Merry Christmas and a happy new year 2017!

A bit late for the good wishes for Christmas but early for the new year.  2017 will be full of good stories to  read, films to see and adventures to live. So get ready for a fantastic year!!!
My colleague Seso Durán wished us Merry Christmas with a great work he had done with our bilingual section 2 ESO a few years ago. That reminded me of something I had done with the same students the following year. The tittle and the beginning is an homage to Fran Capra's film : It's a wonderful life. By the way, that is a classic movie you should watch.
So if you are curious, have a look!
http://englishasbarxas.blogspot.com.es/2014/12/blog-post.html

Writing

For some of you  writing means a lot of effort and, as I saw today, people  can even  go blank in front of a piece of paper. Well,  let me tell you there is only one recipe to improve that: Write, write and keep writing. Start with easy tasks and write a few lines every day. I am leaving here for you a few links where you will find hundreds of prompts that can suit different levels and interests. I am also including them in the useful links list so it will be easy to find them whenever you need them.

http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/journal-writing-prompts.html

http://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/

http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts

Ana's family

My first ESO  students have been practising descriptions. Here an example of Ana's oral presentation. She doesn't talk only about a member but the whole family!. 

Well done Ana!!! And she is already working on her next presentation about her daily routine. Excellent work! 

Graduation speech by Larissa Martínez

A brilliant Mexican student living in USA who has a full-ride scholarship (grants which  cover not only tuition, but also other basic costs, like room, board, books, travel, and supplies) to Yale. She is hoping to enter the pre-med program and ultimately become a neurosurgeon. She's also an undocumented immigrant.

If he can, you can

Show it to your mums, they will understand how useful using posts with new words is to learn new vocabulary! Aidan misses you and sends us this Polish commercial to show there is no age to learn a new language!

A Polish Christmas advert, which has been viewed more than two-and-a-half million times, about a grandfather learning English is melting hearts worldwide.

The advert, released by online auction website Allegro, starts with the elderly man receiving an "English For Beginners" audio set from the website.

He then sets about becoming fluent, by putting stickers on household objects and reciting phrases out loud.

The advert, shows the man reciting English during a series of amusing scenes - including saying "I love you" to a surprised woman sitting on the bus in front of him.

The advert culminates in the real reason the man decided to pick up a new language: meeting his granddaughter for the first time.

A Polish Christmas advert, which has been viewed more than two-and-a-half million times, about a grandfather learning English is melting hearts worldwide.

The advert, released by online auction website Allegro, starts with the elderly man receiving an "English For Beginners" audio set from the website.

He then sets about becoming fluent, by putting stickers on household objects and reciting phrases out loud.

The advert, shows the man reciting English during a series of amusing scenes - including saying "I love you" to a surprised woman sitting on the bus in front of him.

The advert culminates in the real reason the man decided to pick up a new language: meeting his granddaughter for the first time.

“Such is this ad: about a grandfather who overcomes obstacles to reunite with his loved ones living abroad. Many Polish people share the same experience. Nearly one million Poles have decided to leave the country in search for a job, mainly heading the United Kingdom. Despite the relatively close distance between the countries, family ties tend to weaken. Therefore, Christmas for many is a difficult time in which we yearn for more.

"But the story we are telling is all-purpose and can be easily understood by any other nation or community who can easily link the happy ending of a smile and tears of emotion to their daily human experience."

I 

Music and the inner self | James Rhodes | TEDxMadrid

YOUNG FILM MAKERS WHO ALSO WROTE THE SCRIPTS

Young directors who write the scrips of their films

Andrew Sachs, the actor best known for playing Manuel, has died aged 86.

Andrew Sachs, the actor best known for playing Manuel the bemused Spanish waiter abused by John Cleese’s bullying hotelier in the BBC comedy series Fawlty Towers, has died aged 86.

Cleese led tributes to his co-star, describing him as a “brilliant farceur” and a “sweet, sweet man”.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/01/andrew-sachs-dies-after-alzheimers-aged-86

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/02/andrew-sachs-manuels-five-most-farcial-moments-in-fawlty-towers


I used to watch this sitcom long time ago and have used it for my lessons in the past.
Here some examples of memorable moments with activities.

http://englishasbarxas.blogspot.com.es/2013/10/i-know-nothing-fawlty-towers-bbc_27.html

http://englishasbarxas.blogspot.com.es/2013/10/a-room-with-view-fawlty-towers-bbc.html