Present Continuos

You can do the following exercises to practise the use of the present continuous tense.

• Present Continuous (1,2)
• Exercises (1,2,3,4,5,6,7)

Consulta de notas on-line

Puedes consultar las calificaciones de tus hijos introduciendo solamente tu NIF, NIE y la fecha de caducidad del mismo. Tienes que señalar a continuación el centro de tus hijos/as (en nuestro caso, Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Avilés), así como la fecha de nacimiento de los menores.
Este servicio tambien puede utilizarse para consultar las propias notas en el caso de los alumnos adultos.

Accede al servicio en www.asturias.es.

Consulta de notas académicas on-line

Requisitos:

• Ser tutor legal de un alumno/a matriculado en esta EOI.
• Ser alumno/a mayor de edad matriculado en esta EOI.

Datos necesarios para la consulta:

• Identificación del solicitante.
• Centro educativo.
• Fecha de nacimiento del hijo/a.

Plazo de solicitud

• Todo el año

Ver calendario escolar

Summertime

Yes, it's summer and we are on holiday. I think I need to unwind for a while, like all of you, so I won't be posting as often as usual. Anyway, you can find a good number of activities here to keep your English up to date. Dont't take your computer to the beach, though; it would be a bit freakish, don't you think?
Have a great holiday, will you? See you in September.

Summertime and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich and your ma is good lookin'
So hush little baby, don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're goin' to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But till that morning
There's a nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by

Drastic Difference in Accounts of Flotilla Raid

Israel and Pro-Palestinian activists are taking turns giving their account of the flotilla raid, but the differences are drastic.

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Harry’s Final Battle.

In a previous post I told you how much I like Harry Potter book series. It really has been a discovery for me. Who would have thought there was a parallel universe just round the corner?

Well, there is one; JK Rowling has made it up for us.
Whenever we open one of her books we enter a magic world ihabited by Harry himself, his hideous nemesis Lord Voldemort, his friends and foes, elves, goblins, giant squids and all sorts of mythical creatures.

Maybe the weird looking lady who lives next door is a witch (after all, you have always thought she looked like one) or that cute little child similing at you in the playground may be the next chosen one, the next boy who will live to become a hero and save the world from some sort o of megalomaniac creep.

Since there is always a Lord Voldemort trying to rule the earth and spoil the fun for the rest of us, who just want to make the most of our time in this crazy world, we could do with an army like Dumbledore’s.

Perhaps it is not too late and mankind has not become too cynical to believe in heroes any more.

In this series you have the good guys, you have the evil ones and then Severus Snape. There always seems to be more to him than meets the eye.

This mysterious outcast, always surly and sarcastic, with his silky cultured voice and his unkempt sinister looks, can't leave anyone indifferent, which probably explains why lots of readers love him with as much passion as others hate him. It is up to you to decide who is right. I have already made up my mind: he is the best and I could not care less whether he is good or bad.

Today I’m not going to write a review on any of the books, I’m going to encourage you to read the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and thus enter the parallel universe round the corner.
Come on, click on the title and read while you listen to Stephen Fry's compelling voice giving life to the characters.

I warn you that it’s a dark creepy chapter but, what could you expect when it is called : The Dark Lord Ascending ?

How I became a Harry Potter fan

I'm crazy about Harry Potter. I've read all the books in the series and now that it's over I really miss the young wizard and his friends as well as his teachers and classmates. What's more, I even miss his nemesis Lord Voldermort and the creepy deatheaters.
If you want to know how and why I got hooked on these books, click on the wand below.

How to write an essay

Writing Tips

View more presentations from anarosaleda.

Happy Mother's Day !

Thank you for loving me,
Having me in.
All you have given
Now I hold within.
Kid in a vacuum
You made your own,
Or else I had been
Unborn and unknown.*

*Or, "Unloved and alone."

Poem by Nicholas Gordon

Hi, E.S.L. Bloggers!

My name is María Jesús Balán and I teach English at Avilés EOI.
It is a pleasure to welcome you to ESL Bloggers, my place on the blogosphere and , from now on, your place too. Make yourselves at home!
There are so many people , like you and I , who use English as their second language ! Many people who like listening to music, watching their favourite films or series, reading books, surfing the net , talking to others and making new friends ...
When we start learning a new language, we all think that we´ll never be able to understand fims which aren´t dubbed , or read books, or chat in the language we are learning. Sometimes it may seem hard to reach your goal but never doubt that you´ll succeed , as long as you keep trying , because the only key to success is practice, practice and more pratice.
This blog wants to offer you the chance to practise your English and ... why not ? have some fun sharing and talking about some of the things you enjoy.

