The Secret City of London Inside London

After some info on the differences between The British Isles / GB / UK, now check this interesting and surprising video on London and the City of London:

Advice for Staging your own Olympic Games

If I Ruled theWorld

Advice for Staging your own Olympic Games

Never play volleyball with a bag of flour

Never use Mum’s hairbrush as a baton in the relay race

The flower bed is not a sandpit for the long jump

And remember – the Olympic Games does not include kiss-chase

Never pole-vault in the vicinity of Grandpa’s greenhouse

Never throw the discus using Mum’s best plates

The broom handle is not a pole – nor it is a javelin

Never use flowerpots (especially if they have flowers in) for weights

Your dog is a dog, not a horse

Although, at a push, could be used for equestrian events

Do not use the duvet covers in the airing cupboard

To make those big marquee-type tents

Never use The Complete Set of Delia Smith for the winners’ podium

Never bribe the judges with crisps, chocolate, football cards or cash.

And finally when Mum comes home to find her house and garden in a mess

Say, Excuse me, but I’m in the hundred metres – must dash!

Roger Stevens 

For more hilarious poems, visit http://world.clubs-kids.scholastic.co.uk/products/894

British Isles, Great Britain, United Kingdom???

Now that London is becoming “the capital of the world” by hosting the Olympics from July 27 to August 12, it is crucial to know the differences between Great Britain / United Kingdom / The British Isles. This is something I always teach students no matter their ages because I believe it’s important for them to understand, for instance, The Troubles in Ireland.

I always draw a diagram so that all can visualize it clearly:

Some time ago, while preparing some stuff for adult classes, I came across a neat youtube video clarifying exactly this. It is a bit fast but clear – watch:

Travelling?

On holidays and getting ready to travel?

Maybe heading to London for the upcoming Olympic Games, who knows?

According to this link
BA has launched its latest advert celebrating the London 2012 Olympic Games, showing a B777 taxiing through the streets of London from Heathrow to the Olympic Stadium.
The aircraft is shown passing London landmarks including Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and the Shard, ending up in the Olympic Park, all to a soundtrack of The Clash's London's Calling. (...)
In an innovative move, those watching on Facebook or at taxi.ba.com can enter their post code, and see images of their streets added into the advert.

Check the fantastic and interactive ad by British Airways and at least imagine yourself there – on the spot!

Really nice, don’t you agree?

eBooks for Holidays

SOURCE: goodreads.com

It’s no secret I’m all for the printed word, for real books both for academic and recreational readings – they don’t need electricity, I can freely underline, mark… However, I have to admit that digital books also have advantages and, right now, besides the environmental issue, the economic reasons top my list (and maybe yours as well!). Having said that and taking into account that what really matters is that we / our kids / our students read and not how we / they do it, why not share some links so that we all read something during the summer break?

So, with no excuses, read free and legal ebooks anywhere, any time.

Try these links and choose for yourselves:

http://www.planetebook.com/ - the home of free classic literature

http://www.intechopen.com/books - over 1800 scientific books

http://www.openculture.com/free_textbooks - all the 150 books can be viewed for free and most can be downloaded for free as well. The titles in the collection are appropriate as supplemental books, more for mathematics and science than for the humanities.

http://books.google.com/advanced_book_search - google hosts thousands of books that are in the public domain; many of them can be viewed and downloaded in their entirety for free.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ - Project Gutenberg has over 40,000 free ebooks in English and there are also over 500 in Portuguese at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/PT_Principal check Os Lusiadas at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27236  

The next one is also a very good source for ebooks in English or in Portuguese

http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/pesquisa/PesquisaObraForm.jsp and at  http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/download/texto/pe000004.pdf  - you can check Mensagem de Fernando Pessoa

Strange enough is this link http://purl.pt/index/geral/aut/PT/index.html  but worth visiting, Biblioteca Nacional Digital, from where one can also download Mensagem, de Fernando Pessoa http://purl.pt/13966
Besides the titles already mentioned above that many of our sts will need to read for next schoolyear, check the next link where you can find 1900 free and legal ebooks - by Portuguese authors as well as, among others, some plays by W. Shakespeare but in Portuguese:
http://utilnet.blogspot.pt/2009/03/1990-livros-para-download-gratuito.html 

For those who for any reason don't / can't read, don't give up, because there are audiobooks! Please check AudioLiterate where you can select either from the featured audiobooks or by category. Just stream it; it's free!

Well? Any suggestions?

There are many more, but the ones above have just been checked thinking about the holidays as well as a kind of preparation for next school year :D

I’m sure we all want our students to read. According to them, in the age of digital devices, books are old fashioned, outdated and some may even fear being teased by their peers. Why not give or send them links for free (and legal) ebooks they can read on their smartphones / tablets / PCs?

Enjoy… Enjoy your holidays and your Readings!

Long Live the BOOK

Still faithful after all these years!
Oh... the smell... the touch... of (physical) books.
Enjoy!

Tips for Summer Reading

Summer is fun, spending your summer reading may be even funnier. Why not give it a try???
If you have any trouble choosing a book, you can either go to the nearest library and/or have a look at the chart below - perhaps you can find a book to dream about, to travel in time and space, get some "company"... you'll never know until you try, right?
Either growing up or growing old, the advantages of the suggestions below are that they may not only kick off your summer readings, but you can also practise your English simultaneously...

Via Teach.com and USC Rossier Online