We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Merry Christmas everyone ! (:

Oral Presentation - Canada

TORONTO

This picture is one of many many views that you can see in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto is the largest city in Canada, with over 2,5 millions residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North Amarica. As Canada's economic capital, Toronto is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities study group and is one of the top financial centres in the world. Toronto's population is cosmopolitan and international, reflecting its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. Toront is the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, as about 49% of population were born outside Canada!

Oral Presentation - Scotland

The first picture shows The Edinburgh Castle and the second shows how the kilt is worn. But now everyone will have to wait to learn more about Scotland (: *Catarina e Cristina*

8th Challenge

My creator used to be a teacher in Porto. What's her name?

Oral Presentation - England

Hi, everyone...

Ana Mota and I will talk about England in our oral presentation.

England is the largest of the four countries of United Kingdom, whose capital is London.
England has a temperate maritime climate meaning that it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0 °C in winter and not much higher than 32 °C in summer.
England's economy is one of the largest in the world, with an average GDP per capita of £22,907.

Some of the strongest football teams of Europe are English, like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool.
Oxford and Cambridge are English universities known all over the world.

This was a short preview of our work.

We hope all of you liked it (:

David: Christmas Assignment

...Not that I remember much about past Christmas, there'll always be one that I'll remember forever. It's weird, since it happened last year.

Since mid-2008, I wanted a Playstation Portable, because I was hooked in Final Fantasy Games, and I really wanted to play "Final Fantasy Dissidia". When it came out in Europe, on the 4th of September of the next year, I got super excited. However, since my birthday happened in August, my chances of getting it for my birthday were zero. So I begged my mom and my dad to buy me one for Christmas. Suddenly, my dreams were nighly crushed. Why? Well, we live on the 4th floor, and our 3rd floor neighbour came one day, complaining because there was a leak in our house, and water was pouring from her ceiling in the kitchen: our washing machine was broken, and we needed a new one. Then, I had no hot water in my house, because the boiler broke. After that some guys from MEO came to install their products on th 5th floor, but they had no idea where the cable should go, so they decided to mess with ours from ZON. Needless to say, I got disconected from the internet for about a whole week. Genius.

I was getting, not only sad, but desperate. Where would I get enough money to repair all of these things, an still have something that cost about 400 euros?! I gave up, and decided to buy one for my birthday.

Later, at chrismas eve, everything was repaired, and the trauma had gone by. But I was mourning over my dead dream of the year. Once every present had been given to my family, I was feeling a lot better by watching my family happy. Then, out of nowhere, my sister comes along with a box in her hand, and gave it to me. What was in there? A Special Edition "FF Dissidia" with a playstation with it. I jumped for about a minute. I guess you could say, a Christmas miracle? So as you can see, this was my Christmas last year. I got so sad, but it was okay. It's all fine now! I can't wait to read the other's memories!

Christmas memories

Despite the crowded shopping centres and all the stress to buy the presents on time, I love Christmas!

I have wonderful memories of past Christmas and I hope you have some too. Tell us one of your best Christmas memories. Here is mine.

I was 8 or 9 and I had decided that Santa Claus wasn't real. My older cousins were always making fun of me because I wanted to keep believing, so I decided "I'm too old to believe in Santa Claus. It will be different this year..." I used to write a letter with a wish, but I didn't do it that year. However, I told my parents I wanted a bike. Unfortunately, they told me they couldn't afford it (a bicycle was something very expensive 20 years ago). On Christmas eve, I got home from my aunt's house, where we had dinner, and I looked for a bike all over the house, but there was no bike... The house wasn't very big, it was impossible to hide it... I remember that I was very sad, but only for some seconds, because a shiny white bicycle appeared in my bedroom as if by magic. I had been there a few seconds before and it wasn't there, how was it possible? At that moment I was sure that Santa was real... He made a bike appear in my room! Later I found out that my dad pulled it out from under the bed in just seconds while I was searching the other rooms. I couldn't see it because there were some boxes hiding it. I was very happy: I had my bike and Santa Claus was real, at least for one year more...
I can hardly wait to read about your memories...

