Bill Gates (Upper-Intermediate)

Who doesn't know Bill Gates?
Click here and listen to this piece of news.
You should listen to it to get a general understanding.
Later, try to complete the gaps you find below (see the glossary and the key in the article itself):
1. According to the article, Bill gates ______ _______ of the future and decided to work on computers.
2. After he ________ ______ of school, he moved to Mexico.
3. Today, he's the youngest __________ billionaire
4. Although he's in his 50s, he still has ______ _______
5. Today, he's focused on his _________ _________
6. For him, being rich also means ________ ________

Tackling Technophobia (Advanced)

Listen to Ida Harris talking about the Older Adults Technology Services Office (OATS) in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

She explains her original fear of computers and how she is competent enough now to play a significant role on OATS’ Senior Planet website.

This is a good example that shows technophobes they can overcome their fears of IT.

Are you addicted to TV? (intermediate)

Are you sure you are not a TV addict?
Would you like to take a quiz and see the results to ckeck to what extent you are right?
Click here and follow instructions. Write down any new word you find in the quiz that you didn't know before (we can see them in class).
Now, have a look at the picture on the right. If you found this picture in the oral exam and you had to talk about it for two minutes, what would you say about it? What other ideas and topics could arise from the picture?

FAIRY TALES (intermediate)

And here it is...
Watch 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' as being told by the 20.30 group.
Hope you have fun.

OOOps! Group 19.00 is here too!
The same background music, the same fairy tale, but different speakers!

FAIRY TALES (INTERMEDIATE)

When you were a child, which was your favourite fairy tale? Why?
Can you remember 'Goldilocks and the three Bears'.
Click here to watch it and complete the script with the missing words.

After you listened to it, work with your classmate and decide what the moral of this story is.

For a more challenging activity, search 'storytelling' in this blog and listen to a Native American story that explains why rabbits lost their tail!

And...
How good are you at reading stories? Let's check...
Let's try to dub the story altogether!

MARTIX AND HALLOWEEN (pre-intermediate)

How much do you know about Halloween?

Read the questions and choose the one you think is the best answer. You'll be playing in pairs, so this is a kind of competition between you both!

Good luck ! Click here to try the quiz.

THE SIMPSONS PERSONALITY TEST (upper-Intermediate)

If you want to find out who you bear some resemblance with, in the Simpsons family, just click in the link provided below.

Can you understand every word you find in this curious and unusual personality test? Which Simpson are you most like? Do you agree?

Click here to start doing it.

JOBS (INTERMEDIATE)

Try to do this exercise for some listening practice.

Just follow the instructions:

First, listen to the recordings one by one and match them with one of the six pictures you'll find.

Later, you can listen to the six recordings again while you read them, so that you can check pronunciation and learn new vocabulary connected to this topic.

Are you ready? Click here

WELCOME (YEAR 2008-09)

I was once told the first day of class sets the tone for the rest of the term and I think that to get a good start, three important tasks should be done:

1st: giving information about the course

2nd: getting to know each other, trying to create an open friendly classroom environment. Do you think we will be able to create a participative and communicative group altogether for the rest of the year?

3rd: setting course expectations and standards. I'd like to know what you expect from the course. As for me, I would like to stimulate your curiosity about topics that will be covered during the term and to have fun while learning a lot (both things can go hand in hand!)
What about you? I would like you to list the goals you hope to achieve by taking this course. List, for example, three to five goals about knowledge, skills, interests, methodology, or attitudes... and we can discuss about them next day in class!

Let's see if after knowing all these things and working hard, we can get cloud nine with our English!

SAYING GOODBYE

That's it!... We've just finished!... Time goes by really fast, doesn't it?
And Martix wants to say goodbye as well... Listen to her message.



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Below, you will find a picture: the 4th year group. All of us made an effort and chose English, rather than a siesta!

