English for the summer

You have worked hard for 9 months, haven't you? Well, you certainly deserve a long rest on the beach....;-)
But...it would be a pity to forget what you've learned this year.

Here you are some useful links to brush up your English during the long summer holidays.

If you want to.......

- do some crosswords

- follow the FIFA World Cup

- read some funny stories

- revise your grammar knowledge

- read a teen magazine

- watch some

Great Britain: towns and regions

TOURISM IN GREAT BRITAIN

Where would you go …… ?

1) to visit a national park in England --> Lake District National Park
2) to visit a town which developed as an important engineering centre during the Industrial Revolution -->Birmingham
3) to visit a national park in Wales --> Snowdonia National Park
4) to visit farms growing cereals and vegetebles --> East Anglia
5) to visit a coal-mining area --> Wales
6) to visit a region where in the past the heavy industry flourished --> North of England
7) to enjoy good whisky --> Scotland
8) to climb high mountains --> Scotland and Wales

Listening and watching: London

Watch the video about London and check your understanding.

The British flag and facts about the UK

Click here to download the material.

Listening keys: the United Kingdom

SPORTS CROSSWORD

This is an activity to revise the vocabulary about sport.

Click on the image of the crossword and try to solve it!

The Premier League

Watch the video and do the activities contained in this sheet.

COMPETITION: DOODLE FOR GOOGLE

Do you love football? Take part in the competition "Doodle for Google" and win fantastic prizes!

www.google.it/intl/it/lovefootball/doodle4google

KABBADI

Click here to find out more about Kabbadi, the sport played in India and in the surrounding countries.

SPORTS GRID AND VOCABULARY

(Hurling)


Here you get the grid about sports practiced in the English-speaking countries.

Here you get the paper with the exercises about sports vocabulary.

COMPETITION: CLIMATE CHAMPION PROMOTED BY WWF AND BRITISH COUNCIL

SEI UN CAMPIONE DEL CLIMA?
http://www.britishcouncil.org/it/italy-science-climategeneration.htm

I Cambiamenti Climatici riguardano tutti noi, ma saranno i giovani ad ereditarne l'impatto nei decenni a venire.

Obiettivo

Il Cambiamento Climatico è uno dei problemi più importanti per chiunque viva in Italia. Il nostro stile di vita, che comporta ad esempio l'utilizzo di carburante fossile e la distruzione di foreste o altri ambienti naturali, ha ripercussioni negative sull'effetto serra. Questo ha portato, in Italia, ad esempio, ad ondate di caldo eccessivo o inondazioni. E' giunto il momento in cui tutti, in Italia, comprendano che il cambiamento climatico interessa ognuno di noi, in qualsiasi luogo, e che questo problema continuerà a coinvolgerci se non iniziamo a lavorare assieme per contrastarlo efficacemente.

Selezione

Ma quali sono le caratteristiche di un Campione del Clima? Un Campione del Clima è particolarmente coinvolto e impegnato ad agire nei confronti del cambiamento climatico. I Campioni del Clima non sono riluttanti nello sfidare convinzioni già radicate e persino le proprie opinioni. I Campioni del Clima guardano avanti, utilizzano le loro idee e le mettono in pratica sia attraverso la realizzazione dei propri progetti nelle scuole, case o comunità, che lavorando a fianco di gruppi già affermati nel campo dell'ambiente.

Il British Council, in collaborazione con il WWF, sta cercando giovani che si preoccupino del clima e che vogliano unirsi al nostro già attivissimo gruppo di Campioni del Clima.

Se hai fra i 17 e i 22 anni di età, hai una buona conoscenza della lingua inglese parlata e scritta, e ritieni di avere tutte le caratteristiche per diventare un Campione del Clima, fatti avanti!

Premi

I Campioni del Clima selezionati avranno l’opportunità di:

Spendere fino a €1000 per sviluppare e realizzare un progetto all'interno delle loro scuole/comunità locali
Prendere parte ad un Climate Camp assieme ad altri Campioni del Clima e ricevere un training per sviluppare le proprie capacità nel campo della progettazione e comunicazione
Diventare un membro del British Council Climate Generation network esteso in tutto il mondo ed essere incoraggiato a prendere parte a meeting e iniziative sul cambiamento climatico, che si terranno a livello nazionale ed internazionale
Quello che devi fare per diventare un Campione del Clima…

Devi avere fra i 17 e i 22 anni

Avere la cittadinanza italiana

Completare una domanda scritta in inglese e inviarla a climate.generation@britishcouncil.it


Prepara un breve video in inglese sul perché vuoi diventare un Campione del Clima e sul tuo progetto. Puoi mandarcelo qui. Il video deve avere uno dei seguente format: QuickTime, Windows Media, Real Video, Mpeg; animazione in Flash.
Per facilitare l’indentificazione, il video deve essere intitolato con il tuo nome e cognome (p.e. marcorossi.mpeg)


Coloro che saranno selezionati come semifinalisti, verranno chiamati per un colloquio (luogo da confermare) dopo il quale saranno scelti 10 Campioni del Clima su tutta Italia.

La scadenza è il 30 Aprile 2010 - non perdere tempo!

LONDON'S RUN TO VICTORY

Below you find the text we worked on together when half of the class was on school trip.

Read the text and answer the following questions.
1) Which cities did London beat in the competition to host the Games?
2) Which city came second in the competition?
3) Which famous people helped in London’s bid for the Games?
4) How do you think London will change because of having the Olympic Games there in 2012?
5 Which event would you like to see included in the Olympic Games of the future? Skateboarding? Rollerblading? Computer games?
I think that _____________ should be included in the Olympic Games because ….


LONDON'S RUN TO VICTORY

London has beaten Paris and three other cities in the race to host
the Olympic Games in 2012.

