April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other called April fools.

In Italy, France and Belgium, children and adults traditionally tack paper fishes on each other's back as a trick and shout "April fish!" in their local languages (pesce d'aprile!, poisson d'avril! and aprilvis! in Italian, French and Flemish, respectively). Such fish feature prominently on many late 19th to early 20th century French April Fools' Day postcards.

Here you can read about some jokes made on April Fools' Day

source: Wikipedia

images: Google Image's Seeker

     

Writing about "CV and applying for a job"

Try to write your CV and a covering letter to apply for a job.

Song - "Sk8er Boi"

Here is the song that I invited you to listen to during this Easter, its name is "Sk8er Boi"

And try to fill the gaps on this incomplete script.

Saint Patrick's Day (March 17th)

Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, is an annual celebration of the patron saint of Ireland. It is a national holiday in Ireland, and millions of Irish people all over the world where there are Irish communities celebrate.

This is the activity that we did in class about Saint Patrick's Day.

(source: http://eslholidaylessons.com/03/saint_patricks_day.html)

Listening - Joshua Jones and cystic fibrosis

Joshua Jones and cystic fibrosis

Joshua Jones was born with cystic fibrosis, a serious illness which can make it hard for some sufferers to lead a normal life. But Joshua has not allowed his condition to get in the way of all the things he wants to do. In fact, he has done all sorts of amazing things that most of us would never dream of doing!

You can download here the script.

Listening - National Gallery in London

National Gallery in London

Charles Saumarez-Smith is the director of the National Gallery in London. The gallery is home to one of the greatest collections of Western European paintings in the world.

You can download here the script.

Reading - Informal Letter

Hi Leo,

It's been a while since we wrote, so I thought I'd drop you a line to bring you up to date with what's been happening here.

I suppose the most important thing is that Jane's job is more secure than we thought. At the beginning of the year, when she got the job, we thought it might only be for one semester, but we just found that she has a permanent contract of sorts. Obviously this is great, as it means we can relax a little. I still don't have what I really want work wise, but it will happen soon. You have to stay positive, don't you?

My parents are both fine, and I think they are really happy that we've moved back. For us, it's great to be so close to family again, an extra sense of comfort and security. We see my sister quite often as she's in London, although we're not that bothered about going into the city.

So, what about you these days? Are you still stuck in that old job? Since I've been having so much trouble getting a job I understand your reluctance to change. There's nothing worse than filling in endless application forms, with no idea of what it will lead to.

Anyway, I've got another form to fill in so I'll love you and leave you.

Regards,

John

Writing about "describing your house or flat"

It would be interesting make a description about your real or imaginary house or flat.

Try to do it at home.

Reading Book - Cinderella Man

In the second term, I decided to read a book named "Cinderella Man" that tells the true story of an American boxing legend, James J. Braddock who fights against poverty and obscurity as hard as he does against his sporting opponents.

International Women's Day

One day, celebrate it will NOT be necessary, then we will be equals.

Grammar - "Usually" and "Used to"

We use frequency adverb "usually" and the verb "used to" to reference to an habit or a daily routine (actual or past).

• Usually, is used in the present (I usually...).
• Used to, is used to reference actions ended in the past (I used to...).

Next, we are going to see how they are grammatically used in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.

*Take care using "used to" in negative and interrogative sentences.

USE OF "USUALLY" & "USED TO"

1. Use of “Usually” in afirmative, negative and interrogative sentences

• Affirmative: I usually read at leat 3 hours a day.
• Negative: She doesn’t usually go out during the week.
• Interrogative: Does he usually do exercise?

2. Use of “Used to” in afirmative, negative and interrogative sentences

• Affirmative: I used to play basketaball when I was a teen.
• Negative: She didn’t use to drink when she was at university 18.
• Interrogative: Did you use to play the piano.

*NOTE: Have you ever seen written "didn't used to" or "Did you used to"?
It is possible, indeed in American English Language "used to" form is used in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences. However, this is not usual in British English Language.

(Source)

Vocabulary "Friendship"

Some vocabulary about "friendship":

• argue - discutir.
• close friend - amigos íntimos.
• colleage - compañero.
• get on very well - llevarse bien.
• have a lot in common - tener mucho en común.
• keep in touch - mantener el contacto.
• known - conocido.
• lost touch - perder contacto.
• meet - conocerse.

Typical questions in dialogues:

• How long have you known him/her?
• Where did you meet?
• Why do you get on well?
• What do you have in common?
• Do you ever argue? What about?
• How often do you see each other?
• How do you keep in touch the rest of the time?
• Have you ever lost touch? Why? When?
• Do you think you'll stay friends?

Here is a website which helps you to find out friends and lets you read what people you've lost touch with are doing now (Friends reunited).

Song "Our house"

Here is the song we have listened to today, its name is "Our house" and it was the British group Madness's biggest international hit.

And now, here you have the mp3 song to help you fill the gaps.

Solution: 1.ʎɐpunS 2.pǝɹıT 3.sɹıɐʇsuʍoD 4.ɹǝɥʇoɹB 5.sʎɐʍlA 6.ɯnM 7.ǝʇɐL 8.ʇɹıɥS 9.looɥɔS 10.ʎddɐH

Vocabulary - Houses

Here you have vocabulary about houses, first you have vocabulary about sorts of houses, and after, vocabulary about objects you can find in anyone's house ...

The House

• The House• The Garden/The Yard• Indoors• The Den• The Dining Room• The Kitchen• The Kitchen II• The Bedroom• The Bathroom• The Bathroom 2• The Utility Room

And here are another words to remember:

• airy - espacioso, aireado, ventilado
• area - zona, area.
• bother(to) - molestar.
• bothered - incomodo. molesto, enfadado, enojado.
• by the sea - cerca del mar.
• on the coast - en la costa.
• countryside - campo.
• domer / garret - buhardilla.
• domer window - ventana de buhardilla.
• golden - dorado.
• hi-tech flat - pisos que contienen elementos de alta tecnología (p.e. domótica).
• penthouse - ático.
• to run out of st - quedarse sin algo (p.e. run out of food).
• wooden - de madera.

And here you can find more interesting vocabulary.

Describing my room

Another video about describing, this time he is describing his room.

Describing my house

Describing my house - NB1 Elementary - EOI Getafe

Mercedes describes her house. Her English is very fluent!

Thanks for sharing! 

English at EOI Getafe

Practising the conditional forms

Today we have been practising the conditional forms, try to answer this questions:

"If you could live in another period of time for its fashion, when would you choose and why?"

"If you could come back in another life, who (or what) would you like to be?"

"If you could change one part of your body, what would it be?"

"What would you wear if you were invited on a date by someone you really liked?"

And we have revised the grammar bank on page 136 and vocabulary bank on page 151.

People talking about different topics

In TED Ideas worth spreading you have an incredible site where listen to 

people talking about different topics.

You can select subtitle's language and you can also select the talk you want 

filtering, for example, by topic or length. It's amazing!!

List of links for learning English on the Internet

In the following link you will find an useful and complete list of links for learning English on the Internet.

We haven't tested all of the links so some of them might be broke but, 
is sure that the site where you are in will be interesting.

Steady job/ Steady phone (Vocabulary)

"Lo único que tengo ahora es un trabajo estable"

steady job - trabajo estable

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steady phone - teléfono fijo