Songs for Christmas 2011: MICHAEL BUBLÉ, "SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN"

Michael Bublé, Canadian singer, has also turned into Christmas this year. He has released a complete album full of Christmas classics like this "Santa Claus is coming to town".

Video "SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN", Michael Bublé:

Lyrics:
You better watch out
you better not cry
you better not pout
I'm telling you why
('cos) Santa Claus is coming to town.
Oh, let's go...
(Repeat twice)
I mean the big fat man
with the long white beard
he's coming to town.

Video "SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN", Michael Bublé TV performance:

Complete lyrics:
You better watch out
you better not cry
you better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town.
He's making a list
he's checking it twice
he's gonna find out
who's naughty or nice
Santa Claus is coming to town.
He sees you when you're sleeping
and he knows when you're awake
he knows if you've been bad or good
so be good for goodness sake.
(Repeat chorus)
Let's go boys
Now, he sees you when you're sleeping
and he knows when you're awake
he knows if you've been bad or good
so be good for goodness sake.
(Repeat chorus twice)
I mean the big fat man
with the long white beard
he's coming to town.

GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS

Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Christmas means "Feast day of Christ".
The day known as Christmas Day is celebrated on the 25th of December (This date is different for Orthodox Christians). Christmas is one of the holiest times of the year, when it is believed by Christians that God sent Jesus to be born and to live among people and to save sinners. The other important Christian Holy Days are at Easter when the death and resurrection of Jesus are celebrated. The season of preparing for Christmas is called Advent and begins on a Sunday about four weeks before Christmas Day. The Christmas Season (called Christmastide) ends on January 6, known as the Epiphany or the Twelfth Day of Christmas.
Christmas is celebrated by Christian people all over the world, and is also kept as a time of celebration by many people who are not Christian but enjoy the traditions. The traditions are different from country to country, but they nearly always include a feast, giving gifts or cards, and enjoying church or public festivities such as singing Christmas songs.
Christmastime, as it is often called, is in the winter of the Northern Hemisphere, at a time when there were already ancient festivals. Some of the traditions that are used for Christmas are older than Christmas, or come from other non-Christian traditions such as Yule. Other festivals at this time of year include Jewish Hanukkah.
Modern traditions of Christmas often focus on the giving of gifts. Shops use this time of year to sell a lot of goods, and so start advertising for "Holiday Season" shopping for at least a month before Christmas, often showing a Santa Claus.

In English speaking countries, where presents are usually given on Christmas Day, Santa Claus, (or Father Christmas) is usually thought of as coming on Christmas Night, when his magic sleigh is pulled across the sky by reindeer, and he comes into houses through the chimney. The English tradition is to hang up stockings (or long socks) in front of the fireplace. Santa Claus would traditionally fill the socks or shoes with nuts, raisins, chocolates and an orange. Nowadays children usually get much more expensive presents, and have the presents in a big pile under the Christmas tree.
Another Christmas tradition is the sending of cards to friends and relatives. These contain warm greetings and may also have a letter telling all the things that have happened to the person or family during the year.

Video of basic Christmas vocabulary:


Video "A BRIEF HISTORY OF SANTA CLAUS":

Play these quizzes about Christmas:
(1) http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/play-with-friends/quiz-christmas
(2) http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-32497.php

"HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)", A CLASSIC LENNON XMAS SONG+THE FRAY'S COVER VERSION

We have found a cover version of one of John Lennon's classic songs, his Christmas song "HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)". Here is the video of The Fray's version with English & Spanish subtitles and Lennon's audio version with Spanish translation subtitles. Enjoy!

Video "HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)", The Fray:

Audio "HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)", John Lennon:

"LAST CHRISTMAS", WHAM! (Another old Xmas song)

Another classic Christmas song from the 1980s by the duo Wham!, "Last Christmas". Surely you've heard it before...


Video "LAST CHRISTMAS", Wham:


Link to Songs page for video with English subtitles & Spanish translation on screen.

