Tag Archives: writing

Write, Write, Write

Writing,

Words — so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

I am not going to lie to you, writing is not easy. It is not even  easy in your own native  language, let alone  in a foreign one.  I think that some people are born with a natural talent for writing, but for most of us  it ‘s a question of  practice , time and determination.

There is a quote by Pablo Picasso that I’ve always liked

And If you want a tip from this humble teacher  , here it  goes  , if you want to improve your writing  read, read , read and write ,write,write.

Anyway, today I want to share with you this website , which is really a timesaver for teachers when our brains are on holiday ,but we are not, and a nice place for students to refer to when they  want to do some autonomous practice. The site is called  English Tonight and although it has different sections to help you learn English, the one I like best is the Writing Section, full of creative writing prompts, as the one just below

Giving Opinion: Driving

Students' Corner, Writing, , , , ,

For the past week I’ve been raking my brains looking for a nice way to display these statements   and finally for lack of something that took my breath away, I have decided to stick to the overused  writeacomic.com , which works just fine … but for a few details there is no point in getting into right now.

So , right below , you’ll find some statements  about driving . This is what you need to do

TASK

♥Choose one statement  (only one , please)

♥Write a comment (5-8 lines) explaining  your point of view and why you agree or disagree with the statement.

♥Use some of the expressions here

I am pretty sure we all agree that these weeks before Three Wise  Men’s Day  are chaos. We’re all  super busy buying , wrapping ,eating and drinking (OMG!) so I don’t think I’ll be back in this space  until lessons start again.Thanks for being there!!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!

Students’ Corner

Students' Corner, ,

 Dear students:

This blog would be pretty much nothing without you. Thank you! 

INTERMEDIATE 1

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GOING CAMPING by Aida Cecilia Marqués Menéndez

In Europe it’s forbidden to go camping in the nature; there are specific areas for camping equipped with electricity, bathrooms, restaurants, playgrounds  and sometimes even a swimming pool. But in other parts of the world you can go camping in the wild. Staying at a campsite has advantages and disadvantages.

The main advantage is that it is cheaper than staying in hotels.  I think that families with children prefer to go camping because children have more freedom and sometimes there are activities planned for them.  So parents are free too!

Taking a break from TV, computers, mobile phones and the internet is a big advantage and it’s good for children and adults. Another thing that is great in campsites is that you can travel with pets. Dogs are usually accepted although they have to be tied.

A big disadvantage of going camping is that it’s uncomfortable. You have to travel with lots of luggage like a tent, sleeping bags,  backpacks and flashlights. Don’t forget the insect repellent because It’s easy to find insects inside the tent. Furthermore, People have less privacy, for example,  bathroom are communal. But if you travel by caravan or by van it’s like renting a small apartment  but in the nature!

For me , being in the outdoors outweighs  all the disadvantages because I love nature! I think it’s really exciting to go camping.

INTERMEDIATE 2

PEOPLE USED TO LISTEN TO THE RADIO MORE by  Esther Ovies García

I´m not sure if this affirmation is totally true.  First I have to say that our options for entertainment are now far greater than they were in the 1930´s or 1940´s. On those days, the radio or the newspaper were the most important means of communication. Either of them was necessary to keep  people informed.

My grandfather loved listening to his radio. Being  able to listen to music or voices coming from all over the world…. it was kind of magic for him.

With the development of television, video games or internet, we now have more options to spend our free time on….although we have less free time too, that´s true!. When I arrive home after a hard day at work, I watch television or listen to music on my iPad… Both of them are fantastic options to relax…but I don´t usually listen to the radio.

So, everything seems to indicate that people used to listen to the radio more, but… some questions come to my mind, for example:

  • Does everybody have internet at home? The answer is no
  • Does everybody have a radio at home? Probably yes.

Also,I´m pretty sure that everybody listens to the radio while they are driving.

I´ve been looking for more information, about the radio on the internet, and I´ve discovered that there are a lot of Radio ListenerShips around the world.

A Radio ListenerShip is a group of people who use the radio as a mean of communication without high technology. This kind of radars are increasing every year.The reason is that in case of a catastrophe, like hurricanes or floods, the radio is a great deal more important means of communication than any other.

Because of all these, I think the myth that people used to listen to the radio more than nowadays is only that, a myth; and this is  probably thanks to the Radio Listener Ships.

IF I HAD THE CHANCE TO LIVE ABROAD,I’D LIVE IN AMERICA  by Marta Blanco Collazos

I’d perfer to live in North America because, from my point of view, the USA is the land where dreams come true.

  I’m sure everybody knows America by their films. I remember our young Antonio Banderas in Philadelphia or Sony Crockett in Miami Vice. When I was a teenager I used to love Beverly Hills, 90210 but I can’t tell if I liked more Brandon or Dylan. Who doesn’t like to walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame or go shopping on Rodeo Drive like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman?

I’ve always lived in Avilés. It´s a small town in the north of Spain. I’ve never studied or lived abroad so if I had to move to America it would be a big change for me.

I’ve only been to America once. I went on holiday with four friends. We stayed in NY for 10 days. Manhattan is an amazing place and NY is the city that never sleeps.

But our holidays started very badly. We booked an apartment online near Times Square because a friend had stayed there before and she recommended it to us, but when we arrived the owner didn’t answer the phone and the address given was false. Fortunately we booked a hotel that night and the rest of our holidays were fine and we could enjoy going shopping in the 5th Avenue, going for  a walk in Central Park or eating a big pizza in Little Italy neighbourhood. Also, in the subway, I saw the most handsome guy that I’ve ever seen in my life.

But in my opinion America isn’t the perfect country that movies show us because it’s the country with more obese children thanks to junk food and this is a very big problem as they are very unhealthy. I don’t agree with the use of weapons in USA and we see on TV ,every day ,the problems that this use is causing. Neither do  I like the death penalty that some states apply.

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!.