Why Do We Have Leap Year?

Quick summary

• Leap years exist in order to keep the seasons from drifting in time during the calendar year. During a leap year, the calendar includes an extra day, February 29.
• Leap years occur every 4 years except for century years that are not divisible by 400 (such as 2000).
• The concept of a leap year was introduced by the Julian calendar in 46 BCE, which repeated February 24 every four years.
• The leap in leap year refers to how a calendar day figuratively “leaps” forward a day of the week during a leap year.

Learn more here

Talk about Sustainability

• What examples of sustainable and unsustainable behaviours and practices can you think of that relate to this topic? 

• What do different people believe about this issue? 

• How does this issue or problem impact on you personally? 

• How does it impact on different groups of people around the world? 

• How does it impact on the environment and other living things?

• How important is sustainable development in relation to this topic? 

• What social and/or human rights issues do you know of that relate to this topic? 

• What environmental issues do you know of that relate to this topic? 

• What are the local, regional, national and global impacts of sustainability issues relating to this topic? 

• What positive sustainable actions are people taking in relation to this topic?

Extreme Adjectives & Partitives

OFF

C1 Explain the images

Try to explain the images by Roie Galitz, GREENPEACE collaborator. Be ready to give your opinion on the issue in class with Giovanni.

C1 Ideas for Sustainability

Read this document (By IATEFL), select the activities this association does and choose how many of them could be put into practice by you (either at your workplace or even at home).

Could you do this somewhere?

Glossary for Sustainability

Next Thursday we'll be talking about this with Giovanni

EL PAÍS News in English

Sacrifice Biden to save US democracy?

Dear readers,

Spain's intelligence services have no doubt that the long hand of the Kremlin is behind an unprecedented crime: the assassination in Alicante of Maxim Kuzminov, the Russian captain who defected last August and crossed over to Ukraine with his Mi8 combat helicopter.

‌In the U.S., Donald Trump is looking increasingly like the candidate to beat in the November election, and former assistant attorney general for the State of New York Reed Brody makes the case that Biden should step down so Democrats can find a more compelling nominee in time to confront the Republican.

In Ukraine, our correspondent traveled to Chasiv Yar, a ruined city in the eastern front where Russian troops are preparing their next big move in the ongoing war. And our Middle East reporter looked into the dramatic situation of thousands of children who have been separated from their families in Gaza.

‌This week we also bring you a visual explainer of how Argentina's economy would change with dollarization, and an interview with Microsoft president Brad Smith about the urgent need to find "a hand brake" for artificial intelligence.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from El País USA Edition

You can also read:

• The longest road tunnel in the world has an anti-claustrophobia system
• The dangers of ascending Mont Blanc as laid out by science
• Brad Smith, president of Microsoft: ‘We must have a way to slow down or turn off artificial intelligence’
• Cuba: More dust in the wind
• Feeling included and safe: The good side of always carrying your phone
• How to know if stress is the reason you’re sick
• Short-story master George Saunders: ‘Social media instantly turns you into a ferocious version of yourself’

Phrasal Verbs for C1 & C2 Students

Here is a list of essential phrasal verbs for advanced students.

Register
Pronunciation
Syntax

To start with, let's just see "up" and "down". Check the key here.

C2 Don’t Be A Square! Take This Quiz On Boomer Slang

[A square is a person who is old-fashioned, conventional, traditional; i.e: not trendy, not cool.]

We saw in one of the exam listening activities (Slang Trends) some words used --or not-- by people. Let's have a look at some vocabulary used by Baby Boomers on this post. Yes, it is very difficult! I bet you won't be able to guess  too many, but give it a try!

Hey, cool cats! We have created a quiz all about the lingo of the children of the 1940s through the 1960s, also known as the Baby Boomers. These fab words were “with it” before even Gen X knew what was funky—or how to walk, in some cases. Take this quiz and see if you can speak a Baby Boomer’s language! (From Dictionary.com) 

Times for Oral Test Parts

Reminder: SUSTAINABILITY

[If you didn't attend it yesterday] Remember this afternoon you may attend an on line talk about Sustainability: [If you did, you might write a comment below and encourage your classmates]

Sustainability – The what, the why and the how

It’s the word on everyone’s lips – ‘sustainability’. But what exactly do we understand by that? And why is it our problem? This session will present the context of sustainability, what it means, and how we’re all part of the solution.

