Personal Profile, by Yorleida ( 2ºB-NB )

I am a student at Carreño Miranda high school and I study English in my free time.
I speak Spanish and a little English. I want to learn English for my future job.

I have long red hair and very brown eyes. I am tall. I am intelligent and funny, but sometimes I am impatient.

I live in a flat with my mother and my younger brother. My mother works with old people and my brother is at school. He is 14 years old.

I like music, cinema and sport. I go to dance with my best friend Katy at the weekends.

I dislike watching football on TV and playing with my brother
My name is Yorleida. I was born in 1991, in Cali – Colombia but I've lived in Avilés for 2 years .

Blog Biblioteca EOI Avilés

Click on the links below and discover the new blogs the EOI Library can offer you.
You will find information about reading and audio material you can borrow from our library. You can also write reviews and comments on your favourite books and share them with others.
Join us and take part. Reading in good company is even more fun!


Comunícate

About Reading


Don´t forget to read the most famous editorial in the history of US Press and send a comment which could be a letter to Virginia or a Christmas message.
Click on the card below and read this cute piece of writing in English. You can also read it in Spanish if you find it too difficult ( Only for 1st year students!),


If you have read K's First Case or you are thinking of reading it , click on the image below to do some activities after you finish the book:

And don´t forget to have a nice holiday!

Compulsory Reading for 2nd Year BL

Compulsory Reading for 2nd Year students:

Two Lives

Level 3

( Cambridge English Readers )

By Helen Naylor

Compulsory Reading for 1st Year BL

Compulsory Reading for 1st Year Basic Level students:

Blood Diamonds

Level 1

(Cambridge English Readers)

by Richard MacAndrew

Personal Profile, by Bego ( 2ºA-NB )

Hi! I’m Bego. My mother is from Burgos and my father is from Cantabria. I also have a sister who is older than me. I’m from Avilés but now I’m living in Las Vegas. Corvera.

I’ve been married for 25 years and we have a son, Nacho, who is 21 years old.

I don’t work now, but I’m studying English in the Official Languages School in Avilés. I’m in the second year of Basic Level and I have a lot of friends in the classroom.

I have medium-length curly dark hair and my eyes are brown and big.

I’m quite extrovert, I like people, I think I’m a positive person.

My hobbies are watching TV, playing with my computer, going out with my friends and gardening.

In my last holidays we went to Galicia and we ate a lot of octopus, we walked along the beach and we saw dolphins. We visited the High Estuary and the Low Estuary and we ended up at the grape harvest in Orense. In the end we visited all Galicia, whose villages are very beautiful.

Bye.

Bego

Personal Profile, by Selma ( 2ºA-NB )

Selma Fernandez 2A N12

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Personal Profile, by Iván ( 2ºD NB )

Hi, everyone.
My name’s Iván, this is my first year in the Official School of Languages.
I work in Avilés, but I live in Candás and I’m going to tell about it.
Candás is a small village in the north of Asturias, Spain, which has a fishing port, several small and very calm seaside corners and fantastic scenic viewpoints.
The fishing port dates from the 17th Century but it was rebuilt several times. You can eat seafood at the fishing port’s restaurants and also walk alog a new seafront along the coast.
The most important monument is San Felix’ Church, which in spite of being destroyed during the civil war still keeps remains from the 10th Century.
In the summer, it is very lively and you can enjoy the Sardina’s fiesta on the first of august. People eat sardines at the fishing port and drink cider. They wear the traditional clothes, which are blue trousers, a white t-shirt, blue espadrilles, a beret and a neckerchief.
In the middle of september we have the last fiesta of the summer, Sto. Cristo’s fiesta ( in the honor of Jesus Christ) , which is very popular too.
We are looking forward to your visit,

bye.

Personal Profile, by Angel ( 1ºA-NB )

Hello everybody ! I'm new here!

