Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Dear students,
I´m just writing to wish you all  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 I hope all your dreams come true soon. See you after Christmas. 

Health for everybody!

Mónica

B2 - C1 Christmas

Christmas Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom on December 25.

In most of the countries of the UK, the festive season begins in Advent. During this time, holly wreaths are made with three pink, one white and one purple candle. Shops however, start selling Christmas decorations from mid-November to enthusiastic Christmas shoppers who prefer to have a one-upmanship over their friends and neighbours. In England as well as in most other nations of the U.K., the beautiful Christmas Trees are an essential part of traditional Christmas decorations. In England, the decorating of Christmas trees has been widely popular since around the 1850s when Prince Albert had a Christmas tree set up in Windsor Castle for his wife Queen Victoria and their children. In modern times, the Christmas decorative items last until 6 January (Epiphany). It is considered bad luck to have these at home even after this date.

The tradition of Christmas observance is believed to have begun in England in 596 AD, when St Augustine landed on her shores with the message of Christianity on his lips. The present day Christmas festivities here sees the celebrators adorning their homes with Christmas trees, lights, tinsel and other decorative items in the days counting to the festival. The traditional Christmas dinner in England is a mouth watering affair with the main dish being roasted turkey with vegetables and sauces. The dessert is usually a rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. For English kids, Christmas is the time to have fun with family and friends and receive gifts from Father Christmas, a Santa Claus-like figure, who is pictured as wearing a long red or green robe. This lover of children is said to leave presents for them in their stockings(or pillowcases that they hang at the end of their bed) on Christmas Eve. The gifts are usually opened on Christmas Day, though not until the afternoon.

The festive spirit can be discerned all over Britain with most public places such as department stores, gift shops, town halls and restaurants decorated beautifully with electric lights and festoons for the occasion. Churches and Cathedrals all over the country hold masses, with many people attending the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, or a service on Christmas morning. For Catholics, it is one of the main Holy Days of Obligation. In London and the provinces, a number of theatres traditionally organized for kids a special Christmas pantomime based not on Biblical tales but on such popular children's stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and Aladdin, with a subtle connection to the festival being made deliberately.

In England the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day, named so because young boys used to go around on this day collecting money in clay boxes. The boxes were smashed open, when they were full. The Boxing Day is still celebrated in the UK. It is a bank holiday in England. If it happens to fall on a weekend, then a special Bank Holiday is delivered on Monday.

Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3SKLqywpCY

💬Conversation questions. 

Discuss or debate the questions below. Remember to support your answers!

• Do you celebrate Christmas? If yes, what's a typical Christmas like for you?
• Do you make a big deal out of Christmas or do you think Christmas is just a bunch of humbug? Why?
• Are you expecting any special gifts this holiday season? 
• Have you bought any special gifts this holiday season? Or do you plan to buy any? Why?
• Would you prefer a white Christmas or a Christmas at a tropical holiday resort? Why?

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• What would be the perfect Christmas for you?
• Please describe the best Christmas you have ever had. What made it so great?
• Have you ever had a terrible Christmas? If yes, what happened?
• Many movies, songs, and stories refer to something called the "Christmas spirit." What do you think this means?
• How do the people in your country usually celebrate the winter holidays? Please explain.
• How would you feel if Christmas got canceled?
• What will you do for Christmas this year?
• How many Christmas songs do you know the words to? Would you care to sing one?

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• Is Christmas more about commercialism or goodwill? Please explain.
• What would you do if your child asked, "Is Santa real?"
• If you could be Santa for a day, would you want to? Why/not?

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• What do you know about the history of Christmas? Please explain.
• What do you know about the history of Santa Claus? Please explain.
• When you were a child, did you believe in the Three Wise Men or Santa Claus? Why/not?
• At what age should kids stop believing in the Three Wise Men /Santa? Why do you think so?

Lesson: Stop picking on Santa

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think of political correctness?
2. What would you do if Santa’s image were changed?

3. If Santa’s image were modernized, would it somehow change Christmas?
4. Do you agree that parents and educators should assume more responsibility for children’s health?
5. Which influences children, parents, educators, or the media more?

https://yourenglishpal.com/blog/esl-conversation-lesson-plan-christmas/

A2 - B1 Christmas

 Video Christmas vocabulary

Listening true or false . task https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N845zNMax2du2I3kdHZP7qodWtMgynBC/view?usp=sharing

Christmas pack 3

Santa Claus is coming to town

All I want for Christmas is you.

