What do winter rainy days make you feel like?

How do weather conditions affect your mood? >>>> (Can weather affect your mood?)

Some articles to read about the issue:

• Don’t be Sad: how to beat seasonal affective disorder (The Guardian)

• Could I have Sad or is winter just making me miserable? (The Guardian)

• Does sunshine make us happier? (BBC)

• The weird ways the weather makes you buy things you didn’t plan to (The Washington Post)

Word formation: Tell me all the adjectives you can think of connected with the verb TO SLEEP

Listening exercise to do: 'When do you feel sleepy?' (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

English with Lucy >>  PRONUNCIATION

 PRONUNCIATION >>    English Pronunciation Training | Imitation Technique | Tongue Twisters - /l/ /r/ /s/ /ʃ/ /θ/  

 English at university: Lost property (episode 14)

LINGOHACK  >>>

Episode 161214 / 14 December 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: a testament, lived rough, sanctuaries & urban oasis.😉

Run, Forrest, run!!!!

Do you like running? jogging? Well, you need a pair of trainers!!

What's the American word for 'trainers'? "I just felt like running" What does this expression mean?

Listening exercise to do: 'Why we love trainers' (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

Have you seen the film Forrest Gump? You can read about the film HERE. Did you like it? What's your opinion?

Here are some newspaper articles from The Guardian for you to read:

• Chinese authorities make perilous cliff-face school run safer (China)

• How do we fight the loudmouth politics of authoritarian populism?(Politics, opinion)

English with Lucy >>>> 

PERFECT the TOP 25 IRREGULAR VERBS | British English Pronunciation 

English at university: Dinner time (episode 9)

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 161116 / 16 November 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: evade tax, traces & solving.

Hiking in the mountain (Composition Unit 2)

          I've been to many places in my life, but I had never been in a mountain to do hiking, so my family and I decided to go last year. We went to the Pyrenees, a great mountain range which is between France and Spain.

          I went there with my parents and my elder brother. My parents and I are very active and we like active holidays, however, my elder brother is too lazy and he is all the time in the sofa. As soon as we arrived, we started to walk, it was about seven o'clock and it would soon be night. After two hours walking, we stopped and my father put up the tents.

          It was quite windy and cold in the tents. We had dinner and we went to sleep. I was in the same tent as my brother. I couldn't sleep because of the cold. It was too late when suddenly, I heard a estrange noise out. I went out of the tent. Surprisingly, there was a big bear next to our tent. The bear started to run after me, I ran as fast as I could. I was so terrified and scared. I stopped running and the bear wasn't there any more. I didn't know where I was, I was lost! Fortunately I had my mobile and I called my parents.

          Afterwards, my parents looked for me, and after thirty minutes they found me. I was frozen. My parents were very worried about me, but later we had a good laugh about it. I've decided that I definitely don't like doing hiking in the mountain!

Joaquín Alejandro España Sánchez 1ºA.Bachillerato

My friend Francisco (Composition Unit 1)

          I'm going to write about my friend Francisco. We've known each other since 2006 when we went to the primary school in Itrabo, so we're close friends. I'm going to describe him because he's my best and I can always count on him.

          Regarding his appearance, my friend Francisco has been going to the same class as me since he was six. Now, he's sixteen years old, and he's fairly tall.Actually, he has been growing taller and taller all  these years. He's slim, and he's got long dark hair and brown eyes. Everyone says he is very thim, although I think he's fine.

          Francisco is quite funny and friendly, he is always making me laugh. Moreover, he is very active and hard-working. In fact, he is always doing something and he really likes playing football. I think Francisco prefers playing football to studying because many times he is playing football when he should be studying. However, he plays football brilliantly. Two years ago, he scoored the most goals for our team.

          Although Francisco and I are very different we get on really well. We hardly ever have arguments. All in all, I think Francisco is the best friend in the world. Everyone should have a friend like him.

Joaquín Alejandro España Sánchez 1ºA Bachillerato

Alone or with company???

There are certain moments in life when one really enjoys solitude (especially, teachers, who are always in crowded and noisy places), but there are also great moments we love sharing with people (like our study trips to the British-Irish Isles).

Here's an incredible video about the Scottish mountain-biker Danny Macaskill in the Isle of Skye. Enjoy the gorgeous Scottish landscapes that this year I would like to share with my students:

And here's another one: Danny MacAskill’s Wee Day Out  (Enjoy Scottish landscape!!)

