Great way to improve your vocabulary

Find an article, song or any piece of text that you're interested and go to WordSift.

Paste the text in the box provided and you will get incredible results - all you need to extend and make your use of vocabulary more accurate. Great fun too!

Talking about holidays

Write a post saying what you would like to do for your holidays.

• tell us about the place you'd like to visit
• what you'd like to do and see there
• include photos to illustrate the things you describe in your post
  

osvaldo(aitor)

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Jose Juan

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Create a voki

• Go to http://www.voki.com/ and sign in with my log in.
• Click on My Voki
• Click on create a Create a New Voki
• Click on Create New Scene
• Choose a character
• Customize your character
• Give it a voice using the model: "My name is ... (think of a name). They call me .... because (think of a reason). I love ... (think of something your character loves doing). I hate ... (think of something your character hates doing)."
  
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Nightlife in Bilbao

Shopping in Bilbao

Food and festivals in Bilbao

breathing earth (javi & aitor)

In this website there is a world map were you can see how many people are born or die in total or in each country in that moment. We can know how is the standard of living in each country and you can also watch how many CO2 is produced by each country. In this way you know how the world is and we think that is a good way to aware people of the state of the world.

In my name (Javi & Aitor)

I think that nowadays there are a lot of problems in the world, but the main is that the mayority of people don't care about them. Surely, if everyone worked and took part in the rebuilding of a better world, it would be much easier to achieve it.

After making people aware, we all need to work hard with the purpose of ending with the poverty, hunger and injustice. For that, it isn't enough to give money or clothes to poor people, it's also important that we ourselves work to defend and respect each other.

We don't need to work thinking about very big objectives, we have to start the change in our daily acts. It would be better the help you give a person with problems in your school or work place than trying to help people in Africa who you don't know.

Athletic's Video

In my name (xabi and gorka)

I think that nowadays, one of the biggest problem the world has is the enormous poverty which affects more than a half of the total population. However, there are some things people could do to solve the problem. For example, if everyone really wanted to change the situation surely the problem would be solved in a few years.
In my name I would like poverty to be completely beaten . This is a problem of underdeveloped countries but the solution must come fron developed ones and from their citizens and politicians from it.

Breathing earth

Look at the Breathing Earth web site.

Write a post saying what you make of it. (what you understand it to be about).

In my name (Néstor)

I think that the biggest problem the world has is the extreme poverty that affects to more than the half of the world's population. If we achieve eliminating world's poverty, consequently hunger will disappear, every child will be able to have a primary education and also everybody could gain access to a public health system.

I think that there are a lot of governments that don't want to eradicate poverty because they don't do anything and also big organizations exist like the religious ones such us the Catholic Church, which has millions and millions of euros, and although they supposedly spread equality between all people and give help to poor people, they don't really do anything to finish with this big problem.

In my name

Go to the youtube video channel inmyname

Read what the 8 goals are and watch some of the videos.

Now write a post saying what you would like to be done in your name.

How to use Windows Movie Maker to edit your video

This video gives you step by step instructions:

Video tasks

• Convert your audio files to MP3 format in Audacity
• Familiarise yourself with the video camera
• Familiarise yourself with the video editing program Movie Maker
• Record your interviews/presentations with the video camera or the MP3 recorder
• Decide what material you need to import into Movie Maker
• Discuss in your group how you are going to order and edit your material

Supplementary activities

If you are at a loose end while you're waiting for other members of your group to finish their tasks, work through the following activities:

• Read this article on Breaking News and then do the exercises below it
• Practise your spelling with this fun game
• Practise your pronunciation and improve your best score with karaoke party
  

Barack Obama's inauguration speech

What does he promise and pledge to do?
What do you think about his promises?

Deusto (nestor)

I have always lived in Deusto, which is a district of Bilbao. Deusto is well known for its university, for its tomatoes in the old times, for its bridge, and also because it's a big neighbourhood. Deusto has 52,000 habitants and include the neighbourhoods of San Ignazio, Arangoiti and Zorrozaurre.

Deusto was an independent town until it became a district of Bilbao in 1925. My family has always lived in Deusto since they had moved to Bilbao from Dima (a small town of Bizkaia) long time ago.

Deusto has got a lot of schools like "La Salle", "Salesianos", "Ibaigane"... And there is also our beloved British Council, where we learn a lot of English and spend very nice moments.

As I said before, Deusto it's very famous for its university, which is one of the most important Jesuit Universities and it has got a lot of prestigious in economic careers over the world.

This district of Bilbao is near the "Nervion", the river of the city. In the old days there was a little port near Deusto but the ships tied up in the other side, in the district of Indautxu.