10 blogs worth browsing

Our blog has been chosen as one of their ten selected Blogs worth visiting by our fellow bloggers Saro Rosales and Chiew N Pang. This mention means a lot to me, specially when it comes from two people who are doing such great work and whose blogs, Saro Rosales and A click to Climb are excellent.
This is part of an interesting inititiative called "Vale la pena ficar de olho nesse blog!", whose aim is to introduce a selection of blogs that you consider really interesting and valuable.
These are the ones I have chosen, among all the great ones I have come across throughout the blogosphere.
Visit them, they are really worth it!

• About reading
• Blog de Cristina
• Bloggin' away
• eoio's advanced students
• Feel like blogging?
• Helendipity Weblog
  
• Our Advanced English blog
• fromcangaswithlove.wordpress.com
• Shall we blog?
• The Full Monty

Finding the Famous ‘Afghan Girl’

Check out this great MSN Video: Finding the Famous ‘Afghan Girl’

She was one of the world's most famous faces, yet no one knew who she was. Her image appeared on the front of magazines and books, posters, lapel pins, and even rugs, but she didn't know it. After searching for 17 years, National Geographic has once again found the Afghan girl with the haunting green eyes.

The mysterious Afghan girl whose direct gaze has intrigued the West for so long is Sharbat Gula. She lives in a remote region of Afghanistan with her husband and three daughters.

Sharbat was located nearly two decades after her picture appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985. She had no idea her face had become an icon, said Steve McCurry, the photographer who made the famous portrait for National Geographic in 1984, and who tried to find her again during many subsequent trips he made to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In January 2002, a National Geographic team returned to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan, where Sharbat Gula was originally photographed, to search for her. She was identified through a series of contacts that led to her brother and husband, who agreed to ask her if she was willing to be interviewed.

Sharbat has been photographed on only two occasions: in 1984 and at the reunion with Steve McCurry. She had never seen her famous portrait before it was shown to her by the photographer.

Special English offers you a very interesting course to learn American English while you watch videos or listen to real news taken from radio programmes. Click here and visit this great site.

Tips for Everyday life

BBC raw is a very interesting site where you will find loads of useful information, advice and tips for everyday life issues like money, shopping, computers, reading, etc.
The articles are really interesting and they are dealt with in an informal way, which is fun to read, listen and watch. You'll also find a lot of videos and audio files which will help you improve your listening as well as you reading skills. There is even a section dedicated to writing.
If you need subtitles to understand the videos, they are also available just by choosing the subtitle option when you play them. So, what are you waiting for? Click on the picture above and enter BBC raw!

Get that Job

BBC Learning English is full of activities and quizzes which can help you improve your knowledge of career-related vocabulary and offer some tips on things like how to write a good CV , a letter of application or do well in an interview.

You can work your way through the site step by step, from 'Job Search' to 'Interviews' - just click on 'What's next?' on the right of the page each time you have completed an activity. Or you can go straight to whichever units are of most interest to you by using the links you will find at the top of the page.

Redemption Song

Redemption Song

When Bob Marley wrote this song in 1979, he was already in a lot of pain from the cancer he suffered. It's spiritual theme was problably the result of his struggle with illness. This song is a chant to freedom , freedom from all kinds of slavery , specially the most important one : that of the spirit.

"Hello, Goodbye" is a song written by Paul MacCartney, although the songwriting credit is Lennon/McCartney. It was first recorded by the English rock band The Beatles. The song was released as a single in November 1967, and topped the charts in both the United States and Britain,where it spent seven weeks at number one.

With the release of the song, McCartney gave an explanation of its meaning in an interview: "The answer to everything is simple. It's a song about everything and nothing. If you have black you have to have white. That's the amazing thing about life."

If you want to do some listening practice with "Hello, Goodbye", watch the video and then do the exercises. (This activity belongs to Ana Carmen, form Oviedo EOI)

Cinema and Literature

In the history of cinema, many novels have been turned into films with really different outcomes. How much do you know about novels and movies?
If you are interested in either of them or both, you can visit our EOI Library and see the exhibition dedicated to cinema and literature. Also, you can take part in our on-line contest about this topic and show us how much of a movie buff you are.

Do not forget to sent the form with your answers, you name and e-mail address before the 16th of April if you want to win one of the prizes.
Click here for more details on this contest.

The Black Pearls

After doing all the past tense exercises in the previous post, and the ones in your workbook (File 5), you can start reading 'The Black Pearls', our compulsory book.
Read chapters 1-4 and do the exercises here.

