No words are enough to welcome students back this year.

The school year has had two false starts here in Thessaly. Schools are closed in Trikala, where I live and work; the date for the annual blessing postponed first by one week, and then another. The same is true for Karditsa, Larissa and Volos, and all the villages surrounding these cities, in the aftermath of storm Daniel.

It deeply saddens me to think that many Thessalian children gathering their school supplies together are going to be grateful for anything they have this year. Thousands have lost homes and possessions, their school books and bags, pencil cases and folders have all been washed away along with family livelihoods, homes and even schools. (Children from some villages will be bused into  nearby towns until repairs are complete). School gyms have become temporary homes to those who were not able to lodge with family or friends and when they are finally accommodated, it will be in short term solutions such as hotels and guest houses until cleaning and repairs are carried out.

Frontisteria (tutorial schools and foreign language centres) are open though. In one of my first lessons, a student had a damp text book rescued from the flooding. This child still had a smile on his face and joined in the lesson as if nothing was out of the ordinary. It made me realise that the stability that going back to school will bring, is going to be crucial this year. Back to school with it's timetabled regularity, familiar faces and catching up with what friends have been up to over the summer is a staple of childhood Septembers. Even when all else is lost, school puts a semblance of order into chaos. As such, it should always be a place to feel safe and welcome. Provide opportunity for a pupil to explore who he is and is to become. A space where a child can spread his wings and see how far they will carry him, knowing that should he fall there is a safety network of teachers and classmates to catch him.

Do not underestimate the role school has on your life, be you pupil, teacher or parent. Let's be grateful that we are able to return.

If you want to donate school supplies (see list below), furniture or clothes, collection points have been set up around Greece, check with your local authority for details.

• School bags/pencil cases
• Exercise books
• Pens and pencils
• Felt tip pens and coloured pencils
• Organizational equipment, folders, ring binders and files etc.
• Drawing books
• Canson craft card
• Photocopy paper 
• Glue, glue sticks and sellotape
• Geometry sets and compasses
• Lunch boxes
• Water bottles and cool bags
• Wet wipes, tissues and antiseptic hand gel

A school complex at Farkadona, the gate and yard strewn with debris from the flooding, which reached around two metres and only subsided enough in the last few days for residents to start cleaning.

ABBREVIATIONS - THE INITIAL POST! (PUN INTENDED)

When I'm teaching students who are taking the Michingan Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE), one of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) is what does * INSERT SEEMINGLY RANDOM LETTER SEQUENCE HERE* mean? If your answer is IDK (I don't know) look no further!

Image by Freepik

So here are a few of the most commonly found on the exam, plus a few more common ones just for good measure.

COMMON COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY QUALIFICATIONS (in order of degree)

Dip            Diploma of Higher Education (Usually, first 2 years of a degree course)

BA            Bachelor of Arts (Arts being all academic course that are not science)

BSc           Bachelor of Science 

MA            Master of Arts 

MSc           Master of Science

MBA          Master of Business Administration

PhD            Doctorate

YEARS, TIMES AND DATES

BC        Before Christ

AD        Anno Domini, Latin for "In the year of our Lord" or more easily, after Christ

But now, as it is better to take a more inclusive view of the world, these are more frequently used, 

BCE      Before Common Era

CE        Common Era

a.m.       ante meridiem, Latin for "Before midday"

p.m.       post meridiem, Latin for "after midday" 

mm/dd/yy (US) OR dd/mm/yy (UK) month/day/year OR day/month/year

TYPES OF BUSINESS & TITLES

Co.           Company

Ltd.          Limited

Corp.        Corporation

Inc.           Incorporated

LLP          Limited LIability Partnership

LLC          Limited LIability Company

CEO          Chief Executive Officer

CFO          Chief Financial Officer

OTHER COMMON ABBREVIATIONS YOU MIGHT COME ACROSS

FAQs        frequently asked questions

RSVP        Répondez s'il vous plaît, French for "reply if you please"

ASAP        as soon as possible

ETA           estimated time of arrival

n/a             not applicable

AKA          also known as

DIY           do it yourself

CV             curriculum vitae Latin for "life timetable" , but used for a resume.

DOB          date of birth

RESOURCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

https://careersblog.enterprise.co.uk/business-acronyms-a-beginners-guide/

https://manuals.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademark/annex-a1---abbreviations-of-types-of-companies-recognised-as-bodies-corporate

Top 9 Teachers on film!

There are many things that inspire someone to become a teacher. One of those, in my case, was  movie teachers. So I thought I'd share a few of my favourites with you. They're most certainly not all good examples of what a teacher should be by any means, but I have soft spot for them all.

9. Mrs. McClusky, head mistress of Grange Hill from the BBC TV series of the same name. She spent her school years battling both unruly teachers and students and dealing with a huge variety of problems. Click here for a tribute to her.

8. Jack Black as Dewey Finn, a failed rock guitarist posing as Mr. Schneebly, a substitute teacher in School of Rock. This is a loser-makes-good movie. Jack Black loosens up the unnaturally mature children of a snobby preparatory school and their lives suddenly take on meaning. The great thing is that Black's character is also on the learning curve.

7. St. Trinian's Headmistress Miss Millicent Fritton (played by Alistair Sim in drag) from the 1954 film The Belles of St. Trinian's, has to be one of my earliest memories of a film teacher. Despite being absolutely useless at trying to rein in hordes of screaming, hockey stick waving school girls, (most likely due to her gin drinking and total indifference to the surrounding chaos) she always ends up on top.

6. Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Kimble in Kindergarten Cop (1990). He's an undercover agent who replaces a kindergarten teacher colleague. With absolutely no experience in dealing with small kids, Kimble has the tots marching in line in no time. I'll tell you, there's a few classes where I could put such skill to good use!

5. & 4. The duo of teachers in the life of Matilda The Good, and the Bad and Ugly of teaching, Miss Trunchpole and Miss Honey are polar opposites in teaching. 'The Trunchpole', as she is known literally tortures her charges with chocolate cake or swinging them around her head by their pigtails, where as Miss Honey is sweetness and light, who loves reading and brings joy to learning. There were few who didn't know how to spell difficulty after this movie.

3. Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid is the epitome of patience and virtue, the teacher who just knows that composure and determination are the way to get what you want. If you have never seen the 1984 original version of the movie, it is a cult masterpiece; wax on, wax off my friends!

2. Then, of course, Robin Williams' performance as John Keating in Dead Poets Society, comes in a very close second. Here is a teacher that inspires his students to 'seize the day' and do what they have thus far only dreamed of! Do not be food for worms!

1. Those of you who have ever seen me dressed up for Halloween, will not be surprised by number one on my list. Minerva McGonagall, like many other favourite teachers here was first introduced to the world through the pages of a novel (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), however Dame Maggie Smith's portayal literally brings the character to life just as I had imagined her. I really hope that I have even half the skill and talent, the fairness and strictness as a teacher.

Do you have a favourite fictional teacher? Comment below and let me know!

Back to School after Lockdown

Whether you are raring to get back into the swing of things, reluctant, cautious or scared, we are going back to school. May 18th 2020, here in Greece at least, we're restarting school. Whichever reaction describes yours, there's one thing that is true, this school year has been like no other any of us have experienced.

I've got a few pointers for your academic progress and performance in English. Please bear in mind that I am assuming you have done nothing since March 11th when school closed. (If you are diligent then this blog post is probably not for you!)

All students:

Make sure you have all your equipment in your bag: course books, exercise books, pens, pencils, hand-outs. Throw away the mouldy sandwich that has been festering there for 2 months! Add hand sanitizer, masks and optional single-use gloves.

Young learners:

What do you remember? Have a look at the course books you've been using. Do you remember the character names? Can you still read the dialogues? How many words do you remember? Do you still know the grammar rules? If you have ebooks listen to the recordings again.

Pre-Intermediate + non-exam takers: 

Read all the texts again to familiarise yourself with both the grammar and vocabulary. Catch up on the homework you left until after Lockdown. (That time is now!) 

Pre-Intermediate + exam takers:

Revise vocabulary and grammar. Re-familiarise yourself with exam style tasks. Check the website or social media sites for your exam board, see if there are any online revision exercises or sample tests you can do. Find a friend who's taking the same exam as you and do some mock interviews from your course book or test book. Record the 'interview' and then be your own examiners; what did you do well? What could you have done better?

Most of all, stay safe, study hard and focus on the task in hand. Wear your mask, wash your hands, keep your distance. You can do this!

Five Notes on Back to School.

So, it's after August 15th, which here in Greece means teachers turn their thoughts to getting back to work, (if they ever stopped in the first place)! I thought I'd give you a run down on some things going through my brain at this time of year and then we can compare notes. (Please add your views in the comments below!)

I love going back to school, I always did. As a kid it meant new shoes, bag, supplies and an outfit, catching up with my friends after a long summer break and learning new stuff. As a teacher, things are a little more complicated. Super duper new supplies (I will be looking at this in a future post) do come into it of course, but there are more urgent concerns for me as a teacher.

#1 New Routine:
If you are working in a ''frontisterio" - Greek foreign language centre, you will have your time table to consider, as you will in any other educational establishment of course, but the frontisterio often feel obliged to pander to their clients needs and thus you know that your timetable will be altered at least three times before the end of September. If you are a peripatetic teacher, you'll be juggling your hours and judging how much time it'll take you to get from one lesson to the next. That can be from a few minutes up to half an hour depending on where you live. Whatever, your teaching situation you'll soon get into a familiar routine.

               

#2 New Books:
And I mean the books you use to teach with. Of course, you might not get a choice in what to use, but if you do, you need to consider quite a few different things in the selection process. Look at the level, age and interests of your students.

LEVEL: Look at the grammar and vocabulary covered; is it sufficient for the progress you wish to make with your class? If you have a class you want to fast-track. - you know those kids that just 'get' the language, you might want to consider jumping a level and supplementing with some fun vocabulary lessons. I find slow cooking classes (the ones where you find yourself explaining basic grammar for the umpteenth time) often like a book with a standard layout in each unit. Here it is important to check that grammar and vocabulary are recycled throughout the book.

AGE: Layout is important here. Adults tend to like plain, clear exercises in neat neat columns, and a traditional typeface, teens/tweens/infants like a busy page with wacky pictures and cartoons. Look at the age of the characters if there is a story theme, aim a little older rather than younger. Look at technology in the books, kids are very discerning and will be quick to point out ageing tech in photos, again adults are usually a little more tolerant.

INTEREST: Remember to choose objectively. (Personally, sports leave me cold, but give me nature and I'll prick up my ears.) If a unit you thought was fabulous hits a flat response, remind yourself that your students will not necessarily like the same stuff you do, accept it and get over it, after all you are there to help them. Of course, this tailoring of taste isn't always possible given that you may be teaching a large class. If that is the case, try to find a course book that has multiple topics that will appeal to many interests.

#3 Targets:
I know several teachers who get into the office on the first day and check their academic calendar to see when public holidays fall and which classes they'll be missing. (I'm naming no names!) Joking aside, this is only partly because they'll get a welcome break mid term (no half-term/autumn/spring breaks in Greece), but also because if you have an exam class you need to plan lessons and material and know exactly how much time you have to cover that material. If you are in a state school, you'll also have to contend with school trips. If you are a home tutor, ask about family vacations in advance. Count days, and lessons according to the pace of your classes and do a rough calculation. Add in a few extra days if you you want to do extra activities for celebrations and so on.

#4 Extra activities:
I'll be honest, this is my favourite part of teaching (I'm already scanning Pinterest for classroom decor and fun activities). The thing you need to think about is what you want to (re)present. Most teachers deal with major American and British celebrations. Don't forget there are also cultural heritage activities or International Days that you can look at. Again, depending on how much leeway you have, you can teach these things in many ways. In schools it's fun to see older kids teaching younger ones after a few years of following a celebration like Halloween for example. You realise you've brought another culture into their lives then and even if the customs don't have the same significance, it's lovely to see them being appreciated. *NOTE* Always respect parental views on these lessons; some will not wish their kids to participate in certain activities for whatever reason. You may think it's odd, but they're ultimately in charge. Check with the parents first if you are unsure. (E.g. Are kids allowed to have sweets? Are there any religious beliefs to be considered?)

#5 The first day:
It's an old one, but I have to remind myself every year; start as you mean to go on. I've taught all ages - toddlers to pensioners and it's the same in every instance. Don't give the impression that you are a pushover - believe me chaos will eventually ensue! Don't be old-school strict - you do not want to hear kids ''complaining" about you to their friends/parents/your boss. Try to strike a balance so that your students know you are fair yet fearless. (You are, even if you don't feel like it all the time.)

Have a great school year 2018-2019 everyone!

Organisation or Organization?

Some of my students have been quizzing me on my spelling of the word organisation. Now I tend to fall back on the "It's British spelling" in answer to this in class, but in the case of organisation, z is also British spelling. So I thought this was a great opportunity to expound upon this and briefly delve into the issue of spelling in the English language over time and the differences in English between continents as well as reassure my students I am perfectly capable of spelling!

Language, by its very nature, is mutable and malleable. This is what allowed such a huge array of written English over the centuries. Think Shakespeare juxtaposed with Kerouac, or Charlotte Bronte with J.K.Rowling to get even just a glimpse of the scope in classic and popular literature let alone all other types of writing out there. Then take a glimpse at how each writer has stretched and played with words to find just the right nuance of meaning.

So it is with spelling. English is a mishmash of invader influence, necessity and idiosyncrasy. There are Latin words, German words, Greek words to name but a few, there are hybrids (chocoholic, aquaphobia or beatnik)  and even acronyms that have become accepted as words in their own right (laser). There's rhyming slang that sounds like gibberish (old china plate or apples and pears), regional words for things that are not understood elsewhere in the same country (ginnel, gennog, jetty or alley), there are words that have reversed their meanings over the passage of time (nice or bully), not to mention street speak, text speak, and good ol' jargon. 

But where am I going with all this, you ask me? How does that justify the pesky, errant 's'? 

Flexibility, change and variety. 

If you visit the Oxford dictionary on line, it may indeed appear I am mistaken in my spelling (unless you read the small print!); here's what you get when you put organisation into Google. 

Oxford Dictionary entry.

If you look in companions from teaching material that I use, it might also seem that I have not done my homework.

Here's an entry from Burlington book's Stay Connected B2 course book for example.

However, if you search a little deeper, you will see that my choice of 's' over 'z' is perfectly acceptable. According to the Oxford Living Dictionary, the s form, although not the original spelling, has been in use since the mid 1700s.

Nor, indeed, is it archaic; you will see that I am using the favoured spelling of the British press. (I read The Guardian most frequently.)

So I will continue to write organisation, and you may choose to use 'z' when you write. We are both correct. Of, course that will undoubtedly change!

Should you feel the need to delve deeper into English spelling you might like these links below.

British and American spelling.

Words that need to be spelled -ise.

-ise or ize?

Australian spelling.

Winners of the B2 & A2 Levels!

This will soon turn into the Nightmare Before (or rather After) Christmas Competition! I've still had very little time to type up these stories. Apologies to those who've been waiting. Here are the winners of the B2 level. And my only entrant at A2 level. Enjoy!

(If some of these have the same beginning it's because they were written from a prompt in their exam book.)

B2 LEVEL

Untitled 

by Izabela Bazima

I was feeling bored and was looking out of the window onto the street when I saw something strange. It was a shadow and then disappeared. I was scared and I was closed the window. I went down to tell my mom and my brother but they wasn't there. I called tomum and I said "Mom where are you? I'm scared because I saw a shadow and suddenly it disappered" My mum said" Izabela lock all the doors. The police are chasing a crazy man who kills little girls who are alone in the house." I locked all the doors and called the police. I remembered I jhad forgotten to lock the back door. I ran to the back door but I found the door open. I was scared so much. I locked the door and I ran to my room and I locked the door. I was hiding under my bed. Then I heard the voice of a crazy man. He said "Oh little girl I know where you are and I found you I will kill you!" He tried to unlock the door. I was beginning to cry. Suddenly the door opened and the crazy man entered my room. He stood in front of my bed and ducked. He pulled me out from under the bed and then he was pushing me. He tried to kill me with a knife in my leg. He injured my hand. He tried to slaughter me. It would have happened but the police entered my room and they saved me. When I found my mom I began to cry again because I was very scared. Anyway, everything went well. The police caught the crazy man and we moved house. I'm better now but really I'll never forget that day.

Untitled

by Maria Psarri

I was feeling bored and was looking out of the window onto the street when I saw something strange,there was a team  of people which was very different. Many of them had big nails, many fur around their face amnd also had wrinkles. They looked like werewolves. I decided to go out and see what had happened. I went outside my house and I saw around until I had found them. Suddeny I hear a loud noise it was a big monster he was coming towards me. I screamed very loudly and I was very afraid But I felt a hand pull me back and I hurtmy hand. Moreover the strange people that I had seen before fought the big monster. One, a boy, was coming to me and helped me to hide. He asked me" Are you okay?" and I said "Yes I am but I feel very tired." AlsoI asked hime Also I aske dhim "What are you?" he looked at me strangely and said " What do you mean?" I replied " You dn't look like people What are you?" He told me "Relax, we are only people." I was angry and asked him one more time" What are you? And be careful, this time telll me the truth." "Okay. We are werewolves" I was shocked and I told him "No I don't believe you! tell me now the truth." He told me  " This is th truth if you want to believe it, or you can believe whatever you want." After that I didn't say anything and I didn't look at him ether. When the fight was over, all of them came and the captain asked "What is your name?" I answered "My name is Maria." He told me "What did you see." I said "Do you want the truth?" He said "Of course" I said "Everything." He begged me not to tell anyhting about them and I promised I would. After day I saw all of them in school but they weren't werewolves and also I saw the boy who helped me and saved my life.

Untitled 

by Zoe Gianni 

Last year a boy went to a party. He was all alone, but after a few time he met a girl and she was beautiful. He fell in love with her. After a few days they became a couple and the boy wanted to to marry the girl. "Would you marry me?" he asked the girl."Of course, sweetheart." she answered.
They were very happy for that decision. But one night when they were sleeping, the boy heard a horrible sound like an animal wich was breating very loud. He went to the kitchen to see where the sound came from but he didn't see anything. Then he went to his bed again. Suddenly, he realised that the sound came from the girl. He went closer to her but she didn't woke up. This continued for many weeks and the booy didn't have any problem any more with the sound.

Two days before the wedding he had a nightmare. He saw a lot  of people injured and most of them were dead. Then in his dream appeared a woman. "Don't marry this girl if you want to stay alive." she said to him. "Why?" he asked. "Just don't do that. Wake up and run and don't look back. Leave this girl behind you and run." she said to him. Suddenly the boy woke up and saw the girl was watching him. "You are going to leave then?" the girl asked him. "No baby," he asnwered and they fell asleep again.
The next day the boy thought about the words from the woman in his dream and at midnight he decided to leave the house house and the girlfriend who was sleeping. He took his clothes and some important things and started to run away. In the morning, when the girl woke up, she realized that the boy had left her. She went to find another boy to fall in love with her so that she could drink his blood to live. The boy was so happy that he was safe and he never fell in love with a girl again.

A2 LEVEL

The Cursed Knight

By Nick Sargiotis

Once upon a time there was a good knight who cared for his people. A night when our hero was looking at the stars a witch cursed him to be bad every night with a blood moon. One night with a blood moon the knight almost destroyed an entire castle he lived in. Gladly they put him into the dungeon before he could destroy it.
After centuries some students wanted to go to the scariest place that ever existed. They chose a haunted house, but it wasn'r scary enough for them. The next night they went to an abandoned mineshaft which was abandoned 34 years. But it was nothing compared to what they wanted. Next night they searched on the internet for the spookiest place on earth and they found a ruined castle which was destroyed by a cursed night. On the internet said that every night with a blood moon the knight comes from the dead to kill people who tresspass his territory which was his castle.The students thought it would be the spookiest place on earth and they waited for a night with a blood moon. The next night - with a blood moon - the students went into the ruined castle to feel the spookiest experience they have ever experienced but one thing they didn't know was that the curse was real and their life would be in huge danger. The knight almost killed them but the soul of the king heard the students and defeated the knight. After that the students never wanted to go back again.

THE WINNERS OF THE 2ND SPOOKY SHORT STORY COMPETITION (C2 LEVEL)!

I've been a bit short on time this week and last (so many Halloween parties and so little time!💀Too many murders in classrooms!) so keep checking in for the updates. Here are the winners of C2 level (in no particular order). REMEMBER: I have not made any corrections to these stories at all. This is all the writers' own work.

👻 Hope you enjoy the spooky Halloween reads Part 1! 👻

C2

Strange Encounter

by Panagiotis Psarris

A night of horror and spook! The Halloween Night! Me and my friends, Frank, George Dylan and TJ (I am Dylan). Our target was to go around the neighbourhood  and knock on people's doors, then we would hide in the bushes. You're going to ask how we would hide as bushes, the answer is we were working on handmade ghilie suits* and trust me it actually worked! So we went to all the houses even ours! Knocking doors and hiding, what else could we ask for? Our Halloween themed buckets were flooded with candy and chocolate goodies! We had the best costumes in the block, taking pictures and shooting videos, we had the time of our lives. In my house we went to unload our buckets and go to the next block to do the same jokes again. Every block had scarier and scarier costumes. From zombies and bloody men to invisible costumes! Can you believe it? We were tired, it was time to go back  and relax by playing video games. In the home stretch just two steps from my home all the lights went out my friends ran away and I just stayed there wondering why. I looked to my right and to my left and behind me. Lastly, I looked above me and noticed the only street lamp that was lit was the one above. I looked at my friends and they were shouting "At the alleyway!" I looked at the alleyway and saw a figure, no hands, not a regular body, was walking in the alleyway. Suddenly it looked at me and started running towards my way. As it exited the the alleyway it walked towards me, I crawled up into a ball just to camoflage with the grass. I was able to look at him.. It looked like a person with a straight jacket and a Hannibal mask. I thought "Is this the end? Is that my end?" then I saw Frank flashing his flashlight at his face but as soon as the man looked at Frank, Frank took off. So it was me and him, I was sweating bullets and crying. The figure stopped just in front of me. I thought "This is it." when I suddenly heard"Dylan?" I thought "How does he know my name?" But then his voice sounded familiar. I said "Brian?" He answered "Yes Dylan?" Then relieved I got on my feet again and shouted "I'm safe!" My friends came and said "Who is he?" I said "It's Brian." I t turned out he had been making his won costume all this time so in the end we all played video games while eating hot buttered popcorn.

Suspicious Person

by Apostolos Psarris

It was the 31st October, about 11 o'clock at night my friends and I were talking via our phones talking about when we were going to go trick or treating. I said I couldn't come because I was ill so they were goin' to go by themselves. The clock strikes 11 my mom says she'll take the kids out for trick or treating, so I was home all alone. I was used to being home alone so I made myself a bucket of popcorn and sat on the couch watching a  family guy marathon. It was about 12 o'clock now and I kinda started getting worried 'bout my mom. I called to tell her if she is okay, I got no response at all. So I went to sleep. That's when it happened.

I heard knock on the door, I was thinking "It must be Trick or Treaters!" So I turned aside to sleep. Suddenly the knocks became bangs like someone was kickin' it, so I got up and went to the door to check but no one was there, just a note saying "Night night." I gulped and closed the door I went to sleep again and outside my window I heard giggles. I said it must be Bennie messin' around. One hour later, I heard screeches down the window, it was 1am so I was creeped out. I went to check and all I could see was a black figure wearing a straight jacket just staring at me intently with its head twitching. I could hear pure silence but [in my head] whispers saying "It's a frame." I screamed "Sir are you okay?" not an answer came back, "Do you need help?" I then got a phone call from an unknown person. I answered with a cold "Hello?" they hung up. Then I thought to myself "How could a straight jacketed maniac call or write?" When I looked again, nothing was there! So I slept with my pepper spray aside.

I woke up at 8am of course, I was late.  And of school, on my way home but a strange figure scratches my eye sitting in the middle of the square. The same person from yesterday  was following me all day long so at night I said"OK it's time I called the police." I didn't want to grab my eyes off him so I was talking on the phone and looking at him. The police eventually came, six police interceptors and a helicopter. They told me he he was a slaughterer that was stalking his victims for three days and then killing them on the fourth day. I was on the news  - I was relieved to see myself on the TV. After living this I heard a lot of strange noises in the night, strange isn't it?

*WARNING * VIOLENT STORY*

The Creature

by Fotis Georgakis

It was a rainy Halloween night. A group of friends are in their car heading home after Halloween party. After some time, the car entered a thick grey fog. Then a tall black shadow got formed in the fog.. The creature forming the shadow was making spasmodic moves around the car car, inspecting it, ensuring the group it was nothing human-like. Eric, despite the rest of the group saying not to, got out of the car to investigate. The shadow stopped moving right in front of him and suddenly, a white skinny hand came out of the fog quickly, grabbing him by wrist and pulling him into the fog. Then a loud scream was heard followed by the brutal sound of bones breaking. Rachel, Eric's girlfriend started crying and Matt grabbed the steering wheel and quickly drove away. The moment they arrived at home, Matt called 911 and reported the event.
The following day, the police investigated the whole area and the same night one of the reporters in the news said that the police confirmed that they found a weird old cabin in the periferals of the city. When When he heard it, Matt stood up:
"We have to go there guys!" he shouted.
"But we can't" said Rachel interrupting him
"Come on! It's about your best friend!" Mart said " At least we can avenge if he is...d, dead..." Matt stopped talking and sighed.
"Admit it Rachel, He's right" said Helen. "We have to find Eric."
They looked at Rachel and said do you agree?"
"Yeah, let's go" Rachel said. The same night, the group headed to the location police said they had found the cabin. After about an hour they where in front of the cabin. It was surprisingly big with rotten shutters and an old rotten wooden door. The cabin was filled with old fashioned furnitures and three doors with carved messages such as: "Not scary at all", "Scary" and "Really scary". At first they thought that Eric would be behind one of the doors. They first opened the "Not scary at all" be hind that door was lying a pile of bodies and a weird creature was feasting on them. Then the creature looked at the friends revealing its glowing yellow eyes. Then it started running towards them but Matt quickly locked the door and said; "That's not real there's no way..." Then a squeaky voice crumbling voice said "So... it's not real enough for you Matt! You want this nightmare of yours and your friend to last longer?" The the last door opened and the friends saw the creature that got Eric. It was tall with big crossed yellow eyes and had a huge disturbing smile across its white face filled with fangs all the place. It looked at the friends and started walking towards them. It started attacking the group but Rachel by instinct grabbed a large spike of the floor with all her hatred for the creature, she stuck it through the face! The creature roared in pain. Rachel's win was too good to last for long. The creature somehow healed itself, grabbed Rachel buy  her neck and and brutally choked her. The big claw grew out of its hands and blood started running of its eyes. It grabbed Matt by his neck and whispered in his ear " You cant hide from me human" I'll forever feasting of your fears As it impaled him with the spear that Rachel attacked it with. Helen was lucky enough to run out of the house and reached the car. The last thing she heard before turning the engine on was: "Don't get fooled little girl Its not over!"

