Let’s go to the cinema!!!

6 Febrero 2013 — Cristina Cabal

This is a very simple activity to do some speaking about films I intend to try with my Elementary students. Nothing too complicated but I guess they’ll love to see how  film titles are translated  into English . Who, in the name of God,translated the film DIE HARD  starring Bruce Willis  into LA JUNGLA DE CRISTAL or SOME LIKE IT HOT starring Marylin Monroe  into CON FALDAS A LO LOCO. Was it Google Translator???

Anyways,there is a whole lesson plan about films ( complete with vocabulary, listening, reading and writing) that I created some time ago, if you feel like doing some more practice ( Click on the picture if you are such a hardworking student) ,otherwise and for the time being we will just focus on speaking.

The game is easy: the class is divided into two groups. In turns , one member from each group sits on the Hot Chair facing  away from the whiteboard. The members of their group have -like one minute- to describe , without mentioning the title  ( that goes without saying , but just in case, I’m saying it), the film being displayed .

They will need to talk about.

Kind of film/ Nationality of the film/ director/ plot/

Some hints:

♥The film ‘_______’ is a(n) _______ film which takes place in _______.
♥The film is set in __(ancient Greece)__.
♥The story is based on __(a popular novel)__.
♥The film is directed by _______.
♥The main character(s) in the film is/are _______.
♥_______ is a character who _______.
♥__(Johnny Depp)__ stars as __(Captain Sparks)__.
♥In the film , __(Jack Black)__ plays __(a rock guitarist)The story is about _______
♥The best scene of the film is_____

Posted in Slides, Speaking. No Comments »

PictureTrail: Customizable Slide Show Maker

24 Enero 2013 — Cristina Cabal

I have discovered this amazing site to work with slides that I cannot wait to share with you. It is just amazing the variety it offers to create slides , choosing from a variety of skins, borders, glitters , backgrounds…etc. The only thing you need to do is upload your pictures and have fun. It is also possible, as you have probably noticed ;) to embed your slides.

How am I going to use it in my classes? Nothing to write home about really; my students are working with TV programmes so I thought to find images from different Spanish programmes and do some speaking. The instructions are in the form of a slide too, so that they can do this exercise at home again and do some more practice before exams.

By the way, the site is called PictureTrail.

Posted in Create your own stuff, Pictures, Slides, Speaking, Vocabulary. No Comments »

A word on Grammar: Reported Speech

17 Enero 2013 — Cristina Cabal

Happy Thursday to everybody!  Yes, Ok, in Asturias  we have rain, clouds, and cold but I’m trying to keep my spirits up!

Next week I’ll be focusing on Reported Speech and I thought this could be a good way of getting their attention. I have chosen  a  few quotes from  some  famous people , created a Power Point Presentation and uploaded it to Empressr. Hope it’s helpful!!

Visit my Intermediate Section for more exercises on reported Speech and also read another article (Reported Speech: questions and Orders)  I published some time ago with more ideas here

Posted in A word on Grammar, Slides. No Comments »

Fashion Victims?

4 Octubre 2012 — Cristina Cabal

So, once again , here we are , working with items of clothing and talking about fashion!

Though I cannot consider myself a shopaholic , I wouldn’t be completely honest with you if I didn’t tell you that, once a week, I leave husband and kids at home and I……. burn plastic!!!!  Well, I reckon I deserve a treat or two from time to time,don’t you think so?

Now this is the activity I’m going to do with my fourth-year students (Pre-intermediate).I hope you find it useful!

The main activity will be displaying a video of a catwalk where students will have to be the commentators , describing what the models on the catwalk are wearing. A video such as this one … or maybe the one below it… to add more variety.
This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

 

They  have previously worked with patterns and materials (striped, checked, plain, silk, leather…etc) but I used some pictures from my ipad, so this vocabulary has already been covered.

Though I hate to say it, most of my students will know “trousers and shoes” but They will probably need some help with some other less common items of clothing. That’s why I’ve prepared these slides about clothes , divided into Elementary and Intermediate .

Posted in Create your own stuff, Lesson Plan: Pre-Intermediate, Slides. No Comments »

Learn how to write an informal email with SlideRocket

23 Abril 2012 — Cristina Cabal

SlideRocket is an online presentation tool that helps you create , manage and share your presentations. With this tool you can create better slideshows more quickly from within any browser.You can also upload your  PowerPoints or Google Docs presentations. Presentations are stored on SlideRocket’s servers and can be accessed from any device that is connected to the internet. For casual users , it’s free.

I have used SlideRocket to teach my students how to write an informal email. I hope you find it helpful , too.