Another famous building of my neighbour is the "Deusto's Bridge" (as we can see in the previous photo) which can be opened so that the ships could pass, because long time ago a lot of boats went to the "Casco Viejo" in order to sail and buy products. This bridge connects Deusto with Indautxu, but there are also more bridges wich connect both districts like the "Euskalduna Bridge" and the "Pasarela Pedro Arrupe", in front of the university.

In conclusion, I recommend everybody to visit Deusto so as to visit the university, walk over the "Deusto's Bridge" and have a walk around the neighbourhood in general.

Bilbao

I´m Naia, and I´m going to speak about my hometown. I'm seventeen, and I've lived here since I was born. In my opinion, Bilbao is the perfect town. It's not big, but it's neither small and the metro goes just everywhere, and everything is near by. The tram is also another transport you could use if you come here, and it's very fast, i mean, you don't have to be long time waiting to it if you want to go from one place to another.

The most popular place of this town, is the museum. Everyone who comes here, can't go without seen it. It's well known because of the dog that it's in the outside, which is done with flowers. And there are also shows from time to time, like concerts, flashes shows..

If you like party, good music, and relate with people, you can't miss Bilbao in august. For a week, you would live all day in celebration. Drinking, dancing, singing... They could not be the most popular parties from Spain, but in mi opinion, they are the best and I enjoyed them the most. It all started with the "chupinazo", and then you're gona spend a very good time.

I hope you enjoy it.

:)

This week's tasks

Check carefully through your hometown post make sure:

• that it's organised into clear paragraphs and that each paragraph presents one clear idea
• make sure there are no spelling or grammar mistakes

Then work through the following websites and think about what you've learned and liked about each:

• Planet green game make a note of your score when you finish
• A Norwegian game, Throw a shoe at Bush
• A crossword
• Mock election game
• Some documentaries on science and history
  

BILBAO. Where amazing things could happen

Bilbao is a city of the Basque Country, where I've lived since I was born.
In the old ages,Bilbao was an industrial city.However, now Bilbao is a touristic city and also it is involved in the third sector ofthe economy.

I lived in the centre of the city,in a neighbourhood called Indautxu.
I really like to live there because it's very near from the shops area and because I live very near from my friends.
Also I like it because in the morning it's a quiet area.However,at night it is one of the most popular meeting zone for the young people.
So if you come and you like going out,I recommend you to go to "Poza40" or to "Grafit".

Bilbao is one of the most tourist
city of Spain.It's famous for the several monuments that it has; some museums, Arriaga theatre, Euskalduna palace, the university of Deusto... This image is of one of the most popular buildings of Bilbao and also which is one of the most famous museums in the world, The Guggenheim.







If you come you will know a different and a very rich culture,as you do always you visit another country.

One of our customs why the peopple of other parts of Spain know us, are our traditional "PINTXOS". They are made by traditional ingredients ,like vegetables, meet, and the codfish,very popular in the Basque Country.

As I have said at the beggining of the article, in the old ages,Bilbao was an industrial city. There were a lot of factories and a lot of people who lived in the countryside came to Bilbao looking for a job in one of the multiple factories that were in the city.
Now, the times have changed. Nowadays we are having bad days in the economy, but Bilbao continue growing in all the senses. Today you will find a city implicated in the third service of the economy, you will be in a city dressed with a more brigth colour, more alive.

Definitely,if you come to Bilbao you will find a different world.
Maybe you will live moments that you never have experimented before, you will know a new culture of living of eating and in the relationships between people.You will be in a world where you will feel out of the real one, a smile will appear in your face everytime peolpe ask to you about your trip.

BILBAO

I have lived in Bilbao since I was born. My intention is to keep living here because I really like it and I am absolutely delighted about the people and the city. The people here is very friendly and particularly in the area where I live because I have know a lot of people for many years and I know them quite well, so it makes me feel comfortable.


There are a lot of tourist places in Bilbao and they are many types as museums, parks or just the Old Town. In my opinion, the greatest thing here in Bilbao is that it mixes modernism and old places and both of them are really beautiful. The Old things are obviously the Old Town or Begoña and the modernest things are the Guggenheim, Euskalduna, the Underground or the Tram. The modernest one are the communications: Underground, Tram, Bus and the airplane located in Loiu.


As everybody know, the gastronomy is one of the main things here and we have the bests restaurants in the world and one of them has been among the the best restaurants all over the world. You can also visit foreign places to stay.


It is also known for the several universities located here in Bilbao (Deusto or San Mames) and I think that it is one of the reasons which make us stay here when we study a grade.