MAKING THE VOICE-OVER

Some students from the 4th year group created the voice-over of a TV commercial: they were supposed to be the narrators or characters in the advert. They did two versions: a positive and a negative one.
It took very little time and I think that everybody had fun when doing it... so here's the result.

See version one:



See version two:




In case you are curious and you want to know what the original advert was like, click below, where you'll find the commercial we worked with:

Theodora Foundation (Clown Doctors)

I am sure that everybody has sometimes heard of clown doctors, but actually... how many of you met one?
This year, there is a clown doctor with us (with the pre-intermediate group). Her name is Sabela Amado Rojo and we interviewed her so that we could learn a lot about her unusual job.
She's working for Theodora Foundation, a Swiss organisation that brings fun and laughter to children in hospital. If you want to learn more about Theodora (their objectives, history, hospitals, staff and clowns, etc.), click here.
If you want to listen to the interview, which was done at the school, click below or go to the school website here.



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HELP WITH GRAMMAR (REVISION - Pre-Intermediate)

Click here to revise the grammar section about enough / too much / too many.
Click here to revise comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs.
Click here and here to revise 'going to' and other future forms
Click here if you need to revise -ing or infinitive after some verbs.
Click here and here if you need to revise connectors
Click here to revise past simple pronunciation
Click here to revise past simple and present perfect
Click here to revise quantifiers / quantities. This exercise may be a little difficult, though.
Click here to revise still / yet / already
Click here to revise -ed / -ing adjectives
Click here to revise 'So do I', 'So have I', etc
Click here and here to revise word order

FLIRTING SUCCESS (UPPER-INTERMEDIATE)

What do you think of pick-up lines? Are chat up lines a good form of flattery? If someone approaches you, would you ever use any of the lines below? or... do you think a big smile is enough to show you are genuinely interested in someone?

- Do you believe in love at first sight? Or do I have to walk by again?
- Do you have a map? Because I keep getting lost in your eyes
- Was your father a thief? ‘cause someone stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes
- When they made the alphabet, they should have put U and I together
- Can I take your picture? - Why? - Because I want Santa to know exactly what I want for Xmas
- You must be Jamaican, because Jamaican me crazy
- Is your name Gilette? ‘cuz ur the best a man can get
- I must be lost. I thought paradise was further south
- Excuse me, but I think I dropped something! MY JAW!!!
- Did it hurt? - Did what hurt? - When you fell out of heaven…

Below, you can watch a video where you will be given some tips in order to be the best flirt in town. Predict what you will find.

After you watch it...: What are the best flirting tips for success? Is it necessary to be devastatingly attractive or rich? Honesty? Self-confidence? A good smile? Boost the other's ego? Do you agree with all these pieces of advice? Are they any good?

STUPID GIRLS (Advanced)

Have you ever heard 'Stupid Girls' by Pink? Pink is considered an anti-pop star and she is as outspoken as ever in this video clip, where she's setting her sights on the ridiculous antics of Hollywood females. Apparently, she's featuring other stars like Cher, Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Carmen Electra, Pamela Anderson or Lindsay Lohan.
Watch this video and try to form an opinion about it yourself. The questions you will find below may help you...




Questions:
What issues are being criticised in the video clip? Why do you think it's been so controversial?
What celebrities is she making fun of? Why? In what scenes?
After the release of the video, Pink got a thank you letter from the National Eating Disorders Association. Why do you think she received it?
What's the role of the girl at the beginning and end of the video clip?

Click here if you want to read the lirics in English and here if you want to see a translation of the lyrics into Spanish.

PLANNING A TRIP (Pre-intermediate)

I've seen that some of you had lots of problems when listening to the video about hotel desk clerks...so, if you found that one too challenging, try with this new one.
It's much easier, and with it, you can revise superlatives and some vocabulary we saw in class about how to plan a trip before going on holidays.

HOTEL DESK CLERKS (Intermediate and above)

Listen to Martix and follow the guidelines she's giving you.
Take notes and be ready to comment on them next day in class...