Ponente: Victoria Taylor

You have the link on your Aula Virtual

Have a look at the Pre-work sheet

Great Expressions

Highlight (and use asap) the ones you didn't know

6 Exercises to Practise and Improve your Speaking Alone

Revise it in pdf. format too! Improve your Speaking Alone

EL PAÍS News in English

The rebirth of psychedelics in the US

Dear readers,

After half-a-century of prohibition, the U.S. is about to legalize psilocybin and MDMA for clinical use, to treat people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or terminal cancer. Scientists, patients, clandestine therapists and war veterans spoke with EL PAÍS about the bright spots and shadows of this rebirth.

We also interviewed Nanna Bonde Thylstrup, a global expert on data loss in the digital age who explains how our societies’ past is in danger, and spoke with Valika Smeulders, head of the history department at the prestigious Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, about decolonization and the change of perspective in art.
‌
This week's stories also analyze the truth behind "middle child syndrome" and explore the enduring charm of perennial gardens.

‌We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from El País USA Edition

You can also read:

• How 25 minutes of moderate exercise a week may help prevent cognitive decline
• The tractor revolution: contradictions and twists
• The Carlsen-led chess revolution will have its own circuit on four continents
• Memphis Mafia confirms: Priscilla was victim of Elvis’s worst side

A polyglot explains the tips (and myths) of learning new languages - Big Think

Read the post and see whether you agree with the polyglot.

Gerunds after some Verbs

From ‘dexting’ to ‘delusionship’: new language of love

Whether you’re single, in a relationship, in a ‘situationship’ or a ‘delusionship’ on Valentine’s Day, explore new terms around romantic relationships the Cambridge Dictionary team has seen growing in popularity over the last 12 months.

Which emerging terms do you most relate to?

Resolución Alumnos Libres 2024

Those who want to certificate and are not attending EOI classes can check the details for enrolling as a candidato libre here.

Valentine’s Day KEY

1 1 myth 2 residents 3 gifts 4 music 5 countries 6 friendship 7 three 8 boyfriend 9 world 10 name 

2 1E 2C 3B 4D 5A

Funny Love Quotes

Words about ...

Relationships & Relations

Valentine's Day Activity

Business Formal Letters Phrases

Healthy 2024 Habits

 

Write in the Comments Section which healthy habits you have taken up this year and why you're happier now than before.

EL PAÍS News in English

Donald Trump v. the 14th Amendment

Dear readers,‌

Donald Trump’s bid to be re-elected president of the United States faces the first of many legal hurdles (...). The conservative-majority highest judicial authority will debate the merits of the arguments laid out in Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson et al, as to whether the 1868 14th Amendment, which prohibits those who participated in an insurrection from running for public office again, constitutionally prevents the former president from appearing on the ballot (...).

In El Salvador, EL PAÍS paid a visit to the maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center purpose-built by the government of President Nayib Bukele to house thousands of gang members arrested in the country’s purge of organized crime groups (...). Billed as Bukele’s Alcatraz, the capacity of the prison is 40,000 inmates. No one who has entered in handcuffs has ever seen the light of day again.

We also spoke to Lily Gladstone, the star of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and the first Native American and third Indigenous person to be nominated for an acting Oscar (...). After several video call interviews, which included a try-out with Leonardo DiCaprio, she was offered the role on December 1, 2020, Burkhart’s birthday. (...)

We hope you enjoy this selection of stories.

Thanks for reading.

You can also read:

• Eight months of consecutive heat records: January 2024 was the warmest ever on Earth
• The 3,000-year-old Treasure of Villena contains two pieces made with iron from ‘beyond planet Earth’
• Farmers in Italy, Spain and Poland protest over European Union policies and competition
• As King Charles undergoes cancer treatment, Prince William takes center stage in the British royal family’s public activities
• 25 years of the euro

Talk next Wednesday

For B1, B2

How to Flirt (By Lucy)

Keep it on this pdf document: How to Flirt at C1/C2 Level

C1 Inversion Practice

You can do these activities from Learn English Today.

