February 29th

Some poetry for today by Jane Hirshfield

An extra day—   Like the painting’s fifth cow, who looks out directly, straight toward you, from inside her black and white spots.   An extra day— Accidental, surely: the made calendar stumbling over the real as a drunk trips over a threshold too low to see.   An extra day—   With a second cup of black coffee. A friendly but businesslike phone call. A mailed-back package. Some extra work, but not too much— just one day’s worth, exactly.   An extra day—   Not unlike the space between a door and its frame when one room is lit and another is not, and one changes into the other as a woman exchanges a scarf.   An extra day—   Extraordinarily like any other. And still there is some generosity to it, like a letter re-readable after its writer has died.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

The Garden of Earthly Delights is a story about moral and sin in a particular time. The painting however is timeless. The journey that the visitor sets out on in the interactive documentary is a personal one. Beneath the surface we aim to invite the visitor to reflect upon and question their sins and morals. Enjoy going on a guided tour or just roam at will.

 

Adverts

Hi,
Here we have very easy Jobs and nice holiday proposals. Write down your reply in the comment section, please.

Easily confused adjectives

Osiris, Isis and Serapis

Hi,

This is Eloisa's magnificent presentation:

Osiris.isis from Majorick

Debod Temple

Hi,

This is Sheila's beautiful presentation on Debod Temple:

 

Debod Temple is an ancient Egyptian temple which was rebuilt in Madrid. It is an authentic Egyptian temple built in the 2nd century BC, at the village of Devod.

The temple was built originally 15 Km south of Aswan (southern Egypt), very close to the first cataract of the Nile and to the great religious center dedicated to the goddess Isis, in Philae. In the early 2nd century BC, Adikhalamani (Tabriqo), the Kushite king of Meroë, started its construction by building a small single room chapel dedicated to the god Amun.
It was built and decorated on a similar design to the later Meroitic chapel on which the Temple of Dakka is based.

From the quay, a long processional way leads to the stone-built enclosure wall, through three stone pylon gateways and finally to the temple itself.
The pranaos, which had four columns with composite capitals collapsed in 1868, and is now lost. Behind it lay the original sanctuary of Amun, the offering table room and a later sanctuary with several side-rooms and stairs to the roof.

In 1960, due to the construction of the Great Dam of Aswan and the consequent threat posed to several monuments and archeological sites, UNESCO made an international call to save this rich historical legacy.  As a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the temples of Abu Simbel, the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968.

How would you like to pay?

Are the days of paying by cash for a latte or a newspaper nearly gone? Alice and Neil discuss Neil's fondness for loose change...

Listen to this BBC Radio programme: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03j6pr0
What vocabulary did you learn?
Download MP3  

The benefits of reading in English

ELT Learning Journeys. Posted on November 17, 2015 by Daniel Vincent 

     

First and foremost, reading is one of the best ways to increase vocabulary and to consolidate your understanding of grammar. Not only will you come across many new words and phrases in context, you’ll also see grammatical structures laid out on the page that you may have heard in conversation but not quite yet worked out. With repeated exposure to the same vocabulary and language patterns, you’ll find they begin to make their way into your spoken English as well. In this way, reading helps speed up the normal language learning process that sees passive comprehension become active knowledge. In short, provided you’re also practicing conversation, the more you read, the more quickly your spoken English will improve.

Speaking pairs for February exam

Monday and Wednesday group

Monday, February 22nd
18:30 Carmen P - Belén M

Wednesday, February 24th
18h      Gabriel G - Petra P
18:30   Pilar S  - Esther R

Monday, February 29
16:30  Violeta P - Gema C
17h     Carlos A - Antonia M
17:30  Mariano V - Jara Q
18h     Sandra P - Aser V
18:30  Soraya G - Vicente P

Wednesday, March 2
16:30  Juan Carlos C - Jesús G
17h     Juan Carlos M - Carmen G
17:30  Yolanda R - Alejandra G
18h     Cristina R - Manuel R
18:30  Cristina G - Agustín S

Tuesday and Thurday Group

 Thursday, Feb 25
18h      Sonsoles A - Olivier S
 18:30  David C - Matías M

Tuesday, March 1
16h     Inés G  - Horacio G
16:30  Eloísa D - Sheila R
17h     Pablo E - Alfonso P
17:30  Jorge G - Carolina D
18h     Maite G - Zarko J
18:30  Eva M - Margarita R

Thursday, March 3
16:30  Irene V - Marta M
17h     Marta Mayo - M.ª Luisa R
17:30  Kelly A - Laura G
18h     Asier M - Asunción E
18:30  Ana B - Gloria C

Serapis, Osiris's judgement and Isis

This is Esther's wonderful presentation on Egypt.

