I WISH... / IF ONLY

Use  the sites below to learn more about WISH and IF ONLY and check your knowledge.

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-5529.php

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-lesson-if-only.php

CAMILO SCHOOL TRIP TO LONDON

Many students  from the 11th form went to London by the end of March with some teachers to visit the most important places there. Besides visiting Madame Tussaud's, the Museum of Natural History, the British Museum, The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc, they also had the opportunity of strolling around London, travelling by bus, underground, cruise ( to Tower Bridge) and enjoying the most spectacular views from the London Eye.The chance of getting in touch with the language, the culture and habits of the Londoners was indeed cool and rewarding. The musical " We Will Rock You" was a "hit"in the visit.  

SPELLING BEE CONTEST

Hi Folks! We're having the SPELLING BEE contest soon (22nd March). Participate! Ask your English teacher about it.

Grammar: have something done

Do you know the diference between:

he has cut his hair and he has had his hair cut ?

Read the explanation.

Now try these exercises:

http://perso.wanadoo.es/autoenglish/gr.havdon.p.htm

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/participles/exercises?08

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1223_gramchallenge9/

http://www.eoioviedo.org/anacarmen/passive/causative%20verbs.pdf

http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/have-something-done

Love is in the air!

Today we have asked our students to define love.  
Here you can find some of their suggestions:

"Love is the most beautiful feeling in the world.
Love should exist in the life of everbody.
Without love there's no life.
In love there are no limits, everything counts". 
Vera and Carolina

"There isn't a unique definition for love.
Love is something we can't see, however it can be immensely felt."
João, Pedro and Patrícia

"Love isn't anything that we can experience in a lab
by finding out the mysterious formula."
 Íris and Catarina

" Love is an expression of strong affection.
As time goes by, we keep all the memories of the times we had together,
and whatever may happen we will still be FRIENDS FOR EVER.
We all need friends to support us, they are really special!"
Sofia, Ana, Luís and Rui.

"Love is a state of mind.
It makes you feel the luckiest one on Earth.
But when it is not reciprocal, you feel as if you were in hell.
But you know what? It's worth loving ..."
Marcelo, Adriano, Diogo and Rui

"Love is something ...
 for someone special.
When you are in love,
your heart beats faster,
and your days are better
and your life is meaningful."
Pedro and Sara

"Do you remember that place between sleeping and being awake?
That place where you can still remember dreaming?
That is where I'll be waiting,
That is where I'll always love you".
Joana, Paulo, Ricardo and José

"How can we describe such a personal thing?
Love's definition varies from person to person:
An indescribable deep feeling of happiness and concern about someone else" ...

Or

as Camões wrote: "Love is a fire that burns without being seen".
Filipe and Ana Sofia
" Bros befores hoes" ( Bro code) 
Mário, Pedro, Francisco

Choose your favourite definition or add one of your own (comment section).

Carnival is coming ....

Carnival 1

View more presentations from ESCCB.

Have a look at this powerpoint, which was done by your fellow students.

VALENTINE'S DAY

Picture of Anne Hathaway on "Valentine' s Day" (film)

Hi everybody! Valentine's day is coming! What about writing some Valentine's poems/ messages?
Write your poem/message (indicating your name, class and number) in the "comments" below and we'll publish it in the blog. Dare!

London

 London has hosted the Olympic Games on two past occasions, in 1908 and 1948, with a third one scheduled for this year; consequently, London will be the first city to have hosted the modern Games of three Olympiads.    
London is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. It is famous for its:

-          Monuments

-          Royal Family

-          Royal ceremonies

-          Green parks

-          Cultural events:  art exhibitions, musicals, plays, opera and ballet  

-          Department stores

-          Football clubs

-          Markets

-          Underground  

But how much do you really know about London?   Take these quizzes and test your knowledge.

