INSIDE: AN INTERVIEW WITH PALOMA LETTERS TO SANTA CHRISTMAS IN 2157

SANTA’S FAVOURITE MEMES THE ENGLISH ENGLISH PODCAST ROBOTS

CRAZY CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS COLOURING PAGE AND MUCH MUCH MORE

EDITORIAL COMMENT This academic year has got off to a cracking (great) start with our fantastic new teacher (see the interview with Paloma), Isa as office manager, Beth as head of studies for the children and Liz for the adults. Not forgetting our the amazing Billy, John and Bea. They’ve done so much in the last few months that we don’t have space to mention it all.

We’ve had the Pub Quiz with John preparing some tough (difficult) questions for our adult students and anyone else who wanted to come. They had a great time practising English in a more natural environment. Many people think that a beer or two helps with speaking a foreign language, although I’m not sure if that’s scientifically proven. Anyway, everyone had a nice evening and the best team won a hamper with beer, olive oil and other bits and pieces.

We’ve had the Mini Short Film Festival for primary and adults, and for the first time we had the Teenage Version of the film festival for the secondary children. They watched 5 or 6 short films and reviewed them all. They complained about having to watch a Pixar short film, as they said Pixar was too childish. After watching it they decided that this one was the best!

Our Secondary students have been doing projects this term. So far they’ve done a charity campaign, designed a board game and done a radio interview.

As always the primary students have been doing lots of cool activities and crafts in the Friday workshop. Paloma and Beth have prepared some awesome things for them to do.

Let’s not forget all the great work that’s gone into this edition of the Christmas magazine. My favourite this year are the Christmas memes! You can also find the memes on the Taylor School Facebook page if you’d like to share them with your friends.

MARÍA JOSE FROM ALC LIMPIEZA

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THANKS FOR MAKING OUR SCHOOL LOVELY AND CLEAN!

Introducing……

PALOMA She’s our super new Primary and Secondary teacher. She’s an English Philologist from Oviedo and she studied in the USA. Her students interviewed her for the magazine.

By Alicia Vicente, Almudena Menéndez, RaquelVázquez, Iyán García, Marcos García, Alba López,LucíaCideres,JuanViejo,YanaBricio,CinEaCuesta,Miguel Viejo, Juan Malgor Paula Barrera, LolaGarcía,MartaLópez,LíaFernández,GonzaloGarcía,Alfonso Carrero, Alejandro Bedia, David Alcorta,PabloÁlvarezandPedroGarcía.!Wherewereyouborn?IwasborninMadridHaveyoueverbeentotheUSA?Yes, Iwas livingthereforoneyearandIreallylikedit!Whattypeofmusicdoyoulistento?Alltypesofmusic:pop,rock,classical,etc.What’syourfavouritecolour?Myfavouritecolourisred.What’syourfavouritedayoftheweek?MyfavouritedayisFriday!

What’sthenameofyourbestfriend?

HernameisLeonor,liketheprincess!

W h a t ’ s y o u rfavouritefilm?

A l i c e i nWonderland.

Howoldareyou?

Iam35.

What’syourfavouritesport?

I have two favourite sports: cycling andswimming.

What’syourfavouritecity?

DefinitelyRome!

Doyoulikethisclass?

Yes,mostoftheIme;)

DoyouplayPokemonGo?

No,Idon’t.IloveCandyCrush!

Howmanypiecesoffruitdoyoueatperday?

I’mafraidnonebutIdrinklotsoforangejuice,though.

What’syourfavouritegameforanEnglishclass?

PicIonary

What’syourfavour i tefood?

“Fabada” ofcourse!

Do you have anypets?

Yes,Ido.IhaveadogandhernameisIra.

CHRISTMAS TREES! Our infants made christmas trees that actually stand up! Great work!

WORKSHOP PALOMA AND BETH DO AWESOME THINGS IN THE FRIDAY WORKSHOP WITH OUR PRIMARY KIDS!

Don’t know what presents to ask for this Christmas? How about a robot?

Name: BB-9K J.2.0

Price: 1,000,000€

Features: It can cook, fly, dance and shoot x-rays

Name: Jamie, the pastry cook robot

Price: 3,000€

Features: You can cook anything with him. It cooks when you clap.

Name: Paul Pogba

Price: 1,000

Features: It can play football.

Name: Thug life robot

Price: 1,000,000,000,000€

Features: It has got a TV with video games consoles and remotes. It has a microwave, a CD layer. two fridges with fresh drinks and wheels.

Name: Masserobot

Price: 12,000,000€

Features: You can relax when the robot is driving, it has TV with speakers, PS4, an MP3 and a bar.