Isn't Christmas fun? Watch the video and see how fun it can be...

How famous people mistreat the English language

When I drive to school in the morning, I usually listen to a radio programme on Antena 3 called Serginho na Farmville. Some time ago, the subject was how famous Portuguese personalities mistreat the English language: Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sócrates... It's very funny, specially their pronunciation!

Have fun!

http://mp3.rtp.pt/mp3/wavrss/at3/827197_66025-1005131928.mp3

7th Challenge

She lived in 10 Downing Street for 11 years. She was so tough that iron was part of her nickname. Who was she?

Margaret Thatcher served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and her tough-talking rhetoric gained her the nickname the "Iron Lady".

6th Challenge

I was a giant and a dwarf. My life was full of adventures.
My "father's" name was Swift.
Who am I?

Chatroom for students of English

Dear students,
here is the link to one of the many chat rooms where you can communicate with other students of English as a foreign language. Don't forget that you need to have a Java support in your computer to enter the chat. I hope you are more successful than I was... If you manage to speak with someone interesting, tell us all about it.
http://www.englishclub.com/esl-chat/chatroom-2.htm

5th Challenge

What are people celebrating in the United Kingdom this evening?

In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor. In doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics.

To carry out their plan, the conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder - and stored them in a cellar, just under the House of Lords.
But as the group worked on the plot, it became clear that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack, including some people who even fought for more rights for Catholics. Some of the plotters started having second thoughts. A warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators. Guy Fawkes, who was in the cellar of the parliament with the 36 barrels of gunpowder when the authorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5th, was caught, tortured and executed.

On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.
Some of the English wonder, whether they are celebrating Fawkes' execution or honouring his attempt to do away with the government.

Lost in Translation

Dear students,

next lesson we are going to watch some parts of the fabulous film Lost in Translation. I'm sure that some of you have already seen it. It's an interesting film to discuss some ideas related to the topic we have been dealing with. Here you can read about it or watch the trailer. Have fun!

Bob Harris is an American film actor, far past his prime. He visits Tokyo to appear in commercials, and he meets Charlotte, the young wife of a visiting photographer. Bored and weary, Bob and Charlotte make ideal if improbable travelling companions. Charlotte is looking for "her place in life," and Bob is tolerating a mediocre stateside marriage. Both separately and together, they live the experience of the American in Tokyo. Bob and Charlotte suffer both confusion and hilarity due to the cultural and language differences between themselves and the Japanese. As the relationship between Bob and Charlotte deepens, they come to the realization that their visits to Japan, and one another, must soon end.

4th Challenge

This one is easy...

What was the name of the famous band where my wife used to sing?

Good luck and hurry up!

3rd Challenge

As usual, you will be the winner of this challenge if you are the first to comment with the correct answer for the following question:

Who created the famous novel and later film character in the picture?



Will this challenge be more difficult than the previous ones? Let's see how fast you are... Good luck!

Who am I - Jéssica

Hi (:

I am Jéssica Gandra , I´m 15 years old and I live in Fanzeres. I´m calm , shy and very happy!

In my free time I listen to music , meet my friends, and study , when it is necessary...I like the beach, ice creams, vacations and much more... I don´t practice any sport but I did swiming and skating, and I regret having left the skating, oh! I would like to go on a cruise.In the future I want to do something that can help children with special needs and that were abandoned. Ah, by the way, I can´t forget to tell that I love to be with my boyfriend!

I hope you enjoyed my short presentation (;

Who am I - Sara Azevedo

I am Sara Azevedo. I am fifteen years old. I live in Fânzeres and I am Portuguese.

I have a ten-year-old brother and sometimes he is really annoying.
I study in Rio Tinto Secondary School, in the 10^th grade.
In my free time, I like to watch TV, listen to music, hang out with my friends and family and I write when I have nothing else to do. I like  the summer very much because I can go to the beach, I go out at night with my parents because they never let me hang out with my friends overnight, but they are awesome parents.

I dislike the winter because it rains a lot, It's cold and I don’t like the fact that I need to carry an umbrella. Also I don't like people who think they are the best.

In school I don't like Portuguese Literature and History, but I like English and I'm starting to like Spanish.

When I was younger, I practised Hip-Hop, basketball and swimming, also I could play the piano and I will start to learn again.

Hope you liked it (:

Who Am I? - Gabriel

Cheers mates! I am G, it stands for Gabriel and I live high above the floor.
My astrological sign is pisces, so you can try to guess the month that I was born, the year was nineteen ninety five.
Describing myself in the eyes of another person, I would say that I can be stubborn, uninteresting, scary (sometimes), odd and a bit different; but I'm the one describing myself so it will come out differently...
Generally I can be lazy and leery so I just keep leaning around listening to my music, but, I'm also anxious, all of this contributes to that sometimes I can end up being a bit unsociable.
I'm always thinking or wandering in my mind and it can be noticed when I am petrified looking to the void, the results of this constant thinking are really annoying as I end up speaking with so much haste that some can't even keep up with me and I end up panting like a dog but silently, I do that almost instinctively so that I don't break my thought's flow.
I can tell that my likes and preferences are quite original, I love to drink iced teas like green tea with herbs, dark gooseberry tea, muslim tea and more... I'm a fan of a good chilled plum juice, a passion fruit mousse, a mango mousse and a juicy meatroll. I love the rainy and gray days, the smell of wet land, to write, to read, to get soaked, to have a shower, to sing (when alone)... I have an enormous hatred concerning hypocrisy, mockery and stallions, hehehe.
I usually go out at night during the weekends with my aunt and her friends, they are all in their early twenties so I can fit in easily and feel mature. I don't like clubs so normally we go to bars and lounges, oriental lounges because they love to smoke on the waterpipe.
My favourite subject in school used to be English, but now I consider them all with the exception of Literature (Duh!).
I have a little sister, we don't usually get along so I'm not that kind of big brother that usually the others are, yet I love her.
My favourite animal is without doubts the cat, it's just astonishing! They are proud, willful, headstrong and I love their eyes, I can see a bit of myself into them.
As everyone I love to listen to my music, and my favourite types of music are few: 80's music like Aha, Alphaville, OMD, A Flock of Seaguls, Duran Duran... Soundtracks from videogames and movies, Orchestral music and Symphonic Metal which is my favourite type being my favourite band Nightwish and favourite songs "Sleeping Sun, Walking in the air, Last of the Wilds"... Oh blimey ! I love them all.
I never had what some of you would call vacations, but during the holydays I like to try new things like renting a bungalow, hiking, spiritual seclusion...
My dream is to study in London, work there, and live there someday. In the future I would like to travel, write books and to work on languages or as an attorney.

I love my blue eyes...

Who Am I? - Ana Mota

Hey!
My name is Ana,I was born in 1995 so I am 15 years old. I live in Baguim do Monte. I'm not sure what to say about me. I'm just a normal girl who is always laughing and happy. (:
I dream a lot and I think that is good, because dreams command the world. I have objectives in my life and I fight to accomplish them.
In my free time I usually go out with some friends, I read a book, I listen to music, I play  the piano or go to the cinema.
My biggest interests are music and photography.  I love photographing something that I think is beautiful, different or special.
Well, I don't travel a lot, unfortunately, but I like to meet people who have different cultures. I want to travel to many countries but mainly to London and Africa.
About school, my favourite subjects are English, Spanish, Philosophy and I like a little bit of Portuguese Literature. I really dislike History.
 Well, I guess I don't have anything else to say about me. I hope everyone likes it.
 (:

Who am I - Andreia

Hi! My name is Andreia and I am 14 years old.

I was born on 2nd November 1995, in Porto.

I live in Fânzeres with my parents and my brother.

I am a friendly and sociable person.

