OPEN YOUR EYES

Please,

Open your eyes and Pay attention... 

                                                       Photograph by Meral Alkan

Ready, Steady, Go!

...

Let's start the new school year with an easy task.

Watch the following 3 music videos and answer these questions:

a) What do they have in common?

b) In what sense are they different?

                                                                                            Video 1

Video 2

Video 3



Now, Complete the following chart:

	Music Video by…	Performing the song …
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

In which of the following 4 websites can you find  the LYRICS of the song by Rihanna?

WEBSITES	YES / NO
www.lyrics.com
www.azlyrics.com
www.metrolyrics.com
www.lyricsmode.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Remember :

Open your eyes and 

Please, ... 
Don't stop the Music!

PS. Thank you Meral for your picture.

It is an authentic honor!

You are an authentic artist!

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES

***********************

¿Existe mejor día que hoy, Día Europeo de las Lenguas, para retomar "English@Edrissis" después del parón veraniego, darle la bienvenida a los que se asoman por vez primera a este blog y desearle suerte a los que inician el nuevo curso escolar 2011/2012?

***********************

Today, 26th September, is the European Day of Languages. 

So, you are invited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the European Day of Languages - if you wish.

Can you think of a better day to start using again this blog "English @Edrissis"?

Welcome:

* to all my students of this new school year, and 

* to my new European friends, after presenting "English@Edrissis" in Italy, during the Study Visit   (Group  nº 71) "USING ICT IN EDUCATION", to experts from 15 different countries (CYPRUS, CZECH REPUBLIC, ENGLAND, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, LITHUANIA, NORTHERN IRELAND, NORWAY, POLAND, ROMANIA, SLOVENIA, SWEDEN and TURKEY).

In my opinion, there is not a better day to welcome you all !!

So, as the Italian says,...

... Benvenuti !!

A warming-up activity:

As an "ice-breaker", let's do the following activity

to celebrate this European Day of Languages :

In the following video, you can listen to my wish for this new school year 2011/2012. 

Don't worry. They are only 2 words.

Did you get the 2 words? 

Now, in pairs, can you guess how do they say that wish in each of the 15 countries previously mentioned?

        Iyi şanslar           Buena Suerte           Good luck       Powodzenia        Sėkmės

             
   Lykke til      Kali Tichi      Lycka till      Veliko sreče     Bonne chance      Noroc     
     


          Hodně štěstí       Adh mor ort         Onnea       Viel Glück        Buona fortuna


 

   How many can you match while listening to "Contradanza", by The Planets?

(You have 3 minutes and 14 seconds).

Now you can watch the video, after having completed the previous task.

Please, Pay attention to the Lyrics of "Contradanza".

( ;-)

___________________________

At home:
Complete the following chart:

COUNTRY	NATIONALITY	WISH
Example: SPAIN ---------------------- CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC ENGLAND FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY ITALY LITHUANIA NORTHERN IRELAND NORWAY POLAND ROMANIA SLOVENIA SWEDEN TURKEY	SPANISH -------------------------	Buena Suerte ---------------------

You can check your answers using  Google's Translator 

(Google's free online language translation service).

___________________________ 

  

     Welcome to "English@Edrissis"                     &   Good Luck !!

_________________________ 

Let's meet at "English@Edrissis"

Remember the Blog Working Hours:

24 Hours 7 Days a Week

SUMMER SALE

Congratulations!

You are on holidays.

 ;-D

But please, 

Don't forget what you have learnt this school year,
(if anything)

And do some REVISION this summer.

OK?

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS SUMMER SALE
4 x 1

Revise 4 School Subjects

Watching just 1video !!

By watching the following video-clip, you will be able to revise:

1.- The laws of Physics,

2.- Some Mathematical rules,

3.- Some (rock) Music

& 

4.-Your (American) English.

****

In other words,
If you have nothing to do this summer,
or if you are bored without school,
Here you are some ideas/suggestions:

Be Creative!!

Do something similar to the following video!!

and Try to imitate to the group OK Go 
 in their song  "This Too Shall Pass",

from the album “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky”

Good Luck ! 

;-)

And Please,...

let me know the results !

**************************************** 
FURTHER INFORMATION.-

OK Go is an American rock band originally from Chicago (USA), 
now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA.  
They are perhaps best known for their often elaborated music videos. 

They are always curious and eccentric. In short, they are different.

If you wish to know more about this band, 
have a look at the group website

****************************************  

SUMMER HOLIDAY

 

&

 

School days are gone and our summer holiday starts now.

We all need a break.

Don't you think so?
  ;-)

I hope you like a song

a friend of mine used to sing

on the last day of school

before the summer...

"Summer Holiday" 

by the British pop singer Cliff Richard

We're all going on a summer holiday
no more working for a week or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
no more worries for me or you,
for a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly
we're going where the sea is blue.
we've all seen it on the movies,
now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday
doin' things they always wanted to
So we're going on a summer holiday,
to make our dreams come true
for me and you.
for me and you.

Have fun and a great time!!

Have a Happy Summer Holidays !!

Enjoy life!!

Give Refugees a Hand

WORLD  REFUGEE  DAY

A Refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country

in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster.

Every day, thousands of refugees face murder, rape and terror.
Let's remember them today!

The United Nations Refugee Agency  has launched a new global awareness campaign.

The campaign carries the message that 

"One Refugee Without Hope is too many".

Let's Give Refugees a hand.
Put your hands up
for protection and support to refugees.

Just to finish this post,

Listen to the song
"There is only light"
by Michael on Fire.

E - DAY

¡La fiesta de todos los que hablamos español!                                                                    

 The “fiesta” for all those who speak Spanish!

This year, "E-Day" is on 18th June.

Hoy sábado 18 de junio celebramos el Día E.

***

Everybody knows that ...

We, Spanish people, are very well-known for one thing all over the world:

We like Fiesta
(As you know,
"Fiesta" is the Spanish word for "parties")

In fact,
there are a few Spanish words that everybody knows.
An example...

My first educative experience, as a teacher,
was with a group of adult foreigners, non-native Spanish speakers,
who ONLY knew 4 Spanish words:
????

FIESTA, 
SIESTA, 
PAELLA 
& 
SANGRÍA.  

;-)

(A good reputation, isn't it?)

I think that it is Not completely TRUE. 

To be more precise, we could say that it is FALSE because...

We DON'T like Fiesta...

We LOVE FIESTA !!

***

In my opinion

We Like/Love celebrating big events.
And...

Isn't it important to celebrate our language?

Sometimes, we need to remind ourselves that the language we use everyday is a very special thing. For that reason, in 2009, the Instituto Cervantes  came up with the idea of "el Día E" - "el día del español" - or "Spanish Day"; a day for celebrating Spanish as an international language.

In the following video you'll hear different forms of Spanish from different countries: Isabel Allende (Chilean writer); Ricardo Darín (Argentinian actor), Mario Vargas Llosa (Peruvian writer), Gael García Bernal (Mexican actor), Juan Luis Guerra (Dominican singer), Chayanne (Puerto Rican singer), Diego Forlan (Uruguayan), ... and many more.

To celebrate the E-Day in this blog,

We have selected the following video

with a selection of the best 25 songs at the moment,

according to my students, published on
one of the most popular sites about Spanish music from YouTube:

El español más allá de nuestras fronteras

... también en la música!!

Diferentes grupos, diferentes estilos, diferentes procedencias...

pero todos en español!

El español,

una lengua que nos une.

SPANISH VERSION.-

El Día E.

La fiesta de todos los que hablamos español

Más de 500 millones de personas hablan español. El español es ya la segunda lengua del mundo en cuanto a número de hablantes nativos, el segundo idioma de comunicación internacional y el tercer idioma más utilizado en Internet.  

¿Por qué no convertir un día al año en la celebración mundial de la lengua que nos une?  

El Día E nació como un proyecto del Instituto Cervantes para celebrar su mayoría de edad, incrementar la visibilidad de sus centros y, a la vez, difundir la cultura en español en los cinco continentes. Se celebra, desde 2009, el sábado más cercano al solsticio de verano. A lo largo de estos dos años, todos los centros del Instituto Cervantes en los cinco continentes –desde Sídney hasta Brasilia– festejaron este día, celebrando así la grandeza de nuestra lengua y nuestras culturas.

El sábado 18 de junio de 2011 todos los centros del Instituto Cervantes abrirán nuevamente sus puertas para sumarse a esta fiesta. Además, este año queremos que este proyecto cultural acerque al mayor número de personas la inmensa riqueza que representa hablar nuestro idioma. Con este propósito, deseamos contar con la participación de grandes personalidades de habla hispana, de modo que todos los hispanohablantes sintamos el orgullo no solo de hablar nuestra lengua compartida, sino, también, de sabernos representados por figuras extraordinarias en los más diversos campos del saber.

Queremos consolidar esta fiesta como la de todos los que hablamos español, para que cada año tengamos un día en el que nos sintamos unidos por una lengua común y por compartir la riqueza de la vasta cultura en español. 

Instituto Cervantes - Ammán (Jordania)

http://amman.cervantes.es/FichasCultura/Ficha72527_05_1.htm

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

If you would like to know more about this E-DAY have a look at: 

La fiesta de todos los que hablamos español en:

www.eldiae.es

WED ??

WORLD  ENVIRONMENT  DAY

Today, 5th June, is WED (World Environment Day). 

It is an annual event to make people aware about positive environmental action.

The Theme for this year 2011 is...

Forests: Nature At Your Service

Forests cover one third of the earth’s land mass, performing vital functions and services around the world which make our planet alive with possibilities.  In fact, 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods.  They play a key role in our battle against climate change, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere while storing carbon dioxide.

 (For Further information, have a look at United Nations Environment Programme)

You can help to save our planet.
You and me can do something positive to avoid destroying it.
It is not too late to change what we have done to the planet Earth.
... We must Return to our Innocence.

* * * *

Watch the video about the song

"Return to Innocence", by Enigma.

Now read carefully the lyrics of the song:

Love (Love, Love)
Devotion (Devotion, Devotion)
Feeling (Feeling. Feeling)
Emotion (Emotion, Emotion)

Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence

The return to innocence

If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny

Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence
That's not the beginning of the end

That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence

and underline the lines of the song where it is suggested that humans have another chance/opportunity.

Keeping in mind that idea about the man having another opportunity...

...Why don't we use it?
.

The Elegance of the Loser

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - PART II

(Have a look first at the previous post, "At Wembley" - 28th May 2011)

 "We were beaten by a fantastic team. 

At the end of the day we have to acknowledge that we were beaten by a better team. 

I think it was the best team we have faced".

Alex Ferguson

Manchester United manager

These words are a clear example ot the humanity of some people, such as Sir Alex Ferguson. People like him are even greater at difficult times!

His football team lost...

 1     -     3

at

 the UEFA Champions League Final 2011.

*  *  *  *  *

Barcelona wins Champions League

Brilliant Barcelona, inspired by Messi, delivered a soccer masterclass to overwhelm Manchester United 3-1 in the Champions League final and lift the European Cup for the fourth time on Saturday.

"The people watching could see that we not only won but we played a brilliant match".

Pep Guardiola 

F.C. Barcelona coach

F.C. BARCELONA

FINAL CHAMPIONS 2011

CONGRATULATIONS !

* * * * *

Listen, Read and Sing...
"We are the Champions"
by Queen

*  *  *  *  *

At the end..., 

... Pep Guardiola was the one who could fly

and touch the sky!

At Wembley !

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - PART I

Today, Saturday 28th May,

 Two of the greatest football teams 

are playing

the Champions League Final 2011 

at Wembley (London)

 

Two Gentlemen:

Sir Alex Ferguson

&   Pep Guardiola

Representing two of the biggest European Football Teams:

will fight to win.

... But only one gentleman will be able to fly 

and touch the sky!

Congratulations to both of them 

for fighting this battle !!

Here's something to whet your apetite...

Watch the following promo of the Final Champions league 2011.

GOOD  LUCK to both of them!!
GOOD  LUCK to both teams!!
.

"A Cappella"

     "A Cappella" ??

The Italian term "a cappella" refers to a performance of musical work 
by unaccompanied voices (according to the Enciclopaedia Britannica).

In other words, "a cappella" refers to a type of music
sung without instrumental accompaniment.

As an example...

Let's have a look at the song "Tom's Diner", 

performed by the American singer

In the following video,
she sings the song "Tom's Diner"... 

"a cappella",

unaccompanied,

singing without instrumental sound,...

 a song without any musical instruments.

*  *  *

Now watch the video

with only Suzanne's voice!!

No musical instruments!!

Simply the crowd's clapping,

acting as the instruments in unison together...!!

*  *  *

 Activity 1.-

Write the LYRICS of the song, separating all the words:

Iamsittinginthemorningatthedineronthecorner
Iamwaitingatthecounterforthemantopourthecoffee
andhefillsitonlyhalfwayandbeforeIevenargue
heislookingoutthewindowatsomebodycomingin
"Itisalwaysnicetoseeyou"saysthemanbehindthecounter
tothewomanwhohascomeinsheisshakingherumbrella
andIlooktheotherwayastheyarekissingtheirhellos
I'mpretendingnottoseetheminsteadIpourthemilk
Iopenupthepaperthere'sastoryofanactor
whohaddiedwhilehewasdrinkingitwasnooneIhadheardof
andI'mturningtothehoroscopeandlookingforthefunnies
whenI'mfeelingsomeonewatchingmeandsoIraisemyhead
there'sawomanontheoutsidelookinginsidedoessheseeme?
noshedoesnotreallyseemecausesheseesherownreflection
andI'mtryingnottonoticethatshe'shitchingupherskirt
andwhileshe'sstraighteningherstockingsherhairhasgottenwet
Oh,thisrainitwillcontinuethroughthemorningasI'mlistening
tothebellsothecathedralIamthinkingofyourvoice...
andofthemidnightpicniconceuponatimebeforetherainbegan...
IfinishupmycoffeeIt'stimetocatchthetrain

*  *  *

Activity 2.-

Number the following Jumbled Words according to the order they appear in the song:

Cathedral Morning Picnic Train Actor

Paper Coffee Corner Milk Woman

Horoscopes Window Behind Wet Skirt

Umbrella Stockings Outside Inside Head

SELF-CORRECTION.-

Check out the Lyrics of the song "Tom's Diner"

to correct the two previous activities.

*  *  *