Thank you and goodbye

We're currently looking forward to the Sant Joan celebrations later, which will be our last night in Catalonia. It's been an incredible year for us both and a big thank you to the teachers, students and everyone involved at Sant Feliu.

We hope that you have enjoyed talking in English with us and that after the summer the next English conversation assistants have just as good an experience as we have had.

Adeiu y Gracies


Brendon and James

New YouTube Sensation!

Last week I attended the leavers meal for 4th ESO, who have now finished their final exams at Sant Feliu. During their last week at school they made this lipdub video to celebrate their achievements and create a memory of their time together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF73v0eQpjM

What a fantastic video! It serves as a fitting reminder of the togetherness of the year group, who have been a pleasure to teach this year. The level of English is very high, which is lucky as they are all currently in London on an end-of-year trip!

Brendon and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone the best of luck as they move on to the next exciting stage of their lives. Thanks for helping us to fit in at the school this year; inviting us to play football during lunchtimes and making us laugh so much during our English conversations in the office. I'm sure you'll brighten up your next college or workplace!

Thank you and good luck!

James and Brendon

Somebody's been sitting in my chair!

As part of our work here this year we have directed and performed an English play each term to an audience made up of the Primary classes. Our most recent production, Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, was our most successful. With the help of star actresses Berta, as Goldie Locks, and Clara, as the narrator, we managed to bring this classic story to life. Due to our bearish appearance, our roles were obvious - James as Daddy Bear and Brendon as Baby Bear - along with Mummy Bear Jemma.

Clara and Jemma practice their lines.

Baby bear in action...

Joe couldn't resist taking part, involving himself as a kind of opening act in which he interrogated the students with questions about the play! He also chose the soundtrack to our play: the English ska band Madness!

(From left) Presenter Joe, Bears Brendon, Jemma and James, Goldie Locks Berta and Narrator Clara.

At the end Berta and Clara found themselves with a group of young fans (pictured above) who had clearly loved their great performances!

A big thanks to Gregó for the fantastic costumes:

Costume designer Gregó

Even though it was difficult, we managed to grin and bear it. I apologise for that joke...it was unbearable. 

Baby Bear Brendon

Word of the Week

Due to the European Football Championship starting on Friday, we've decided to include a footballing word.

Wonder goal - Golazo
Definition: An incredible goal. 


E.g. Check this wonder goal from England's Paul Gascoigne in Euro 96:

Phrase of the Week

It's back!

To chew the fat - Hablar con un amigo

Definition: To talk for a while with a friend. 

e.g. "We haven't talked for ages, we need to chew the fat!"

Football's coming home?

As lifelong England fans, Brendon and I know all too well the disappointment and pain that comes with following our national team, particularly at a major championship. England haven't won anything since the glory days of 1966, a success epitomised by the iconic image of Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet trophy while being held aloft on the shoulders of his team-mates.



The trophy cabinet has remained empty since that triumph, as England have failed at each major tournament to emulate the '66 winners. We have come so close... but yet so far! The team has developed a particularly annoying habit of losing on penalties to Germany in the final stages.



The first tournament I ever followed was Euro 96. Before that I had no interest in football. I remember my Mum pestering me to leave my Thomas the Tank Engine railway set and come to watch the football with the family. I reluctantly gave in eventually, watching a dull 1-1 draw with Switzerland, but those 90 minutes changed my life forever (for better or for worse, you decide!) I was hooked! I immediately begged my Mum to buy me an England shirt and chose my favourite player, goalscorer Alan Shearer. The championships were held in England, and there was an amazing atmosphere around the country at the time as everyone came together to support the team. I remember every word to the team song from that year, which was sung everywhere you went and can still be heard in stadiums today. The youtube link below contains the song, recorded by comedy duo Baddiel and Skinner, which soundtracked this special time for English football.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLjMcK77BFU



Even with a team full of talented players like Shearer, Sheringham and Gascoigne, and the whole country behind them, England still couldn't do it. Yet again, a crushing penalty shoot-out loss to Germany sent the team out of the tournament and me to bed in tears. Surely, after all these setbacks and heartbreaking moments we would have learned not to be so ambitious. Unfortunately not! Brendon and I, like almost all England fans before a major tournament, have experienced a sudden and inexplicable rise in confidence. We are so excited about the upcoming international games that we have talked about formations and squad lists for the last 2 months, and both genuinely believe that England have a chance to win. This is despite us approaching the championships in the worst possible circumstances: a new manager; 11 first-team regulars injured; our star striker Wayne Rooney banned for the first 2 matches; 6 average players from the worst Liverpool team in living memory forming a key part of the squad...