Book Review

When you finish reading 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' , our compulsory reading, you should write a review and send it to me for correction.
You can read the book on-line if you like, you just have to click here.
You will find more interesting reading material at English Story Reading Room. All the books there are available for free.

When you are ready to start writing your review ( 150-200 words), remember that it should be organized somewhat like this:

Introduction, which gives facts and background information concerning the book and its author.

Main body, usually made up of three parts. The first giving a concise outline of the plot, the second mentioning the main characters and their role in the story and thirdly any relevant themes the book touches upon while it unravels.

Conclusion, which should include any general comments and opinion as well as a positive or negative recommendation supported by reasons.

The style of the presentation very much depends on your audience, therefore it can either be formal or semi-formal. Present tenses are normally used as well as a variety of adjectives to make the speech more interesting.

Useful language: Recommendations

· It’s well worth reading

· It will change the way you think of….

· I wouldn’t recommend it because….

· It’s bound to be on the best sellers list

· I highly/strongly recommend it

· It’s a highly entertaining read

· It’s a bore to read

· It’s certainly at the top of my list of favourites

· Fans of this author will no doubt be thrilled with this latest edition

· It’s a must!

· Don’t bother with this one

· I definitely recommend that you add this to your collection!

Choose the vocabulary according to your level using adjectives and expressions like the ones below:

INTERMEDIATE: dull, entertaining, hilarious, moving, predictable, remarkable, shocking, surprising, tragic, unpredictable, violent, a cliffhanger, blackly funny, breathtaking, deeply moving, dull, heart warming...

Your can read the whole post giving advice about book reviews at our Library Blog, About Reading. Thanks to Mª José and Alison for their excellent tips.

If you feel like giving voice to your writings or to the texts you are reading, you can use this tool. It does not sound very natural, but it is not bad either. You can give it a try and see if you like it.

2nd Term Tests

1st Year Basic Level:

17th February : Listening Comprehension
23rd February: Reading Comprehension + Writing


2nd Year Intermediate Level:

17th February : Reading Comprehension + Writing
23rd February: Listening Comprehension

Passive Voice

Study the following presentation and then do some exercises to practise the passive voice in English.
Passive Voice

View more presentations from Carmen Torres.

Now click here and do the exercises.

Pep Guardiola's song

Pep Guardiola is F.C. Barcelona's coach.
Pep Guardiola's favourite song is: "Viva la vida" by Coldplay. He loves it because he likes Coldplay, he always listens to it before leaving the bus for before each match and he lets his players listen to this song to motivate them.
That's the reason why they got the triple!

Written communication in a foreign language is no simple task and it requires a lot of practise. However, there is nothing we cannot achieve if we try real hard.
Good news! You can even enjoy yourself while you learn, cause sharing stories has been and always will be a source of pleasure and fun.
This is what my 2nd year intermediate level students at Avilés EOI have written for their short story writing assignment. I had a very good time reading them and I can say it takes a great deal of creativity and imagination to produce such nice pieces of writing.
I encourage you to read them and send some commets to the writers. People who try to do their best to put words together and express what their imagination has produced always appreciate comments from the readers.

Never Twice ( by Juan José González Muñiz)

The sun was nearly set. Judging by the piles of ruins which could be seen, in former times, there surely existed huge buildings in that place, buildings which were the pride of the people who lived there. Nowadays, only the ruins remained; the bushes and the trees grew among them and were slowly hiding their old splendour.
Park, a boy about fifteen years old, walked with difficulty along the old streets full of stones, bricks, wood, plastic, rubble…
He was coming back home after spending a day searching for food. He lived with a small group of people. They were survivors of the disaster that had destroyed humanity. The governments of big and small countries alike had paid attention to the development of atomic weapons.
Powerful countries did so to defend themselves against other powerful ones. The small countries did the same to defend themselves against the small ones. All the countries, big or small, followed the same policy, which they called “Secure Mutual Destruction”. They thought that it was the best policy to ensure security and peace in the world.
Everything started with a minor problem of borders between two small countries, which didn’t hesitate to use small tactic missiles with a small nuclear head. The situation got worse with the intervention of their protectors. The flaws in their self defence and communication systems lead to a massive use of nuclear weapons in order to ensure each country’s security. So, thousands of missiles flew in all directions destroying major towns and storage silos.
Human and animal life was destroyed. Only a few groups survived isolated, without contact.
Park came into the shelter, he left the roots that he had picked up and went to meet Anuk. Anuk was in his eighties and lived apart in a small hut. Park had always liked him. He usually spent a long time sitting in a corner listening to old stories about life before the disaster and Anuk would explain how things worked. The rest of the group thought he was to blame for the disaster because he had been working in a nuclear investigation centre.
That day, Park couldn’t find him. He went back to the shelter and asked where he was. He froze at the answer. Anuk had been executed because they found out he had built a wheel to carry wood to his hut.
The group had decided on his execution because they thought that could be the start of a new scientific development, and they couldn’t allow it because it might lead to another disaster. So, they didn’t hesitate and killed him.

