Christmas is here!

It's Christmas time and I'd like you to see some typical things at Christmas in English speaking countries. Here you have some  videos, carols, texts... I hope you'll enjoy a lot next holidays! These sites are for the smallest at home:

• A video for children: the one we saw at class. Click here
• Jingle Bell karaoke for children: click here
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future tenses

If you want to work with future tenses you can go to these links and do these exercises:

• A good explanation: http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/future.htm
• another explanation but it's for upper-intermediate students so don't pay attention to the perfect future or future continuous: http://esl.about.com/od/grammarstructures/a/a_auxfuture.htm Then you can do this exercise
• This page from BBC English has more explanations and exercises at the end. You can do it as a listening because it is an audio explanation. Click here
• A complete post of an interesting blog for these tenses, including some practice; click here
• To finish with, a chart to sum up the future tenses: simple and with exercises. Click here

Here you have some exercises to practise:

• Use of WILL or GOING TO      Exercise 1       exercise 2       exercise3
• Present continuous or GOING TO: exercise 1    exercise 2    
• present simple, continuous and GOING TO: exercise 1 
• Use of future tenses in general: exercise 1   exercise 2   exercise 3

Speaking about ARTS

I love this topic so I'll try to give you some material to work with. To start with, here you have a file with vocabulary connected to the subject. Click HERE to open it.

Here you have a couple of sites aobut arts, but not the official one but as a hobby: http://www.worksofart.org.uk/

Art is also a business and it makes a lot of money. Here you have an example: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2012/may/03/most-expensive-auction-in-pictures

Preparing Christmas recipes

Here you can find some recipes for Christmas. Have a look and try one (or all) of them. Click HERE
But if you want to have a great time as a kid or with your kids, go to this link and you'll find a lot of activities for Christmas, including some carols for children:
http://www.eslkidstuff.com/ChristmasGames.htm
Hope to see you in class!

How to practise speaking in Alcala and Madrid

There is a chance to practise English with native speakers here in Alcala. Here you are the place where you can find people to exchange conversation:

• THE GREEN IRISH PUB  C/ Empecinado nº 7. They meet on Wednesday and this is the information a kind colleague at school gave me: Durante la temporada 2012 / 2013 se va a proceder a realizar unas jornadas todos los miércoles de intercambios de conversación en Ingles y/u otros idiomas. El Método de los cursos se realizara de la siguiente manera: 1) Locución de un tema sugerido en Ingles. 2) Hojas para alumnos con el texto de la locución. 3) Pequeñas preguntas a rellenar por el alumno. 4) Discusión acerca de las preguntas y el tema de conversación. 5) Búsqueda de significado del vocabulario con diccionario Ingles-Ingles. Tanto para las personas interesadas en mejorar su nivel de Ingles como para las personas que estén interesadas en mejorar su nivel de Castellano el temario sugerido en Ingles es válido para hablar del tema en Castellano e Ingles y en cualquier otro idioma. Cada día se ofrecerá un tema de conversación acerca de asuntos del día a día, tanto como un viaje en Avión y todo el vocabulario que implica como alquilar un Apartamento, ir al Medico, un Taller de reparaciones etc…. El horario estará comprendido en dos cursos / locuciones desde las 20:30 a 21:30 y de 22:00 a 23:00
• There is another Irish pub where there is exchange of conversation and Trivial in summer is Whelan's in Plaza de los Irlandeses, close to c/ Mayor and I think they meet on Tuesday evening, but I'm not very sure.
• The last possibility is thanks to the community service of All Saints Church in c/ Libreros but I don't have much information about it.

I've been sent this link about exchanging conversations and experiences with other students in Madrid. They have events and some meetings to talk to other people. I don't know much but abut it but you can have a look into it and then you'll tell me how it works.

• http://www.bemadrid.com/

Another possibility is here in Alcalá but just for university students I gess but I don't know if it works well. The links are:

• http://www.uah.es/servicios/servicios_ayudas_prestaciones/asociaciones/erasmusnetwork/bolsa_idiomas.shtm
• http://www.uah.es/estudios/otros_estudios/idiomas/clases_conversacion.shtm#clases

In Madrid there is a group for exchanging conversation called Multilinkual. . They meet on Tuesdays at O'Neill's (c/ Príncipe 12 - metro Sevilla o Sol) and on Thursday at Beer Station (Cuesta de Santo Domingo - metro Callao). The group is open so you can go whenever you want and if you need help you can ask David, the responsible there, to help you. You'll find people from everywhere and you can exchange English or other languages because many people are foreigners.