A love poem by Neruda

On the theme of poetry, here is a poem by Pablo Neruda which you may know in Spanish. It is a great idea to find poems in English translated from your own language - it helps you understand them better in English! Why not try?

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-do-not-love-you-except-because-i-love-you/

Poem of the Day

Hi everyone! Do you like POETRY??
I have found this nice website which will send you a POEM OF THE DAY, every day to your email. Sounds good, eh! All you need to do is enter your email address, then...wait for your daily poem to arrive!
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-love-is-like-to-ice/

British Canarian Relationship

Take a look at these interesting articles from the newspaper La Provincia on the long relationship between the UK and the Canaries.

http://www.laprovincia.es/dominical/2012/02/12/firmas-islenas-covent-garden/438235.html

Reading club starting soon!!

 

We will shortly be starting our Reading Club. In our next class, I will explain to you which books we will be working with and how the Reading Circle system works.

Later I will let you know about the fun activities planned for the reading project – I´m sure you will enjoy reading this year!

Click here to find out more about the reading project:

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-a5bd7wtZSVmN_jS-q0sCB3x3XKimJvx0bofKSMxLqA/edit

Qatari sprinter: article about a woman in a man´s world

Hi everyone I think you will enjoy reading this article about an athlete from Qatar who competed in the London Olympics.
http://www.onestopenglish.com/skills/news-lessons/monthly-topical-news-lessons/pdf-content/why-reaching-the-start-line-is-worth-gold-to-qatari-sprinter-intermediate/552160.article

Audio reader: Space Invaders

Hello everyone

I´ve found an interesting audio serial of the graded reader for Intermediate students: Space Invaders.

The Space Invaders by Geoffrey Matthews

In this story, set sometime in the future, Varon, an intergalactic pirate, manages to steal one of the most valuable items in the universe. When he becomes trapped, Omega offers his help but he has his own reasons for doing so.
It´s a science fiction story, so I hope you enjoy it! Here is episode one. I will post episode 2 next week!

http://www.onestopenglish.com/5137.audio?js=yes&height=auto&width=742

Now you can send comments!

Hi everyone I´ve just changed the settings so you can all comment - I hope to hear from you all soon! Annie

Book of the Month

Hi, everyone! The BOOK OF THE MONTH this month is my own suggestion! I recently read a great book by Kate Morton called The House at Riverton which I really enjoyed. Perhaps you have read it in Spanish? Let me know what you think of it!

The House at Riverton is set in England and written by an Australian, Kate Morton. The main character is Grace, aged 98 who is interviewed by a young film producer about her knowledge and opinion of how the set appears regarding their reinvention of Riverton House during the first world war and 1920s. She is also questioned about her knowledge regarding a crime and a death but doesn’t reveal it to the film producer, instead, we learn about it through her taped recordings to her grandson. We visit Riverton House through Grace’s eyes from the age of fourteen when she enters The House at Riverton as a servant.

The portrayal of society, particularly domestic servants, pre and post the First world war is particularly interesting – how loyal they are portrayed, how deferent and inferior yet how appreciate of their position in the big house and then post war, how many younger members seek other types of employment, unions and their loyalties change drastically.

Every month I will ask you to send your suggestions for BOOK OF THE MONTH - I hope you will all send your suggestions. Don´t worry if you haven´t read anything in English yet (!!) your book can also be in Spanish, French, German...!

The Best 10 Books Ever Written

Hello, everyone! A little brainteaser for you! What do you think are the BEST 10 BOOKS EVER WRITTEN - in any language?

Send your ideas here and let´s discuss...I´m sure there will be interesting lists!

Roald Dahl

Do you know Roald Dahl? Maybe you know his great stories for children, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Well, did you know he also wrote some weird and  wonderful short stories for adults? In Intermediate 2 this year you will be reading a collection of his stories which I am sure you will love!

Until then, take a look at the Roald Dahl Day information from the Guardian newspaper- lots of great info about Dahl and also a recording of him reading one of his childrens´ stories.

ENJOY!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2012/sep/13/happy-roald-dahl-day-roundup?CMP=EMCNEWEML1355

Check your level!

Hello everyone!

We will soon be starting our reading project- first I´ll ask you to complete a questionnaire to see what kind of books you like, then in October we will begin.

Perhaps you are wondering what level you should start? Here are three mini tests to see if you should start at level 3 (Pre - Intermediate), level 4 (Intermediate), or level 5 (Upper Intermediate).  

If you get 80% of the answers correct, that is the level for you! If not, better go for the lower level.

It´s important to be comfortable with the book you are reading- you don´t need to understand every word when reading a book at home, and it´s best to read without using a dictionary very much. Please don´t worry if your test shows you are better doing Pre- Intermediate, but you are in Intermediate 1..the important thing is enjoying the book you are reading and reading it without checking every word !

http://elt.oup.com/student/bookwormsleveltest/st3/stage3_1?cc=global&selLanguage=en

http://elt.oup.com/student/bookwormsleveltest/st4/stage4_1?cc=global&selLanguage=en

http://elt.oup.com/student/bookwormsleveltest/st5/stage5_1

Welcome to our class blog!

Welcome all Intermediate students to our READING blog.

 In this blog we will work on our reading circles project this year, discussing books,short stories and maybe poetry we have read and sharing opinions together! 

I really hope you enjoy the blog and that you will send me your comments to make the blog dynamic and fun for everyone!

Looking forward to having a good time with you in Guía this year.

Annie