Two listening exercises to do: "Is loneliness in our genes?" (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English). However, to begin with, you have to know yourself: "Who do you think you are?" (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

Article to read:

All by myself: is loneliness bad for you? (The Guardian)

And here's another one:

What's the difference between being lonely and a loner? (BBC News)

LINGOHACK  >>>

Episode 161012 / 12 October 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: destabalise, appetite, limiting the damage & nudge.

English with Lucy >>>>

New Series >>>> English at university: Just landed (episode 2)

A final question before ending: How do you know you're real? Interesting video about it to think about it:

 

Your interests (Starter Unit)

                                                                                                            23, Hamilton Street
                                                                                                                  Oxford  N6W8F
                                                                                             Itrabo, 25th September, 2016

Hi, John
How are you? I hope you're well. What interests did you have this summer? Now, I'm going to tell you about my interests.

One of my main interests has been the music. I like both playing an instrument such as the trumpet or the saxo and listening to music. I'm in the school music and, moreover, I play in a band. On Fridays, I really enjoyed playing the trumpet in my band because it was very relaxing. I also liked listening to music in my car with my dad when we were going to Almuñécar. We turned up the volume to maximum and it was really funny. I think music was the best.

My other interests have been football and karate. Doing sport is completely different from music, but it's good fun too. Every year, I take karate classes in July. This year, I've been one month of the summer in karate. However, I've played football many times with my friends. I've spent a really good time.

I've had lot of different interests, so I haven't been bored. However, my favourite hobby has been music. How about you? What interests have you had this summer? Are you ready to come back to school?
Bye,bye

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." by Muhammad Ali

How would you put this sentence into reported speech?

Muhammad Ali was not only one of the greatest boxers and athletes ever, but also a fighter in every sense.

 

Muhammad Ali's funeral (News report, BBC Learning English)

Related articles to read and watch:

• Muhammad Ali: Inside his final hours (CNN)

• The Guardian view on Muhammad Ali: a life of bravery (The Guardian) & Other interesting facts.

• Muhammad Ali vs. USA (The Washington Post)

• Muhammad Ali, 'the greatest', remembered as boxer who transcended sports (Reuters)

  
  

  News report: Superbug threat (BBC Learning English)

  LINGOHACK  >>>
  

• Episode 160601 / 01 June 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: bitter stand-off, the heart of & thriving.

Article to read: World's longest rail tunnel to open in Switzerland under Alps (The Guardian)

And always remember Muhammad Ali's words: "I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'"

I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.' Muhammad Ali
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/muhammadal148629.html

I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.' Muhammad Ali
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/muhammad_ali.html

When Muhammed Ali met Prince (BBC)

 

English, a language in motion

All languages are, of course, in a constant evolution due to the use of the language speakers of the different parts of the world, but this phenomenon is especially significant in the English language due to the lack of an English Language Academy. Instead, universities such as Oxford or Cambridge work on different corpora (plural form of the word 'corpus') to make their dictionaries or grammar books.

    For instance, thirty years ago we would learn the Future Simple using 'shall' for the first person singular and plural. We don't do that any more. Now we use 'will' for all the persons.

Here's an interesting listening exercise for you to do: 'Is English changing?' (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

Have a look at Lingohack and you'll learn about the latest on the US elections, a cyborg beetle and the teenage brain development.

And remember this previous post about the human brain.

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 160803 / 03 August 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: questioned, remotely & insight.

VINCENT VAN GOGH

Some time ago (January, 2014) I made this post about this great Dutch painter. Here it is again with some updated information you may be interested in.

 

Who was Vincent Van Gogh? Tell me all the information you know about him. 

If you don't know him, you can read something about him. CLICK HERE!!! 

 

And if you like to have a look at a page with brand new information about Vincent Van Gogh and many other artists, I will provide you with this like: Artsy's Vincent Van Gogh page . It will take you to Artsy's page, whose main aim is to make all of the world's art accessible to anyone online.

Crossword on ART 

Our golden boy Calderón quits ÑBA

Our golden boy José Manuel Calderón (his biography so far) says goodbye to the basketball national team as he wants to concentrates on his NBA team (LA Lakers) and his family. We all wish you the best of lucks!!! Thanks for such great moments!!

