AULD LANG SYNE

Auld Lang Syne  is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song. It is well known in many countries, especially in English-speaking countries, its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight. 

It is common practice that everyone joins hands with the person next to them to form a great circle around the dance floor. At the beginning of the last verse, everyone crosses their arms across their breast, so that the right hand reaches out to the neighbour on the left and vice versa. When the tune ends, everyone rushes to the middle, while still holding hands. When the circle is re-established, everyone turns under the arms to end up facing outwards with hands still joined.

By extension, it is also sung  to symbolize other "endings/new beginnings"  - including  farewells, funerals (and other memorials of the dead), graduations. Moreover, the tune is played, and sung by the crowd, in the final stages of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The song's Scots title may be translated into English literally as "old long since", or more idiomatically, "long long ago", "days gone by" or "old times".  Therefore "For auld lang syne", as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be translated as "for (the sake of) old times".

Read Julianna W. Miner's beautiful article about this melancholy time of the year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!

REVISING OTHELLO

Here you can find some useful materials to revise Shakespeare and Othello, one of his four great tragedies, along with Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth.

LEARNING THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

HAPPY BOXING DAY!

Here you can read about Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, which is celebrated in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.  You can also read the post I wrote last year  here.

A CHRISTMAS WISH

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

The shepherds went their hasty way,

And found the lowly stable-shed
Where the Virgin-Mother lay:
And now they checked their eager tread,
For to the Babe, that at her bosom clung,
A Mother’s song the Virgin-Mother sung.

They told her how a glorious light,
Streaming from a heavenly throng,
Around them shone, suspending night!
While sweeter than a mother’s song,
Blest Angels heralded the Saviour’s birth,
Glory to God on high! and Peace on Earth.

A CHRISTMAS READING

Here you can find one of the most traditional Christmas readings in English speaking countries,  A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens, first published in serial form by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843.

It tells the story of bitter old miser  Ebenezer Scrooge,  "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner",  and his transformation resulting from supernatural visits by Jacob Marley  and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come. Enjoy!

LET'S WATCH SOME CHRISTMAS MOVIES!

These are  just some great movies for everyone that loves Christmas and enjoys watching this type of movies during the Christmas season. 

By watching movies in their original language, you will also improve your English, especially your listening and speaking skills. Enjoy!

SINGING CHRISTMAS SONGS

Christmas is coming up soon! Here are some beautiful Christmas songs which might make your heart fill up with joy and serenity!  Enjoy!

CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES - 1^ C LICEO LINGUISTICO

Here you can download some Christmas worksheets. I hope you will find them enjoyable! 

CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES - 3^ C LICEO LINGUISTICO

You can download the following worksheets for grammar revision. I hope you will find them useful!

The passive form

Conditional sentences

Reported speech
Present Perfect & Past Simple
Past Perfect
Do & Make

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISS AUSTEN!

Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775. Today would have been her 238th birthday, but no doubt she is timeless! We still learn a lot about family, love, friendship, and what it means to be a woman from reading her enchanting novels of manners. We still enjoy the plots, characterisations, and settings as well as the polished and elegant style of her novels  which  are deservedly considered literary classics, proposing a balance between reason and feelings, bridging the gap between romance and realism. 

What better way to celebrate her birthday than to listen to Sense and Sensibility and Emma audio books? A very special treat for these freezing autumn evenings!

And don't forget to read this article  about Jane Austen's  attention to women’s issues!

NELSON MANDELA

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela has died aged 95 after a long fight against illness.

One of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century, he  guided the country from apartheid to democracy during a life filled with hardship and struggle.

Born in 1918 into the Xhosa clan he was known to South Africans by his clan name, 'Madiba', or 'Tata', which means 'father'.

Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison  where he contracted tuberculosis which was to weaken his lungs until the end of his life. His experiences of incarceration and subsequent release were documented in his autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom.

He served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997 and was internationally known. 
In 1993 Nelson Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with F.W. de Klerk for dismantling apartheid.

He was voted in as the first black president of South Africa in the first fully representative, multiracial election in 1994. He held the post until his retirement in 1999.

Although he retired from political life, Nelson Mandela continued to lend his voice towards issues that affect his country and the world at large, such as the AIDS epidemic, poverty, and human rights. He was also instrumental in securing South Africa as the host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES

It's Christmas Eve, and the happy anticipation of the next day will not allow young Thomas to sleep. Then his grandfather starts relating his touching memories of a Christmas gone by. This 1987  television movie is based on the  poetic short story A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas. Enjoy!

Click here to read a beautiful blog post about this enchanting Christmas movie. 

Here you can read Dylan Thomas’s short story, one of his most widely known works which, as a model of limpid prose, stands as an everlasting testament to his greatness as a writer.

DECEMBER

DUST OF SNOW The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a hemlock tree Has given my heart A change of mood And saved some part Of a day I had rued. Robert Frost  (1923)

REMEMBERING PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY, 50 YEARS AFTER HIS ASSASSINATION

Here you can read an inspiring article about the tragic assassination of  the 35th President of the United States.

On 20 January 1961, in his Inaugural Address, John F. Kennedy had pledged to support liberty, commit to allies, avoid tyranny, aid the underprivileged throughout the world, and strengthen the Americas. He had challenged  Communist nations to engage in a dialogue with the United States to ensure world peace and stability. This speech is best known for the words: “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”

LEARNING PHRASAL VERBS

Phrasal verbs are mainly used in spoken English and informal texts. They  consist of a verb plus a particle (preposition, adverb). The particle can change the meaning of the verb completely, e.g.:

look for = seek (look for her ring)

look up = consult a reference book (look a word up in a dictionary)

look forward = anticipate with pleasure (look forward to meeting someone)

The particle is placed either after the verb or after the object.

