How is your Christmas season going ? Are you eating tons and tons of food and arguing with your family ? I hope so ! Those are the best Christmas traditions ! Now I am writing posts about Christmas. In my last post, you could get to know about the different Christmas traditions in the US, the UK and Spain. Now, to sugar-coat your Christmas, I thought to write a blog about the best Christmas carols for me. I hope you appreciate it and sing them with your family :
10. Silent night : In the past, Christmas carols had a slow pace and a solemn rhythm. This is why I like this song. Enjoy it :
9. Jingle Bells : One of the most traditional ones. Its joy music makes us hum it and hum it again :
8. White Christmas : This Christmas carol reminds me of the snow. This year, it does not make any sense, though. Anyway, enjoy it :
7. So This is Christmas (John Lennon): This carol sung by John Lennon oozes Christmas happiness and peace.
6. Last Chritsmas I Gave You My Heart : Another yet very famous modern carol.
5. Text me Merry Christmas : A modern Christmas carol about what Christmas is unfortunately becoming. Children and teenagers hooked on their mobile phones instead of enjoying Christmas fully. In this link, you can sing it ans dee a good animation
4. Santa Claus is Coming to Town : A short, catchy town about one of our favourite present-bringer characters.
3. Merry Christmas (I don't Want to Fight Tonight) by the Ramones : At least, some rock in this list ! Listen to the song in video one and become familiar with the rhythm. Then sing it using video 2.
2. All I Want for Christmas is You : Who on Earth doesn't know this song ? It has everything a good Christmas carol must have. On top of that, it is sung by Mariah Carey.
1. Christmas in Killarney : Top 1 in my list, an Irish carol. Why do I like it ? Well, it is different from all the rest of carols and it reminds me of my stay in Ireland. Plus, if you sing it too much you end up like the folks in the second video. Don't miss thesecond video, please !
BONUS : Here you have some other famous Chrismas carols which, despite not being in my list, are also jolly and singable. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer :
Silver Bells
Oh, Christmas Tree
12 days of Christmas : A good carol to exercise your memory. Let's listen to it :
I Believe in Father Christmas
Christmas is All Around
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Did you enjoy my selection of carols ? Do you agree with my ranking ? You know, it's Christmas, so know what you have to do is to sing them over and over again. Just like the last Christmas carol in my bonus says, merry Christmas and a happy New Year !
Can you hear the bells and see the lights ? Yes, finally Christmas has arrived in town. What a better opportunity to write about the Christmas traditions in different countries ? Let's begin :
1. Christmas dinner :
a) The UK : the typical dinner consists of roast turkey (or goose) with gravy, cranberry sauce and stuffing or dressing, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in bacon, among other things
b) United States : In America, people usually have roast turkey (or roast goose, or baked ham), gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing or dressing made of bread, yams or sweet potato and green beans.
c) Spain : In Spain, people usually have cold cuts (or cold meats) as a starter. Others prefer some hot seafood soup. After this, people will have some langoustines with mayonnaise. Then, roast pork or lamb casserole are popular. Some people prefer fish.
2. After dinner :
In the United States, Christmas treats are popular after dinner. People usually have fruit cake, pumpkin pie or Pecan pie as well. In the UK, the Christmas pudding is a common 'dessert' filled with nuts and alcohol, whereas in Spain we have different types of sweets and pastries, including nougat, sugared almonds (peladillas), shortbreads (polvorones), and marzipans. We also have nuts.
America England
Spain
In the UK, before the dinner, families will come together to crack their Christmas crackers. Christmas crackers are filled with a paper hat that must be worn after the dinner and a bad joke.
3. Drinks
Eggnog is a very popular drink both in the UK and America. It is a drink consisting of milk, cream, whipped eggs, sugar and spirits. It is usually homemade but you can buy cartons in supermarkets and stores. In the UK, and in other countries such as Germany, they have a very curious drink, mulled wine (it's hot wine with spices).
In Spain, we tend to drink champagne or sparkling wine or other spirits.
In the UK, it is Father Christmas who brings children some presents on Christmas Eve. Children usually write letters to Father Christmas but they do not send them. They toss them into the fireplace.
Father Christmas and his elves will prepare the presents and then he will transport them in his sleigh pulled by reindeer. Father Christmas will get into the houses through the chimney and will deposit the presents under the Christmas tree. In addition, he will fill in the stockings next to your bed with small presents. What do children leave for Father Christmas ? Well, some brandy (because he is thirsty) and mince pie.
