31st December: New Year's Eve

As you all know, in Spain we eat twelve grapes at midnight. The actual countdown is primarily followed from the clock on top of  the Correos building in Puerta del Sol square, Madrid. It is traditional to eat twelve grapes, on on each chime of the clock. This tradition has its origins in 1909, when grape growers in Alicante thought of it as a way to cut down on the large production surplus they had had that year. Nowadays the tradition is followed by almost every Spaniard, and the twelve grapes have become synonimous with the New Year. After the clock has finished striking twelve, people greet each other and toast with sparkling wine (such as champagane or cider).

New Year's Resolutions 2013

A New Year's resolution is a commitment an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. The name comes from the fact that these commitments normally go into effect on New Year’s Day and remain until fulfilled or abandoned.

Labor students: Are you making any New Year's Resolutions for 2013? Maybe working harder at school? Spending less time on Tuenti? Leave your comments and tell everybody what your resolutions for the New Year are!

Boxing Day Classic

D. Garrido, Á. de Prado, J. Saborido, A. Blanco, P. Castelo, F. López, F. López Sr., M.  Rguez Terés, J. Silveira;
Julio, J. Pérez, C. Montaño, A. Alonso, J. López, S. Fdez, R. Rguez.

Following the tradition of British football, ESO 4 students and teachers clashed on the astroturf pitch on the UVigo campus in a thrilling Boxing Day Classic Match that will go down into history books and football records as The Battle of Lagoas-Marcosende.

If in the year of our Lord 1314 patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields of Bannockburn, Labor teachers, overweight and breathless, played like warrior poets and outclassed their spirited young pupils before a passionate attendance of just 5 people (4 sons and a wife, actually). 

The youngsters' pace and energy was masterfully dodged by yet another unrivalled, magnificent, world-class display of tic-tac football. As a result of the prowess, skills and talent shown by the teachers team, the students were comprehensively trashed by many goals to few.

26th December: Boxing Day

Today is Boxing Day. No, it has nothing to do with the sport of fighting with the fists. This is the reason for the name:

A box, usually of earthenware, in which contributions of money were collected at Christmas, by apprentices, etc.; the box being broken when full, and the contents shared.

So, the name Boxing Day derives from the tradition of giving seasonal gifts, on the day after Christmas, to less wealthy people and social inferiors, which was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers and servants.

What if Virgin Mary had Whatsapp?

THE DIGITAL STORY OF NATIVITY

How would the birth of Jesus be experienced through digital media such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon...? Have a look at the video below:

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Christmas' Eve Dinner 2012

In Britain, turkey is the traditional dish for Christmas' Eve dinner. Enjoy it!

No copyright infringement intended. For educational purposes only.

Merry Christmas 2012!

Labor English Zone wishes you the 

Season's Greetings

At Labor English Zone we know what present we want for Christmas!

7 O´Clock News / Silent Night

Recorded on August 22nd, 1966, "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" is the twelfth and final track on "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme", a 1966 album by Simon and Garfunkel. The track consists of an overdubbing of two contrasting recordings: a simple arrangement of the Christmas carol "Silent Night", and a simulated "7 O'Clock News" bulletin of the actual events of 3 August 1966.

Christmas Carols & Songs 2012

A carol is a song of praise or joy, especially for Christmas. But it is also an old round dance often accompanied by singing.  The word was probably from Old French, derived from Latin choraula, which means "choral song".

Enjoy a selection of traditional Christmas carols and songs in English. Lyrics are included, so you can learn how to sing them!

8 Facts about Spain's 'El Gordo' Lottery

The following article was published by PR Newswire on7th December 2010.

Labor Walk of Fame 1.0

The first term of this school year 2012/2013 has come to an end. As usually, we would like to give recognition to those students who did better in the subject of English in each group of ESO.

For this occasion, we’ve created our “Labor Walk of Fame”, whose stars (best students of English for this 1^st term) are…

                                                     

       

 

 

And overall, the Oscar for best student in this 1st term goes to Álvaro de Prado Saborido, from ESO 1A, with an average score of 9.6. Congratulations!

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Music for the Eyes

Recently, as a counter-attack against Karl Lagerfeld’s opinions about her being in need of weight loss, singer Adele made the following statement famous: “I make music for the ears, not for the eyes”. Leaving aside her fabulous reply, can we really say that music is exclusive for those able to hear or may a visual component be determinant in some cases?

How to Care for Extroverts & Introverts

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Where the Hell is Matt?

Matt is a 36-year-old American guy who decided to quit his job as a game designer to travel until money ran out. Once, when travelling, his friend said: "Hey, why don't you stand over there and do your stupid dance. I'll record it." Matt did it, and he thought it looked pretty funny, so he kept on doing it everywhere he went.