Yesterday Champions League winner Gary Cahill was the latest to be ruled out of the tournament after he broke his jaw in a collision with Joe Hart. Cahill was pushed by Dries Mertens straight into the onrushing goalkeeper - an appalling challenge considering it was a warm-up friendly for the Euros.



England kick off their championships with a game against a strong and rejuvenated France side next Monday, and we will be in a pub in Barcelona cheering on our team. With a history of disappointments and the present team in such disarray, why do we continue to sing (and believe) that "football's coming home"? Because we're England fans!

At school we have had mixed responses about the Euros. Some of you support Spain, and think that La Roja will triumph once more with their passing football. However, many of you have said that you don't feel Spanish, and that you don't follow the fortunes of the national team. After a year in Catalonia I understand these nationalist sentiments, and hope to recruit you all for the England team. Be warned however... it won't be like supporting Barcelona!

James (in a patriotic mood)

Words of the...month

Due to the ESO projects that took place in April, we have unfortunately neglected the Word of the Week and Phrase of the Week posting. Firstly, we'd like to apologise to our loyal followers, because we know what a key part of your week it was.

So we're going to make up for this glaring error, with a word of the month.

To be fed up - Estar harto de
Definition: To feel annoyed and bored with a certain situation.
Example: I'm fed up with my exams!

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

This weekend, millions of people across Britain will be celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 60th anniversary as the head of the UK and the Commonwealth. Street parties are a common theme, with tables, chairs, music and decorations arranged by neighbourhood groups. It's a typical British tradition that will be celebrated in other current and former commonwealth countries around the world such as Canada, Australia, the Caribbean and India. Whether you agree with a monarchy or not, it'll be hard to ignore!

City's incredible title win!

On Sunday 13th May 2012, Premier League history was made, after Manchester City won the league for the first time since 1968. As recently as 1999, City were in the 3rd Division, and only won promotion to the Premier League in 2002. It's a fantastic story of a long suffering club and a special moment for their fans.

The game finished 3-2 against QPR, but wasn't without drama. On 90th minute they were losing 1-2 and the title was Manchester United's to win, but then a goal in the 92nd minute from Dzeko and an emotional 95th minute winner from Sergio Aguero led City to the title.

With the immense Vincent Kompany at centreback, Joe Hart in goal, the magnificent David Silva, and a great selection of strikers including the crazy Balotelli, who knows what they can achieve? They even have two Leeds lads in James Milner and Micah Richards in their team!

Final prize ceremonies!

Over the last two weeks, we held the prize giving ceremonies for 1st, 3rd and 4th ESOs. We were very impressed with the overall high marks and found it difficult to choose the winners. Congratulations to everyone for a great set of presentations.

1st ESO


The standard of the dream projects in 1st ESO was so high that we ended up picking joint winners:

Clara Saez, who won a 2012 London Olympics Gym Bag.

She produced a great poster design on a football team, using her class mates as players, with varied vocabulary and detailed answers.

Well done and we hope you enjoy your prize!

Also, Anna Broto and Maria Cerdá, who won a taste of Britain, with a selection of traditional chocolate from the famous Thornton shop in London.

They made a great presentation on a New York City holiday, using their experience of a previous visit there, and explained the best places to go, stay and eat.

Well done and enjoy the Thorntons!

3rd ESO


The students responded magnificently to our interview interrogations by using a range of impressive vocabulary and giving great ideas. It was difficult - a few other groups ran them very close and have achieved great marks - but the eventual winners were:

Aina Equiluz and Aina Aparicio, who won a gift voucher to El Corte Ingles (translates as 'the English Cut'... so we thought it was a fitting prize!). They produced a great poster, with near perfect grammar and spoke with fluency, explaining their ideas fully.