In the United States, it is Santa Claus (Santa or Saint Nick) the person in charge of the Christmas gifts. Here children usually write the letters and post them or email them to the North Pole. In the past, Santa Claus was dressed in green. It was the Coca-Cola advertisement that changed him into red.
Santa will place the presents under the Christmas tree (next to other presents bought by the rest of the members in the family) and will fill in the stockings placed by the fireplace with presents. What do people children leave for Santa Claus ? Some milk and cookies, of course.
In Spain, it is the Three Wise Men (or the Magi): Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar, the Kings of Orient, who bring the presents to the children. They do not use a sleigh to transport them. They transport them in camels. They will place them under the Christmas tree (next to the people's shoes). We have no stockings.In Spain, Santa has become popular as well. Some children open their presents twice: on the twenty-fifth of December (Santa Claus), and on the Twelfth Night after Christmas, 5th January (The Three Wise Men). The Three Wise Men are starving, so people often leave them some milk and cookies and some sweets and some water for the camels.
However, there are some similarities: in the three countries, the presents are left under the Christmas tree and naughty children receive a piece of coal (although in Spain, the Three Wise Men sometimes use sweet coal instead of a real piece of coal:
5. Decorations :
In all these countries, the houses, the streets and the stores are decorated. What are the typical Christmas decorations ? Well, the Christmas lights, bells, snowmen, snowflakes, angels, wreathes of holly on the doors and some mistletoe over the doorway (you know two people under the mistletoe must kiss, right ?). However, there are some differences between Spain and the English-speaking countries. Normally, in the UK and the United States, people like buying real trees or even going to cut-your-own-tree farms. They will cut part of a pine tree and take them home. Some shopping centres will often have enormous Christmas trees. In addition, people's houses usually glisten with so many Christmas lights, more than in Spain. However, in Spain, people often buy fake plastic trees. I guess we are less original, aren't we ?
Nevertheless, in Spain we have quite original ornaments : nativity scenes. Houses are often decorated with nativity scenes of all types, with a lot of realistic figures depicting the birth of baby Jesus. You can also see nativity scenes in squares, museums, churches... It's an elements that clearly defines our Christmas.
In the UK, people are superstitious : they must remove the tree and all decorations before the Twelfth Night (5th January), while in America some Christmas decorations may remain until...summer !
6. TV
- In the UK, people usually watch Christmas movies or special Christmas episodes of TV series. One of the most popular TV series during Christmas is Downton Abbey and this Christmas, people will surely watch the Christmas special of Sherlock.
- In America, Christmas movies are very popular, in special, Frosty the Snowman or A Christmas Carol. People also watch American football on TV (yes, football never comes to an end, I imagine).
- In Spain, however, things are different. Viewers prefer variety shows with music, jokes and comedy. One of the most popular programmes is the Christmas special of La Hora de José Mota. We also like to celebrate the end of the year. Every New Year's Eve, to say goodbye to the year, we watch TV with our favourite presenters and at midnight, we eat twelve grapes : one grape for each chime of the clock in Puerta del Sol, in Madrid. If we eat the twelve grapes, it will mean we will be lucky that year.
7. Important dates
a) In the UK: 24th December (Christmas Eve): It's the day when families come together, they have dinner and all the presents are put under the tree. At night, Father Christmas will leave presents under the tree and inside the stockings. The presents will be opened on Christmas Day (25th December). The next day, it is Boxing Day (26th December). It is a bank holiday and shops and stores offer dramatic discounts, so most people spend this day shopping ! The last day of the year, New Year's Eve, is also important. There is an impressive fireworks display. The next day, New Year's Day is the beginning of the year. Finally, The Twelfth Night (5th January) is the day to remove all Christmas decorations to avoid bad luck.
b) In the United States, the dates aremore or less the same as in England, but they don't celebrate Boxing Day and they are not superstitious, so they don't feel the need to remove all the Christmas decorations on the Twelfth Night.