By

By Lucía and Alicia

By Alba, Raquel and Almudena

By Marcos and Iyán

By Pedro and David

By Juan and Luis

SANTA’S FAVOURITE MEMES Created by Mario, Nel, Paula, Laura, Pablo, Rafa, Paula F, Paula C, Alberto, Jaime, Mario,

Angel, Martín, Aida, Paula, Sara, Oihane, Carlos, Pelayo, Pablo

YOU CAN FIND ALL THESE MEMES ON THE TAYLOR SCHOOL FACEBOOK PAGE… AND SHARE THEM!

ChristmasintheYear2157WhatisChristmasgoingtobelikeinthefuture?

1.Emma:Inthefuturethethree

wisemenaregoingtobe

troublemakers.Theyaregoing

totakepresentsfromallthe

people.

2.Pablo:Inthefuture,Santa

Clausewillhaveasleighwitha

motorandsteeringwheel.

3.Víctor:Inthefuture,

snowballswillbepinkbecausethe

contaminationfromtransportwillbe

different-givingoffpinkgases.

4.Isa:Inthefuture,Santawillbe

cool,withlotsoftattoosandcool

sunglasses.

5.Valeria:Inthefuture,Iamgoingto

seeapresentthatcaneat,sleep,and

talk.

6.Borja:Inthefuture,decorationswill

havestarsandstripes.

7.MiguelÁngel:Snowmenaregoingto

bemadeofmetalandwillbehardand

resistant.

8.Yana:Inthefuture,elveswillfly,they

willrunveryfast,theywillbeblueand

theywillwearaverybigredhat.

9.Cintia:Inthefuture,gingerbreadmenwillhavewings,agolden crown, different colours and it will have different

tastes.!!

10. Paula: In the future, decorations will bedigital.

11.Alfonso:Inthefuture,sleighswillbeaplaneandthepresentswillbeinsidethetrunk.

12.Lola:Inthefuture,angelswillberobotsandtheywillhavemagicwands.

13. Jesús: In the future, therewillbe a baby living in Santa’sworkshop.HewillhelpSantawiththepresentswhenhegrowsup.

14. Gonzalo: In the future, Frostythe snowman will wear a redjacket, brown trousers and abrownhat.Hewon’thavehands.

15. Sergio: In the future, reindeerwillbearobots.

16. Lía (toys)- In the future, toyswillberobotsandwhenyoustartthemtheywillcometolife.

17.Juan(Christmastree)-Inthefuture,Christmas treeswill be automatic. Justbypressingabuttontheywillbeoninaminute.

18. Jaime (snow balls)- In the futurethere will be 5 different colours forsnowballs:blue,red,orange,greenandyellow.

19. Julio (Christmas stocking )- In the future, Christmas stockingswillhavewingstodeliverthepresentsandwhenyoupressabuttonthetoyswillcomeoutautomatically.

DO YOU NEED TO PRACTISE YOUR

LISTENING? !A podcast is like a radio programme on the internet. You can stream or download the audio by clicking on the link on the Taylor School website: taylorschool.es/podcasts !At Taylor School we don't want to learning English to be boring so we’ve designed the podcast so it has a friendly, fun tone while teaching people new vocabulary. Our core podcasters are the teachers here at the school but we intend to have more teachers on at some time in the future and also invite interesting guests to come and share the experience. !Introducing the podcasters: We discovered that John’s true vocation (apart from being an master at advanced level English) is to be a radio presenter. Liz is also a real professional with her clear voice and

great language explanations. Beth adds the transatlantic feel to the show with her funny accent and red-neck expressions. Billy is essential to add the fun to the whole conversation. Finally, I (Dave) have the perfect face for podcasting! My friend and brother-in-law Fer Marín* is a professional sound technician and he does an flawless job with the sound on the show meaning that with a bit of hard work and a budget of 0€ we’ve made something that actually sounds really good!

!

In October we launched The English English Podcast.

The English English Podcast is mainly for adult students with a B1 (intermediate) level and above. Every week we choose a topic to talk about. We include some vocabulary and grammar explanations and we play different games. On our website taylorschool.es/podcasts you can find the audio and a PDF with a glossary, vocal activities, comprehension questions and conversation topics.

These podcasts are not only for students, they’re for anyone who wants to listen to some English. The podcasts are between 10 and 20 minutes long and you can listen as many times as you like. It’s available using your computer or mobile phone, so you can listen while you’re doing exercise, driving, cooking or even in class (if you have long hair to cover your ears)!

In my opinion, listening is the most important skill to learn in any foreign language and the more you listen, the better you get… So what are you waiting for?

