IF I WERE...

My dear students, it is time you came back to the NNTT in  our English lessons.  Ready?  Ok.  Let me introduce you our old friends, the conditionals, with the following song ( If were a boy). 

• First, read the lyrics by clicking HERE and underline all the conditional sentences. 
• Then, write a brief summary about the meaning of the song (40 words).
• Finally, give your own opinion in just 20 words.

THE BOARDING SCHOOL OF HORRORS...

Dear students, this April we will enjoy a play full of mystery and horror in our town.  Here is the summary.  Read it first to get a general idea, and then do the activities to understand it better.

SUMMARY:

...Laura, a young rich girl, goes to a prestigious and strict boarding school (Boxtonwood) to improve her English.  At the school she has got some friends like Norma, Gary and her roommate Lucy Lenox.  Laura usually has got frightening nightmares about her being killed.

At the school she will see strange things and the ghosts of two old students (a boy and a girl). There is a tragic legend related to the school and she will discover the relationship between the strange events and herself with the help of her friends.

One day Laura discovers the school director doing something suspicious and strange… and how is Laura’s father involved in the mystery too?...

 ACTIVITIES: 

1. Download the following  worksheet
2. If you want to listen to the songs, just  click here

SOMEBODY TO LOVE

Dear students, who has not needed somebody to love ever in his/her life?

As you know, next Tuesday 14th most people will celebrate St Valentine's Day.  And why not us?  Let's start little by little!  Today we will prepare ourselves just by enjoying Queen's song SOMEBODY TO LOVE


Now, download the following worksheet to learn a lot about St Valentine's tradition and customs.

TRANSPORT IN UK

Dear students, now it is time to improve your vocab and knowledge about transport.  That is why you will have to investigate about transport in the United Kingdom and complete this worksheet.

Go the following webpage to get some information about transport

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/transport.html


And finally, Let's go to ride our bicycles with Queen (you can get the lyrics here) 
 

SCHOOL SUBJECTS

Dear students,
The first thing we are going to review in class has to do with school subjects.   Please, watch the following video and complete this worksheet (click on here)

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Empty spaces – what are we living for?
Abandoned places, I guess we know the score.
On and on,
Does anybody know what we are looking for?

Now let's work a little.  Click here and enjoy the lyrics of Queen's timeless song -I mean, enjoy doing the exercices.

WISH YOU WERE HERE

Still doubts about how to express wishes? Don't worry! Just keep in mind this tip:
Present wish:              I WISH you WERE here (because you are not at this very moment)-----
Complaining wish:      I WISH he WOULD leave me alone (because he is always annoying me)
Wish about the past:  I WISH I HAD GONE to your party (because I didn't go)
Grammar is hard, this is why here you are the outstanding WISH YOU WERE HERE by Pink Floyd

IF I ...

My dear students, it is time you came back to the NNTT in  our English lessons.  Ready?  Ok.  Let me introduce you our old friends , the conditionals, with the following song ( If were a boy). 

First, read the lyrics by clicking HERE and underline all the conditional sentences. 

Then, write a brief summary about the meaning of the song (60 words).

Finally, give your own opinion in just 25 words.

----------------------------

During the next sessions we will discover the world of  hyphotesis.  Had you found any trouble to understand its use and form, please have a look at the following presentation by Marga Alfonso.

Conditional Clauses

For further practise you can go to the following links:

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/if.htm 

 http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-42378.php

REPORTING PEOPLE'S WORDS

Now it is time to stop and think about how we report other people's speech. You know that you can do it in two ways: by repeating exactly word by word (direct speech) or by reporting aproximately their meaning (reported speech). Therefore, a first approach to reporting requires a distinction between both ways.  Here you are a song by Pulp, whose direct speech is marked by punctuation, interjections and contractions.  Enjoy the song and pay attention to the features of oral speech.

• If you need further practice, the following websites will allow you to improve your mastery on reported speech:

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/reported.htm

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech

PERSONALITY

Dear students, this month we will devote part of our efforts to talk about the close relationship beteween jobs and personality.  Here you are an old video by a guy known as "personality".  Listen to the video and you will understand why (this idea comes from my dear colleage Agustin J and his fantastic blog)

Lyrics
Now you can practice you vocabulary by doing  the following online exercises on personality

EATING DISORDERS

When people are unhappy and they want their problems to disappear, they should talk to their family or friends or go to their doctor; however, some people use alcohol, or drugs, or begin to have eating disorders.  These people are often unhappy about their appearance. They think, “If I were thinner, I would be happier.” Maybe there are other things they can't control in their lives and one thing they can control is the amount of food they eat and the weight they lose. These people usually wear a happy face and don't talk about their feelings, so the disorder gets worse..  Watch the following commercial on anorexia and start to think about it.

