Whether / If

[Infographic provided by Grammar.net]

Demonstratives

[Infographic provided by Grammar.net]

Do you need any practice on demonstratives? Click here

Pronouns in English: Reflexive Pronouns

[Infographic provided by Grammar.net]

To the Lovers of Classic Literature Out There

This is an infographic produced by NeoMam Studios for a textile company called Terrys  Fabrics. It is made up of the floor plans of several homes depicted in famous novels. This is how they describe the infographic:

At many a time we can become lost between the pages of a good book. Immersed in its fantasy and mysterious tales, the captivating characters, scenes and a little imagination can easily take you there. In this infographic we’re delving into some classic stories, from The Hobbit to the depths of the Secret Garden to show you nine of the famous homes found within these tales.

Homes of Classic Literature by Terrys Fabrics.

Have you read any of these novels? Do you think it is an accurate description?

Who vs. Whom

Let´s see if this infographic helps you  understand the difference between the relative pronouns who and whom

[Infographic provided by Grammar.net]

Typhoon Haiyan

Haiyan, a massive typhoon, devastated part of the Philippines last weekend. Read about it here.

The infographic below help you understand quite a few things about this terrible natural disaster

(Infographic by Visually, an information design community)

Click here  to see the devastating effects of the typhoon

Aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan: click here

Formation of Plurals In English

Sometimes we (teachers) take things for granted. For example, we think our students know how to form the plural of any word in English and, suddenly, when we are correcting essays, we see the same mistake over and over again and we realize it is time to review the basics...

[Infographic provided by Grammar.net]

Tips for Google Search

How do you "google"? 

When you need to find something on the internet (whatever it may be, the weather forecast, definitions of words, someone´s biography...), how do you do it? do you just write the name and start the search or do you have a special way to do it? 

Google suggests different ways to do the search in its Tips & Tricks page but here is a short but useful list of methods; are you acquainted with any of them?

Woud you like to recommend any other method - not included in this list- which you are specially fond of?

Idea taken from Technobuzz

Back to School 2013: Steady...

Dear students,

I do hope you are in a good mood to come back to school, expecting something positive, interesting, appealing...

In the last weeks we have seen quite a few examples of the bad use of English  by some important people from Spain, but don´t think you will get away with something like that; we do encourage speaking in our classes and we will do some practice with speeches as well.

Click here to read an analysis of the pronunciation mistakes made by Ana Botella in her real speech.

I want to welcome all of you to both this new school year and my classes in a very enthusiastic way so please, watch this video as if it were meant for you: Nick Selby is a sophomore at  Georgia Institute of Technology and this is the video of his welcome to the freshman class 2013 (click on the captions to read his message because it will probably be a little bit fast for you)

I wish you were all lucky enough to have only great teachers at school; I always do my best to be one but life is hard, you know, and one does not always achieve his/her goals. I´ll do my best, though - I can promise that much... (by the way, what are you willing and able to promise in relation to our classes?)

Infographic taken from Visually.

See you soon!

How to Write on Social Platforms

Do you use social networks? (or should I ask, Do you use social networks a lot?)

Here are some tips on how to write on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +: do you do any of the suggestions mentioned here? why (not)? Are there any tips  you like and mean to follow in the future? why would you do so?

Social Media Perfect Posts Infographic is an infographic that was produced by mycleveragency

How to Teach / Learn English

Have a look at this infographic by Kaplan about the kind of materials teachers of EFL and ESL use in their classes to make learning easier or more fun. Do you agree with their selection? Do you remember any activities using them in your classes? Which would you like to use in the future? 

Kaplan How to Teach English infographic

Common Mistakes in English

Grammar goofs: how many of those mentioned in the infographic below are frequent in your writing? (or should I say "are no longer frequent"?)

Many of these mistakes are very often seen in the internet, mainly in videos, lyrics, comments... so make sure you know how to use the correct forms in all of these cases; remember that some of them are silly mistakes but they make your work look bad and be less effective.

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

Death by a Meteorite

Have you heard about the meteorite crash in Russia? Does it look like "Apocalyse now" to you ?

It must have been really frightening; click here and here to see some videos about the precise moment when it crashed (mind you, the audio is in Russian and the subtitles are in English but the language is NSFW and the spelling and grammar of the translation would lower your mark in a test, so just pay attention to the images, please...)

