LAST POSTS

24 Oct 2013

On public speaking

Hi there,

I've just come across this article on "public speaking", which is -fortunately- becoming an important matter for educationalists in Spain.

Why is "public speaking" taught in British schools but not in Spanish ones? What are the consequences of this? Read the article to find out...

¿Por qué los colegios ingleses enseñan oratoria y los españoles no?




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14 Oct 2013

How to improve writing skills!

If you want to improve your writing skills, try one of these fun writing activities! They might seem a bit crazy but they do work!!


Taken from ESL Basics


  1. Write a story that is made up of 26 sentences, where each sentence begins with a different letter of the alphabet. The first sentence will start with “A”, the second sentence will start with “B”, and so on.
  2. Practice using the common suffix “-ion” by writing a paragraph that includes at least 15 words that end in “-ion”.
  3. Write a sentence that contains no nouns.
  4. Write a sentence that contains four nouns, three verbs, two adjectives, and one adverb.
  5. Write a sentence in which each word only has one vowel in it.
  6. Write a sentence that contains every letter of the alphabet at least once.
  7. Write the longest sentence that you can – without using the letter “e”.
  8. Write a paragraph about your most valued possession, using as many possessive pronouns as possible (my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, and theirs).
  9. Write a dialogue between two people with as many questions as possible.
  10. Write down the lyrics of one of your favorite songs. Then use formal English formatting and language to transform those lyrics into a business letter.
Choose one/some of these activities and leave us a comment with your experience! :)
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10 Oct 2013

How to get your point across in Spain

Hi there,

I've just found this very interesting article on how we communicate in Spain. I believe the writer manages to capture many of our cultural features, and how we display them in communication... or doesn't he?

How to get your point across in Spain


What do you think of the image given of the Spanish? Do you agree with the way we are portrayed? Feel free to post a comment below!
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Revision of tenses; personality adjectives; relationships

Hi everyone!

Here you have the first entry of the year! I'll regularly post a summary of what we've done in class but, most importantly, I'll also post extra material to consolidate and to expand what we do in the lessons.

We've already advanced quite a lot and are almost finishing Unit 1! These days we've been revising tenses, question formation and auxiliaries. As for vocabulary, we've talked about relationships and also personality.

If you want to continue revising English tenses, try the following exercises online:

  • Revision of tenses 1: here you have exercises with pairs of tenses (present simple vs. present continuous; past simple vs. past continuous; past simple vs. past perfect, etc).
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7 Oct 2013

42 Idiom Origins


If you are a "word nerd", check out the following video: the origin of 42 idioms explained in under 10 minutes!




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3 Oct 2013

What to do with new vocabulary

Hi there,

Yesterday in class we talked a little bit about what to do with all the vocabulary that comes up in the reading texts and the extra handouts I give you.

From the Advanced Level onwards we still learn some grammar, but basically we'll revise what you already know and we'll mainly focus on your vocabulary to polish and refine your English. Get used to using a highlighter to mark all the new expressions you come upon. After each unit, revise everything you highlighted and copy it to your notebook. That way you'll revise your vocabulary after every unit and studying won't be so hard at the end of the year.

I know it takes time, but believe me, it's really, really worth it, and you'll be more than happy to have that list for the final exam in June. And for all your subsequent years learning English. Take my word :)
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