Advice on Accent Reduction

ESO Students,

Watch the video below and you'll see some familiar, useful pieces of advice from Paddy Kennedy, principal of Kennedy Communication Studio... yes, you have heard them from us time and again!

• Your accent is not the problem
• Language has rhythm
• Hear the music in the language
• You're trying to speak my language in the rhythm pattern of your language and I can't understand it.
• English is a beat-driven language... everything we say can be drummed out.
• We speak in sound units: We-do-not-speak-word-by-word
• You don't want to see the language... you need to hear it, to listen to it.
• Imitate native speakers, everything they say... and exaggerate, make the sound big!!.
• You need to train the organs of articulation: your tongue, your cheeks, your mouth (that's why no chewing gum is allowed in class!)
• Tongue twisters: find them and say them as if they mean something... and say them with rhythm.
• The most important thing is the up and down of the language.
• Just keep practising... that's how we learnt our mother tongue.

I Knew You Were Trouble

ESO Students,

Our Music teacher, Mª. J. Barbosa, has kindly  prepared another activity for us. This time she has chosen a song by Taylor Swift, I knew you were trouble, to challenge your listening skills with a fill in the blanks activity.

Don't miss the introduction Taylor Swift makes during the first two minutes of the videoclip, as she speaks very, very  clearly. We are sure you'll understand most of what she says, you'll like the song and enjoy this test!

Thanks a lot again, María!

Once upon _______
A few mistakes ______
I ______ in your sights
You got me _________
You _______ me
You _______ me
You bound me

I guess you didn't _______
And I ______ I liked that
And when I fell hard
You took a step back _______ me, _______ me, _______ me

And he's long gone
When he's ______ ____ me
And I realize the blame is on me

Cause I ______ you were _______ when you _______ in
So shame on me _______
Flew me to _____I'd never _______
So you _______ me down oh
I _______you were trouble when you ______ in
So shame on me ______
Flew me to _______ I'd never ______
Now I'm lying on the cold hard _________
Oh, oh, ______, ________, ________
Oh, oh, _______, ________, ________

No ___________
He'll never see you ________
Pretend he doesn't ________
That he's the reason ________
You're drowning, you're drowning, you're drowning

And I _______ you _______ on
From whispers on the __________
A new notch in your _________
Is all I'll ever ____ 

And _____ I _____, _____ I _____, ____ I ____
He was long gone
When he ______ me
And I _______ the joke is on me

Cause I ______ you were _______ when you _______ in 

So shame on me _______

Flew me to _____ I'd never _______

So you _______ me down oh 

I _______you were trouble when you ______ in 

So shame on me ______

Flew me to _______ I'd never ______

Now I'm lying on the cold hard _________

Oh, oh, ______, ________, ________
Oh, oh, _______, ________, ________

When your sadest fear comes creeping in
That you never loved me or her or anyone or anything
Yeah

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

Labor Walk of Fame 1.2

Our best students during this 2nd term are...

Make "Misteaks"

British English vs American English

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

British Isles

ESO Students,

We are sure that all you have some time or another wondered what the difference between England, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain Islands and British Isles is... This mind map will certainly help you understand it once and for all!

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

School Answering Machine

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

Invictus, by William Ernest Henley

"Invictus" is a short poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). At the age of 13, Henley contracted tuberculosis of the bone. A few years later, the disease progressed to his foot, and physicians announced that the only way to save his life was to amputate directly below the knee. It was amputated when he was 17. Stoicism inspired him to write this poem. Despite his disability, he survived with one foot intact and led an active life until his death at the age of 53.

This poem has been an inspiration for many modern films and songs, but you may have heard of it thanks to the film Invictus that you have been watching in Physical Education lessons: While incarcerated on Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela recited the poem to other prisoners and was empowered by its message of self-mastery. In the film, Mandela gives the captain of the national South African rugby team the poem to inspire him to lead his team to a Rugby World Cup win, telling him how it inspired him in prison. In reality, as opposed to the movie, Mandela actually gave the captain, Francois Pineaar, a copy of The Man in the Arena passage from President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt's speech Citizenship in a Republic instead.