Anyway, I want to calm you down; the infographic below was published by The Economist some days ago; it shows the number of deaths in the US classified by different reasons and the chances of dying because of a meteorite explosion rank really low so I guess we´d better keep worrying about everyday things. 

Optional homework: comment / essay: How would this infographic be different if it were published about deaths in Spain? what circumstances would you add and which ones would you eliminate?

Groundhog Day

Today, February 2nd, is "Groundhog Day;"  it may not mean anything to you, here in Spain, but it would if you lived in "Can-merica:" watch the video and have a look at the infographic below to learn more about it. 

As for the meaning of "groundhog," it won´t be difficult to guess once you have finished reading this post, but do you know the name of this animal in Spanish? Click here to find out.

Groundhog Day Fun Facts infographic by accuweather.

How much have you learnt about Groundhog Day? Click here and do the quiz to find out.

You may want to watch the movie "Groundhog Day" to better understand the spirit of the day; this is its trailer 

The Top 10 Happiest Cities

Have a look at the infographic below; it shows the top 10 happiest cities in the world. Funnily enough, two Spanish cities are included, Barcelona and Madrid.

I think there is something ironical in the fact that Spain is suffering its biggest crisis ever and, however, its two biggest cities are considered "happy" places. What do you think? 

Optional homework: An opinion essay / comment:

How many of the cities mentioned here do you know? Are they really "happy cities"? Why would you say so? or Why would you disagree? What criteria would you use for determining the characteristics of a "happy city"? According to those criteria, do you think Lugo should be in your list?

Find A Happy Place: The Top 10 Happiest Cities infographic by spacechimpmedia.

The Importance of Sleep

Dear students, 

I am worried about you. I think you do not sleep enough - you should see your faces during the lessons on Fridays...

This is an infographic about the importance of sleep focusing on American people; do you think you can say the same things about Spaniards? 
I hope you will find some useful information in it; and if you do, put it into practice!
                                                                                                             

Infographic from Greatist.com

And here´s the infographic in words: 

The Secret to Better Sleep

The average American sleeps 6.9 hours a night. When we get less sleep than we need, our reaction times get slower, our blood pressure rises, we eat more, and we’re more at risk of obesity and diabetes.

Sleep-Related Disorders

Sometimes lack of sleep is caused by disorders that can also cause problems during the day. Examples include:

Night sweats, which are caused by menopause, cancer, and infections.

Hypersomnia, which is excessive day time sleepiness caused by narcolepsy, being overweight, use of certain medicines, or drug and alcohol use.

Kleine Leven syndrome, where sufferers sleep up to 20 hours a day for several weeks.

Insomnia, which affects 30 to 50% of the population.

Narcolepsy, where sufferers may fall asleep easily during the day.

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, where limbs move rhythmically during sleep.

Six percent of Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a condition where the sufferer stops breathing for 10 to 30 seconds, up to 400 times a night. Two to four percent of the American population suffers from apnea without a diagnosis. Apnea sufferers are six times more likely to die in a traffic accident due to fatigue. People who sleep next to apnea sufferers lose an average of one hour of sleep per night, and people with untreated apnea are four times more likely to suffer a stroke. Half of those with sleep apnea snore heavily.

Foods that Cause Insomnia

Alcohol may relax you, but it prevents you from sleeping well. And it’ll make you have to use the bathroom a lot! Spicy foods can cause heartburn or indigestion that keeps you awake. Sugar can also cause you to wake up craving more. And chocolate can contain caffeine that keeps you perky in the wee hours.

What Sleep Can Do for You

While the number of hours of sleep a person needs varies based on the individual, a good night’s rest has many benefits. It can reduce stress, improve memory, help you lose weight, prevent depression, and heal faster. Sleep can also reduce inflammation that could lead to heart conditions, cancer, and diabetes. Adequate sleep makes you more alert and gives you faster reaction times.

How to Get More Sleep

Keep the bed pet-free, as Fido or Jingles may keep you from sleeping well. Wind down before bed without checking email or watching TV. Read a good book and take a bath or shower to mentally prepare for sleep. If you’ve got a lot on your mind, write about it in a journal to unwind. Don’t sleep with electronics in the bedroom. They can distract you and rob you of sleep. Have a warm herbal or caffeine-free tea before going to bed. And don’t work out just before bed: Exercise can help you sleep, but work out earlier in the day for a good night’s rest.