C1 UNIT 5. CULTURE CLASHES

TRIBE 

Members of the Insect tribe of the Commonwealth nation of Papua New Guinea, whose Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, have visited London and were amazed by what they saw. They were in awe of the great dome of St Paul's Cathedral, and technology such as the London Underground

The ultimate culture clash...

What happened when a tribe of crocodile-hunting polygamists came to visit Britain

The Commonwealth nation of Papua New Guinea, whose Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, lies just north of Australia. It gained its independence from Australia in 1973. Papua New Guineans adore the Queen and look at her with fascination and awe.

       

NEW Headway ex 5, page 44

 💬 Immigration Discussion

1. What are some of the different reasons people move to other countries?

2. Do you know anyone who has moved to a different country? Why did they move and where did they move to? Do they like living there?

3. What problems do immigrants face in their new countries? How would you deal with these problems if you were an immigrant?

4. What rights should new immigrants have? Should they be able to work or vote, for example?

5. Are there many immigrants in your country? Where do they usually come from? Why do you think they moved from their country? Have these immigrants integrated into society, or do they tend to segregate themselves? Do you know any of these immigrants personally?

6. Would you say your country and its people are open and welcoming to immigrants?

7. How can society help immigrants settle?

8. Does immigration threaten local culture in any way?

2. Immigration Vocabulary

• to immigrate (to) / migrate (to) (verb), immigration/migration (nouns) – to move to another country (immigration) or simply to move (migration).

• to emigrate (from) (verb) – to move from a country.

• to deport (verb), deportation (noun) – to expel a foreign person from a country.

• Brain drain / human capital flight (noun) – the emigration of highly skilled workers from a country creating a skills shortage.

• economic migrant / migrant worker (noun) – someone who moves to another country in search of better living standards.

• undocumented migrant (AmE) / illegal immigrant (BrE) / irregular migrant (UN term) (nouns) – a foreign person whose presence in a country is in violation of the immigration laws of that country.

3. VIDEO LISTENING. ACROSS CULTURES. NEW HEADWAY TOPIC 5.

4. WRITING AN ARTICLE.  

https://monicaoterogarcia-ingles-eoi.blogspot.com/2021/05/c1-writing-article.html

You are going to write a magazine ARTICLE about how immigration affects a country. Decide if you are going to write from a positive or negative influence. 

 Try to use some of the vocabulary you learned earlier in this lesson. In your answer, you could include some of the following topics:

• The benefits of immigration.

• Any problems caused by immigration.

• What policies are needed to control immigration.

C1 WRITING REFERENCE. MODELS AND USEFUL LANGUAGE

CAE C1 WRITING REFERENCE. MODELS AND USEFUL LANGUAGE   

CRITERIA TO PRODUCE A GOOD PIECE OF WRITING

1- APPROPRIACY → Let’s show we understand the task! 

• The contents of the task have been answered
• The contents are relevant
• The instructions have been followed
• The message is communicated precisely and effectively
• The format and register are appropriate for the target reader
• The production causes the desired effect
• Right length
• Neat handwriting and good presentation

2- ORGANIZATION → Let’s show how well we think and write! 

• The ideas and information are well organised with effective cohesion mechanisms (linkers, internal grammatical cohesion, clear organization of the message)
• Use of correct punctuation
• Good internal coherence
• The piece of writing is easy to follow with no need to interpret the content
• Unambiguous message

3- RANGE OF VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES → Let’s show off how well we know the language! 

• Variety in both the range of vocabulary and grammatical structures
• Precision in the language used
• Repetition of lexical items avoided by using synonyms
• Variation and extensive use of the grammar of the level
  

 

4- ACCURACY → Let’s show we control the language! 

• Anything to do with the correct use of the English language: correct syntax, word order, morphology, verb tenses, noun phrases, inversions, active and passive forms, compound sentences, relative clauses, reported speech, verb patterns, modal verbs, spelling… You name it!

https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/sensitive-writing-guide/

C1 Stereotypes

 

A stereotype is an over-generalized belief about a particular group of people.  There are many kinds of stereotypes but the most common ones are those to do with nationality, religion, age, and gender.  Using stereotypes is a way to simplify our social world and they can help us to respond quickly to situations because we may have had a similar experience before. But one disadvantage is that it makes us ignore differences between individuals and we may judge a person without even knowing anything about them.