My name's Angel. I'm originally from Aviles , but now I live in Las Vegas , Corvera, with my wife and my son. Their names are Agueda and Ruben. Agueda works in a dry cleaner's for Pressto. Rubén is 12 years old. He plays handball at Corvera Balonmano. He plays the Drums too, because he likes music. I work for El Corte Inglés. I've been happily married for 15 years.

I'm in my first year at the Official School of Languages in Avilés. I study English in the morning on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and my teacher is Maria Jesús Balán. In the evening my English classes are on Tuesdays, Wednedsdays and Thursdays and my teacher is Alison. She is British.

I love traveling.I like reading books in Spanish or French. I like football and my favourite team is Sporting. I love music too, specially Blues. My favourite singer is B.B. King, but I like Eric Clapton very much too. My favourites bands are Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Red Hot......., but I love playing the guitar with my friends every Weekend.

Personal Profile, by Paula ( 2ºB-NB )

Hi!
My name is Paula. I’m sixteen years old but my birthday is on the 23 of December. I’m Spanish and I live in Avilés. Avilés is a very old city in the north of Spain.
I live with my parents, Constantino and Ana Rosa, and with my brother, Amaro. I’m in my second year of Bachiller and I think it’s very difficult. I go to the School of Music, I play the violin and I’m in my eleventh year. My teacher is Polish and his name is Jacek. I really like playing the violin and I want to be a violinist in the future. I go to English classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon.
Now, I’m going to tell you something else about myself. I’ve got longish brown hair and brown eyes. I have dark skin and I don’t wear glasses. I’m shortish and average build.
I think I’m a generous person. I’m extrovert, sincere and friendly. I get on well with all the people. I’m very talkative and very very stubborn. I don’t like people who aren’t punctual.
I have a pet, it’s a cat and her name is Nika. She is very intelligent and funny. My cat is six months old and she use to live in the street.
I like languages but I’m not good at them, although I also study French.
In my free time I love listening to music. Actually, I like all kinds of music. I like going out to shopping with my mother.
I belong to an orchestra in Soria and I often go there and meet a lot of people from different places in Spain. It’s great fun and I learn very much.
In the photo, you can see a cat and a rabbit. The cat, Nika is my pet and the rabbit, Toby is her best friend. They play all the time.

Personal Profile, by Rocío ( 2ºD-NB )

My name's Rocio, I'm 24 years old, I'm Spanish and last Summer I finished my studies at University, I'm a lawyer.
This year I have begun to study English at the Oficial School of Languages, because I think this is very important for my work, as well as for travelling to another country.
I was born and I have lived all my life in Avilés, but during my holidays, I go to a small village in Segovia, its name is Carbonero el Mayor.
Segovia is a beautiful land, where it is possible to admire the Aqueduct, monument of the 1st century and with more than 15 meters of length and the Fortress (el Alcázar), of the 12th. Also, it is possible to visit the Farm, a palace of the 18th century, which is famous for its paintings and gardens that have a great number of fountains; which work three times a year and that are impressive. I was there last summer and it was spectacular!, every year it receives nearly 15.000 visitors from all parts of Spain and from abroad.

The photo shows one of the fountains in the Farm, which is called The Frogs (Las Ranas), and its jet can come to 30 meters of height ; people like to stand below and take a shower in warm days.

With this, I’ll say goodbye and recommend everybody to visit Segovia, since you wont’ be disappointed !

Personal Profile , by Loli ( 2ºA-NB )

Hi Everybody My name's Loli , I was born in Aviles and I live in Las Vegas, I married 15 years ago , I have a son whose name is Ruben , he's 14 years old . My mother was born in Galicia and her name’s Maria. My father was born in Burgos and his name’s Nicolas.
I’m a housewife and a student of English. My hobbies are listening to music , going to the cinema , and reading in Spanish and in English.

We are in December now and I like Christmas, I like to put the Christmas tree, listening to music put the Christmas lights ...