And these from test-english.

C1 Inversions

Check this for inversions with conditional sentences. (With SHOULD, WERE and HAD) The ones we saw in class.

Read about Inversion here... and if you need extra info check this presentation.

Celebrate St Valentine, have fun writing and reading our messages!

Hello everyone, 

The Cultural Activities Department invites you to participate in the following activity to celebrate Valentine's Day. You will find post-its for students to write on at the EOI Hall. The idea is to complete the sentences: 

"Love is ..." 

"Dear ______, I love you because ..." 

Remember that it refers not only to romantic love, but it can also be addressed to friends, family, or practically anything. You can even give it a more humorous tone. Some suggestions could be: 

"Love is sharing your favourite dessert" 

"Dear coffee, I love you because I am nobody without you" 

Once the messages have been written, they will be placed on the white board at the hall for this purpose. 

Thanks for joining us in this activity.

Carnival in Brazil

Food Idioms

Find it here in pdf. format so that you can enlarge it and read it properly. And the list with all of them here.

To know more about Herbs and Spices and to learn about more food related vocabulary, just click. More Food Idioms. 

C2 Talk about Happiness!

10 Ways to Talk about Happiness, Positivity and Laughter

Bones

Sample TESTS

We're already in February and, as you know, we'll be having mid-year tests soon. Have a look at some exam samples HERE (CARM). Look for ejemplos de pruebas de certificación inglés. You should start with any of these. You have 8 samples to choose. 

You will find more HERE (EOI Madrid Villaverde) and HERE (EEOOII Castilla - La Mancha) 

Remember Practice Makes Perfect!

Learn Pronunciation with Marcus Carter

Study Trip to Puglia (Italy)

All the info HERE.

EL PAÍS News in English

Dear readers,‌

Joe Biden said this week that he knows how Washington will respond to the deaths of three U.S. military personnel in a drone attack on a base in Jordan, but the president faces a problem that previous U.S. administrations have had to navigate during conflicts in the Middle East: how to respond forcefully enough to prevent more attacks, but not to the point of triggering an escalation of unpredictable consequences. (...)
‌Meanwhile, amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, EL PAÍS spoke to health workers struggling to meet the needs of the population in the Strip. The death toll among Palestinians now stands at over 26,000 people (...).

We also spoke to NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, who made headlines around the world last September when he finally returned to Earth after a record-setting 371 days on the International Space Station, where he was stranded due to a breakdown in the cooling system of the Russian Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft due to bring him home. (...)

We hope you enjoy this selection of stories.

Thanks for reading

You can also read:

• John McEnroe: ‘Nadal and Saudi Arabia? There is a phrase: money talks’
• The Ants that Defeated the Lions
• Heather Conley: ‘Europe should prepare itself for Trump’s return as it would for a storm’
• Eight mistakes not to make when you travel to New York
• Not a couple, not friends and not fuck buddies: What is a ‘situationship,’ the non-relationships that plague those who hook up in the 21st century?
• The horror paradox: Why scary movies can be good for your mental health

Key to Groundhog Day Crossword

Check your answers:

1. Pennsylvania 2. Squirrel    3. Shadow 4. Hibernating    5. Cailleach 6. Six Weeks      7. Wisdom 8. Winter Solstice

Erasmus Mobility to Erding (Germany)

Find more info HERE.

Taller de Teatro

Modal Verbs

Do this Multiple Choice Modal Review (from English Page). You can check your answers at the end of the activity.

Activity City, Nature & Modals (with KEY too)

Groundhog Day

Crossword Activity: The History of the Groundhog Day Read it, even though you don't do the crossword!

Key tomorrow.

C2 Words you didn't Know (even that existed?)

Yes, I agree you will hardly see / use them. But it's always good to know! ... and we are word lovers, aren't we?