Reading list

Editorial: Burlington Books

2ºESO: The Canterville Ghost

3ºESO: The Lost World

1ºBACH: Pride & Prejudice OR The Last of the Mohicans

2ºBACH: Brave New World OR The Moonstone

Artist of the week (7)

This week I've posted Oceana's song, Cry Cry... since you've all sung this song in class, don't be shy and sing along. The song is actually about Oceana's childhood friend who got on the wrong path...

Where is Matt?

If you like travelling, have a look at this video. It's about Matt, a 34-year-old man from Connecticut who used to think that all he ever wanted to do in life was make and play videogames. Matt achieved this goal pretty early and enjoyed it for a while, but eventually realized there might be other stuff he was missing out on. In February of 2003, he quit his job in Brisbane, Australia and used the money he'd saved to wander around Asia until it ran out. He made this site so he could keep his family and friends updated about where he is.

Answers for this year's Selectivity Exam!

Have a look at this year's exams...

Green energy industry asks for government help to meet targets
Social care for graduates: compassionate embrace

The World Cup: England vs US

England's players rallied around Robert Green, while coach Fabio Capello contemplated whether to drop the goalkeeper who cost them a World Cup win against the United States!

England: 1 vs US: 1

The World Cup

The World Cup has begun! Feel free to post any comments on the World Cup! Who will win the World Cup? Spain, England or the United States? I'll post the latest results after each match! Tonight it's England's debut against the United States! Will this be a clash between the old and new continent?

In the meantime have a look at Bisbal's song on youtube:



More up-to-date information on FIFA's webpage (in English, of course)...

Artist of the week (6)

The Baseballs are a Rock'n'Roll band founded in Berlin in 2007. They became popular with rock'n'roll versions in the style of the 50s of modern hits such as Umbrella by Rihanna and Hot N Cold by Kate Perry. Their version of Umbrella was a hit in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway and got into the charts in all six countries.

Europe Day: question # 2

What's the name of the President of the European Council and what country does he come from?
Good luck!

Europe Day Contest

Here's the question of the Department of Foreign Languages:

Name the country that presides the Council of the European Union, the country that presided the Council the second half of last year and the country that will preside the Council at the beginning of next year. Three countries altogether... Good luck!

The Lord's prayer

The other day one of my students asked me how we pray the Lord's prayer in English: well, here it is:

"Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil."

By the way, you begin with:

"In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... Amen..."

Curiosities

This can be the beginning of a new item on my blogsite: Curiosities & Questions made by students...

Well, today's curiosity is: "El Muro de Lamentaciones" in English: the Western Wall, sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall or simply the Kotel and as al-Buraaq Wall in Arabic, in the Old City of Jerusalem, constructed around 19 BC by Herod the Great.

Artist of the week (5)

Bobby Ray Simmons (born November 15, 1988), also known as Bobby Ray, or B.o.B. is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. His debut album, B.o.B. Presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray, was expected to be released on May 25, 2010 but due to the commercial success of his song "Nothin' on You", was recently pushed up to April 27, 2010.

Play review

Feel free to send me your review of last Wednesday's play "Superlosers". You can either use a link to Google docs or write the review as a comment of this post!
I look forward to receiving your feedback!
Cheers, your English teacher

Just for laughs

Europe Day - 9 May 2010

What is Europe Day?

In Paris that day, against the background of the threat of a Third World War engulfing the whole of Europe, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read to the international press a declaration calling France, Germany and other European countries to pool together their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation".
What he proposed was the creation of a supranational European Institution, charged with the management of the coal and steel industry, the very sector which was, at that time, the basis of all military power. The countries which he called upon had almost destroyed each other in a dreadful conflict which had left after it a sense of material and moral desolation.
Everything, therefore, began that day. That is why during the Milan Summit of EU leaders in 1985 it was decided to celebrate 9 May as "Europe Day".
Every country which democratically chooses to accede to the European Union endorses its fundamental values of peace and solidarity.
These values find expression through economic and social development embracing environmental and regional dimensions which are the guarantees of a decent standard of living for all citizens.
The European Union is at the service of its citizens. While keeping their own specific values, customs and language, European citizens should feel at ease in the "European home".

