III MICRO-FICTION CONTEST

Write a 60-word micro-narrative (apart from the beginning) starting as follows:

                                I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EYES ... 

The jury will be formed by the English Department's teachers, who will take into account the micro-story's creativity and originality.

There will be prizes for the winner(s), who will receive a purchase Fnac Card (as long as there is enough quality in the stories presented).

The best micro-stories will be published on the department's blog. 

 

                                                                     Deadline: Friday 19th May, 2017

WORD OF THE DAY!

Have you ever heard about "the word of the day"? It is a great way of improving our vocabulary and learn new words at all times. It is also a great resource to be used in class because it fosters our student's curiosity when they look for it, understanding its meaning, contexts in which it can be used and its pronunciation. 

Here you are an example taken from the following webpage: www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/

Friday, April 21, 2017

jammy

[jam-ee] 

 

1. British Informal. very lucky.
2. British Informal. pleasant; easy; desirable: He has a jammy job.

You have different webpages in which these words can be daily found. In twitter, you will also find brief information about it. So if your objective is enriching your vocabulary, have a peep at it! 👀

LONDON TRIP!

A week ago, our 4th ESO students went on a trip to London.  They were very excited, because they were craving for visiting its landmarks, walking around its streets and communicating in English.

The first day we went to Portobello to see the stunning market that takes place every Saturday. We could walk around its streets, visit its shops and even eat in its weird food stalls. It was great!

         During the second day, we went to the British Museum. There we saw, among many other things, the “Rosetta Stone” and we walked and admired its magnificent building. We took piles of photographs! Then, we headed to Covent Garden and we finished the day in Harrods, where the memorial to Princess Diana and Doddi Alfayed makes us think about what happened to both of them. We were so worn-out when we arrived to the hotel and we deeply fell asleep.

  

       

We move on now to the third day. We started the day with a visit to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s stadium. A guide explained to us its history and curious facts about the stadium. When the visit was over, we caught the tube to Buckingham palace and St. James’s Park, and there we discovered that the queen was in the palace because the British flag was hoisted … God Save the Queen! We ate our packed lunch there and then we changed our direction to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Stunning oeuvres can be admired inside its walls, for example, Van Dick’s Marriage of Arnolfini or Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond. 

In the afternoon we had two important landmarks to visit: London’s Parliament with its well-known Big Ben and the London Eye, where we admired a magnificent view of the city.

This day ended with cruise by the Thames, an unforgettable experience!

The last day, we went to the Monument, a building which commemorates the great fire that destroyed London in 1666. To admire the beautiful sights from the top of the building, you have to dare climb its 311 steps! As we were close to the well-known “Millinium Bridge”, we crossed it and arrived to the Southbank, where Shakespeare’s Theater or the Tate Museum are located. We got from this side, one of the most iconic views of London.

      

Then, we went to Waterloo station because we had to go to one of the most interesting markets in London, Candem. As we were starving, we first went to Poppy’s restaurant, where we ate delicious fish and chips and we recharged our batteries before discovering the market! Without doubt, a magnificent day!

As nothing can be perfect, we were into trouble the last day because the bus driver that was supposed to pick us up didn’t arrive! We were waiting for more than an hour and a half. Therefore, we arrived to the airport very late and we missed the flight. But with the help of our agency (thanks Llardana S.L) everything was solved and we returned home safe and sound!

          

We have to say that it has been a great experience. Torre de los Espejos’ English department is very proud of our students and this experience, we have seized each and every moment, and we will keep this trip in our hearts forever!

THANK YOU GUYS!

Hidden Figures

If you want to go to the cinema during the next weeks, Hidden Figures is an excellent choice. Based on the homonym book written by Margot Lee Shetterly, this film tells the story of three Afro-American women who played key roles in the NASA during the 70's. However, discrimination was at hand (not only because of their origin, but also because they were women). During the film, we are aware of the difficult and injust situations Afro-American people had to endure, that is, all the consequences that segregation brought about. It is through work, determination and intelligence that these three figures gained the respect they deserved and they started to break unacceptable social barriers. 

The great thing about this film is that it makes us think and reflect on the consequences of racism and narrow-minded consciousness. No matter who we are or where we come from, because at the end we are capable of doing something great.

Shakespeare forever!

When talking about universality, it quickly comes to our mind Shakespeare. Piles of expressions that are part of our daily speech are linked to this author and his stunning understanding of human passions. How often have you uttered all that glisters is not gold or every cloud has a silver lining? They are truly Shakespearean.

A good way of improving our knowledge regarding this author or the Elizabethan period is having a peep at the following webpage http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/shakespeare in which you can find different videos, quizzes, grammar and vocabulary in context, depending on the Shakespearean work chosen. 

You will be amazed when you discover how prevailing Shakespeare is in our daily speech!

The Chaos Poem

We all know that English pronunciation can be at times difficult and tiring, with so many exceptions to the established rules. For that reason, Gerard Nolst Trinité wrote a poem entitled "The Chaos", containing more than 800 hundred irregularities in English spelling and pronunciation.
In the following video on youtube, you can listen to the poem. Check it out and more important: DON'T PANIC!

The winners of II Microfiction Contest

The English Department has already chosen the best microfiction writers of this year's contest, whose theme seeks to pay homage to Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death:

 "TO READ OR NOT READ, THAT IS THE QUESTION"

FIRST PRIZE: JULIA GRACIA GRASA, 4 C

LIFE

“Hamlet was going back from high school when he came across a worried girl who told him, “ Don’t go to that street, or you will discover your death”, and she ran away.

Hamlet ignored that and he continued his way as far as his feet came across a big book called Life. In his hands the dilemma- To read or not to read, that is the question. “

SECOND PRIZE: RUTH BELTRÁN IGLESIAS, 2 B

"When you open a book, you don't only open a book, you are opening your eyes to a world of fantasy and amazing things.You can live a police story, a fantasy story...and more stories that you can't imagine. When you decide not to open a book, the world inside these books are frozen, cold and you can't enjoy the stories. Now you choose, to read or not to read?

THIRD PRIZE:  VERA CAJAL, 2 º B


She ran across the hill, suddnly a black shadow appeared behind a tree and started a crazy race. When the girl saw him, she shouted with a terrific voice and fell to the grass. The shadow took a knife and..."if you continue reading, there will be bad consequences...to read or not to read...that's the question..."