Tuesday 1 December 2015

2nd ESO video: Homes around the world

This is the BBC video we've just viewed. 




Watch it again at home to answer the questions given in class. 

Sunday 15 November 2015

A product review (writings from 3rd ESO students)

A product review
by Cristina Zumel
 
It's a graphic tablet (WACOM). My parents gave me the tablet on my birthday because I wanted it for drawing.

On the one hand, it was easy to set up. For drawing it was really better than the mouse. It's one of the best graphic tablet at the market. Plus, it had got a very good price.
 
On the other hand for using it the first time it was necessary to connect it with the programme that you were using to draw and it was quite difficult.
 
For me, if you want to do digital drawings, this tablet is perfect.

A product review
by Nerea Rodríguez Puga
I just bought an IPhone. I'm pretty happy with it but I'll talk about some pros and cons I think you need to know before buying it.

It's really easy to set up, there is a digital guide that explains all the things you need to do to make it work. It has two cameras (one external cam and another internal) with an awesome resolution (I don't know how but I always look good in my IPhone pics). I think the software works pretty well and the phone in general works fast. The voice function and the speakers also work amazingly well.
But, althought it works really well and I'm so happy with all its functions, I have to say it's too expensive (I had to save money for almost two years to buy it). I also think everyone should know that the operating system is made to connect only with more Apple devices, so it makes you want to buy all your electronic devices in the Apple Store because, if you don't, then, to connect for example your Iphone with your Android/Windows tablet, you'll have to work double hard.
Summarizing, in my opinion, IPhone is a really good phone and I like it a lot; and I'd recommend it to people with enough money to buy all the expensive Apple devices, or to people with time that can spend 30 minutes to send a picture from their phone to their laptop.

A product review
by Lara Rodríguez Pereira

I got the new Stlein 6 Plus last week and I couldn't be more angry with it.
I was really excited to buy this "amazing" new mobile phone because I heard really nice opinions about it, but nowadays, I don't understand why.

Here a short review about it:
PROS: It was a gift -so luckyly I didn't spend any money-, it offers a good customers' service, it has a cool design, it is easy to set up and the camera has a nice resolution.
CONS: It works really slow, I can't watch films or series outside home -because without WiFi it works really badly, the voice assistant doesn't work properly and the software seems old even though I bought it not many days ago!

In conclusion, I would recomend this phone to people that don't use it very much or that just want a beautiful design; but in my case, it disappointed me a lot ad I wouldn't buy it again if I had the opportunity to.


Sunday 11 October 2015

Pronunciation Practice: the -ed ending

The simple past is used principally to describe events in the past. As you know, we can classify verbs into regular and irregular. 

What can we say about irregular verbs? They are a pain in the neck for most of you because there's other way than learning them by heart. 

Regular verbs, on the other hand, are a piece of cake. We only have to add -ed to the base form and voilà we have the past of that verb. However, it's not that simple, isn't it? Here comes the problem of pronouncing them...because -ed endings may be pronounced /d/, /t/ or /Id/ depending on the last sound of the verb in the infinitive. 

Watch the following video and classify by pronounciation all the regular verbs you can hear.



Thursday 1 October 2015

Happy new school year!

It's been two weeks since we started the new school year. 
There are new students and even new teachers but the enthusiasm and willingness hasn't changed. 

"A Whale of a Time" starts this academic year 2015-2016 with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi:

Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever.


This is for all of you, for all of us and especially addressed to my oldest students, who are learning and studying this universal icon.


Tuesday 16 June 2015

CONFESSIONS OF AN IDIOM



Everyone has Skeletons in their Closet but, what happens if one day the Elephant in the Room decides to make the Skeleton in the Closet bring the truth to light? The Skeleton isn’t one to confess to his crimes so easily. Mayhem ensues in this power struggle with a world full of idioms.
This film was done by Amanda Koh and Mollie Helms at Ringling College of Art + Design. If you have any questions, feel free to visit my website at amkoh.com
Enjoy!

Thursday 21 May 2015

VOTE FOR US IN THE OXFORD COMPETITION!!!!

3rd ESO students are taking part in the Oxford Competition to win a weekend for the whole class in Oxford. 

They had to create a video in English explaining what they would introduce in a Time Capsule so that people from the future could know a bit about life in 2015. They made up a really funny story and they had so much fun making it that, even if we don't win, it's totally worth it.

Check it out in the following link, vote for us and share it with your contacts!!!