In conclusion, Bilbao is a good place to live and for everybody who is thinking about coming here I would recommend to spend a lot of time and if you have enough time you could see a football match or a match of "Pelota".

Bilbao

As we are talking about hometowns, I'll tell you about the city where I was born.

I was born in Bilbao, in a hospital which is found in Deusto, but I've lived in Basauri since I was a child. This village is 8 minutes far from Bilbao by car. But I'm going to talk you about Bilbao, because I stay most of my time here.

Bilbao is in the Basque Country, it's a very attractive city so I'm sure you'll enjoy my article, and you'll want to come!

In Bilbao you can visit a lot of places like

the Guggenheim, which is well-known.

The Guggenheim was made by Frank Ghery, an american man.

However, there are other many places to visit, like the museum "Bellas Artes", the seven streets, the "Euskalduna" and the "Arriaga" theatre.

"Bellas Artes" actually is one of the best museums of paint and sculture of Spain.

Also, many students come to Bilbao because here we can find a good university which is called Deusto. It was founded in 1886 by the jesuits.

Bilbao is a tourist place because its traditional gastronomy. For example: "Bacalao al pil-pil", "Marmitako"...In all Bilbao's restaurants you can eat well without spending too much money.

Bilbao's fiestas are in summer, august. Although I'm out during those days my friends have shown me some photos where I can appreciate that they have good time.

FINISTERRE

FINISTERRE

The cape Finisterre is one of the best known capes all over the world because its dangerous location and the rough sea.It is sometimes said to be the westernmost point of Spain,but its not totally true since other capes are further west.
It's name is related to the Romans who said that it was the end of the earth (Finis terrae) and if you go ahead through the sea you'll fall into a monster's mouth.
Nowadays we know that it isn't true because the Earth is round,but it keeps its old name.

Here you can see what I was talking about.

It's very important too thanks to the pilgrimage to the shrine of the apostle saint James the Great in Santiago de Compostela.Some people think that the end of the way of Saint James is located in Finisterre because here appeared its dead body. There's typical that when a pilgrim ends the walk he should burn a garment in the top of the cape,at the lighthouse.


Thanks to that Finisterre has a special atmosphere because there are mixed the typical sea-village lifestyle with the pilgrims from all over the world.It's a really funny scene!

I've spent with my family or friends fantastic days at the most beautiful beaches all over the world.One of them is like the Caribbean,with crystalline water and white sand,without any building.It's called 'Langosteira' because lots of years ago there you could catch lobsters.



There're another beaches, like 'Rostro' or 'Mar the Fora',which are really dangerous and wild,and this zone of the coast is known for all of us as 'a Costa da Morte' (the Coast of the Death),because it's a really difficult place to sail and lots of ships have run aground it.That's really breath-taking to see a part of a ship in each stone,and when I was a child I felt like a real explorer discovering new wreckage of a new crash.
For example,the big oil tanker ship 'Prestige' was the last important crash there.


When I was 6 I came to Bilbao,and since then every year I go back there to enjoy a perfect summer with sunbathing,party and some cultural events, as a folk festival during August or a tasting of 'longeiron',a special kind of razor-shell.

BILBO, ATTRACTIVE ISN'T IT ?

My hometown is Bilbao but it can be called Bilbo, its name in Basque. I was born in a small neighborhood, Deusto, which is very near from the centre of the city. I really like the combination of the large beaches and mountains that we can find in the whole of the Basque Country. It's not planing to leave Bilbao but it might happen if I have to study in a foreign university.

I hope my words will attract you to continue reading my article because I am sure you will love it !



Bilbao was founded as a village by Don Diego Lopez de Haro V, Lord of Biscay, on 15 June 1300. Don Diego gave the city privileges and some lands that it can expand. At first there were only three streets. The city grew slowly until another four streets were built, known as "Seven Streets". As all the villages of that period of time, Bilbao was built around a church, the Santiago church, protected by a city wall. The seven streets and the church are considered the Old Bilbao and it is visited by many tourists every year.






Another places which are popular on tourist in Bilbao are the Guggenheim museum and the University of Deusto which is a quite prestigious university. Both are built alongside the Nervion river, one almost in front of the other. The university was built in 1886. In 1962, it was very well known in the Basque Country and also in the whole of Spain. The museum was opened to the public in 1997. It could be considered as the most visited building in Bilbao.













And finally, I would like to tell you about Basque culture. In my opinion traditional food and festivals are the best thing about Bilbao. They aren't as well known as the museum or the university but they are really interesting too.
Talking about food, I would recommend to you typical "pintxos" you can buy in any bar and cod "a la bizcaína".
