Songs for Christmas 2011: MICK HUCKNALL, "HAPPY THIS CHRISTMAS"

As we already explained in December last year, in Britain there's a struggle every Christmas among singers and pop groups to become the number 1 bestselling single in the charts during the Christmas holidays. So, every year, many of the greatest artists of the moment try to reach number 1 on Christmas Eve. The first one to appear this 2011 is Mick Hucknall, ex-leader of the group Simply Red, who does his first solo-work with this Christmas song "HAPPY THIS CHRISTMAS".

Video "HAPPY THIS CHRISTMAS", Mick Hucknall (Christmas 2011):

"HAPPY THIS CHRISTMAS", Mick Hucknall.
Year after year
life whizzing by
here's December
now Christmas is here
tell me the things you remember.
Singing our favourite songs
lets forgive and forget
all the things that we hope
won't go wrong.
CHORUS
People come together
from all over the world,
we'll all come together
tell me can you feel it?
I hope you're happy this Christmas.
Are you cheering for Christmas?
(all over the world)
Looking at the world
wondering where this is going.
The people you love,
the life you have seen,
are we growing?
Singing our favourite songs
so lets forgive and forget
and fill the world with happiness tonight.

Repeat CHORUS
(A merry merry Christmas
Are you happy this Christmas?
all over the world)

IF YESTERDAY WAS THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE U.S.A., TODAY'S BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. The term dates back to at least 1966, although its usage was primarily on the East coast. The term has become more common in other parts of the country since 2000. Because Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday occurs between the 23rd and the 29th of November. According to Reuters, in 2007, 135 million people participated in the Black Friday shopping rush, more than turned out to vote in the 2008 United States presidential election, which recorded the largest voter turn out in history.
Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees have the day off as part of the Thanksgiving holiday (with the exceptions of those employed in retailing, health care, and banking), which increases the number of potential shoppers. Retailers often decorate for the Christmas and holiday season weeks beforehand. Many retailers open extremely early, with most of the retailers typically opening at 5AM or even earlier. Some of the larger retailers such as Sears, Best Buy, Macy's, Toys "R" Us, and Walmart have been reported to open as early as midnight on the start of Black Friday in localized areas and remain open for 24 hours throughout the day until midnight the following Saturday. Upon opening, retailers offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Although Black Friday, as the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season at least since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the term "Black Friday" has been traced back only to the 1960s.
The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers go from being in the red (i.e., posting a loss on the books) to being in the black (i.e., turning a profit).

Video on BLACK FRIDAY:

4th THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER: THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE USA, TODAY

The origin of Thanksgiving Day: the Mayflower Pilgrims
A typical Thanksgiving Dinner
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. It has a religious origin,but Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.
The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s. This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America's first. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.

In the United States, certain kinds of food are traditionally served at Thanksgiving meals. Firstly, baked or roasted turkey is usually the featured item on any Thanksgiving feast table (so much so that Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as "Turkey Day"). Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, other fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner. All of these are actually native to the Americas or were introduced as a new food source to the Europeans when they arrived.

During Thanksgiving Day families and friends usually gather for a large meal or dinner. Consequently the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Thanksgiving is a four-day or five-day weekend vacation for schools and colleges. Most business and government workers (78% in 2007) are given Thanksgiving and the day after as paid holidays. Thanksgiving Eve, the night before Thanksgiving, is one of the busiest nights of the year for bars and clubs, as many college students and others return to their hometowns to reunite with friends and family.

In New York City, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held annually every Thanksgiving Day from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to Macy's flagship store in Herald Square, and televised nationally by NBC. The parade features parade floats with specific themes, scenes from Broadway plays, large balloons of cartoon characters and TV personalities, and high school marching bands. The float that traditionally ends the Macy's Parade is the Santa Claus float, the arrival of which is an unofficial sign of the beginning of the Christmas season.