Thank you!!!

Thursday 16 April 2015

How to Survive a Bear Attack



(Watch from 2:54)

Watch and listen to Ray giving advice about what to do if you meet a bear. Complete the missing information in the sentences below.

Never ___________ because this excites the bear.

A bear can run as fast as a ________________.

A ___________is a bear’s primary means of hunting.

Keep your distance! Avoid the temptation to get close to a bear to take a better ____________.

Don’t be fooled into believing that a  _________ provides a safe place. Black bears and grizzly bears can ___________trees.

Playing ________ is a strategy which is not 100% effective.

Never approach a mother with her cubs because this will make her ___________.

If you remove your ______________ you can run away whilst the bear stops to see what is inside it.

Oxford University Press 
Secondary Ready-to-go!

Friday 10 April 2015

British and American English


Can a person from the UK make himself understood by a person from the USA?
Is American English and British English the same language? What are the main differences between the English spoken in the United Kingdom and the English spoken in the United States?

These are just some of the questions that students ask me whenever we come across a text in which American words are being used. 

American and British English are just two varieties of the same language, in the same sense that the Spanish spoken in Spain and in, say, Cuba, is the same language but it has some noticiable variations which do not only concern vocabulary, but also pronunciation and grammar. 

However, we are going to focus on vocabulary since most of the words are not new for students (either they know them from songs, video games or TV). 

A good way to start is listening to this video and paying attention to differences in vocabulary.


Tuesday 24 March 2015

Actividades de formación en linguas estranxeiras

O pasado martes 17 de marzo saiu publicada na páxina da Consellería de Educación da Xunta de Galicia a convocatoria das actividades de formación en linguas estranxeiras para o ano 2015.

O prazo de solicitude é ata o 16 de abril e están destinadas a alumnos de ESO e Bacharelato. Os requisitos son os seguintes:

- non ter concedida outra axuda para o mesmo fin neste curso
- nota mínima na área de lingua inglesa de Ben ou 6 no curso 2013-2014
- ter superadas todas as áreas ou materias no curso 2013-2014
- ter DNI (excepto menores de 14 anos) ou NIE en vigor

Se queredes máis información, podedes acceder directamente a páxina da Xunta na seguinte ligazón:



Gustaríame animarvos a todos a que participedes nestas actividades. Podedes preguntar a alumnos que xa o fixeron en anos anteriores e mesmo neste blog atoparedes algunhas experiencias de alumnos en pasados anos. 

Por suposto, contade comigo se necesitades que vos aclare ou axude en algo. 

Thursday 19 March 2015

4th ESO Group A: Composition about your plans for a holiday





My plans for the weekend
by Enrique Osorio


This weekend my friend Elvis and I are going to London. We're going to visit the Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the British Museum. We are going to travel by plane and we're going to sleep in Winchester Hotel.

On Saturday morning we are going to visit the Big Ben and have lunch near it. After lunch, we are going to visit the London Eye and after, we are going to have dinner.

On Sunday morning, we are going to visit the British Museum and Buckingham Palace. After lunch, we are going to the hotel to pack and go to the airport to take the plane to return home.



E-mail to a friend
by Sofía López

Hi Sam,

I'm looking forward to seeing you so I was thinking about going to Madrid on holiday this weekend. What do you think?

I finish school at 2 p.m. and you finish half an hour later, so I can wait for you at your school's door and we can go together. 

I have looked at the train timetable this afternoon and there is a train that goes from our city to Madrid at 4 p.m. so we can have lunch and then pick up our bags and go to take the train. 

Also, there is a hotel in the centre of Madrid and I think it's quite good and cheap. 

On Saturday, I found some cool art galleries that are interesting but in case you don't like art, we can go around the city by ourselves.

On Sunday, we can relax and go to the football stadium and some shops. Then we will catch the train at the same time as Friday. Hope you like my idea. 

See you,

Sofía.


On Holiday!
by Miguel Rosales

This weekend I couldn't do my English homework because I was planning my summer holidays with Martín. We'll go to the Caribbean from 1st to 22nd July.

We are going to travel by plane and the trip will be so long...2 hous! We've planned to go every evening to relax to the beach so we have to bring our swimming trunks. 

We are going to do exercise like running on the sand so we have to bring our sports clothes too! I looked on the internet what the weather will be like this month there and it's going to be so hot! But two days of our holiday it will probably rain so we have to bring our umbrella! 

We are going to stay at "The Peace" hotel. 