National Geographic ;  English-hilfen.com  ; Ego4u.com  ; About.com ; Quibblo. com ; Quizmoz.com 

Modal verbs

dal verbs are:

The modal verbs are:

CAN / COULD / MAY / MIGHT / MUST / SHALL / SHOULD / OUGHT TO / WILL / WOULD 

 A table with the different modal verbs

Modal verbs are special verbs

1. Modal verbs do not take "-s" in the third person,  e.g., He can  speak Chinese.

2. You use "not" to make modal verbs negative, even in Simple Present and Simple Past, e.g., He should not be late..

3. Many modal verbs cannot be used in the past tenses or the future tenses.

    Source: http://www.englishpage.com/modals/modalintro.html

    More Explanations in Portuguese

Try these exercises

http://www.englishpage.com/modals/modalintro.html

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/modal-verbs.html

If clauses 3 / third conditional

The third conditional (also called conditional type 3) is a structure used for talking about unreal situations in the past.

 We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional expresses regret and sorrow about a past action.

e.g. If I had studied harder, I wouldn't have failed the exam.  ( I didn't study hard)

 See some  Rules

Now try these exercises:

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/3cond1.htm
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/con31.htm
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/thirdconditional/menu.php

Effects of technology

Watch the following video on technology and test yourself!

The message behind commercials

      We may not be aware, but advertising has a powerful impact on us. Everywhere we go or whatever we do, we can't escape its influence.

     Advertisers use many techniques to persuade us to buy a certain product/service or to recognize a certain brand.

     They try to create a series of associations in our minds; consequently when we look at or watch an ad/ commercial, we need to discover the message behind it.

     Be aware and don't let yourself be fooled.

Now look at the "Emmy 2011 best commercials nominnes" and  identify:

• the name of the advertisement
• the name of the trademark/brand
• the slogan
• the hidden message

Infinitive or gerund?

Students of a foreign language generally present some difficulties when dealing with the gerund or infinitive. You can find a tutorial and lots of exercises at  English Page.

Participate in the contest: Songwriters

Regulations- Regulamento  (google doc)

Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolutions are popular year after year.

Find examples of some funny and serious resolutions and create a list of your own.
Don't ever forget it!!!

New Years

2011 in review

2011 is about to end.

Let's remember some important events which have taken place in this year.



Let's hope 2012 will be much better.

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING... Let´s sing with him!

Tips for learning vocabulary and grammar

Are you having problems with the English language?
Are you having difficulties in understanding/ writing a text?
Do you feel you don't know enough vocabulary/ grammar ?

If you have answered "yes" to these questions, then this list of tips will help you a lot.
Tips for learning vocabulary and grammar.

English grammar is simple. Get some pactice by reading and listening to it. It's not difficult, English is all around you.

Speaking Time

Students are expected to debate about several topics. However, if they want to do that effectivelly, they will need to know a certain amount of expressions/phrases.

To help you communicate effectively, we will show you a list of useful exponents/ phrases.

For students in the 10th and 11th forms:

- Supporting oppinions 

- Contrasting  

- Discussion techniques 

- Clarifying  

- Checking understanding  

- Exploring options  

- Interrupting  

- Simple presentations  

- Conceading/ making point 

Phrases for conversation for younger students.

Looking for alternative lifestyles

An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle generally perceived to be outside the cultural norm (wikipedia).


-Which sort of words do you associate to the word "alternatives"?

             - Why do people opt for alternative lifestyles?

- Choose from this list the three most important factors.

a)      Unemployment;

b)      Homelessness;

c)       The desire to escape from the polluted environment;

d)      Religious beliefs;

e)      Political beliefs;

f)       Disenchantment with the materialism of modern life;

g)      The desire to change established values;

h)      The desire to change the world;
i)   The desire to have a healthier life.

Some examples of alternative groups:
Goths, New Age Travellers,  punks, vegetarians, hippies, punks, grunges, emos, vegans, etc....

- Now watch The Meatrix (a video against factory farms) and do the following exercises.


A.    Complete these sentences.
 - A Family farm is a …………………………
 - Factory farms ……………………………


B.    Identify the reason for creating factory farms.
C.     Identify the problems caused by factory farms.
D.    Refer to the solutions presented.


 Do you know other similar situations?   Have you heard about factory farms in the news?