Turn, turn, turn

Trini said in her last comment that for her Autumn is "time to start". I think we, students and teachers, are lucky people because every year we have "two opportunities" to start: September at the beginning of the school year when we make all our plans for the year, and then, January -like everyone else- the time to make the new year's resolutions and start again after making some little readjustments.

Reading what Trini wrote I couldn't help but thinking about that beautiful passage from Ecclesiastes (Ec 3,1-8) where we learn that there's a time for everything (you can read and/or listen to this passage on this website).

Now you can listen to the song "Turn, turn, turn", based on this text. It was performed by The Byrds as part of the sound track of the film Forest Gump, remember? Enjoy it and next time you feel in a hurry... don't panic: there's a time for everything.

We had a good time today, didn't we?

Today's lesson was quite nice. We ended up talking about Autumn. Patricia broke the ice and said that she identified Autumn with the invasion of dull colours in all the shop windows: browns, blacks, greys... Nerea joined in the conversation and said that for her Autumn was a synonyme of sadness. It was just then when Reme asked the difference between "blue" and "sad". For Victoria it wasn't sadness the dominant feeling in Autumn, but a breed of calm and silence. It was Lola who confessed that she loved Autumn, the smell in the air, the damp atmosphere and especially the rustling noise of the fallen leaves under her feet on her solitary walks in the woods. She had just said the magic words and now we were all in the right mood for listening to "The Autumn Leaves". I think nobody has sung that song like Eva Cassidy: love, passion, nostalgia and a good dose of romanticism. Sit back and watch this absolutely gorgeous video with Eva Cassidy singing in the background.

Have a look at the lyrics if you need them. You can also find out more information about Eva Cassidy. She died very young, at the age of 33, before she could even imagine that her music and voice would be recognized worldwide.

Spoooorts!!

I bet you've already played Hangman. We are going to use this game today to test your memory. Let's see how much vocabulary you remember related to the world of sports:

• sports
• significant people in sports
• places where sports are played

Row, row, row your boat

Why not try learning a well known nursery rhyme. It's fun and soon you will be able to sing it to your children.

BBC. The teacher: Idioms with "tea"

Here we have a very "peculiar" teacher explaining to us three English idioms using the word tea. Don't miss it, it's a lot of fun.

• it's not my cup of tea
• for all the tea in China
• as useless as a chocolate teapot

Grammar: Present Simple vs Present Continuous

Let's have a quick look at the forms and the main differences between the Present Simple and the Present Continuous. These two tenses are a very important part of the English verbal system. We use them to talk about:

• Present simple: universal truths, facts, habits, routines, future reference...
• Present continuous: descriptions, actions in progress at the time of speaking, temporary situations, future plans and commitments, repeated actions in the present...

Obama 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Last Friday came up the surprising news that President Obama had been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Read this article from CNN and see how much information you can get about the award of the Prize to Obama and also about how the winner is chosen every year by the Norwegian committee.

Listen to President Obama's reaction to the awarding of the prize.

At the restaurant. Crossword

Time for fun. Complete this crossword with words and expressions related to food and restaurants. It's an interactive activity, so you can complete it by writing in the words and then you can check your answers. Good luck.

Dictations

Our classmate, Jessica del Río, has sent us this useful link, especially dedicated to those of you who want to improve your listening skills and like dictations. You will find lots of graded dictations here. The procedure is very simple: you can hear the dictation three times at different paces and then you can see the written text and check your mistakes. Very easy, and remember... the computer never gets tired of repeating a dictation.

The Kyoto Box

Earlier this year Jon Bohmer won the first prize for the Climate Change Challenge with the Kyoto Box.

You probably want to know more about it. What is the Kyoto Box and what does it do? Well, this podcast (www.podcastsinenglish.com) will explain to you how to make a Kyoto Box and put it to the text. Don't miss it, it's really interesting. You can also have access to the video on that same site. Good luck!

Food, glorious food!

Our Irish colleague, Timothy Weatherhead has sent us this link to the unforgettable scene from the musical Oliver. The video is subtitled in English, so this time you need not worry about the text. Sit back and enjoy it. May be after a while you feel like singing along.

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost is one of my favourite poems and today I want to share it with you. It was the first poem that came to my hands when I first arrived in America as a teenager. Still today I feel touched when I read it. Here you have the poem and also a link where you can hear Robert Frost himself reciting his poem. Hope you enjoy it.

Food: fuel or pleasure?

Here's a list of possible activities connected with the topic of food. Have a look at them and decide which one(s) you would like to do. You can choose more than one. Try to choose something you don't feel very strong at, that way you will improve your weaker skills. Find yourself a partner to work with: it will be more fun and you can learn from each other.

In the next few days we will be sharing or performing these activities in class.

Cry me a river

Let's hear this beautiful song in the voice of Barbra Streisand. You can also have a look at the lyrics: see if you can fill in the blanks. Good luck and enjoy the music. Some of our classmates decided that this what a song of "revenge". What do you think?

Welcome!!

Hi, class,

Here's a surprise for you. I have started this blog as a quick way to communicate and exchange information with you. From now on, you will find plenty of materials and useful links on this site. I'm sure it will help you with your homework and to improve your English.

You are welcome to add comments at any time.