A real Christmas Story

A little 8-year-old wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Sun. His answer, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", has become a Christmas classic.

http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/

Some more stories

http://www.cuentoseningles.com.ar/

Merry Christmas!!

Video - Visit Britain

In Unit 2 we have dealt with the topic of travelling. Here you have a nice video about famous British places. Before you watch the video, think about all the famous British places you know, eg The Houses of Parliament. Now watch the video.

Did you know all the places mentioned? What have you learnt?

Vocabulary

Steal vs Rob

rob verb

/rɒb//rɑːb/ [T] (-bb-)

•to take money or property illegally from a place, organization or person, often using violence

The terrorists financed themselves by robbing banks.

My wallet's gone! I've been robbed!

They robbed the company of £2 million.

steal verb (TAKE)

/stiːl/ [I or T] (stole, stolen)

to take something without the permission or knowledge of the owner and keep it

She admitted stealing the money from her employers.

The number of cars which are stolen every year has risen.

They were so poor they had to steal in order to eat.

So someone robs a person or an organization, but s/he steals things such as money.

Thief, robber, mugger and burglar

thief noun

/θiːf/ [C] (plural thieves)

a person who steals

A post office was broken into last night, and the thieves got away with £120 000.

robber noun

/ˈrɒb.ər//ˈrɑː.bɚ/ [C]

someone who steals

The robbers shot a policeman before making their getaway.

mugger noun

/ˈmʌg.ər//-ɚ/ [C]

a person who attacks people in order to steal their money

pickpocket noun

/ˈpɪkˌpɒk.ɪt//-ˌpɑː.kɪt/ [C]

a thief who steals things out of pockets or bags, especially in a crowd

burglar noun

/ˈbɜː.glər //ˈbɝː.glɚ/ [C]

a person who illegally enters buildings and steals things

shoplifter

a person who illegally takes goods from a shop without paying for them

noun

/ˈʃɒpˌlɪf.tər//ˈʃɑːp-/ [C]

Shoplifters will be prosecuted.

A thief is more of a general term whereas a robber and a mugger imply the use of force. A burglar breaks into buildings such as houses. A shoplifter steals while pretending to be a customer. Pickpockets and shoplifters usually go unnoticed.

Definitions taken from Cambridge dictionary online

Ka-ching and sing!

Writing tip

When writing an assignment for a class, we all want to be able to communicate effectively and creatively. Although not all of us are born writers, there are aspects of our writing we can control in order to make it look better. Let’s take a look at one of these aspects: organization.

It is a good idea to divide your story / piece into paragraphs. If you remember from school, we usually divide our writings into three major paragraphs: the introduction, the body and the conclusion. Usually we introduce at least a new idea in each paragraph. How long it is will depend on how much you are going to explain. Let’s say a paragraph needs about 3 to 10 sentences. Of course, you can write a one-sentence paragraph. I would discourage you from doing this. A one-sentence paragraph is a powerful tool and it should be used scarcely and carefully.

It is important to connect your ideas logically and clearly. Your connectors are like road signs that will guide your reader. Therefore, you have to use connectors or linking words, e.g. therefore, however, etc. You have to pay attention to the use of pronouns and tenses. Otherwise, your reader might feel confused about when events happened or who was involved.

What it seems difficult is to write a catching story and edit it at the same time. It might be a good idea to write a couple of drafts until you are happy with your final product. Then you should swap roles and become the editor. Now your job would be to correct any possible mistakes, discrepancies or inconsistencies.

Finally, needless to say that you should trust your instincts. Every student has already mastered at least one language. Your writing knowledge, experience and skill in your mother tongue will help you master this competence in the new foreign language. We learn to write by writing, by making mistakes and reflect upon them. When you were born, you did not know how to write. You had to learn the skill through years of schooling. Now, you are better equipped: you have skills, techniques and experience as a reader and as a writer as well. Take advantage of that.

Interview: Wilson Phillips

Video - Nadia Comaneci

Do you know who Nadia Comaneci is or was? What do you know? If you don't know or you don't remember her, please watch this documentary on her life. This is only the first part.

What have you learnt about her?

Do you like watching the Olympics? If so, what's your favourite sport? Do you remember any famous Olympic athletes?

Video on a famous Olympic athlete coming up soon.

Neuro by Bruno Bozzetto

Class 1/10

It was a technically difficult class. However, we managed to

• work on the simple present and present continuous
• ask questions to our classmates
• prepare the vocabulary to watch a short film
• watch a short film and write a story based on it.

Our first video

This is the first video in this blog. Watch it and make a comment. Is it easy or difficult? Have you found interesting? Have you learnt anything?