Let me tell you about a trip to London I made in 2006


I went to London in 2006 with some friends , we stayed for four days in a big hotel. It had 140 rooms and was situated in Kensington. The hotel was very good but not aluxury hotel .
We walked every day from 10 to 12 hours and we saw Hide Park, Buckingham Palace, Soho, Picadilly.
We went to Soho two evenings , we ate and drank in a good restaurant and I met different people.
In Harrods I bought a bag with a picture of a dog and I also bought magazines, t-shirts, mugs…
We had a good time with sunny but very cold weather beacause we went there in March, London is fantastic, it is a big city with nice people but I had problems because I didn’t understand English and felt stupid. London is a beautiful city but very expensive.

Personal Profile, by María ( 2ºD-NB )

Hi Everybody!
My name is María. I was born in Lugo, a small city in the north - west of Spain.
When I was younger I studied there and after that I worked at Cangas del Narcea ' s hospital for fifteen years. In Cangas I met my husband and I made a lot of friends.

Nowadays I work in Avilés and I ' m happy here because I have friends, the beach is near...
I'm going to tell you about myself. I am average height and average build. I have medium length wavy brown hair and brown eyes. I wear contact lenses but when I am at home I usually wear glasses.
I think I'm a friendly and extrovert person, but I ' m not very organised, my husband says: "You are very forgetful".
In my free time I like going out to dinner with my friends, but the thing that I like most is travelling and discovering news places. The best way to explore news places is on foot. I like going abroad in Summer because I can have a good time.

Bye. María.

Tests for 2nd Year Students

• Listening Comprehension on Wednesday, 3rd of December.
• Reading Comprehension, Grammar and Vocabulary Test on Wednesday, 10th of December.

Tests for 1st Year Students

• Listening Comprehension on Wednesday, 3rd of December.
• Reading Comprehension, Grammar and Vocabulary Test on Wednesday , 10th of December.

Personal Profile, by Clara ( 2ºD-NB )

Hello!!

My name is Clara. I am sixteen years old , I am Spanish and I live in Pillarno, a little village next to Avilés. I live in a house with my parents . My mother's name is Mª Fe and my father's name is Juan Manuel. I live with my two brothers too : my elder brother, whose name is Juan Manuel, and my little brother, whose name is Pedro. I have a dog , whose name is Luna.
I am a student in my fourth year at the high school and and I like it there.
I have long brown hair and pale green eyes. I wear glasses, but I want to get contact lenses soon. I am of medium height and rather brown skin.
I think, I am a very happy person with a lot of energy and lively. I am friendly, extrovert and very sportive. I am also a bit shy and a little talkative.
In my free time, I love dancing and I like going out with my friends. We go to the cinema, to the disco, etc. I love dancing because it helps me relax and forget everything. I go dancing to a private academy in Avilés. I also go to English classes on Tuesday, on Wednesday and on Thursday, because I don't study English at the high school, I study French.
I decided to study French because I like it a bit more than English.

Bye,
Clara

Personal Profile, by Emilia ( 2ºA-NB )

My name is Emilia. I 've been married for 23 years and I’ve got a daughter, her name is Marina and she is 13 years old.
I live in Avilés , a small city in the north of Spain.
I’ve got a pet whose name is Lucas. He is 8 years old and he is a Yorkshire Terrier that barks a lot.
I am a secretary but I haven’t got a job, so I'm learning English at the Official School of Languages. I have got wavy black hair and my eyes are brown. I am very friendly and sociable. I don’t like staying at home and I prefer going out with my friends.
I like swimming with dolphins as you can see in these photos. When the picture was taken we were in the Caribbean sea.

Personal Profile, by Paco ( 2º D-NB )

Hi, everyone!

My name is Francisco González, but my family and friends call me Paco. I work for a telephone company in Avilés. I have been living in Avilés for 25 years. Before that, I used to live in Madrid. I like living in Avilés, which is a small town, because here I have all that I need without the inconvenients of a big city.

This year I have begun to study English at the Official School of Languages in Aviles, I'm a second year basic level student.