Posted in General, Music, Resources, Slides, Students' Corner, Writing, Writing skill. No Comments »

A dream come true: Casa MariFalcón

19 Marzo 2012 — Cristina Cabal

I am dying to tell you about my new project , but first things first! and first is telling you about this very interesting site I’ve used for my little project. Everybody knows how difficult it is to build a professional looking website but with wix , it’s one of the easiest things in life. It creates a Flash website without any knowledge of Flash.

And now , about my little project

Some time ago we bought the ruins of an ancient house, Investing a lot of time, a lot of effort and, why not say it, a lot of money  we have finally finished . It is in the North of Spain and we have decided to rent it during the summer holidays. So , if you want to come to Spain and enjoy the beautiful landscape and the clean sandy beaches of the North , this might be your house.

Please, Have a look at the website http://www.wix.com/cristinaca/marifalcon  created with wix.com.

Posted in Create your own stuff, General, My Crafty Side, Pictures, Slides, freeware. No Comments »

5 students using MyBrainShark for their landmarks presentations

12 Marzo 2012 — Cristina Cabal

Did you think you have seen the last of MyBrainshark in this blog? Far from it!

Now I have engaged my students (level A2) into giving a presentation about a landmark of their choice. The fact that they did it at home and at their own pace , repeating as many times as they wished until they were completely satisfied and choosing their own photographs to illustrate it must have boosted up their confidence in using English because , with the exception of some students, most of them made a great effort and passed with flying colours.

Below are some of my students and their MyBrainsharks. They are: Victor Areces, Sara Días, Paula Fdez, Jesus Fdez and Paula García.

And here are their landmarks.
Grand Arch by Victor Areces

Petra by Sara Días

Ellis Island by Paula Fdez

Petronas Towers by Jesús Fdez

The Arch of Triumph by Paula Garcia

If you’re interested in using MyBrainshark  , click here to see my tutorial in Spanish ,

Posted in Audio, Create your own stuff, In the Computer Room, Slides, Speaking, Students' Corner. No Comments »

Wanna someone to read your slides?

29 Febrero 2012 — Cristina Cabal

welcome Helloslide.com.

So often , especially when giving a long presentation with slides where I need to  first type and then read and explain what I have written I have wished for someone to read and/or explain  it for me( call me lazy but my voice demands a rest after maybe four hours speaking maybe non-stop.

HelloSlide transforms your slides into a rich audiovisual format, recreating the experience of a live lecture. Simply upload your presentation, type the speech for each slide, and HelloSlide automagically generates the audio.

HelloSlide gives more exposure to your presentations, making them searchable, editable, and available in 20 different languages.

It’s simple to get started:

  1. Upload a PDF of your presentation to our website.
  2. Type the speech for each slide using our editor.
  3. Press play to hear your presentation.

My first experience with HelloSlide has been this PowerPoint Presentation on A For and Against Essay though first I had to convert the ppt file into pdf. I did it using this wonderful online converter http://es.pdf24.org/onlineConverter.html

Have a look now at my HelloSlide and tell me what you think. I like it when the robot says my name at the end (ha, ha) .

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Audio, Create your own stuff, Reading, Slides, Writing skill. No Comments »

Students in the limelight

6 Diciembre 2011 — Cristina Cabal

About two weeks ago I wrote a post about an amazing site called Brainshark ( see post here) and today I want to show you the first thing I’ve done with my elementary students.

In the first video , Karen and Alice- from 1st year -perform a role-play called “At the Sports Centre” and in the second one Laura and Alba- from the 2nd year - do likewise with a role-play that I called ” At the grocery”.Thank you ,girls! It was funny, wasn’t it?

Posted in Create your own stuff, Slides, Speaking, Students' Corner, freeware. 1 Comment »

Mybrainshark

21 Noviembre 2011 — Cristina Cabal

Today I want to show you a tool which has a lot of potential in the classroom. It’s called Mybrainshark and it offer lots of possibilities .

Mybrainshark allows you to:

♥Add voice to a PowerPoint. Upload your Power point presentation and add audio to every slide by using a microphone. You can also add background music.

♥Upload a document and add audio. It might be very useful when you want to explain a grammar point or when you want your students to improve pronunciation.

♥Upload a video and add your voice to it or/and add background music.

♥Make your own photo album and comment on it or add music.

♥Make your own podcast.

Besides, it’s free -you only need to register - and it’s easily shared or embedded in a website or blog.

I’m planning to immediately use it with two levels.
♥Elementary levels. Record students while doing a role-play. I’m going to use the Photo album option and take pictures of them.
♥Intermediate levels. Students narrate their own speeches illustrating them with photos. They can either use the Power Point option or the Photo album option.

Give it a go and if you have any ideas about how to use it the classroom, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

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