Chinese New Year- Did you know

photo from Kinternational
Did you know these facts about the Chinese New Year????
 
It’s a very traditional and festive holiday not only in China but also in Chinatowns all over the world, including New York, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, London and more.The US post office has created this stamp to commemorate the holiday this year.
 
photo from US Postal Service
 
 
The date is based on the Chinese calendar. Traditionally from the last day of the year to the 15th day of the first month! What a celebration! This year it starts on January 31st.
 
2014 is the year of the horse.
 
Dragon dances and street fairs are very popular.
 
It’s also a popular time to do a real good cleaning in the house. We call this SPRING CLEANING.
 
Children receive red envelops with money inside as gifts. The amount of money must be an even number (2, 4, 6, 8 etc.) But it must NOT be divisible by 4 (4, 8, 12, 16 etc.) The number 4 means death in Chinese.
 
To make sure you don’t have debts and money problems during the year, the Chinese believe that you should pay any money you owe family and friends before the New Year.
 
On the last day of Chinese New Year, people go out with red paper lanterns. It’s called Lantern Day and it is supposed to light the way for the New Year.
 
photo from TIME OUT
 
Have you ever had the chance to go to a Chinatown or China for the New Year celebrations? Can you share some more fun facts about the Chinese New Year?
 
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Pete Seeger- American icon- is gone

vocabulario-en-inglés-cultura-americana
photo from Wikipedia by Anthony Pepitone
 
 
Pete Seeger, singer, song writer, champion of social change and American icon has passed away at the age of 94.
 
For many Americans Pete Seeger is about as close as you can get to being a real hero. Pete Seeger was an activist all his life as an anti-war demonstrator and defender of the poor and minorities, inspiring many with his songs.
 
He is also well known and well-loved in New York especially for his long and tireless campaign to clean up the Hudson River. In the 1970s this river was contaminated by PCBs, a nuclear power plant, pesticides… His boat, the Clearwater Sloop and its organization were fundamental in getting the river clean again.
 
Hudson-RIver-Sloop
photo from Wikipedia, by Anthony Pepitone
Hudson River Sloop
cultura americana
 
 
As a folk singer and song writer, Pete Seeger was popular in the 1950s until his group, The Weavers, was blacklisted. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, and environmental causes.
 

 

Here he is singing Which Side Are You On?
 
The song was written in 1931 by Florence Reece who was the wife of Sam Reece, an organizer for the United Mine Workers in Harlan County, Kentucky.
 
The song still has relevance today when we can all ask ourselves which side we are on when we think about all the ideals Pete Seeger fought for.
 
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WIN AN ONLINE ENGLISH COURSE! ¡GANA UN CURSO DE INGLÉS!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Congratulations to the winner of this month’s QUIZ, Yolanda Gutiérrez!!!!

Yolanda correctly answered the question:

¿Cuál es correcto en inglés?
a) I have 35 years.
b) I am 35 years old.

Do you know the answer? It’s b) of course!

In English we say I AM not I HAVE when we say our age. Be careful! This is a very common mistake.

You can also say I AM 35. We understand you are talking about your age.

You can win an English & You course every month! Just check here and we will tell you how you can win.


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Common Sense Advice on Language Learning

 
Cómo aprender inglés
How many days a week should I study?

 

He studies English on the train!

The best answer to this question is another question. How many days a week can you study? The best study plan is the plan that you can do. If you are too ambitious, you will probably give up. Decide on a study timetable that fits in with your life and then stick to it.
 
If you sincerely want to learn to function in English, try to remember that you are immersed in a learning process. Try not to switch your head off when you are not actively studying! Be a little bit obsessive about it. Eh?! What I mean is that you can think about what you have been learning recently when you are on the train, cleaning up the kitchen or taking a shower!
 
It’s better to do a shorter study session every day rather than a long session every few days. If you just have 10 minutes, study for 10 minutes! It is surprising how much you can achieve little by little. Be consistent and you will learn!
 
Cómo aprender inglés
¿Cuántos días tengo que estudiar?

Ahora lee el texto en español, y presta atención a las palabras de color rosa para mejorar tu vocabulario en inglés.


La mejor respuesta a esta pregunta es otra pregunta. ¿Cuántos días por semana puedes estudiar? El mejor plan de estudio es el plan factible para ti. Si haces un plan demasiado ambicioso, lo vas a abandonar. Proponte un horario de estudio de acuerdo con tu vida y después hazlo.
 
Si realmente quieres aprender a funcionar en inglés, intenta acordar que estás inmerso en un proceso de aprendizaje. ¡Intenta no tener la cabeza apagada cuando no estás activamente estudiando! ¿¡Cómo!? Lo que quiero decir es que puedes estar pensando en lo que has estado estudiando cuando estas en el tren, recogiendo la cocina o ¡duchándote!
 
Es mejor estudiar un poco todos los días en vez de dedicarte a una sesión de estudio larga con menos frecuencia. Si solo tienes 10 minutos ¡haz 10 minutos de estudio¡ Es sorprendente cuánto se puede conseguir poco a poco. ¡Se constante y aprenderás!
LinguaSuite is the only online English course that gives you a study program that fits in with your life!

