Week Beginning Monday 13th December

This Week's Technology

This Week's News (Amended)

Our programme of work for Tuesday 21st December / Friday 14th January is as follows:

• Consolidation test of grammar and vocabulary from Unit 3
• Writing an opinion essay under exam conditions
• FCE Listening test*

*The listening test may be brought forward to Friday 17th December if there's enough time.

This Week's Homework

Monday / Wednesday class: we have done up to Page 45 in our Student's Book. Do SB Page 45 Mini Grammar and Page 46 Grammar parts a, b, c and d.

Tuesday / Thursday class: we have completed up to Page 45 in our Student's Book. Make sure you have done Page 45 Mini Grammar and Page 46 Grammar 4a, b, c and d. Please also do Section 3A (a) and 3B in our Grammar Handout.

It goes without saying that everyone is working on their Workbooks; you should have completed lesson 3B by now. Don't forget that the deadline for our next reading assignment is 10th / 11th January.

This Week's Grammar

This Week's Strange But True

Motorists getting uptight in a traffic jam

In English, a motorist is someone who drives a car; a motorcyclist is someone who rides a motorbike.

Now you know!

This Week's Science

This is the barreleye fish. The green orbs are its eyes, directed
upwards to detect its prey in silhouette through its transparent head

In the last decade, scientists and explorers have discovered a quarter of a million new plant and animal species around the world. In a celebratory special programme on BBC television, presenter Chris Packham chooses his top 10 most extraordinary discoveries of the past 10 years. Here is a selection.

Source: The Guradian Newspaper

This Week's Art

David Hockney is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. He was an important contributor to the Pop art movement of the 1960s. He is considered as one of the most influential figures of British art in the 20th century. Visit his website here.

This Week's Listening

Wedgewood Teapot

To what extent is drinking tea typically British? What is the historical backdrop behind this beverage? Find out by listening here. Print and read the transcript by clicking here.

Week Beginning Monday 29th November

This Week's Homework

Tuesday / Thursday class: make sure you have completed Lesson 3A in our Student's Book and do Page 40 as well. This includes Vocabulary Bank P 149 and Grammar Bank 3A P 136. Prepare the text on Page 49, "Community service is the best punishment . . . " and Grammar Bank 3B P 136 - 137. Ask me for the handout on writing an opinion essay and for the next FCE Reading Assignment. (This assignment is to be handed in on or before 14th December.) Needless to say, you should be constantly working on the activities in your Workbook; you should be on Lesson 3b now.

As you know, our next writing assignment is taken from Student's Page Page 49 Activity c. Deadline is 10th December. Please do it well. Have another look at SB P 43 for some ideas.

Monday / Wednesday class:  make sure you have completed everything up to Page 39 in your Student's Book. Your writing assignment is on Page 49, activity c. Plan carefully. Deadline is 10th December. Have a look at P 34 for some ideas. Do FCE Reading assignment for 13th / 15th December. Prepare Grammar Bank 3B Pages 136 - 137.

Certificates - Intermediate 2

If you completed Intermediate 2 at the EOI Arucas in June 2010 and sat the exam for Certificación, contact our lovely secretary and give her your details in order to collect your certificate, should you want it.

More News

Sun coming out

According to this evening's La Provincia, there will be classes tomorrow, Tuesday 30th November.  See you there!

Important News

SCHOOL CLOSURE DUE TO BAD WEATHER

There are no classes today, Monday 29th November, because of the "severe" weather conditions predicted for Gran Canaria. Please let your classmates know.

Watch this space to find out if there will be classes on Tuesday 30th. ( I suspect that there will be.)

This Week's Video

A former student of mine wrote to me and suggested I share this video with all of my students. So, here it is! Cheers, Alicia!

This Week's Word

When talking about minor offences in class on Friday, reference was made to the dog pooh (excrement) on our streets. (Note how there are two spellings for this word.)

This Week's Photo

Snow covering a telephone box in Scotland

This Week's English Speaking Country

Wales

Capital:   Cardiff
National Languages:  English, Welsh
Government:  Constitutional monarch
Monarch:  Queen Elizabeth
Famous festivals: Eisteddfod

This Week's Art

Green Man - Bamburg Cathedral, Germany

One of the events in our programme for the Jornadas Culturales was a talk on Britain and Ireland through the seasons. The poster advertising it was of A Green Man. Carvings of Green Men are frequently found on churches and other secular buildings in the British Isles and around the world. He is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth or "renaissance", and represents the cycle of growth each spring.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Man

Week Beginning Monday 15th November

This Week's Homework

Both groups: complete Unit 2 in your Workbook. Do Student's Book Page 38 (everything.) Do  Page 39 Ex 5 a, b and c.