   

 

     Now it is time to learn a bit. Did you know that there are two types of anorexia?
     a. Anorexia nervosa.  People with anorexia nervosa think they are fat. They almost stop eating because they want to be thin.  They are often under the normal weight for their size. They always think about calories, make excuses for not eating, or eat very small amounts and do a great deal of exercise. Some use laxatives or diuretics to help them lose weight and others make themselves vomit after eating. If anorexics do not get help they may become so ill that they die. However, people like Kate Moss have found help and have gone on to have healthier lives and successful careers.

    b. Bulimia.  People with bulimia eat large amounts of food very quickly  when they are alone. This is called bingeing.  After bingeing, they make themselves vomit. Like anorexics, they may exercise too much and use laxatives and diuretics.   Princess Diana got over her problem with bulimia and wanted to help others with eating disorders.  

     The following video shows the truth of eating disorders

 

     Have you built your own opinion about eating disorders? Here you are a song by Dead Celebrity Status to help you a little bit more.  Enjoy the melody and the lyrics because the images are really disgusting.

"Somebody I Once Knew"

     LYRICS:
"She wasn't born anorexic, but nowadays she suffers,
staring at these half-naked stars on magazine covers.
feeling pressured by the public.
She only weighs 90 pounds but still sucks in her stomach.
On the inside she's dying, lying to herself, thinking:
- 5 more pounds won't jeopardize my health.
One day she might just collapse, she can't avoid it.
Too many sleepless nights spent bent over a toilet.
Spewing vomit, like she was an alcoholic.
Praying to a God she never believed in to stop it.
Hasnt eaten in weeks, drinks water by the heaps
Now she looks like a skeleton she sees in her closet.
So close to death she can taste it, body looks wasted.
Hates life, hates you, hates the way she looks naked.
Now she's feeling drowsy, lousy,
thinking maybe this world's better off without me

I'm so sorry for all that I've done,
I'm so sorry for what I've become.
I'm so sorry, so sorry for wasting your time,
I can't hold you back ''cause I'm losing my mind.
I'm so sorry for all that I've done,
I'm so sorry for what I've become.
I'm so sorry, so sorry for wasting your time,
I can't hold you back ''cause I'm losing my mind.

She staring at her belly, she's so scared to touch it,
imagining the feeling when it kicks inside her stomach.
Too late for safe sex, should have used a latex.
She can't afford a baby on minimum wage paychecks.
Her waistline climbs by inches,
''cause she traded in the morning workouts for morning sickness.
Feeling nauseous, sleeps on a mat because she's cautious.
Give life or take life, that's her only options.
Only if she had a magic wand, she'd go back to that night
and put her clothes back on.
But she can't change time, or what's growing inside.
How could she love something that's barely alive?
Her body's acheing, shaking, from sweaty palms, and cold sweat.
Mentally exhausting like phone sex.
No regrets, life or death, it's high stakes.
''cause right or wrong, it's only her choice to make.

I'm so sorry for all that I've done,
I'm so sorry for what I've become.
I'm so sorry, so sorry for wasting your time,
I can't hold you back ''cause I'm losing my mind.
I'm so sorry for all that I've done,
I'm so sorry for what I've become.
I'm so sorry, so sorry for wasting your time,
I can't hold you back ''cause I'm losing my mind.

[Side]
- Help!
[Girl:] You smell like perfume. That's NOT mine.
[Guy:] Your head's going fucking crazy, Your head is going crazy.
You need to sit down and look in the mirror and look after myself.
[Girl:] What? What's so wrong with me that you can't love me?
[Guy:] Look-
[Girl:] What is wrong with me? I do everything for you.
I, I, I make myself look good, I go to the gym.
I, I eat like a fucking rabbit.
I don't, I don't know what else to do.
Tell me.
[Guy:] Baby, you don't understand because-
[Girl:} Just tell me what i have to do
[Guy:] Baby-
[Girl:] What it is I have to do to make you love me.

I'm so sorry for all that I've done,
I'm so sorry for what I've become.
I'm so sorry, so sorry for wasting your time,
I can't hold you back ''cause I'm losing my mind.
I'm so sorry for all that I've done,
I'm so sorry for what I've become.
I'm so sorry, so sorry for wasting your time,
I can't hold you back ''cause I'm losing my mind.
I'm so sorry for all that I've done,
I'm so sorry for what I've become.
I'm so sorry, so sorry for wasting your time,
I can't hold you back ''cause I'm losing my mind".