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!  :)

NATIONAL CUSTOMS & FESTIVALS (Part I)

Welcome everybody! You know I'm a big fan of festivals and national customs all around the world.

You can send a friendship request to my Facebook profile in English:
https://www.facebook.com/profesoringles.murcia
And then join my Facebook profile and group: Holidays all around the year.
Please join it if you want to know more about festivals and national customs all over the world!


Furthermore,  I am going to show you some interesting resources on these topics in this blog entry.


First of all, I would like to mention some webpages:

National Day Calendar: An amazing website with all national days around the world.

Festivals all around the world. Lonely Planet's festival guide for each month.

Scottish festivals. We love Scottish festivals! With an interactive map.

Irish festivals and events. Ireland has many traditions and events to discover, too.

ACTIVITY 1- READING

As an example, let's watch this video about Scotland's summer festivals.

1.2) SPEAKING
Would you like to travel to Scotland this summer? Would you go to any of these festivals?
Which one would you visit and why?



ACTIVITY 2 - Birthday traditions all around the world.

2.1) READING.
Let's check some birthday traditions all around the world. 

 2.2) SPEAKING
1- Did you know these traditions?
2- Is there any special birthday tradition in your own country?

2.3) LISTENING
Now watch this video. It's not subtitled but we can get some general ideas about how birthdays are celebrated all around the world...

2.4) SPEAKING
1- Did you know these traditions? Which tradition do you like more and why?
2- Do you eat something special for your birthday in your own country?
 
And that's all for now, folks! I hope you enjoy this funny trip surfing on the net.
Or, even better, visiting these places to check these customs directly!  :)

ENVIRONMENT: Biodiversity.

Our planet’s diverse, thriving ecosystems may seem like permanent fixtures, but they’re actually vulnerable to collapse. Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks. What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in the face of change? Kim Preshoff details why the answer, to a large extent, is Biodiversity.

LISTENING / READING (B2 - Advanced Level)

Watch this video first. You can select subtitles in English or Spanish if you want to read it, too!

SPEAKING / WRITING (B2 - Advanced Level)

1- According to the author of the speech, the main idea is:
Biodiversity = ecosystem diversity + species diversity + genetic diversity.
Can you describe these four concepts in your own words?
Have you ever thought about them? What are your own ideas?

2- What are the consequences of biodiversity loss around the world?

3- What could we do to preserve the environment in our local area?


You can use some of the concepts in the pictures below:

 That is all for now, my friends. Remember, our environment must be protected and preserved! :)

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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

Halloween 2014 - 31st October.

Halloween 2014 is (was) here!    Scary! Spooky! And funny!

Here you are some Halloween videos we watch (watched) in our class:

1) Vocabulary flashcards (for children):

  

2) Halloween traditions for children in Britain:

And some Halloween vocabulary for you,too!

Happy Halloween to you, monsters, witches or ghosts!  3:)
See you soon!

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! :)

FOOD - Fruit and Vegetables (Basic)

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES - BASIC VOCABULARY.

Today we are talking about Fruit and Vegetables.
Do you like fruit and vegetables? Why or why not?

Let's start looking at some basic vocabulary.
Some popular fruit to start.  

  

SPEAKING & WRITING ACTIVITY

What's your favourite fruit? ..............................................................................................
What fruit do you usually eat? ..........................................................................................
How many pieces of fruit do you eat every day? .............................................................
Do you know other kinds of fruit? Write a list with all the fruit you know.

And now some common vegetables, too.

SPEAKING & WRITING ACTIVITY

What's your favourite vegetable? ......................................................................................
What vegetables do you usually eat? ................................................................................
Do you eat vegetables every day? .....................................................................................
Do you know other kinds of vegetables? Write a list with all the vegetables you know.

Well, that's all for now, my friends.
Remember to eat fruit and vegetables every day. It's very healthy! :)

DAILY ROUTINE 1: Breakfast.

Breakfast is the first meal of the day. And it is very important because you need energy for working or studying in the morning, of course!

I usually have toast with butter and jam and a coffee for breakfast.

And you?
What do usually have for breakfast?

Now watch this video to see some typical breakfasts from all around the world.
You can pause the video to see and write the countries and the food vocabulary.
What does the world eat for breakfast? ;)

WRITING - ACTIVITY

1 - How many different countries in this video do you know?
2 - How many different food words in this video do you know?

3 - Write all these words in four columns:
 FOOD/DRINK - COUNTRY - NEW WORD? (Yes/No) - MEANING (Spanish)

4- What's your favourite food and drink in this video? Why?

That is all for now! Enjoy your breakfast time! :)

Basic English and Spanish Vocabulary (I) - Vocabulario Inglés y Español Básico (I)

 Welcome back to the blog and to the new academic year!

¡Bienvenidos de nuevo al blog y al nuevo curso escolar!

Today we have a bilingual post with some basic English & Spanish vocabulary.

Hoy tenemos un post bilingüe con vocabulario Inglés y Español básico.

I hope you like it and learn some new words. Let's go!

Espero que os guste y aprendáis alguna palabra nueva. ¡Vamos!

