Studying Tips for your September Exams

by Francisco Javier Pulido - ITE

• Be organized: set a specific time for your daily work.
• Listen and watch as much authentic content as possible. Immerse yourself in the language you want to learn: TV, YouTube, songs and subtitled films will be helpful.
• Express yourself in English whenever you have the opportunity
• Practice makes perfect. Write in English and have your texts revised by a speaker of the language (i.e. your teacher)
• Your classmates. They can help you and you can help them.
• Internet is really helpful as you can find lots of texts, videos, newspapers or podcasts but don't rely on tools such as "Google translator-2 for good translations from your language into English.
• Take notes of the new words or expressions you've heard.
• Get interesting Apps related to English language learning in your Smartphone or computer.

Song "Another Day In Paradise" by Phil Collins

This 1989 song by Phil Collins will probably make you think twice about social inequalities in our society. Acccording to Wikipedia, it was Collins' seventh number one song in the USA.

Listen to the song and choose the righ word in this multiple choice activity.

LYRICS: ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE by Phil Collins

She calls out to the man on the street
"Sir, can you help me?
It's cold and I've nobody / nowhere / nothing to sleep,
Is there somewhere / anywhere / nowhere you can tell me?"

He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle / sing / dance as he crosses the street
Seems ashamed / happy / embarrassed to be there

Oh
Think twice

'Cause it's another day for you and me in paradise
Oh
Think twice
'Cause it's another day for you
You and me in paradise

(Think about it)

She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she's been crying
She's got  bees / holes / blisters on the soles of her feet
She can't walk but she's trying

Oh
Think twice
'Cause it's another day for you and me in paradise
Oh
Think twice
It's just another day for you
You and me in paradise

Just think about it

Oh lord!
Is there nothing more anybody can do?
Oh-oh whoa lord!
There must be something you can say

You can tell from the wrinkles / lines / scars on her face
You can see that she's been there
Probably been moved on from every place
Cause she didn't fit in there

Oh
Think twice
'Cause it's another day for you and me in paradise
Oh
Think twice
It's just another day for you
You and me in paradise (Another day in paradise, ooh)

Just think about it
Hmm-mmm
Think about it

It's just another day
For you and me
In paradise
It's just another day
For you and me
In paradise
(Para, paradise)

(Paradise) It's just another day
For you and me (Ooh-ooh)
(Just think about it) In paradise
(Paradise) It's just another day
For you and me
(Just think about it) In paradise
(Para, paradise)

(Ooh-ooh, in paradise) It's just another day
For you and me
(Hmm-mmm, paradise) In paradise
It's just another day (Paradise)
For you and me (Just another day)
(In paradise) In paradise
(Para, paradise)

NOW THINK:
Can you describe the woman in the song? And the man?
Have you ever felt like that?
Can you describe any social inequalities that may have made you feel embarrassed? Describe them.


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

ETwinning articles

These are the articles that have been published as part of our collaborative eTwinning online magazine:
MUSIC
-Music is the mirror of our soul (Lithuania)
-Present-day music in Poland and Spain (Spain)
-Traditional music (Spain)
RECYCLING
-How to help our planet to survive (Lithuania)
-Recycling in Lithuania (Lithuania)
-Questions about recycling (Poland)
-Recycling systems (Spain)
SPORT
-Interviews to sportsmen (Poland)
SCHOOL EVENTS
-Teacher's Day (Poland)
-Avant-garde fashion show (Lithuania)
-Our best PE teachers (Poland)
DIFFERENT BUT UNITED
-The influence of the internet (Lithuania)
-Different but United (Poland)
TRADITIONS AND HISTORY
-St. John's day in Lithuania (Lithuania)
FASHION
-Fashion (Lithuania)
-Fashion (These were...) (Spain)
-Shoes (Spain)
SURPRISE!!!
-Surprise (Poland)

Interview with Sarah Adams

Our "auxiliar de conversa", Sarah E. Adams, was interviewed by the students in the ESO-3 bilingual group:

WHAT JOBS DID YOU HAVE IN THE USA?
I've had a lot of jobs and my first one was at a grocery store, I worked there over two years and then, when I got to school I started working in a day care and when I came home for the summers I worked at a store called Bath and Body Works which sells cosmetic products and lotions and perfume and things like that. And I also worked in a movie theater selling concession and then I got a job teaching English as a second language part time at a language institute and then I was a full-time pre-school teacher before I came here and I think that's all.
ARE HOUSES IN THE USA AND SPAIN DIFFERENT?
Yes, very different. I know that houses are different in different parts of each country but at least between Galicia and Florida they're extremely different, All the houses you have made of stone and slate here, we don't have any houses like that, nobody makes houses of stone in Florida because it's so hot. They are all made out of very light materials... I don't know about the size because I actually haven't been in a house here, I have only been in apartments, but they're usually very open in Florida, they have outdoor patios in the back, which I haven't seen here. Yeah.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE?
In my opinion, I have always wanted to live somewhere near the beach, somewhere near the coast. Preferable where it is not too cold, where it doesn't rain too much, so probably I will try to live somewhere like Florida or California when I get older and buy a house and stuff like that.

