Sunday 27 December 2015

WHY START A BLOG? (teachers)

The reason why I consider blogs an excellent tool for the classroom is that they offer easy access to a great variety of resources. These are especially selected or created by each teacher to fit the needs of his own students according to their level, age, preferences in content, etc.

A blog allows activities of many different types: reading, listening, music, games, powerpoint presentations, videos and so on. I often include my students' work, and this makes the blog more appealing for them.

A teacher can use a blog to offer links to useful resources, too, and these are very handy as they are always visible. The rest of the materials (those included in the different entries) are easy to find in the list of categories that you create according to your needs.

You have a wide range of layouts to choose from when you start a blog, and lots of gadgets to add to it in order to make it more attractive for your students.

As a teacher, I couldn't do without my blog now!




Saturday 12 December 2015

FEELINGS (intermediate & more)

How do you feel today?
Are you satisfied? Happy? Thrilled perhaps?
Or do you feel frustrated and disappointed?


Find out the meanings of all these words in the following site.

 (Click on the picture below and move your cursor over the wheel to see the words enlarged).





For more activities on feelings and emotions, click below.




Can you guess the emotions on the faces in these videos?






Take a look at the NOUNS related to feelings and moods.


(Source: Wikipedia commons)




Learn a lot of words about feelings. 
Click below.




Here's a cute game for kids!



And a song.






Saturday 5 December 2015

TOY DETECTIVE (lower intermediate)

Are you a good detective?

Follow the instructions and let's see how many of the missing toys you can find!
Click below to start.






Saturday 21 November 2015

BLACK FRIDAY II (intermediate)

Oh, no!
Black Friday is coming again!
We may have to go on a crazy shopping spree, we may have to buy more stuff than we need, we may have to borrow money to keep up appearances. 

Or... do we?



But listen!







Friday 20 November 2015

ADDICTIONS (intermediate)

What is an addiction?
Why do we become hooked on this or that?
Can you name the most common addictions?
Are you addicted to TV? Or is is an addiction of the past?
Do addictions change with times?
Which addictions are common nowadays?







Saturday 31 October 2015

CONDITIONALS 3 (upper intermediate)

Watch the following video to revise the most common conditional structures:




In this worksheet you'll find a summary of the main structures of conditionals and some exercices as well. (Click on the picture to download the document).




Let's hear some music now!

























Sunday 25 October 2015

HALLOWEEN 2015 (intermediate)

In the following video you can learn some interesting facts about the origins of Halloween and its traditions.





Saturday 24 October 2015

HALLOWEEN 2015 (all levels)

These are the great crafts that my students have created to decorate our classroom for Halloween.





Click on the pumpkin below to hear some scary sounds while you see the presentation!



CONGRATULATIONS!!!


Wednesday 21 October 2015

ADVERTISING (upper-intermediate)

Do you want to know some of the techniques used in advertising to catch our attention? Take a look at this video.


Now watch the following commercials. Which techniques does each one employ to be effective?



























Here are some more ads. What do they have in common?












Tuesday 6 October 2015

Sunday 4 October 2015

MEALS ( intermediate)

Click on the picture below to learn new words for BREAKFAST.




Click on the next picture if you want to learn lots of words for LUNCH.







Friday 2 October 2015

WORK (all levels)

Watch these scenes from a classic movie which was written, directed and starred by Charles Chaplin in 1936: Modern Times.



  1. What are the working conditions depicted in the film?
  2. Do you know the name of the kind of work that is being done?
  3. Do you think those workers have job satisfaction? 
  4. Are those skilled or unskilled workers?
  5. Are they white collar workers or blue collar workers?
  6. What qualifications are needed?
  7. Would you say that job is well-paid?
  8. Do you think the workers have opportunities for promotion?
  9. What are their working hours?
  10. Do they probably have to do overtime?
  11. Do they work full time or part time?
  12. Do you consider the job challenging or repetitive and monotonous?
  13. Do you think the job is stressful?
  14. Would you say those images are a thing of the past?







Saturday 22 August 2015

PICK MY CLOTHES! (intermediate online game)

Click on the picture below to start the game:

You have to listen first and then click on the correct garment after you hear it.






