News for ESL learners

News in Levels

Divided into three levels, according to the number of words you are ready to learn English, this website offers you the chance to read and listen to pieces of news until you fully understand what is going on.

Once you get the swing of it, you can go into further discussion through Facebook and keep on practising.

Have fun!

Foreign Languages and ICT

The closing trailer for the Teacher Training Session at CPR Avilés - Occidente.

30 May 2013

The Great Gatsby

Undoubtedly Gatsby has hit it big since its release on May 10, 2013, but for those of you that know there is a novel behind and not only DiCaprio, there you go further information about The Great Gatsby, an abridged ebook, and the audiobooks to have a go at and then make up your mind about giving the movie a try, or not! Who knows?

Cover from Wikipedia

Picture from ESL-bits.net

Video Conference with Blogmaníacos

On Thursday 23 May 2013 I had the great pleasure to be allowed into the classroom of a very special and highly ICT skilled bunch of learners, blogmaniacos, who challenged me with a Facetime interview while being recorded by Conchita López, their teacher.

Here you are the video summary of our get-together:

My most sincere thanks to these incredibly friendly, hard-working, fun and warm learners!!!!!!

I really had the time of my life!!!!!!!!!!

I'm humbly honoured to feel part of Blogmaníacos!!!!!!

Communicative Skills in the ESL Classroom

Presentation at ticLÍNGUAS 2013. Universidade do Minho. Braga. 
24 May 2013.

How to use Glass

From Project Glass.

Have you ever felt like Eliza Doolittle?

Click on the image below, watch the video clip and find out.

Picture from The Jane Austen Film Club.

While you are watching and listening, you have some work to do: this worksheet will help you understand what is going on and why.

Movie Clips

Movie Trailers, Previews, Clips of old, new and upcoming films.

Visit MovieClips.com

See you soon!

Watch the video below.



Now, listen to this soundtrack.

Would you ever sing such songs? Why/Why not?
Do you know any other songs used at special occasions?

Now let's watch 'See you in september' again and find a quick answer for an easy question: can you hear any rhyming words? If so, which ones?

Have a look at the phonetic symbols below and find words in the song whose pronunciation matches them:

Let's move on now to 'The Sound of Music' again and try to match the rhyming words with the phonetic symbols above, first of all. 

Next, let's concentrate on the farewell words. How many different languages are the children using?

Finally, let's discuss for a litlle while about multilingualism. 

Is it a myth or a fact, fiction or reality? 

What does being multilingual involve? 

How does one become multilingual?

Are multilinguals the odd ones out? Are they specially talented? Can they pick up any language they want just like that?

Is multilingualism a fad or a consequence of living in a multilingual world?

Are you multilingual? Would you like to be multilingual or your family to be multilingual?

Lyrics of See you in September and The Sound of Music.

The Sunshine Award

This morning I woke up with a surprising but very rewarding piece of news. We have been nominated by Carmen Arias and Pilar Pamblanco to The Sunshine Award.

Thanks ever so much, Carmen and Pilar, I am really humbled and honoured and the fact that you have thought of this blog is just amazing!

The Sunshine Award is an award given to bloggers by other bloggers. It is given to 'bloggers who are positive and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere'. As with other similar awards, there are rules, which are:

1) Including the award logo in your post or site. 

2) Answering seven questions about yourself.

3) Nominating five to ten other wonderful bloggers. 

4) Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blog, letting them know they are nominated.

5) Share the love and link with the person who nominated you.

So, here we go to abide the rules:

Questions about me:

1. I am just an ESL teacher who loves her job and working with ICT.

2. I love my family: husband and two boys, aged 10 and 16.

3. I love travelling; the further, the better.

4. I am madly in love with Twitter, blogging and sharing!

5. I hate papers, tests, exams, I just can't stand all that stuff!

6. My favourite films ever are The Sound of Music, My FairLady, Gone with the wind, Billy Elliot, The Lord of the Rings..., these are too many, aren't they? Well, I'll stop here, then.

7. Books, favourite books? Almost impossible to name a couple, I'm a bookworm, but I must say that my most beloved writer of all times is David Lodge.

My nominees are:

Crea y aprende con Laura. By @jhergony, awesome colleague in the Canary Islands!