 

  • Personal plan according to your months of study and hours of study per week.
  • No limits! If you finish your plan, you continue until you reach the end of your period.
  • The intelligent system gives you new linguistic contents when you are ready for them.
  • 4 different courses: General English, Business English, English for Travel and English for the Cambridge First Certificate Exam.

Check it out: LinguaSuite

Here is today’s vocabulary in English
give up = abandonar, dejar I gave up smoking last week.
fit in with your life = ser compatible con tu vida LinguaSuite fits in with your life.
stick to something = no abandonar. Make a plan and stick to it.
switch your head off = apagar tu cabeza. When I watch TV, I switch my head off.
clean up the kitchen = recoger la cocina. After lunch my husband cleans up the kitchen.
rather than = en lugar de. Today I took the train rather than the car.
consistent = constante. CAREFUL! This is a FALSE FRIEND!
You have to be constant if you want to learn a language.


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Common Mistakes in English. Do you speak Spanglish?

 

English grammar games
 
 
WRONG I play poker every 15 days.
RIGHT I play poker every other week.
RIGHT I play poker every two weeks.
 
15 days?! WHAT is THAT?! In English we count 7 days to make one week, so 2 weeks is 14 days. It’s arithmetic!
 
Notice these similar uses:
 
  • Every other day (NOT “one day yes, one day no”!!)
  • Every other year
  • Every two years
  • Every 10 years
If you make this mistake, try to correct it. Say it to yourself. Tell yourself a list of things you do every other week or every 10 days. You can do it!
 

If you like this, tell us!! And tell your friends!

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Tag questions in English




GRAMÁTICA INGLESA
ERROR EN INGLÉS
TAG QUESTIONS
 
RIGHT They live in Chicago, right?
RIGHT They live in Chicago, don’t they?
WRONG They live in Chicago, isn’t it?
WRONG They live in Chicago, no?
 
We have mentioned in previous posts that, unfortunately, you can’t just put no?at the end of the sentence in English. Sorry!
 
 
 
So what can you do?
 
  1. Learn tag questions: do you? have they? will he? But these are tricky and if you don’t need to learn them for an exam, frankly, don’t bother.
  2. Some people solve this problem by saying right? or yeah? at the end of the sentence. Just don’t do it too much because it can be irritating.

 

 
 
 

 

If you like this, tell us!! And tell your friends! LinguaSuite
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Grants! ¡Becas! it’s noot too late

It’s not too late to get a grant from the Spanish government to study English.
 
 
Cómo aprender inglés con becas y ayudas

o Plazo de presentación abierto hasta el 05 de febrero de 2014
Plazo de presentación abierto hasta el 05 de febrero de 2014
Here’s the link: GRANTS
 
GOOD LUCK!
 
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Prepositions – Responsible for

Chica pensando en las preposiciones en inglés


VOCABULARIO EN INGLÉS


ES UN ERROR EN INGLÉS…
 
WRONG She is the responsible of communication.
WRONG She is responsible of communication.
RIGHT She is responsible for communication.
 
It’s tricky.
 
Remember this: the word “responsible” in English is not a noun. It is an adjective, like happy, or intelligent.
 
So you have to say “I am responsible” like “I am happy” or “I am intelligent”.
 
 
Other ways to express this idea could be:
 
She is in charge of communication.
She is the person responsible for communication.
She takes care of communication.
 
Remember: responsible for
NOT responsible of
NOT the responsible
 
 
¡¡LinguaSuite! Resolviendo tus dudas en inglés!!
 
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Win an online english course!! ¡Gana un curso de inglés !

¡¡Gana un curso de inglés!!

QUIZ LINGUASUITE & FNAC

Big news! You can WIN an online English course!
From LinguaSuite & FNAC!!
 
 
The prize: complete online interactive English course
 
  • One month unlimited access to English & You
  • Any level from A1 beginner to C1 Advanced
  • Access to all complementary material
  • Level test and level certificate showing your scores in vocabulary, reading, writing, grammar, listening, and pronunciation
  • Certificate when you complete the course

 

 
You will love all the interactive features!
 
How can you participate?
Just go to Facebook: Win with LinguaSuite & FNAC
 
Find out more about English & You at English & You
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English for New Year’s Resolutions

Cómo aprender inglés
vocabulario en inglés
 
pareja paseando hablando en inglés

 

This year I’m going to do it! I’m going to be in the 12%!!
 
Did you know that 82% of the people who make New Year’s Resolutions are convinced they will change their habits, but only 12% really do?
 
It’s not too late!
 
Here’s our list of English vocabulary for
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
= BUENOS PROPOSITOS PARA EL NUEVO AÑO
 
VOCABULARIO EN INGLÉS
 
  • Be more positive= ser más positiva
  • Be more tolerant= ser más tolerante
  • Be nicer to other people = ser más amable con los demás
  • Eat healthy = comer sano
  • Get fit = ponerme en forma
  • Get more organized = ser más organizado
  • Lose weight = perder peso
  • Not take things so seriously = no tomar las cosas tan a pecho
  • Say “no” = decir que no … OR Say “yes”
  • Stop smoking = dejar de fumar
  • Waste less time = perder menos tiempo

 

 
AND OF COURSE…IMPROVE MY ENGLISH

 

You know where to go… Click on LinguaSuite!
LinguaSuite te ayuda a aprender inglés
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