Three o'clock

It was three o’clock in the morning when the phone rang.

She got out of bed and run to the kitchen, where the phone was. The feeling of her bare feet on the cold floor kept her awake as she made her way to the kitchen.

She picked it up and answered, but nobody said a thing. She hung up the phone very annoyed, went back to bed and tried to catch the dream she was having. No chance. It was the best dream she’d ever had and some stupid phone call suddenly ended it. She couldn’t even remember what the dream was about!

As soon as she closed her eyes, the phone started ringing again. Two past three in the morning now. She hadn’t got to the kitchen when the phone stopped ringing.

She went back to bed, locked her bedroom door and closed her eyes. The phone rang again, but this time she decided to let it ring until it eventually stopped.

All of a sudden, when she was happily sleeping, she woke up.

It was one minute to three in the morning. Would the phone start ringing?

The Nightmare

Everyting started with a big explosion, the shock wave travelled along the shuttle and all the alarms went off; it was the signal that something was wrong...really wrong and, possibly, that was only the beginning.

John, the co-pilot of “Universe” aircraft jumped out of bed, quickly got dressed and ran to the cockpit.

When he arrived there he found that the noise was not a false alarm, that it was a real disaster. A lot of buttons on the instrument panel were flashing, the master alarm was beeping every single second, one screen showed data from the central pc informing of malfunction in both engines and Muller, the pilot, was on the ground unconscious.

John was terrified; the shuttle was out of control and had started to fall down. Quickly, he took the controls and struggled to lift the shuttle, but it was impossible, the aircraft was hopeless and the probability to survive the impact was null.

He connected the loudspeaker and informed all the crew they had to abandon the shuttle on the escape capsules.

Unfortunately, it was too late and only a couple of seconds later the shuttle exploded and that was the end...

- “John, wake up please, we have a problem”- When John opened his eyes he understood that the accident had been a nightmare – “what's happened?”
- “John, we need you, we have a little problem. We've detected a malfunction in the engines, the cockpit's door is closed and Muller doesn’t answer us”
- In that moment, John´s face suddenly changed, and he only gave and a simple order:
- “Run to the escape capsules!!!”

It was three o'clok in the morning when....

It was three o’clock in the morning when the phone rang. I was sleeping and it was freezing outside.
«Who is calling me at this hour?», I wondered.
I got out of bed and ran quickly to pick up the phone. In that moment, the phone stopped ringing. As soon as I checked it, I realised that it was a private call.
I went back to bed and I fell asleep but, suddenly, the phone rang again.
«This cannot be happening to me», I shouted loudly while the phone bell stopped ringing.
Five calls later, I decided to disconnect the phone so that I could finally rest.
The next morning I came across my friend Peter, who was laughing at me, so I asked him why he was so amused. He said that he’d just read a fantastic joke but I didn’t believe him. Then he told me that the night before he’d been calling to a random phone number just to play a prank.
«You are silly», I said, «You were calling me, cabbagehead».

IT WAS THREE O´CLOCK IN THE MORNING WHEN THE PHONE RANG...

It was three o´clock in the morning when the phone rang,

“Jeff?, This is Mrs Sweet, your neighbour. Sorry for calling so late, but I have heard a noise and it seemed that someone was trying to get into your garage…”.

I started to think that it could be a burglar. That night I had been watching the news, and they talked about a dangerous mugger who had just escaped from the city prison.

I felt terrified, and immediately, I went downstairs to the study where I kept my baseball bat.

After that, I headed for the garage straight away to face the burglar. When I arrived at the garage I could see an enormous shadow opposite me and it scared me.

Finally, I decided to move closer and I could see my terrifying murderer…It was Mrs. Sweet´s cat, Puppy, which had come into my garage for the umpteenth time.

Tomorrow night I’ll probably cut my phone line.

It was three o'clock in the morning when the phone rang

It was three o’clock in the morning when the phone rang. It was my brother-in-law telling me that my first nephew had just been born. What marvellous news! He also told me that my sister and the baby were all right. I still remember that night, I was so nervous… I could hardly hold back my tears.
At about nine o’clock in the morning I went to the hospital, I wanted to meet Andrés, which was going to be his name. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.