c) In Spain : There are a lot of important dates at Christmas in Spain. First of all, on Christmas Eve, families come together and have a big dinner. On Christmas Day, families will have lunch together and in some houses they will receive Santa's presents. Then, 28th December is The Innocent's Day. This day is similar to April's Fools Day. People will pull pranks on other people and newspapers will publish some fake news. On New Year's Eve, families will have dinner together again. At midnight, people will eat twelve grapes, one for each chime of the clock. After this, families usually have a toast to celebrate this new year. Then, youngster will go clubbing to celebrate the first day of the year. There are special parties organized by discos where you can dance and eat everything you want. They are called 'cotillones'. People must dress smartly, pay a ticket, and they will spend the whole night at a disco, dancing, eating and drinking. On New Year's Day, some families come together again to have lunch. On January, 5th, the Twelfth Night, there is a big parade where the Three Wise Men say hello to all the children before going to all the children's houses. The Three Wise Men and their assistants throw sweets from the carriages for the children to catch them. At night, the Three Wise Men visit all the houses to leave children some presents.
On January, 6th, more known in Spain as The Day of the Three Wise Men, the children will open their presents (left next to their shoes). That day, families come together to eat a traditional cake filled with cream "Roscón de Reyes". This sweet is also filled with two things : one surprise and one bean. The person finding the bean must pay the whole cake. Yummy yummy !
8. Other traditions.
In the United States and England, people will go door to door singing carols, the tradition of carolling. In the past, children did this in Spain but in exchange for money or sweets. However is a traditions that is being lost here.
So, what is your favourite Christmas tradition ? Where would you like to spend your Christmas ? No matter the tradition, remember, the most important thing is to miss your families and have a nice time. To finish this long post I include a video showing the differences between British and American Christmases. I hope you like it ! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for you all !
Well, the first term has officially come to an end and your holiday period is about to begin. Although I won't ask you to do any homework over the holidays, I strongly recommend you to keep practising your English this Christmas, not by doing boring exercises but by reading, watching videos or films in original version. How can you keep practising your English and enjoy your holidays at the same time ? Here you have some alternatives :
1) Keep reading this blog. Over the Christmas I will be uploading some posts about the Christmas holidays and Christmas traditions in Spain, England and America. You can also listen to the Christmas carols I propose in the blog and do some exercises.
4) Read short stories about Christmas online. They are quite short and interesting. If you read some of them, I will take it into account and that will count so that you can get your sandwich and a coke at the high school's cafeteria / canteen. Down below you have the links to some appealing short stories about Christmas. Come on read them ! Some of them are really really short and they include the Christmas vocabulary we've seen in class. To read them click on the links available :
a) "The Gift of the Magi" It's a good story about generosity including: Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar (the Three Wise Men).
5) Watch videos online, listen to music, watch a TV series ... : Come on ! I know you liked the video about Christmas decorations or the videos of Jimmy Kimmel. There are hundreds and hundreds of really good English videos waiting for you ! Explore the web by yourselves, listen to some Christmas carols,...
STUDENTS OF 1º ESO, REMEMBER TO ASK SANTA OR THE THREE WISE MEN FOR THE BOOK: All About Britain !We will start reading it in January !
Most importantly, HAVE FUN, ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS AND RELAX. See you again on the eighth of January.
P.S. The answer to merry Christmas in English is : "the same to you."
As you know most of the Christmas carols, I thought it would be a good idea for you to get to know some Irish carols. Indeed. One fun Christmas carol is "Christmas in Killarney." To fully enjoy this carol, follow these steps.
Maybe on Christmas Eve or on New Year's EVe you could get to sing as the folks in the video.
1) First of all, listen to the first video to catch the rhythm and the lyrics.
2) Secondly, have a look at the second video. It is the carol sung and danced by some drunken friends. It is a funny, amazing video. Don't miss it !
3) Finally, KARAOKE ! sing yourself following the third video. (Remember the second video and go banana!)
Quite an interesting and new Christmas carol, don't you think ?
Dear students, Here you have the presentation with all the Christmas vocabulary we saw in class. Have a look at it because it may be included in next exam... Merry Christmas !
Last week I asked you to write a composition about the advantages and disadvantages of video games. After a hard weekend correcting all your compositions, I have decided to share quite an outstanding composition written by one of you, in particular, the one by Blanca Martín Labrador. I have highlighted some interesting expressions she used so that you can use them in your next compositions. Here it is:
Gaming : Entertainment or addiction ?
"A lot of parents think that playing video games nowadays is not profitable for their children's health. In spite of this fact, video games are not as harmful as they think.
On the one hand, playing video games has some interesting advantages, for example, children can learn with them video games because a lot of them are educational. For children it is funny to learn in that way and easier because it is less boring than learning at school with books. Moreover, while the are playing, they are having a good time.
