lunes, 16 de noviembre de 2009

BRITISH PANTOMIME


THE MADRID PLAYERS' CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME IS BACK THIS YEAR!!!!
Pantomime is a peculiar British tradition and goes back at least 100 years. Pantomimes always take place at Christmas and nearly always have stories based around well known children's stories such as Peter Pan, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc.
They are very audience interactive. You certainly boo the villian, etc., but you should also have several arguments between characters and the audience:
Wicked queen in Snow White - "I am the fairest of them all"
Audience - "Oh no you're not!"
Queen - "Oh yes I am!"
Audience - "Oh no you're not!"

The Panto takes these children's stories and and injects a bit of music hall (British Vaudeville) sensibility, contemporary references and audience participation to create a raucous, noisy entertainment  that is fun for everyone in the family.

If you really want to know what a panto is like, you shouldn't miss The Madrid Players' Robin Hood Pantomime. Click on the link if you want to know more details.

sábado, 14 de noviembre de 2009

2º ESO: GRAMMAR PRESENTATIONS

Watch the following presentations. They will help you revise the contents studied so far.



miércoles, 11 de noviembre de 2009

APLE: HOMOPHONES

Notice how important phonetics and pronunciation are in English:




Homophones are words that sound the same but have a different spelling and meaning; eg: to, two, too.

Try now the following audio-crossword about the spelling of homophones.

Play the Pairs Word Game and learn when to use and spell these words correctly.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES


Students at Ampliacion de Ingles are watching "Desperate Housewives" once a week and in this post you will find a short summary of each episode in case you miss one. You can also click on the links below the titles if you want to revise the vocabulary and expressions learnt in each chapter. Enjoy the series!!!

Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot (Original Air Date—3 October 2004)
In the pilot we meet all of the characters, at Mary Alice young's funeral. Lynette's sons get in trouble by jumping into the pool, Susan tries to make something to bring to the funeral, but burns her macaroni and cheese.


Season 1, Episode 2: Ah, But Underneath (Original Air Date—10 October 2004)

The ladies find an anonymous letter in Mary Alice's belongings which suggest that Mary Alice was hiding some terrible secret. Susan and Edie continue to fight for Mike's affections. But Mike's dog pays the price when Edie crashes his dinner date with Susan. Meanwhile, Gabrielle realizes that her lawn boy, John, is taking their fling to heart, and that Carlos may actually be catching on. Bree goads Rex into couples therapy, where the neurotic doctor may be the one who needs the most help. Lynette resorts to drastic measures to keep her kids in line, but it blows up in her face. Mary Alice's past resurfaces despite Paul and Zach's efforts to keep it buried... literally. Also, Susan's secret of accidentally burning down Edie's house may come back to haunt her as the measuring cup she left in Edie's house is found, by the nosy and bossy Mrs. Huber.
 
Season 1, Episode 3: Pretty Little Picture (Original Air Date—17 October 2004)

The four ladies decides to organize the dinner the late Mary Alice was organizing. Gabrielle is blackmailed by a 9 year old girl, Bree tries to hide his broken marriage and Karl returns to Wisteria Lane to discuss terms with Susan.
 
Season 1, Episode 4: Who's That Woman? (Original Air Date—24 October 2004)

Cash-strapped Mrs. Huber figures out that Susan had something to do with Edie's house fire and tries to blackmail her, in which Susan is forced to recruit her daughter Julie to find Mrs. Huber's incriminating evidence. Carlos becomes suspicious that Gabrielle is seeing another man, but targets the wrong suspect: the cable guy instead of gardener John. Lynette balks when the twins' teacher insists the boys have A.D.D. but tries to salvage the matter by separating the boys. Bree struggles with her rebellious son Andrew after Rex moves out. Both Susan and Edie continue to vie for Mike Delfino's affections, both of whom are unaware he has an agenda when he's revealed to have a map and personal files on all Wisteria Lane residents, including Susan. The ladies show Paul the anonymous blackmail/death threat letter sent to Mary Alice, unaware that he already knows about Mary Alice's troubled life and he secretly hires a mysterious "associate" named Mr. Shaw, to find out who sent Mary Alice the letter.
 
Season 1, Episode 5: Come in, Stranger (Original Air Date—31 October 2004)

A break-in on Wisteria Lane leaves the neighbors feeling vulnerable, especially Susan, who reluctantly accepts a date with persistent police officer Rick Thompson, after Mike Delfino appears indifferent to her. Unknown to everyone, Mike Delfino is revealed to be the burglar as he accidentally left a screwdriver behind. After Rex takes the kids away for the weekend, a lonely Bree finds herself bonding with Mary Alice's troubled son, Zach. Meanwhile, Lynette and Tom pull out all the stops to get their uncontrollable twins, Porter and Preston, accepted at a prestigious private school. The unexpected arrival of Carlos's overbearing and controlling mother, Juanita, puts a crimp in Gabrielle's covert love life with gardener John. Things get worse when the two go shopping and Gabrielle takes drastic measures to keep Juanita oblivious to her secret.
 
Season 1, Episode 6: Running to Stand Still (Original Air Date—7 November 2004)

Lynette locks horns at the twins' school with officious mom Maisy Gibbons, who is trying to produce a "politically correct" play about "Little Red Riding Hood." Susan continues to investigate the mystery of Zach's sudden disappearance. When Susan finds out that Paul put Zach in a mental institution, she and Julie go to investigate till Zach lets out a long-suppressed family secreting involving the name 'Dana'. Juanita Solis comes closer to discovering Gabrielle's dirty little secret affair with gardener John but Gabrielle learns and takes advantage of Juanita's gambling habit to give her the slip. Bree comes undone when Rex suggests they hire a sex surrogate, but ...

martes, 10 de noviembre de 2009

3º ESO: WHAT DID YOU DO YESTERDAY?

Past Tense Revision: Watch the following video and answer the questions below.




Now here you have a song to practise verbs in past. See if you can complete the lyrics of the song:

lunes, 9 de noviembre de 2009

WEB 2.0

Congratulations! We are all working under Web 2.0, in case you didn't know.
Watch the following presentation and you'll find out.

Curso Web 2.0 2009-2010 on PhotoPeach

domingo, 8 de noviembre de 2009

4º ESO: SUBJECT/OBJECT QUESTIONS

Check out this SlideShare Presentation about subject/object questions:


Revise subject/object questions and download the following pdf for further practice.

Now play the space game on Questions.

3º ESO: THE WEATHER

Revise words on the weather with these interactive crosswords and be ready to learn new expressions related to it.

The Weather  and   The Sky

Now watch the following video and you will always know how to anwer if somebody asks you: "What's the weather like?"





I'm sure you all know about global warming and I would like to invite you to watch this funny video abouth something which is not funny at all.


3ºESO: -ING/-ED ADJECTIVES

How are you feeling today? Are you having an exciting day or are you really annoyed? Watch the next video and you will soon find out if you are borED or borING.



Now take the following challenges:
Challenge 1Challenge 2 and  Challenge 3

And now it is your chance to use these adjectives. Describe an experience you've had using a mixture of -ing/-ed adjectives. The best five will be published on the workingwithenglish wiki.

sábado, 7 de noviembre de 2009

3ºESO: IRREGULAR VERBS

Now that we are studying irregular verbs in the classroom, here you have some ideas for extra practice. Get ready for the exam!
First of all, watch this video and learn their meaning and pronunciation












Who said that studying the irregular verbs had to be boring! Click on the following links and you'll find it isn't.




And now for the final challenge:
                                                                                                    
Irregular Verb Challenge