Video the HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING:
To sum up:
What is Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday in October.
The First Thanksgiving
When we think of Thanksgiving today, images of football, pumpkin pie, parades, and turkey dinner complete with cranberry sauce come to mind, as well as plans for a Black Friday shopping spree the following day.
Of course none of these items were present back in 1621, when the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrims sat down together to give thanks to nature. Although the celebrants at this particular meal didn’t even call it “Thanksgiving”, this particular harvest feast is the one after which we model our modern-day Thanksgiving celebrations.
People of both cultures had been giving thanks for the fall harvest and other gifts of nature for many centuries. It is interesting to note that the religious element, giving thanks to God, was not present at this particular celebration in 1621, even though the Pilgrims were devoutly religious.
However, the Native Americans had their own religious customs and beliefs. As a result, during this "first" Thanksgiving, Pilgrims and Native Americans did not focus on what was different between them, but instead concentrated on what they all shared. The two groups of people worked side by side to hunt and prepare food as equals and friends. Their friendship and cooperation was yet another thing for which to be thankful.
When Americans sit down to our Thanksgiving dinner, they honor a piece of early American history. The story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans serve as a good reminder for all to be thankful for what they have.
How Thanksgiving Became a Holiday
After 1621, future Thanksgiving celebrations occurred at various times throughout the year. George Washington declared a feast of Thanksgiving in 1789, and presidents issued similar yearly proclamations after that. During the Civil War, poet Sarah Hale started a campaign to celebrate the holiday on the same day throughout the country.
President Abraham Lincoln saw it as a way to unite the country, and he in 1863 he proclaimed a national Thanksgiving celebration on the last Thursday in November. It was changed from the last Thursday to the third Thursday by Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 as a way to lengthen the Christmas shopping holiday. In 1941, Roosevelt finally changed the date to the fourth Thursday in November, proclaiming it a Federal holiday in 1941.

QUEEN'S LEADER FREDDIE MERCURY DIED 20 YEARS AGO TODAY

Freddie Mercury (5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British Indian musician, best known as the frontman of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his powerful vocals and flamboyant performances. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "We Are the Champions" and "Barcelona". Fronted by Mercury, Queen went on to sell more than 300 million albums internationally as of 2009. In addition to his work with Queen, he also led a solo career and was occasionally a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. Mercury, who was a Parsi and grew up in India, has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star". He died of bronchopneumonia induced by HIV (AIDS) on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease.

"I Want to Break Free" is a song performed by Queen, which was written by bassist John Deacon. It featured on their 1984 album The Works. In the UK Chart, it peaked at number 3, and remained in the chart for fifteen consecutive weeks from its release in late April 1984.

The music video, directed by David Mallet, was a parody of the northern British soap opera Coronation Street. During part of the video, the band members dressed in drag, as mildly similar characters found in the soap at the time. According to Brian May in an interview about Queen's Greatest Hits, the video ruined the band in America, where many people - unlike the case in the UK - failed to see the soap-opera connection & interpreted the video as an open declaration of transvestitism and Mercury’s homosexuality.

Video Queen "I WANT TO BREAK FREE" with lyrics:

WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT 11/11/11?

Some on the internet say it's the end of the world; but for others, it looks like the perfect day for a wedding
At 11.11.11 on 11.11.11, the time and date will be a perfect same-numbered palindrome, reading the same backwards as forwards, an event which can only happen on one day every 100 years.
And even the most hardened sceptic will surely pause for a moment to reflect on the unique moment, which will not come around again in the lifetime of most of us.

Among other things, 11.11.11 will be:
- Armistice Day, celebrated around the world.
- A day of spiritual significance for those who believe the number 11 has a mystical power.
- A very special day to get married or have a birthday (especially if it's your 11th).
- Perhaps even the end of the world, according to some 'prophecy' web forums.

The reason the date is so unusual is that 11.11.11 is the only double-figure palindromic date, since there is no 22nd month.
And the last time it happened, on November 11 1911, an almost supernatural event saw temperatures drop by more than 60F in a single day. This was the Great Blue Norther, a cold snap which hit the U.S. causing blizzards and tornadoes as well as record falls in temperature. In Kansas City, it was as as warm as 76F (24C) in the morning - but this had dropped to 11F (-12C) by the end of the day.

A new film being released on Friday, entitled simply 11-11-11, predicts that the day will see the opening of a portal in to Hell, and says: 'On this day, innocent blood will spill.'