However, on the other hand, these games have a downside. Besides making children learn new things, they can become addicted and a lot of teenagers often get hooked on them. Because of it, they don't go out with friends, since they prefer and need to stay at home playing with their favourite video game. In addition, it is bad for their health, given that they do not move or do any sport. The keep playing in front of the screen and this can cause sight problems too.
In conclusion, video games are useful if you want to entertain your children, but we must be careful and cautious because they can get addicted to them. So, is it not true that there are a wide range of other methods of entertainment ? Let your children go out and play in the street !"
By Blanca Martín Labrador (2º Bachillerato A)
Thanks Blanca for your outstanding composition. Now I will share with you some statistics about video games that you can use to introduce your compositions and a video about gaming addiction.
Hello, As you know, I asked you to write a review about your favourite TV programme. This time I enjoyed and selected Marina's review about the TV series, Pretty Little Liars. I hope you enjoy it.
Pretty Little Liars
"Pretty Little Liars is a very famous TV series. It has six season in which four girls : Spencer, Hannah, Emily and Aria are very different girls with a friend in common, Alison, who is the leader of the group. One day, after a party, Alison went missing. The four girls followed their paths and the never talked again about this. Aria went to Europe, Hannah made new friends and Emily and Spencer went to different schools. On e year later, Aria came back to the small village of Rosewood, where the story takes place, and the four friends came together again.
However, soon they will be in trouble. They started to receive messages from a mysterious person who signs with an A. Although they think that it is Alison who is behind these messages, suddenly, Alison's body was found and the girls must discover who is the person who is trying to ruin their lives.
If you ask me, this is a wonderful series and I quite like it. I watched it three years ago on MTV and in my opinion the plot is appealing and the actresses are quite good."
By Marina García Martín (4º ESO C).
Thanks a lot for your wonderful review, Marina. I haven't watched the series myself but it seems like an amazing series. Here you can find the trailer in case you might want to see it soon. Watch it and post a comment !
This time I asked you to write a review about your favourite TV show, saying why you like it. I really enjoyed your reviews, but I selected two of them from your classmates, Javier Aladrén, about the well-known British TV series Sherlock, and one by Gonzalo García, about the documentary Planet Earth. Read them. I hope you like them as much as I did.
Sherlock
"Sherlock is one of my favourite TV series. It shows the work of Sherlock Holmes and his friend John Watson. I love it because it is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, but this time the story is set in the the twenty-first century.
Sherlock is the best detective in the world. He is too observant and he helps the police officer Lestrade to solve very difficult cases. His friend John Watson writes about these cases in his blog, which is visited by a lot of people. Although Sherlock is very good at solving problems and cases for the police, he is a bit of a sociopath, in other words, he has no ethics and nobody (except for John or Lestrade) likes him.
If you need another reason to watch it, I can tell you that this series has a magnificent soundtrack. On the one hand, it's a great TV show. However, on the other hand, each season only consists of three chapters. It's terrible! However, they are quite intense and interesting episodes.
So, if you like crime dramas, appealing characters, great music and suspense, this is definitely your show !"
By Javier Aladrén Ortiz (4º ESO A)
Thank you Javier for your wonderful review of Sherlock. I agree with everything you said. This is one of the best TV series, it has a magnificent soundtrack and it is worth watching. It has some wonderful scenes in the twenty-first century London. Here you can watch a video that perfectly summarizes the series plot and the peculiar character of Sherlock.
Planet Earth
"Planet Earth is a collection of eleven documentaries about the different landscapes of our beautiful planet. It's the documentary I always watch and my favourite TV programme.
All the documentaries are narrated by David Peterborough, from the BBC company. Some of the producers are Shannon C. Malone, Kena Rennert, Maureen Lemire or Vanessa Berlowitz, with the management of Alastair Fothengill. The show was first aired on the fifth of March 2006 and so far it has won an Emmy award. Some of its most known documentaries are "From pole to pole", "Oceans", "Deserts", or "Flatlands".
Although the original versions are in English, nowadays you can find them in different languages. I strongly recommend that you watch Planet Earth because it is very exciting and interesting and you can learn much about nature."
By Gonzalo García Hernández (4º ESO A)
Thanks a lot, Gonzalo, I am grateful that at least some of you like documentaries. I include a video of what you can find on Planet Earth. Enjoy it.