Blogmaniacos. By @blogmaniacos, a fantastic band I learn an awful lot from!

My English Scrapbook. By @EstherMartinez, for the incredible amount of ESL resources she posts!

Sharing Learning. By @inma_a, for her tremendous effort to share all she does!

Creación Literaria y más... By @jferna35, an amazingly good Primary school teacher!

Learning Station!: 'El Perchero'. By @yolanda_egea, always ready to share tips and awesome ideas, the perfect eTwinning ambassador!

Mi primer año en Red XXI. By @julisanzmamolar, for his availability and willingness to learn and share. Proud to work with him!

Lengüetrazos. By @lajaines, the most friendly and close colleague I have found on the cyberspace!

Is Google Glass the future of teaching and learning?

Just watch and leave your comments.

We are part of Generations@school!

Our The Value of Wrinkles project is part of the Generations@School European iniative that engages pupils and older people in intergenerational dialogue.

Find out all about it!

Thanks a bunch!

Created with Padlet

Farewell Messages

Created with Padlet

Go to Full Size Wall.

Communicative Skills In The Classroom

Here you are the video-summary of a training session I delivered for Language Teachers at #microcursosCPROviedo in May 2013. 

I just wanted to share it here to thank you all for your great school work, without which it would be impossible to develop this kind of training sessions.

An unforgettable week in Pajares

From Asturias to Mallorca

The most elegant in the world

How does sound affect us?

Are you affected by sound? Do you feel the impact of noise pollution?

Julian Treasure is showing how sound affects us in four significant ways. Listen carefully for a shocking fact about noisy open-plan offices.

While you are listening, think of these questions and then answer them in groups:

What sort of relationship do individuals currently hold with sound?

How does the physiological way in which sound affects us work?

What is the relationship between music and the second way in which sound affects us?

Name the third way sound affects us and how it does so.

Can you give your viewpoints on the tips the speaker provides about work at open-plan offices?

As regards the fourth way in which sound affects us, what kind of link might it have with sales?

What is his model of soundflow based on? What are its golden rules?

Once you have discovered how you are personally affected by sound, create your own clip explaining your viewpoints on sound and noise pollution. When it is ready, share your final products with the rest so we can have a good collection of data on this issue.

Narrable about Kant

Thanks to Blogmaniacos

Some days ago, Conchita López, a greatly devoted teacher, and blogmaniacos, her students, asked me to help them with Aurasma and Augmented Reality after seeing some of the works we have been doing in our own lessons with that app.
Of course, I was more than willing to help them out, and now I am deeply proud of the results; that's why I'd like to show them to you here. Just click on the link below and find out why these two girls are running. Obviously, you'll need to follow their Aurasma channel, but you know how that goes by now, don't you?

¿Por qué corren Shara y Gloria?

I am also humbly honoured as one of Conchita's students, Andrea, has gone a step ahead and is sharing a tutorial about how to use Aurasma that she has designed herself. I think that's extremely clever!

Well done, Andrea, congratulations!

Proud to be a teacher!!!!!

Pasta with salmon and onion, narrated by Aurelio

A Cuppa

What is a cuppa?

 

Picture from http://www.kushtee.co.uk/

Picture from www.pinkcatshop.com

Not guessed yet? Then read this brief text from WiseGeek and find out.

Now, let's learn how to make a traditional British cuppa.

While you listen, think of the answers for the questions below:

Why did Gerry Wiseman decide to post these instructions?

Does he use water from the tap? Why/Why not?

Why is the use of a kettle essential for a decent cuppa?

What's the point of throwing away the water from the teapot through the sink?

What does the old English recipe call for? Is Mr Wiseman going by the book?

What's his tip for Brits coming to America? 

Why is he Mr Wiseman giving the Brits that tip?

Now, why not have a go at making a traditional "British cuppa" yourself?

Are you more into coffee, hot chocolate, capuccino? 

OK! Then, let's try and design a nice online flyer to advertise your favourite cuppas.

If still eager for a cuppa, don't miss this video-lesson where the staff from Fortnum & Mason show us the perfect cup.

Vanilla cupcakes, narrated by Julia

Chocolate Cake, narrated by Soraya

Moments

Have a look at this picture:

What does the woman look like?

What kind of person do you think she is?

