In other autonomous regions the EOIs websites also have samples of test. Check out the following link of EOI Catalunya where you can find some tests to do online as further practice for your 2NA test in June.

listening test       Reading test  

If you enjoyed the movie scene from “Bend it like Beckham” that we saw the other day in class,maybe you will be interested in watching the whole movie. It’s not available in the library but I have found a website where you can watch it online. Click on the following link:

http://www.watch-movies-online.tv/movies/bend_it_like_beckham/

 In this website you can read people’s comments and if you want to send your opinion about the film. Send a comment to this blog and tell us what you thought about the movie.

If you are in first year Intermediate level, this is for you!

Food Vocabulary

Check out these  links to some websites where you can review food vocabulary. 

Vegetables and fruits.

http://pdictionary.com/english/flashcards.php?db=vegetables

Dried fruits and pulses.

http://mansioningles.com/vocabulario37.htm

Meat.

http://www.learn-english-esl-resources.com/2009/05/vocabulary-meat-fish-and-other-food.html

http://www.madridteacher.com/Activities/Files/images/food/meat-poultry-seafood-pictures-list-with-wma-files.htm

Dairy food.

http://www.madridteacher.com/Activities/Files/images/food/bakery-dairy-listening-activity.htm

More Food Vocabulary.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-food.htm

2NA students, do you remember the video clip we watched a few months ago about ” the best job in the world”? You can check out who has gotten it clicking on this link here.

Watch the video and read the news item        clicking here

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/99310/VIDEO-Briton-wins-Best-Job-In-The-World-on-tropical-island

Congratulations Pe for your Oscar award !

Watch the video and listen to Pe Cruz, speaking English quite fluently( despite being on the verge of a nervous breakdown!!!) but… yes!! she has made that pronunciation mistake that most Spanish people make and that your English teacher is always correcting! PARENTS!!!! and what about the “ed” /id/ in “fainted”!!

OH, Penelope ! we need to improve that pronunciation a tiny little bit!! now that an Oscar statuette has a place of honour on your shelves back home in Alcobendas!!

( She looked gorgeous, didn’t she???

We only have four months left to get ready to take the NA exam and, unfortunately, we lack any information about it so we have to” go to the trenches “and start practising all kinds of possible exercises.

I have come across some websites where there are exercises online to practise some of the skills. Let’s start with reading exercises that are part of the CAE exam ( level C1!!!). You are supposed to be a B2 Level!!! so the exam should not be as difficult as this!

But let’s fear the worst!

Go to this website and do some of the reading exercises. They provide the answers too!

CAE Reading part  

Go to the reading section and do all the different parts . There are four.

You can also check out the speaking part of the text where they explain what it is about and provide sample tests.

Check out this other website to do more tests. Listening and Use of English

Examples of the written exam

Here is a list of useful websites with CAE exans and First Cerificate sample tests.

My advice!!! Try to do a couple of exercises per week! If you want I can correct any writing essays you want to hand me as extra work.

Remember I am here to AAE you (assist you, advise you and encourage you) .

* Flo-Jo  All kinds of sample tests

* CAE writing class

*Flo-Jo. First Certificate Practice Tests

* Mansión del Inglés. Information and examples

The winter Solstice is approaching and so are the winter celebrations associated with Advent or Yuletide. Would you like to learn a little more about the traditions related to this time of the year? How are Christmas celebrated in UK? Do the three Wise Men make it all the way to the British Isles? Are nougat and marzipan mandatory  desserts  on the Christmas dinner table in Uk and Ireland? Advent is a time for social gatherings and for celebrating the birth of a New Year.

My best wishes to all of you for 2009!