Superwoman

[Info. retrieved at http://www.internationalwomensday.com]

International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women's Day is a national holiday.

ESO 2 2nd Term PBL

2nd Term joint PBL (Art + English) deadline is approaching and here's the one sent by Andrea Aguado, Irene de Sas, Pedro Gainzaráin and Nerea Guedella. Enjoy it!

Para ti, Shakira from AILMI on Vimeo.

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

Emotions - Feelings Word Vocabulary

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

Amazing Act of Sportsmanship

(Reblogged from Topical Teaching)

A special needs student from a Texas high school scored a basket in the final game of the season after a player from the opposing team gave up the ball.

Mitchell Marcus, a teenage student at Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas, is the team manager for the Coronado Thunderbirds and an avid basketball fan. During the last game of the season on Feb. 12, Marcus, who has a “developmental disability,” was given the chance to play, according to Fox local affiliate KFOX 14 in El Paso. With 90 seconds left, Coach Peter Morales put Marcus into the game.

TED

Perhaps you were thinking of the American comedy film about an annoying and rude teddy bear while reading the title of this post...

2nd Term ESO 3 PBL Task

ESO 3 Students,

This is your 2nd Term PBL task. You have to translate this comic strip by artist Gavin Aung Than into the language of your choice: Galician or Spanish.

You should translate every word you see (except, of course, the names of the newspapers depicted in the comic) and create a new jpg of png file and send it to our mail. Keep the comic as it is: don't change the images. Just substitute the English words with the Spanish version. The deadline is Friday 8th March at precisely 23.59.59. No files will be admitted after the deadline finishes.

The fonts you must use are Creative Block and Red State Blue State.

Your file identification must be as follows: GROUP_NUMBER_CLASS.JPG or GROUP_NUMBER_CLASS.PNG. Example: GROUP_1_3A.PNG.

You must fill in the "subject" section of your mail messages with YOUR GROUP IDENTIFICATION and the word "PBL".

Click here to download the comic image WITHOUT THE WORDS (blank, empty speech bubbles).

And these are the groups:

Dzień dobry, Koszalin

Ten ESO 3 and ESO 4 students were lucky enough to spend one week in Koszalin, Poland, from 9^th to 16^th February, in the context of the Comenius Project that CPR Labor has been running for ten years now.

Let’s have a brief look at what Alejandro, Alicia, Diego, Iago, Iria, Jennifer, Meres, Pedro, Rubén and Santiago were up to with teachers Manuel and Raquel:

To Me, You Are Perfect

Saint Valentine's Day is observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it remains a working day in most of them.

UK vs US Spelling

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

2013 Carnival, Lent, Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)

Carnival

Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, masque and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life.

You Are Not Alone

Dear students,

We spend a long time of our life in High School, and this is a hard period. However, that problem you have, that difficult stage you are going through, the pain you are struggling with… there was a time teachers also had to deal with that. Teachers are much more that walking books, they are human beings who have spent their time studying so they can now spend their time with you. Talk to your teachers. Don’t feel embarrassed or afraid. They will stop what they’re doing to listen to you and help you. Because you are our reason to be; here, now and always.

Remember: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. 

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

10 Ways Translation Shapes Your Life, by Nataly Kelly

(Reblogged from The Huffington Post)

Each year on Sept. 30, a holiday is observed by people all around the world that has been celebrated since 1953. It's a feast day that was originally designated for a patron saint (Saint Jerome), but it has grown to transcend all barriers of religion or geography. This year, I am personally sending out greetings to thousands of people in 70 different countries in observance of this important day -- that's far more than I send out for any other holiday.

Yet, if you're like the majority of people, you've probably never heard of this cause for global celebration until now. It's International Translation Day. You might not think about how translation affects your everyday life, but in reality, there is hardly anything in your life that isn't touched in some way by translation. As I explain in my new book, Found in Translation (co-authored with Jost Zetzsche), here are 10 reasons why translation is so significant: