Jack-o-lantern

People have been making jack o'lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit.
While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries took the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they went to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o'lanterns.
(source: History Channel)

It's Halloween time!

Halloween's origins date back more than 2,000 years. On what we consider November 1, Europe's Celtic peoples celebrated their New Year's Day, called Samhain (SAH-win).
The night before Samhain—what we know as Halloween—spirits were thought to walk the Earth as they traveled to the afterlife. Fairies, demons, and other creatures were also said to be abroad.

Samhain was later transformed as Christian leaders co-opted pagan holidays. In the seventh century Pope Boniface IV decreed November 1 All Saints' Day, or All Hallows' Day. The night before Samhain continued to be observed with bonfires, costumes, and parades, though under a new name: All Hallows' Eve—later "Halloween."
Read more ...

These videos showcase the history of Halloween. Below each video you can find the link to its transcript. Remember that this is listening practice, not a competition!! So, take your time and watch it as many times as you consider.




Click here if you want to get the transcript.

And this is another video about halloween history and customs by History Channel.



Click here if you want to get the transcript.

Writing an informal letter

This is a kind reminder, you have homework, you have to write an informal letter to Mark (Unit 1). 

If you need some help, go to 'Writing' where you will find PDF documents with DOs and DONTs, general especifications and useful vocabulary as well as some informal letter models to give you ideas. 

The key to how to write a letter/email whether it is informal, formal, personal or cover format is to communicate in the clearest way possible. To do it so, include all the points in the task, use appropriate openings and closings, organize your ideas in paragraphs, check punctuation and spelling, and use all that vocabulary and structures we have been learning. 

I'm sure you will do great! 

 

English we say without thinking

Not all English phrases are created equal! Some get used a lot by native speakers, though they don't even think about it.

Find out what phrases Alisha and Michael say without thinking and give your English a native flair!

   

Let's practise 'be used to', 'get used to', 'used to'

Some of you seemed to still need some more practice so, here you have some more exercises for you to do. If once they are done you still need some more, just let me know!

- Exercise 1 - used to and be used to

- Exercise 2 - be used to / get used to / used to

- Exercise 3 - choose the best option to complete the sentence

- Exercise 4 - complete the text

- Exercise 5 - choose the correct answer

- Exercise 6 - choose the correct answer

- Exercise 7 - complete the sentences with the correct option

Let's talk about fashion

Watch this video with vocabulary about fashion, not only you will improve your vocabulary but also your listening skills.

Be used to / get used to / used to

This is the presentation we saw in class


Remember:

USED TO shows that a particular thing always happened or was true in the past but it no longer happens or is no longer true now:

• David used to live in Madrid.
• She used to exercise every morning, but since she had that terrible accident she doesn't exercise anymore.
• Why don't you come and see me like you used to?

BE USED TO is used to say that something is normal, not unusual:

• I'm used to living alone.
• Don't worry, John is used to driving for long hours. He has worked as a professional driver for 20 years.

GET USED TO shows that something is in the process of becoming normal:

• She found the heels too high, but she got used to them.
• Since the divorce, she has become very sad. But I think she'll get used to her new life.
• I got used to living in Canada in spite of the cold weather.

IMPORTANT!!!

Get used to and be used to are followed by either a noun or a gerund.

Get/be used to + noun	Get /be used to + gerund (verb+ing)
I got used to the noise I'm used to the cold weather	I got used to waking up early I'm used to working late at night

Go to "Grammar" if you want to download, print or just watch the explanation on your screen on a PDF document.

Phrasal verb GET

Are you having problems with Phrasal verb GET? Why don't you try these exercises? There are many ways to learn vocabulary but the most effective one is to use it. Come on... Go ahead! 

- exercise 1

- exercise 2 

- Exercise 3

- A page with many exercises for you to practise. 

- Go to 'Our filing cabinet' for some more exercises. 

Tea with ... (video)

These are the videos from our session having tea with ... Janet Marsden. Congratulations, you did really well ... Keep up the good work!

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Tea with ... (photos)

 

Last Wednesday 14 October, we had tea with amazing Janet Marsden at the library. By the looks of it you had a great time working with the music of the English language. The session had beed programmed for an hour but it lasted for two hours! I took some photos and videos for you, and as promised I'm posting them here in our blog. Thank you so much for your interest, and I'm so happy you enjoyed the session. Are you looking forward to attending a new one??? 

Habitual behaviour - practice

Let's practise habitual behaviour with these exercises

- Exercise 1

- Exercise 2

- Exercise 3

Habitual behaviour in the past

REMEMBER: to talk about habitual behaviour in the past we do it in different ways.

• used to - to talk about past habits and situations

                    I used to paint
                    We used to live in New York when I was a kid

• would - only to talk about past habits

                     My father would read me a tale before going to bed

• past simple -  in the same way as we use 'used to' or 'would'

                    I lived/used to live in New York when I was a kid

If you need a more accurate explanation on a document, go to "Grammar". You can download, print or just watch the PDF document on your screen.

Habitual behaviour in the present

Remember: To talk about habitual behaviour in the present we use:

Simple present: facts that are generally true.
     The Earth revolves around the sun.
     Children are over-protected these days.

Adverbs of frequency: how often things occur.
     I never go to bed before midnight.
     She is always late for work.

Tend to/Will: things that generally tend to happen.
     Men will /tend to prefer to talk about football.
     My kids will/tend to eat watching telly on the sofa.

Keep + verb + ing: repeated behaviour.
     I keep forgetting to switch off the computer.

Present continuous + always: habits that annoy us or happen more often than usual.
     He’s always leaving dirty clothes all over the place.

If you need a more accurate explanation on a document, go to "Grammar". You can download, print or just watch the PDF document on your screen.