Here you have a Christmas carol that perfectly summarizes the Christmas season and the mobile phone addiction. It includes a questionnaire to test your English level. I hope you like it !
Dear students, Here you have Lynnae's presentation about Christmas (done by a previous teaching assistant had worked with me years ago). Enjoy it.
I also include here some videos : the fun video showing the custom of cutting down real Christmas trees the Christmas carol by Elvis Presley , Silver Bells, and the Christmas carol All I Want for Christmas is You sung by Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber. I am not a big fan of Justin myself , but the video is quite good and Christmasy.
Howdy ! Did you know that to watch TV in England (legally) you have to pay a special tax of more than 150 pounds? This is true. If you don't believe me, check this link. There are a lot of advertisements encouraging people to pay the TV license. Here's a couple of them. What is your opinion about this ? Post it in a comment.
Hello students, Here you can enjoy yet another of my fun questionnaires, he he. This time, it's about places in town. Read the questions carefully and click on the 'submit' button and I will immediately receive the answers. Good luck !
Hiya ! Today, I will not talk about violent idioms, idioms of food or idioms related to cold. Now that I have finished with the topic of animals with you, my dearest students of 1º ESO, I thought it would be a good idea to round it up by adding some idioms about animals. Isn't it a good idea ? I will begin with the most famous animals of all, cats and dogs, which are an endless source of idioms : - Cats have got nine lives : Yes, indeed. They have two more lives than Spanish cats. Cats are said to have nine lives because they are good at jumping and because they are supposed to be sacred animals (linked to the Egyptians) that were able to reincarnate more easily.
- To take a cat-nap : To have a short siesta during the day
- To fight like cat and dog / like cats and dogs : This idiom refers to people that argue all the time, usually enemies or people with different opinions.
- It's raining cats and dogs : It is raining heavily
- Dog days : Extremely hot days in the summer - It is better to be a living dog than a dead lion : We mustn't be too brave or impulsive. It is sometimes better to step back and think about the consequences. (Spanish: 'los cementerios están llenos de valientes). There are some idioms involving other animals. Here you can find my favourite ones: - Horses for courses : It is best to use the best person or tool for the appropriate work. You need a plumber to fix that pipe, you know, horses for courses (Spanish 'zapatero a tus zapatos.')
- You bet on the wrong horse : When you make a decision, you respected that decision until the end, and, finally, it was a wrong decision. - The early bird catches the worm : If you are the first to do something, you will succeed (Spanish : 'a quien madruga Dios le ayuda').
- To kill two birds with a stone : To solve two problems at a time, just with one single action (Spanish: 'matar dos pájaros de un tiro.')
- The straw that broke the camel's back : The last thing that upsets you before you get really angry. (Spanish 'la gota que colmó el vaso).
- To be like a bull in a china shop : Be clumsy and noisy. (Spanish 'como un elefante en una cacharrería' or 'como un mono en un garaje').
Did you like the idioms ? Which one is your favourite ? Post it in a comment. P.S. I will be adding more animal idioms soon...
Have a look about the first composition about a news item (the bombing and terrorist attacks in Paris) written by Sergio Carabias García. This composition is quite good actually:
"Last night, in Paris, France, there was a terrorist attack.
First of all, terrorists attacked too many places around the streets. Then, they hijacked two restaurants, a disco, a theatre, a museum, a shop and a shopping centre, near a hotel and the stadium where there was a football match.
In the disco, there were more casualties than in the other places. There are currently 126 dead people and 99 have been seriously injured so far.
The terrorists may have attacked Paris, because France had previously bombed the Islamic State of Syria. It has been a great tragedy !
By Sergio Carabais García.
If you like his composition, don't be shy and post a comment !
Today, let's write places and shops in town. Please, do not use dictionaries. Write the words that come to mind when I say : "places in town". Remember, click on the link, write your name and add all the words you can think of. Please participate. Like that we will make a long list of vocabulary.
Do you remember The Real Hustle ? It's a programme where thieves show how they trick people to get their money while they are filmed by some hidden cameras. Here you have three short videos about the programme : the laptop scam, the speeding fine scam and the credit card switch.
Watch the videos and answer the questions :
1) Where does the scam take place ?
2) How many people are involved in the scam ?
3) What crime is committed ?
4) Can you explain the scam with your own words ?
5) What do the thieves get ?
Did you enjoy the video ? Why don't you watch the rest of the videos and post a comment ?
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