Creating a Poster : Keep Calm and Carry On

Create your own stuff, Funny Stuff,

“Keep Calm and have a relaxing cup of cafe con leche in Plaza Mayor”said A. B , Mayor of Madrid in an amazing English

The Keep Calm-o-Matic is a nice site where you can create your own poster . This is mine for my classroom 😉

The poster with  the words KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON are all the rage nowadays. But what does it mean? A bit of history is due…

The poster was produced at the beginning of the Second World War by the Ministry of Information to strengthen morale in the event of a wartime disaster, such as mass bombing of major cities using high explosives and poison gas, which was widely expected within hours of an outbreak of war. Over 2,500,000 copies were printed, although the poster was distributed only in limited numbers, and never saw public display.
The poster KEEP CALM AND …was third in a series of three. The previous two posters from the series, “Freedom Is In Peril. Defend It With All Your Might” and “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory” were issued and used across Britain for motivational purposes. An icon of a “Tudor” crown (a widely used symbol of government authority) was chosen to head the poster, rather than a photograph. The slogans were created by civil servants.

In 2000, Stuart Manley, co-owner with his wife Mary of Barter Books Ltd., was sorting through a box of used books bought at auction when he uncovered one of the original “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters. The couple framed it and hung it up by the cash register; and it attracted so much interest that Manley began to produce and sell copies. Other companies followed suit, and the design rapidly began to be used as the theme for a wide range of products.” Source Wikipedia

Word of the Day: By Phone or On The Phone

Word of the Day, ,

Two things I need to say:

1. I am not a native speaker. Well, I know anyone reading this blog has already guessed that.

2. Sometimes I feel like a broken record posting on quick Word(s) of the Day but hey, guys, are you sure they aren’t helpful?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes and because English is not my first language I tend to neglect the use of some expressions and then, naturally and as a result of never using them, I often can’t say whether they are right or wrong. If you are a student…… relax! ;), nobody is asking you to know everything, in fact, I ‘ve always detested know-all students. They give me the creeps!But, if like me, you are a teacher, then you are supposed to know every single thing  about the English language. Unfortunately, this is not my case 🙁

So, can you say  which of these is expressions is correct?

She’s talking to me by phone or she’s talking to me on the phone?

If you should ask me, the one I ‘ve always used  is on the phone but the fact that I never use the expression by phone doesn’t mean it is wrong. On the contrary, it is just perfect! So, both, are ok .

Can I just add that  “over the phone ” is also correct? Some examples for you to read:

  • Today she’s talking to me by phone from the middle of Sudan
  • Last night we were able to talk by phone with my Australian relatives
  • You can discuss your complaint in person or by phone
  • Is he talking on the phone just now?
  • Doctors should not  prescribe medicine over the phone


Word on the Street

Audio, Listening, , , , ,

I just love this section in the British Council website. Word on The Street is a co-production of the mighty BBC and the British Council. If, on their own, they produce superb material you can only imagine the outcome when they decide to join efforts and work together in the production of short videos (4 or 5 m) to teach everyday life and different aspects of the British culture. The videos are easy to watch, some of them accompanied by captions that help elementary students follow and divided into scenes for a deeper understanding. There are several tasks you can do after watching the video and you can also have a look at the tapescript. Some of the  most popular videos are: Oxford, Travel and Transport, Camden, Animals…etc. Aren’t you dying to try some of these? My favourite will most definitely be Camden. I am in love with the market!

Word of the Day: to Be Good at Something/ Doing something

Word of the Day

Have you ever asked yourself what you are good at?

If you are a bit like me, as old as I am I cannot say with certainty what I am good at, though I’ve always believed it is hardly a matter for me to decide. I’ve always believed it is up to the rest of the world to determine if someone is good at something so I can only, with some level of uncertainty, claim that I am good at making Spanish omelettes; and…. I can only say that because I once won a Spanish omelette contest where I beat all the restaurants of my village… they even gave a trophy which I proudly display on the shelf of my kitchen secretly wishing my guests would notice :)…. and that’s all about everything I am good at !


On the other hand, I can certainly enumerate a number of things I am really really bad at -the list is long but I promise I won’t get carried away- like ironing fitted sheets, cooking meals I don’t like (I never taste them so they are either very salty, insipid or burnt and given that I don’t eat any meat you can only begin to imagine, dealing with figures, texting, walking in heels, finding my keys, folding clothes neatly, remembering dates (that can be a problem , trust me!) remembering wedding dresses ( my mother always wants to know) and of course, makes and models of cars -but listen, don’t get me wrong here, I don’t necessarily think being bad at these things is really a bad thing or makes me a bad person.On the contrary, I am quite nice! And as Marilyn Monroe once said :I ‘m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I’m out of control, and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.

One last thing I need to confess is that I am very bad at drawing and it is a pity because if when you are a teacher this is an ability that comes in very handy especially to illustrate something but I’ve given up trying to draw things on the board. My students don’t understand my art. A five-year-old child can  certainly draw  a house better than me but what some people are bad at, some others are good  at; don’t they say there must be a bit of everything in the Lord’s vineyard? Chema Pérez Fernández, one of my students, is certainly good at drawing and he has kindly drawn one of the role plays we performed in class. I really appreciate his contribution the blog .