SOCIOCULTURAL ASPECTS

THE LANTERN FESTIVAL

The Lantern Festival is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar year in the Chinese calendar. The Lantern Festival is also known as the Little New Year (because it marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations) or as Chinese Valentine's Day. Based on and old Chinese tradition, flower markets, restaurants, homes and parks are filled with colourful lanterns in traditional designs. During the festival, singles play matchmakint games with the lanterns, to determine who will be their lover.


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SONGS

IT'S A HEARTACHE (Bonnie Tyler)
It's a heartache (Lyrics)
It's a heartache is a country rock song that was recorded separately by Juice Newton and Bonnie Tyler in 1977. Bonnie Tyler's version of this song proved to be the most successful peaking at nº 4 in the UK. Bonnie Tyler is recognisable by her distinctive, husky voice.



ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK (Sting)

'Englishman in New York' is a Sting's song from his 1987 album Nothing like the Sun. The 'Englishman' in question is the famous eccentric Quentin Crisp (an English writer who became an icon of homosexuality in the 1970's)


An English Man in New York Lyrics







THE WAY WE WERE (Barbara Streisand)
The Way We Were (lyrics)
'The Way We Were' is the title song to the 1973 movie The Way We Were staring Barbara Streisand and Robert Reford. The song was written by Alan Bergman and Marlyn Bergman and won the Academy Award and Gold Globe for Best Song.




SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS (John Lennon)
So this is Christmas (Lyrics)
'So this is Christmas (the War is Over)' is a Christmas song by John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Band. It was recorded in New York in late October 1971. The children singing in the background were from Harlem Community Choir and are credited on the song's single. Although the song is a protest song about the Vietnam War, it has become a Christmas standard and has appeared on several Christmas albums.




ALWAYS (Bon Jovi)
Always (Lyrics)
'Always' is a power ballad by Bon Jovi. It was released as a single from their 1994 album, Cross Road and went on to become their best selling single with 1.5 million albums sold in the U.S. and more than 3 million worldwide. The song was originally written for the soundtrack to the film Romeo is bleeding but after disliking the film, the band decided not to lend the song to the producers.




IMAGINE (John Lennon)
Imagine (Lyrics)
'Imagine' is a song written and performed by English Rock musician John Lennon in 1971. When asked about the song in one of his last interviews Lennon declared 'Imagine' to be as good as anything he had written with the Beatles. The song's refrain may have been partly inspired by Yoko Ono's poetry in reaction to her childhood in Japan during World War II.

TEACHER'S CORNER

News and useful information about teaching in the Official School of Languages.












All about the OSL (Todo sobre las EOIs)

STUDENT'S CORNER (A-2 level)

Here you will find some exercises to practise English vocabulary, grammar, sociocultural aspects, etc

Activity 1 (Vocabulary)- Fill in the gaps with vocabulary related to illnesses. Illnesses.

Activity 2 (Vocabulary) - Do the crossword about vocabulary on illnesses in Illnesses

Activity 3 (Writing) - Would you like to be a housewife/househusband? Why? Write down 50-100 words, send it to your teacher and make comments on your classmates' opinions.

Activity 4 (Writing)

Step 1: Look for information about the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Museum of Modern Art of New York (choose just one of them!) in New York City Travel.

Step 2: Write down the details about its location, how to get there, opening hours, price and contact phone.

Step 3: Now, look for a map of New York and print two copies of the area in which the museum is located in Google maps.

Step 4: In one of the maps draw the exact location of the museum.

Step 5: Decide a starting point and write down directions. Finally, bring the information about the museum and the two maps to class .

Activity 5 (Writing) - Search for information on the Internet. Write a brief biography about a popular person who is not alive and who was the first person to do something (100 words). Include:

- When was he/she born? Where?

- When did he/she die? Where? Why?

- What was his/her job? Why was it important?

- Any other interesting facts of this person's life.

Then, send it to your teacher and make comments on your classmates' biographies.

Activity 6 (Grammar) - Click here and do the exerises 'Past simple and continuous' and 'Past simple and continuous (2). Correct yourself.

Activity 7 (Writing) - Search for information about one extreme sport on the Internet and write down a description (50-100 words). Include: 1. Brief definition. 2. Where you can do it. 3. Necessary material. 4. Any other interesting information. Here you have some useful websites:

http://www.extremedreams.co.uk/

http://www.doctordanger.com/

http://oxfordstuntfactory.com/

Then, send it to your teacher and make comments on your classmates' descriptions.

Activity 8 (Writing) - Search for information on the Internet about a popular sportsperson. Write down interesting aspects about his/her life and the sport he/she does (100 words). Then, send it to your teacher, read your classmates' compositions and make comments on them.

Activity 9 (Sociocultural aspects) - Visit the following websites and search for 5 courses that you can study at Oxford University. Write them down and bring it to class.

Undergraduate

Postgraduate

Activity 10 (Sociocultural aspects) - Useful links for pictures on Global Warming:

http://www.flickr.com/

http://images.google.es/

Activity 11 (Grammar) - Click here and do the exercises on Don't have to and mustn't.

Activity 12 (Writing) - Surf the Internet and write a short composition (80-120 words) in English about Martin Luther King. Follow this guideline:

Paragraph 1: when and where he was born and a general idea of who he was.

Paragraph 2: early life

Paragraph 3 and 4: main events, achievements and summary.

Linkin and time words: during, in, eventually, finally.

Then, send it to your teacher, read your classmates' compositions and make comments on them.

Activity 13 (Writing) - Write a short description about any invention or discovery you like. You can use the encyclopaedia or the Internet. Remember to include:

Paragraph 1: definition of the object or product and what it is used for.

Paragraph 2: information about who invented/discovered it, when, where, etc

Paragraph 3: impact or influence on society.

Then, send it to your teacher, read your classmates' descriptions and make comments on them.