Category Archives: Students’ Corner

Scary Stories for Halloween

Students' Corner, , , ,

If you had asked me like twenty years ago  what my favourite stories  were, I would have loudly proclaimed HORROR stories but  this was back then when I  was brave enough to play with the ouija board  in a badly lit church without fearing anything, when me and my gang broke into abandoned houses with the legend of being inhabited by spirits or gathered around a fire to share  the scariest stories. This was back when one of my favourite writers was Stephen King and my favourite film was Carrie. I feared nothing and nobody. Yep. Those were the years  horror stories were my favourite.

I still like stories with a bit of something , but not like back then. I don’t remember when horror stories started to take a back seat but I guess it was when I began to have nightmares .

These two stories have a touch of mystery and they have been kindly sent by two of my intermediate students. I hope you enjoy them.!!

♥SNAKES ON THE PLANE  by  Felix Rodríguez de la Fuente

One of my passions is travelling and learning about other cultures and countries so last month I travelled  abroad.

I don´t really like flying but to go from Istanbul to Frankfurt I had no choice but  to travel by plane. The weather was sunny so the plane took off on time.

My trip was perfect until suddenly the  pilot said “We are heading for a storm and there will be turbulence”. I was nervous and worried because the sky was dark and there weren’t any lights inside the plane. I couldn´t see anything, I just heard screams.

When the light returned ,I couldn´t believe what I  saw. There were hundreds of snakes inside the plane. They were furious and they were attacking all passengers.

Then, I ran to the cabin but it was too late. The pilot was dead and I just saw blood everywhere and snakes.

I thought my end had come.

Luckily, when the biggest snake attacked me I woke up and understood that everything had been a bad dream caused by my fear to fly and my snake phobia.

♥LOOKING FOR SUSAN DESPERATELY by Noelia Espinosa

As every year, I had a Christmas dinner with some friends who lived outside Asturias. We went to a restaurant in Avilés  and after desserts, coffees and some glasses of cider, I felt tired and decided to go home. While I was in the restaurant I noticed a guy  staring at me . When I looked his way , he greeted me  and although  I couldn´t remember him I said “hello”.

When I left the restaurant, I felt that somebody was walking behind me ,very close, and I began to feel scared  so, I started  to walk faster but the person following me also walked faster. Suddenly,  he shouted: “Susan, Susan please, wait for me”. I told him: ”Sorry, I´m not Susan, you´re wrong” but he didn´t care and he went on shouting : “Susan, you´re my wife, we have two children, don´t leave me, please”. I thought “Oh, my God, he´s  crazy!!”

I stopped a taxi and I explained the situation to the driver. He called the police and I went home.

The next day, I read in the newspaper that “A DANGEROUS MAN HAD RUN AWAY FROM THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL” . There was photo of the man. It was him!.

Picture Description: Holidays in the City or on the Beach

Lesson Plan: Elementary, Picture Description, Speaking, Students' Corner, , , , ,

I wouldn’t like to finish the course without publising another example of picture description. This  time for the Elementary Speaking exam and kindly sent by Noelia Fernández.

Holidays in the city or on the beach


In both photos we can see two very different holiday destinations: a big city and a solitary paradise beach.
The picture on the right was taken at the famous street of New York Times Square. This street is always crowded with tourists, and in this photo I think there are too many. They are carrying photo cameras, video cameras or taking photos with their mobile phones. They are wearing summer clothes because it might be July.
In the other photo, there is a beach with clean sand and clear calm water without waves. In the foreground we see five sunbeds and palms.
In my opinion, the perfect vacation is a mixture of both destinations, a few days in the city to visit museums and emblematic buildings, to see a musical or a theater, to do some sightseeing and to make all the activities that you can, and then, other days at a resort to relax and enjoy the sun, the beach, sleep and enjoy the food.
If you’re looking forward to going to New York ,you need to save money because it is the most expensive city in which I have been, but it seems as if you are in a movie with all the famous places and you think ” I know this and that”.

Picture Description: Fashion

Picture Description, Speaking, Students' Corner, Writing, , ,

Another example of picture description for the Intermediate speaking exams. Thanks to Eloy Menéndez for kindly sending it.

These pictures are related to fashion and clothes.
To begin with, the photo on the left shows a group of young people wearing eccentric clothes, with a very particular style: most in black, large boots, fishnet stockings. Many people would say they look scruffy. Probably, they are in a music festival or in a concert and they seem as if they are having fun. In the other photo, we can see a catwalk, in which high-heeled models are wearing very expensive garments, probably from famous designers. Maybe, such events are more targeted towards shopaholics, who are always trying to be in the limelight and constantly renew the way they dress.
From some years up to now, clothes have become a distinguishing factor.

There are multiple urban tribes, some of them wearing outrageous clothes, others with colourful and bright garments, but each one with its own particularity, and they don’t care what others may think about them. They dress in the way they want. I am more keen on how the “skins” dress: shaved hair, tight jeans, suspenders, military boots. On the contrary, most of the teenagers are very fashionable because they are influenced by the media and constantly being fed with “tips” about what it’s cool to wear or not.

I would say fashion is cyclic and so are trends. Styles from the past are re-invented by designers or they just return in the same way they were many years ago: for that, vintage clothes, patterns, accessories and colours have become trendy nowadays.

One of the most widespread stereotypes is that women pay more attention to their appearance than men do. I think that used to be so in the past, yet today more men are worried about how they are seen by the opposite sex. So therefore, most fashion ads are directed to both sexes.

I believe everyone has to wear those clothes which match their own styles, their thoughts and moral convictions. If you think the most expensive shirt, the old-fashioned skirt or the most ragged jacket fits you, that’s what matters. Dressing well or badly is something subjective and if you feel comfortable with that garment, go ahead.
Eloy Menendez

The memorable life of….

Students' Corner, Writing, , , , ,

There is little that gives more satisfaction than publishing students’ work; they are  the reason behind all the hard work that means keeping  this blog going.

Today, I want to show you some essays written by students in the Elementary level under the heading “The memorable life of… . I would have wanted to include all of them but the truth is that they were too many so I have just published half the ones I was sent. I hope nobody is disappointed!

As I have often done in the past, to publish the content I have used the free digital publishing platform Issuu.

Click to enlarge .

Carmen Menéndez’s presentation of The Memorable life of Amelia Earhart is also worth  publishing . I hope you enjoy it!!

Picture Description: Beaches

Lesson Plan: Elementary, Picture Description, Pictures, Speaking, Students' Corner, , , ,

Kindly sent by Carmen Muñiz from the Elementary Level.

Both photos show a beach, but they are very different.
I suppose it’s summer, because the weather is nice and sunny and everyone is wearing summer clothes.
In the photo on the right, the beach is next to the city. There are a lot of people sunbathing. It’s really crowded. In the background I can see many high buildings. The sea is on the left and it’s full of bathers. The sand is on the right and there are a lots of colourful beach umbrellas. I think it’s a modern big city, it seems a lively place.
On the other hand, in the photo on the left, the beach is far from the city, and there are few people. At the back you can see green mountains and some little houses. The sea is on the right, there is no one bathing. On the right corner, there are two women next to rocks, they seem very relaxed, they are sunbathing in sun beds and they are reading a book. They look like friends, it looks as if they are having a great time.
The scene in the photo on the right looks very noisy and it’s packed with people, while in the photo on the left, it looks very peaceful and quiet.
Personally, I prefer the photo on the left, because it looks like a perfect place to spend a summer’s day. I love going to the beach and swimming in the sea, but I don’t like beaches which are close the city, and the crowds.