*You can contact Fer Marín to do the sound on podcasts, concerts, shows and weddings by e-mailing him at fermarin2@gmail.com or calling him on 646178890

CRAZY CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS IN ASTURIAN

VILLAGES! by ESO B1+ (Olga, Silvia, Adrián, Diego, Katia, Aroa, Alex, Luis, Noelia, Mateo, Dani and Sara).

There are many crazy Christmas traditions around the world….for example in Venezuela people go to church on rollerblades and in Japan they eat fast food KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) on Christmas Eve…. Well....did you know that here in Asturias there are some remote villages where they celebrate in very strange ways?? Our ESO students have the story…

!In the little village of Calcorrida the people celebrate

Christmas by doing many crazy things. They do the

‘Mannequin Challenge’ when they decorate the

Christmas tree in the centre of the village. They

snowboard on the top of the houses and at the same time

they let enormous spiders fall down the chimneys of the houses where bad children

live. Some people dive into the coldest river in the village and then they have a

special very big bonfire to warm up…(you can throw your school books to the fire).

The best event of all is on the 24th of December when they cover a pig in olive oil

and all the people in the village try to catch it. If you catch the pig you can keep it!

Antromero is a small village on the coast of Asturias where the a big Christmas party starts with a parade of gnomes who sing heavy metal songs. People take their pets who are dressed up like reindeer. The priest is a Crazy Clown who spooks the bad children. On Christmas Eve Santa Claus arrives by jet ski and he puts the presents in ‘madreñas’ under the Christmas tree.

In the tiny village of Sellañu people dress up as gnus (ñu= gnu in English) and they cross the river singing ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and all the village goes to watch it. This happens on the first of January because in the past the Romans put a pine tree next to the river and they called it the Sellatreeñu.

The tree has been there for 2,500 years. People pray in front of it to have a good year. They play the bagpipes and pour cider. Then they go fishing in a special way. Before the event someone puts a coin on one trout, who fishes the trout will have good luck for their whole life. Finally there is a battle with blueberries where it is obligatory to wear white clothes.

Every year in the village of Obesón the people make many jokes. They melt chocolate and make it look like sheep poop and put it around the village and then they do the Bottle Flip Challenge (www.youtube.com) with bottles of champagne.

FOR AND SINCE CHRISTMAS Miguel has been an elf since he was one year old.

My grandmother has had the Christmas tree in the living room since the 1st of November.

She has cooked Christmas biscuits for twenty five years.

Carlota has eaten a lot of chocolate since last Christmas.

Liz hasn't received any Christmas presents since she was five.

Marcos has gone to see the big Christmas tree for five years.

I haven't eaten any grapes since New Year's Eve.

We haven't met up for Christmas since 2012.

Taylor School has celebrated Christmas since it opened… but we haven't been to a Christmas party since last December.

We haven't opened any big presents since the 6th of January 2015.

We have been waiting for Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar for 12 months!

!B1 group Miguel x2, Marcos, Carlota, Alejandra, Laura, Dani, Iván, Javier

Publicidad

Business English Taylor School is starting a new chapter offering English classes to business. !Clases en su empresa • Cursos en su lugar de trabajo • Adaptados a las necesidades de su sector • Profesores nativos o bilingües con un mínimo de 5 años de experiencia • Clases individuales o en grupo • Todos los niveles • Objetivos claros y alcanzables • Llámenos y le daremos un presupuesto

!¿Qué se puede aprender? • Conversación • Inglés comercial • Inglés telefónico • Inglés utilizado en conferencias y reuniones • Inglés para equipos docentes • Inglés para fines específicos • Inglés apropiado para comunicaciones oficiales • Cursos hechos a medida • Preparación de exámenes oficiales !

Bonificaciones en las clases con la Fundación Tripartita

Como centro de formación y centro organizador, le ofrecemos cursos de inglés adaptados tanto a las necesidades formativas de los trabajadores, como al importe bonificable para formación del que dispone su empresa cada año. De esta forma, podrá acceder anualmente a la formación bonificada que le ofrece Taylor School a través de la Fundación Tripartita, para cursos de inglés dirigidos a los trabajadores.

Pack PYME

Para negocios de entre 1 y 6 empleados, incluimos un pack que consta de 30 horas (6 semanas) de clase presencial en nuestro centro, a un precio de 420€ (equivalente al importe bonificable para pequeñas empresas).

!

CHRISTMAS PREPOSITION FUN ;-) Match the sentence with the picture and learn the phrasal verbs: !1) Light up the fire

!2) Hang up the stockings

!3) Come down the chimney

!4) Sit down to eat

!5) Take down the tree

!WHAT’S

YOUR

FAVOURITE

CHRISTMAS

PRESENT?