I’m married and I have one son. He is 12 years old.
We like trekking and last summer we began to walk along Camino de Santiago ( Saint James' way ) . It’s a long way that goes from the Pyrenees to the city of Santiago de Compostela in the northwest of Spain. We walked for six days and next year we’ll continue from the place where we have finished this year. We hope to have gone along the whole way in five or six years.

I also like ski and every winter I go skiing with my son, who loves this sport. My wife prefers walking with her snow racquets. This is one of our favourite hobbies because we like a lot the places where it’s practised. The scenary in those places is always spectacular and that makes me feel very, very good.

In the photo you can see me and my son Javier last winter in Candanchú.

Travel to Poland !

Have a look at these two interesting ppt and get to know something more about Poland :

VIAJA A POLONIA Y CONOCE A NUESTROS ETWINNERS

La Polonia por descubrir, de Belén Álvarez Galán

Personal Profile, by Adrián ( 2º D-NB )

Hi everyone!


My name's Adrián, I'm Spanish, and I'm in my fourth year at the high school. I'm studying English in Avilés' Official Languages School too, so I'm glad to write about myself on this blog.

I'm sixteen years old, I'm quite tall and dark (so I have brown eyes and brown hair). I wear glasses and I usually wear sweaters, jeans and trainers.

I think that I'm a smart, responsible person. I think I'm friendly, but a bit shy too. I'm a very hard-working person, who doesn't like leaving things without doing them.
I live in a flat in a small town near Avilés called Las Vegas, with my parents and Samuel, my little 8-year-old brother. My brother and I share a lot of hobbies: we both like video games and building games, like LEGOs. When I was a child, I didn't want to have a brother, but now I wouldn't know how to live without him.

I have a lot of hobbies but my favourite one is Manga and Japanese animation (anime). I started a fansub (a project to subtitle anime or manga done by fans) last summer, and I used to translate a lot of anime chapters, but now I don't have enough time to translate. Fansubs take a lot of free time, and I spend a lot of time studying and doing my homework. Next holidays I'm going to subtitle more!

Well, I 'd like to add just one thing: welcome to Twinblog, everyone! I've never entered a project like this, and I think this is going to be great fun.

Bye,

Adrián Rodríguez Ares (EOI Avilés)

Writing

19th November, 2008
Writing Test for 2nd year Basic Level students

When you say nothing at all.

'When You Say Nothing at All' is a country song written by Paul Overstreett and Don Schlitz. It is among the best-known hit songs for three different performers: Keith Whitley, Alison Krauss , and Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, whose version was his first solo single and a chart-topper in the UK in 1999.

'When You Say Nothing at All' was Keating's first solo single apart from popular Irish group Boyzone. He recorded it in 1999 for the soundtrack of the film Notting Hill. The song would also appear on Keating's solo debut album Ronan the following year.

In 2003, Keating re-recorded the single as a duet with Mexican singer Paulina Rubio, which was released in Mexico and Latin America to promote a hits compilation.

If you want to practice your English with this song, click here.

Murphy ' s Law

Murphy's Law ("If anything can go wrong, it will") was born at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949.
It was named after Capt. Edward A. Murphy, an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981, (a project) designed to see how much sudden deceleration a person can stand in a crash.

Click on the title below and do some exercises taken from Groove to English.

The alien and the underdog.

Who is Barak Obama?

Presidential candidate Barak Obama showed his sense of humour joking about his identity at a white-tie charity dinner in New York city. Obama was not the only one to tell jokes and prove he has a great sense of humour . As you will see, candidate McCain can also be really funny. I found the videos hilarious and enjoyed them a great deal. Why don't you watch and see?

You can also do the following activity to check your understanding:

McCain's 'underdog' joke

(When someone is considered the 'underdog' at a competition or political election, this means they are at a disadvantage or expected to lose.)

At the same charity dinner the Republican candidate didn't waste the opportunity to make some jokes. Who did candidate John McCain thank for giving him support? Can you guess?

