"It's a Beautiful Day" by Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé's song It's A Beautiful Day from the album To Be Loved.

QUESTIONS:

1. Is the singer..
1. happy because he's in love?
2. happy because he's going to enjoy his holidays?
3. happy because his girlfriend has left him?
2. What does "relieved" mean?
1. aburrido
2. aliviado
3. desesperado
3. How did the singer feel before, while he had a girlfriend?
1. relieved
2. happy
3. in a dream
4. caged

LANGUAGE:

• tear the seam of someone's dream - destroy one's wishes
• change your mind - get new ideas; change one's ideas
• hold your breath - control yourself
• my whole world shines - everything is positive
• there's no denying - it's certainly true; it is clear that
• might’ve had me caged  - maybe I was once held in prison
• take up - start

.........................................................................................................................................................
LYRICS - It's a beautiful day

I don’t know why

You think that you could hold me
When you couldn’t get by by yourself
And I don’t know who
Would ever want to tear the seam of someone’s dream
Baby, it’s fine, you said that we should just be friends
While I came up with that line and I’m sure
That it’s for the best
If you ever change your mind, don’t hold your breath

‘Cause you may not believe
That baby, I’m relieved
When you said goodbye, my whole world shines

Hey hey hey
It’s a beautiful day and I can’t stop myself from smiling
If we're drinking, then I’m buying
And I know there’s no denying
It’s a beautiful day, the sun is up, the music’s playing
And even if it started raining
You won’t hear this boy complaining
‘Cause I’m glad that you’re the one that got away
It’s a beautiful day

It’s my turn to fly, so girls, get in line
‘Cause I’m easy, no playing this guy like a fool
Now I’m alright
Might’ve had me caged before, but not tonight

‘Cause you may not believe
That baby, I’m relieved
This fire inside, it burns too bright
I don’t want to say “so long”, I just want to say “goodbye”

It’s a beautiful day and I can’t stop myself from smiling
If we're drinking, then I’m buying
And I know there’s no denying
It’s a beautiful day, the sun is up, the music’s playing
And even if it started raining
You won’t hear this boy complaining
‘Cause I’m glad that you’re the one who got away

‘Cause if you ever think I’ll take up
My time with thinking of our break-up
Then, you’ve got another thing coming your way
‘Cause it’s a beautiful day
Beautiful day
Oh, baby, any day that you’re gone away
It’s a beautiful day


More songs and activities for English as a Foreign Language students.

How to describe people

If you follow the indications in this sheet you will be able to describe most people. Remember that it is important not to change the position of adjectives. However you can omit any aspects that might seem irrelevant.

Describing people from Ana Arias Castro

Clothes from Ana Arias Castro

European Day of Languages 2014

The European Day of Languages is celebrated every year on the 26th of September. The European Commission has prepared some activities for schools to promote awareness of the richness of knowing several languages and being able to communicate with as many people as possible. This is part of our European cultural heritage.

This is the official site where you can find more information about this date.

And if you want to learn a lot more, the European Commission has elaborated a number of documents that highlight different aspects about multilingual diversity in Europe. Just have a look.

Here you are some interesting games and activities:

• Language Trivia
• Assess your language skills
• Language Facts
• Animal sounds in different European Languages
• Language Quiz
• Palindromes
• Longest words
• Tongue Twisters
• Idioms of the World

The United Kingdom and the British Isles

Reading Comprehension text: Internet access in the UK

TEXT

Original text by Greg Sterling Marketing Land

In a new global Mobile Media Consumption report, it is said that, outside the US and UK, mobile media time spent now exceeds TV. However in the US, TV is still first. The Mobile Media Consumption research  had aboout 14,000 respondents in 14 countries. 

In emerging and especially less affluent markets, the report also confirms that mobile media time exceeds the PC internet. That’s now also true in the US.

Also consistent with other data, it is said that 61 percent of mobile internet users are on their devices while watching TV. The  figures for the US market are even more pronounced: “84 percent of smartphone and tablet owners say they use their devices as second-screens while watching TV at the same time.”

According to this research this second screening is dominated by social activity, including social networking and texting.

