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.

Choose your favourite eTwinning logo for "East or West, Home is Best"

LOGO 1:

LOGO 2: 

LOGO 3: 

LOGO 4: 

LOGO 5:

LOGO 6: 

LOGO 7: 

 LOGO 8: 

Compare and choose your favourite country

Test about Australia

How much do you know about Australia? Try this test: http://a4esl.org/q/h/9801/mg-australia.html

26th January - Australia Day

Australia from Ana Arias Castro

eTwinning session

These are this week's activities:

1. First log in at the Twinspace website
2. Finally, each team will create a quiz about another country. In this case, we will have to create a quizz about Poland so, go to Wikipedia  and you can go to Quiz Biz to create a quiz qith 20-25 questions. Please upload images to make it more professional.WRITE YOUR QUESTIONS HERE. Other interesting websites:
• Lonely Planet
• Tourism Poland
• Science Kids
• Slavorum: 25 interesting facts about Poland

England, the United Kingdom and Great Britain

How to write a good essay

Useful words for writing

Restaurant Menu

Today's eTwinning class

These are this week's activities:

1. First log in at the Twinspace website
2. Choose your favourite logo at the Logo Page and tell your teacher (and choose a second favourite)
3. Have a look at the Christmas page and you can write your comments about our Christmas at the forum thread.
4. Watch this video the Polish students have sent to us.
5. Finally, each team will create a quiz about another country. In this case, we will have to create a quizz about Poland so, go to Wikipedia  and you can go to Quiz Biz to create a quiz qith 20-25 questions. Please upload images to make it more professional.WRITE YOUR QUESTIONS HERE. Other interesting websites:
• Lonely Planet
• Tourism Poland
• Science Kids
• Slavorum: 25 interesting facts about Poland

Today's Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a US Federal Holiday. It commemorates civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. It is celebrated on the third Monday in January and is one of only four United States Federal holidays to honor an individual person.

BIOGRAPHY
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He led non-violent protests to fight for the rights of all people including African Americans. He hoped that America and the world could become a colorblind society where race would not impact a person's civil rights. He is considered one of the great orators of modern times, and his speeches still inspire many to this day. 

CHILDHOOD
 Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929. He went to Booker T. Washington High School. He was so smart that he skipped two grades in high school. He started his college education at Morehouse College at the young age of fifteen. After getting his degree in sociology from Morehouse, Martin got a divinity degree from Crozer Seminary and then got his doctor's degree in theology from Boston University. Martin's dad was a preacher which inspired Martin to pursue the ministry. He had a younger brother and an older sister. In 1953 he married Coretta Scott. Later, they would have four children including Yolanda, Martin, Dexter, and Bernice. 

CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
In his first major civil rights action, Martin Luther King, Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. As a result, Martin helped to organize a boycott of the public transportation system in Montgomery. The boycott lasted for over a year. It was very tense at times. Martin was arrested and his house was bombed. In the end, however, Martin prevailed and segregation on the Montgomery buses came to an end. 

'I HAVE A DREAM' SPEECH
In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to organize the famous "March on Washington". Over 250,000 people attended this march in an effort to show the importance of civil rights legislation. Some of the issues the march hoped to accomplish included an end to segregation in public schools, protection from police abuse, and to get laws passed that would prevent discrimination in employment. It was at this march where Martin gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech has become one of the most famous speeches in history. The March on Washington was a great success. The Civil Rights Act was passed a year later in 1964. 

ASSASSINATION
 Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4. 1968 in Memphis, TN. While standing on the balcony of his hotel, he was shot by James Earl Ray. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. Photo by Ducksters 

INTERESTING FACTS

• King was the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a national holiday. 
• At the Atlanta premier of the movie Gone with the Wind, Martin sang with his church choir. 
• There are over 730 streets in the United States named after Martin Luther King, Jr. 
• One of his main influences was Mohandas Gandhi who taught people to protest in a non-violent manner. 
• He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 
• The name on his original birth certificate is Michael King. This was a mistake, however. He was supposed to be named after his father who was named for Martin Luther, the leader of the Christian reformation movement. 
• He is often referred to by his initials MLK. 