Are you surprised? He thanked no other than ... Hillary Clinton!

Can you imagine Zapatero and Rajoy joking like this? Would you like them to do so ?

Hints and tips for the oral exam.

You know you'll have to take a final exam at the end of the year and there is a speaking part you should prepare with special care. I have found the slide show below at Mª José's Blog . There she gives you very useful tips to help you get ready for the test.

Tips for the oral exam

View more presentations from macose.

Every Breath You Take.

I've always had a special weakness for 'Every Breath You Take', which has been one of my favourite songs since the very first time I heard it. I was in London then, and it was a long , long time ago!
The song was written by Sting , originally performed by The Police and released on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity. It became a hit in the 80's and ranks as one of the best songs of all time on several lists, like Rolling Stones'.
The song also had a remarkable music video, whose black-and-white cinematography was widely praised. Both MTV and VH1 named it as one of the greatest music videos ever.
Although the lyrics may seem highly romantic, they weren't originally intended as such. On second thought they make you think of a sinister controlling character watching your every move.
Anyway, I'll always prefer my naive first impression of something romantic.
What do you think? Does it sound romantic to you , or does it sound unnerving , even scary?

'Yes,We can' ; Barak Obama's song.

Will-I-Am of the Black Eyed Peas brought together a cast full of 'stars' to put Barack Obama’s speech to music in a powerful show of support for the Obama campaign.
Obama's oration is quite impressive and his message rings clear:

Change, Hope, Yes We Can.

But do you think he can? Do you think he will win the election and become the next USA president? If he wins, will he bring the promised change to his country?
Who would you prefer for president: Obama or McCain? Why?
I'm really interested in your opinions. You can send a comment just by clicking on the comments link below the song's lyrics.

Song's lyrics:

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.
Yes we can. Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores
and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can. Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized;
women who reached for the ballots;
a President who chose the moon as our new frontier;
and a King who took us to the mountain-top and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality.
(yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can…)

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can. Si Se Puede
(yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can…)

We know the battle ahead will be long,
but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way,
nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
We want change!
(We want change! We want change! We want change…)

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant.
We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check.
We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. We want change!
(We want change! I want change! We want change! I want change…)

The hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA;
we will remember that there is something happening in America;
that we are not as divided as our politics suggests;
that we are one people;
we are one nation;
and together, we will begin the next great chapter in America’s story with three words that will ring from coast to coast;
from sea to shining sea - Yes. We. Can.
(yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can…)

Students' Introductions.

Listen to four adult students introducing themselves. You have to find the mistakes in the texts and correct them.

Motions are Cool !

Last week, while I was surfing the Net, I came across this original technique to learn phonetics. It's called Motion Phonics. I found it very surprising but I really think it may work.
Motion Phonics is a registered methodology system. Free use of the concept and materials is granted by the author, Angel Castaño, except for profitable purposes.

Why don't you give it a try? There's nothing to lose and much to gain!

The Bluest Eyes.

Paul Newman, one of the last great 20th-century movie stars has left us for ever.
He was a stunningly handsome man. His features were so perfect that he could be described as beautiful and he had the most striking blue gaze on the screen. However, He was much more than mere good looks, he was a talented actor, starring in unforgettable films like 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' , 'Cool hand Luke', 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' or 'The Long Hot Summer'.
On September 26 , 2008, the world lost , not only a screen legend but a good decent person, a devoted family man and philanthropist.
His main motto was, 'If you do not exploit your success in order to improve things in the world, then you are really wasting it'.
His death at the age of 83 after a long struggle against cancer has been a great loss indeed.

We'll miss you, 'Blue Eyes'.