‘Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!’ Christmas is the biggest festival in Britain and is celebrated on 25th December. The four weeks before Christmas are called Advent, and are traditionally celebrated in churches by lighting a candle each Sunday during Advent. Nowadays, many people in Britain are not very religious, but they still celebrate Christmas. But watch out - the preparations begin long before Advent. In fact, as early as September or October, you start to see signs that Christmas is on the way. The first places to tell us that we should be thinking about Christmas are the shops. People in Britain spend on average over £600 (around $1000) per person on Christmas every year, and the shops encourage people to spend more and more. Shops put up Christmas decorations and play cheesy Christmas songs or carols; and some shop workers wear Christmas hats. Some big shops on Regent Street and Oxford Street in London create wonderful displays in their windows with moving characters, falling snow, colourful lights and music. So what do people buy in preparation for Christmas? Well, Christmas decorations; Christmas cards to send to your friends and relatives; presents for your loved ones and wrapping paper to wrap them up with. And of course food! Apart from the special Christmas dinner of roast turkey or goose, people buy lots of chocolates, nuts and snacks for everyone to enjoy. But the children are the most excited that Christmas is coming. They start making lists of presents they would like, and give them to their parents, or send them to Santa Claus. In December, they can also open their Advent calendars. Advent calendars are a way of counting down to Christmas. They have a window to open for every day from 1st - 24th December (Christmas Eve). A basic Advent calendar has a Christmassy picture behind each window, but the children’s favourite is usually a chocolate Advent calendar, with a chocolate for every day of the month. It’s a great build-up to the overeating that goes on at Christmas! Vocabulary religious following a system of beliefs and practices relating to God watch out mind you; be prepared on the way approaching, drawing closer cheesy of cheap quality or bad in style carols traditional and/or religious songs that people sing at Christmas Christmas hats hats with pointy tips, usually red in colour and with some fur around them, traditionally worn at Christmas for fun wrapping paper decorated paper used to cover presents apart from here, in addition to Santa Claus the imaginary jolly old man with a white beard and a red suit who brings presents to children at Christmas Christmassy relating to Christmas and capturing/representing the jolly mood of the season build-up anticipation, increasing feeling as a high point (here, Christmas celebrations) approaches overeating eating too much Other interesting links: The whats and Whys of Christmas in UK. Reading comprehension. http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/index.html By the 13th of December, St Lucia’s day) ( por Santa lucía, la noche mengua y crece el día) I like to decorate the Christmas tree and to get in the Christmas mood, I always play some Christmas music. Do you have a favourite Christmas song? or a song that reminds you of winter? Here’s mine: Have yourself a merry little Christmas, sung by an endless list of singers from Frank Sinatra To ColdPlay…. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – lyrics Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light From now on, our troubles will be out of sightHave yourself a merry little Christmas, Make the Yule-tide gay, From now on,  our troubles will be miles away. Here we are as in olden days, Happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who are dear to us Gather near to us once more. Through the years  We all will be together, If the Fates allow Hang a shining star upon the highest bough. And have yourself A merry little Christmas now.

Click on the following links to find out more things about Christmas:

Read and listen from BBC Newswo081216.ram

I have created a new section for 2nd course NA so that you guys can find links resources, videos and interesting websites I come across.

As you can see I am using this blog as a mini-website for extraclass materials and resources, but I want to hear your suggestions about it too.

Remember that teachers also need to be encouraged from time to time! so let me know what you think about it!

It is 1963 and Doctor Martin Luther king is giving a speech before a huge crowd in     Washington        and he shares his dream:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Click on the following link to read and listen to the speech

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

and the dream has come true. We are witnessing a historical moment and I invite you to listen to the first African-American president of a new era. One day we will tell our grandchildren about wednesday 5th November 2008 and this particular speech. Read an extract of what Barack Obama says in his victory speech before thousands of supporters in Chicago, his hometown.

.

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell Yes,We can

Watch and read the victory speech if you click on the following link

http://www.multimedia-english.com/htm/videos/2008/programmes/obamas-victory-speech.htm

Time to visit the school library and pick up a book from the adapted reading section.

• Each book is classified according to topics( adventure, mystery, drama etc…) and it has a coloured sticker that marks its level of difficulty. Choose the appropriate level for 1º NI.

• Read the book and listen to it, if it comes with a CD.

• Use the Book Report Organizer  to take notes on the book you are writing about. You can download it if you click on the words in blue; there will be one availabe in class and you only have to copy it.

• Use the tips provided in the following website http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/hh/writeideas/articles/0,28372,634427,00.html

• Write your bookreport and hand it to the teacher.

• You have from November 2008 until the end of February 2009.

• Remember that reading is essential to fix grammatical structures and vocabulary!!