Revision and practice: NUMBERS and THE ALPHABET

Here you are some links for revision and practice:

http://www.englishnumber.com/

https://www.esl-lab.com/num.htm

http://ieltsliz.com/alphabet-practice-for-spelling/

https://www.englishspanishlink.com/en/english-pronunciation/exercises/abc-listen2.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUX9YlEbenI

And below, you can practice numbers and spelling:
https://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2012/03/ielts-listening-numbers-and-letters.html

Enjoy!

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Thanksgiving

Beyond the Table
Thanksgiving is a big day for television, games and other entertainment.
One tradition is the television broadcast of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It takes place each year in New York City. Workers of the Macy’s store on Herald Square organized the first parade in 1924. Many of the workers were immigrants and wanted to hold a big parade like the ones in Europe. So, they dressed in costumes and borrowed some animals from the zoo. They also carried small balloons that floated just overhead.

Performers and balloons pass through 59th Street during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP)

Many professional American football games are also played on Thanksgiving. Fans of the sport enjoy relaxing and watching a game or two after eating a big Thanksgiving meal.
Some start Thanksgiving Day early - and in a healthy way. So-called “Turkey Trot” races take place in many towns and cities. These events involve runners dressing up in a Thanksgiving-related costume and running a short distance -- usually five kilometers.

A runner with a hat shaped into a piece of pumpkin pie takes part in the 40th annual Turkey Trot to raise money for the Denver chapter of the United Way in south Denver on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013.

Many Turkey Trots urge runners to bring canned food to donate to local food banks -- non-profit organizations that give food to poor people in a community.
Serving those less fortunate
Certainly, not everyone in America has an easy Thanksgiving. The United States is home to many poor and homeless people. Some cannot afford a Thanksgiving dinner. Others are without friends or families. Many religious and service organizations around the country try to fill these needs. Some provide community dinners at churches and other centers. Some groups also deliver Thanksgiving meals to people too sick or old to leave their homes.

Then-President Barack Obama participates in a Thanksgiving service project by handing out food at the Capital Area Food Bank on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 in Washington. The Capital Area Food Bank distributes 30 million pounds of food annually. (AP Photo)

The writer O. Henry called Thanksgiving the one holiday that is purely American. It is not linked to a religion or a certain group. Anyone in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November is welcome to celebrate Thanksgiving.

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Carnival Time!

Dear NI1 students,

Here you are a reading and listening activity to learn more about carnival celebrations in the US. First read the text and then click on the "NEXT ACTIVITY" button to do a listening exercise.

Enjoy!

http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/festivals/carnivals-and-fiestas/mardi-gras/mardi-gras-and-new-orleans.html

St. Valentine's Dialogue

Dear Ni2 students,

Please have a look at this link:

http://elllo.org/english/0901/T944-Mel-VDay.htm

You'll listen to people speaking about St. Valentine's Day. This webpage is great because you can listen and read at the same time and the speakers use a really natural language. You can find comprehension questions too.

Hope you like it!
Leticia.

New links

Dear NB1 and NI2 students,

I've added a couple of links to our listening section.

Words in the news is specially good for NI2 students, so that you can practice news English. You can listen and read at the same time as well as learn new vocabulary.

English central is good for any level students. You have to register and then choose your level (easy,medium or hard). The procedure is simple:
- watch a video with subtitles
- then record yourself reading the subtitles.
- the software will give you feedback on your speech.

This way you will learn:
- pronunciation of words
- sentence intonation
- sentence rythm

I hope you like it!

Chocolate Cake Recipe

Dear B1 students,

Since we won't have time to look at recipes, I'd like you to watch this sweet video where you can get an idea of recipe language.

Enjoy!

PS: you can see the text below


Chocolate:
How To Make Chocolate Cake

Step 1: You will need:
Units:

* 200 g caster sugar
* 200 g softened butter
* 4 medium eggs, beaten
* 170 g self-raising flour
* 30 g cocoa
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 2 tbsp milk
* 200 ml double cream
* 50 g butter
* 3 tbsp clear honey
* 200 g dark chocolate

1.
Step 2: Mix

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5, 375F. Butter two 20cm (8 in) sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.
2.
Step 3: Bake

In a large bowl, beat together 200g softened butter with 200g caster sugar, 4 eggs, 170g flour and 30g cocoa powder until you have a smooth, soft batter.
Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until the top is a beautiful golden colour. The cake should spring back when you press it. Turn it onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
3.
Step 4: Frosting

For the fudge frosting, heat 200ml double cream until it just begins to boil. Take it off the heat and add 50g butter, 3 tablespoons honey and 200g dark chocolate, which has been broken into pieces. Leave the mixture for five minutes so the chocolate melts, then stir it briefly to combine all the ingredients - don't over-mix it or it will lose its shine.
4.
Step 5: Ice

Sandwich the cakes with a third of the just-warm frosting and spread the rest over the top and sides. Top with shaved or grated chocolate.

Easter listening

Dear B2 students:

Here you are the link to the listening activity about Easter.


And this is the learning English section from the BBC.


Enjoy!

Listening practice links

Hi!

This is a message for B1 students.

Here you are a list of list of links where you can find listening practice (remember you have these links in this blog, on the right):

www.podcastsinenglish.com (level 1)

www.real-english.com (beginner level)

www.esl-lab.com (easy level)

www.elllo.org --> no levels in this website, so just relax -'cause it's difficult- listen and read. This kind of listening will help you get features of natural English speaking.

http://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html (American English)

And, of course, listen and read your Oxford bookworms books.

Improving listening takes time, so, as I said before, relax and practice as much as you can!

Have a nice day!

Listening on Friday

Dear B2 students,

Here you are the link to the listening we did last Friday:

http://www.elllo.org/english/Points/PT06-Cities.html

You can get the worksheet tomorrow in class.

See you and have a nice week!

How to pronounce 2010?

Hi everyone out there!

How are you doing this year so far? before you can answer this question maybe you need to know how to pronounce the year itself!

There's been a lot of debate as to how to say it: twenty-ten or two thousand ten.

One of the most important English Linguists -David Crystal- thinks that the rhythm or "flow" of "two thousand (and) ten", beats that of "twenty ten" (here you are the full wikipedia article about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010s)

And if you go to the link below (please copy the link and paste it in a new window) , you will hear (and read) some other opinions on this topic.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120470656

What's your personal feeling?

Mine is definitely twenty-ten!

See you soon!

IKEA

Hi everybody!

Do you remember the listening exercise we couldn't do last Thursday? Well, here you are the recording.

After you listen to it... do you feel more identified with Gillian or with Sue?



Have a nice weekend!