Bleeding Love

Name_Leona Louise Lewis

Born_1985-04-03
Hackney, London, England

Genre(s)_R&B, pop, neo soul

Occupation_Singer,songwriter

Website_http://www.leonalewismusic.co.uk/

Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, and winner of the third series of UK television talent show The X Factor. Her UK debut single, 'A Moment Like This', broke a world record after it was downloaded over 50,000 times within 30 minutes.
Her second single, 'Bleeding Love', was the biggest-selling single of 2007 in the UK, topped over thirty national singles charts and became a number one single on the first week in France and number one in the US.
Her debut album, Spirit, was released in Europe in November 2007, and became the fastest-selling debut album ever in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. Released in North America in April 2008, Spirit debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the chart with a debut album.

(Information taken from Wikipedia)

If you like Leona Lewis as much as I do, you'll enjoy this sort of karaoke video. Whenever I watch it, I can't help singing along with her. Why don't you do the same? Just for fun!

Bleeding Love

Video by Hayzz

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

'Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word' is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It’s a ballad about unrequited love.
In 2002, Blue released a version of this song, and Elton John appeared in both the recording and the music video as 'Featured Artist'. Ray Charles and Elton John also recorded this song as a 'duet' in Ray's 2004 posthumous release ‘Genius Loves Company'.

If you want to do some listening activities based on this song, click here.

Activities

In this blog you can find interactive activities sorted by their level of difficulty or the language skills they deal with. There is also a section with activities for children, under the heading Kids.
I hope you find them useful to improve your English.

• Listening
• Reading
• Writing
• Use of English
• Pronunciation

• Listening
• Reading
• Writing
• Use of English
• Pronunciation
• Speaking

• 
  

• Listening

• Reading

• Writing

• Use of English

• Pronunciation

• Listening
• Reading

Cambio de Grupo.

CAMBIO DE GRUPO.

Los alumnos que deseen cambiar de grupo deberán solicitarlo en Secretaría, desde el 29 de septiembre hasta el día 17 de octubre (último día para solicitar cambios)

Solo se concederá cambio de grupo en los siguientes casos:

- si hay plaza disponible.

- o si se permuta con otro alumno del grupo solicitado – en este caso, ambos alumnos deberán solicitarlo simultáneamente en Secretaría.

NOTA: En los tablones de anuncios de la entrada, frente a la Conserjería, existen hojas de PERMUTAS. Allí los alumnos podrán anunciarse para contactar entre sí y poder simultáneamente presentar la solicitud de cambio de grupo.

La Jefatura de Estudios atenderá a cualquier alumno que a lo largo del curso tenga problemas para asistir a clase con su grupo, y analizará la posibilidad de efectuar un cambio.

El impreso para solicitar cambio de grupo se puede descargar en la web y entregarlo en la jefatura de estudios junto con el carné de la Escuela (no el de la biblioteca)

Es responsabilidad del profesor evaluar solamente a los alumnos que configuran sus grupos con el fin de evitar problemas a la hora de emitir actas con los resultados finales por lo que no se podrá admitir en clase alumnos que no figuren en las listas.

Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh

Javier Bardem´s English has improved an awful lot. In this video he talks about his role in the Cohen brothers' film 'No Country for Old Men', where he plays the role of psycho-killer Anton Chigurh. A nice character indeed!

and do the activity.

Come on! It's not difficult.

Fechas de evaluación

1ª evaluación	18 de diciembre (los grupos que no tienen clase los jueves tendrán su sesión el 17 diciembre)
2ª evaluación	12 de marzo (los grupos que no tienen clase los jueves tendrán su sesión el 11 marzo)
3ª evaluación	28 de mayo (los grupos que no tienen clase los jueves tendrán su sesión el 27 mayo)

EOI Avilés : Inicio del curso 2008-09

Día 23 de septiembre de 2008.

Inicio del curso escolar 2008/09.
El alumnado de la EOI de Avilés deberá personarse el día 23 de septiembre en la EOI para ver su grupo y horario de asistencia a clase, y realizar la presentación con su profesor/a en las aulas e idiomas que les correspondan, y que se anunciarán en los tablones de anuncios del centro.

