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Christmas is magic. This time of winter with short, gloomy evenings and eerie weather due to climate change, can still be transformed by the power of human imagination. An alternative Christmas commercial in the UK has caught the British people's imagination in the tough winter of 2022 and has become viral in the pre-Christmas season with a sad story, a melancholic song and a simple slogan. You can watch it here: The video has no subtitles, but, thanks to my colleague Pablo A. you can find here a lesson plan with the transcript , which was originally published by Film English , and it is suitable for C1 students and above. In the commercial, you can find interesting words like: mate , poorly , [this one]  is on me , cheers , get well soon, well wishes. Pablo A. has also passed me the script for the bacground song, Constellations by Ellie Holcomb , where you can find these words: to long for [you], underneath, a canopy [of stars], to collide , the mess [in my life], to see through ,...

Halloween is right there, so if you are planning to go to a party and you want some ideas to dress up, you can't miss this Cosmopolitan link:  50 Cheap Halloween Costumes That You Can Easily DIY  . This article is suitable for C1 students. Halloween is an old tradition, whose origin can be traced to Roman and Celtic times, but it is deeply rooted in the Catholic tradition too, as Mary Reed Newland points out in her article, All Hallow's Eve  (for C2 level) . Halloween marks the beginning of winter, the season of cold and darkness, where misty figures stir people's imagination to inspire spooky tales of terror. You can find lots of Halloween folk stories, for example, on  American Folklore  there is a long list of creepy short stories that can be read in class to swop stories and do an information gap task. I have chosen  Jack and the Devil  and  The Lady in the Veil   , while other stories can be just played for fun, to listen to the sound ef...

El Pilar festival is in full swing after the pandemic. The streets of Zaragoza are packed with people enjoying the festive atmosphere, and relatives come to Zaragoza from miles away to celebrate October 12th and participate in the popular Offering of the Flowers to the Virgin of El Pilar , who is the patroness saint of Aragón and of the Hispanic countries.   In America there are parallel celebrations around this date, like National Hispanic Heritage Month , from September 15th to October 15th;  Columbus Day , held on the second Monday of October (10/10/22), which includes the famous Columbus Day Parade in New York City , broadcast live on ABC-7 New York, or the alternative celebration of  Indigenous People's Day , which conmemorates the history and contributions of Native Americans. If you are interested in reading further about the debate between Columbus Day and Indigenous People's Day in the USA, you can check the article What Indigenous Peoples Day is all about,...

Summer, together with February, is Carnival season.  You may be out there, enjoying the carnivals of your hometown, or not.  In that case, perhaps you can make a virtual trip to the Caribbean and enjoy the colour and the fun here, in this  National Geographic article about carnival in the Caribbean islands . In the text , which can easily be read by C1 students, you will come across interesting words like: lesser-known [islands], to ring, lure, flamboyant, costumes, Lenten, Mardi Gras, debauchery, a masquerade ball, to enslave, to tap into, to drum, a [rebellious] chant, to mock, a [colonial] master, defiance, slavery, to spill [onto the streets], to bear [similarities], distinct [traditions], craftmanship, to honour [their ancestors' resistance], fellowship, a whopping [$124bn], performers, on display, iconic [carnivals], to be dubbed ['the mother of all carnivals'], to draw [visitors], to purchase, to join in, a parade, the entire [country], masqueraders, to gather, m...

Kimpton, Hertfordshire, claims to hold "the biggest village festival in the country". Here you can listen to a short radio interview (2':54") to Emma Rice-Oxley, one of the top organizers of the 2022 festival, on  Today , BBC Radio 4 .  And here you can find a lesson plan for B2 students . The interview has no script, but with this list of interesting words as a guide, it can be suitable for B2 students and above:  live events, to host [a village festival], to raise the flag to mark the start of the festivities, blessed [with the weather], brilliant, [quite] a claim, to proof your credentials, [a two-year] hiatus, the highlights, the procession, to parade, [up] the high street, moving, dressed up, floats, a Jubilee related [float], a cannon, to fire, rainbows and brownies dressed up as fireworks, a scout group, to bang pots and pans, theme, the UK Garrison , a charity group, Darth Vader , stormtroopers , Maypole dancing , a fun run, a hog roast , you name it. You can...