WHAT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN SPAIN IN YOUR OPINION?
Well, unfortunately I haven't been lucky enough to see all of Spain yet and I don't know if I'll have time to, but of the places that I've been to I really like a Coruña as a city and I love the coast, and the lighthouse and the rocks and just the coastline was gorgeous and the color of the water is absolutely beautiful, so that's my favorite place so far.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF PEOPLE IN GALICIA?
I think everybody here is really nice. Everyone I've met I feel like could be my neighbor or something. I think it's because Lugo at least is a small town, but in general when I've travelled in Galicia everyone has sort of that same vibe from being from a small town or a familiar area so I find people to be very sweet and kind and caring, familiar. Very nice.

WHAT PLACE WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT IN THE FUTURE?
I basically would like to see the whole world if I could, oh, it's hard to make a short list. But I would really like to travel in Central and South America. I would like to see more of the US because I've only been to a few parts of it. I'd like to go to Australia, now that I've made friends from Austrailia. I want to see more of Italy, I'd like to see Germany, I wanna go to Portugal, around England. Lots of places in Europe. Yeah. I would go almost anywhere but I think I am least interested in travelling in Asia and Africa.

ESL Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick (Wikipedia)

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every 17th of March by the Irish and Irish origin people all over the world, particularly in the USA.

People usually celebrate it wearing something green, eating green food, drinking green drinks or using Irish symbols such as clover, Leprechauns, etc.
These are some videos about different aspects of St. Patrick's Day:

• The real story of St. Patrick's Day.
• Was St. Patrick Irish?
• History of St. Patrick's Day.
• St. Patrick's Day by the numbers.
• How to celebrate St. Patrick's Day like an Irishman.

New etwinning articles

Our latest articles for our eTwinning magazine and blog have already been published. You can have a look at them in our Voice of Europe blog:

ESO-3 activities about our world

Tiki the penguin is a website that contains interesting activities about our world, climate change, shopping habits, pollution, etc.

You'll certainly love it.

Songs for ESL classes

This new page in our blog contains all the songs that have been used in our classes and some others that we have talked about in them.

It will be updated as new songs are incorporated or mentioned.

ESL song "Always On My Mind"

As St. Valentine's Day is getting near you might like to listen to a love song.

"Always On My Mind" is a song that was made popular by Elvis Presley in 1972, but many other versions have also been popular.

• What is this song about? Choose the correct answer:

1. A man and a woman are in love.
2. The man remembers the time he was with a woman.
3. The man thinks about a woman he will love.
4. The man thinks his lover doesn't love him as much as he does.

• Complete the lyrics with the following words: blind, time, sweet, love, lonely.

Always On My Mind

Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should have
Maybe I didn't _____ you
Quite as often as I could have

Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the _____
You were Always on My Mind
You were Always on My Mind

Maybe I didn't hold you
All those _____, lonely times
And I guess I never told you
I'm so happy that you're mine

If I made you feel second best
Girl I'm sorry I was _____
You were Always on My Mind
You were Always on My Mind

Tell me
Tell me that your ______ love hasn't died
Give me
Give me one more chance to keep you satisfied
I'll keep you satisfied

You were Always on My Mind

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

ESL song Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

Vocabulary about love. 
Do you know what these expressions mean?

• break up
• need space
• miss
• love
• call off
• get back together

Lyrics
I remember when we broke up the first time 
seeing this is, and had enough, it's like 
We haven't seen each other in a month 
When you, said you, needed space, what? 
When you come around again and say 
Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change 
Trust me, remember how that lasted for a day 
I say, I hate you, we break up, you call me, I love you 

Oooh we called it off again last night 
But Oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you 

We are never ever ever ever getting back together 
You go talk to your friends talk 
And my friends talk to me 
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together 

Like ever... 

I'm really gonna miss you picking fights 
And me, falling for a screaming that I'm right 
And you, will hide away and find your piece of mine with some indie record that's much cooler than mine 

Oooh you called me up again tonight 
But Oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you 
We are never ever ever ever getting back together 
We are never ever ever ever getting back together 
You go talk to your friends talk 
And my friends talk to me 
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together 

I used to think, that we, were forever ever ever 
And I used to say never say never 
Huh, he calls me up and he's like, I still love you 
And i'm like, I mean, I mean this is exhausting, you know 
We are never getting back together, like ever 

We are never ever ever ever getting back together 
We are never ever ever ever getting back together 
You go talk to your friends talk 
And my friends talk to me 
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together 

Not getting back together, we 
Oh, getting back together 

You go talk to your friends talk 
And my friends talk to me 
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together.