However, most of those who have chosen this Friday as a day to get married are more attracted by the pleasing coincidence than by any deeper significance.
The small town of Gretna Green, a traditional wedding venue near the border between Scotland and England, will host at least 50 weddings on 11.11.11, compared to fewer than a dozen on a typical November Friday.

Most famously, the 11th of November is Armistice Day in the UK - Veterans Day in the U.S. - when we celebrate the end of World War I and commemorate the victims of that war and subsequent ones.

Of course, there is no real significance to the date 11.11.11 - not even at the time of 11.11.11 - but it is a classic example of apophenia, the human urge to see patterns in essentially random events.

It remains to be seen whether 11.11.11 will produce any surprises this time around, but people should be sure to keep a careful eye on the weather - and on any local Hellmouths - at 11 seconds past 11 minutes past 11 o'clock. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/

CHARO & TIM ARE BACK TO TELL STORIES IN GALICIAN & ENGLISH

Charo Pita (Galician) and Tim Bowley (British) will be back at IES Rafael Dieste for the fourth time to continue telling stories in a double version Galician/English on Tuesday, 8th November at our assembly hall. At 10:30 for 1st ESO students and at 11:20 for 2nd ESO students.

5th NOVEMBER: GUY FAWKES' OR BONFIRE NIGHT IN THE UK

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day and Bonfire Night, is an annual commemoration on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a Catholic angry by religious prosecution, led the Gunpowder Plot to blow down the Houses of Parliament and bring down England's Protestant monarchy. He was arrested while guarding the explosives. Celebrating the fact that James I of England had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act 1605 enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.
Within a few decades Gunpowder Treason Day, as it was known, became the predominant English state commemoration, but as it carried strong religious overtones it also became a focus for anti-Catholic sentiment.
Bonfire Night is a yearly event dedicated to bonfires, fireworks and celebrations. Different traditions celebrate Bonfire Night on different days. Some of the better known Bonfire Nights are: 5 November in the United Kingdom, Canada & Australia; 23 June in Ireland and some parts of Spain as Galicia and Valencia, sometimes known as St John's Eve/Night, a bonfire tradition which also survives in parts of Scandinavia.

Video "THE HISTORY OF GUY FAWKES' DAY":

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY'S 125th BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

STATUE OF LIBERTY!!!

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a huge neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbour, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. So it's 125 years old today. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law). The date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 is inscribed on it. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue has become an icon of freedom and of the United States.

IT'S HALLOWEEN AGAIN! (2)

Two years ago, on the 28th of October of 2009, we posted the first entry about Halloween on this blog. Take a look (by date 28/10/2009 or by label: tradition, halloween) because you can read a complete report on what Halloween is all about. This year we include two videos, so you can listen about it. First a basic vocabulary for the season and second, two videos with short histories of Halloween. In between an easier version of the history of Halloween posted in 2009.

Video Halloween Vocabulary:

Halloween (also spelt Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It's a festival of Celtic origin, Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is a secular celebration which has religious influence.
The day is often associated with orange and black, and with symbols like the jack-o'-lantern, a pumpkin with a frightening face and a candle lit inside. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Halloween has origins in the ancient festival known as Samhain, which comes from Old Irish and it means "summer's end". This was a Gaelic festival celebrated mainly in Ireland and Scotland. The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year". The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, spirits (both good and bad) pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while bad spirits were guided away. It is believed that the need to guide the bad spirits away made people wear costumes and masks. By disguising oneself as an evil spirit, people aren't attacked. Samhain was also a time to take stock food supplies and kill animales for the winter. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities.
The name Halloween and many present-day traditions, derive from the Old English era. The term Halloween, originally spelt Hallowe’en, is shortened from All Hallows' Even – e'en is a shortening of even, which is a shortening of evening. This is ultimately derived from the Old English Eallra Hālgena ǣfen. It is now known as "Eve of" All Saints' Day, which is November 1st. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were once celebrated on the same day.

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as sweets, candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a joke-threat to do to the homeowners or their property if they don't give anyt treat to these children. In some parts of Ireland and Scotland children still go disguised. In this custom the child performs some sort of show, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, in order to earn their treats.

Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. They are said to be used to scare off devils. Costumes are also based on themes other than traditional horror, such as those of characters from television shows, movies, and other pop culture icons.

Video "THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN":

Video "THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN/2":

HOW OFTEN DO YOU...? (FREQUENCY ADVERBS)

Position of frequency adverbs in the sentence:

We use adverbs of frequency to say how often you do something. Adverbs of frequency are often used with the present simple because they indicate repeated or routine activities.

For example: They often go out for dinner.

Adverbs of frequency include (form most often to least often. See the picture above):

always usually often sometimes rarely never

1. If the sentence has one verb (e.g. no auxiliary verb) put the adverb in the middle of the sentence after the subject and before the verb.

Examples: Tom usually goes to work by car. Janet never flies. She always goes by bus.

2. Adverbs of frequency come after the verb 'be'.

Examples: I am never late for work. Peter is often at school.

3. If the sentence has more than one verb (e.g. auxiliary verb), put the adverb of frequency before the main verb.

Examples: I can never remember anything! They have often visited Rome.

4. When using adverbs of frequency in the question or negative form, put the adverb of frequency before the main verb.

Examples: She doesn't often visit Europe. Do you usually get up early?

Links to exercises on adverbs of frequency:

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/adjectives_adverbs/adverbs_of_frequency.htm

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/english_lessons/adverbs-of-frequency-exercises

http://www.autoenglish.org/gr.frequ.i.htm

PERSONAL PRONOUNS: SUBJECT/OBJECT, POSSESSIVES & REFLEXIVES

Position in the sentence: SUBJECT PRONOUNS go IN FRONT OF the verb or BETWEEN the auxiliary verb and the main verb in questions. OBJECT PRONOUNS go AFTER a verb or a preposition.

Position in the sentence: POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES go BEFORE the noun. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS go INSTEAD of the noun already mentioned before.

CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION RULES

Sometimes it's a bit difficult to teach in a classroom. Classrooms have a big number of students, and students can't do whatever they want in class. There must be some rules.

1- LISTEN CAREFULLY. And even more in an English class, because you need to understand what you have to do. Listen to what other people have to say and don't interrupt them.

2- FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. Do what the teacher tells you to.

3- DON'T INTERFERE WITH THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF OTHERS. Don't disturb in the classroom: talking, making noises, moving things, walking around, standing up...

4- RESPECT PERSONAL SPACE, RIGHTS AND PROPERTY OF OTHERS. Don't take things that aren't yours, don't disturb other people. Use kind words. Think before you do something.

5- RAISE YOUR HAND AND WAIT TO BE CALLED ON. If you have any question or problem, put your hand up and wait until the teacher asks you or goes to you. When there's nothing to say, say nothing. You can't talk about anything you want at any time in the class. Think before you speak or say anything out loud in class.

6- COMPLETE WORK ON TIME. Do the exercises you are told in class when the teacher says. Do and bring the homework when the teacher says. Bring the books and notebook to class.

7- ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST. Come to class to work, pay attention and learn. Work is time to work. We can also have fun, but learning.

8- WORK AND PLAY SAFELY. Be careful. Don't get into trouble.

9- STAY ON TASK. Concentrate. Pay attention.

10- OBEY ALL SCHOOL RULES. The school and class rules have to be followed. If you break any of the rules, you'll get into trouble. You can be punished.

Bart Simpson has the same rules in his English class:

DOs:

DON'Ts:

APPLE CO-FOUNDER, STEVE JOBS DIED. HIS FAMOUS SPEECH AT STAMFORD UNIVERSITY WITH HIS OWN VIEW OF LIFE

Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American inventor and entrepreneur. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs was co-founder and previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney.
In the late 1970s, Jobs — along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula and others—designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series.
After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs left Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets.
In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd, which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer.
On October 5, 2011, Jobs died at his home in Palo Alto, California, aged 56.
His commencement course speech at Stanford University in 2005 is famous. We include it here in a two part video with English subtitles. On our etc page you can watch the whole video with Spanish subtitles.