  Good Friday and Christmas were the only days of the year that pubs closed in Ireland until legislation was passed in 2018 to allow pubs to open.  In this The Irish Times story, you will learn about some of the old traditions associated with Good Friday , a text which is recommended for C1 students and above.   The report also includes a short 2':55" video where some publicans and local customers talk about the closing of pubs on Good Friday in the village of Drumconrath in Co Meath. The video, without subtitles, and with strong local Irish accents is recommended for C2 students. In the article you will come across words like: to liven it up, uneventful, a foreboding, guilt-ridden [religious observations], the Stations of the Cross, a retreat, repository, a cluster of [interesting observances], to guard against [headaches], to draw [blood], a bald patch, drips, a rafter, disrespectful, to unhook, fltches [of salted bacon], to nail to the timber, blacksmiths, carpent...

With social restrictions in place because of COVID19, St. Patrick's Day is going to be celebrated differently again in 2021, but, it is still going to be a worldwide online celebration.  To join in the fun, and feel the spirit of Paddy's Day, here you can watch a selection of videos and a quiz. The first video comes from The Economist, and it explains the history and relevance of St. Patrick's Day as a celebration of the brand "Ireland" and "Guinness", Ireland's main export to the world. The video is only 2':22" long, the pace of the narrator's voice is not fast, and there are good subtitles, so it is suitable for B1 students and above. For a more institutional version of the "Ireland" brand, you can watch this serious 2021 video produced by the Irish Foreign Ministry, which lasts 3':06", and has subtitles, but whose language and background music, make it more suitable for B2 students and above. SmarterTravel shows a ...

  Love is the driving force that moves our hearts and inspires our mind. There are thousands of songs and poems that talk about the miriad of emotions love can arouse. Here you can find a short text about heartbreak and hope, written by Teresa M., who won one of the awards in the 2021 Valentine Competition at the E.O.I. nº 1, Zaragoza, and below you can find two very different love songs: the video " Break My Heart " by Dua Lipa released in 2020 and a 1960 hit by Etta James, " A Sunday Kind of Love ". The vocabulary is quite easy and the songs can be heard with subtitles, so this post is suitable for B1 students and above.  The less frequent words you will come across are: skylight, a letdown, to grip [my heart], relief, serenity, to get it wrong, to know for sure, letting you go, love at first sight, on the square, scheming, to enfold [someone] in my arms. I hope you can feel Cupid's arrows deep in your heart. Enjoy Valentine's Day! IS A MATTER OF TIME by T...

Christmas is a commercial and religious family holiday which is celebrated in many countries around the world, including Spain and the UK. It is also a school holiday and each student always has something to say about Christmas: whether they find it exciting and uplifting, or gloomy and depressing, Christmas is always a very productive conversation topic in EFL and there are so many carols and songs that is very easy to find some music to bring to class.  Here, you can find a lesson plan for a B1 conversation class which includes a Learn English with Ben video which compares British and Spanish Christmas , one of the most popular Christmas carols,  Silent Night, in Tori Kelly's a capella voice , with a fill-in the gap listening task and the full lyrics to serve as the key , this link to Dougie MacLean's version of Auld Lang Syne , which is mentioned in the video.  In addition, you can listen to this BBC 5 Live podcast with an exculsive interview to Father Christmas...

Diwali festival celebrates the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil. It is observed by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and New Buddhists all over the Indian subcontinent and in the diaspora, at the end of October or at the beginning of November, depending on the Hindu moon calendar. In 2020 Diwali begins on 13th November and it runs for five days, but the main celebration is held on the second day, November 14th.  Different gods are worshipped in different parts of India, and in the families, houses get spotlessly clean, clay oil lamps are lit, "to symbolize the purification of the mind and to remove negativity, clutter and ignorance" and fireworks and firecrackers are let off in the streets. Other Diwali traditions include playing cards, baking and eating sweets, dressing up in the best attires, and exchanging gifts. Finally on the fifth day of Diwali, brothers and sisters honour their common bond by getting together and sharing food. If you want to ...

Shavuot is a Jewish holy day that marks the beginning of the harvest (" Bikkurim"  or the collection and offering of " The First Fruits " to the Temple in Jerusalem) and also the reception of the Torah , with the 10 Commandments, given to Moses at Mount Sinai, 7 weeks after the departure from Egypt in Passover ( Shavuot  means " Festival of the Weeks " in Hebrew).  So, originally, Shavuot had an agricultural origin, which is kept in the tradition of decorating the house with greenery and flowers, or having a pic-nic in the woods or in your garden.  Later, when the Jewish people became more learned, some rabbis added to the festivity the practice of an all-nighter, " Tikkun ", which involves staying awake all night and reading the Torah (the 10 Commandments, Ruth's or Ezekiel's books etc), having social debates about Arts & Culture etc. In 2020, Shavuot is celebrated from sunset May 28th to nightfall May 30th.  If you want to know more...