What has she done in her life?

How is she feeling right now?

What’s she looking at?

Now, look at this new picture:

What does the man look like?

What kind of person do you think he is?

What has he done in his life?

How is he feeling now?

What’s he looking at?

Both photos are taken from a short film. 

Create a story in which the man and the woman are characters. Write your story in the Comments Textbox of this entry and discuss the different stories your partners are writing with new replies to your mates' own comments.

Now, let's watch the film and compare your stories with the story you see in the film.

How does the man feel when he sees images of his daughter on the TV screen?

How does the wife feel when she sees her daughter?

How does the daughter feel when she sees her father?

How does the father feel when he sees his daughter and wife?

How does the film make you feel?

What do you think happens after the film finishes?

Homelessness

Discuss:

1.Are there many homeless people in your country? 

2.What are the main causes of homelessness? 

3.What can governments do to prevent homelessness? 

4.What can you do to help homeless people? 

5.How do you feel when you see a homeless person? 

6.If you were homeless, how would you feel and what would you do all day? 

7.Is homelessness a “hidden” issue for society and homeless people “invisible”? 

8.How do you feel when people say homeless people “should just get a job”? 

9.Are there homeless children in your country? 

10.What are the causes of child homelessness?

Stuffed Zucchini

 Ingredients (for four people)

• Four medium zucchini
• Two medium chopped onions
• One chopped pepper
• One big chopped leek
• 150 gram flaked cod
• 100 gram peeled shrimp
• 16 cream grated cheese
• Three tablespoons olive oil

Preparation method

Slice the washed zucchini lengthwise, scoop out the centre and keep it, bake the outermost zucchini with tablespoon oil in a 180ºC oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a large frying par to cook the onions, the pepper and the leek with the rest of the oil. When the vegetables are soft, add the cod and the shrimp. After ten minutes, pour in the centre of the zucchini you had previously set aside. Let it boil together for ten more minutes.

Fill the zucchini boats with the mixture  you just prepared and top each one with a slice of cheese.

Bake again at the same temperature for another 15 minutes and serve it hot.

A delicious and surprising starter, by Isaac

Pancakes filled with vegetables and goat cheese.

Four servings.

Time: about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

For the pancakes

1/2 litre of milk

3 eggs

300g of flour

A pinch of salt

For the filling

1 aubergine

1 courgette

2 or 3 carrots

A handful of young garlics

250g of mushrooms

150g of goat cheese

2 tablespoons of olive oil

A pinch of salt

Steps:

1) Mix all the ingredients for the pancakes in a bowl and stir until the blend has no lumps. Then, add one tablespoon of olive oil into a frying pan. Let it heat up and pour the blend until it  fills the bottom of the frying pan. Flip the pancake so it is well cooked on both sides.

2) Peel and chop the aubergine and the courgette, and chop the carrots too. In a frying pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil and let it heat up. Then, add the chopped vegetables and wait while they get soft. Lastly, add the mushrooms and the young garlics.

3) Add little pieces of goat cheese to the vegetable mix.

4) Spread the vegetables mix onto each pancake and roll them up.

5) Serve warm.

Chicken and ham pudding, by Paloma

I recommend you this dish, a recipe which everybody likes and which has something good: you can prepare it the day before so the day of the event you are relaxed and have time for yourself.

Ingredients:

300 grs Chicken breast fillet

300 grs Boiled ham

300 grs Cured ham

Different spices such as black pepper, walnuts, oregano etc.

A glass of cognac or brandy

2 or 3 eggs

People: 8

What is important in this recipe is the purchase of the chicken and the ham, you have to go to the butcher's and ask them to grind them up and machine blend them. 

Once you have the mix, beat the eggs and mix the chicken-ham mixture with the beaten eggs.Then, add different spices, the ones you have, I specially recommend you black pepper, walnuts, and oregano. 

Put the mixture in a long container which is compatible with high temperature in the oven. Spread the container with butter or flour before putting the mixture in (this is to avoid the mixture sticking into the container). 

Put it in the oven 200ª temperature during approximately half an hour. To see if it is done, poke it with a fork, it has to be hard. Once it is hard, get it into the fridge, it has to be inside a night long.

Next day, slice it and you can serve it with orange or raspberry jelly.