I Want You To Speak English

One of David Sánchez's illustrations for 'Con dos huevos.' r Spaniards use them on a daily basis, but often don’t know the first thing about their origins.They get angry and exclaim “ me cago en la mar ” (I shit in the sea), they do something clumsy and exclaim “ llevo una torrija encima ” (I’m walking around with a fried slice of milk-soaked bread on my head.) I was fascinated by those phrases, which, taken out of their original context, or to the ears of a foreigner, sound so very outlandish” They even say things like “ pollas en vinagre ,” which is particularly difficult to explain to a foreigner, as it could be translated as pickled dicks. The average Spanish speaker from the Iberian peninsula may not stop to reflect on some of the expressions that come out of his or her mouth, but to other people, some of these idioms can be truly shocking. This is precisely what happened 10 years ago to Héloïse Guerrier, who graduated in Hispanic studies in Paris, moved to Spain, and ...

Let’s Begin… It’s obvious that knowing more than one language can make certain things easier — like traveling or watching movies without subtitles. But are there other advantages to having a bilingual (or multilingual) brain? Mia Nacamulli details the three types of bilingual brains and shows how knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, complex and actively engaged. 

Okay, maybe you’re not  forever alone,  but right now you need to  practice English alone. How can you  practice  speaking English without anybody else to help you? Writing,  reading , listening—these skills can all be practiced alone. Easy. Well, you can already write beautiful sentences. You memorized hundreds of vocabulary words. But when you open your mouth to speak, nothing comes out! All the books , websites and apps in the world can’t help you learn how to speak English fluently. To improve your spoken English, the best thing to do is to talk with a native speaker. Sometimes we don’t have that option though! What if you don’t know anyone who speaks English? What if you don’t have time? What if you simply don’t feel confident enough yet to practicewith a native? Don’t worry. You can still improve your spoken English, even without a speaking partner. We’re going to explain how.  No speaking partner? No ...

 My favourite season is undoubtedly spring. The weather starts to warm up and you can enjoy the  warm rays of the morning sun while sipping some iced coffee on the shaded terrace of a cafe.  Sometimes ,if  it is a very quiet place, I take with me the exams I need to correct and  what would have been a boring task, takes on a new dimension  I can almost say I enjoy it. So , once again, it’s all about exams. June also means exam time . Most probably you don’t have these speling mistakes but ,just in case ,check  or (much better) double-check  you know how to write these words because, trust me on this one, these are real spelling mistakes from B2 students. This is how I suggest you do it. 1. Read through the list of misspelt words 2. Look up the ones you don’t know how to spell or check the correct spelling  below the poster 3. Take pen and paper and  write down all the words on the poster  you can remember. Repeat the exercises as ma...

Have you ever thought about how much time you likely waste deciding what to wear in the morning? It’s probably made you late to school or work more times than you can count. We waste so many precious moments concerning ourselves with frivolous details. An outfit will not change the world, it probably won’t even change your day. This is not to say that fashion isn’t important, as it has an immense impact on culture and, in turn, the direction of society. Indeed, fashion is where art, culture and history intersect. If we look at the 1960s, for example, the way people dressed was very much a reflection of the counterculture movement and the anti-establishment sentiments of the era. Simply put, clothes can tell us a lot about sociology. Yet, at the same time, we’ve arguably become an excessively materialistic and superficial society. Undoubtedly, there are greater things to worry about than clothes. Similarly, as the great American author Henry David Thoreau once stated: Our life is fr...