Parts of the face.

Most basic English speakers know the basic parts of the face; eyes, nose, mouth... but here are a few that might not be that familiar to you.

Writing prompts

Here are some pictures that  we hope will inspire a few creative stories from you. You can try to use them individually or put two pictures together to create a story. We have done a few of these exercises in our classes and they have worked really well.

Now look at these four characters, can you imagine their individual stories? Now what if they all formed part of the same story, what would it be?

Also, check out our new page on Writing Prompts, we are sure you will find more than one source of inspiration here to get those creative juices flowing !

Writing Prompts :
 https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4679050568714929909#editor/target=page;pageID=442841054379857798;onPublishedMenu=pages;onClosedMenu=pages;postNum=0;src=pagename

Irregular verbs fun???

We all know that one of the most difficult things about learning a language is memorizing all those irregular verbs, but how about learning them with a bit of rhythm attached to it ... Hope you enjoy this next video! Btw, there are about 370 official irregular verbs!!! the good news is that ONLY about 200 are commonly used =)

Before and Now...

No this post isn't going to be a post about verbs and their tenses, we just wanted to share with you this article about life some years ago as compared to now and how it has changed.

Do you think it has changed for the better or for the worse? Have our lives improved? How about the quality of life ?

Here is the  link:

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/02/19/11-pictures-that-compare-life-today-with-how-it-used-to-be/

The History Behind Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

This video from the website history.com provides us with some interesting facts and the story behind this worldwide celebration.

We hope you enjoy it!

http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-valentines-day

Here is another informative video:

Our students

We find the profile of our average student here at the academy to be very interesting. When iSpeak first opened just a few months ago, we were expecting our average student to be the typical student that needs help with his English class at school. Torrelodones is surrounded by several public and private bilingual schools plus a number of other schools. A lot of young families, a lot of children. It was however, not an unpleasant surprise, that our average student should turn out to be, a working adult with an average age between 30 to 50 years old.  Interestingly, some of the students  in these groups are teachers. There are also some groups formed by university students. 

It is interesting how our students comment to us, that now a days, some kind of minimum level of English is required of them at the office. Our young university students, have also become aware of the fact, that English will one day play an important part in their job search. 

Of course we cannot forget our youngest students, those who have no choice and have the very 

" dreaded "  English subject in school. To them we say, chin up! English can be fun to learn, study and rise up to the challenge! we are here for you !!                                                                                                  

We at iSpeak are now enjoying the challenge of preparing our dear students for Cambridge exams, helping them to do good at school, and to  excel and stand out at their work place.    

How English sounds to non-English speakers ... really?

I often wonder what I sound like to my students, I know that they may not understand every word I say but I am sure that they do understand a few words.

Watch the video, and try to write the words that you pick up. Can you guess what they might be talking about? What story does the video tell us? Remember, to understand better, observe the expressions and gestures of the speakers. Keep in mind, that in the video, very few words are  actual English words, most of the words are not real!