Read more at: http://www.ducksters.com/biography/martin_luther_king_jr.php

Punctuation

Comparative and superlative adjectives

These next weeks we are going to study comparative and superlative structures in our classes.  This chart summarizes the main points that you have to keep in mind:

Eso 3 comparatives & superlatives from Ana Arias Castro

If you want to download the worksheet used in class, click here and if you want to check if you already know this grammar structure, you may try:

• Summary of grammar and exercise (the sheet at the top)
• more detailed grammar rules 
• exercise sheet
• this Hot Potatoes exercise.
• geography quizz
• crosswords from the BBC Learning English website
• English at home: grammar summary
• English at home: online exercise
• Englisch-hilfen comparatives 1
• Englisch-hilfen comparatives 2
• Englisch-hilfen superlatives 1
• Englisch-hilfen superlatives 2
• Englisch-hilfen as...as
• learnenglishfeelgood.com online exercise
• a selection of exercises from tolearnenglish.com
• basic comparatives: grammar and exercise from English at Home
• British Council: modifying comparatives
• Comparatives exercise (English at Home)
• Superlatives exercise (English at Home)

Now try comparing the pairs of elements in this presentation:

Comparison pairs from Ana Arias Castro

Comparison groups 2017 from Ana Arias Castro

Comparatives from Ana Arias Castro

Last exercise: Compare the people in this picture:

The year in English

At the restaurant

At the restaurant1-3-4 from Ana Arias Castro

Adverbs in the present perfect

Eso 3 adverbs in-present_prefect from Ana Arias Castro

Conditional Sentences in English

ZERO TYPE CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

MEANING& USE

The zero conditional is used to make statements about the real world, and often refers to general truths, such as scientific facts. In these sentences, the time is the present or always and the situation is real and possible.

• If you heat water, it boils.
• Water boils if you heat it.
• When you heat ice, it melts.
• Ice melts when you heat it.
• If it snows, the grass gets white.
• The grass gets white if it snows.
• When it rains, the grass gets wet.
• The grass gets wet when it rains.

FORM

We can make a zero conditional sentence with two present simple verbs (one in the 'if clause' and one in the 'main clause'):

If/when/unless + present simple, .... present simple.

EXERCISES

• Perfect English

1ST TYPE CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

MEANING & USE
The first conditional is also called the "real" conditional because it is used for real, or possible, situations. These situations take place if a certain condition is met.

In the first conditional we can salso use unless, which means "if... not". In other words, "... unless he hurries up" could also be written, "... if he doesn't hurry up."

1st type conditional sentence

• If it rains, we will stay at home.
• He will arrive late unless he hurries up.
• Sophie will buy a new car, if she gets her raise.

FORM
The first conditional is formed by the use of the present simple in the if clause followed by a comma and a future simple verb (will + infinitive) in the result clause. You can also put the result clause first without using a comma between the clauses.

• If he finishes on time, we will go to the movies.

OR

• We will go to the movies if he finishes on time.

EXERCISES

• exercise 1- Ego4you
• exercise 2- Ego4you
• exercise 3- Englisch Hilfen: statements
• exercise 4- Englisch Hilfen: negatives
• exercise 5- Englisch Hilfen: mixed
• exercise 6- Englisch Hilfen: mixed-two blanks
• exercise 7- ESL Partyland
• exercise 8- Isabel Pérez matching exercise
• exercise 9- English Exercises
• exercise 10- First English
• exercise 11- English Grammar
• exercise 12: Perfect English

This sheet contains a summary of first, second and third type conditional sentences.

2nd TYPE CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

MEANING

2nd type conditional sentence

The second conditional is used to talk about situations or actions in the present or future which are not likely to happen or are imaginary, hypothetical or impossible.

