April Fools' Day

From the book : All About Britain

"April Fools ! " Should you hear these words, it means two things : 1) it is April, 1st; 2) someone has just pulled a prank on you ! Why ? It's April Fools' Day. On this day, people pull pranks and spread rumours and hoaxes. The media also invent some fake -flabbergasting - news and some people usually fall for them or buy them ! Yeah ! This is similar to Spain's Innocents' Day (28th December). This day goes back to the year 1957, where the BBC broadcast people picking spaghetti from plants. The audience thought it all was true and phoned the station to buy these plants ! Here you can watch it in the video : 

1. Now I will propose you a little game. I will enumerate five 'news items' and you will have to decide which one of them is TRUE ! Four of them will be hoaxes. Ready ?

a)  UFO lands in London

From : http://hoaxes.org/af_database/permalink/ufo_lands_near_london

b) Queen Elizabeth sent her first email in 1976

From : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34185586

c) A new race of penguins that can fly have been discovered 

d) Big Ben will go digital in 2020

From : https://currentopinionsofnews.wordpress.com/2014/02/16/big-ben-to-go-digital/

e) Mummified fairy discovered ! 

From : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lebanoncircle/the-derbyshire-mummified-fairy-ooak-kit-and-dvd-wo

Answers: Only one of the news is true. Which one ? Well, letter b, indeed, surprising though it may sound ! If you want to see some of the most famous hoaxes of all time, click on this link.

2. Now let's learn some vocabulary for this day, related to tricks :

- Tell jokes / crack jokes = 'contar chistes'

- Trick someone / deceive someone / fool someone = engañar a alguien

- Play tricks on someone / pull pranks on someone = gastarle bromas a alguien

- Fall into a trap = 'caer en la trampa'

- Take the bait = 'picar el anzuelo'

- I don't buy it / I haven't fallen for it = 'no me lo trago' / 'no me lo creo'.

- He is a prankster / joker / jester / quipster = 'Él es un bromista.'

- April Fools ! = '¡ Inocente !' 

- April Fool pranks = 'inocentadas.'

- Spread a hoax = 'extender un rumor.'

3. To finish with, if you are much of a prankster, here you have a compilation of some interesting pranks of April Fool's Day. 

4. This video will prompt you to pull pranks on others. I hope you never put these "inspiring" ideas into practice.

I hope you have learnt a lot about April Fools' Day. Which is your favourite prank ? Post it on a comment ! 

April Fool's Day

Meet the parents

St. Patrick's Day game !

Take out your mobiles and prepare to have fun !
Have a look at these questions and try to be the first one to answer them all !
Let's celebrate St. Patrick's Day !!

Watch the video and answer the questions :
- Why does everybody pinch Bart ?

- What time is it when Homer is waiting at Moe's Tavern ?

- Today, everyone is a bit Irish except of course the ___________ and  the ____________.

- Why do they stop the celebration ?

- What does Bart say in front of the camera ?

- What does Homer say in Moe's Tavern?

- Marge doesn't want to look ___________________________.

St. Patrick's Day

Friday, 17th March is  a very important day in the United Kingdom and especially in Ireland. It is Saint Patrick's Day. Here I share with you the video that we watched in class.

And now I share with you some of the interesting facts and vocabulary that we have seen today :

- Ireland is divided into two parts : Northern Ireland (whose capital is Belfast) and southern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland or Eire (whose capital is Dublin). 

- Saint Patrick (Maewyn Succat) is the patron saint of Ireland. He was born in England and then he Christianized Ireland. He explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) with the well-known shamrock. 

From : http://www.markmillerhumorist.com/least-known-facts-st-patrick.html

- There will be a big parade in Dublin,  but not only there, New York's parade is also famous and Saint Patrick is celebrated all over the globe. In Chicago, for example, you can see the river completely coloured in green !

- Remember to wear something green if you don't want to get pinched by others ! 

- The national symbol of Ireland is the harp.

From : http://www.abitofhome.ca/ireland-harp-magnet.html

- Leprechauns are very popular. They are goblin-like figures who love gold and always carry a pot of gold around. If captured by men, they can grant them three wishes. 

From : http://www.123rf.com/photo_10711921_lucky-leprechaun-with-shamrock-and-treasure.html

- The typical beer in Ireland is Guinness. It is delicious black beer brewed in the Guinness Warehouse in Dublin. You can drink a pint with a shamrock designed in its foam... Delicious ! Remember, Arthur Guinness only pays 49 pounds as a yearly rent. 

From : https://diydilettante.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/the-genius-of-guinness/

- If you want the gift of gab (eloquence), you must kiss Blarney Stone located in Blarney's castle in Cork ! It's a bit disgusting, though. 

- Ireland is nicknamed as the emerald island because of its green colour due to abundant rainfall (that will later result in lush greenery). 

Object pronouns vs. possessive adjectives

Dear students, 
Here you have some exercises about object pronouns (and a revision of possessive adjectives) :
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/pronouns/personal_pronouns8.htm
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/pronouns/personal_pronouns3.htm

Practise your English with games and tests (1º Básico)

Dear students of Básico 1,
Here you have some good practice for you to practise your English now that the exams are near. 
Enjoy it : 
P.S. There are some games, so play games in English ! 
https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/elementary3/?cc=global&selLanguage=en

Practise your English (2º Básico) : games and tests

Dear students,
Now that the end of the course is near I think it is a pretty good idea that you practise for the exams, so have a look at this link. It's a very good idea taht you practise. You can play games, do tests, ... Explore the link with enthusiasm.
https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/preint3/grammar/?cc=global&selLanguage=en

Women's Day interesting video

Dearest students,
Here you have a funny video that will be food for your thoughts ! It seems that women are not equal to men nowadays... Watch it ! We'll discuss it in class ! 

Quantifiers : theory and exercises

Dear students,
Here you have some theory and exercises about quantifiers :
http://www.eslbase.com/grammar/too-enough
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/much_many.htm

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-too-enough.php
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/mengen.htm

Quantity questionnaire

Dear students,
To revise the grammar of quantifiers here you have a questionnaire. Do it and I'll instantly receive the answers. We will correct it in class. Don't forget to write your name and surname!