Let the 2nd Spooky Short Story Competition begin!

It's October, that means Halloween and that means spooky stories! Last year's stories were great. This year I've extended the competition to a few more schools in the area where I live, not just the ones I teach in, so be looking out for a bumper read towards the end of the month!

If you are looking for help on how to write a story, you can check out this blog post here.
And if you are wondering why I'm so into scary stories, you can check out my writing here.

Here are the rules:

• Only students who attend the participating schools may take part.
• No story should exceed (be longer than) 300 words.
• All stories must be on A4 paper with students name, class level and school at the top.
• All stories must be hand written and not corrected by another person.
• All stories must be original and the student's own work.
• No more than one story per student, so choose your best one!
• Do not include violence and blood for the sake of it. I want to be scared not made to feel sick!
• The judge's decision is final.
• All winning stories will be published on this blog towards the end of the month.
• Closing date 20th October 2017. (Hand in your stories to your teacher who will pass them on to me.)
• Artwork welcome!

Have fun!

Welcome back!

It's been an long hot summer in Greece and I'm feeling rested and recuperated. So much had been happening!

First of all, I have to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to all my students who passed their exams at B1, B2, C1 and C2 levels. You deserved it, you worked like troopers this year!

After school was out, I took a  long deserved trip back to the UK for my niece's wedding and a huge family reunion. (It was about time after thirteen years, don't you think?) I also read endless books and spent quality time with my family. What about you? Feel free to let me know what you be been up to by commenting below.

Now I'm back and raring to go!

If you are an old friend, you'll notice some changes happening here at my blog and I hope you'll hop on board and support me by hitting the subscribe button up there on the right. If you are new here, no problem, by subscribing, you can enjoy all the benefits too. So what will you get from this? Subscriber exclusives of course! There will be a whole new series of How-to guides for teachers and students to help you with all the things you need to make your English teaching/learning experience so much more enjoyable, as well as all the old favourites. And of course they are all entirely FREE! If things really take off, I have so much more planned! So click on that subscribe button and let's kick off the 2017- 2018 school year together!

The coming months:
I'll be attending a seminar on Dyslexia and EFL.
The 2nd Spooky Short-Story Contest will be running from October 1st -20th. Look out for details in school or here. 

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN!

Where did the year go? It's been two months since I posted and I hardly noticed!

Well now it's the end of year I thought I set you up with all you need to: 

Create you very own yearbook!

A yearbook is a way for each student to remember classmates, what they looked like and what interested them in that year of school. Traditionally yearbooks are presented to graduating students but in EFL classes, you can create them for the students who have just taken or are going to take exams and are going on to the next level or going to leave.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

• All comments made must be positive.
• All comments must be in English.
• Use your best handwriting.
• Use a mobile phone/school camera to take photos and print them up (or get students to bring their own).

WHAT TO WRITE:

• Write your name.
• Write a short auto biography.
• Write three adjectives that describe you.
• Write what you hope to achieve next.
• Ask your teacher to write something.
• Ask your classmate(s) to write something.

COLLATING THE YEARBOOK:

When you have gathered all the completed pages copy them back-to-back and staple them together with a cover of your own design or using the template I have below.

PRINTABLE YEARBOOK TEMPLATE

Make enough copies so all the students can have one each and one for you and the school owner. If finances are an issue, you can reduce the copy size so that each page is A5, or make monochrome copies. Alternatively, scan them all into a computer and email them or make a PDF available through your school site or only to those who have the link.

The meaning of March and other phrases...

March is the month of spring and has always been one of fond memories for me. My best friend from preschool years and my favourite auntie have their birthdays on the official first day of spring - the 21st of March which is usually the spring or vernal equinox. Happy birthday to you!

Mars 

The month of course is named after the Roman god of war, Mars which brings the imagery of a chariot blazing across the sky dragging spring behind it. It would be nice to think that the verb to march would fit in here, (one imagines legions of Roman soldiers in strict formation) but sadly it doesn't.

So what other phrases and idioms are connected with March? 

Mad as a March hare, meaning completely crazy, stems from the dancing/jumping/boxing motions of hares at this time of year - it is their mating season. Just have a look at this!

Why am I posting today you might ask? Well today is the ides of March. You may have heard of this before from Shakespeare "Beware of the Ides of March". Again ides is a Roman term used for the first full moon of the Roman new year, which fell on the 13th or 15th of March, and so the Ides of March is now accepted as the 15th of the month. (Although strangely this year the full moon was the 13th!) 

Finally, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, refers to the changeable weather and the change of the season. Early March weather tends to be fierce and cold whereas in late March one can really feel the mildness of spring just around the corner. Lions are fierce, lambs are mild, it's not so hard to see! There is a lovely children's book of the same name written by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully that brings this idea to life provides plenty of weather vocabulary too.