Eid-al-Fitr is the first day of  the month of  Shawwal and the day Ramadan ends, so it is celebrated by Muslims around the world: people dress in their best clothes, exchange gifts, attend communal prayers, listen to a sermon ( khutba ), practice charity with the poor ( zakat al-fitr ), and they greet with the words " Eid Mubbarak! " ( Holy Feast! ) as you can read on this web page. In Turkey, this year's  Eid 's celebrations will be severely restricted to fight the spread of the coronavirus epidemic: a strict 24-hour curfew has been ordered in 83 provinces for two days and worshippers will not be allowed to pray in mosques, as you can read in this Aljazeera report and video, which is accessible to B2 students and above. But the epidemic has also brought "amazing signs of solidarity" like the Berlin church that has hosted Muslim worshippers to help them maintain physical distancing rules while they pray together in Eid-al-Fitr , as Aljazeera reports in this ...

Mother's day is celebrated on May 10th in USA, India and Australia, on March 22nd in the UK and Ireland and on May 3rd in Spain. Here you can read three stories related to the topic. The first story is Kate Middleton's virtual visit to a new mother in a hospital in South-West London, where she has a friendly conversation with the astonished new mother, who describes the experience as "surreal".  Kate's goal was to raise awareness about the mental health issues that can affect new mothers.  The story comes from "The Daily Mail", a royalist tabloid in the UK, and it is suitable for B2 students. The second story comes from The New York Times, and it reports on how florists are preparing to deliver bouquets of flowers for Mother's Day in the USA during confinement.  The language in the article is very descriptive -precise nouns and adjectives- which can be challenging, so the text is suitable for C1 students, but the pictures, of course, can be enjoyed b...

St George is part of an ancient tradition both in England and in Aragon.  He is the saint patron of England and also of Aragon and its flag is in the shirt of the second kit of Sociedad Deportiva Huesca.    The story of St George slaying the Dragon to rescue the Princess is still very popular in schools and it is often celebrated in the streets.  On this Wikipedia link you can read a detailed explanation of the legend and its iconography (this text is C1 level). On the right, you can watch a short video for children that tells the tale of St George in a very simple way.  The video has subtitles both at the foot of the cartoon and underneath, in the configuration spur wheel, so it can be understood by B1 students: It is not easy to find references to Saint George's Day in the British press, but you can try these: an article in the progressive newspaper The Guardian about the historical facts behind the legend of St George, or, on the other side of the British me...

American Pie is, problably, the most popular, long song  (8:33) in the history of modern music and its lyrics are the most widely debated too.  It is number 5 in RIAA's project " Song of the Century",  which promotes the musical and cultural heritage in American schools, and it has been covered by many artists, including Madonna in 2000. The meaning of the lyrics have been discussed all over, in forums, books, in the press etc., but  Don McLean has  always refused to explain its symbolism and hidden references, he often tells his fans "American Pie means I never have to work again", as the BBC reported in 2015.  The song contains a deluge of references to the leading artists in pop music from 1958 to 1971, and some of the landmarks of the social history of the 1960's like segregation, the fear of nuclear war, flower power, Woodstock, the drug culture and heroin etc. According to the analysis on the webpage The Rare Exception, which is a dead link now, but...

The Anonymous mask has become a common brand to protest against tyranny, but, many people ignore that this mask represents Guy Fawkes, a Catholic terrorist who plotted to blow up the British Parliament in 1605 with 36 barrels of gunpowder. This article from National Geographic gives you more historical background to Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot (B2). If you want to do a B2 listening task  about the tradition of Bonfire Night in Britain today, you can follow this link to LearnEnglish, a section of the British Council website. The video alone can also be clicked directly below: Finally, you can also read this current report from The Sun about some violent incidents on Bonfire Night yesterday, when minorities of "yobs" (hooligans) threw fireworks at police officers and firefightes, and a "lad" (boy) was stabbed in Merseyside, near Liverpool. This report is a good example of sensationalist journalist style, the vocabulary is very snappy and colloquial, but it shoul...

It's Nowruz, Persian New Year, a celebration of Spring for more than 300 million people around the world, including Iran, Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey, India and Iraq. Find out more about the celebrations, Persian style, in this short BBC video with subtitles which is accessible from B2 level.