Whatever...it's going to be the best holidays ever!!


My Plans for Carnival
by Ainhoa Santos

It's Carnival time! It's fantastic! I'm going to go to my grandparents' house in A Valenzá. 

My grandmother will make a lot of food for all my family, as in all parties. I suppose that my grandfather won't wear costumes because he doesn't like carnival, I don't know why. But I don't worry, I know that he'll be happy because we're going to eat together everyday.

My parents tell me that they're going to a dinner with their friends. My sister and I are going to my cousin Carlos' party because it's his birthday. 

On Saturday, I'm going to go to the shopping centre with my friends and Marie told me that we'll see a horror film. I'll buy popcorn and a soft drink to see the film. I think that Lorena won't go with us because her mum is in hospital. I hope that she gets over soon.

On Sunday, I'm going to go to Juan XXIII street to see the parade. I have to get round Susi, I hope she accompanies me. My little cousin is going to parade with his mum, my aunt. His name is Carlos and he's four. He's very nice. I love him.



Finally, I'm going to go to bed early, because I have to study for my exams. 





Monday 16 March 2015

4th ESO Group B: Compositions about the FUTURE




Year 2100
by Iria Fernández 

Transport in the year 2100 will be very comfortable and fast. Everywhere in the world will be communicated by means of transport such as planes, trains...
Also, transport will have an alternative to petrol and people will create a new vehicle for individual use, for example, the aircraft. 
As regards technology, computers will have many innovations and changes. One of these changes will be that comuters will have the five human senses. In addition, there will be computers controlled by human thought and different technologies to improve health. For this, we will have devices to be placed in the skin and these devices will control the heart rate and the stress levels in the day.
Finally, food will be created in laboratories aas a result of the lack of food. There will also be 3D printers that will make food.

The Earth in the year 2100
by Andrea Mosquera

Nowadays, our society is suffering constant changes to improve and also to have a better life. However, we don't think about the consequences. 
One the one hand, I think that there will be positive changes such as development in medicine, new treatments for different diseases...Also, the advance in technology will allow people to work easily, to be more informed and to be connected. I also think there will be new ways of entertainment, new inventions like machines which will help us to work or to do our housework or, for example, more effective cars. 
Furthermore, people will create new ways of socializing.
On the other hand, the world will have negative changes. There will be more work done by machines so this is going to create more unemployment. New technology and inventions will produce more pollution that affects the atmosphere, therefore, life will be more difficult for species because many of them will be missing and also plants will decrease. 
In conclusion, I think we will live busier and troubled, everything will be more convenient but this will affect the planet, which will become worse little by little. Therefore, we should take care of it and try to progress in a positive way.


In the year 2100
by Borja Fernández

In the year 2100 all means of transport will be flying in space and they can use the energy from the sun. 
You'll travel to other galaxies and you will live without oxygen. 
In this year, they will put a computer on your wrist. People will go to the cinema without getting lost because your computer will guide you and we will speak with all our friends without mobiles.
As regars health, people will not get sick because in our blood there will be organisms which will defend them. 
You will communicate with your watch because it is a computer and you can do everything with it, phone, listen to the radio...
People will see all movies on the Internet and you will surf for free on the Internet and see series, movies, play videogames...

In 2100
by Helena Mª Araujo

In 2100 things will be very different . We will travel by flying cars. These cars will include a TV set, a play station, some games, a kitchen to prepare some food, etc. These cars will do everything for men. They will be very spacious. 
On the other hand, food will be very strange, like penguins with eggs or chips with pencils. People will be very crazy and food too.
Clothes will be very cool because in the planet the weather will be very hot, like 40º or 50º.
I wish I won't live in 2100. I think this will be very strange for me and I won't like to see a different world. It's good now and I don't need to change anything. 



Wednesday 11 February 2015

2nd ESO students share ideas to create new websites


Last Friday our 2nd ESO students learnt some vocabulary related to the internet during their class with Raj, our language assistant. During the session, they worked in groups and came up with new ideas to make their own webpages. They all did a great job and some of the proposals were really good!! Here are some photos and videos taken during those lessons. 















Friday 16 January 2015

Millenials generation


Very interesting video which shows the differences between the babyboomers generation and the so called millenials, young people who were born with the new millenium and whose motto is living in the moment. 

It really helps to see this generation under a different perspective and understand what they are up to. In some aspects, we are not that different, are we? After all, we all have been young sometime!!