Quick! There's been a Murder in the Classroom!

Sometimes it's super for busy teachers to allow another person or company do the planning and that's just what I did today with 'Murder in the Classroom' from One Stop English, the Macmillan website.

Macmillan website OneStopEnglish has a super Murder Mystery that takes up a one hour period and was the perfect way to lead into the holiday weekend. I had, of course, spent a half hour or so preparing the scene just to get the atmosphere right. (Thanks to hubby for the tape and to V.K. for interrupting her busy schedule to print up my 'Police Line: DO NOT CROSS' sign and L.L. for the photos.)

Miss McGowan, R.I.P.

I delighted in monitoring my students as they questioned each other, narrowing down the likely suspects and finally detecting the murderer.

If you would like to try this you need to have at least seven students in your class and there are roles for another four provided on the Macmillan website. My class was twelve so I had to write one more, but that wasn't so hard to do. Click here for a link to the material provided by Macmillan and see if your students can discover Whodunit?

ARMISTICE DAY

Armistice Day is a day of remembrance, a day to honour those who died in World War I and World War II and other, subsequent wars. Which day is it? In Britain, Belgium, France, Serbia and New Zealand people wear poppies on this day. Do you know the reason why? There are parades and wreathes are laid a memorial cenotaphs in villages, towns and cities. A minute's silence is also observed to allow for reflection, but upon what? Watch the short centenary video below to find out more.

ACTIVITIES: Watch the video again and answer the questions. For a printable copy click here.

1.Answer these comprehension questions.

When was the First World War?

What happened in 2014?

Which day did the first world war end and what do we call this day now?

When is Remembrance Sunday in Britain?

Where did the poppies grow?

Who was Lieutenant Colonial John McCrae and what was he inspired to do?

2. Which of the following areas was World War I fought in?

1. The South Atlantic
2. The Middle East
3. Australia
4. China
5. Turkey
6. East Africa
7. The United States
8. The Alps
9. The Carpathians
10. Western Europe
11. Great Britain

3. How Many? Match the numbers on the left to the facts on the right.

13                  soldiers fought in the war
71,497,467    died in Britain alone

888,246         major wars are in progress*

70,000+         smaller conflicts in progress*
Dozens          people have died as a result of these wars*

*Figures correct for 2014, when the video was produced.

4. Complete the following paragraph:

global, lives, November, observe, poppy, remember, silence, victims, War

The First World _____________  was the first truly ___________  war. At 11am on _____________ 11th 1918 the fighting stopped. This day is now an important day of remembrance where people from across the globe ___________ a minute's ____________ to reflect upon the ___________ of all wars. The __________ is a way to ___________ the people who gave their ___________ for the world we live in today.

5. Read the poem. How does it make you feel? What images do you get when you read it? Who narrates the poem?

IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By Dr John McCrae, 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

6. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Do you or would you wear a poppy? Why/Why not?
Who are we remembering: soldiers or civilians?
Is there a similar celebration to Armistice Day in your country?
What happens on this day?
Do you think that war is better forgotten?

How do you feel when you see images of war in the media?
Which wars are being fought at the moment?
Many soldiers are referred to as Peace Keeping Forces, what do you think this means?
Do you watch war films? Why/Why not?

7. Click on the links below for a crossword and word search based on the red words from the worksheet, and a gap fill exercise based on the song 'I Vow to Thee, My Country'. This exercise is based on the acoustic version of the song by the singer from London, Elenya.

WORKSHEET + ANSWERS

WORD SEARCH

SONG GAP FILL

VOCABULARY

Armistice                  truce; when fighting stops because of an agreement

World War                a war which involves most of the continents

Poppies                     red wild flowers

Parade                       large number of people/vehicle walking in the same direction

Wreathes                   ring of flowers or plants

Memorial                  something created /done to honour people who have died

Cenotaph                  structure/building to remind us of the dead

Centenary                 hundred year anniversary

Silence                      quiet
row                           straight line
larks                          small birds that fly very high
quarrel                      argue 
foe                            enemy
throw the torch to     give responsibility to someone  

Many thanks to: Mr. Allsop for letting me use his video on my blog. He has loads more informative videos on his You Tube Channel 'Mr. Allsop History'. Subscribe and learn! And to Elenya, for her lovely version of 'I Vow To Thee, My Country'. She also has other great songs on her channel 'Elenya'. Subscribe and listen!

WINNING SPOOKY STORIES FOR HALLOWEEN!

After my last post, I held a spooky short story competition for my students. I asked them to write a story that would scare the living daylights out of me. Below are those that made the grade.

Is your story here? Read on to find out! 

(If you wish to have your name added or even a title, just let me know and that can be sorted out!)

Many of the stories had great artwork even if the story didn't make it here, all the pictures have, so congratulations to you all!

Although they are in order of class level, I've copied them up just about warts and all, so don't worry if you see typos! [I added some corrections for clarity.] Some children preferred to remain anonymous, those who wished to take the credit have a by-line.
Note: Stories are not posted in any particular order and there is no overall winner ;-)

scare the living daylights out of someone = frighten someone very much

make the grade = be good enough

warts and all = as it is found/without changing the original

remain anonymous = keep names/identity hidden

take the credit = get the praise

by-line = mention who a piece of writing is written by

Congratulations to the winners and thank you all for your hard work and participation! 

Have a truly Happy Halloween!