That turned out to be a very good idea. He put the video of his dancing adventures on his blog (later on Youtube) and became famous as "That guy who dances on the internet”.

In the meantime, Matt got an email from a chewing gum company called Stride. They asked if he'd be interested in making another dancing video for them. This was only the beginning of a series of four different videos shot at various different places all around the world.

In his beginnings, he mostly just danced in front of iconic landmarks, but along the way he went to a country called Rwanda, and since there aren't any landmarks in Rwanda that you'd want to dance in front of, instead he just went to a small village and danced with a bunch of kids. The kids joined him immediately and without hesitation, and taught him that people are a whole lot more interesting than old landmarks and monuments.

The video below was released in June 2012. It was shot at 71 different locations, comprising 55 countries and 11 US states. The interesting thing about Matt’s videos is to be able to visually travel to many different countries in about 5 minutes, appreciating, in some cases, various aspects of their culture, architecture, environment or traditions.

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

'The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us', by Jocelyn McLean

At my brother’s convocation, my dad was asked to address the graduating class. The overarching theme of his speech was a question he had asked us regularly while we were young: if money were not an object, what would you do with your life? This question, and the ideas behind it, is something he reminds my brothers and I of regularly. What are you passionate about? When you take money out of the equation, what is it that motivates you?

I stumbled across this lively RSA Animate video by Dan Pink about that very question which  illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace. He tackles the fundamental assumption that (financial) rewards are the fundamental motivator for performance. Based on this assumption, performance quality should increase with larger incentives. An economics study found that this was true for tasks that required only mechanical skill; however, once a task required more cognitive and creative thinking, larger rewards in fact led to poorer performance.

According to Dan Pink’s research, there are three factors that lead to better performance and personal satisfaction: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Labor English Zone 3rd Anniversary

Labor English Zone started on 6th December 2009. Since then we have published 600+ posts and have received over 23,000 visitors who have viewed more than 42,000 pages. Our busiest day was 11th May 2010, when our hits peaked at 122 visitors (we guess the following day there was a pbl deadline or some kind of exam!!). Posted on February 27th 2010, this entry about school jokes, with over 3,000 visitors, has been the most popular one during our first three years.

...and after all this time things can only get better: As you probably know, we have to boast our new writer at LEZ, Raquel LP, whose contribution and insight are truly invaluable.

We want to thank you all for being there and for your visits. We would like to encourage you to send us comments and messages with your ideas and suggestions for new posts. We are interested in hearing what interests you.

To celebrate we are 3 years old, we publish again our first post, "The Italian Man Who Went to Malta":

6th December 2009

Let's begin with some humour. Italian and Spanish are arguably the hardest accents to get rid of. Practise pronunciation drills and try to polish your accent in case you go to Malta too!!

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

If You Give a Little Love You Can Get a Little Love of Your Own

“If you give a little love you can get a little love of your own” is part of a song entitled “Give a Little Love” by the English band “Noah and the Whale”.

The aim of the video below is to show that a little kind action of ours perceived by another person may lead to this person acting in a positive way towards others.

As it is said, “Love feeds love”.

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

The Phantom Traffic Jam - An Explanation

They appear from out of nowhere, cause chaos for hours on end, and then disappear without a trace. They are the 'phantom traffic jams' - queues of stationary cars that develop for no apparent reason - and they seem to happen very frequently on Rande bridge.

They have the power to completely ruin a bank holiday. It has been revealed that phantom traffic jams can be caused by the actions of just one driver: under the right conditions, one individual's bad driving can create 'a traffic tsunami which can affect traffic up to 50 miles away.

16 Things You Didn't Know about Sleep

Click here to see the picture enlarged

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

The Amazing World of Australian Roadsigns

So Australia strikes again at LEZ!

This time we would like to illuminate you about one of the most striking aspects of the Land Down Under, especially when visiting the country as a tourist. We are not referring to beautiful Sydney with its Harbour Bridge and Opera House, neither are we talking about Ayers Rock in the centre of the country nor the beautiful fauna found at the Great Barrier Reef. Today we’ll be dealing with Australian road signs!

As in any developed country, signs of notice, stop, caution, danger, obedience, emergency, safety and many others may be found in Australian roads. In any case, the most popular ones are those regarding caution and danger.  Most of them are diamond shaped, with a black picture or message on a yellow background.

And here it comes the interesting part. While in Spain drivers must be aware of “cows” or “deers” (at most), Australians were eager to show the wide variety their fauna has to offer. Hence, they designed funny caution and danger road signs with pictures of various Australian animals on them:

Don't stop me now

Click on the "Read more" link below to read the lyrics to this awesome song:

Warner Bross and Universal Pictures present...

