International Book Day

How many of the books in this children´s literature map do you recognize? And how many have you actually read? (Find the full list below the map)

Kevade by Oskar Luts for Esthonia 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for Great Britain

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren for Sweden

Le Avventure di Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi for Italy

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry  for France

The Never-Ending Story by Ende for Germany

Heidi by Spyri for Switzerland

Orlovi Rano Lete by Branco Copic for Serbia

Toreadors from Vasyukivka by Nestayko for Ukraine  

The Adventures of Tin Tin by Hergé for Belgium

Fada Oriana by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen for Portugal

Platero y yo by Jiménez for Spain

Mangas by Penelope Delta for Greece

Kake Make by Lina Zutaute for Lithuania

The Tale of Tsar Saltan by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin for Russia

Tüskevár by István Fekete  for Hungary

Amintiri din Copilarie by Ion Creanga for Romania

Cufoja dhe Bubi Kacurrel by Gaqo Bushaka for Albania

Pabbi Professor by Gunnar Helgason for Iceland

Jip en Janneke by Anne MG Shmidt for the Netherlands

The Moonmins by Tove Jansson for Finland

Akademia Pana Kleska by Jan Brzechwa for Poland

Slovenské Rozprávky by Pavol Dobšinský for Slovakia

Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer for Ireland

Den grimme ælling by Andersen for Denmark

Mrs Pepperpot Stories by Alf Prøysen for Norway

Čudnovate zgode šegrta Hlapića by Ivana Brlić Mažuranić for Croatia

Geschichten vom Franz by Christine Nöstlinger for Austria

Click on the image below to get access to An Awesome Book, created by Dallas Clayton, an author and illustrator for his son. The book is about the idea of dreaming BIG and never giving up. Dallas Clayton wants to spread the love of reading all over the world. An Awesome Book is a book for children but I am sure you can learn some vocabulary from it, and it is translated into lots of different languages so if you have a little sibling or cousin, enjoy the book with him/her!

Happy World Book Day!

A Taste Of My Students´ Speeches. 2018

Here is a sample of my students´speeches this year. They want to share them with all of you, and I am glad you will all get to appreciate their big effort.

Antón



Mario R. 



Thank you very much!

Adjectives: Word Order

This song is a very good example of how complicated things can get in English when you want to add adjectives to a noun. It is also a popular song so you might just as well get acquainted with it.

Itsy-Bitsy Teeny-Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini is a very old song; it was released in 1959, a time when bikini bathing suits were too daring, but, thanks to the song, bikinis were better accepted in society.

itsy-bitsy = tiny, very small

teeny-weeny = extremely tiny

polka-dot = patterned with spots

Brian Hyland´s version of the song was a big hit. The video below (a very old one....) shows him dancing to the staging the song.

Sing along, enjoy yourselves and practice your pronunciation!

The Benefits of Playing a Musical Instrument

Many students in our school play a musical instrument. Are you one of them?

Have a look at the infographic below and think about its message: do you agree with it? how does music help you? can you think of any other advantages?

Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

Graduation Speeches 2018. Day 5

Last Friday. Mario G. and Eugenia were the last students to deliver the speeches this year. They were excited to do so but nervous at the same time; luckily, they were supported by their families and a bunch of friends who chose to spend the break time listening to them rather than hanging out.

Iván presented Mario G.

And Noah introduced Eugenia

One more year, the students´contributions to the English class, with their graduation speeches, has been a complete success. I think all of us have learnt something: the speakers with their big effort (writing and delivering) and the audience from the speakers´words and reflections. 

It is lovely to see friends supporting each other and  listening to their (heartfelt most of the times) words of gratitude towards friends, family and teachers; besides, it is really nice to welcome the students´family members and friends at school for an educational experience like this one.

Memories are precious possessions and many of us have new memories to cherish now. Thank you for mine!

Graduation Speeches 2018. Day 4

Samuel was the only speaker last Thursday. He did not bring himself to sign up for writing and delivering his speech until he listened to his classmates during the first session this year; that gave him the courage to do it. 

He kept us - family, classmates and friends- waiting because he had to sit for an exam just before break...so much stress....

Adrián presented Samuel

Thank you!

Graduation Speeches 2018. Day 3

Wednesday, April 4th, was another full day of valedictorian speeches: students from different groups and their friends and families, who gave a somewhat different view of the audience in the auditorium in each period. To all of them, thank you!

With so many people coming and going, I forgot to take pictures of every single group of speakers and presenters, but I took quite a few photos which, I hope, will be a nice memory of that moment.

Friends filming the speeches:

And presenters and speakers:

Laura presenting Jennifer

Aldara presenting María

David presenting Iván:

Nicolás presenting Mario R.:

Mario was the showman in this session: he will get a good mark in the part of the rubric that assesses gestures and body language...

Paula presenting Natalia:

Cristina presenting Alicia:

At the end of the break I realized I had forgotten to take some photos of each pair formed by the speaker and his/her presenter....some of them had already left ( they had to attend lessons) so there was nothing I could do but take the last two pairs: Cristina and Alicia

and the last pair: Paula (presenter) and Carlota (speaker): 

Thank you all for a great school day!

Technology Tips

David Pogue presents his ten top time-saving technology tips. How many did you know before watching the video? 

As the video shows a TED Talk, remember to choose the subtitles that suit you best.

Graduation Speeches 2018. Day 2. Part III

Here are the speakers who delivered their speeches during break last Friday together with their presenters. I am afraid I forgot to take a picture of the audience; I get so carried away with the excitement of listening to the speeches that I seem to forget something in every session .... Sorry!

Here are the presenters doing their job: Helena introduced Estela, Iván introduced Martín and Marcos introduced Antón.

And here are the presenters with their friends:

Thank you to the friends, families and teachers who came to listen to them and thus helped make this a memorable activity!

Graduation Speeches 2018. Day 2. Part II

Luca and Mary Glory delivered their speeches during the third period on Friday, March 23rd; they had worked hard on their deliveries and they were backed up and introduced by real friends, which was nice to see. Luca was introduced by Leticia and Mary Glory was introduced by Santiago, who cut classes in another school to do so ( I do hope his teachers excused his absence!)