Five rings, five cities
London will host the Olympic Games in 2012 following the International Olympic Committee’s announcement in Singapore on 6 July. London was one of five cities vying to host the Games. The others were Paris, Madrid, New York and Moscow. London beat Paris 54-50 in the nail biting final vote. The news has been greeted with delight both in London and by the bidding team in Singapore, which included England football captain David Beckham and gold medal-winning athlete Denise Lewis.

Why did London win?
The city’s bid was fronted by former athlete Lord Sebastian Coe, who is well known and highly respected within world sport. The bid had strong support from the Mayor of London and the Government, and the Prime Minister’s personal lobbying may have proved decisive. They fought a high-profile publicity campaign.
But the mechanics of the bid itself and the plans to regenerate areas of derelict land in Stratford, East London also played a part. Wimbledon and Wembley are other famous venues likely to be used for some of the 26 sports. Public transport will be improved by 2012 and it is hoped that 80% of spectators will travel to the events by train.

What happens next?
Lord Coe said: ‘It is the most fantastic opportunity to do everything we've ever dreamed of in British sport.
We have a chance over seven years and way beyond that to change the face of British sport.’ He has agreed to chair the organising committee and Tessa Jowell MP has been appointed as Minister in charge of the London Olympics. The last word goes to London Mayor Ken Livingstone: ‘We'll give the world the best Games they've ever seen.’

Happy Easter

LISTENING ACTIVITY: Nicknames for Los Angeles

Listen to the radio broacast and do the multiple choice quiz.
Click here to start.

1. A nickname is
 a funny person’s name.
 a person’s second name.
 a person’s name abbreviation.

2. Los Angeles is
 the first largest city in population.
 the second largest city in population.
 the third largest city in population.

3. Los Angeles is called the City of Flowers and Sunshine because:
 there are a lot of flowers.
 there are a lot of fruits because of the sun.
 the climate is warm and there is sun.

4. Los Angeles is also called
 the Big Orange.
 the Big Apple.
 the Big Banana.

5. Los Angeles is called the Entertainment Capital of the World because
 There a lot of film stars in Hollywood.
 The film industry is widespread in the area.
 The name Hollywood is spelled out in huge letters on a hill.

6. Los Angeles is also called La-La Land
 because of the first two letters of its name.
 it's the name of the song dedicated to the town.
 because it’s a funny place.

7. Venice is an
 area on the west side of LA.
 area on the east side of LA.
 area on the north-west side of LA.

8. Randy Newman
 lives in Los Angeles.
 was born in Los Angeles.
 has moved to Los Angeles.

Here you can check your answers.

AUDIOVISUAL ACTIVITY: UK addicted to fast food

MIND MAP: FOOD HABITS IN ITALY AND IN THE USA

Below you find the map that we've created together in class.
Click on it to get it bigger!

AUDIOVISUAL ACTIVITY: NYC

Watch the video and fill in the gaps.



PART ONE.
You're watching watchmojo.com, I'm your host Alex and today we're gonna continue our city profiles, this time hitting up .
New York City is the _________ city in the United States and one of the world's global __________. Located in the _______ of New York, the city has a population of ________ with an area of _________________miles, making it the most __________ city in North America.
New York City is an international center for __________, finance, _____, medicine, entertainment media and_________.
The city is also home to the United Nations and to many of the world's most famous __________, such as the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building.
__________ known as "the ____________ " and "The City that never sleeps", the city attracts people from all over the _____________ who come for economic ____________ , culture and fast-pace cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Click here to get the the solutions.

PART TWO.

New York City is located on the ___________of the north-eastern United States, at the mouth of the Hudson River and south-eastern New York State. New York has a humid continental ¬___________ resulting from prevailing wind patterns that bring cool air from the interior of the north-American ____________ . New York _________ are typically with moderate ________ averaging a total of two feet annually. New York city is home to the most complex and extensive ____________networks in all of the_____________ , with more than _______ iconic ______ cabs, a __________ daily bicyclists,__________ , bus, railroad systems, immense__________ , bridges and _________, ferry services, and even an aerial commuter _______.
The New York City subway is the largest subway system in the __________measured by track mileage and it is also the world's fourth largest when measured by annual ridership.

Click here to get the solutions of the second part.

WORD MAP: SHOPPING

Click on the word map to get it bigger!

50 AMERICAN STATES: A SONG

DISCOVERING USA GEOGRAPHY

Watch the video and answer the questions below.




1. How many square miles does USA encompass?
2. How many square miles do bodies of water cover?
3. Which countries are bigger than USA?
4. Which state is out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?
5. Where are the lower 48 states located?
6. Why is Alaska different from the other states?
7. Which is USA smallest state?
8. On the basis of what do geographers divide USA in regions?
9. Which are USA regions?

4th YEAR FINAL PROJECT: ALPHABET ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

Dear students of the 4th year,

below you find the presentation I have shown you today.

Keep it in mind when creating your alphabet campaign.

3rd YEAR FINAL PROJECT: MAKING A SURVEY

Dear students of the 3rd year!

We've finally reached the end of the module about energy, ecology and environment.

Now it's your turn!

As I have explained today you will have to work with in groups and create a survey. Below you find the presentation I've shown you in class. It may be helpful in case you've missed something.

Grammar exercises for next week class test

Get prepared for the grammar test!

I conditional

II Conditional

I and II conditional together

III conditional (IV year students)

Simple Past and Past Perfect ( IV year students)

Vocabulary revision: pollution

Vocabulary revision: environment

Vocabulary revision: energy

Dear students,

as the next class test is approaching, it may be useful to revise some vocabulary with the help of word maps.

Click on the map to get it bigger.