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MARTIX (INTERMEDIATE)

I would like to introduce you to a close friend of mine. Her name's Martix. Why don't you listen to her and follow her instructions?
She would like to play a guess game with you all. Post every question you want to ask her and she will answer asap until you get it right.



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TIPS FOR PHONE CONVERSATIONS (Intermediate)

Listen to this guy in these two videos. Can you tell me what he is advising us to do and not to do? In the first video, he mentions his website, where you can see an actual example of what he is trying to show. Click here for a quick access to it. You might find some vocabulary you don't know like 'weapon', 'whole', 'long-term', 'confidence' or 'sarcasm.'
About the second video, some of the words are the following: spice up, set up a date, come up, plain, crack up, flirtatious, accomplish.
It might be the first time you hear some of these words but try to get their meaning by listening to the videos first, before looking them up. If you see them in a context, you will understand.
Do you agree with him? Are they good pieces of advice? Be ready to comment this in class next day or... post a comment here!

CYBERBULLYING (Advanced)

Cyberbullying is the aggressive behaviour at someone, repeated over time, through text or images posted on personal websites or transmitted via email or cell phones. It's just another tool for the person who bullies in the playground.
Unfortunately, I think this has become a very common practice among teenagers. The internet has a lot of positive things, but its anonymity tempts people to do things they would never do face to face.
Some people think it is just a fun game... but after watching this video, you will see how it can make your life change completely. What do you think this girl's life is like now? What has happened to her? How does she feel?
And... the most important thing: How do you think we can stop bullying?

A FUNNY NEWS PROGRAMME (Intermediate)

Can you remember the news programme we did in class not long ago? Here it is.
I hope you like it. This is the proof English can also be fun.
In case you have some problems when trying to listen to it, you can also try at the school's website: http://www.eoiferrol.org/



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ENGLISH ACCENTS (Advanced)

Many students are concerned about reducing their accents, but how much reduction is possible? I always tell my students that eliminating a foreign accent is really impossible because, to be honest, all native speakers have accents. So instead, the goal should be to reduce your accent. One way is to learn how to do word reductions (remember the 'schwa''?) like, "I wanna go ta tha party taday."
Of course, you have to make sure you know under what situations reducing is desirable, but you should at least become aware of this.
With this in mind, I posted some videos to provide a resource for students to check how different accents can become even within the same country.
Below, you will watch different videos from the same person, a native British speaker, saying exactly the same things but using different accents. You will find more samples from him on youtube. I've just selected a few of them for you.
It goes like this:
1. RP pronunciation (the one you'll find easier to understand), 2. Cockney (accent in some areas in London), 3.Irish, 4. Scottish (notice the pronunciation of the 'r'), 5. Aussie (from Australia), 6. South African, 7. Manchester

In all these videos he talks about a gig (concert) he went to, and he mentions some films where you will find those accents.

ENGLISH ACROSS THE GLOBE (Advanced)

Do you think everybody should learn English because it is a global language that fosters mutual respect? How can we help some people who do not have access to learning tools then?
Watch this video and see the programme that the British Council is interested in developing around the world. What do you think of it? Do you think it's a nice idea? Do you think it is not feasible at all?
Try to get the answers to the following questions, and check your answers here

What does football have to do with English?
What will happen by 2020?
What's the new gift to the world he's involved in?
Why is he going to China and India?
What will the British Council do with partners from both public and private centres? What for?
How many teachers will the British Council programme train in India over the next 5 years?

CARING FOR CHILDREN (ADVANCED)

This really short video is about the early stages of development in children. It is about how to understand children, and especially how to meet our children's needs at each stage. After listening to it, you should understand what children are like from birth to 12 months, when they are two years old, and from 2 to 3 years old. What are the differences?

If you have children... have you noticed clearly different developmental steps in them? Watch and listen to this so that you can check and see if what this expert is saying is right.