In my free time I like listening to music, watching TV, hanging out with my friends and family, going to the cinema and travelling.

I love travelling with my family because we have fun and we get to know new cities.

In the future I would like to go to France, Germany and Brazil.

My favourite football team is F.C.P.

At school, my favourite subject is Physical Education.

And this was a short presentation about me!

Who am I? - Tiago

Hi! I'm Tiago, also known as Kizomba's. I'm 15 years old, born on 10th of July 1995. I live in Rio Tinto. I'm a student at the Rio Tinto Secondary School. My favourite classes are English and PE, but I don't like Portuguese Literature and History.
My friends say that I'm a litlle crazy, but also a good friend, very funny and sociable.
In my free times I like to hang out my friends, watch TV, listen to music ( my favourite rapper is Sam The Kid by the way), and of course, play rollerskating hockey.
One day I'd like to visit the USA, just for the experience.

Who am I - Mariana

Hello!
My name is Mariana and I am 14 years old.
I live in Porto, more precisely in Rio Tinto, I like living in this place because my friends live here too, and it is near my school.
I study at the secondary school of Rio Tinto, I'm in the course of Languages and Humanities B.
I like my school because my friends go there, and there are many people making it fun.
My favourite subjects are Spanish and Physical Education.
I don't like History and Literature.
I practise and I love ballet.
I like going out with my friends, watching tv, and listening to music.
I love animals, I have one dog and two cats.
In the future, I don't know what I want to be.

Who am I - Isabel

Hi ! My name is Isabel Sousa.

I was born on 24th  February.

My favourite subjects are Physical Education and Spanish.

First, I like sports very much, everything that is related to sports. I like Spanish because it is a new language and speaking it is very exciting.

I have never been anywhere special on holiday, because my parents are separated and my mother doesn´t have money, but I would like to go to London.

In my free time, I like to watch TV, eat a lot of food, and be with my sister. She's not my real sister, but a friend sister.

My friends say, that I am a good friend, and a very nice girl. I love to smile, if it depends on me , I never stop smiling.

My friends are everything to me, after my mom, they are all that matters.

Who am I? - David

Hi, my name is David, I'm 15 years old, and I live in Gondomar, Oporto.

I am a student at the Rio Tinto Secondary school, and my favourite subjects are English, History, Spanish and Portuguese. I loathe Portuguese Literature like all of my classmates, and P.E. In the future, I want to become either a teacher, or a translator.

I try to be nice to whoever wants me to. If someone annoys me, then I stop being friendly. But this doesn’t usually happen.

My preferences are almost all linked with each other. I like to study, read, listen to music, and watch television.

My favourite music genres are K-Pop and J-Pop. My favourite music bands are SHINee, Super Junior and JYJ.

I’m addicted to the When They Cry series, which is a murder mystery Visual Novel. I also like the Final Fantasy games, but to a lesser extent.

My favourite movies are Death Bell, When they Cry – Remake, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

I’m good at writing stories, like fan-fictions and screenplays. I write all of them in English, mainly because, in my opinion, it’s easier than Portuguese.

One day I’d like to visit either Denmark or Norway. The language is nearly the same, their customs are quite interesting, and also because I enjoy reading about Viking tales... Plus, there’s no financial crisis there, which means it’s a great place to go to.

Who am I - Inês

Hi, I am Inês, and I am 14 years old.
I was born on the 23 rd November 1995, in Porto.
I live in Rio Tinto whith my parents, I don't have brothers. I am a nice, smiley and happy girl.
I like to go out with my friends, going to the cinema, listening to music, watching tv and I love theatre plays.
I love to be with my friends. I've know them for a long time.
My favourite subjects are Spanish and Philosophy. I don't like Literature and History.
I like to play handball, hockey, volleyball and football. I practise volleyball in school.
During the summer holidays, I went to an evangelic farm and I enjoyed the week I spent there very much.
In the future I want to have a theatre degree and be a psychologist.

