Friendship

For our Nov 3rd Workshop meeting we are going to talk about Friendship. One of my favourite quotes about friendship is this: "Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families." What do you think about it? If you wish to read more quotes about friendship here you have a good selection. Have a look at them and see if you have a favourite one or maybe you have a definition of your own for friendship.

See if you can answer some of the questions in this quiz about friends. We'll talk about them in our Monday meeting. Good night.

The Beatles sang a song called "I get by with a little help from my friends." Click here to hear the song with the lyrics.

Come on, don't be shy and post a comment sharing with us how important friends are for you.

PS Oh dear, How could I possibly forget "You've got a friend" by James Taylor?Don't miss it! If any problem with the lyrics, try here.

The happiest day of my life

Next Monday, Oct 27th, we are going to talk about happiness and we are going to share the happiest moments in our lives. Check vocabulary and useful questions here.
Do you think most people around you would consider themselves happy people?

Happiness is probably one of the most frequent words in our vocabulary and I'm sure if you asked people what they understand by happiness, they'd come up with very different answers? What makes a person happy?
If you wish to read a bit more before the meeting, here are some links:

• Read what a young girl wrote to describe the happiest day of her life. A man wrote something quite different. 
• "I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life. Oh, just to be with you is having the best day of my life", sings Dido in her song "Thank you". Love and happiness walk hand in hand.
• Are we putting the key to our happiness in the hands of too many people? In this blog you'll find little tips that will help you to make your life happier. 
• "Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself" This is my favourite quote on happiness. Do you have a favourite quotation?

And as usual we shall be looking forward to seeing you on next Monday's meeting!! Bye!

Learning a new language: what a challenge!

(Workshop. Sessions # 1 and 2. Oct 6th and 14th 2014)
Here's the content suggested for our first meeting. I thought it might be a good idea to start by sharing our difficulties and achievements in the process of learning English.
Learning to speak a second or third language has become a necessity in our modern world. Everybody agrees on this, but the task proves to be difficult and many people give up somewhere along the way. 

Why is it so difficult for us Spaniards to learn a new language? It is so frustrating to confirm that after  studying a foreign language (usually English) at school for an endless number of years we are still incapable of communicating successfully in that language. Is it something universal or we Spaniards are too dumb to succeed in learning a foreign language? And perhaps the crucial issue, how long does it really take to get to fluency? 
Here are some tips to study a foreign language. Do not desperate if you are not completely happy with your accent speaking English.

Let's share our experience and the frustration or success we've had in learning English. 

Cycling for food

I just loved the title of this recording: "Cycling for food." Any good guess what it might be about? Let me give you a clue: it's a new Danish scheme which has to do with cycling, food and energy...

Well, if you give in, I'll tell you that it is the title of a 6 minute recording from the BBC. A very interesting initiative although I wonder if I'd be hungry after so much pedaling!! If you need help with the script, you'll find it here. Have fun!

Shopping

If I needed to buy some meat, where should I go? Choose the right shop for each item. Test yourself with the following crossword.

Gerund or infinitive?

To be or not to be? Or shall we better say "to be or being?" One of the most common difficulties for foreign learners of English is when to choose an infinitive or a gerund; and it is not an easy choice indeed. In these notes I have prepared for you you will find lots of information to help you make a correct choice. However the best way is to practise and listen to your inner voice advising you whether to opt for an infinitive or a gerund. If you want to practise a bit more click here.

On the Internet you can find lots of useful materials illustrating the use of gerund vs infinitive. I found this video quite useful and clear. Have a look at it.

Getting old

How old is "old"? Is there anything we can do to avoid getting old? What factors does getting old depend on? Why are people so reluctant to accept they're getting old? Which country has the highest life expectancy? This and much more in this 6-minute listening from BBC. If you want to have a look at the script click here.

Once you have finished maybe you want to share with us your attitude towards ageing: which is for you the best and the worst about getting old?

Climbing trees can be a lot of fun

I'm sure we have all climbed a tree some time or other in our childhood. The excitement of being high above the ground, the feeling of the breathtaking view from the top, the risk of the height... But some people have gone much further and have ended up making a hobby, even a sport out of this 'childish activity'. Competitive tree climbing for adults is becoming popular across the world and nowadays there are even tree climbing championships.