Let's start with some greetings and politeness words.

Empecemos con algunos saludos y palabras corteses.

 It's important to mention that there are different varieties of Spanish... and different vocabulary is used in them, of course.

Es importante recordar que hay distintas variedades de Español... y que usan distinto vocabulario, naturalmente.

Let's see how we say 4 basic words (glasses, car, computer and ball-pen) in Mexico and Spain.

Veamos cómo se dicen 4 palabras básicas (gafas, coche, ordenador y bolígrafo) en México y en España.

 Now you know I use the Spanish variety from Spain, not the one from Mexico! :-)

¡Ahora ya sabéis que yo uso el español de España y no el de México! :-)

Sometimes, translating from English into Spanish (or the other way round) is easy.

Algunas veces traducir del inglés al español (o a la inversa) es fácil:

But sometimes it is more difficult. Can you guess what the unicorn and the boy are saying?

Pero a veces es más dificil. ¿Adivinas lo que están diciendo el unicornio y el niño?

 

Unicorn:  you are very intelligent and very talented/skilled.

Niño: Lo estoy haciendo muy bien en la escuela porque el unicornio mágico que habla español en mi cabeza cree en mí.

Well done! See you soon, my friends! :-D

¡Bien hecho! ¡Hasta pronto, amigos! :-D

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Colour Songs

Hello everybody!

We all know the basic colours in English, of course.
(Remember, 'colors' in American English!)

SPEAKING

1- What's your favourite colour? Why?
2- What's the colour you don't like? Why?

3- What are the colours of the rainbow?  

This is more difficult! Look at the picture below! :-)

LISTENING - SONGS

Today we listen to some songs to pracise the colours in English!
Let's start with this one:

   

And, to finish, a complete song about colours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4txwNwz_MP8

Do you understand the chorus of the song?

'But I see your true colours
Shining through
I see your true colours
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Just show your true colours,
True colors, ooh are beautiful like a rainbow...'

KARAOKE TIME! 

Listen to the song and sing!  <0:-P

Have a happy and colourful weekend, my friends! See you soon! ;)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2015!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2015!

Let's watch some videos and pictures about Christmas and New Year.

1) VIDEO: Christmas in Britain. What do British children do at Christmas? :)

2) VOCABULARY.

2.1) Christmas words

 

2.2) New Year words

 

Happy New Year 2015, my friends! :)

Merry Christmas! Some songs for the Winter Season

MERY XMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR! LET'S LISTEN TO SOME POP CHRISTMAS SONGS! :)

    Season's greetings to all of you! Winter is here and Christmas time, too!
As some of you have told me,  I have not been publishing many posts in this blog lately.
Well, today this post is just to say thank you to all of you who are supporting me in my life and with my blogs and social networks AND, of course, to wish you a happy Christmas season to you all!

Here you have some good pop Christmas songs - old and new, with and without subtitles -
but... no classical carols this time, promised!
We have already sung many traditional carols in our English lessons, for sure! :)

Let's start with a the great Whitney Houston which also recorded a Christmas album.
Her voice was not at her best here, but this is a very nice Christmas song though:




Now we are going to see a different vision of Christmas; let's sing this song of Coldplay all together:

The last one is a current song (2013) but with some traditional arrangements.
I hope you enjoy it, no subtitles this time!
Can you understand any words and sentences here? Let's try!





And that is all for now! Which was your favourite song and why?

Feel free to tell us and to suggest me any other Christmas songs you like, as always.

Merry Christmas to you all!  Enjoy the winter holiday season!
o<|:-)

World Cup 2014 Brazil (Part 1: The countries and the songs)

World Cup 2014 in Brazil has already finished!

SPEAKING & WRITING
Answer the following questions:
- Where are you from?
- Do you like football?
- Have you watched any matches? Which match was the most interesting for you? Why?

Let's start with the logo of this football championship.
SPEAKING & WRITING
What do you think about it?
Do you like the design and the colours?
Why or why not?

FLAGS & COUNTRIES

And now we will see the flags of the countries who played in Brazil.
Do you know these flags? Can you name all the countries?

OFFICIAL SONGS

There is always an official song of the World Cup, of course.
This year it has been Shakira's song... again!
















SPEAKING & WRITING
Do you like Shakira? Where is she from?
How does she speak English?
Do yo like this song and the video? Why or why not?

Remember Shakira also sang "Waka Waka" at the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Watch the video below:

SPEAKING & WRITING
Which song and video do you prefer and why?


And that is all for now. We will see more things about World Cup 2014 in my next post.
Enjoy the summer holidays, my friends! :)

Hello everybody!
A new academic course begins and here I am again with this blog!
Did you have a nice summer?

What are your plans for September? A new job? Any new studies?
And also going on learning English, of course! ;)
Here you have a calendar of September 2013 to help you organise your ideas and plans.

 

As you can see , British calendars usually start on Sunday and finish on Saturday.
How are the calendars organised in your country?
Tell us about it, please!

Well, my friends. I will post again soon.
As always, I welcome your suggestions -in English or Spanish - for publishing new posts in this blog.
See you soon! Roll on September!
:)

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!
:)