Do you know what Black Fridayis? If you don't, click on the following link to listen to Randall, a teacher from the US, telling you about it (click play when you're on his site).
After 10 months in office, President Barack Obama granted his first pardon — to "Courage," a turkey spared the Thanksgiving table.
The president said, "Thanks to the intervention of Malia and Sasha, because I was planning to eat this sucker, Courage will also be spared this terrible and delicious fate."
He said Courage was pardoned "before I change my mind" and will get to live out his life in Disneyland.
Below is the video I played today in class about the history of Thanksgiving. You can watch it again or for the first time if you didn't attend class today. You can ask me for the handout with the activities next week.
I hope you now know a bit more about the history of this big American family holiday.
I've just had a tip from one of my colleagues in Mazarrón, Mª Carmen Cascales, for a new website by the BBCwhere you can practise your listening skills and learn vocabulary about the topicswe deal with in class in anew and fun way!
Click here to visit it and listen to Phil telling you about how to use the site.
Click here for an example of a listening about shopping: Shop 'til you drop.
It's really cool!
Besides, if you click on the S button on the lower right-hand side, you can activate the subtitles.
I've found a really comprehensive and useful website called Using English for learners (and teachers) of English and I think it can be of great interest to you, so I'm posting here the link for you to visit it and use it as a complement to our lessons.
Check it out and enjoy!!!
Click here to find handouts to practise your grammar and more. (Yours is intermediate level).
For example you might be interested in practising your present perfect or even your phrasal verbs (although we haven't seen them in class yet, but we will).
Last week your classmate Lola gave me the tip for one more song about money. It's Money, Money by Swedish group ABBA.
Here it is together with the lyrics!
I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay Ain't it sad? And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me That's too bad In my dreams I have a plan If I got me a wealthy man I wouldn't have to work at all, I'd fool around and have a ball
Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man's world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man's world Aha-ahaaa All the things I could do If I had a little money It's a rich man's world
A man like that is hard to find but I can't get him off my mind Ain't it sad? And if he happens to be free I bet he wouldn't fancy me That's too bad So I must leave, I'll have to go To Las Vegas or Monaco And win a fortune in a game, my life will never be the same
Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man's world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man's world Aha-ahaaa All the things I could do If I had a little money It's a rich man's world (x2)
I'm posting here a link to the listening I played in class about shopaholics. Remember it's taken from 6 Minute English, so it's six-minute long, but I only played the first 2:10 minutes.
Click here to listen to it again and read the transcript. You can download both the audio and the script from the To take away box on the upper right-hand side of the site.
We're dealing with money matters in class and we watched the video for Ka-chin by Shania Twain in class, remember? Well, now I'm posting here three music videos whose songs talk about money and spending. The first one is an all-time classic by the great Beatles (although the song isn't theirs this time), the second is an 80's classic by Madonna and the last one is a more recent song I really enjoy by The Offspring.
Different times but same issues...
They all have interesting lyrics, so check them out!!
Hope you like them! If you want to recommend any other song, feel free to do so.
The best things in life are free But you can keep them for the birds and bees
Now give me money That's what I want That's what I want, yeah That's what I want
You're lovin' gives me a thrill But you're lovin' don't pay my bills Now give me money That's what I want That's what I want, yeah That's what I want
Money don't get everything it's true What it don't get, I can't use Now give me money That's what I want That's what I want, yeah That's what I want, wah
Money don't get everything it's true What it don't get, I can't use Now give me money That's what I want That's what I want, yeah That's what I want
Well now give me money A lot of money Wow, yeah, I wanna be free Oh I want money That's what I want That's what I want, well Now give me money A lot of money Wow, yeah, you need money now, give me money That's what I want, yeah that's what I want
Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me I think they’re o.k. If they don’t give me proper credit I just walk away
They can beg and they can plead But they can’t see the light, that’s right ’cause the boy with the cold hard cash Is always mister right, ’cause we are
Chorus: Living in a material world And I am a material girl You know that we are living in a material world And I am a material girl
end of chorus
Some boys romance, some boys slow dance That’s all right with me If they can’t raise my interest then I Have to let them be
Some boys try and some boys lie but I don’t let them play Only boys who save their pennies Make my rainy day, ’cause they are
(chorus)
Living in a material world [material] Living in a material world (repeat)
Boys may come and boys may go And that’s all right you see Experience has made me rich And now they’re after me, ’cause everybody’s
(chorus)
A material, a material, a material, a material world,
Living in a material world [material] Living in a material world
This is just a reminder for you to e-mail me or hand in to me your first writing. It's the assignment on page 17 in your student's book.
You need to write about 150 words and the deadline is Wednesday, 11th November.
Remember to revise your work carefully once it's finished looking for grammar, spelling, punctuation and even coherence mistakes and follow the instructions I gave you in class.
Here's the document I showed you in class with this year's NI1 objectives, contents and bibliography. Remember to print out your copy or make a photocopy with the one I gave Fran.
Hi there! Do you remember I told you about podcasts in class and how incrediby useful they can be to you? Well, here's a reminder for you to visit the BBC website withhundreds of free podcasts ready to go! Download them and play them in your MP3, MP4 or computer. It's as easy as pie!
Now, if you feel they're still too difficult for you... don't worry! There are some of them especially created for students of English. =] Click on the links below to see and download them. You'll love them!!