• If I were a rich woman, I would travel around the world. I think it is very unlikely that I will be rich. However, in this unlikely condition, I will travel around the world.
• If I weren't / wasn't watching TV now, I would be playing tennis. I am watching TV, but I am imagining an alternative activity I would be doing if I wasn't watching TV
• If you had a bigger dog, your house would be protected. You don't have a big dog, but I am imagining how protected you would be if you had one.
• If I were an alien, I would be able to travel around the universe. It is impossible for me to be an alien. However, I am imagining what I would do in this situation.
• We would go to Paris this summer if we passed all our subjects. That is our plan but, unfortunatelly,  we know we are not going to pass all our subjects.

FORM

If + past simple + conditional (would)

Conditional (would) + if + past simple

Verb be is usually were for all subjects; was (1st & 3rd person) is colloquial.

SONGS

If I were a rich man (Fiddler in the Roof-movie)

If today was your last day (Nickleback)

If I were a boy (Beyonce)

EXERCISES

- from Isabel Pérez

- Englisch-hilfen.de 1

- Englisch-hilfen.de 2

- Englisch-hilfen.de 3

- Englisch-hilfen.de 4

- Englisch-hilfen.de 5
- Perfect English Grammar

- Malted ESO-4 unit 7 (Gwineth and the Wizard)

FIRST AND SECOND TYPE CONDITIONALS

• Exercise 1: unit 5 in your text book
• Exercise 2: write the correct verb forms (1st & 2nd type conditionals)
• Exercise 3: Englisch Hilfen
• Exercise 4: Englisch Hilfen
• Exercise 5: Ego4you
• Exercise 6: Ego4you
• Exercise 7: Ego4you-with auxiliary verbs
• Exercise 8. First English
• Exercise 9: English for you
• Exercise 10: ESL lounge
• Exercise 11: Edu GE
• Exercise 12: Speak Speak
• Exercise 13: English exercises
• Exercise 14: English Area

3RD TYPE CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

MEANING

The first conditional and second conditionals tell us about the future. With the third conditional we refer to the past. We speak about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.

• If I had travelled to Italy I would have visited Luca. But I have not travelled to Italy and, therefore, I have not visited Luca.
• If you had got a good mark, would you have complained to the teacher? but your mark was bad, so we don't know for sure what you would have done.
• What would you have done if it had snowed last weekend? but it didn't snow.
• I wouldn't have called if I had known that she wasn't home. but I knew so I called

FORM

If + past perfect  // would have + past participle

Past participle // if + past perfect

EXERCISES

• Englisch Hilfen: statements 1
• Englisch Hilfen: negatives 1
• Englisch Hilfen: mixed
• Englisch Hilfen: mixed with negations
• Englisch Hilfen: easy conditionals
• Englisch Hilfen: medium conditionals

ALL TYPES OF CONDITIONALS

• All types- Englisch Hilfen
• All types 2 - Englisch Hilfen

Bac 1 conditional sentences from Ana Arias Castro

Epiphany Day

Epiphany is celebrated 12 days after Christmas on 6th January (or January 19th for some Orthodox Church who have Christmas on 7th January) and is the time when Christians remember the Wise Men, or Magi (also sometimes called the Three Kings) who visited Jesus.

Epiphany is also when some Churches remember when Jesus was Baptised, when he was about 30, and started to teach people about God. Epiphany means 'revelation' and both the visit of the Wise Men and his Baptism are important times when Jesus was 'revealed' to be very important.

Gran Vía, Madrid - image by Carlos Teixidor Cadenas

Some Churches celebrate use Epiphany to celebrate and remember both the visit of the Wise Men and Jesus's Baptism!

Epiphany is mainly celebrated by Catholics and Orthodox Christians. It's a big and important festival in Spain, where it's also known as 'The festival of the three Magic Kings' - 'Fiesta de Los tres Reyes Magos', and is when Spanish and some other Catholic children receive their presents - as they are delivered by the Three Kings!