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

ESO-3 Past continuous and past simple

If you need some more practice about how to use past continuous and past simple, you can use these websites:

• The Revision test for unit 4
• Past continuous tense: grammar and exercises from www.isabelperez.com
• Text to complete with past continuous verb forms - www.isabelperez.com 
• Text to complete with past continuous verb forms (The others) - www.isabelperez.com
• 
  

ESO-4 future tenses

We have just finished revising how to express plans and arrangements for the future using both future simple (will) and going to.
Do you need some extra help? Try these additional resources:

• will/going to revision test from our Aula Virtual.
• going to - from  www.isabelperez.com
• will future tense - from www.isabelperez.com

Poems and rhymes for Poetry Day

On the 21st of March we are going to celebrate the World Poetry Day and this year we are going to read some poems by Robert Frost that Sarah has selected for us.
Students in ESO-3 are going to recite Fire and Ice:

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

and those in ESO-4 have chosen The Road Not Taken:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I marked the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Session about Christmas in the US and Spain

Sarah has been telling us about different aspects of Christmas in the US and asked us about other aspects of Christmas in Spain.

So, in order to know more just read Sarah's page in this blog.

New Year's Resolutions

It's 2013 and a good way of starting the New Year is to make some New Year's Resolutions and try to keep them throughout the year.
Do you know which resolutions are the most popular? According to www.usa.gov the most popular ones are these:

• Drink Less Alcohol
• Eat Healthy Food
• Get a Better Education
• Get a Better Job
• Get Fit
• Lose Weight
• Manage Debt
• Manage Stress
• Quit Smoking
• Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• Save Money
• Take a Trip
• Volunteer to Help Others

 If you want to know more about resolutions you might also check these websites:

• http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/
• The  top 10 commonly broken resolutions
• Funny resolutions

How to write a school report

Are you sure you know hot to make a proper school report? If not, make sure you revise the presentation studied in class.

Christmas celebrations

Christmas time is here but it is different in other countries. English-speaking countries do celebrate the most important dates in the same way we do:

• 24th December - Christmas Eve
• 25th December - Christmas Day - families usually meet for dinner.
• 26th December - Boxing Day - it is celebrated in Britain. Children sing carols and ask for money from their neighbours.
• 31th December - New Year's Eve - People have dinner and attend parties with family and friends. Singing Auld Lang Syne and kissing at midnight is a tradition.
• 1st December - New Year's Day

picture by Jacob Windham (Wikipedia)

There are also some important Christmas elements that you may be familiar with:

• Santa Claus
• Christmas pudding
• candles
• Christmas tree
• holly
• Christmas cards
• ornaments
• presents
• Nativity scene or crib

Do you already know them?

ESO-4 Europass

Today we have been learning how to make our own Curriculum Vitae in English using the Europass website. Even though we have been using fake data, we have learnt to use the most important aspects of this interesting tool.

https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/editors/en/cv/compose

This page lets you write your CV in different European languages, download a pdf version or upload it at the Europass site.

ESO-4 subject and object questions

Most questions are object questions. They ask about an object.
Where do you live?
Who did you see? 

And there are also subject questions. Questions we ask to find out about the subject. These questions are asked using 'who', 'what' and 'which'.  
Who plays football in this class?
What happened?
Which machine did Marconi invent? 

You can take a look at the following chart of question forms:

Form	Examples
Object Questions wh- + auxiliary + subject + main verb	Where do you live? What will you do? When is she coming?
Subject Questions wh- (=subject) + auxiliary + main verb   Notice that this structure is like affirmative sentence structure without the question word.	Who loves you? Which car will arrive first? What type of food costs less?

Now, try this Hot Potatoes exercise and choose the correct question.

ESO-3 revision for your exam

This term our first exam paper will correspond to the first two units in our text book plus the additional activities carried out in other classes. So you have to revise:

• be
• have got
• present simple
• present continuous
• how to get personal information
• how to describe people



Happy Verby Gang-www.isabelperez.com

• how to compare people and things

If you want to revise all this you can use the following links:

• unit 1 revision exercise
• unit 2 revision exercise
• present simple girl (Isabel Pérez)
• present continuous Guy (Isabel Pérez)
• Rosie's family (present simple/present continuous -Isabel Pérez)
• comparatives sheet and exercise
• on/in/at sheet and exercise

Finally remember to revise last year's exam to get an idea of what you might expect this year.