A Taste of My Students´ Oral Exams

Here is an example of the oral exam that Noé prepared when I suggested the topic for the third term - click here to read my suggestions

 

Noé, thanks for sharing the video

No Tobacco Day 2014

Tomorrow is May 31st, No Tobacco Day; the theme of this year´s celebration is "Raise taxes on tobacco". Do you think it is likely to work? Why (not)?

The Power of Education

How would you spread the message of the power of education?

This is what they did in Mexico: the Non- Violence Project divided one bus into two parts: a school bus and a prisoner bus trying to explain visually the following statement: Violence ends where education begins

 

Share your thoughts: what do you think of this project?

Mother´s Day 2014

Happy Mother´s Day!

A salute to mums from a mum - about the hardships of their lives:

 

Do mothers change as time goes by? According to Bill Cosby, they do: 

Mothers vs. fathers - what you tell / ask one or the other:

Moms and IT:

A video to share with your mum:


A New Perspective For Moms from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

A message from Child Fund International to honor mothers on Mother´s Day:



The Beatles´Your Mother Should Know:

Your Mother Should Know: lyrics for you to sing along: 

Your Mother Should Know
Ooh..
Let's all get up and dance to a song
That was a hit before your mother was born.
Though she was born a long, long time ago,
Your mother should know. (Your mother should..)
Your mother should know. (Know..)
Sing it again.

Let's all get up and dance to a song
That was a hit before your mother was born.
Though she was born a long, long time ago,
Your mother should know. (Your mother should..)
Your mother should know. (Know..)

Lift up your hearts and sing me a song
That was a hit before your mother was born.
Though she was born a long, long time ago,
Your mother should know. (Your mother should..)
Your mother should know. (Know..)
Your mother should know. (Your mother should..)
Your mother should know. (Know..)
Sing it again.

Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da.
Though she was born a long, long time ago,
Your mother should know. (Your mother should..)
Your mother should know. (Yeah..)
Your mother should know. (Your mother should..)
Your mother should know. (Yeah..)
Your mother should know. (Your mother should..)
Your mother should know. (Yeah

Physics in Everyday Life

Here is an interesting video for you to practise your listening comprehension skills while you learn some everyday physics.

Roger Bowley is a retired professor from the University of Nottingham (UK). In this video he explains how to unlock a car from various distances, using waves from his key, brain and a big bottle of water.

Methodology: 

1. Before watching the video, think about the topic and imagine the kind of vocabulary you will be hearing
2. Since many words in physics come from Latin, they are very similar to the Spanish ones so you will have no problem in understanding them. Here is a list of words you will hear; how many of them do you understand? Do not look them up, just read them aloud. Use a pronunciation tool, if you need it

• central locking device
• press a button
• to flash (the lights flash)
• electromagnetic waves
• frequency
• MHz= megahertz
• wavelength
• range
• signal
• extend (extend the range)
• pace
• water molecule
• electric field
• proton
• upwards and downwards
• oscillate
• ray
• synchronization
• phase

    3. Watch the video and listen for those words; once you hear them in context, you will understand their meaning. You may watch the video once for general understanding and the second time for listening comprehension: write the list of words on your notebook and tick them when you hear them.

Put this experiment into practice next time your parents park your car in a large parking lot. Let me know if it works!

Stockholm

This is a video dedicated to all the students at our school who have been to Sweden as exchange students and to those who are leaving for Stockholm soon.

Charlie Caper is a magician who makes a play on these words," the magic of Stockholm" - watch the video  and you will understand why; besides, you will learn a lot of facts and statistics about Stockholm and Sweden.

 

To The Dance Lovers Out There

The video below, shot on the streets and rooftops in LA, is actually a commercial that advertises a brand name of jeans and cut-offs (definition from Urban Dictionary:"Cut offs" or "cut off jeans" are the names that are given to jeans that have been cut, usually D.I.Y, into shorts. They can be loose or they can be tight,and the length of the cut offs generally does not go past the knee. They can be worn by both guys and girls and typically are made from old pairs of jeans or jeans bought from a second hand clothing store.)