I really love Bilbao and its surroundings and I hope you've liked it and you will come some day. I recommend to you coming the third week of August when the major festival is celebrated!
Bye and thanks !

Bilbao

I have always lived in Bilbao and I have never had any complaints. Bilbao is the capital of Vizcaya but is not the capital of the the basque country as many people think. Bilbao is not an enormous city as Madrid or Barcelona but it still quite big and you can find whatever you want in it.

The basque country used to be a pretty closed zone but nowadays it has changed a lot becoming a tourist region. Bilbao holds very important monuments like the Guggenheim , the museum of Bellas artes, the theatre Arriaga, the Basilic of Begoña or the university of Deusto. Bilbao is also well known by its gastronomy which has many traditional dishes and his high quality restaurants.



The university of Deusto

This overture to the world has been mainly caused by an improvement of the transports like the airport.


Bilbao has a temperate climate , generally mild, with not too extreme temperatures. January average temperature is 9°C and July average 21°C. Precipitation is around 1200mm per year, almost entirely rain, although every winter it snows three days on average, but as Bilbao is rounded by mountains you can go to a ski ressort in less than twoo hours. During the summer a god option is to practise a wter soprt such as sailing surfing or bodyboarding.

Bilbao is also well known for The fiestas during the summer. In fact each village has its own fiesta but the most important one is La Semana Grande which is hold during 9 days in august. During those 9 days a lot cultural activities are organised for local people and for tourists either.


I hope all of you have enjoyed this article and will come to visit my city.

UGAO MIRAVALLES

Juan Ramon de Iturriza indicates that Miravalles village was founded in 1375 near the old tower Ugao, . Ugao was the old name of the place where the town was founded. It is accepted the view of Iturriza on its etymological meaning from the Basque, "boca de agua".

Don Juan founded this town whith the name of Villanueva de Miraballes, It is located in the district of Arratia-Nervión, with an area of 4.54 square kilometers and an altitude of about 81 meters above sea level.

The bar is an icon of ugao because there are around twenty of them in all the town and in my opinion the most popular one is the Aker.If you go to ugao you must go without going there.

In my opinion the most interesting thing of this town is the band of ugao: feos pero majos. This band normally plays punk and rock music, it is like a satirical "verbena"

Ugao is not very big but it is a great place to live because it is a quiet town so I invite you to visit our town and have fun.I hope you come and enjoy the time you spend.

BILBAO

My home town is Bilbao. I´ve been living there since I was born, and I don´t have the idea of moving away. It isn´t a very large place but you can find anything you want on it . People here are very friendly and, as a result, there are immigrants from different countries, so we can say that is a multicultural town.

Bilbao is so famous thanks to its gastronomy; you can eat well in almost each restaurant or bar. The most popular dish is the cod, but in a Basque way, and every cooker prepare it for their restaurants. There are buildings which are known all around the world such as the Arriaga Theatre, because the most important performances are played on it; the Guggenheim museum, whose paintings and sculptures are recognised in every country and the Euskalduna Palace.

There are different types of festivals (every village has her own one), but the main festival is the BigWeek, which takes 9 days of August every year and attracts more than 100.000 visitors. Apart from it, there are different kind of "fiestas" depending on the village. In some of them, people organize bull fights, in other places food shows...

We can use three main ways of traveling around Bilbao: the tram, the metro and the Bizcaibus, which are cheap and fast, and they can move you almost to every place of the town.

In conclusion, Bilbao is well known for its food , nice people, museums and theatres. And I´m very proud of living here, but I won´t mind changing my home town in the future.

Oñati

I'm going to write about an special place for me, Oñati, as it is the village where I was born and where part of my family lives.
Oñati is a village in Guipuzcoa, which lies about 40 km south of the Bay of Biscay and it is about 236 m above sea level. Its name in Basque means roughly "place of many hills" and that's because it's surrounded by a chain of mountains named Aloña. As we can see in the next picture, its landscape is breath-taking.


Walking through its mountains you'll feel in the middle of the nature. Its pure air and the huge forests surrounding you will help you to feel close to anyone there. Therefore, it's perfect for a relaxing family day!!

It's also really worth seeing the Sanctuary of Arantzazu which is famous for its pilgrimage to the Church of Our Lady.


In the centre town you can also enjoy your visit and have a cultural knowledge while you spend your day visiting its beautiful monuments, such as the University (the first in The Basque Country) and the Church, both related to the Medieval Period.

Nowadays this University isn't used. Nevertheless, if you're interested in economics, you can find there an important University to study, ETEO.

