Dig in!

Hi students!

Have you already read the text about cooking classes that I gave you the other day? If not, you should do it before reading this post, since here you'll be expanding the vocabulary you'll have learned on those exercises.

Ready? So click on these links if you want to learn some vocabulary of food and cooking:

http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/food/

http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/food2/

http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/fruit/

http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/vegetables/

http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/images/Vocabulary%20Images/Cooking/Cooking.html

What did you think about the phone conversations you guys practised with Ernesto in class the other day? It was not as easy as it seems, was it? Have you ever tried to order a pizza in English? Try this listening exercise to see how well you can understand:

http://www.esl-lab.com/pizza/pizzard1.htm

That's all for now and, since we're on holidays and that's when we normally eat more, enjoy all different Easter sweets but, take it easy. Indigestion and obesity might not be the best partners to enjoy our holidays, don't you think?

One more thing before leaving, as some of you asked me about the correction charts I use to mark your Writing and Speaking tests, I included them on the blog. If you go to Resources and click on "Correction Charts", you'll be able to check them online, download them or print them, whatever you prefer. I hope this will help you to be aware of what I mostly take into account when I correct a test and, that way, you'll be able to focus your practice in those parts where you find more difficulties.

Enjoy your holidays!

Happy Easter!

Are you enjoying your holidays? I hope you are, but don't forget to keep practising your English!

This new season that just started, spring, is the season of joy and happiness, of renewance after a long cold winter. Therefore, many people have special celebrations in this time of the year. In Seville, you celebrate Holy Week and Feria, and, in the English-speaking countries, they also have their festivals. The most famous one is Easter.

Originally, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ, and that's the main reason why it's celebrated in other countries, like Spain. However, in the Anglo-Saxon countries, like the UK and the USA, Easter has become less religious and it's celebrated by both Christian and non-Christian people. In these countries, Easter is one of children's favourite holidays, because of symbols like the Easter Bunny and the Easter eggs, and special games they do on this day. On Easter Sunday morning, American and British children wake up and find baskets filled with presents and candy for them, left by the Easter Bunny. Later, in the afternoon, the whole family get together and have an Easter dinner, a big meal with a lot of delicious food. After that, they decorate hard-boiled eggs altogether. First, they dye them in coloured water, and then they paint them using brushes. After having coloured them, it's time for the fun! The Easter Bunny comes (without being seen by the children) and hides the eggs in the family's garden. Then, the children have to do the egg hunt, which means they have to find the hidden eggs. If they find the special golden egg, they'll get a prize!

If you'd like to know more about the origins of Easter, take a look at this video:

Now that you know a little bit more about its origins, would you like to know some traditions they have in the USA to celebrate Easter? Check this out:

By now, you must be some sort of Easter experts, so why don't you try this special quiz to check how much you know about this holiday?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13116553

Here in Spain, and particularly in the south, Easter is celebrated in a very different way, as you all know. I'm sure you could all tell me the main traditions we have here in Andalusia to celebrate the Holy Week but, could you do that in English? Some vocabulary is very specific, and hard to translate, so why don't you try to do these exercises? This way, you'll be able to explain foreigners about our traditions in English. Useful, isn't it?

http://www.isabelperez.com/holy1.htm

Finally, to finish with some fun, why don't you try and read these Easter tongue twisters out loud? It's good pronunciation practice!

http://www.bethanyroberts.com/EasterTongueTwisters.htm

Cooking Contest

Are you guys thinking on participating on the Cooking Contest the school is organizing? Remember it's one of the activities scheduled for the Culture Festival we're celebrating on March 21st. In case you're participating on the contest, here are some ideas of delicious British/American/Australian desserts you could make. Food from the English-speaking countries is much more than burgers and hot dogs, which is what first comes to people's minds when they're asked about typical dishes from those countries. However, they do have a lot of desserts that are known and respected worldwide. For different reasons, desserts have resisted the pass of time much better than traditional savoury dishes.

Next, we're going to present a list of different desserts, with links to their recipes:

- American Pie (US): It's the one from the picture above. Apples are its main ingredient and it's normally served with vanilla ice-cream, what is known as American Pie á la mode.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/All-American-Apple-Pie/Detail.aspx

- Apple crumble (UK): Delicious British dessert, also containing apples as its main ingredient. The British like to side it with warm custard and cherry jam.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/applecrumble_2971.shtml

- Brownie (US): If you love chocolate, this is definitely your dessert. Try it warm and topped with ice-cream, it's not to be missed!

http://www.myhomecooking.net/brownies/brownie-recipe.htm

- Trifle (UK): A multi-layered cake with jam, custard and whipped cream.

http://www.dessert-recipes.co.uk/DESSERT-RECIPE-trifle-recipes.htm

- Cookies (US): Chocolate-chip ones are by far the most truly American. They tend to be soft, and not crispy, as most people think.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateChipCookies.html

- Blueberry muffins (UK): Similar to Spanish "magdalenas", but bigger and softer.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/BlueberryMuffins.html

- Banana bread (US): Don't be misled by the word bread, since it's actually more like a cake.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/BananaBread.html

- Plum Cake (UK): A soft cake filled with fruit, perfect to eat with a cup of tea or coffee.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Plum-Cake/Detail.aspx

- Pumpkin Pie (US): The most traditional dessert for Thanksgiving Day. Often sided by whipped cream.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/pumpkinpie.html

- Pavlova (Australia): A Down Under cake with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/Pavlova.html

Any ideas already? If you're not that a good baker, my advice is for you to try brownies or apple crumble, they're really easy to make. In case you're a baking expert, you could try something a bit more challenging, like an American pie or a pumpkin one...they're so delicious! I'll also be cooking one of these desserts for the Culture Festival, but I'm not telling you which, so you'll have to come to find out!

