Still living at home?

More and more young people in their 20s and 30s all over the world are living with their parents, because it is too expensive for them to rent or buy a place of their own. Are you living at home? Are you happy with it? Post at comment at @stilllivingathome

Click on the link below to read the posted comments by your classmates.

Still living at home? Post your comment!

And thanks everybody for your excellent work on conditional structures!

End-of-May Reading Practice

Just a heads up to remind you that the June exam is coming up in less than a month... But don't worry, because you've done plenty of practice throughout the year, you may just need to revise a little bit, but it shouldn't be very hard work... Let me just give you some reading materials. Open up the four files below, do the exercises in them, and finally click on the Key below to check your answers.

Reading Practice 1
Reading Practice 2
Reading Practice 3
Reading Practice 4


Key to the Reading Practice 1 to 4 

If you don't have enough time...

Our last debate in class dealt with those important things that we tend to miss in life, while being caught up in the daily grind. To the proposition "if you don't have enough time, [...]", people gave a full set of different answers, showing how different we really are when it comes to searching for solutions. 

"If you don't have enough time, stop watching TV", reads the famous poster in the picture. Well, your classmate Sergio sent me a link to a video which tries to shed  light onto another ridiculously time-consuming activity... Guess which?? Click on the link below!

From William Shakespeare to Roald Dahl

The English Department is honored to invite you to celebrate World Book Day with a tribute to two authors spanning the centuries: William Shakespeare and Roald Dahl. Clik on the link below to find out about our evening schedule. We're really looking forward to seeing you around guys!

From William Shakespeare to Roald Dahl

Now everybody pronounces the -ED ending properly!

Now we're all aware of the way we must pronounce the regular past and participle forms in English, right? Good, so then you may want to go through this list of verbs your classmate Noelia just sent to me, so that you can rehearse your pronunciation by yourselves, all right? Thanks, Noelia!

List of regular verbs and their pronunciation

/səˈsaɪəti/

Society is a song from the original soundtrack for the film Into the Wild (2007), composed and performed by Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam vocalist). Apart from the note on pronunciation I pointed out in our pronunciation workshop last Friday, I believe you may find the lyrics a nice antidote against consumerist excess in this sometimes crazy world. Enjoy!

Listen to Society, by Eddie Vedder
Read the lyrics here

Health and Beauty Reading Text

This is a heading matching reading exercise for you to complete over the week. I will be back to school tomorrow after my sick leave, so you guys enjoy this beautiful spring day!

Health and Beauty Heading Matching

Health and Beauty Heading Matching Key

Listening to Books: White Death, by Tom Vicary

To get you acquainted with audiobooks, which may be very useful for your listening practice, your classmate Susana sent to me this one called White Death, by Tom Vicary, edited by Oxford Bookworms Library, Stage 1. This book deals with the misadventures of a young girl who finds herself in prison... And why so? You may wonder... Well, you'll have to listen to the story if you want to find out more. It is a very easy read, but with an interesting subject. Enjoy!

Thanks Susana!

White Death Chapter 1 

White Death Chapter 2

White Death Chapter 3

White Death Chapter 4

White Death Chapter 5

White Death Chapter 6

White Death Chapter 7

White Death Chapter 8

A News Story About People, not Trees

After reading the most incredible news story about trees in class, here follows the most outrageous news story of the year. The link below takes you to the International Business Times newspaper. The headline reads:

"Spain: 11 Immigrants Drown After Border Police Fire Bullets"*

No words can follow this headline

Read the News Story here

* Where it reads 11 immigrants, you have to read 15 now.

Because I'm Happy!

You've made it through the mid-year exam, hurray!! Guess you're all happy about that, huh? As part of our karaoke sessions, your classmate Carlos has sent the following song to celebrate we're all alive and kicking after the oral exams.
You can first read the lyrics (to check out the words you don't know and stuff), and then just click on the video below to sing along!

 Happy by Pharrell Williams: Lyrics
NEW!: Happy Lyrics Phonetic Transcription

PS.: Remember to clap along if you feel like a room without a roof!!

PS.2: Thanks a lot Carlos!This is an awesome song to start the day!

Key to can vs. be able to

Guys, find below the answer key to the grammar practice on the different use of 'can' and 'be able to'

Key to "can vs. be able to" grammar practice

Happy weekend!

Heads up! Mid-year exam coming up!

Dear all,
As you guys must know by now, we're having our mid-year mock exam in a week's time. Check the class bulletin board for further details on the types of tasks to test your skills, and don't forget to sign up on the oral exams sheet!
Here's the link to the continuous assessment dates and types of test:

 Evaluación de progreso NI1

The Karaoke Season starts right here!

Remember the tips to improve your English we went through in class? One of them was singing along to your favourite songs, right? Well, this is the song your classmate Alberto sent to me to kick off the Karaoke Season: Hey Brother, by Avicii. So everybody get down to the music! And thanks, Alberto, for your message!