Stand and deliver!

 

"Stand and deliver!" , the typical command in a hold up in a western film. Do you know what 'hold your horses' or 'get the hide out of this place' mean?

 

You can find the solution below.

 

And now stand and deliver the answers to these activities: 

• Learn how to speak English naturally: How to make informal invitations "Do you fancy a pint?" (BBC Learning English)
  

• Quizz on the PAST PERFECT TENSE: Simple or Continuous?  (BBC Learning English) 

• The English We Speak: Thanks a bunch  (BBC Learning English)

• News Review:  Turkey and Syria earthquakes  (BBC Learning English) 

• A listening exercise for you to do:  The health benefits of apples (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

 

Have you seen the film CARS with 'Lightning McQueen' (Rayo McQueen)?

 

Well, it was in honour of the famous actor 

STEVE MCQUEEN - The Best of Steve McQueen - MGM  

 

And here are further details about this actor...

Tom Horn  ,  The life and sad ending of Steve McQueen  ,   

 

 

 

Inglés con serie: Poldark Lesson 2   

Here's my musical hint for today: Dust in the wind by Kansas. Here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along!!

 

 

Diets rich in tea, berries and apples could lower blood pressure – study (The Guardian)

 

Podcast for you to listen to: Turkey-Syria earthquake (BBC News)

 

Solution: 'Hold your horses!' means "stop, slow down, don't rush" and 'get the hide out of this place' means "get out of here" meaning 'hide' the skin of an animal. And "stand and deliver" where the typical words nasty cowboys used in a hold up to order the people 'to stop and give them all the money and valuable things they had on'.

 

 

And our students at school at work... 

Project on Rabbit-Proof Fence by Oliver Lozano (4º ESO A)

 

 

 

Don't take it to heart!

   

 Don't take it to heart! It is for your own good. We are all trying to do our best and have the best results. Don't become a procrastinator!!!

How would you translate the expression 'Don't take it to heart!' into Spanish? (Look for the solution below)

 

Here's a listening exercise for you to do about procrastinating: Are you a procrastinator?  (BBC Learning English)

   

 

So, I hope my musical hint for today will deter you from procrastinating and not wasting your time : Wasted time by Keith Urban. Here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along!!

 

 

 

Some activities for you to do: 

• Learn how to speak English naturally: How to ask for permission  (BBC Learning English)
  

• English in a Minute: Learn 5 meanings of 'accept'  (BBC Learning English) 

• The English We Speak: Take something to heart  (BBC Learning English)

• News Review:  Ozone layer improving  (BBC Learning English) 

• A listening exercise for you to do:  Underwater living (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

Here's an interesting TED talk for you to watch about the issue:

Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | TED Talk

Some previous posts in this blog about the issue:

• Ready to resume activity? Some superfoods, just in case!

• We keep committing the same mistakes, perhaps because it's human nature??

• Don't leave it for tomorrow!!! Start now and you'll be ready for next school year.

 

 

HARRISON FORD - HILARIOUS INTERVIEW 

 

 

And Harrison Ford's first screen appearance...

 

 

By the way, there's a good drama series now on Spanish television called Poldark, which you can watch in English on RTVE play. You can even choose the subtitles in English.

Inglés con serie: Poldark Lesson 1  

 

 

 

And this is the original series!!!

Solution to previous question:  'Don't take it to heart!'  =  '¡No te lo tomes a pecho!'

Learning to fly

 Every time I start with a group in the level of 1º ESO, it is a sort of a challenge for me. They come to me and they know barely anything about English and about how to learn a language, so I have to go back to square one and start from the very beginning.

 

 

This is what happened again this year in September and it is now in February when I have the feeling that things are beginning to go better and better. I believe this learning process must be similar to the one birds follow when they want to learn how to fly. Later it will come the time when they leave the nest to carry on with their lives.

   

So, my musical hint for today will be the song by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Learning to Fly . Here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along!!

 

 

 

Some activities for you to do: 

• Learn how to speak English naturally: How to show you've taken offence  (BBC Learning English)
  

• English in a Minute: 5 common uses of 'while'  (BBC Learning English) 

• The English We Speak: Steal someone's thunder  (BBC Learning English)

• News Review:  'Burnout': Jacinda Andern resigns  (BBC Learning English) 

• A listening exercise for you to do:  Doomscrolling: Why do we do it? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

 

Papa English teaches us how to express when you feel "Annoyed" at different levels...

 

 

And our students at school at work... 

Project on A Christmas Carol by José Carlos Escribano (4º ESO A)

 

 

 

I'll never surrender... if there's a chance

 

There are many challenging situations in life where our determination is essential. That would be the case with difficult groups where the teaching-learning process is not easy, but also in real life like the catastrophe they are living in Turkey and Syria after the terrible earthquatkes they have gone through.

 

In all those situations what we have to say and what all the firefighters that have gone there to help is: "I'll never surrender... if there's a chance".

 

   

Obviously, my musical hint for today will be the song: Never Surrender by Shangrii-La. Here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along!!

 

 

Some activities for you to do: 

• English in a Minute: Different meanings of 'CHARACTER'  (BBC Learning English) 

• The English We Speak: Know the score  (BBC Learning English)

• News Review:  'Spy balloon' row  (BBC Learning English) 

• A listening exercise for you to do:  Can AI have a mind of its own? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

 

And here are some interesting articles related to the issue for you to read:

• Thousands killed in major quakes – as it happened (The Guardian)

• Turkey earthquake: Erdogan announces three-month state of emergency in quake area (BBC News)

• Death toll rises after massive earthquake rocks Turkey-Syria border (ABC News)

 

Learn ALL 16 TENSES Easily in under 30 Minutes - Present, Past, Future, Conditional with Lucy

 

 

Shakespeare speaks: All that glitters is not gold  (BBC Learning English)

 

"All work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl"

Mind Your Language - Hello Sailor Giovanni     

 

 

Make a move... walk, run, JUMP!!

 

Sedentarism is a big problem in our society, especially among our teenagers. So make a move... walk, run, JUMP!!

A listening exercise for you to do:  Exercise for the lazy (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

Some articles for you to read about the issue: 

• Why exercise alone won’t save us (The Guardian)

• Inactivity 'kills more than obesity' (BBC News)
  

• More than 80% of adolescents not active enough, warns WHO (The Guardian)
  

• Sitting too much is bad for your health, but offsetting the impact is easy, study shows (CNN)

 What does 'WHO' stand for? What's the Spanish for it? (Solutions at the bottom)

 

   

And here's my musical hint to make you move: Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters. Here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along!!

 

 

 

 

 

Some activities for you to do: 

• Learn how to speak English naturally: How to express uncertainty "She isn't an actress, is she?"  (BBC Learning English)
  

• English in a Minute: How to use 'stick'  (BBC Learning English) 

• The English We Speak: A flying start  (BBC Learning English)

• News Review:  'Love hormone': new study  (BBC Learning English)

 

Vintage tennis: 

Mats Wilander vs John McEnroe SF Australian Open 1983 Part 1

 
 

Activities for my students:

• 1º ESO - According to what we have done in Exercise 9 on page 37, what can you say about what your parents think teenagers do?

Example: 

- My parents think teenagers often eat junk food.

YOUR POSSIBLE ANSWER:  No, because we hardly ever eat junk food.

 

And our students at school at work... 

Project on A Christmas Carol by Manuel Utrabo (4º ESO A)

 

 

 

 Solutions to the questions above: 'WHO' stands for 'World Health Organisation' and 'OMS' would be the Spanish equivalent.