The 20 best travel books

According to "The Telegraph", these are the 20 best travel books of all time. Do you agree? ;)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/artsandculture/travelbooks/4932008/The-20-best-travel-books-of-all-time.html

English PHONICS

If you want to learn about English phonics in your free time, just visit Mr. Thorne's website; it's amazing!!

http://mrthorne.com/

Holidays in the United Kingdom 2015/2016

It's important for students to know that British culture is not just Halloween. There are more interesting festivities along the year which can be a nice resource to deal with in class.

What I always do before starting the school year is to create a home-made calendar where I write down all the British festivities; we celebrate them in class with enjoyable activities and games.

If you want to know which are those festivities, go tho the following websites:

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?year=2016&country=9

The benefits of a bilingual brain

How knowing more than one language can actually change the way your brain looks and works (TED-Ed)

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-speaking-multiple-languages-benefits-the-brain-mia-nacamulli

Storyline Online

This is a great website with videos and activity guides linked to children's story books. I think it's a wonderful site!

http://www.storylineonline.net/

Welcome AUTUMN!!!

The History of the English Language in one chart

With the help of this chart, you'll learn about the History of the English Language very quickly. Enjoy it! ;)

A tour of the British Isles in accents

A tour of the British Isles in accents, a really interesting clip to learn about British accents!!

MAPS that explain the English language

In the following webpage, you'll see maps that explain the origin of English in a great way:

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/3/8053521/25-maps-that-explain-english

It's a very interesting article! ;)

Oxford ROOFTOPS

Rooftops es el nuevo libro escolar que utilizarán este nuevo curso la mayoría de mis alumnos y alumnas de educación primaria.

Os proporciono a continuación la página web de estos libros, donde, tanto padres y madres como niños, podréis encontrar un montón de actividades relacionadas con el contenido de vuestro libro. Ya no tenéis excusa para practicar en vuestros ratos libres ;)

http://www.oupe.es/es/ELT/Primary/oxfordrooftops/Paginas/oxfordrooftops.aspx

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Taken from Canalda Traduciones

COGGLE - App para mapas conceptuales

Coggle es una herramienta que crea fácilmente mapas conceptuales y esquemas, con la ventaja de que pueden ser colaborativos. Tal y como explican en educacontic.es,  "Con Coogle podremos confeccionar mapas mentales sobre conceptos relacionados con los contenidos de clase de forma sencilla y bastante rápida. Es útil para cualquier materia, los mapas se comparten fácilmente en internet gracias a la URL que proporciona la herramienta, además se pueden descargar como PDF y PNG. Es una herramienta aconsejable también para los trabajos de nuestros alumnos."

En este vídeo entenderás cómo usarlo:

Para más información, puedes visitar la página web de Coggle:

https://coggle.it/

New English words in the dictionary

Is it 'hungry'?, or 'angry'?, or 'hangry'?

This is an example of an English word that often confuses learners. Nevertheless, HANGRY is nowadays a new word in the Oxford Dictionary, so it's written correctly.

These are the new words accepted by Oxford Dictionary:

• awesomesauce, adj.: (US informal) extremely good; excellent. 
• bants (also bantz), pl. n.: (Brit. informal) playfully teasing or mocking. remarks exchanged with another person or group; banter. 
• beer o’clock, n: an appropriate time of day for starting to drink beer. 
• brain fart, n.: (informal) a temporary mental lapse or failure to reason correctly.
• Brexit, n.: a term for the potential or hypothetical departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. 
• bruh, n: (US informal) a male friend (often used as a form of address). 
• cakeage,n.: (informal) a charge made by a restaurant for serving a cake they have not supplied themselves.
• cat cafe, n.: a cafe or similar establishment where people pay to interact with cats housed on the premises. 
• cupcakery, n.: a bakery that specialises in cupcakes. 
• deradicalisation, n.: the action or process of causing a person with extreme views to adopt more moderate positions on political or social issues. 
• fatberg, n.: a very large mass of solid waste in a sewerage system, consisting especially of congealed fat and personal hygiene products that have been flushed down toilets. 
• fat-shame, v.: cause (someone judged to be fat or overweight) to feel humiliated by making mocking or critical comments about their size. 
• fur baby, n.: a person’s dog, cat, or other furry pet animal. 
• Grexit, n.: a term for the potential withdrawal of Greece from the eurozone (the economic region formed by those countries in the European Union that use the euro as their national currency). 
• hangry, adj.: (informal) bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger. 
• manspreading, n.: the practice whereby a man, especially one travelling on public transport, adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat or seats. 
• mkay, excl.: (informal, chiefly US) non-standard spelling of OK, representing an informal pronunciation (typically used at the end of a statement to invite agreement, approval, or confirmation). 
• Mx, n.: a title used before a person’s surname or full name by those who wish to avoid specifying their gender or by those who prefer not to identify themselves as male or female. 
• pocket dial, v.: inadvertently call (someone) on a mobile phone in one’s pocket, as a result of pressure being accidentally applied to a button or buttons on the phone. 
• rage-quit, v.: (informal) angrily abandon an activity or pursuit that has become frustrating, especially the playing of a video game. 
• rando, n.: (informal) a person one does not know, especially one regarded as odd, suspicious, or engaging in socially inappropriate behaviour. 
• Redditor, n.: a registered user of the website Reddit. 
• social justice warrior, n.: (informal, derogatory) a person who expresses or promotes socially progressive views. 
• snackable, adj.: (of online content) designed to be read, viewed, or otherwise engaged with briefly and easily. 
• spear phishing, n.: the fraudulent practice of sending emails ostensibly from a known or trusted sender in order to induce targeted individuals to reveal confidential information. 
• swatting, n.: (US informal) the action or practice of making a hoax call to the emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large. number of armed police officers to a particular address. 
• weak sauce, n.: (US informal) something that is of a poor or disappointing standard or quality.
• wine o’clock, n.: an appropriate time of day for starting to drink wine.

If you want to learn more, read the article here: 

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/27/hangry-bants-fatberg-new-words-in-oxforddictionaries

Making GRAMMAR more interesting for students

As I know there are teachers who have a look at this educative blog, I provide with several helpful ideas that I have been putting into practice for eleven years. It has to be with English grammar. Grammar is usually a nightmare for both teachers and students; it turns into something boring and useless. However, grammar is something funny and useful; you only need to know how to teach it and how to put it into practice in the right way.

In the following link, both the British Council and the BBC give some tips on how to make grammar more interesting for students:

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/jazzing-grammar

Free AUDIOBOOKS

Pearson English gives you the opportunity to download free audiobooks. It's very easy! ;)

You can enjoy great books and with audiobooks you can improve your speaking and listening skills.

Don't be lazy because with Pearson English Readers you have no excuse! ;) They go from Easystart to Level 6.

http://pearsonenglishreaders.site/

EXPLORADORES DE BIBLIOTECA - Actividad de fomento de la lectura

A través de la página web de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León se pretende fomentar la lectura con un programa divertidísimo llamado "Exploradores de Biblioteca". Tal y como se cuenta en el manual de dicho programa de lectura, se trata de un "programa de formación de usuarios cuya finalidad principal es dar a conocer la biblioteca escolar a los alumnos de 4 a 7 años y motivarlos, a ellos y en cierto modo a sus padres, a participar en las actividades que se llevan a cabo en este espacio. Está basado en una metodología lúdica, en la que los niños se transforman en pequeños exploradores, que animados por “Arnold”, un ratón aprendiz de bibliotecario, recorren la ruta del buen explorador para aprender a respetar las normas de la biblioteca y potenciar la creatividad a través de la resolución de pruebas de búsqueda, de creación artística y literaria".

Si quieres que tu hijo/-a se adentre en el increíble mundo de la lectura, visita la siguiente página web e infórmate de cómo comenzar esta aventura ;)

http://www.educa.jcyl.es/fomentolectura/es/informacion-especifica/publicaciones/publicaciones-comunidad-castilla-leon/cuadernos-profesor/cuadernos-profesor-4/exploradores-biblioteca

15 words you need to eliminate from your English vocabulary

According to the author Jennie Haskamp, there are 15 words in English you should eliminate from your vocabulary if you want to sound smarter or if you want to write more succinctly:

1. That

It’s superfluous most of the time. Open any document you’ve got drafted on your desktop, and find a sentence with that in it. Read it out loud. Now read it again without that. If the sentence works without it, delete it. Also? Don’t use that when you refer to people. “I have several friends that live in the neighborhood.” No. No, you don’t. You have friends who. Not friends that.

