What was 2025 like for you?

 

 

Don't get blue! Once the year is finished and looking back, what is your overall opinion? It was reasonably OK for me, as many aspects in my life were positive. It is true that there are always hurdles on your way or things that didn't go so well, though. 

 

Anyway, every year is better than the previous one. Getting worse just happens once in a blue moon. And the key for this is to set up new goals to achieve and try to improve those aspects in your life that are weaker.

 

 

 

 

Learning English from the News:   2025: The year's big news stories  (BBC Learning English)  

 

 

The Reading Room:   Is your dog reading your mind?  (BBC Learning English) 

 

 

  Here's my musical hint for today:    Attention by Charlie Puth. And here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along.

 

 

  

 

Learning English Grammar (the best, the most amazing, the most likely):   Highs and lows  (BBC Learning English) 

Here are some more activities for my students:

• Listening exercise for you to do:   Is it OK to disagree?  (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English) 
  

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  Real Easy English: Talking about New Year's resolutions  (BBC Learning English)  

  
  

• The Listening Room: Female friendship important to gorillas  (BBC Learning English) 

• English in a Minute: Phrases with 'blue'  (BBC Learning English) 

    

 

Work in the future:   What will work be like in the future?  (BBC Learning English)

 

English with Lucy: Do you have B2 ENGLISH? Take this test!    

   

 

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

Learn English with    Mr Beast   - 7 days stuck on an island 

 

 

The Day Marat Safin took Pete Sampras to WAR! | Most DRAMATIC Match You've NEVER SEEN

 

Comic on The Thief of Always by Javier Lahora (2º ESO B)

 

 

 

 

Time to change for the better!!

The New Year is coming soon and it is time to think about New Year's Resolutions to change for the better  (The English We Speak: Change for the better  - BBC Learning English)   Which future tense would we use?

 

 

Our students changing for the better...

Story about Sinbad by Carolina Prieto (1º ESO B) 

 

Story about Sinbad by Andrea Romera (1º ESO B) 

 

‘Everyone is looking for options’: Russian women fly to Argentina to give birth (The Guardian)

Pelé - Brazil's football legend, has died - BBC News

   World reacts to ‘King of football’ Pelé’s death | 9 News Australia

 

 

 

 

Some activities for you to do: 

• Learn how to speak English naturally: How to recommend

  

    (BBC Learning English)
  

• A listening exercise for you to do:  Are opinion polls accurate? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)   

• English in a Minute: 4 meanings of ESSENTIAL  (BBC Learning English)

• News Review:  Review of the Year 2022  (BBC Learning English)

 

 

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

Going Over the Top | Blackadder Goes Forth | BBC Comedy Greats

 

 

The best ATP tennis shot every year for the last 10 years | Enjoy watching the video!!! 

 

 

Football legends - Football's Greatest International Teams .. Brazil 1970

 

 

PELÉ - SAMBA - MAIS QUE NADA  

 

 

A Christmas Carol (Drama story) Part 3:  The second of three spirits    (BBC Learning English)

2021, time to bounce back!!

 

Could 2021 be the year when we bounce back (  We must be ready to bounce back (QUARANTINE: DAY 22)  ) and recover form the Covid-19 pandemic??

 

 

 

Well, we'll give it a go! At least we started the New Year with our beloved Radetzky march-2021 in Vien with no public, but wih applause!!!

 

Radetzky March - Johann Strauss Sr. - Herbert von Karajan   in 1987

 

These are the TOP 10 WORDS OF 2020 (from previous post), most of which make reference to the not-so-good things that happened last year   >>>    MUTE , CANCEL , STAY SAFE , PLASTIC , SOCIAL DISTANCING , PANDEMIC/PLANDEMIC, FRAUD , MEXIT , COVID-19 (<< Coronavirus + Virus disease, 2019) , LOCKDOWN

 

English in a Minute:  match vs fit vs suit   &   'My own' vs 'On my own'    (BBC Learning English)

 

A listening exercise for you to do: Coronavirus vs other pandemics   (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

 

mmmEnglisgh telling us How To Set English Goals [& actually reach them!] 

 

What are your wishes, your goals... for this New Year?

 

George and Mildred - On the Second Day of Christmas (Part 1)

  

 

.... & (Part 2)

 

 

Project about Jane Eyre by Anabel Prados (2º Bach A)  >>>>

Damned 2020 is finally coming to an end!!!

As I said last year, it is a Good time to take stock of the situation!! after this damned leap year (2020, a leap year) . Could you tell me the best things that have happened, if any, this past year and the worst things, which are a lot and quite obvious?

 

Something is for certain, we are much better as a society and as human beings, and we have realised how important little things are. Meeting your friends and relatives, hugging and kissing them, hanging out with them, going to school, breathing fresh air, playing with our friends, attending sport events, attending musical events.... or just going to the cinema are some of the many things we have had real problems to carry out. Or just the freedom to go out or move from one town to another when we were locked down.

We always have to thank whoever for having such facilities and think that perhaps in little hamlets in Africa they are used to have the lack of all these comforts or the lack of water and food.

 

The top 10 words of 2020! Do you know them all?

 

Which ones do you think they are? Try to guess them before watching the video. In the next post I will give you the solution, anyway.

 

Some other activities for you to do: 

• English with Lucy:  20 Weird things ONLY British people do!   (BBC Learning English) 
  

• English in a Minute:   LOOK vs LOOK LIKE   (BBC Learning English)

• Talking about HUMAN EMOTIONS:   Why are young people so lonely?  (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 201230 / 30 December 2020    >>>  Bookshop in 'fairy-tale' tweet -    Language related to 'the unusual'.  Need-to-know language: quaint, quirky, forlorn & weird.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I wish all the best for the coming new year!!!

What are your New Year's resolutions? Remember that the tense required to express a resolution or a promise is the GOING TO future (Example: I promise I'm going to correct all your comments you make as quickly as possible.)

2014 Chinese Year of the Horse

In 2014 Chinese people celebrate the Year of the Horse. You can read about it HERE.

And here is something else.

 

Here's a Year of the Rabbit QUIZZ. 

Now listen to this song by Al Stewart (Year of the Cat) and have a look at the lyrics. Do you like it? Give me your opinion.