More News

JORNADAS CULTURALES 2010

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS YEAR'S CULTURAL EVENTS (24th-25th November)?

We have some COMPETITIONS for you:

1. BOOKMARKERS: please bring them to the school before Tuesday

    November 23rd. Don't forget to write your name and group at the back. 

2. PHOTOS FROM ARUCAS. See them in the advanced blog and follow the

    instructions there.

3. MINISAGAS: write a complete story in

    EXACTLY 50 words (without the title). People

    will vote the best ones during the week. Give it

    to your teacher before Tuesday too!

4. CAKES: have yours ready for Thursday 25th at

    5.30 p.m. Remember to email your teacher the

    recipe in English. We'll give a booklet with all the recipes to

    everybody who participates!

5. POEMS: write a poem in less than 55 words.

This Week's Photos

One of the many fun activities we are organising at EOI Arucas as part of our Cultural Events Programme is a competition to identify a series of photos taken in Arucas. All you have to do is, on a piece of paper, write down the name of the street or square where the building or statue is, tell us a little about the street name, building or statue, and give your answers to Antonio in the School Library before 23rd November. Your short texts should be written in either French, German or English.



Photo One

 

Photo Two



Photo Three




Photo Four

 

Phot Five

 

Photo Six



Photo Seven



Photo Eight



Photo Nine



Photo Ten



Photo Eleven





Photo Twelve

Photo Thirteen



Photo Fourteen



Photo Fifteen



Photo Sixteen

Here's a clue for you: I pass these images on my way to the Escuela. I arrive at the bus station in Arucas, and then I walk to class. I don't always take the same route, nor is it the most direct route. Get sleuthing!

This Week's News

We'll be doing a consolidation test on Tuesday or Wednesday to revise the different aspects we've been looking at in Unit 2 of our textbook. Activities will be taken from the Student's Book as well as any handouts I've given you and items that have been published on our blog. If you didn't come to class on Friday, make sure you have done the vocabulary worksheet on Reading. (It is on the same sheet of paper as "My Heart Will Go On.")

Don't forget that there will be no English class for Advanced One students on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th November.

If you have not received feedback on your work on Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre, or Rebecca, please see me. Start your next reading assignment a.s.a.p.

This Week's Grammar

"If God had wanted us to be vegetarians, he wouldn't have made animals out of meat!"

Such is Homer Simpson's way of thinking, anyway!  In this sentence, he's using quite a complex grammatical structure that some of us had difficulty using in our reading activities last week. If you'd like to find out more about how to talk about things in the past which DID NOT happen, go to Saro's blog here.



This Week's Listening Suggestions

If you'd like to do some listening and reading practice, and learn how to do something useful at the same time, go to this excellent link sent to us by our lovely colleague, Natalie:

http://www.howcast.com/

You can find out about all sorts of things: how to brew a decent cup of tea, how to do the windmill, how to plan a romantic honeymoon getaway . . .

Serious listening practice needs to be done by almost everyone, I'm afraid, if we want to reach the standard required for EOI Advanced Two. Here are some excellent links:

http://www.vaughanradio.com/

http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fcelistening.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening_part1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening_part2.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening4.html

Week Beginning Monday 8th November

This Week's Homework

Monday / Wednesday class: Mini Grammar Page 25; Grammar Bank 2C Pages 134 - 135. FCE Reading exam. Tuesday / Thursday group: ditto.

This Week's Vocabulary

Most of Britain enjoyed magnificent bonfires and fireworks last weekend. (Why? See "Festivals".) In English, we have many onomatopoeic words to describe the sound of fireworks going off. Here are some of my favourites:

bang, crackle, swirl, burst, hiss, whizz, whoosh, fizz, whistle, sputter

Next time you watch a fireworks display, listen out for these sounds!

This Week's Art

Sunlit Orchid by Susan Shepherd

We've been reading about the artist, Susan Shepherd's "come-what-may" attitude towards her garden. We can see an example of her work above. Check out her profile here, if you're interested.

Week Beginning Tuesday 2nd November

This Week's Homework

Tuesday / Thursday group: make sure you do the Grammar worksheet on Adjectives. (It's on the back of the handout of our "Clothes" worksheet.) Do Grammar Bank Pages 134 - 135 2B. Complete Workbook Units 2A and 2B. Do the Reading Test I gave you for 10th / 11th November. Make sure you have done all they activities in the Student's Book as far as and including Page 25.
Monday / Wednesday group: see above.