See you in class and, hopefully, at the Festival, too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

On March 17th, the Irish celebrate their biggest day, St. Patrick's Day. With this, they're commemorating the death of their patron, St. Patrick. Even though this celebration started in Ireland, because of Irish immigration to other countries, it's now celebrated in many other places, such as the USA, Canada and Australia. In those countries, this day has become a big celebration of Ireland's culture, rather than a Catholic commemoration of St. Patrick, as it originally was. The tradition of wearing green, for example, which is internationally spread nowadays, actually began in the USA, since that colour reminded Irish-Americans of the old Irish flag, despite the fact that green is considered an unlucky colour in Ireland.

St. Patrick's celebrations in the world include, besides wearing green, drinking Irish beer, eating Irish food and dancing Irish folk music. It's the day when people from all over the world who share an Irish origin feel proud to be Irish.

If you'd like to know more about the origins and celebrations of St. Patrick's Day, watch this video:

And since we're talking about Ireland, would you like to know something more of this amazing country? Here's a selection of videos for you to enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htyHUX7Wg9U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iUPb7y0hgE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycNMpT4fwnc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-59cRW8m_ag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLACdPtyX-s

Slán go fóill! (See you in Irish Gaelic)

Love Letter

Hi everyone,

Do you feel romantic this morning? I know Valentine's Day was last week, but who said we can only be romantic once a year? I felt romantic today and I decided to write a love letter to an imaginary love. Can you reply it? Remember written interaction will be one of the parts of your writing exam, so this will be good practice for you!

Try to remember what I always tell you, be imaginative, be actors! Imagine you're in the situation of this person and reply to the things he/she is asking you. Also, include some of the vocabulary of love you learnt on the previous post, as well as some of the narrative tenses and adverbs we've been practising lately.

Happy romantic morning and see you in class!

http://es.scribd.com/doc/82411792/Love-Letter

Valentine's Day

Yesterday was a special day in which couples from all over the world celebrated love. I'm sure you all know about Valentine's Day, but, do you know about its true origins?

Check out this video to find out:

Although this holiday is based on the celebration of love, every country has its different traditions and its own ways to celebrate it:

http://www.novareinna.com/festive/valworld.html

One of the most spread traditions is sending Valentine cards to your loved ones, with messages of love and affection. What would you like to read on a Valentine card? Maybe some of these things?

Are you a romantic person? Do you know the language of love? These are love expressions in English, in case you have an English-speaking important person...or a bilingual one!

You never know what the future is going to bring you, do you?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/teacher/0000008570.shtml

However, to be honest, and despite romanticism, Valentine's Day has become a very commercial holiday, and stores all over the world make lots of money every year thanks to this "celebration of love". Check out this article from BBC and try to do the exercises afterwards. My advice is downloading the audio file and the exercises to your computer and test yourselves, instead of reading the transcription online. Challenge yourselves!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/newsaboutbritain/2009/02/090210_nab_valentine.shtml

And, finally, to end this post with a laugh, as usual, I'd like to show you a few funny videos about Valentine's Day.

Who said romanticism is always corny and sickly-sweet?

In conclusion, whether you are in love or not, whether you are romantic or not, I'm sure you have people around who love you and care about you. Tell them and show them what you feel from time to time, any day of the year.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Air travelling

Hi students!

As you know, we've been talking about air travelling lately. Being English the international language in this type of travelling, it's a good idea to know more about the vocabulary we need to use when we travel by plane, as well as practising listening skills, which is always good!

You know exams are coming soon, and you should take advantages of any chances you have to improve your listening skills. In order to expand your vocabulary, take a look at these websites and practise saying the words out loud, to get the right pronunciation. Sometimes, the written words on the site don't match with the words pronounced by the speaker. I apologize for that, but, in case this happens, always trust what the speaker says, regardless of what words are written.

http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/travel/

http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/land-travel/

Now, if you want to practise your listening skills, you can do so with these activities:

http://www.esl-lab.com/customs/customrd1.htm

http://esl-lab.com/flight/flightrd1.htm

Finally, I'd like you to watch a few videos about in-flight safety instructions. Do you remember we talked about the importance of listening to those instructions when you're on a plane? Well, I'm sure these airlines took this into account when they decided to explain instructions in "those ways". I don't think any passenger could not pay attention with those instructions!

Aren't you just speechless? I am! These are real in-flight safety instructions, despite looking so unreal. Sometimes, reality certainly beats fiction!

To conclude with this post, I'd like you to have a laugh. As I'm sure most of you have "suffered" Ryanair, I think you'll understand this comedy skecth very well. Enjoy it!

No wonder why their flights are so cheap, right? :)

See you in class!