Sunday 26 July 2015

JEOPARDY (various levels)

Try to answer all the questions in this game, do you think you can?

You can choose either to READ the questions or to LISTEN to them.

Click on the picture and START!



Click here to see more options of the game.





Wednesday 22 July 2015

SLAVERY TODAY (intermediate)

When was slavery abolished?

History books could tell you a date, but the truth is slavery hasn't ceased to exist. Millions of people from poor countries, many of them children, are exploited so that we, the rich ones, can satisfy every single desire.

Take a look at this project launched by the MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art in New York) to stir consciences and encourage awareness. If you complete the questionnaire (you have to register first, but only an email is required) you'll find out how many slaves work for you.

The questions deal with luxury items such as jewellery or cars, but your impact is also affected by what you eat, the clothes you buy, your whole lifestyle.

Take the challenge and click on the picture below.



Click on the following picture for details.



And even more here.




Sunday 7 June 2015

COMPARISON (elementary online activity)

Click on the picture below and check how good you are when making comparisons.





Saturday 25 April 2015

EXTREME SPORTS

Risky activities for lovers of stamina!

Click on the picture below for a list of EXTREME SPORTS (also called dangerous sports or adventure sports).




Click on the following picture for additional information on extreme sports. 



Spanish students can download a useful PDF document on sports here.




Monday 6 April 2015

MORE WORD GAMES (all levels)

Form as many words as you can with the letters you are given. Make all the possible combinations before running out of time!


HAVE FUN!




Friday 27 March 2015

Friday 6 March 2015

YESTERDAY by The Beatles

This is a new space in my blog. My desire is to pay a tribute to those songs which are a milestone in the history of music and probably in a lot of personal stories.

Hope you like it. 






Wednesday 4 March 2015

NATURAL DISASTERS (lower intermediate)

Learn the names of some natural disasters with the help of this video:



Learn a bit more about them with this other video and its dialogues:


Can you name any other natural disasters? What happens when they occur?




Saturday 28 February 2015

REPORTED SPEECH II (intermediate)

This is my second issue on REPORTED SPEECH: a worksheet with information and exercises for you to practise. You'll find the answer key on the third page.

(Click on the picture to download it)




Here is a funny video about REPORTED SPEECH.





Read the lyrics of the song in the video.


How about reporting now?

Do you remember what the politicians in your country promised in the last election campaign?
Make a list of their promises.





Sunday 8 February 2015

MODALS OF DEDUCTION (intermediate)

Visit this site by the British Council to practise MODAL VERBS of DEDUCTION.
If you scroll down, you'll find different exercises (both online and downloadable) and the transcript of the video.

(Click on the picture to enter)




Thursday 5 February 2015

VALENTINE'S DAY IS COMING!

Like it or not, here it is again!

For those of you who enjoy it, here are some songs and activities.

This worksheet is for those who don't.

(Source of text: www. marieclaire.com)



Just one question before going on:
How much do you know about Valentine's day?

Take this quiz and find out!
  (Click on the hearts)




Click on the picture to find out how Valentine's day is celebrated in the UK. You'll also find some activities to check your understanding of the text.
  (Created and offered by the British Council)





How about a video now?


Do you know why the name of the video is Cupidon?


And, of course, some love songs!




And, finally...



THE END.

Just one more...





Saturday 31 January 2015

BEAUTY THROUGHOUT HISTORY (intermediate)

Take a look at this video and find out how the standard of beauty has changed over time.





Wednesday 28 January 2015

Friday 16 January 2015

GAMES (intermediate)

Enter this site and choose a topic to play (computers, food, body parts, jobs and many others).

You must be quick to match each word with its definition to score more points. A great game for competitions in class!

Click on the picture to play. 


Have fun and learn!




Saturday 3 January 2015

WHAT IS ART? (intermediate)

Is art something you find in museums? Is it something beautiful? It is... what?

Take a look a some expressions of human perceptions. Which are art? Which aren't? Why?


Book Sculptures


More presentations from Arpit Daniel Das





Click on the image below.








Click on the picture below..




A film.











What is art?????