Dear students,

There’s only one month left to celebrate the 25^th December, aka Christmas Day. A good plan for this day, apart from spending it having those lavish dinners with the family, is to go to the cinema, in spite of the recent increase in prices that the big screen has suffered.

Literature has always been one of the main sources of inspiration for the development of movies. From LEZ, we’d like to recommend you two films which will be released precisely on Christmas Day this year, based on two key classic English and French literary works: The Great Gatsby and Les  Misérables.

In case you’d like to watch the movies in original version, there are some cinemas in Vigo which offer that possibility, such as Cines Yelmo and Multicines Norte. Nevertheless, we do not promise they’ll precisely screen these films in English...

Dumb Ways to Die

Dumb Ways to Die is a song by Australian band Tangerine Kitty. The Melbourne Metro created this awesome animated video-clip as a reminder that getting hit by a train is the dumbest way to die.

DUMB - Ignoring the signal at a pedestrian level crossing
SMART - It's just common sense to obey signals at level crossings. Trains move faster than you think... so be smart, obey the signals, look both ways and double check before crossing.

You can find more dumb ways to die here

Set fire to your hair 
Poke a stick at a grizzly bear 
Eat medicines that’s out of date 
Use your private parts as piranha bait 

Dumb ways to die, so many dumb ways to die

Procrasti-Nation

(Reblogged from Wrong Hands)

I bet you have never been to this country, but you do know it quite well, don't you...? ;)

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Thanksgiving 2012 - 4th Thursday of November

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Traditionally, it has been a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. While it may have been religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday. It is sometimes casually referred to as Turkey Day.

In Canada, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October, which is Columbus Day in the United States. In the United States, it falls on the fourth Thursday of November. Since being fixed at the fourth Thursday in November by law in 1941, the holiday in the United States can occur on any date from November 22 to November 28. When it falls on November 22 or 23, it is not the last Thursday, but the penultimate Thursday in November. As it is a Federal holiday, all United States government offices are closed and employees are paid for that day. It is also a holiday for the New York Stock Exchange and most other financial markets and financial services companies.

Marca in English

ESO Students,

If you like sports, especially football, and you usually read sports newspapers such as Marca now you can pursue your passion and learn English at the same time: 

Marca has launched a website in English where you will find all the news and info on your favourite sports, clubs and idols.

Things Never To Say To A Teacher

(Reblogged from Singing Pigs)

A short little piece inspired by the tenth student in fifteen minutes to inquire about a test.

1. Have you graded our tests yet?

No. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a Scantron machine. Good thing, too, because to my knowledge, Scantron machines cannot grade short answer or essay questions which make up the bulk of your test. And while I do consider myself a reasonably intelligent human being I have not yet perfected my reading skills to complete ninety, four-page tests in one hour (which is exactly how long it has been since you walked out of my classroom) even if I weren’t teaching the rest of the day or preparing your classes for tomorrow. I reassure you that the second the tests are graded, the grades will be posted online because (also contrary to popular belief) I have better things to do than get my kicks by keeping already-graded-but-still-unentered exams around my house for added decor or extra toilet paper. Even though I’m paid peanuts, even I can afford toilet paper. So scoot your butt out of here and let me start digging through this pile o’ trees I just killed in the interest of furthering your education.

ESO 2 2012-13 1st Term PBL: My City

This photograph courtesy of TripAdvisor

ESO 2 Students,

This is your 2012-13 1st term PBL assignment.

You must PRINT/COPY THIS POST and BRING IT TO CLASS during the lessons on MONDAY 19th & WEDNESDAY 21st November. Before that, you must READ IT CAREFULLY AT HOME and try to understand as much as possible

At school, during those 2 lessons, you will work in 4 groups of students per class. Your task is to WRITE A COMPOSITION ABOUT VIGO as in a touristic leaflet. You can bring any dictionaries, books, guides or whatever material you consider necessary for those 2 sessions.

You must write AT LEAST 3 PARAGRAPHS including this information:

What Type of Learner Are You?

(Original source: OnlineCollege.org)

ESO Students,

What type of learners are you? What's the most efective way you learn? Are you a visual learner, an auditory learner, a read/write learner or a kinesthetic learner? Click here to see the image enlarged and find out:

Original source: OnlineCollege.org

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

November Quiz. Encrypted Messages.

Dear ESO students,

November is already here, and so is the quiz corresponding to this present month.

This time, we’d like you to pay attention to the encrypted messages below, corresponding to three different quotes.

As usual, the first student who’s able to write those three quotes in English providing the name of the person who said them will be given a 10.

Good luck and enjoy!