Now he is twenty and, of course, he is still my favourite nephew. We get on really well.
From my point of view, having your first nephew, especially if you haven’t had children yet, is a wonderful experience. You can play with him, buy him a lot of presents and let him do nearly everything. Fortunately, you don’t have to bring him up yourself.

The difficult part starts when you have your own children, then you are their mother, not their aunty, and you mustn’t allow them to do whatever they want. It’s time to help them grow up into sensible men or women.

Maybe, when I become a grandmother, I’ll be able to spoil children again. It will be fun.

Planet 51

One of your classmates, Vanessa has sent me this nice video. It's the trailer for a new film called Planet 51. It's easy to understand and really funny. Why don't you watch it and then try to answer the questions below? Come on, you can do it!

1. Where is Planet 51?
2. Life in Planet 51 is ___________
3. the children are ___________
4. Everything is __________
5. What is coming to Planet 51?
6. Where does the visitor come from?
   
7. What will happen to the little alien boy if he doesn't open his mouth wide?
8. Does the alien dog remind you of something?

Mini Sagas

A mini saga is a story which must be told in exactly 50 words. The original idea came from science fiction writer Brian Aldiss and the British newspaper 'The Daily Telegraph' has run several mini-saga competitions so far.
My 2nd year intermediate level studens at Aviles EOI have written their own mini sagas and would like to share them with you. Read and enjoy.

A Holiday Romance

“Each 28^th of August I’ll be on this beach waiting for you. This isn’t a holiday romance. It’s everlasting love ”.

August 28^th 2009.

A man was scattering his wife’s ashes into the sea while another one was walking along the seashore and waiting for someone, like every summer since 1980.

By Susana Fonseca

The Lie

-"I'm Frank Tierney. What's your name, lovely?".
Three hours later they were having their last drink in a club, after a delicious dinner in the most romantic restaurant ever. Suddenly, when they were just about to jump into a cab, his phone rang:
-" Marc, darling, are you gonna be long?".

By María Fernández

Never Again

“Things don’t usually happen twice”.

Robert’s so worried about this fact that he always carries a camera. His wife says he’s obsessed.

Last September they suddenly came across Brad Pitt in Avilés. Robert took a photograph of his wife with the actor. Now, she always says: “Remember to bring the camera”.

By Nacho Pulido

"I'm gonna give up smoking"
Can anyone fulfil this resolution? I think it’s nearly impossible, at least for me.

Although I gave up smoking twenty years ago, I’m not sure if I will pick it up again. Most of us make the same mistakes once and again, even though we know how dangerous they are.

By Susana Fonseca

She got the long-awaited e-mail, it said that they had found a man who fit the description of her ideal man she had given them.

She´d spent too many years lonely, so she´d decided to go to that dating agency.

There was just a problem, the man was her ex-husband.

By Patricia Pérez Ordóñez

Guess who!

Look at the descriptions of the celebrities when they were children.

Who is he ?

He's very thin and has short dark straight hair with a fringe. He has fair skin and in the picture he looks happy. He's wearing a white t-shirt under a spotted white shirt and a dark vest. I've decided to describe him because he looks like my husband when he was nine.

Guess who!- Adrian's turn

He's Marilyn Manson!
Now it's my turn:
She looks very young in her photo, she's blonde, and she's wearing a very beautiful dress.
Who do you think she is?

Emi ' s turn

She is slim. She has hazel eyes. She has short curly hair. She is wearing a dark sweater and I think that she is wearing white earrings. She's wearing silver or golden jewellery round her neck. Nowadays she is a famous actress. She loves Manolo's shoes and Mr. Big too. I saw her in "Sex and the City" . Who is she?

Any's Description

He's a famous footballer.He plays in a Spanish team. He's tall. He has short, dark hair. He's good-looking. He lives in Madrid with his wife, and his four boys. It's very easy....
Who is he?

Chema's Description

Very easy!
She's a pretty actress. She's not very tall. She has dark hair. She lives in America, but she's Spanish.

Who is she?

Reyes's Description

He isn't tall and his hair is dark. He's Spanish and speaks other languages. He drives very well and he is very fast.

Who is he?

Yolanda's Description

He´s a famous politician. He´s tall and thin. He has short, brown hair. He´s Spanish. He´s married and he has two daugthers. His wife sings in a chorus.
Who is he?

Carmen's Description

He´s a famous man, he´s tall and good-looking. He´s English, but he works in many countries in the world.
This man has many partners, and kisses very well, this man drives a fantastic Bently and many other luxurious cars
He´s a womanizer. He's a really hot man.