The BBC has dedicated a couple of their programmes "6 Minute English" to tree climbing. In session 1 you will learn a lot of new vocabulary about the world of trees. In session 2 you will find out about the tallest and oldest trees in the world and also about what is like to spend the night up on a tree.

Give it a go (I mean to the listening, not the climbing), you'll enjoy yourself very much. (Remember you can download the transcripts if you have any difficulties understanding the recordings).

Special restaurant

Where is the strangest place you've ever eaten a meal?

A new restaurant has opened in Britain. Find out what is so special about it. What's the name of the restaurant? Can anyone visit it? Who are the waiters and chefs working there? Do you think you would like to have dinner at this new restaurant? Leave a comment after listening to this interesting BBC recording.

Chinese New Year's Day

Apart from St Valentine's day, February 14th 2010 is the first day of the Chinese new year, the year of the Tiger. The Chinese New Year day is always the second new moon after the winter solstice and therefore it changes from one year to another.

According to Chinese tradition, parents give their children clean, fresh banknotes at the start of the new year in order to bring them good luck. What happens when there is shortage of new bank notes or they are difficult to find?... it's time for a new business opportunity... read more here.

For pizza lovers

How much of a pizza lover are you? I just came across this report on Naples pizza. It's good news for pizza lovers. Have a look at it. You can read the report, listen to it and check the vocabulary. Nice and short exercise. Don't miss it!

Leave a comment on the blog about your favourite kind of restaurant when you eat out.

Places where people live

If you could choose would you prefer to live in a penthouse in fifth avenue, NY or in a picturesque cottage in the English countryside? Throughout history people have lived in many places, some more comfortable, luxurious or expensive than others. Here you have a nice exercise about places where people live and adjectives that you could use to describe those places. Have a go at it and send your teacher a short composition explaining where you would choose to live if you could and why.

Colour idioms with The Teacher

"The Teacher" from the BBC is going to help us today to become familiar with some "colour idioms". Have a look at this video explaining some idioms connected with colour green:

• To have green fingers
• The grass is always greener on the other side
• To be green with envy

And this one about colour gold:

• As good as gold
• A heart of gold
• Worth its weight in gold

Have fun.

Tired or tiring? Crossword

There is an important group of pairs of adjectives in English ending in -ed or -ing. Their correct use is confusing for many students. In this crossword you can practise some of them. Good luck!

Modals. Crossword

You can practise the use of modals with this crossword. Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate modal verb. You can also use be able to and have to.

Remember we do not use blank spaces or apostrophes in the crosswords.

Good luck!

Transport and travel. Crossword

Well, here we go with another crossword. This time we want to revise vocabulary and expressions in the world of transport and travel. Keep in mind that many of the words in the crossword are compounds and in some cases they should not be written together as just one word, ok?

Write down in your notebook three words that you will always remember from now on.

Dido's White Flag: Song and quiz

Listen to Dido's famous song "White Flag", a classic from 2003. See if you can fill in the blanks in the lyrics of the song. There are a few expressions worth taking a look at. Do the quiz and see if you're familiar with them. Once finished you can check your answers. Good luck!

Strong Adjectives. Crossword

Well, I'm back as I promised, and not as sleepy as I was last night.

I've just prepared a very attractive crossword about strong adjectives. Lots of new vocabulary. Have a go and see if you know them all. Have a happy weekend.

Strong adjectives

When we speak or write we can make a story more dramatic by using strong adjectives (exhausted instead of tired, delighted instead of pleased). We can also make adjectives even stronger by adding an adverb (absolutely, very, really), e.g. The weather was absolutely freezing! (Careful how we use these adverbs!!)

Here's a silly game that will help you to remember some of the most common strong adjectives. Try this link for further practice. How about a pps (powerpoint slideshow) to test how much you have learnt about strong adjectives?

I promise a crossword for the weekend. Too late now. Good night!

Money. Crossword.

Earn, win, save, waste, invest, spend, blow your money? It's not quite the same, is it? You'd better learn the difference if you want to handle your own money successfully. Have a go at this crossword: you'll find plenty of adjectives, verbs and nouns related with money.