Javier’s English Corner

For the last couple of weeks I have been enjoying Amy Winehouse’s powerful music. I believe she has great songs which take me back to the golden era of soul music and I am afraid I will be sharing some of her songs with you all from time to time.

Before you listen to Tears Dry On Their Own, why don’t you read a little bit about her early life taken from Wikipedia?

Amy Winehouse was born in the Southgate area of Enfield, London to a Jewish family who share her love of jazz music. She was raised in a family of four: her father Mitchell (a taxi driver), her mother Janis (a pharmacist), and her older brother Alex. She grew up in the suburb of Southgate and attended Southgate School before leaving to go to Ashmole School. At age ten, Winehouse founded a short-lived rap group called Sweet ‘n’ Sour with childhood friend Juliette Ashby. She was trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School when she was twelve years old but was allegedly expelled at fourteen for “not applying herself” and for piercing her nose. With other children from the Sylvia Young School, she appeared in an episode of The Fast Show in 1997. She later attended the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon.

You can now listen to the song and read or print its lyrics below:

Last week, we started using our brand new computer lab at EOI Luarca and we couldn’t be happier about the whole thing. So far, we haven’t had any technical trouble (knock on wood!) and all of us teachers and students are enjoying the benefits of this technological upgrade for our school.

Every class has a weekly period to go to the lab and carry out the activities their teacher has prepared for them. Today, my 5th year class is going to watch a National Geographic video on Newgrange , one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, and then complete a series of statements about it with the right information.

If you would like to do this activity yourself, you can print the document below and then watch the video at the bottom of this post.

Hi! As you probably already know, my name is Alison Brick, and I’m the language and culture assistant for the language school and high school in Luarca. I hail from Syracuse, New York (U.S.A.) and I’m 23 years old. I recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where I studied Spanish and Art History. I also studied in Oviedo for 5 months during 2006. My interests include: long walks on the beach, traveling to new places, Grande Non-fat Caramel Macchiatos from Starbucks ©, not watching music videos, Syracuse University Basketball, my dogs Bella and Lucy, laughing every day, and having good times with great friends.

Go to ACTIVITY to access a listening comprehension activity or just watch the video below.