Outside the US and UK smartphones are preferred for conducting most types of internet activities except for “shopping,” which in the report includes all purchases, banking and travel.

The report also finds that globally people are going online primarily via mobile or spending the same internet time using the mobile and the PC. Those who go online “mostly via computer” are now a small minority:

• Mostly via Desktop — 11 percent

• Evenly split between both mobile and PC — 28 percent

• Mostly via mobile — 37 percent

• Only via mobile — 23 percent

More significantly, outside the US and UK markets, the report says that mobile media now have a greater influence on shopping decisions than TV. TV was second followed by the PC internet.

The final portion of the report is about mobile commerce, with the assertion (excluding the US and UK) that “83 percent of consumers plan to conduct mobile commerce in the next 12 months, a 15 percent increase from where we are today.”

So, in general, mobile internet time is now greater than PC internet time. Many audience segments prefer mobile to PC internet access and mobile commerce is growing.

adapted from http://marketingland.com/outside-us-60-percent-internet-access-mostly-mobile-74498

QUESTIONS:

1. Do people spend more time watching TV or using their smartphones? Is it the same everywhere?
2. Look at the first infographic. What does "the media" mean?
3. What is a "device"?
4. Where do more people watch TV and use their smartphones at the same time?
5. What is "second screening"?
6. What type of smartphone use is made while watching TV? reading books, shopping, social-media, writing emails...?
7. Are mobile media relevant for shopping decisions?
8. Do many people plan to buy goods via internet in the next 12 months? Is that your case?
9. Finally, how has internet changed our life?

PRINTABLE VERSION

ESO-3 unit 1: GEOGRAPHY TOOLS

These are the resources and links that we have for this CLIL unit.

UNIT 1 - Geography tools

- Google Earth

- Google Maps

- Glossary

- Revision test

- Match these definitions

- Crosswords

- Gap-fill exercise

- audio 1

- audio 2

- audio 3

- audio 4

Unit 1 glossary from Ana Arias Castro

How to spell numbers

These exercises will help you practise spelling and writing numbers:

• spelling numbers 0-19
• spelling numbers 1-99
• numbers 1-12
• numbers 10-20
• numbers 10-90

Scotland and the United Kingdom for CLIL students

HISTORY

map from the BBCwebsite

1. 1603 - Elizabeth I, England's virgin queen, died childless and her heir was James VI of Scotland. He moved his court to London.
2. 1605 - Some Catholic men tried to murder the King and blow up the Parliament because they feared their religion was threatened by this Protestant king. Guy Fawkes and the rest of the conspirers were executed. Nowadays Guy Fawkes night is celebrated with bonfires all over Britain.
3. 1650 - The limits to Scotland's freedom, and its ability to lord it over its southern neighbour, were radically re-defined during the period of religious ferment thrown up by the English Civil War. Oliver Cronwell became a very powerful man. Eventually, Charles I was executed and many Scots backed his son Charles II but they were defeated by Cromwell's forces at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650. The age of the Stuart kings was dead and buried. The puritan Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland had arrived.
4. 1707 - Scotland's century of semi-detachment, sharing a monarch but chaving its own parliament, came to an end in a period of poor harvests. A union of the Scottish and English Parliaments was reached and power moved to Westminster, in London.
5. 1745 - Many Scots missed their independence and these Jacobites tried to restore the Stuart Monarchy but they were beaten.
6. 1797 - Curing the Enlightenment period there were many prominent Scottish intellectuals such as Adam Smith, David Hume and James Hutton.
7. 1820 - There was social struggle over economic hardship, led by Andrew Hardie and John Baird but they were executed and the rising was over.
8. 1885 - The post of Secretary of Scotland was re-established and the Scottish Office was created to administer central government functions in Scotland. Scotland had its own identity, recognised by the state, but firmly part of the United Kingdom.
9. 1922 - Culture was meant to create a Scottish identity and there was a revival of Scottish literature. Hugh MacDiarmid became, in 1928, a founding member of the National Party of Scotland, the forerunner of the present Scottish National Party.
10. 1979 - The idea of getting higher levels of independence from the Union led many to think of a referendum on devolution.
11. 1997 - Tony Blair's Labour Party let the Scottish electorate decide on having their own parliament. Two years later, the parliament was a reality. Scotland had its own distinctive voice within the United Kingdom.
12. 2011 - In 2011 under the proportional system used to elect members of the Scottish Parliament, the SNP won an overall majority.
13. 2014 - The Referendum to vote for or agains independence will take place on the 18th of September.

text adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-16649184

REASONS FOR AND AGAINST THE INDEPENDENCE

from http://www.independentscotland.org/content/voting-no-for-scottish-independence.htm
and http://www.independentscotland.org/content/voting-yes-for-scottish-independence.htm

MAIN SCOTTISH INVENTIONS

• criminal fingerprinting (1880, by Surgeon Dr Henry Faulds)
• fax machine (1843 to 1846, by Alexander Bain)
• flushing toilet (1775, by Alexander Cumming)
• golf (1672)
• penicillin (1928, by Alexander Fleming)
• radar (1892, by Sir Robert Watson-Watt)
• raincoats (1824, by Charles Macintosh)
• telephone (1876, by Alexander Graham Bell)

read more at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11016527/Scottish-independence-what-did-Scotland-ever-bring-to-the-world.html

FOLLOW THE REFERENDUM AT THE BBC NEWS WEBSITE

Writing topics for ESO-4

Here you are some advice to help you write your essays for EFL classes:

Eso 4 how to write an essay from Ana Arias Castro

and you can choose your topics from this list:

Essay topics eso 4 from Ana Arias Castro

Writing topics for ESO-3

Here you are some advice to help you write your essays for EFL classes:

Eso 3 how to write an essay from Ana Arias Castro

and you can choose your topics from this list

Essay topics eso 3 from Ana Arias Castro

First class

This presentation contains the main ideas for the first class of the year:

First efl class from Ana Arias Castro

These other sheets will also be useful for this year:

Graded readers sheet 2014-2015 from Ana Arias Castro

Pp3 0-summary of tenses from Ana Arias Castro

Newspaper headlines

Newspaper headlines are usually written as incomplete sentences as they have to be short, so they are often difficult to understand. These are some of the conventions used:

• There is often no verb:
• Unexpected Visit (=There Has Been An Unexpected Visit)
• Three, four, or more words are linked together. Reading backwards -starting at the end- can help you:
• Furniture Factory Pay Cut Row (=There has been a row -disagreement- in a furniture factory over pay cuts)
• Some verb changes are commonly used:
• Simple tenses insted of continuous or perfect forms
• Forgotten Brother Appears (=A forgotten brother has appeared)
• Opposition Backs PM (=The opposition supports the Prime Minister)
• The infinitive refers to the future:
• PM To Visit Australia (=The Prime Minister is Going to Visit Australia)
• Auxiliary verbs are dropped in the passive form:
• Man Killed In Accicent (=A man has been killed in an accident)
• No articles
• President Declares Celebration (=The President has declared a celebration)
• Terror Alert In The Capital (=There has been a terror alert in the capital)
• Vocabulary. Short words are preferred, even if they are not commonly used anywhere else:
• ACT: take action
• AID (noun): military or financial help
• AID (verb): help
• ALLEDGE: make an accusation
• APPEAR: appear in court accused of a crime
• AXE (noun): abolition
• AXE (verb) abolish; close down
• BACK: support
• BAN: forbid
• BAR: refuse
• BID: attempt
• BLAST: explosion; criticise violently
• BLAZE: fire
• BLOW: bad news
• BOND: association
• BOOM: big increase
• BOOST: encourage
• CALL FOR: demand
• CAMPAIGN: organized effort
• CLAIM: make a statement that something is true
• CLASH: quarrel; fight
• CURB: restrict
• DRAMA: incident
• DUMP:dismiss
• EMBRACE: meet; agree to
• FEAR(S): worry; concern
• FEUD: quarrel
• FURY: anger
• GRAB:confiscate; steal
• HIT: affect
• HURDLE: difficulty; obstacle
• KEY: answer; solution
• OPT FOR: choose
• OUST: replace
• OUTRAGE: anger
• PLAN: proposal
• PLEA: request
• PLEDGE: promise
• PROBE: investigate
• PURGE: control
• PUSH FOR: ask for; insist on
• QUIT: leave; resign
• QUIZ: question
• RAP: criticize; reprove
• RAID: attack
• RIDDLE: mystery
• ROW: disagreement
• SOAP (OPERA): TV series
• SET TO: ready to
• SEX ROMP: sex affair
• SHAKE UP: reform
• SHUN: avoid
• SINK: destroy; eliminate
• SLAM: criticise
• SNAG: criticise
• SNUB: difficulty; problem
• SOAR: increase; rise
• SPLIT: division; separation
• STORM: attack; anger
• SWOOP: raid
• THREAT: possibility
• TURMOIL: controversy; chaoes
• VOW: promise
• WAR: rivalry
• WED: marry; get married
• WOES: problems