Who am I - Rute

Hello! My name is Rute and I live in Porto.
In my free time I like being with my friends, playing table football with them, billiards, chatting and more...
I also enjoy reading and listening to music.
What can I say?... Well, my favourite football team is F.C.Porto , the best! :D
I've been to Spain, and many places in Portugal, I love travelling.
I have read the books " The Da Vinci Code" and " The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown, and I liked them.

Who I am ? andreiaM

Hi everyone !
My name is andreiaM and I live somewhere in Gondomar .
I'm a friendly and sociable person. I hate lies and hipocrisy. I like horror movies .
I love my friends and family. I love long walks on the beach, and the ocean .
Well, I like listening to music and watching t.v, basically what everyone does .I like eating and sleeping too. Believe me I love these two things .
My favourite football team is F.C.P :)
I don't like reading, I lose the interest when I read 50 pages , but it depends on the type of book too.
I love travelling, and I hope one day I'll visit Miami , New York and L.A .
Now, I guess this is enough for you to know me a little better .

,D

Who Am I ? - JoãoCC

Hello everybody!

I'm João, I was born in 1995 and I live in Fânzeres, Portugal.

So I like listening to music, my favourite kinds of music are Rock and Jazz, I like cinema very much. I also go out with my friends, play computer and watch television. I love to see the Discovery Channel, beacause I can learn so many things watching it.

Now about the English language. I love this language, and I hope to go one or two weeks to London, England, a magnificent city and where people speak English. As you can see I love to travelling!

England is one of many countries I want to go.

At school, I like the teachers and my classmates. My favourite subjects are of course English, Spanish and History and a bit of Physical Education, I dislike Portuguese Literature.

So that's it for my presentation, I know, a little short...

But above all, I hope you enjoy it!

Halloween

Dear students,

if you want to learn more about Halloween and get inspired for our ghost story, watch the video and post your comment.

Halloween ghost story

Dear students,
Halloween is next week and we are celebrating it with our own ghost story. I wrote the beginning and you should continue it according to your imagination. You can start posting comments to continue it, but please follow the rules.
1. Each comment mustn’t have more than 150 words.
2. Each student can comment only two times.
3. Try to keep the initial tone and don’t forget to mention the characters who are already part of the story.
4. You may add new characters, human or not, as long as they fit the story. Don’t forget to describe them.
5. If two of you post almost at the same time, the last entry will be deleted or you can edit it according to the previous post.
6. Don’t write your paragraph directly in the comment box – copy it from a word document previously written.
7. Pay attention to the previous details and don't complicate the story too much.

8. Be creative and have fun!
It was foggy and cold on that dark moonless night. One could hear cats disturbingly crying and screaming as if they were being tortured by shadows. The small village was sleeping, but Dr. Farrow was returning home from Jake’s house. “Why can’t I find a reason for those strange scars on Jake’s body? Where did they come from? They keep appearing from nowhere… And all that agony… The man is in so much pain and I can’t help him” – he thought. Suddenly, a dog started barking furiously and Dr. Farrow got startled in a jump, feeling his heart bumping in his chest. He took some minutes to recover and continued his way home. His house was in the woods just outside the village, and there he lived with his wife and daughter. “Strange… the lights are on” – he thought while opening the door. He couldn’t understand the terrible picture he saw next: Marian and Eve, his wife and daughter, were sitting on the sofa and they didn’t look human. Their faces were very pale covered in purple veins, their eyes were all white and they had a frightening smile. “We were waiting for you, Daddy!” – it wasn’t Eve’s voice anymore, it was the voice of a monster.

2nd Challenge

What was the nickname of the oldest daughter of the King of England who had six wives?
Be the first to post the correct answer and you'll be the winner of the second challenge! Hurry up!

Who Am I ? - Catarina

Hello everyone! I’m Catarina and I was born in 1995, so I am 15 years old. I live in Baguim do Monte, and I love living here because I have so many neighbours of my age.
In my free time, I love listening to music, doing sports, watching tv, playing computer games, being with my family and with my friends, going to the cinema, talking on messenger, reading a book and I practise volleyball at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I like it very much.
I love travelling on my holidays. I always travel with my parents, and we always visit different countries. I have been to Spain (Mallorca, Ibiza, Tenerife, Lanzarote), to Tunisia and to the Dominican Republic so far. I loved these places! In the future I would like to visit Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and Cape Vert.
At school, my favourite subjects are English, Spanish and Physical Education and I dislike Portuguese Literature.
I hope everyone like my presention and good luck for the future. ( :

Who Am I ? - Ccosta

Hello! My name is ccosta_69 and I live in Gondomar. I was born in 1995, and my hobbies are playing PlayStation, surfing on the web, hanging out with friends and listening to music. I like almost all kinds of music. My favourite bands are Heroes Del Silencio, U2, Blasted Mechanism, Mettalica, Bon Jovi, Rammstein and Mão Morta.

I like listening to 80’s and 90’s songs. My favourite radio stations are M80 and RFM…

I like  House Music too. For me the best DJs in the world are Tiësto, David Guetta, Roger Sanchez and Paul Van Dyk.

But there’s one song, that means everything for me, it’s a song interpreted by a British singer called Sade and the name of the song is “By Your Side” released in 2000.

In football, I like FCPorto, the best team in the world.

My second team is Zenit St. Petesburg, a Russian team.

I’m addicted to horror movies, the only genre that I like…

I watched all the movies of some sagas like Saw and Hostel.

For me, a good movie has to have violence and death.

Travelling is something I hate doing…but I would like to go to Russia, because it's a country that fascinates me...

On my PlayStation, I like to play action (gangster games) and war games, to kill everyone that comes in my direction, like a gangster, a cop or a solider. I kill them all!

I can’t forget my best friend, because she’s very important to me, a kind of a sister I have never had, and I like her very much.

I hope my teacher and my classemates like it (:

1st Challenge

Dear students,

here is your first challenge:

"Can you guess who I am? You will be the winner of this challenge if you are the first to post my real name. Good luck!"

Who Am I ? - Cristina Correia

Hi ! I'm Cristina and I live in Gondomar. I was born in the year that Microsoft released the Windows 95. I live with my mom, my sister and my little dog. My mother and my sister are Brazilian, my dad and I are Portuguese, we're a family divided by our origins. I've travelled to Brazil a few times and I love it, it's so beautiful, I agree with Ms. Joana, anyone who goes there never comes back the same.
In my free time, I like being with my friends and family, going to the cinema, watching TV, listening music, normal things that everyone likes...
I dance contemporary and I do theater in an evangelical church, and I love that so much !
At school, my favourite subjects are English, Spanish and Philosophy and I dislike Physical Education and Portuguese Literature.
And this was a short presentation about me, I hope Ms. Joana and my classmates like it (:

Who am I?

Dear students, this is your first assignment: write a short text about your interests, family, friends, school life... I'm looking forward to reading about you. Please, consider the following text about me as a model, but be creative and original as far as possible. You can send me your text through e-mail or show it to me in class to be corrected. You should post your assignment by 30th October.  Have fun!

Hello! My name is JoanaN and I live somewhere near a castle. I was born some months before John Lennon was shot. I've been a teacher for eight years and I love what I do.

In my free time I like going to the seaside for a walk, I play, sing and draw with my son and I read. Reading is one of my favourite hobbies. Last summer I read four books. The best was "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown. I can't think of anything better to do than lying in the sun on the beach with a good book.

Like most of you, I also like music. I listen to almost every kind of music depending on the situation. Diana Krall is one of my favourite singers, but I also like U2, Pearl Jam, Coldplay and there are fabulous new Portuguese bands. As a result of two memorable trips to Brazil, I also like Bossa Nova. I usually say that once you go to Brazil, you’ll never be the same. It’s a wonderful country!

Travelling is one of my passions. Saint Augustine said “the World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page” and I couldn’t agree more. We really grow when we meet new cultures and new people. In the near future I’d like to visit Paris and Greece.