Books

I´d like to dedicate a special place in this blog to books; to the books we loved and still love, to those books that we couldn’t put down, to the ones that made us think, laugh or cry, even to the books that just helped us kill time on the beach, in the park or anywhere else.
I´m an avid reader, always have been, and I´ve read loads of books, both in Spanish and English.
I try to find some time for reading. However, as life tends to become more and more hectic nowadays for most of us, it isn´t always that easy.
In books we can find all sorts of things. Good books contain knowledge and wisdom , poetry and humour … we can learn so much from them!
Reading is also one of the best ways to improve your language skills, in your own language or in a foreign one, but above all, it is a wonderful source of pleasure and enjoyment. Reading is fun, a pleasure nobody should miss.
There have been readers witty enough to put into a few words what all the people who love books feel when they are curled up reading. That´s why I have chosen a few quotations I really like. Some of them are funny, others seem more serious, but all of them hold much truth.

When you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there's all heaven and earth in a book, a real book.

~Christopher Morley

To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations - such is a pleasure beyond compare.

~Kenko Yoshida

A house without books is like a room without windows.

~Heinrich Mann

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.
~Toni Morrison

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.

~Groucho Marx

Never judge a book by its movie.

~J.W. Eagan

He who lends a book is an idiot. He who returns the book is more of an idiot.

~Arabic Proverb

Every book, every volume you see here has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it.

~Carlos Ruiz Zafón

If you like these quotations , you can find more at The Quote Garden

Have a look at my bookcase !

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

Resources

There are a lot of web sites and blogs throughout the Internet which can be really useful to help you improve your English.
I have selected some really interesting ones and made up a list for you.
If you notice that one of the links is no longer available, or if you can suggest any others which you think should be included, please , let me know.

The following sites contain activities with different levels of difficulty (ranging from beginner to advanced) which are clearly organised in sections according to skill area and language level:
General

• ELLA- Site aimed to help the students that are taking part in the new English courses that started in 2007 in all the EOIs in Asturias
  
• ESL Independent Study Lab- Contains over 250 Internet resources for ESL/EFL students. All Web sites are clearly annotated.
• Agenda Web- Hundreds of free exercises to learn English online: grammar, vocabulary, verbs, songs and videos.
• Isabel's ESL Site- Exercises, Web based Materials, Workshops and links for Primary and Secondary Education.
• esl.about.com-All sorts of activities to practice your English: grammar and vocbulary exercises, reading, listening comprehension and speaking dialogues.
• La Mansión del Inglés- Very interesting Spanish site with lots of exercises.
• om Multumedia- Free courses for Spanish speaking students of English, from beginner to advanced level . Very interesting and free of charge.
• Recursos Multimedia Malted-From elementery to upper intermediate level.

Listening

• BBC Learning English- Improve your listening skills with BBC English
• esl.about.com- Listening activities graded by level.
• Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab- Everyday Conversations with Adult and Children's Voices
• Adult Learning Activities-Extremely good. It contais audio and video activtities to improve your reading and vocabulary skills as well as your oral comprehension.
• Real English- ESL site that utilizes authentic and natural videos of people speaking real English on streets.
• Elllo free online listening resource of over 1,000 listening activities
• British Council Listen & Watch. Podcasts and videos with listening comprehension activities to improve your skills. Several different levels. Very interesting.

Reading

• ESL Independent Study Lab-Reading- From beginner to advanced level.

Grammar and vocabulary

• englisch-hilfen.de -English grammar, vocabulary, exercises, exams, information for learners of English as a foreign language ...
• Interactiv Lernen- Interactive exercises at different levels.

Dictionaries

• Cambridge Dictionaries Online -Several dictionaries for people learning English at different levels.
• Language Guide English- Picture dictionary with audio. Very good for elementary level students and children.
• Free online Dictionary of English Pronunciation A free online Talking Dictionary of English Pronunciation.
• Icarito-Picture dictionary with audio for basic level students
• Word Magic English-Spanish Dictionary
• thesaurus- It is very good to look for synonims. It also offers definitions, of course.