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.