2. Went

I went to school. Or the store, or to church, or to a conference, to Vegas, wherever it is you’re inclined to go. Instead of went, consider drove, skated, walked, ran, flew. There are any number of ways to move from here to there. Pick one. Don’t be lazy and miss the chance to add to your story.

3. Honestly

People use honestly to add emphasis. The problem is, the minute you tell your reader this particular statement is honest, you’ve implied the rest of your words were not. #Awkward

4. Absolutely

Adding this word to most sentences is redundant. Something is either necessary, or it isn’t. Absolutelynecessary doesn’t make it more necessary. If you recommend an essential course to your new employees, it’s essential. Coincidentally, the definition of essential is absolutely necessary. Chicken or egg, eh?

5. Very

Accurate adjectives don’t need qualifiers. If you need to qualify it? Replace it. 
Very is intended to magnify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. What it does is makes your statement less specific. If you’re very happy? Be ecstatic. If you’re very sad, perhaps you’re melancholy or depressed. Woebegone, even. Very sad is a lazy way of making your point. Another pitfall of using very as a modifier? It’s subjective. Very cold and very tall mean different things to different people. Be specific. She’s 6'3" and it’s 13 degrees below freezing? These make your story better while also ensuring the reader understands the point you’re making.

6. Really

Unless you’re a Valley Girl, visiting from 1985, there’s no need to use really to modify an adjective. Or a verb. Or an adverb. Pick a different word to make your point. And never repeat really, or very for that matter. That’s really, really bad writing.

If you are visiting from 1985? Please bring the birth certificate for my Cabbage Patch Doll on your next visit. Thanks.

7. Amazing

The word means “causing great surprise or sudden wonder.” It’s synonymous with wonderful, incredible, startling, marvelous, astonishing, astounding, remarkable, miraculous, surprising, mind-blowing, and staggering. You get the point, right? It’s everywhere. It’s in corporate slogans. It dominated the Academy Awards acceptance speeches. It’s all over social media. It’s discussed in pre-game shows and post-game shows.

Newsflash: If everything is amazing, nothing is.

8. Always

Absolutes lock the writer into a position, sound conceited and close-minded, and often open the door to criticism regarding inaccuracies. Always is rarely true. Unless you’re giving written commands or instruction, find another word.

9. Never

See: Always.

10. Literally

Literally means literal. Actually happening as stated. Without exaggeration. More often than not, when the term is used, the writer means figuratively. Whatever is happening is being described metaphorically. No one actually “waits on pins and needles.” How uncomfortable would that be?

11. Just

It’s a filler word and it makes your sentence weaker, not stronger. Unless you’re using it as a synonym for equitable, fair, even-handed, or impartial, don’t use it at all.

12. Maybe

This makes you sound uninformed, unsure of the facts you’re presenting. Regardless of the topic, do the legwork, be sure, write an informed piece. The only thing you communicate when you include these words is uncertainty.

13. Stuff

This word is casual, generic even. It serves as a placeholder for something better. If the details of thestuff aren’t important enough to be included in the piece? Don’t reference it at all. If you tell your reader to take your course because they’ll learn a lot of stuff? They’re likely to tell you to stuff it.

14. Things

See: Stuff.

15. Irregardless

This doesn’t mean what you think it means, Jefe. It means regardless. It is literally (see what I did there?) defined as: regardless. Don’t use it. Save yourself the embarrassment.

Have a look at her article to learn a little bit more about this topic:


https://www.themuse.com/advice/15-words-you-need-to-eliminate-from-your-vocabulary-to-sound-smarter

What English sounded like 500 years ago

If you are one of those who think English has always sounded in the same way, you are wrong. There are clear samples of this change of sound in films, for instance.

In the following video, you'll be able to listen to that sound difference.