Not only foreigners, but also native speakers have their problems with the English language. Quite often, we teachers despair when reading our pupils texts. Most mistakes are made when words are pronounced the same, e.g. their/there, its/it's etc.
When worse comes to worse, some students simply shorten their texts to SMS. This is what a 12-year-old Schottish girl in her 7th year did in her composition about her last holiday.
How good is your SMS English? Try to read the text below.

My smmr hols wr CWOT = My summer holidays were a complete waste of time.
B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :-@ kds FTF = Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face.
Bt my Ps wr so {:-/ BC o 9/11 tht they dcdd 2 stay in SCO & spnd 2wks up N = But my parents were so worried because of September 11 that they decided to stay in Scotland and spend two weeks up north.
I ws vvv brd in MON = I was extremely bored in the middle of nowhere.
AAR8, my Ps wr - they sd ICBW, & tht they wr ha-p 4 the pc&qt.. = At any rate, my parents were happy - they said it could be worse, and that they were happy with the peace and quiet.
IDTS!! = I don’t think so!
I wntd 2 go hm ASAP, 2C my M8s again = I wanted to go home as soon as possible, to see my mates again.
2day, I cam bk 2 skool = Today I came back to school.
I feel v O BC I hv dn all my hm wrk = I feel very saintly because I have done all my homework.

Would you like to send an SMS in English? Here is a list with useful characters and their meanings:
& - and
0 - nothing
2 - two, to, too
2DAY - today
B4 - before
BC - because
BF - boyfriend
BRO - brother
BT - but
DNR - dinner
EZ - easy
GF - girlfriend
GR8 - great
HOLS - holidays
HV - have
L8 - late L8R - later
NE1 - anyone
PLS - please
PS - parents
R - are
SIS - sister
SKOOL - school
U - you
A3 - anyplace, anytime, anywhere
ASAP - as soon as possible
CUL - see you later
HAND - have a nice day
HRU - how are you
LOL - laughing out loud
LTNS - long time no see
Luv U - I love you.
MU - I miss you.
NP - no problem
PCM - please call me
RUOK - are you ok?
THNQ - thank you
Source: www.extitefun.net
http://forum.xcitefun.net/sms-language-how-to-write-sms-in-english-shorthand-sms-t37338.html

Watch this funny video. It´s gr8!


Do you want to learn more about this type of language. Play the mobile madness.
- Matching game.
- SMS Translator.

Hi dear students!
Now that Obama´s term is coming to an end it is good to remember his first days in office and compare the "now and then".
You´ve done a great work so you deserve to be mentioned in this post. Thus, congratulations for you effort regarding the Obama´s speech project and the London webquest.



Now, these are some of your blogs so far:
- Paula´s blog.





- Damian´s

I've just come across this interesting site, very useful for improving your pronunciation.

You can hear all the sounds and follow a step by step description of how they are produced. CLICK HERE.


I heard this song in the American series Lost, which I personally love. I realized it is a great song to practise the dipthong /aʊ/(apart from many others) and, besides, it is a song that makes you feel happier as you listen to it, don´t you think?


'daʊn'taʊn



Check this great transcription by Ana Concejero:

Downtown

- Etiquette and manners information.
- Social custom Quiz.

It's a good idea to be aware of the differences in culture between our country and some other countries. When travelling or working abroad, we should know the social customs so as not to make any mistakes or offend anyone.
Below, my students from the Vocational Course in Spanish Sign Language talking about misunderstandings

- Etiquette and manners information.
- Social Customs around the world Quiz.
- Social custom Quiz.

See Obama´s  annual lightning of the Xmas tree. How do you like it?




More on Xmas....
A Christmas Carol is a novella by the English author Charles Dickens about a miserly, cold, unfeeling, selfish old man called Ebenezer Scrooge and his holiday conversion and redemption after being visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve. The book was first published on 19 December 1843 with illustrations by John Leech, and quickly met with commercial success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol remains popular, has never been out of print, and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media.
Have you seen the movie yet?  Great cartoonists, great effects and a great values behind too:

Christmas is around!

Before leaving to celebrate Christmas and to relax during 15 days I want you to work with some interesting activities on xmas.
- Write your New Year´s Resolutions ( For example: I promise to study English, I will do my homework in time, I will eat at least one fruit and one vegetable every day ...)
- Christmas Fun.
Now, you can enjoy your Christmas holidays with these activities (this isn´t compulsory)
- The history of Christmas.
- Christmas Vocabulary.
- Songs: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bell Rock, All I want for Christmas is you.
- David Letterman Top Ten Christmas Carols
- Games.
- Jigsaw Puzzles.


Do you remember our Spelling Bee Contest? Are you ready?