Spring regatta

Double meanings: Obama's package

Happpy St Patrick's Day!!

For information on St Patrick's Day, see the previous post.

St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's day is coming closer (17th March) and most places where there is a big Irish community are getting ready to celebrate it. Of course, Ireland will start first, on the 12th, that is today, with big events in Dublin and Limerick:

In the UK, Trafalgar Square in London will have its own celebration, although Manchester claims the biggest parade in the UK this year.



Birmingham, Liverpool, and many other cities around Britain will also be celebrating this day.




And of course New York and other major cities around the globe where Irish people are settled.

But watch out even in the smallest of places, as you might get a celebration of Saint Patrick's Day either at your local Irish pub or in students' flats where there is a single Irishman/Irishwoman.

Here is a web where you can find all the symbols associated with Ireland and St Patrick, along with more information about this celebration:

If you see them in your city or village, you might be able to join in the celebration...

Teachable: help for CAL teachers.

Browsing through the pages of the Education section in the Times Online I came across this website which offers quality materials for teachers of different subjects. It's worth giving it a try.

Click on the picture and watch the video, although you might get the impression this is like the "Lazy guy's corner" (El rincón del vago), this time for teachers (it was about time, though!).

Then try with some of the subjects below. They are nicely organised not only by subject but also attending to age groups (in the British system) and then again by rating / date / title / contributor.

I hope you find it useful. I have created a new entry under "useful links" on the right for easy access from this blog in the future.

4th March: Grammar Day (USA)

To celebrate Grammar Day (4th March), The New York Times published some tips on how to be aware about some uses of grammar while reading the newspaper. Some of the tips could be useful in order to find authentic materials for an EFL lesson (i.e. the use of the passive voice to emphasize topic). Click on the picture to read the article or click on the title of the post to find out more ways to "celebrate" Grammar.

Let's play: Word Machine

Wait for the advert to finish (if your speaker is on, you will hear some kind of mysterious music). Click on the flag of the language in which you want to play, English or French, and get ready.

Write words beginning with the big letter given on the left. Then write words beginning with that letter and containing the ones given. How far can you go?