COOL HOBBIES Our Pre-FCE students Isa, Dani and Ana did presentations about their hobbies. !

Homemade soap

Isa talked about her soup making. She makes

the soap into lovely shapes so they look like

leaves or stars. She adds secret ingredients

like aloe vera and cinnamon.

!!Personalising clothes and coat hangers

Every Christmas Ana gets together with

her cousins one evening to so handicrafts

together. It’s a family tradition! They

make wonderful things like this T-shirt and

coat hanger.

!Stone and spray art

Dani is a true artist. He uses spray paint on stone to

create his amazingly detailed pictures.

When does Santa do what? Can you match the sentences to the pictures?

He gets up at 3 o’clock in the

afternoon.

Vicky: He has breakfast at half-

past three.

Miranda: He chooses presents

for the children at 4 o’clock.

Andrés: He watches TV at 8 o´clock.

Erica: He feeds the reindeer at half-

past nine.

Can

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find?

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By Claudia, Inés, Javi, Carla

Across 1 You might build one of these if it's very cold, but it's not a fire! (7) 6 Saint Nicholas! AKA Father Christmas (5,5) 8 When everything freezes overnight it's called a …. (5) 10 Santa uses this vehicle to deliver presents all over the world (6) 11 These are hung by the fireplace on Christmas Eve and children hope Santa will fill them with presents (9) 12 Paper cylinders that people pull apart at Christmas dinner. They go bang and have a toy and a terrible joke inside (8) 13 He has a red nose! (7) 14 The main dish in a traditional English Christmas dinner (6) !Down 2 A small plant with white berries that people hang from the ceiling, it's lucky to kiss someone underneath it (9) 3 Christmas day is his Birthday! (5) 4 The special songs people sing at Christmas, such as Silent Night (6) 5 Santa’s helpers at the North Pole (5) 7 You find these in many English homes, it's how Santa gets in! (7) 9 A sweet pastry that you eat after Christmas dinner, or you leave out for Santa! (3,5) !ANSWERS INSIDE THE LAST PAGE

CHRISTMAS CROSSWORD

Dear Santa, This is what we want for Christmas:

Christmas Customs Around the World!

1) In this country, Christmas plays called “Os Pastores” (The Shephards) are popular. There is a woman who tries to steal the baby Jesus!

2) Some people like to put cotton balls on the Christmas Tree to represent snow! Any tree might be made into a Christmas Tree - not just the traditional fir tree!

3) From December 16th to Christmas Eve, children often perform the 'Posada' processions or Posadas.

4) In this country, Christmas Eve is often more important than Christmas day! Christmas isn't an official public holiday and many people think it's only a holiday for Christians.

5) During the evening of the 5th December, children are very excited and watch for St. Nicholas (Svatý Mikuláš) to arrive. He normally comes with one or more angels and one or more devils.

6) This is a very large country and people of many different cultural backgrounds live there. Because of this, there are lots of different Christmas traditions here. Many of the traditions and celebrations come from French, English, Irish, Scottish, German and native/first nation influences.

7) Father Christmas ('Pai Natal') is believed to bring presents to children on Christmas Eve, rather than Christmas Day. The presents are left under the Christmas Tree or in shoes by the fireplace.

8) Songs and singing are very popular at Christmas time in this country. People like to go around singing, known as Parrandas (also sometimes called Asalto or Trulla). Friends gather late in the evening (about 10pm) and visit different houses.

9) In this country, Christmas comes in the beginning of the summer holidays! Children have their summer holidays from mid December to early February, so some people might even be camping at Christmas.

ANSWERS INSIDE THE LAST PAGE

Brazil

Argentina

Mexico

Vietnam

Czech Republic

Canada

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Australia

Try to march the country with the custom. Answers on the back page.

THE

PHOTO

BOOTH

1 2 3

S N O W M A N 4 J

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E 8 S A N T A C L A U S

L F R O S T H R U

V 9 L I O S

10 E M 11 E M L

S L E I G H S T O C K I N G S

12 N O E

C R A C K E R S Y

13 E

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14 I

T U R K E Y

�1

Christmas customs in different countries:

1) Brazil 2) Argentina 3) Mexico 4) Vietnam 5) Czech Republic 6) Canada 7) Portugal 8) Puerto Rico 9) Australia

ANSWERS

THE PHOTO BOOTH

Find us at: Taylor School Paseo de la Florida 15 Oviedo 33012

Also at : facebook.com/taylor.school http://gb.ivoox.com/en/14633201