Could you describe one or two types of dances? It is not easy! This vocabulary may come in handy: float like, spin like, wobble like, step, walk …

These are the types of dances shown:

A - Arabesque, Morgan Quinn 
B - B-girl, Bgirl Terra 
C - Chicken Noodle Soup, Terence Dickson 
D - Death Drop, Nick Lanzisera 
E - East Coast Swing, Yani Marin, Nathan Kim 
F - Finger Tut, John P-Nut Hunt 
G - Grand Jeté, Julia Cinquemani 
H - Harlem Shake, Amanda Meade-Tatum 
I - Indian Bhangra, Reshma Gajjar 
J - Jump Style, Høps 
K - Krump, Jigsaw 
L - Liquid Dance, Phillip 'Pacman' Chbeeb 
M - Memphis Jookin, Lil Buck 
N - Northern Soul, Levanna McLean 
O - OMG, Anthony 'Lil' Bob' Cabaero 
P - Pole, Nicole 'The Pole' Williams 
Q - Questionable, Reid Shapiro 
R - Rumba, Junior and Emily Alabi 
S - Step, Soul Steps: Dionne Norton, Heather DeLeon, Maxine Lyle
T - Twerk, Twerk Team: Lady Luscious, Mizz Twerksum 
U - Ultimate, Shofu Tha Beatdown 
V - Vogue Hands, Javier Madrid of Legendary House of Ninja 
W - Whine, Colleen Craig 
X - X-press Yourself, Ryan Heffington 
Y - YMCA, Allison Chu at Next Models LA 
Z - TurF FeinZ: Byron Vincent Sanders Jr aka T7, Donald Brooks aka Torch, Eric Bossett aka Kidd Strobe, Gary Morgan aka Noh-justice, Leon M Williams aka Mann, Rayshawn Thompson aka Looney2smooth

A Monologue About Yourself

Here´s one of the options for your oral exam for the third term: record a monologue about you; the video below, A Conversation With My 12-Year-Old Self,  may be useful to get some ideas.

You need to reflect on your life: your past, your present and your future:

• Past: memories (focus on the positive ones) and moments that were a turning point - or just special for you-  in your biography

• Present: your school life, your friends, hobbies, extracurricular activities

• Future: expectations: what do you think your life will be like in 10 years´time? what are your plans for your future?

Requirements: 

• the video must be 4-7 minutes long

• you must write the text (I will help you with grammar, vocabulary and expression) and make sure both pronunciation and intonation are OK. Thus, you may need/want  to use either a pronunciation tool or a text-to-speech tool (Voz Me is one of them but there are many others you may choose from the list in My Delicious Bookmarks) 

• when you record the video, you may read the text but you will need to rehearse quite a few times before the recording, reading it in front of a mirror so that it will sound and look natural

• send me the video when it is ready: dateline June 10th

Start the Weekend With a Smile

This is said to be a real story: a waitress receives extraordinary tips, which, in fact, are part of a plan to thank her for her previous actions and help her have the "best shift* ever". Click here to read more about it

* shift= a person's scheduled period of work, esp. at a place of employment operating continuously during the day and night.

Do some speaking practice: tell this story aloud; include as many details as possible and remember to answer the 5 wh- questions: who? when? where? what? why?

What do you think about this story? Who do you think feels happier, the person who gives or the person who receives?

Left- handers

Let´s learn a thing about left-handedness; common questions about left-handedness:

When you watch the following video, you will understand why it is hard to be a lefty - the world isn´t designed for lefties.

Ten curious facts about being a left-hander

Song of the Week: Wake Me Up

Practise your English to the lyrics and rhythm of Wake Me Up, by Tim Berling - better known by his stage name  Avicii. Tim is a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer.

The first video includes the lyrics:

 

The second video is the official one: 

Optional homework: Write about the story told in the video: what do you make of it? (remember the five "w-" questions: when? where? who? what? why?)

What Is Your Favourite Memory? (Homework Assignment 9))

What is your favorite memory?

The following video is a piece of a larger picture called Fifty People, One Question, by Benjamin Reece and Nathan Heleine. Fifty People, One Question is  a social experiment and film series exploring human connections through people and places. The project began in New Orleans in 2008; along the way it has managed to depict a slice of humanity: dreams, losses, reflections stories and secrets.

What is YOUR favorite memory?

Think about it and share it with us; consider the five questions to let us have a full picture of the situation: who? when? where? what? why?

If you could, would you photoshop any of your memories?

March 21, World Down Syndrome Day

March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day, chosen for the the trisomy of the 21st chromosome.