As a town, its atmosphere is really friendly. Everyone shows kind to the visitors. In addition to this, the village offers you the chance to have an incredible party night. In fact, it's well-known for its good party atmosphere. I'm sure you'll meet a lot of people and never forget this day!!!



As a child, I lived there until I was about two, when my parents decided to move to Bilbao. I used to have a great time playing in the square with my cousins and some friends and I'll never forget it. Although I don't live there now, I still go there almost every weekend because I love its atmosphere and I got family and friends now.

Finally, I would like to encourage anyone who reads this text to visit Oñati. I'm sure you´ll not regret it!!

...Bilbao...

Bilbao, is the capital of the province of Biscay (Bizkaia) and is the
largest city in the Basque Country which is in northern Spain. Bilbao is also known as "el botxo" because it is enclosed by two small mountains called Pagasarri (to the south) and Artxanda (to the north).





Bilbao is well known forThe Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.Guggenheim is a modern and contemporary art museum designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. I think that the museum is a typical thing of Bilbao, that everybody visits when they come here.







The University of Deusto is also well known throughout the world. It's famous because of its law career and its historical importance. The university has campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián. I think that it's a beautiful building for an university and it's located in a nice area.


Bilbao isn't a very big city, but near it are other places that you wouldn't forget, like Algorta, Larrabasterra, Sopelana, Plentzia... these villages are really nice and you can enjoy them specially in summer, going to the beach and sunbathing.

Deusto*]

I lived in Deusto until I was 12 . This is an area from Bilbao, this is a nice place because here you can get to know a big group of people that live there, because most of them have lived here most of their lives.


Four years ago I moved to the centre of the city, near the Football Stadium of San Mamés. Where I live now is a lively place, because near here there´re lots of shops. I don´t really like it, I prefer to live in Deusto because is more peaceful.


Here there is one of the most important universities that you can find in Spain "The University of Deusto" . This university is well known throughout the world, because of it´s degree in law and because it´s the oldest university here.




In Bilbao there is a building that has a very historical importance. The building, which has a tiger on his roof near the Euskalduna´s park, beside the river.




Finally, Deusto is a confortable place to live, and although it doesn´t have too much night places, it´s an area which is near the big City of Bilbao, where you can find lots of different places to spend a great time with your friends and also if you´re on your own.

UGAO MIRAVALLES

The town of miravalles (in basque and officially Ugao-Miravalles) is a municipality in the province of Biscay, Basque Country(Spain). Miravalles was founded in 1375 by the Infante Don Juan, Lord of Biscay and the future king of Castile.

"The town of "Miravalles was founded in the old house near tower Ugao, whose name meant mouth water; that´s why his name.The people from there are known are "ugaotarras"

Ugao is not very big; The council is essentially constituted by the center of the old town with its unique street and its urbanized areas the small town is completed by some sparsely inhabited districts more or less rural.

The council is not very populated , only 4,104 citizens live there but the town looks quite busy everyday and there is some people that comes to ugao miravalles for work.

I don´t spend a lot of time in ugao during the week but I like going out in ugao at weekends because there are quite things to do in ugao at the weekends, mainly in the "gaztetxe".

Your home town

Look at my post on my home town, Leicester.

Now write a post on your home town. Make it as interesting as you can so that anybody reading your post would like to visit it. Try to avoid cliches such as: Bilbao is very beautiful or Athletic is the best football club in the world!

Do a Google search or look up your town in Wikepedia to find information that perhaps you didn't know about and can improve your post.

But remember: no copying and pasting! Everything you write should be in your own words. And don't forget do do a spellcheck before you publish your post.

Leicester

My home town is Leicester which, for some reason, you pronounce as "Lesta". But it's a long time since I have lived in there, I moved away when I was seventeen. Then I thought it a very boring place, not particularly big or small, and wanted to live somewhere more exciting. However, now I think differently. There is a great cultural mix in the city with many people second, third and fourth generation immigrants.


















You can eat the best Indian food anywhere in Leicester. It's particularly good for vegetarian recipes that originate from the south of India. There are also shops where you can buy material for saris, ingredients for Jamaican dishes and whole streets where Kenyan jewellers display their wares.



















Leicester University has an international reputation based on the fact that both students and teachers are engaged in research about space. Leicester Physicists (led by Professor Ken Pounds) played an important role in proving Einstein's General Theory of Relativity - that black holes exist and are common in the universe.


































And if you are in search of history, you will find some of the most important Roman remains in the whole of Europe dating from around AD 50 when the city was used as a military settlement.

So if you are thinking of a trip to England, you can see that it's well worth planning a stop there.