And this is precisely what this little tool does for your computer to keep it in good shape. It’s called  CCleaner and it might be  one of the best cleaning systems you can find for free.

Its main purpose is to clean any unnecessary files from your hard-drive and on opening the program you can see the various aspects of Windows that you can search through and clear. CCleaner will also detect your installed applications that may hold on to files which are no longer any use, such as Google Earth histories or Flash Player configurations and it’ll allow Windows to run faster while freeing up valuable hard disk space.

There’s even a portable version you can carry around .

Today I want to introduce you to Akinator, the Web Genius. Akinator can read your mind and tell you who you’re thinking of by answering a few questions.Think about a real or fictional character, and he will try to guess who it is !
You too can try to trick Akinator. You will see that he is not infallible. But hush… he does not like to hear it. Be careful though: you must answer honestly. Remember the frightening warning of our genie!

 “I am capable of guessing who you are thinking about with a few questions. If I cannot, if you beat me, then I shall leave you alone. But be careful! Answer my questions accurately or… or you will take my place in the lamp.”

Click on the genie or follow this link http://en.akinator.com/.

Kind of creepy,isn’t it?

This blog is also going on holiday but I hope you’ll come back and visit me again in September . I leave you with a  story with moral and trust me on this,  I’ll make sure I am  sitting really high

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, Can I also sit like you and do nothing?
The eagle answered, Sure , why not?
So the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested.
All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

 At first , I could only see his pulling faces and peering at the camera with inquisitive eyes but soon I realized that the message he wanted to send was crystal clear . Then, I got into the car and drove off to work but as I was driving to school his words came back to me (as the echo in the video) Are you going to be my teacher? You can’t be my teacher! You can’t be my teacher if you don’t know how to use a computer or the Internet , if you don’t  know how to teach me to be safe on the Internet, if you refuse to learn how to use technology.
And it dawned on me that he’s absolutely right. I’ve got two children and I realize now ,more than ever ,that what they need to learn is much more than I needed to , because they have more opportunities and more easy access to the kind of information we could never get and only at a click away.

Our children need teachers ,and even parents , who know… who know how to teach them get the best of new technologies , who know how to help their children in their never ending quest for information , who know how to make them safe on the Internet because Internet is not a passing fad , it’s here to stay and our children , in every single school , everywhere in the world have to be ready for life, for the world they have to live in when they finally leave our classes. It’s our duty as educators to make an effort to keep up with the new technologies, to know how to help students use the Internet and the fact that our generation is not a digital native is a very lame excuse for , at least , not trying.
And I’m not saying that the traditional way of teaching is no longer valid… I don’t believe textbooks are a thing of the past, not yet , at least. I believe in a combination of the old and the new, of trying to achieve the right balance between what is useful in both methods.
If we can’t, at least, make the effort, we should maybe consider, making room for someone who wants to try.

This is what  our children need and I want to conclude with the last words in the video
” Do you really think it’s possible to be an educator in the information age and not understand and use the Internet?Continue to pretend the internet is just a fad.”

Now that you are on holidays and with plenty of time to spare , do you fancy playing some word games? There are

tons of them in the Merriam-Webster word games ,  from spelling games  to word Sudokus , but my favourite is Scrabble.  Have you ever played this game? I’m sure you have in Spanish, so why don’t you give it a go now in English? It’s highly entertaining  and it’ll help you not to forget English.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Written by  Jenny Joseph (born 7 May 1932), an English poet

Used as a verb - if a river floods an area that is usually dry, it becomes covered with water

The Nalon river has flooded its banks, making some roads impassable
The Nalon river has flooded whole villages
The relentless rain in Asturias has caused the Nalon river to flood

Used as a noun - An overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry

Fortunately nobody has been killed in the floods in Asturias
The west of Asturias has been badly hit by floods
Tomorrow the flood water is expected to recede

And that’s where I live, Pravia . The  picture was  taken  3 hours ago.

Ahora mismo, de los publicados solo podeis ver :” at the train station” y estos que acabo de hacer.

At the police station  .

At the Antiques Market

Your passport , please!!

Photopeach, the tool I have been using to create  the role-play videos has decided to take a one-or-two -day maintenance break  , just now. I  can’t believe it!!

This is what they say on their website so hopefully tomorrow it will be working again

Meanwhile, you can enjoy the  Dolly Parton’s song the title of this post makes reference to

vozMe- This converts text into speech. You can type any word and even a text ( use the copy and paste option ;-)  ) and then choose a male or a female voice.( If you want to know my opinion ,  the female voice is clearer). The text will be read to you.
Read the post here

Howjay.com- I just love this dictionary!! You enter the word and you submit it. When it appears in pink , mouse over it to hear it spoken as often as you want. You don’t have to wait a second as it is individually pre-recorded!!
You can translate the word into Spanish or any other language using the Google Translate and then get the definition for the word
Read the post here

Fotobabble- Great to practise picture description. Upload a photo and record yourself describing it. Listen to your own description and work on how to improve it.
Read the post here.

Listen a minute- Want to improve pronunciation and intonation? Dedicate one minute to listening and reading along .
Read the post here

Role-plays- a selection of role-plays for the elementary level aimed at the oral exam.
Click on the photo and it’ll take you there!

Related posts:

You’ll never forget how to pronounce “would”

Some help with the Speaking Test … or not?

False friends: embarrassed or embarazada?

Monty Python :Silly Job Interview