Happy holidays

The course is now finished and I would like to wish you all a happy summer. Congratulations to those who passed the exam in June, and for those who have to resit in September, please don't forget to look at the dates and times of your exams, which are published on the school notice boards.

I hope you enjoy yourselves this summer, and keep up your English too!

BTW, the booklet with the compositions that entered the competition Cuéntame lo que pasó has been published only in digital format, you can see it here.

Exam dates

There are only a couple of days left to finish this course and I would like to remind you of the dates of your exams.

Intermedio 1:
Written: Thursday, 2nd June, 17:00, Room A-5
Oral: Thursday, 9th June, from 16:00, Room A-6

Avanzado 1:
Written: Thursday, 2nd June, 16:00, Room A-6
Oral: Tuesday, 7th June, from 16:00, Room A-6

Please don't forget to register for the oral exam on the sheets provided on the class' notice board.
I hope you do well, and wish you lots of luck.

A few websites

Explore the following sites that are loaded with new ideas to work on your English:

• Learn English by reading the news in Voxy
• Join a social network, make friends, and learn other languages
• Learn with the masters

Hope there is something for every taste!

Readings

I thought I would include here the link to the story students of Avanzado 1 have to read for tomorrow, The happy prince.

For Students of Intermedio 1 who have not been attending classes recently, we are reading The sign of four, and doing the exercises on understanding that come at the end of the book, chapters 1 & 2 for tomorrow.

Happy reading!

Original video

I have seen this video published in one of the blogs I follow (La mansión del inglés), and I think it deserves to be given a bit of promotion, as it is such an original piece of work. If you find it hard to understand, read the transcript here.

Hope you enjoy it!

Test your English

Dialang is a software that allows you to test your English knowledge in five different skills, and it reports your level against the European Framework for Language Learning.

You can download it here, and by taking the test, you will have a better idea of how you are doing, the areas you need to work harder on, or what you are best at.

(Notice the warning about Dialang server being offline from 4 to 7 March)

I1 - Advertising

Watch this video to find out more about the world of advertising, and have a good laugh as well. To make your life easier, you can watch it with Spanish subtitles.

Happy Valentine's

Today is Valentine's day, a day to celebrate love and affection with your loved ones. Here it is usually just a celebration of romantic love, but in the anglosaxon culture you also celebrate with family and friends.

I hope you have a wonderful day and I leave you with this song and video that talks about love in a much wider contest. Enjoy it and sing along!

Theatre in Madrid

I believe it is a good idea to relax after the exams, and I am glad to suggest two ideas that you may like.

On one hand, The Madrid Players are performing Love changes everything, just for a few dates, so if you are interested be quick to book. On the other hand, FacetoFace Theater Company are performing Titanic: Fish and Ships, a play for the whole family.

Have a look and let the show begin!

Winners of the Writing contest II

BIKING IN MOROCCO - Jacobo Asensio, Intermedio 1


In the summer two years ago I achieved one of my dreams combining travel with my partner and sport.

In September 2008 my girlfriend and I took off from Madrid and landed in Marrakech with our mountain bikes to live a wonderful adventure, crossing part of Morocco by bike.

For six days and five hundred kilometers we biked across the Atlas Mountains. In the course we visited some villages where poverty was present, but despite of it their inhabitants always gave us their food and offered their hospitality.

We were very surprised because although they lived in very bad conditions, there were many smiling children, and when we went out of the villages they ran behind the bikes to say goodbye and then a smile was painted in our faces.

Finally the last day we arrived to the Sahara Desert biking in the same place where the pilots of the famous rally named Paris-Dakar drive. It was a special feeling riding on the dunes, besides, it is very difficult because the wheel sinks into the sand.

As you can see in the picture, only for the panoramic it is worth the hard work with the mountain bike.