A wonderful cultural project is the foundation for this lesson where students can practice their listening and speaking skills, do some translation, debate… and all this while working on the topics of the environment, immigration and the multicultural society. I love starting this lesson with… Today, we are going to a fancy restaurant in the middle of Paris. I hope your students engage with this lesson at least as much as my students did.

This is the latest Christmas activity I designed for a Spanish B2 lesson. It consists of an article about a gigantic nativity scene that has been built in Alicante not only as part of the Christmas decorations but also as a way to brake a record Guinness and as a touristic attraction. It is a topic perfect for a debate since there are divided opinions about the money spent on this masterpiece. In such difficult time is it a good idea to spend so much money on it or is it a clever touristic strategy that will generate consumption in the area? This is the way I proceed with the activity but this is just a guide so please feel free to use this resource in the best way it fits your students. First, we read the article and then we work on the vocab they find trickier. There is only one tiny thing I do not explain or translate which is the expression of the headline since is part of activity one. After they get the gist of this piece of news, we move on to activity one. The students look for the meaning of this expression on the Internet so they do a bit of independent learning. Here you will find more info on its meaning: Armarse el belén: This expression is used to say that, in a certain situation, there is a mess, chaos, confusion… Source. We can also add as teachers that this expression is not limited to the festive period and it can be commonly heard all year long. Then, you can proceed with the rest of the questions either by doing some speaking or writing with them. The last ones are especially great to practice the conditional tense and you can even add some subjunctive forms if they feel brave enough. Lastly, you can divide the class in groups and organise a debate on the pros and cons of the massive nativity figures. It could be a great opportunity to teach them some expression in order to express their arguments: Me parece que… ¿Cómo es que…? Si fuera tú… Creo que sería Bueno que… Tienes razón, pero… No digo que no, pero…

Postcards still exist and these are one of those things I would not like to see as a thing of the past any time soon. It was always lovely to receive one from your friends and family while they were abroad or also when you were the one away from your loved ones. It could be a great activity to write some words and decorate this printable as a way to revise the topic of holidays for example or perhaps these could be handy if you want to create an exchange with another school or already have one. This is just the base. Some other options are: Imagine you have been on holiday in Spain and you are writing to a friend about it. Imagine you have won a prize and you are spending an all-included trip in Spain. Imagine you are a local Spaniard who is writing a friend (who soon will be visiting you) to inform him/her about all the amazing plans you have made for him/her. Imagine you are going to slip into a bottle a message written in this postcard and then you will toss the bottle into the ocean. You can also present other messages that have been found in other bottles and make them translate them into the target language. Use it to decorate your classroom, etc. Feel free to add any more ideas in the reviews section! I hope you find this resource useful.

A quick revision exercise on comparatives. Each slide has a question and two options. Students must answer using a comparative. Ex. -¿Quién es más alta? -Creo que Kim es más alta que Cheryl. Contents: 10 PowerPoint slides but you can add as many as you like.

Do you want to know what is the most expensive restaurant in the world? Well... there is Google and there is also this stupendous presentation that not only includes that but there is also a list of the most expensive food one can get from around the world. The purposes of this Powerpoint are to revise high numbers, practicing the vocab related to the topic of food and a healthy diet and showing your students part of the Spanish culture. You will find some help in a PDF and in the notes included in the PowerPoint. I hope you and your students like it! Also... it's free! :D

After looking for a while for a basic book review template I decided to create my own in order to get what I was specifically looking for. Maybe you find it useful too. Take a look. The templates I found were somehow limited or aimed at really young students so I created this personal version. The document is a PDF form so students can fill it in directly on their computers. You can use them in your lessons, the school library and bookclubs but also for your own book readings to keep track of all those things that stack with you. Simple, schematic and FREE!!!

A printable match up activity on the topic of holiday.

I was lucky enough to find a story I can relate to most of the topics covered in the AQA A2 exam. It is some info about a place called Auroville (in India) and the idea seems fascinating to me and fortunately my students liked it too so feel free to have a look and use it in your lessons if you find it useful. There is a bit of everything: Short intro, Reading, Listening (+transcription), Speaking, Writing + some activities. Topics that can be included: ENVIRONMENT, THE MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY, CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL ISSUES. And for that reason I think it is perfect for a quick revision. Comments always welcomed!

A brief presentation so students can revise the basics about "la météo". The teacher will ask: Quel temps fait-il? and the students will have to guess depending on what they see on each slide. The slides are followed by the right answer although there are more than one option in some cases. For example: Il y a du soleil/Il fait beau.

A brief presentation so students can revise the basics about "el tiempo". The teacher will ask: ¿Qué tiempo hace? and the students will have to guess depending on what they see on each slide. The slides are followed by the right answer although there are more than one option in some cases. For example: Hace sol/hace buen tiempo.

These last years I’ve been compiling a collection of linguistic mistakes I happened to read on Twitter. These tweets have been great real examples for my students. They found them fun and challenging.  Here it is a small selection of the top 30 and different ways to exploit this freebie. The presentation is pretty simple: Students get a tweet and they try to find orthographic mistakes Click and the mistake is highlighted to confirm or to show what is actually wrong with the text The students then try to explain why is it wrong Click again and a linguistic, detailed explanation will appear. You can then teach them the reason in a more detailed manner with the linguistic explanation and the example corrected. More info: https://mflandbeyond.wordpress.com/category/freebies/

A simple set of speaking cards on the topic of the environment. Just print and play! To be honest I love these cards simply because they are so easy to store (can easily fit into the palm of your hand) and the students can take them with them as either homework or practice. Somehow students are keener to work on a small card rather than the normal A4 format for some reason. I guess it looks like less hard work when it's really the same :) .

A set of 20 sentences (English-Spanish) for the purpose of practising translation with the year 13.

A short selection of interesting headlines for the A2 exam. The students have to guess the missing words (related to the topics) within the headline.

An activity to work on the vocab of business in Spanish based on an article about another article published in Forbes magazine about the celeb Kim Kardashian and her role as a business woman.

4 pages with questions on the topic of Healthy living and lifestyle (Sport/exercise). • Traditional sports versus ‘fun’ sports • Reasons for taking part in sport / physical exercise • Factors influencing participation in sport / physical exercise • Links between physical exercise and health

4 pages with questions on the topic of Healthy living and lifestyle (Health and well-being). • Alcohol, tobacco, other drugs • Diet, including eating disorders • The ‘work/life balance’ • Risks to health through accidents

4 pages with over 100 questions on the topic of Media (Television). • TV viewing habits • Range of programmes, eg their appeal and popularity • Range of channels including satellite and internet • Benefits and dangers of watching TV

4 pages with questions on the topic of Media (Communication Technology). • Popularity of mobile phones, MP3 players, etc • Benefits and dangers of mobile phones, MP3 players, etc • Internet - its current and potential usage • Benefits and dangers of the internet

4 pages with questions on the topic of Media (Advertising). • Purposes of advertising • Advertising techniques • Curbs on advertising, eg tobacco, alcohol • Benefits and drawbacks of advertising