Jose Calderon retires from Spanish national team (NBC Sports)

Changing topic, what does 'domestic chores' mean? Well, both my wife and I have been doing the cleaning and painting of our flat and I would like you to do this exercise and give me your opinion >>>>>

Listening exercise to do: Do women clean the house more often than men? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

New section in BBC Learning English: English at work, which focuses on English communication in the office. Here's the first episode: 00 Introduction

A lot to solve and to discover :-(

Our world is full of paradoxes. A lot of efforts and investments are made to travel in the universe and find planets elsewhere, building glass bridges... while we still have areas in our world where a natural disaster can cause hundreds of victims. It is fantastic to make discoveries, but shouldn't we invest more money to solve ordinary problems on Eath such as: famine, droughts... or earthquakes?

Natural disaster:

Italy earthquake: Death toll rises to at least 159 (BBC)  >>> The latest: Italy earthquake: Death toll reaches 247 amid rescue efforts  

Astronomy:

Discovery of potentially Earth-like planet Proxima b raises hopes for life (The Guardian)

Advances:

'I'm not afraid – it seems safe!': China opens longest glass-bottomed bridge (The Guardian) Watch this video.

Make a glossary with the most prominent words you find in both articles. Remember other articles related to these two issues in this blog:

• Earthquakes!!! & Happy birthday, your Majesty!!

• Earthquake and tsunami in Japan & Lorca (Spain)

• Cleaning up space junk

• Super Skydive!!!!

 

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 160831 / 31 August 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: marine reserve, orbiting & mourning.

• Episode 160824 / 24 August 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: peer, underestimated & put (something) down to.

Diabetes, a rising disease

Listening exercise to do: Why is the disease diabetes on the rise? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

Related articles to read about the issue and some other eating disorders:

• Is Diabetes Becoming the Biggest Epidemic of the Twenty-first Century?  (IJHS)

• Diabetes epidemic affecting 350m – and western fast food is to blame  (The Guardian)

• Eating disorders: My son died – if he'd been a girl, he may have got help sooner (BBC News beat)

• Men need help as well as women with eating disorders, say medical experts (BBC News beat)

Do you really know what the word 'time' means? Here are nine of its many uses (BBC Learning English). Can you tell me any more you know?

LINGOHACK  >>>

Episode 160706 / 06 July 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: on such a scale, judgement, on record, loggers & orbiting.

Read about Juno spacecraft orbiting around Jupiter.

Don't leave it for tomorrow!!! Start now and you'll be ready for next school year.

Here I present a record of all the comments and projects made by our students during the summer time.

SUMMER SCOREBOARD

Andrea Gutiérrez (4º ESO B)-5

Alex España (4º ESO B) -6

Ariadna López (4º ESO A) - 1
Joaquín García (4º ESO B) - Project on A Foreigner in Britain

Have a look at the PROJECT done by Joaquín García on the reader A Foreigner in Britain.

Why do people (especially students) tend to procrastinate everything they have to do? What does this word mean? Here's a good listening exercise to do: Get on with it!  (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

Important piece of news for my students in 1º Bachillerato next year   >>>   Have a look in my site at Notes on grammatical issues (1º Bach) and you'll find the exercises will be doing next year, apart from most useful notes on the uses of TENSES & MODAL VERBS:        

 

Remember that in NOTES ON GRAMMATICAL ISSUES (2º Bach) you can have a look at the following issues (I give you the links to some useful exercises to do all along the school year):

a. Comparatives and superlatives    (EXERCISES TO DO)  

b. Passive voice    (EXERCISES TO DO)  

c. Conditional sentences    (EXERCISES TO DO)  

d. Relative Clauses    (EXERCISES TO DO)  

e. Reported Speech    (EXERCISES TO DO)  

Have a look at the picture on the right and give me a synonym for 'supposed to'. Remember to revise the modal verbs. Can you rewrite the sentence using the modal verb.

 

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 160629 / 29 June 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: propaganda, urged & distinguished.  

PLASTIC, THE BIGGEST THREAT FOR OUR SEAS

Whenever you are eating something or that you have a plastic bag in your hands, please drop it into a litter bin and make people realise how important this is as PLASTIC IS THE BIGGEST THREAT FOR OUR MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

 

Articles to read:

• The Guardian: Plastic now pollutes every corner of Earth  

• Mediterranean Sea considered as an 'Accumulating zone of plastic debris' (BBC News) By the way, whar does 'debris' mean? Which language does it come from?