Read more:

• http://abceda.com/headline.html
• http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/rareer/contact/courses/media-writing/news-headlines
• http://www.slideshare.net/Elenag77/the-language-of-headlines
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlinese

The most interesting websites for learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

BBC Learning English

• News in levels will help you read news in English at your own level. Once you've understood it you might try a higher level, or the other way round, try the most difficult level and then an easier one.
• Activities for Esl/EFL students offers a wide range of activities, particularly quizzes, which are always fun.
• Isabel Pérez is probably one of the most interesting Spanish websites. You'll find all sorts of grammar and vocabulary exercises but also interesting texts on a variety of topics. It is also a good website for ESL teachers.
• Lyrics Training will let you listen to your favourite songs and learn English at the same time. Our former assistant, Sam, recommended it.
• Five minute English has short articles on different topics that will be useful for language learners, such as the difference between hear and listen to.
• ESL America has lots of activities with audio files so that you can focus on difficult aspects of pronunciation.
• Audio-Lingua has a large selection of mp3 files for learners of many European languages. You'll find files from A1 to C2 levels. Many of them are in English.
• BBC Learning English website has lots of different sections where you can find texts, audio files and activities designed for foreign students of English.
• Duolingo is a great website if you want to learn English (French, German or Portuguese) on your own. It uses translation and dictation as its main activities. It can be useful particularly if you want to reinforce what you have learnt in class. You can register using your Facebook or Google account.
• Newspapers in English. Here you'll find lots of online newspapers to read in English:
• from Spain
• from England A-K
• from England L-Z
• from Ireland
• from other European countries

If you know any other interesting websites that we haven't mentioned, just leave a comment so that we can also include it.  Thanks for your help.

Interesting websites for CLIL history classes

Charlemagne 

This is a selection of interesting websites for Spanish CLIL students of social studies (ciencias sociais) in English.

General
http://www.isabelperez.com/clil/clicl_m_6.htm
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

ESO-4: History
http://www.khanacademy.org/#history
http://www.historylastra.blogspot.com.es/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
www.SchoolHistory.co.uk
www.artyclopedia.com
http://worldhistory.mrdonn.org/index.html
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/World_History

Interesting CLIL websites for geography

This is a selection of interesting websites for Spanish CLIL students of social studies (ciencias sociais) in English.

General
http://www.isabelperez.com/clil/clicl_m_6.htm
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

ESO-3: Geography
www.europa.eu.int/abc/12lessons/index _en.htm
http://www.ieslamadraza.com/elena/websociales/geography3eso/indexgeography3.htm
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
http://clilmodulegeography.blogspot.com.es/
http://countries.mrdonn.org/index.html
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/
http://europa.eu/index_en.htm

The Booming Twenties

This is the presentation that we have made for our ESO-4 CLIL history classes:

Unit 11 - The Booming Twenties from Ana Arias Castro

You'll find more CLIL resources for history classes in this page in our blog.

Social studies CLIL resources for 3º and 4º ESO

These resources that we have been elaborating and revising for the last decade have been designed to meet the requirements of the 3º and 4º ESO Spanish syllabus.

We hope you find them useful:

• 3º ESO - geography
• 4º ESO - history