Well done and we hope you enjoy your prize!
4th ESO


They were the last to show their projects, but not the least! They continued the great standard we'd seen from all the year groups and gave some presentations and posters. The winners were:

Julia Saez and Laura Vidal, who also won a gift voucher to El Corte Ingles. Their presentation was incredible (much better than any we have done!) and gave a lot of great ideas about a holiday around Australia. It not only detailed different areas to visit, but also had information about how they would travel, where they would stay and the wildlife and scenery they would see. It made us both very interested about visiting Australia.

Well done and we hope you enjoy your prize!

First Awards Ceremony!

Today we held our first prize-giving ceremony for the winners of our presentation projects. We began with 2nd ESO.

We marked all of the presentations according to the criteria set out on our marks sheet, with points for the design of the poster and the level of written and spoken English. It was difficult to choose a winner, and in the end we felt it necessary to award two prizes.

In second place, Dani Fernandez and Germán Zapata. When we were judging this pair it was clear that the boys had put a lot of effort into the project. They spoke with enthusiasm and fluency, and had a number of creative and entertaining ideas about their future plans and past experiences. We we particularly impressed with the design of their poster, which you can see below.

Here are the second-placed pair receiving their prizes... two England shirts!

Now for the winners! Judit Arté and Ariadna Escalas gave a wonderful presentation, and certainly earned the job of conversation assistant as well as the prize! Their poster was nicely presented, and they spoke using such a wide range of vocabulary that you could have mistaken them for native English speakers! Unfortunately they were unavailable for a prize-giving photograph, but we can exclusively reveal that they received a voucher for El Corte Ingles!

Here is a picture of the winning poster.

Congratulations to the whole of 2nd ESO.

4th ESO Presentations

The final presentation day brought 4th ESO to the judges table with their 'dream team' and 'dream holiday' projects. 4th ESO are an excellent year group with a high standard of English. We were therefore expecting an interesting day hearing their ideas, and they didn't disappoint. There was a wide variety of weird and wonderful ideas!

Gonzalo and Victor made a quidditch team, using inventive player choices from a whole range of different fields like sports and television. Roc and Joan created "Brenjam", an all-mighty and all-conquering beast made up of me and Brendon, to be the star striker for their team. Miquel and Alberto designed their dream 'WAGS 11' using their favourite wives and girlfriends of famous footballers. Pol mixed the ideas of the two different projects by describing how he would go on a world tour with his own DJ team. Toni is actually planning on travelling around the world, and spoke with such enthusiasm that by the end we both wanted to go with him! Some of the powerpoint presentations were incredible, with interactive features and detailed explanations. Special mention must go to Julia Valls, Ana Serra, Julia Saez and Laura Vidal, who produced two outstanding presentations.

The presentations have now come to an end, and prize-giving ceremonies will be held in your English classes this week. Well done to everyone who participated and contributed to a rewarding two weeks.

Here are some photos of 4th ESO doing their presentations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st ESO Project

The second week of the projects began with 1st ESO, who had prepared presentations on either their 'dream team' or their 'dream holiday'. Once again, we were really impressed with the standard of their work. 

As we had expected, the sports teams were full of F.C Barcelona players! Many students chose to design a football team and there were some brilliant creations. It was clear that you know your football! We saw a whole host of legendary names and partnerships, from Beckenbauer and Puyol to Maradona and Messi, and the students even managed to discuss the tactics that their teams would deploy using an expansive range of English vocabulary. Not everyone chose football. We saw some creative work on a range of different sports, including tennis, ballet and rugby. We were even introduced to a sport that we had never heard of before we came to Catalonia - padel!

The presentations on holidays were equally impressive. I was amazed at the level of detailed planning that had gone into the work. We saw some luxurious hotels, exotic restaurants, and adventurous activities for thrill-seekers. Afterwards we were desperate to go on one of your holidays!

Here is a selection of photographs taken over the course of the 2 days.

 

  

Congratulations on a great set of presentations!