I’m expecting a baby. I discovered that he has Down Syndrome. I’m scared: what kind of life will my child have? This is the beginning of this video, which tries to create awareness around Down Syndrome. The ad features fifteen people with Down Syndrome who assure the future mom that her future son, identified as having Down Syndrome, will have a normal life with the ability to do almost anything he wants to do. Just like them. 

Dear Future Mom, don’t be afraid. Your child will be able to do many things. He’ll be able to hug you. He will be able to run towards you. He’ll be able to speak and tell you he loves you…Sometimes it will be difficult, very difficult. Almost impossible. But isn’t it like that for all mothers?

Father´s Day 2014

Father´s Day  is celebrated on March 19th.

Watch these two videos with two different perspectives of father; in the first one, a father uses the web to share memories with his daughter as she grows up in this video depiction.

In the second video, Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman describes his father's unique teaching methods. “The difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something,” is a quote in this video, R. Feynman uses it while he describes what he was taught by his father.

Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988), scientist, teacher, raconteur, and musician.  He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb, expanded the understanding of quantum electrodynamics, translated Mayan hieroglyphics, and cut to the heart of the Challenger disaster.  But beyond all of that, Richard Feynman was a unique and multi-faceted individual.

Happy Paddy´s Day!

The video "Ireland Inspires" will be played in the Embassies of Ireland all over the world tomorrow, March 17th: St. Patrick´s Day.  John Concannon, Director of Market Development for Fáilte Ireland said, "This video is our animated postcard to the world -- showcasing Ireland in the best possible way and highlighting the strengths and qualities which make this country a great place to be. Promoting a positive and upbeat image of today's Ireland, this video is tailored to appeal to visitors, investors and all those attracted to the type of energy, creativity and potential which this nation can offer. "

Information about the celebration of St. Patrick´s Day: click here

In the mood for an Irish song? Click here. 

Molly Malone is a popular Irish song which has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin. Watch the video  below and you will understand the lyrics.

Molly Malone´s Lyrics

In Dublin's fair city,
Where the Girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes,
On sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

Alive alive o!
Alive alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

She was a fish monger,
And sure it was no wonder,
For so were her
Father and Mother before,
And they both wheeled their barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

Alive alive o!
Alive alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

She died of a fever,
And no one could save her,
And that was the end
Of sweet Molly Malone,
But her ghost wheels her barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

This is my favorite version of the song, Sinead O´Connor´s: 



And this is probably the most popular, The Dubliners´:

Words Matter

Read the following paragraph; do you agree with it?

When a little boy asserts himself, he's called a “leader.” Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded “bossy.” Words like bossy send a message: don't raise your hand or speak up. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys—a trend that continues into adulthood. 

Ban Bossy is a campaign to encourage young women to feel good about themselves and to be confident to take the lead. Do you think a campaign like this is necessary and / or useful? Why (not)? 

Students´Tweets About Teachers

I do not know how many of these tweets about Los Alamitos High School teachers  are true but I am sure there are quite a few tweets about teachers  everywhere …

)

This video imitates American TV host Jimmy Kimmel´s segment in his show called "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets"

What Languages Sound Like

One of the weak points of Spanish students when speaking English is the oral part, they may pronounce the words correctly but the intonation and the "sound" of the language is not there and that is just what this girl from Finland has. She (she calls herself "Smoukahontas") speaks several languages in this video but, in fact, she is just imitating how they sound - everything she says is utter gibberish, in her words, i.e., all the sentences are fabrications made to sound like the actual languages. How did she manage to sound like a native - to foreign ears, at least? By listening to the original language a lot, I guess.

The Spanish and Portuguese parts are not the best, in my view, but it is a video worth watching.

If you want to speak English like a native, watch this video. For different posts related to pronunciation, click here.

Thanks to my colleague Fátima for the link!

As her first video became viral, she felt obliged to make the second one; here it is:

)

March 8th: Women´s Day

March 8th is International Women´s Day  (IWD)

Here´s to all the remarkable girls out there (Girl Power):

 

2013 Girl Power Edition from Ines Almeida

The video below, I Am a Princess, is a Disney one - not that I am much of a Disney fan but the values it mentions (to be brave, to be kind, to be generous and compassionate) are certainly those that girls (and boys) should be learning to be decent adults. But since we are celebrating women´s day today, this is for all the future women.

Visual Vocabulary: Eyebombing

Eyebombing= the practice of placing pairs of googly eyes on inanimate objects

 
Eyebombing in Madrid from The Adventures Archive on Vimeo.