Every Christmas, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II addresses the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth with a special Christmas message.
You can watch Her Majesty speaking of families, friends and communities in this year's broadcast to the Commonwealth.
What is the Commonwealth? Do you know what it is?
The Commonwealth is a name for some countries which were part of the British Empire before they became independent. This group of states works together on many important matters, like business, health and the fight against poverty.
The Commonwealth of Nations is a group of countries. Originally, it was called the British Commonwealth of Nations which was founded in 1926 when the British Empire began to break-up. Now, there are 53 member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. All except Mozambique were part of the British Empire. There are some other associations having similar sounding names. For example, the Commonwealth of Australia or the Commonwealth of Independent states. But, the Commonwealth of Nations is different and a separate organization.
Besides eating turkey and pumpkin pie and watching the Superbowl on TV, Thanksgiving Day is a day on which people give thanks for all the good thingsthat has happened to them this year.
Watch the video below in order to learn more about this great American holiday! Have some Thanksgiving fun!
European Union countries celebrate, on the 26th September, the European Day of Languages. But why?
Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans represented in the Council of Europe's 47 member states are encouraged to learn more languages, at any age, in and out of school. Being convinced that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent, the Council of Europe promotes plurilingualism in the whole of Europe.
Are you an eager language learner? How many foreign languages can you speak?
Go online and check out the Council of Europe's website dedicated to the European Day of Languages: http://edl.ecml.at/
You will find there a lot of information about this day and some games and quizzes about languages.
Test your knowledge of English and see if you can recognise the following accents:
Summer holidays are definitely over! Are you ready for school? We certainly hope so!
Participate by posting on our blog and you can send blog posting material (music, videos, photos, texts, etc) to this email: alunos.barcelinhos@gmail.com
Welcome back to school! Welcome to our English Spot Blog!
A lot has been said and written about Moody's rating our country as being "junk". This video below has depicted our "mood" following the disgraceful rating. It is quite an interesting portrayal of Portugal. Enjoy it and RATE it!
Are you enjoying your summer holidays? If you are travelling somewhere, have a safe trip! This is a short animation film about a couple on their vacation travelling to California. It is based on a true story. Enjoy it!
What is LingQ? LingQ.com is a website where you can learn English and 10 other languages online. On this site you will find hundreds of lessons to read and listen to free of charge. The podcasts cover beginner, intermediate, and advanced level lessons and topics include basic greetings, social issues, language learning and more all in natural English or other langauges. You can sign up for a FREE account and start learning a new language today!
In order to stress the importance of language learning, I asked my students from class 10D, from Escola Secundária/3 de Barcelinhos, to participate in the LingQ Project. Each student had to create some content to upload on the website as native speakers of the Portuguese language in order to help foreign students to learn our mother tongue.
If you want to learn European Portuguese, then join Class 10D from Escola Secundária/3 de Barcelinhos, Barcelos, Portugal as they talk about their lives and their country.
These are the links to the lessons/podcasts:
LESSON "Barcelos, a nossa cidade" - This is a simple text, a description of Barcelos, the hometown of my students. Text and audio were created by Eliana, Márcia, Sara and Sofia from Class 10D from Escola Secundária/3 de Barcelinhos.
LESSON "Como chegar ao teatro? - Direcções" - This is a simple dialogue in which two teenagers ask for and give directions. Text and audio created by Débora, Carolina and Francisca from Class 10D.
LESSON "Diálogo entre a Maria e a Íris" -This is a simple dialogue based on personal information between two teenagers. Text and audio created by Ana Sofia and Marisa from Class 10D.
LESSON "Mourinho em Publicidade do BCP Millenium" - This is an extract of a recording of a commercial. The commercial is about the bank Millennium and the speaker is José Mourinho, the famous football coach. The translation of the transcript was created by Pedro and Mateus from Class 10D.
LESSON "Luís Vaz de Camões & o poema "Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades" - This is a recording of the poem "Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades" by Camões, followed by a short description about the poet. The glossary and audio were created by Ana Catarina Miranda, Ana Catarina Vilas Boas and Carina from Class 10D.
LESSON "Poema "Frutos" de Eugénio de Andrade"- This is a recording of the poem "Frutos" by Eugénio de Andrade, followed by a short description about the poet. The glossary and audio were created by Joel and Miguel from Class 10D.
LESSON "Mar Português" de Fernando Pessoa"- This is a recording of the poem "Mar Português" by Fernando Pessoa, followed by a short description about the poet. The glossary and audio were created by Regina and Cristiana from Class 10D.
Sign up a for a free account and check out Class D's Portuguese lessons.
What is LingQ?
In order to stress the importance of language learning, I asked my students from class 10D, from Escola Secundária/3 de Barcelinhos, to participate in the LingQ Project. 