Before bed, opt for light snacks like yogurt or popcorn rather than heavy carbs.

You’re Never Too Old for a Nap

The Spanish know the benefit of naps. They even close down stores and restaurants for several hours to catch a siesta. And for good reason! Naps do some great things for the body. They give you more energy and alertness, improve work productivity by as much as 30 percent, reduce stress and the risk of heart disease by 34 percent, and lower the risk of accidents on the job.

Many famous people have benefited from regular napping. Brahms found inspiration for his musical compositions from naps he took at his piano. Napoleon caught a few zzz’s on his horse between battles. Einstein would sleep in a chair with a pencil in his hand. When the pencil dropped, he woke up. Even presidents need naps. Bill Clinton would nap to help deal with the pressures of the job.

Black Friday

I hope you remember what we mentioned in class about Black Friday, have a look at this infographic for further information about it.

Sortable Black Friday Madness

A Prank

Jimmy Kimmel is the creator and host of the TV show called Jimmy Kimmel Live. I have mentioned him at least once in a post entitled "A Funny Video."

Here´s a video of a Halloween prank he suggested (and the title is quite revealing): "I told my kids I ate all their Halloween candy again". He did the same last year and it was so successful that he decided to ask parents to play the same joke on their kids again this year and record their reactions. This prank is meaningless if you do not remember the "Trick or Treat" Halloween practice for children and its relation to candy.

Learn about infographics software.

This is quite an interesting and funny video, why?

• It makes me think there are quite a few bored and malicious parents out there who seem to enjoy themselves when they see their children sad
• most of the children seem to be quite spoilt
• some of the children look too old to to throw tantrums and react in such a childish way.
• my faith in humanity was restored with the last three - and I do hope you agree

What do you think about my comments above? Do you agree?

Click here if you fancy smiling a little bit longer, you´ll watch a different type of prank

How To Learn English

Kaplan Academy has released this infographic about different ways to learn English. Have a look at it and answer their question, What, in your opinion, is the best way to learn English? Here are my thoughts about it:

• traveling to an English-speaking country. I know that in our school some of our students travel to countries where English is the native language -they do that mainly in the summer to attend summer courses - but, at school, we have the excellent student exchange programme with Tibble Gymnasium in Sweden and quite a few of our students have taken part in it since it started in the year 2000. English is not an official language in Sweden but everybody speaks it fluently so we can include it in this group of countries. Can anyone share his/her experience -from the point of view of learning English- about his/her trips with us?
• watching TV programs in English. From what I learn in our classes,  instead of programs, we could say "series" because that is what students are really into. In this sense, I must accept the fact that "Series Yonkis" has done more for the English language in Spanish than all the English teachers together. I do not know, though, which are the favorites among teenagers...
• watching films in original version. Some years ago, when it was not easy to  watch films in original version on TV, borrowing films from the school was a good way to practise and showing them in class with some sort of projects or work done by the students was really entertaining and educational. Right now I have the feeling that students -generally speaking, of course- are less keen on movies than in the past. I remember showing Dead Poets Society to 1ºBAC students and Real Women Have Curves to 2ºBAC students and I have the feeling that everybody learnt a lot from those films -and not only English
• listening to music. I learnt English listening mainly to The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel and singing along to their songs. Whose songs´lyrics do you learn and sing along to?
• playing computer games. There are a few gamers in my classes, I know. I don´t want to mention any games because most of them are quite violent, but my students´faces (mostly boys, just for the record)  light up when they talk about them. As for the English they learn from them, "to shoot" and "shot" are two words all of them know.
• reading comics. I do not really hear students talk about comics that much, but I do not know it it is because I just don´t hear about comics (meaning, since I am not too interested in them, maybe I just don´t pay enough attention) or they do not talk about them...

I miss, in the infographic, one method which is certainly not the best but it is the most frequent in Spain: classes of English with Spanish teachers....Many students have learnt English with just that: homework and classwork. It does´t sound fun but it helps.

So, dear students, which method works best for you? I am looking forward to reading your answers

Infographic: How to learn Englishvia Kaplan Blog