PREDICTIONS IN THE 1930s

What do you think life will be like in 2050? Do you think it will be completely different from today? What aspects in life do you think that will change? Fashion? Technology? Teaching and language learning? And do you think those changes will be positive for us?
Here you are a video I found, which dates back to the 1930s and where some fashion designers make predictions for the year 2000!!! Watch it and pay attention to what they thought fashion would be like today! Astonishingly, they were right in some of their predictions, but I suppose at that time those ideas looked a little bit wild and crazy, or even somewhat hair-raising for some people!
As always, try to answer these questions and correct yourself here:

What were some fashion designers asked to do?
What is the first idea that is mentioned?
What will the dress of the future consist of?
What did some of them think that would disappear?
What's an electric belt for?
What will the future bride wear?
What is an electric headlight for?
What will men's outfit include?

GLOBAL WARMING (Advanced)

Since I saw one of the most voted videos in this blog in 2007 was that one about the 'Inconvenient Truth', I decided to include this one about climate change and global warming.
As always, try to get the answers to the following questions and click here to correct them.

What distinction should we understand first?
What does the green line represent in the graph?
What happens at the end of the 20th century that shocks them?
What does the yellow line represent?

CALIFORNIA (ADVANCED)

Have a try at listening to this video and see if you can answer the following questions:
What has just happened to her? Why?
What did she have to do in her job?
What is she going to do now? Why?
Is this her first time in California? Explain
Go here to check your answers.

RADIO EOI (for everybody)

Good news for everybody! Since Christmas, the EOI Ferrol has released some radio programmes! Listen now to some of them. If you click on POSTS, you'll see what the programmes are about. Chapter 1 and 2 are interviews: we interviewed a British R.A.F. (Royal Army Force) member last year at the school. It's very interesting and very easy to follow as well. He's lived everywhere in the world and chose Ares for his retirement... Really nice! Anyway, have a try at listening to all of them and have fun! Would you like to be on the radio as well? Ok, we'll arrange something.


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Health (Advanced)

Here you are some linkings you can visit to get some practice with vocabulary concerning health.
This one is for a crossword. Try to do it following the clues below it. Click here.
If you need an easier version for the crossword, click here. In this case, you will find some help because you'll be given some of the letters you need.
Next one, if you click here, you'll have an 'odd one out' activity. Can you deduce which one is odd in every line?
When you finish, here you are the key of the crossword

7 Wonders of the World (ADVANCED)

07.07.07 was the date of the Declaration Ceremony, held in Lisbon.
People had to nominate for the new 7 wonders of the world before that date, choosing from a wide variety of palaces, buildings, castles and statues in the world that they thought represented global heritage throughout history.
The following candidates were elected: Chichen Itza (Mexico), Christ Redeemer (Brazil), Colosseum (Italy), Taj Mahal (India), the Great Wall of China, Petra (Jordan), and Machu Picchu (Peru).
If you were to vote for one 7 wonder in the modern world, which one would you nominate for? Why? What does it represent for you?
Lots of different places are mentioned here in the recording below. Listen to it and try to understand what the speakers say about some of the buildings, e.g. Stonehenge, Hagia Soffia, Alhambra, Machu Picchu, Timbuktu...
What's the official website the girl says we had to go to in order to vote?
PLease, write your comments about these things!!!! PLZ!!!


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Small Town Girl (INTERMEDIATE)

So... back to work, then.
I hope you've had very good holidays and lots of fun... but it's time we started working again! Didn't you miss English classes a lot? OOoops. Yeah, probably not much...
Anyway, next topic in class for the Intermediate group has to do with different types of dwelling and I found a very interesting website with an MP3 file to listen to. It is about a girl from Canada talking about her hometown. The whole recording is divided into different segments, so if you can't understand a part of it, you can restart that very segment and listen to it again. Follow the instructions and answer the questions in the quiz. If you need help, go to the transcript.
Click here to start listening to it