This Week's News

We shall do a formal listening test on Thursday 4th / Friday 5th November.

There will be no class on Thursday 18th or Friday 19th November.

Make sure that your name is included on our Emergency Communications Link.

Peoples of the World

An Armenian, a Belgian, a Cuban, a Dane, an Egyptian . . . Revise your nationality nouns and adjectives here.

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

On November 5th, people in England burn effigies of Guy (Guido) Fawkes. He was one of a gang of religious terrorists who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. They chose to act on the first day of the new parliamentary session on 4 November 1605 when King James I and many other powerful Englishmen would have been killed at a single stroke. The idea was to incite rebellion and restore a Catholic head of state by putting King James's nine-year-old daughter Elizabeth on the throne. However, they were discovered and the plot was foiled. For more information, go to Dulce's blog.

Order of Adjectives

Spiky black hair



In English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a noun, for example, "He's a silly young fool," or "she's a smart, energetic woman." When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to type. This page will explain the different types of adjectives and the correct order for them.

Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead celebrations can be traced back 3,000 years in Mexico when it was common for people to keep skulls as trophies and symbols of life and rebirth. The modern festival is marked over two days when the living visit the graves of friends and relatives – deceased children are honoured on November 1, adults November 2.

Source:   http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/gallery/2007/oct/26/southamerica.religion#/?picture=331087390&index=2

This Week's Idiom

To be born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

If you've been born with a silver spoon in your mouth, it means that you have been born into wealth and privilege. 

James doesn't know anything about working for a living; he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Most of the students at that college were born with silver spoons in their mouths. 

This saying comes from the British tradition that wealthy children were often given silver spoons at birth.

For more idioms associated with colour, go to The Teacher at BBC Learning English.

Week Beginning Monday 25th October

Hallowe'en





 Witches, bats, owls . . . there'll be a lot of those flying around this weekend. If you want to find out more about the history behind Hallowe'en, go to Dulce's blog. Alternatively, check out what they're reading about  at EOI Guía.

Do you think this Celtic festival should be celebrated in the Canary Islands? Why? Why not?

This Week's Homework

I assume you have completed all the exercises in Unit One of our Workbook. Mon / Wed group, make sure you have completed everything from Pages 20 to 23 of our Student's Book, including Grammar Bank Pages 134 - 135 2A. Please also do the Reading on SB Page 24.  If you have class on Thursday, do Reading on Page 24 and make sure you know the vocab on Clothes and Fashion, P 148.

This Week's Science

It's Hubble's twentieth birthday in space this week. For more info, click here.

This Week's Technology

"Book" Part 2. It's in German, this time.  Don't forget I'm expecting your Reading homework on 2nd / 3rd November. Enjoy!

This Week's Idiom

"When I heard the bad news I was knocked for six."



Beach Cricket


When you are knocked for six, it means that you are completely devastated. It comes from the highest scoring in cricket, a very popular sport in many Commonwealth countries, especially England, the West Indies and Pakistan.

This Week's English Speaking Countries

The Commonwealth of Nations



Queen Dancing by Beryl Cook



Unit 2 of our textbook looks at nationalities. We've been considering geo-political names in English, and we were asked to explain the British Commonwealth. Here is some info to help us.

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and previously known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states. All but two (Mozambique and Rwanda) of these countries were formerly part of the British Empire.

The member states co-operate within a framework of common values and goals. These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world peace. The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an intergovernmental organisation through which countries with diverse social, political and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status.

The head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth II. (No wonder she dances!) The official language is English. The estimated population (2005) is 1,921,974,000.

Source: Wikipedia

This Week's Grammar

We've been looking at the Present Perfect. We saw how we use this aspect of the verb in English to look back on past experiences without saying exactly when they occurred. We considered different monuments or geographical features which still exist today and thought about their life.

 


Maspalomas Lighthouse

 

You have seen golden dunes

and then hotels

You have seen fishermen

and then tourists

You have lived quiet nights

and then noise and madness

You have seen a paradise

and then a desert






Church of Saint John, Arucas

 

  

You have seen doves of peace

You have seen lovers inside

You have seen a cross

You have seen new projects and old ideas

You have seen one hundred years of our history

You have seen workers of blue stone

You have announced death when your bell tolls





Las Canteras beach, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria



 You have seen the dreams of children

You have seen the walk of the elderly

You have seen the sea on the sand

You have heard the sea against the water's edge

You have known the son, the father and the grandfather

You have known hatred and love