YLE Cambridge Examinations (English for kids)

Cambridge English exams - News

There is a piece of news about Cambridge English exams; you can find all the information regarding this topic in the following link:

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/news/view/cambridge-english-exams-continue-to-be-accepted-for-uk-higher-education-admission/

BRITAIN from above: 12 glorious views from the sky

Stunning images of Britain taken from the above  :D


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/11461943/Britain-from-above-12-glorious-views-from-the-sky.html?frame=3226784



I'm in love with the UK

TROTAMUNDOS - Nordeste de Inglaterra

This is a nice TV documentary broadcasted by the Spanish Channel 1 (rtve). You can watch it again in this link:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/grandes-documentales/grandes-documentales-trotamundos-programa-especial-nordeste-inglaterra/3055624/


You will travel around a lot of English cities without leaving your home ;)

Genetic Map of the British Isles

The following is a very interestin article about a great research led by researchers from the University of Oxford. Have a look at it and enjoy while reading it, it's worth it ;)


http://www.medievalists.net/2015/03/19/researchers-create-genetic-map-of-the-british-isles/

Internet & Email Vocabulary

Being able to read and say common symbols related to computer technology is essential for us, due to the fact of living in a technological society.

With the following photo, you'll know how to deal with those symbols while speaking.

Enjoy them ;)

INGLÉS en verano

Tal y como os comenté en anteriores publicaciones, la Universidad de Salamanca, concretamente el Departamento de Cursos Internacionales, ofrece una gran variedad de cursos y campamentos de inglés para el verano. Hay para todos los gustos y edades, desde inglés en España como inglés en el extranjero.

Dentro de los cursos de inglés en España, faltan por publicarse en la web los que se desarrollan en Salamanca, con grandes novedades para este año. Por adelantaros algo, habrá inglés de cocina (Minichef Summer Camp), y muchos otros más, donde el aprendizaje del idioma y la diversión van de la mano. Tenéis que estar atentos a su página web para que no se os pase el período de matrícula.

Podéis informaros de una manera más detallada en su página web:

http://cursosinternacionales.usal.es/es/cursos-de-ingl%C3%A9s


O si preferís llamar por teléfono, preguntad por Ana (coordinadora de estos cursos de inglés): (+34) 923 294 418


Espero que os animéis porque merecen la pena ;)

SONGS in the English language classroom

Using songs as part of the teaching and learning process of a language is a great technique. This is something I have always used in my EFL classes, and students, no matter their age, have enjoyed it a lot.

I think that the important thing here is not just play a song and let the students listen to it, but choose the right one. With "the right one" I mean a song students like. Since it is impossible to have 20 students who like the same song, what I do is, in our first class together, play a group game that will allow me to know their likes in music, such as a "Find someone who..." activity. I will be able to know which songs or artists they like, but without asking them 'Who is your favourite singer?' or 'What is your favourite song?', something really boring and nonsense.

I do a lot of different types of activities with songs, from gap-fillings to matchings. There are also small discussions about the meaning of the song after listening to it. What I like is to prepare before, while and after listening activites, for the students to take the most advantage of it.

Sometimes, I also use songs to revise a particular sound (phonetics), such as Rihanna's "Shine Bright Like a Diamond". I made up an activity with this song in which students had to identify as many /ai/ sounds as possible. How many can you identify? Listen to it and tell me! Then, I'll tell you if you are right or not ;)

Regarding this topic, there is an article written by Adam J. Simpson that explains really well the use of songs in the classroom. Have a look at it and enjoy practising English while listening to music ;)

http://www.britishcouncil.org/blog/how-use-songs-english-language-classroom

This is my VOKI

Remenglish Voki

Intensifiers - TOO / ENOUGH / SO / SUCH

In order to know a little bit more about intensifiers in English, I provide you with an explanation about TOO / ENOUGH / SO / SUCH  for you to use them properly.


http://www.slideshare.net/majoalvarado/too-enough-and-so-such



You can practice them in a written form with the following exercises:


file:///C:/Users/Pc/Downloads/Grammar+Appendix+split_1.pdf


file:///C:/Users/Pc/Downloads/Review+so+such+too+enough+split_1.pdf

Books to read

10 foreign books we should all read:


The following list about foreign books we should all read is a list proposed by The Independent newspaper.

For all of you who love reading, these are great books ;)

1. Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco

Translated from Italian by William Weaver

This riff on the paranoia thriller is a joy, blowing The Da Vinci Code sky-high years before Dan Brown could even write it.

2. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein

This and its fellow “Neapolitan” novels mix the pleasures of the family saga with an icily modern take on love and friendship.

3. A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven by Karl Ove Knausgaard

Translated from Norwegian by James Anderson

Before he wrote his quasi-memoir My Struggle, the writer produced this odd novel about angels and the Bible.

4. Your Face Tomorrow by Javier Marías

Translated from Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa

A huge three-volume novel that tracks its themes of betrayal and the uses of violence back to the Spanish Civil War

5. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Translated from Japanese by Jay Rubin

I prefer his quieter, nostalgic books to his determinedly off-beat novels. This tale of first and lost love is a melancholy charmer.

6. Rituals by Cees Nooteboom

Translated from Dutch by Adrienne Dixon

A novel about three suicides might not seem the cheeriest proposition, but this beautiful, thoughtful book about finding your way in the world is life-affirming.

7. Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa

Translated from Japanese by Stephen Snyder

A perverse novel about a young woman who has a sado masochistic affair with an older man. It lingers longer in the mind for its calm other-worldliness.

8. The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna

Translated from Finnish by Herbert Lomas

This starts with a car hitting a hare. One of the passengers nurses the animal, and off they go on a series of wild adventures.

9. Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

Translated from Gikuyu by the author

A satire on the venality of African politics that rejoices in the power of the oral tradition and in gleefully poking targets.

10. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas

Translated from French by Siân Reynolds

The most subtle and humane of any of the international detective series.