Roscón de Reyes - image by Tamorlan

In Spain on Epiphany morning, or Día de Reyes you might go to the local bakers and buy a special cake/pastry called a 'Roscón de Reyes'. They are normally decorated with a paper crown. These are normally a figure of a king (if you find that you can wear the crown) and a dried bean (if you find that you're meant to pay for the cake!). In Catalonia it's known as a Tortell or Gâteau des Rois and is stuffed with marzipan.

In France you might eat a 'Galette des Rois', a type of flat almond cake. It has a toy crown cooked inside it and is decorated on top with a gold paper crown.

There are similar traditions in Mexico where Epiphany is known as 'El Dia de los Reyes' (the day of The Three Kings). It's traditional to eat a special cake called 'Rosca de Reyes' (Three Kings Cake). A figure of Baby Jesus is hidden inside the cake. Whoever has the baby Jesus in their piece of cake is the 'Godparent' of Jesus for that year.

In Italy, some children also get their presents on Epiphany. But they believe that an old lady called 'Befana' brings them. Children put stockings up by the fireplace for Befana to fill.

In Austria, at Epiphany, some people write a special sign in chalk over their front door. It's a reminder of the Wise Men that visited the baby Jesus. It's made from the year split in two with initials of the names that are sometimes given to 'the three wise men', Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, in the middle. So 2017 would be: 20*C*M*B*17. The sign is meant to protect the house for the coming year. Some parts of Germany also have the tradition of marking over doors. The 'Four Hills' Ski Jumping Tournament also finishes on 6th January in Bischofshofen, Austria.

At Epiphany in Belgium, children dress up as the three wise men and go from door to door to sing songs and people give them money or sweets, kind of like Trick or Treating on Halloween. Children in Poland also go out singing on Epiphany.

In Ireland, Epiphany is also called 'Nollaig na mBean' or Women's Christmas. Traditionally the women get the day off and men do the housework and cooking! It is becoming more popular and many Irish women now get together on the Sunday nearest Epiphany and have tea and cakes!

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (which celebrates Christmas on 7th January), twelve days after Christmas, on 19th January, the three day celebration of Ethiopians Timkat starts. This celebrates Jesus's baptism.

Epiphany Eve (also known as Twelfth Night) marks the end of the traditional Christmas celebrations and is the time when you were meant to take Christmas decorations down - although some people leave them up until Candlemas.

Information from http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/epiphany.shtml

The color thesaurus

from http://ingridsundberg.com/2014/02/04/the-color-thesaurus/

What are New Year's Resolutions?

A New Year's resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior.

Religious origins

• Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts
• The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.
• In the Medieval era, the knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry
• At watchnight services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions
• This tradition has many other religious parallels.

image from Wikipedia

Popular goals

• Improve physical well-being: eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, stop biting nails, get rid of old bad habits
• Improve mental well-being: think positive, laugh more often, enjoy life
• Improve finances: get out of debt, save money, make small investments
• Improve career: perform better at current job, get a better job, establish own business
• Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music), study often, read more books, improve talents
• Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, perhaps watch less television, play fewer sitting-down video games
• Take a trip
• Volunteer to help others, practice life skills, use civic virtue, give to charity, volunteer to work part-time in a charity organization
• Get along better with people, improve social skills, enhance social intelligence
• Make new friends
• Spend quality time with family members
• Settle down, get engaged/get married, have kids
• Pray more, be closer to God, be more spiritual
• Be more involved in sports or different activities
• Spend less time on social media (such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)

Success rate
The most common reason for participants failing their New Years' Resolutions was setting themselves unrealistic goals (35%), while 33% didn't keep track of their progress and a further 23% forgot about it. About one in 10 respondents claimed they made too many resolutions.

A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study's participants were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying "lose weight"), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year's_resolution