer 2010: 
Aran Islands: A group of small islands in the North-West of Ireland full of myths and legends.

Butter & Black Beer: Typical and tasty everyday Irish food products.

Cliffs: Outstanding coastal landscapes such as the Cliffs of Moher, in the west of Ireland.

Dublin: The friendly capital of Ireland and one of the few awarded Literary Capitals of the world.

Enya: New age Irish star woman which combines gentle voice, traditional and modern music.

Folklore: Irish music, dance, Literature, mythology. Irish folklore is awesome!

Guinness: World's most famous black beer. And also the most famous Book of Records!

Herds: Groups of farm animals (of horses, cows, sheep)

Irish (coffee, breakfast, cuisine, whiskey, beer, language)

Joyce (James) (1882-1941): One of the most famous 20th century writers in English ("Ulysses") was  born in Dublin.

Killarney: National natural Park in the South of Ireland.

Leprechaun: An Irish mythological dwarf which brings you good luck & gold if you can catch it.

Molly Malone: "The tart with the cart": she was a popular fishmonger - and probably something else - in  17th  century's Dublin fair city and a song on her is Dublin's unofficial hymn.

Nah (or Mná): "Women" in Irish language. For example: the song "Women of Ireland" is "Mná na h-Éireann" in Irish.

O':  Irish traditional system for naming children: first son named after the father's father. A male's surname takes the form Ó ("grandson") followed by the genitive of a name, as in Ó Dónaill ("grandson of Dónall")

Patrick (Saint) (ca.387-493) The Christian patron saint of Ireland (and of the Spanish city of Murcia!) celebrated on the 17th of March.

Quay (harbour, port,wharf): a place for ships to embark and disembark. For example: the Quay of Galway   (North West of Ireland)

Reel: Traditional Irish dance which may be danced also in Irish pubs. Lord of the Dance time!

Shamrock: This three or four-leaved plant is also a charm for having good luck.

Trinity College & Temple Bar: Two of the main attractions in Dublin always full of students and tourists.

U2: The most international Irish rock band! With or without you!

Virgin Mary: The Republic of Ireland (Eire) is mostly a Catholic country and statues of the Virgin Mary may be found not only in churches but also in parks.

Whiskey: Irish whiskey was worldwide famous till the beginning of the 20th century where the Scottish took   the lead. Tullamore whiskey is one of the greatest!

XYZ: Yogurt. No doubt, Irish dairy (milk, butter, yogurt) is the best in the world!

WRITING Activity: Can you make a typical alphabet of Spain from A to Z?  
There are two possibilities:

Option 1) You can write the words and definitions in English (and the translation into Spanish in brackets). I am giving you the letter A as an example:
A- Amicable (amigable, amistoso) - characterized by friendliness and absence of discord. (caracterizado por cordialidad y ausencia de discordia)
B- .....................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................
Z- .......................................................................................................................


Option 2) You can write the words and definitions in Spanish (and the translation into English in brackets). I am giving you the letter A as an example:
A- Abanico (Fan)- un objeto usado para refrescarse en verano (an object to cool yourself down in  summer)
B- .....................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................
Z- .......................................................................................................................

What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)

Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was a famous American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana (USA).

  This summer we have commemorated 40 years since Louis Armstrong's death. And today we are celebrating his birth, which took place exactly 110 years ago in August.
We are going to watch a video of his remarkable rendition of “What a Wonderful World” (1968) —  an optimistic song  in this difficult year for the whole world. Listen to it with no lyrics first:

And now let's watch another video with the lyrics in English.

KARAOKE TIME: It's not a difficult song.  Watch it again and sing it aloud!  Enjoy it! :)

You can read more information about Louis Armstrong in this link:

Wikipedia - Biography of Louis Armstrong

Translation Games - Juegos de Traducción

Today we are playing some easy vocabulary translation games at this webpage:

Wekanun - Juego Online de Traducciín Multiidioma

You can change your Source Language and Target Language and you can also change the level of difficulty. In the following link you can play a basic game translating words from Spanish into English:

Wekanun Spanish => English - Beginner's Level of Spanish

Enjoy it! :)

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Hoy vamos a jugar a algunos juegos de traducción de vocabulario sencillos en esta web:

Wekanun - Juego Online de Traducciín Multiidioma

Puedes cambiar el idioma inicial y el idioma final  y también puedes cambiar el nivel de dificultad. En el siguiente link puedes jugar una partidad de dificultad básica traduciendo palabras de Inglés a Español.

Wekanun English => Spanish - Beginner's Level of English

¡Que te diviertas! :)

Welcome to my Life (Simple Plan)

Welcome to the blog! Today we are singing a welcome song in English.
It is a song in English by the Canadian band Simple Plan written in 2004. Let's watch the original video without subtitles first!

And now we are going to watch it again, this time only with the lyrics:

 

Now it's karaoke time! Try to sing the song with the help of the lyrics! :-)

Is it too difficult to understand? Ask any questions adding a comment to this post, please.

Bienvenidos (Miguel Ríos y M-Clan)

¡Bienvenidos al blog! Hoy cantamos una canción de bienvenida en español.

Una canción en español original de Miguel Ríos del año 1982, cantada en 2004 junto al grupo de Murcia M-Clan. La letra está bajo el vídeo. 

Bienvenidos - Miguel Ríos 1982

Buenas noches Bienvenidos
Hijos del Rock & Roll / os saludan los aliados de la noche
Bienvenidos al concierto / gracias por estar aquí
vuestro impulso nos hará seres eléctricos
Ayúdanos a conectar/ sólo por tí el rock existirá
Ayúdanos a conectar / sólo por tí el rock existirá
Necesitamos muchas manos / pero un solo corazón
para poder inventar el exorcismo.
Abrir vuestras mentes / llenarlas con un soplo de Rock
que desaloje los fantasmas cotidianos.
Ayúdanos a construir / Hoy el Rock & Ríos se hace para tí
Ayúdanos a construir / Hoy el Rock & Ríos se hace para tí
A los hijos del Rock & Roll
BIENVENIDOS / BIENVENIDOS.
Que larga ha sido la marcha / compañeros de fatigas
desde los tiempos del Price / veinte años de camino
Para al fín poder gritar
A los hijos del Rock & Roll
BIENVENIDOS / BIENVENIDOS
Buenas noches Bienvenidos/ Hijos del Rock & Roll
os saludan los aliados de la noche
Bienvenidos al concierto/ gracias por estar aquí
vuestro impulso nos hará seres electricos.
Ayúdanos a conectar / solo por tí el Rock existirá
ayúdanos a construir/ hoy el Rock & Ríos se hace para tí
a los hijos del Rock & Roll
BIENVENIDOS / BIENVENIDOS/ BIENVENIDOS
a los hijos del Rock & Roll
BIENVENIDOS

¡Hora del karaoke! Intenta cantar la canción con la ayuda de la letra :-)

                   ¿Es muy difícil? Puedes preguntar cualquier duda añadiendo un comentario a este post.

Suggestion Box / Buzón de Sugerencias

Any comments or suggestions to improve this blog are welcome. You can post them here. Thanks a lot! 

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Cualquier comentario o sugerencia para mejorar este blog son bienvenidos. Puedes escribirlos aquí. ¡Muchas gracias!