Example:

Write down the word. / Write the word down.

If the object is a pronoun, however, the particle has to be placed after the pronoun (object).

Example:

Write it down.

There are no rules that might explain how phrasal verbs are formed correctly - all you can do is look them up in a good dictionary and study their meanings.

SONNET 116

Here and here you can find a detailed analysis of this beautiful Shakespearean sonnet.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

QUOTING SHAKESPEARE

Today I've decided to post a humorous and informative article  which  focuses on the influence of  the Bard of Avon on everyday speech.

It was written by the British journalist Bernard Levin for The Times  newspaper. I hope you'll appreciate it!

If you cannot understand my argument, and declare 'It's Greek to me', 
you are quoting Shakespeare;
if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning,
you are quoting Shakespeare; 
if you recall your salad days,
you are quoting Shakespeare; 
if you act more in sorrow than in anger, 
if your wish is father to the thought, 
if your lost property has vanished into thin air, 
you are quoting Shakespeare; 
if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, 
if you have played fast and loose, 
if you have been tongue-tied, 
a tower of strength, 
hoodwinked or in a pickle, 
if you have knitted your brows, 
made a virtue of necessity, 
insisted on fair play, 
slept not one wink, 
stood on ceremony, 
danced attendance (on your lord and master), 
laughed yourself into stitches, 
had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, 
if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise -- 
why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; 
if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, 
if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, 
if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, 
if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, 
if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, 
then -- to give the devil his due -- if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; 
even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, 
if you wish I was dead as a doornail, 
if you think I am an eyesore, 
a laughing stock, 
the devil incarnate, 
a stony-hearted villain, 
bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, 
then -- by Jove! 
O Lord! 
Tut, tut! 
For goodness' sake! 
What the dickens! 
But me no buts -- 
it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR COLLOQUIAL ENGLISH

I hope you will enjoy the following video lessons  -  they are both entertaining and helpful to improve your colloquial English! 

NOVEMBER

"November always seemed to me the Norway of the year"
Emily Dickinson

Here  you can download a PDF  presentation of the American poetess.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Straddling the line between fall and winter, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition ...

Click here to continue reading about this ancient Celtic festival. 

You can also find some useful information about Halloween here and some short Halloween stories here. 

RELATIVE CLAUSES

First of all, let's watch these video lessons on relative clauses!

Here you can download a detailed explanation of relative clauses; you may also find these web pages very helpful!

Now do the following exercises!

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

PRINCE GEORGE'S CHRISTENING

Outside St James's Palace crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of Kate and William's baby son, who was today seen in public for only the second time since he was born in July. Some royal watchers camped outside the palace for more than 24 hours to obtain a good vantage point to watch the guests arrive, but the ceremony was private. Britain's three-month-old future monarch, Prince George, wearing a long christening robe, arrived in his father's arms with his mother by their side, and appeared to wave at his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, although it was really a case of William moving his son's hand up and down; they joined the few royals attending his baptism, described as an 'intimate family affair'. Only the Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry saw the heir to the throne baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, in the little known Chapel Royal this afternoon. 

William and Kate hired photographer Jason Bell to take official pictures, which are expected to include a historic multi-generational photograph of the queen with three future monarchs: her son Charles, her grandson William and her great-grandson George.

Here  you can read about Prince George's christening.

THE ART OF DRAMA

Click here to download a PDF presentation of the elements of drama.

In a drama of the highest order there is little food for censure or hatred; it teaches rather self-knowledge and self-respect. 

Percy Bysshe Shelley

I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.

Oscar Wilde 

I love the rehearsal process in the theatre, and the visceral sense of contact and communication with a live audience.

Judd Nelson       

The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation.

Stella Adler 

THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE

Here you can download a PDF presentation of the Elizabethan theatre. I hope you will find it useful!

Click here and here to watch a short documentary on Shakespeare's Globe. Happy viewing!

Here you will find another great video of  the Globe Theatre in London. 

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Here you can download and read the eBook of Jane Austen's all-time novel and then you can listen to the full audio-book. 

Click here if you need a thorough revision of the novel. 
Here you can watch the best clips of the 2005 British film based on Jane Austen's novel.

THE SONNET

Here  you can download a PDF Presentation of the sonnet.

WORLD TEACHERS' DAY

"A Call for Teachers" is the slogan for World Teachers' day. This year's celebrations will focus on UNESCO's work on quality teachers for global citizenship and cultural diversity. Teachers develop learners' abilities to build a sustainable future with citizens who are able to take action in their own communities and contribute to global challenges.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10349207/Thank-a-teacher-on-World-Teachers-Day.html

OCTOBER

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

Tomorrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow.

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know.

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf;

One from our trees, one far away.

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst.

Slow, slow!

For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—

For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

Robert Frost

Here  you can download a booklet on Robert Frost's poetry.

LEARNING THE FUTURE

Here is a web page which explains the different possibilities of expressing the future and provides several exercises.
Click here for another helpful explanation.

Now  you can download some worksheets to revise the future:
EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3
EXERCISE 4 
EXERCISE 5
EXERCISE 6
EXERCISE 7