American Stereotypes

1. Do you think you can distinguish Americans from people from other countries? If so, how? _____________________
2. What are some different features of Americans that set them apart from other countries?_____________________________________
3. Are Americans generous?
4. Do Americans like to drink?
5. How would you describe the typical American clothes/fashion?
6. Are they soft-spoken? Why or why not?
7. Overall would you say most Americans are pessimists or optimists?
8. If you see some people out at a restaurant is there any quick way to tell they are Americans?
9. Watch Video!  QUESTIONS. SLIDES
10. What do you think after watching the video?
11. What do you think people would say about English?

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

 

“Don’t Judge a book by its cover”

Vocabulary 

Nouns	Adjectives	Verbs
Stereotype Generalisation Characteristics Assumption Ethnicity	True False Same Different Fair Preconceived	Generalise Assume Categorise

 💬Nationality Stereotypes

How accurate do you think these stereotypes are?

• Italian people eat pasta ever day
• The best machines come from Germany
• British people are very serious
• The French are the most romantic people
• Americans like eating hamburgers
• Australians see kangaroos every day  
• //.Spaniards are lazy and love taking naps.
• 
  

💬Conversation Questions

1. What do people think of when they think of your country?
2. Do you think the stereotypes about your country are true or false?
3. Do you know of any stereotypes about British people?
4. What are some stereotypes you know about women?
5. What are some stereotypes about men?
6. Where do we learn these gender stereotypes?
7. What stereotypes exist about people who are blonde?
8. Do you think some stereotypes are true?
9. What are the advantages of making a stereotype?
10. What are the disadvantages of making stereotypes?
11. What are stereotypes and how do they affect people’s lives?
12. What stereotypes exist about religion?
13. Can you think of any historical events that were influenced by stereotypes and biases?
14. How do people learn to make stereotypes? How might they unlearn them?
15. How can the media (newspapers, television, movies) help to reduce stereotyping?
16. What can an individual do to help reduce bias and stereotyping?

• 🗣🗣🗣 Oral mediation Task
• ORAL SKILLS: MEDIATING PICTURES AND GRAPHS
• https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing/c1-writing/describing-graph-trends-over-time
  
• CTE Spanish Stereotypes, Cloze text. modified
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/26/spanish-stereotypes-we-have-mondays-too
  
• 👀 READING EXTRA 
  
• Oral mediation. The worst nationalities
  
• ________________________________________________________________
• 👉OPTIONAL WRITING. Choose one of the topics below and write an opinion essay. 175-200 words.

• Writing Prompts for Structure:

  • Introduction: Present a stereotype and its prevalence.
  • Argument 1: How it negatively impacts individuals/society.
  • Argument 2: Evidence/examples of changes or challenges to it.
  • Conclusion: Offer a solution or call to action to combat the stereotype.

1. Gender Stereotypes in Education
Do traditional gender roles influence students' subject choices (e.g., STEM for boys, arts for girls)?
Should schools do more to challenge gender stereotypes?

2. Workplace Equality and Gender Roles
Are gender stereotypes the primary reason for unequal pay?
Do modern workplaces reinforce or dismantle gender stereotypes?

3. Media Representation and Gender Stereotypes
Do movies, TV shows, or advertisements perpetuate outdated gender roles?
How can the media better represent diverse gender identities and roles?

4. Gender Stereotypes in Parenting
Are parenting roles (e.g., fathers as breadwinners, mothers as caregivers) outdated?
Should society encourage shared parental responsibilities to combat stereotypes?

5. Gender Stereotypes and Toys/Marketing
Do toys and marketing campaigns reinforce gender roles in children?
Should companies stop gender-targeted marketing for products?

6. The Impact of Gender Stereotypes on Mental Health
How do societal expectations based on gender affect mental health?
Are men under greater pressure to conform to stereotypes like "emotional toughness"?

7. Cultural Differences in Gender Stereotypes
Are gender stereotypes stronger in certain cultures? Why?
How do global movements challenge these stereotypes?

8. Sports and Gender Stereotypes
Are gender-specific sports categories limiting opportunities for athletes?
Should we challenge stereotypes about physical ability and gender in sports?