Video of Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford University (2005):

THE UNITED KINGDOM (OF GREAT BRITAIN & NORTHERN IRELAND)

What is the difference between England and Britain (or Great Britain)? Three countries make up Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. So England is part of Great Britain, and a Scotsman (a person of Scottish origin) is British, too. A person born in Wales is Welsh, and they are British, too. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, or “the UK”. So the UK is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the last of which is not part of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is a part of the island or Ireland. The rest of this island, which isn't Northern Ireland or the Ulster, is another different country: the Republic of Ireland.

The formal name of the country is the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, but in everyday speech Britain is often used to mean the UK, though, as you have seen, this is not perfectly correct. The word “great” was added to “Britain” several hundred years ago, in the Middle Ages, when the English kings had lands in what is now France, and a certain part of it was called Britanny. To avoid confusion, they added the word “great” to the name of the land which was larger.

The capital city of the UK is London, which is also the capital of England. The capital of Scotland is Edimburgh, the capital of Wales is Cardiff and the capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

Visual explanation:

Video difference between UK Great Britain and England, Wales & Scotland:

Video "The difference between UK, GB & England explained:

THE HISTORY OF THE ADDAMS FAMILY

On page 15 of our Student's Book there's a reading text about the Addams Family. But do you want to know more about them? Do you want to know their history? Here's some more information...

The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday and Pugsley.
The Addamses are a satirical version of the ideal American family; an eccentric, rich clan who like the macabre and don't see that people find them strange or frightening. They originally appeared as a series of single panel cartoons, published in The New Yorker between 1938 and 1988. They have been adapted to other media, including TV series, films, video games, and a musical.

The original cartoon from 1938
The first TV series from 1964 to 1966

The latest film version 1991 & 1993
Video opening credits of original TV series:

Video trailer of the Addams Family film:

OCTOBER 5th: IT'S TEACHER'S DAY AGAIN

Since 1994 World Teachers’ Day is celebrated on 5 October. It is an opportunity for UNESCO and Education International to celebrate the profession and to promote international standards for the teaching profession. The theme for this year is: Teachers for gender equality.
Despite the teaching profession being made up largely of women, inequality remains an issue. Even if measures to ensure equality are enshrined into the policies and constitutions of many states, for millions of female teachers, the goals remain unfulfilled. The teaching profession, both men and women, must unite and urge governments to implement their commitments.

ALSO REMINDING THAT THE TEACHING PROFESSION IS NOW SUFFERING THE CUTS IN EDUCATION BUDGETS, WHICH MEAN MORE CLASS-HOURS WITH BIGGER CLASSES IN NUMBER OF PUPILS FOR EACH TEACHER. LESS PERSONAL ATTENTION FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND LESS TIME FOR PROJECTS, REINFORCEMENTS, ACTIVITIES, ETC...

[12th CW] HEAD, TOES, LEGS & NOSE... (BODY PARTS)

We've been checking in class the vocabulary of the PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY. In the picture you can see what each of these words are.

ankle / arm / chest / ear / elbow / eye / fingers / foot (feet) / hair / head / knee / leg / mouth / neck / nose / shoulder / thigh / toes / waist / wrist

REMEMBER: WE ALWAYS USE A POSSESSIVE WITH A PART OF THE BODY. NEVER THE ARTICLE.

my head / your arm / his eyes / her hair / our hands...

In the following links you have exercises:
-Parts of the head

-Parts of the face

-Parts of the body

THE SIMPSON'S FAMILY (Family members vocabulary)

FAMILY VOCABULARY:
FEMALE (women/girls):
mother (mum/mammy) / sister / daughter / aunt / niece / wife / grandmother (grandma) / granddaughter
MALE (men/boys):
father (dad/daddy) / brother / son / uncle / nephew / husband / grandfather (grandad) / grandson
BOTH SEXES:
cousin / child(ren) - siblings
COLLECTIVES:
parents / grandparents / relatives
After getting married, a family gets new members who are the -in-laws:
mother/father-in-law, son/daughter-in-law, brother/sister-in-law
Exercise: Who's who in the Simpson family? Write correct sentences about 6 of them.
Video "FAMILY MEMBERS":