Song of the week (4)

Another song on request: A real classic this time: Nothing else matters by Metallica. Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981 (a long... long... time ago, when some of us were still very young or others weren't even born!). Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, guitarist, James Hetfield, vocalist and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. A funny anecdote is that James Hetfield wrote this song while on the phone with his girlfriend! Since he held the phone with one hand, he plucked the four open strings with the other, which eventually made up the first two bars of the songs. The lyrics were also dedicated to his girlfriend, which talk about being "so close, no matter how far", indicating the bond they shared even when Hetfield was on tour.

A "pixeled" view on New York

Earth Hour 2010 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Earth Hour 2010 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Posted using ShareThis

Song of the week (3)

This week's song is on request: The Fray, Syndicate...

The Fray is an American four-piece piano-rock band from Denver, Colorado. Formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. The Fray achieved national success with their first single, "Over my Head", which became a top ten hit. The Fray's use of the piano as the lead instrument has led critics to compare them with British piano-driven bands like Coldplay and Keane.

Our first exchange programme Boston - Granada

London For Ever

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

London For Ever

View more presentations from DR ROM.

Artist of the week (2)

Lady Gaga (born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta; March 28, 1986) is an American recording artist. She began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side. She soon signed with Streamline Records, upon its establishment in 2007. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and had her also sign to his own label.

Her debut album The Fame, was released on August 19, 2008. In addition to receiving generally positive reviews, it reached number-one in Canada, Austria, Germany, and Ireland and topped the Billboard Top Electronic Albums chart. Its first two singles, "Just Dance" and "Poker face", became international number-one hits, topping the Hot 100 in the United States as well as other countries. The album later earned a total of six Grammy awards nominations and won awards for Best Electronic/Dance Album and Best Dance Recording.

Lady Gaga is inspired by glam rock musicians such as David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, as well as pop music artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson. She has also stated fashion is a source of inspiration for her songwriting and performances. To date, she has sold over ten million albums and over thirty-five million singles worldwide.

Lyrics training

If you want to learn English by singing songs, check out this fantastic website! Just choose your song, the difficulty level (beginner - intermediate - expert), hit "play now" and fill in the lyrics while you're listening to the song and, of course, don't forget to sing along! And don't worry, the song stops if you're not a fast typewriter...
Click on lyrics training and start singing!

The next best thing: C-3PO or Google?

Will this be the end of English teachers?
Key vocabulary: translation tool, gadget, android, smartphone, application
Download the pdf and try to do the listening exercise (google translate)...

Theatre

Superlosers:
Face2Face: April 14, 2010

Ex-Super Hero, Jack Lipshitz is faced with a new mission to clean up the streets after years of retirement. A freak accident at Sci-Tech Technologies turns Eco-Scientist, Dr. Einsteen into the evil Bag Lady, a deformed and powerful villain. To save the world from the evil Bag Lady, Super Loser must return to school to regain his super powers. With the help of his new super friends he will take on the Bag Lady and her cohorts. Will Bag Lady succeed with her demonic plan? Or will Super Loser triumph over evil and save the day? Find the asnswer to these and other questions in this hilarious romp through the world of sperheroes, baddies and recycling.

If you want to get a sneak peek at some of the songs the actors will be singing in the play, check out the lyrics and the key vocabulary at the superloser song link. You can also listen to the original songs on YouTube: I feel good; Crazy little thing called love.

The ten commandments for Spanish Learners of English

The ten most basic mistakes in English

Artist of the week

Milow:

The Belgian singer-songwriter, Jonathan Vandenbroeck (born July 14, 1981, Leuven) a.k.a. Milow was first heard on the 2004 Humo's Rock Rally competition. His performance was awarded with a position in the finals but just out of reach of a top three position.

In 2006, Milow produced his first album The Bigger Picture together with Nigel Powell (from the British group Unbelievable Truth). The first single from the album, "One Of It", was played frequently on the radio station Studio Brussel. The second single "You Don't Know" reached #3 in the Ultratop 50.

Flemish newspaper De Standaard offered Milow a column in their online edition. Milow still writes in this blog titled Off the Record about his songs and events in his life. On 28 June 2007, Milow was the opening act on Rock Werchter.

In September 2008 Milow released a cover version of Ayo Technology, a song originally written and recorded by 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. It has received over 28 million plays on Youtube alone. The single reached #1 in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark, as well as a #1 position on the Spotify Top List. More than 300.000 copies were sold in Germany alone, worldwide more than 600.000 copies. Milow sold also over 400.000 copies of his album "Milow".

Milow spent a year as an exchange student in California, USA with the AFS Intercultural Programs.

If you want to learn more about Milow, have a look at his webpage...

Exchange Boston - Granada