 And remember this previous post in this blog:

Tsunami in Japan and four years later... debris found in US coasts, JUST AMAZING!!! 

 

ONE POSSIBLE SOLUTION  >>>  A Massive Let’s Do It! Cleaning up the Mediterranean Coast 

Listening exercise to do: Is the Great Barrier Reef under threat? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English) Where is it?

Common mistakes with comparatives and superlatives adjectives and adverbs: interesting Anglo-Link lesson.

LINGOHACK  >>>

Episode 160727 / 27 July 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: breaking through, elluded, blazes & prematurely.

Try to compile the most interesting words you have come across in all the articles read in this post.

Summer time is a time to let people off the hook

What does the expression 'off the hook' mean? Have a look at this interesting The English We Speak programme.

So what do people do instead? They relax and ....

Pokémon Go: five tricks for pro players that are almost as good as cheats (The Guardian)

Pokemon and the power of nostalgia (BBC News)

 

This latest madness may be ok for some time, but it becomes a problem if it turns into an obssession and you spend (or waste) too much of your time instead of reading, playing with your friends or going out. Here is an article about it:

The top five most crazy stories about Pokemon Go ... so far (The Irish Times)

Listening exercise to do: Dealing with boredom (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

Children should be allowed to get bored, expert says (BBC News)

 

Oh, my God!!! July is nearly over!!!

Yes, when we are on holiday and we are having a good time, time really flies away!!!

Listening exercise to do: Are we there yet? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

What have you done so far this summer? I hope you are having a good time, but that you are getting ready for the next school year. Here are some hints for your holidays:

The Châteaux of the Loire Valley   (what's interesting about the château Le Clos de Lucé?)

                                                                             

Oviedo, the capital city of the Principality of Asturia

    Two incredible natural landscapes in León: Las Médulas y Los Ancares ( palloza )

Why are Las Medulas known for? Who was responsible for this?

LINGOHACK  >>>

Episode 160720 / 20 July 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: candidate, damning & trend.  

The only thing Casillas wanted to say is....

The only thing Casillas wanted to say with this video was.... :

a.- how much he loved his country.

b.- his days in the national team were over.

c.- his favourite actor is Sylvester Stallone.

What do you think? Watch the video and answer

        

As you have seen we have emphasized what the Spanish goalkeeper said by using a most interesting structure, that is to say, a CLEFT SENTENCE. But what is it? Here are a few links for you to see how cleft sentences work ( 1  2   3 ) and you can also do some exercises about this grammatical issue:  1  2   3  

Some examples:

• It was 27th June when Italy defeated Spain in the Eurocup in France.
• What I want you to do this summer is to watch New That's English episodes.

Article to read about Casillas:

Real Madrid try to repair Iker Casillas damage – but only make things worse (The Guardian) 

Listening exercise to do:

Who would you imitate? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English) 

Is perhaps Casillas your idol???

 

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 160622 / 22 June 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: cracks down, merciless, infrastructure & think tank.  

Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo in his last adventure!!!

Our Spanish Marco Polo has died. What a sad day! He was an athlete, an adventurer, a journalist..., that is to say, a real Renaissance man!!!!

Read about him: MIGUEL DE LA QUADRA SALCEDO & his adventures (Article in Spanish)

     RUTA QUETZAL   

                                                                                    

                                                                                      

What do you know about him? Do you know any other similar personalities?

                                                                           


                                                                                     

Difference between LAST and LATEST   

 

Listening exercise to do: Conspiracy theories (6 Minute English)

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 160518 / 18 May 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: missing, submerged & rapturous.

The king of clay is back!!!

Nadal wins at Monte Carlo for the 9th time!!!! (It is his 28th Master 1000 equalizing Djokovic in his 100th final) and his 9th Conde de Godó equalizing the Argentinian Guillermo Vilas as the player with the highest number of tournements on clay court ever.

He has just defeated Gaël Monfils in the final 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in a really tough match.

CONGRATULATIONS, RAFA!!!

 

Le match en direct (L'Équipe) 

 

 

Rafael Nadal sees off Gaël Monfils to win Monte Carlo Masters final (The Guardian)

The clay season is just awaiting!!!!