Whether the Weather

(Intemediate 2)

Whether the weather be fine
Or whether the weather be not
Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be hot
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not.

The weather is one of the most popular themes of conversation in many cultures, especially in Britain where the weather is so variable. In fact, a recent article in the newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, reported that Britons spend six months of their lives talking about the weather!! Weather is the most common subject to break the ice when addressing strangers or even at business meetings, according to the report. So here is some vocabulary and activities to help practise this fascinating topic.

Practise some vocabulary : http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/ask_about_english/081007/

An interactive quiz: http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1258_weather

A list of vocabulary with definitions and examples: http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/weather-vocabulary.htm

Listen to these weather reports: http://www.esl-lab.com/weat1/weat1.htm

The up-to-date weather forecast for any town in the world just select from the list: http://www.activamultimedia.com/sam/index_ENG.htm

An original rapping weatherman!




Source: http://englishelxni2.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/whether-the-weather/

Happy New Year 2011

All the best in the coming year!

Good blogs for learning English

Hi folks,

These are some good blogs you can use to improve your English:

http://englishelxnb1.wordpress.com/ (basic 1)
http://englishelxnb2.wordpress.com/ (basic 2)
http://englishelxni1.wordpress.com/ (intermediate 1)
http://englishelxni2.wordpress.com/ (intermediate 2)
http://englishelxna1.wordpress.com/ (advanced 1)
http://englishelxna2.wordpress.com/ (advanced 2)

Source: EOI Elche (http://www.eoielx.com/Departamentos.aspx)

The digital story of the Nativity

How social media, web and mobile tell the story of the Nativity.
Christmas story told through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, GMail, Foursquare, Amazon...



Times change, the feeling remains the same.

Thanks to Elena Castelló (NI2) who sent me the link for this video.

The Convenient Truth

This is a great presentation which deals with smoking and its side effects.

SMOKE - The Convenient Truth

View more presentations from Empowered Presentations, Honolulu, HI.

Link: http://www.slideshare.net/mrcoryjim/smoke-the-convenient-truth-5602255

You can find some more presentations on this link: http://www.slideshare.net/

Christmas carols

We wish you a Merry Christmas




Jingle Bells

Christmas songs

Love actually soundtrack -
All I want for Christmas is you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zON-Om1iTwU

Watch the video and complete the end of each line.

I don’t want a lot for ____________

There is just one thing I _________

I don’t care about the __________

Underneath the Christmas ________

I just want you for my ________

More than you could ever __________

Make my wish come __________

All I want for ____________

Is you ……

I don’t want a lot for ____________

There is just one thing I __________

I don’t care about the ____________

Underneath the Christmas __________

I don’t need to hang my ___________

There upon the ____________

Santa Claus won’t make me ___________

With a toy on Christmas __________

I just want you for my __________

More than you could ever ___________

Make my wish come ___________

All I want for ____________

Is you …….

I won’t ask for much this ___________

I won’t even wish for ___________

I’m just gonna keep on ___________

Underneath the ____________

I won’t make a list and send ___________

To the North Pole for Saint __________

I won’t even stay awake __________

Hear those magic reindeer ___________

I just want you for my ___________

More than you could ever __________

Make my wish come __________

All I want for ____________

Is you ……

You ________

All the lights are __________

So brightly ___________

And the sound of ___________

Laughter fills the ___________

And everyone is ___________

I hear those sleigh bells ___________

Santa won’t you bring me the one I really __________

Won’t you please bring my baby to _________ …

I don’t want a lot for __________

This is all I’m asking _________

I just wanna see my ___________

Standing right outside my __________

‘Cause I just want you for my ___________

More than you could ever ___________

Make my wish come ___________

All I want for ____________

Is you ……

All I want for Christmas

And you and you

And you and you

All I want for __________

All I want for __________

And so this is Christmas -

John Lenon

This is a version sung by Gloria Stefan, Celine Dion and Charlotte Church.

This video incudes an interview with John Lenon and the song So this is Christmas. The images are very sad and shocking so this is what we don't want anymore, this is why we've been fighting so hard for PEACE. So next christmas, remember this video and notice how lucky you are. We all deserve peace.

So this is Xmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Xmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Xmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Xmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Xmas
And what have we done
Another year over
A new one just begun
And so happy Xmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over, if you want it
War is over now

Happy Xmas

Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. December 25–Christmas Day–has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.

Watch the videos below and learn a bit more about Christmas:
History of Christmas
http://www.history.com/videos/history-of-christmas

North Pole: Deconstructed
http://www.history.com/videos/north-pole-deconstructed

The Life of a Christmas Tree
http://www.history.com/videos/the-life-of-a-christmas-tree

Strange Christmas Traditions
http://www.history.com/videos/strange-christmas-traditions

Origins of Santa Claus
http://www.history.com/videos/origins-of-santa-claus

Christmas Light Fanatic
http://www.history.com/videos/christmas-light-fanatic

Link: http://www.history.com/topics/christmas

Enjoy them!

All Things Christmas

Welcome to All Things Christmas 2010 – one of the biggest websites about Christmas on the Internet.

On this page you will find holiday treasures such as printable cards, lyrics to your favorite Christmas carols, songs in MIDI format, unique craft ideas, decorating and tips for christmas shopping and hostess gifts. We have a lot of holiday stories, delicious recipes, links to other holiday web sites, and more, including our Christmas for kids-section, which offers fun, games, riddles, printables and other goodies just for kids.

Don’t forget to visit our pages with Xmas fun – we have Christmas videos, top 10 lists, and lots of surprising facts about Christmas.

Christmas marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but since then, numerous other traditions have been mixed with the originals. This website takes you to the history of the original traditions and gives you the background of the news ones as well.

Copyright allthingschristmas.com

Link: http://www.allthingschristmas.com/

Nobel Prize awarded to absent Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded, despite the absence of the winner Liu Xiaobo.

Nobel chairman Thorbjorn Jagland paid tribute to Liu Xiaobo, who is in prison in China - a fact he says, "shows that the award was necessary and appropriate".

Of about 50 countries invited to the Nobel ceremony, almost a third are staying away, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, many as a result of Chinese pressure.

For more information visit http://www.nobelprize.org

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11966449