FIRST QUOTE:

.-/.-../.--/.-/-.--/...//..-./---/.-./--./../...-/.//-.--/---/..-/.-.//./-././--/.././.../--..--//-./---/-/..../../-./--.//.-/-./-./---/-.--/...//-/...././--//.../---//--/..-/----/.-.-.-/

SECOND QUOTE:

.-//.--././.-./.../---/-.//.--/..../---//-././...-/./.-.//--/.-/-.././/.-//--/../.../-/.-/-.-/./--..--//-././...-/./.-.//-/.-./.././-..//.-/-./-.--/-/..../../-./--.//-././.--/.-.-.-/

THIRD QUOTE:

-/...././/--./.-././.-/-/./.../-//-/..../../-./--.//-.--/---/..-//.--/../.-../.-..//./...-/./.-.//.-.././.-/.-./-.//../...//.---/..-/.../-//-/---//.-../---/...-/.//.-/-./-..//-..././/.-../---/...-/./-..//../-.//.-././-/..-/.-./-./.-.-.-/

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

ESO 4 Students,

Are you looking for your passion in life? Discover who you are, what you love, and the career that’s meant for you on Sokanu.... while reading in English and  learning lots of new vocabulary.

Your career, next to your relationships with friends and family, is the most important investment of your life. It's likely the greatest investment of your time. It's the biggest decider of the type of people you spend your time with every day, the environment that you spend your days in, and what you do with your mind and body. The cool part is that all of these details are what make a fun, purposeful life well-lived.

Sokanu is to be the place you come to whenever you have a question about your career. What do I want to be when I grow up? Who am I as a person? Who is similar to me? 

Sokanu is a platform for everyone. Nearly every person must "work" to make a living, yet very few of us find the work we are meant to do.

Remembrance Day 2012

LEST WE FORGET

Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a Commonwealth holiday (observed in all Commonwealth countries except Mozambique) to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. 

It is observed on 11th November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918 (major hostilities of World War I were formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice). The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7th November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during war.

In the United Kingdom, although two minutes of silence are observed on 11th November itself, the main observance is on the second Sunday of November, Remembrance Sunday. Ceremonies are held at local war memorials, usually organised by local branches of the Royal British Legion – an association for ex-servicemen. Typically, poppy wreaths are laid by representatives of the Crown, the armed forces, and local civic leaders, as well as by local organisations including ex-servicemen organisations, cadet forces, the Scouts, Guides, Boys' Brigade, St John Ambulance and the Salvation Army. The start and end of the silence is often also marked by the firing of a cannon. A minute's or two minutes' silence is also frequently incorporated into church services. Further wreath-laying ceremonies are observed at most war memorials across the UK at 11 am on the 11th of November, led by the Royal British Legion. The beginning and end of the two minutes silence is often marked in large towns and cities by the firing of ceremonial cannon and many employers, and businesses invite their staff and customers to observe the two minutes silence at 11:00 am.

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Somebody that I Used to Know

     By dictionary definition, a cover is “something that covers or is laid, placed, or spread over or upon something else”. Regarding music, a cover version or cover song is a new performance or recording of a previously commercially released song, the “authentic” version.

     A cover version can have a radically different style, be recorded in another language or even be a “mere” instrumental version of the original.

     One of the latest and most popular songs which has been covered to the maximum is the theme “Somebody I Used to Know” by the Belgian-Australian musician Gotye featuring the New Zealand singer Kimbra. The album, “Making Mirrors” was released in Australia in August 2011, however the song became really popular in Spain during the first half or this year 2012.

What do I Desire? What if Money Was No Object?

Ask yourself:  What would you do with your life if money was no object? 

An amazing lecture from the late Alan Watts.

What do I desire? Be the change that you would like to see in this world.

This is a really great lecture from Alan Watts, a British philosopher. It’s well worth the three minutes to watch. Watts talks about encouraging his students and listeners to do the thing they love most, because there’s no point wasting a lifetime trying to earn enough money to be stable enough to begin doing what you love to do. Better to lead a short life doing what you love than a long life doing what you don’t.

What do you desire? What makes you itch? What sort of a situation would you like?

Let's suppose — I do this often in vocational guidance of students, they come to me and say 'well, er, we're getting out of college and we haven't the faintest idea of what we want to do'. So I always ask the question: What would you like to do if money were no object? What would — How would you really enjoy spending your life?

Wond'ring Aloud

Wond'ring Aloud is a love song and sheer masterpiece released in 1971 by the British rock band Jethro Tull.

Jethro Tull rock group formed in Luton, Bedfordshire, in December 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969, after he replaced original guitarist Mick Abrahams.

Initially playing blues rock with an experimental flavour, they have also incorporated elements of classical music, folk music, jazz, hard rock and art rock into their music.

One of the world's best-selling music artists, the band have sold more than 60 million albums worldwide in a career that has spanned more than forty years.