Being bilingual changes the arquitecture of your brain

Hi there,

Why not working on this  cloze text? We'll be talking about it when coming back to class after exams and it may give you extra trainning as well.

Being bilingual changes the architecture of your brain from Majorick

How to express likes

Learn how to say what you really like. Maybe it's Chinese food?!

Alexandria

Hi,
This is Zarko's presentation in class about the City of Alexandria. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to get access to its ruins?

Adverts

Hi,

These are some ads posted on the school board. Would you like to answer any? Send your reply to the comment box in this post.

 

The Benefits of Bilingual Brain

It’s obvious that knowing more than one language can make certain things easier — like traveling or watching movies without subtitles. But are there other advantages to having a bilingual (or multilingual) brain? Mia Nacamulli details the three types of bilingual brains and shows how knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, complex and actively engaged.

Say and tell

What's the difference between "say" and "tell"? It may be difficult for you but there are some gramar rules to help. Watch this video to find out. Then do a practice activity to test your understanding.

Grammar practice

For some more grammar practice, work on these exercises:

• So and such 1 
• So and such  2

Future forms:

• Future forms 1
• Future forms (2)
• Future expressions
• Future forms: will/ shall and going to
• Future forms: will/ shall and going to (2)

Question Tags:

question tags (1)

question tags (2)

Carbon footprint

Today, the term “carbon footprint” is often used as shorthand for the amount of carbon (usually in tonnes) being emitted by an activity, person or organization.

travel vs trip

Source: https://twitter.com/learn2langs

10 ways to improve your English outside of class

Source: ELT Learning Journeys Posted on June 16, 2015 by Daniel Vincent 

When it comes to learning a language, you can only do so much in class. At some point, we all need to look beyond the classroom walls if we’re to put our abilities to the test and hone those hard-earned skills. Luckily, the age we live in has no shortage of options for the motivated learner.

Here are 10 ways to improve your English outside of class:

1. Watch TV series and films in English

TV and film are great ways to practice listening skills because the visual element helps to make the context clear. However, if you’re watching something in order to improve your English, be methodical. Watch once without subtitles and then once again with them (in English). Rewatch difficult scenes over and over until you’ve really grasped what’s being said. If you’re watching a DVD, remember that these days many have an audio description option for the sight-impaired. This additional element makes for great extra practice.

2. Find a language exchange partner

One-to-one exchanges are a great way to practice your language skills in a relaxed setting – over a coffee, say, or even a beer. The key to a successful exchange is to find someone who has a similar level in your language as you do in English, otherwise the temptation is to drift into the stronger of the two. Be strict with one another as well: half the exchange in your language, half in English, or alternating languages every time you meet.

3. Join a language club

A great way to meet new people and hone those conversation skills is to join a language club, where like-minded people gather to improve their English either by getting together to chat or by taking part in an activity – walking in the countryside, for example, or visiting local galleries. Many of them are joined by native speakers looking to make friends in a laidback atmosphere. Sites like meetup.com are ideal for finding out what’s going on in your area.

11 top tips for making small talk in English!

You may be able to give expert speeches, wonderful presentations and professional talks on topics of your choice, but can you make small talk*? There are times in life when you need to chat and make casual conversation. For example, as you’re waiting to be served in a shop, while you’re travelling in a bus or train, or while you’re sitting in the waiting room at a dental clinic. And in business, the social aspect of a business relationship is often as important as the professional one. Here are our top 11 tips for making small talk.

1. Listen!
The number-one rule when making small talk is to listen. Make a conscious effort to remember what the other person is saying. Then, you can use this information to generate more conversation.

2. Ask questions!
In order to keep the conversation going, ask lots of open questions with question words such as who, why, what, when and where. For example:
■ What did you think of the conference?
■ Where did you go for your last holidays?
■ Who did you see at the party last week?