Level C2

CONFESSIONS OF A PRISONER: THE UNKNOWN SUSPECT

by Evita Koukia

It was Saturday, 31st of October 2009. Scarlett and Adam had heard some rumors about a haunted house. They decided to take a late walk and pay a visit, just to satisfy their curiosity. Early in that evening, they were already on their way to the haunted house, which was far away from the city centre.
By the the time they got there, they saw an old, abandoned house which seemed a little gloomy at first sight. An old car was parked in front of the the fence. Once they got inside, they started laughing. They did not see anything unusual, suspicious or mysterious. As they slipped towards the kitchen they heard some footsteps. They thought that it might be the owner of the car and paid no further attention. As they were strolling into the other rooms they realized that that the footsteps were coming from downstairs. They were terrified, when they heard a hollow scream. They ran to the door, but it was locked. It felt like somebody did not want them to leave the house.
Their minds were blown as they could not just wait to die. They had no idea about what they were up to. After a while, Scarlett and Adam heard these footsteps again again. But the is time something was different. The footsteps were coming closer and closer.. The door slightly opened but nobody was there. Adam went downstairs to check who else was in the side the house, mocking and playing them like fools. Scarlett was left alone and second later she started screaming. By the time Adam Adam got to the kitchen it was too late. Scarlett was already dead, bleeding to death. Adam felt that it was his fault.
An hour later the police arrived and Adam was arrested. Today seven years later, he insists on his innocence. The crime investigation has shown no fingerprints on the deadly weapon. Adam shares his story with Jonathon Tries, a prisoner who faced a similar situation, with his then girlfriend, 17 years ago.

HALLOWEEN

Anonymous

At the age of 12, my friends and I had a Halloween sleepover party at my house. Curious as we were for creepy stories we have heard, we decided to try one of those ourselves. The idea came from Nikos, the older one, he was 13 then and he was the leader of our gang! He have mentioned of the "Mirrored black which[witch] with the knife..."

"the what?" we asked...so Nikos told us about a black magic witch, living on the mountains hundreds years ago who by her will[wanted] to stay young forever, was killing children with a knife and drunk their blood by the light of the moonlight. When the villagers  found out who she was, they hunted her down, after that they striked her down and burned her, after that they striked her fiercly with knoxes[sic] and knives. Before she passed away, cursed the night, and gave a promise to the moon that she will never stop killing children in halloween nights.The plot of the ceremony required to call her name "Black magic with a knife" three times, infront of a mirror in a dark room, only with the light of a candle. And so we did...the silly ones, we did! As Nikos finished his story, we immediately gathered Nikos, Stells, Eva, George and I started calling her name. At the third calling the mirror started shaking and breaking and a skinny hand with long black nails holding a knife came through the broken mirror. At once a witch appeared screaming at us

"I want your lives. I want my youth" she said, "I want to kill you. we started running and turning on the light and screaming by fear, the witch disappeared and we promised never to try such silly ceremonies ever again.

HALLOWEEN

by Eleni Svina

It was a cold day in Octomber and I was very happy because that it was Halloween. It was raining so I was more happy the rain created a scary atmosphere like it had to. We were ready to go out and scary them so much that they had not even predict. But nobody would predict the event that happened to us.
We wore our costumes and we began to share the fear. All the neighbours were really frightened. My mom said to me that they had nightmare and they could not sleep in the night. Thankfully they gave us many sweets, so we had not to scare them more. We had a really great time, to the time we heard scary screams and voices. We were really scared. The screams heard everytime from closer and closer, suddenly we were surrounded from ghosts. three minutes later, we managed to juggle them and quickly we got inside my home and I locked the door. We were so scared that we could not even to talk. To make things worse, my family were not in there.
"Did you see my parents?"
"No, why?"
"Because they are not here and if there would be a reason, I would not know it."
"What do you think could happen?"
"I have no idea."
Suddenly, I heard that a glass broken but we were in the hall and the glass were in the saloon.
"What happened?" I asked, scared.
"I do not know, something broke down."
"Yes, but how?"
"I do not know."
I unlocked the door. We ran as quickly as we could to my friends house because we believed we would be safer. As we ran these same ghosts surrounded us, take us into their hand to eat us.
"Just leave us, we will find food for all of you but just let us down."
They began to laugh. They dropped their masks and their costumes. These ghosts were our families. They participated in the scaring fest too. I was just unpredictable. I was shocked about one hour. It was really scary.
In the next fest, even when all our families will not participate in the fest we will scare them more than everyone else to tell what we felt. We will push the limits.

Level B2

TRICK OR TREAT?

by Panagiotis Psarris 

Once upon a time in a really spooky neighbourhood it was Halloween.
I was cruising around on my bicycle when suddenly i heard a noise from the passage right next to me. I took a quick peek but it was pitch black, so i walked in blinded. A couple minutes later i noticed that i had a flashlight so i turned it on and guess what I saw, i saw a shadow, a tiny shadow growing bigger. Then shaking like a leaf i keep on walking with my flashlight low on battery. Slowly a light was coming and a noise was coming so I got to the other side of the passage and I heard the noise next to me. I got sweaty and slowly turned my head, and i saw...A pumpkin with a puppy stuck in it. That calmed me down and I got all the stress away. I putted the puppy in my jacket and ran to the vet.
Now the puppy is my pet, and his name is Oscar.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

by Apostolos Psarris

A rainy evening when I was just coming back from my english lessons a thuder suddenly struck the ground, that was the moment I was completely terrified but a folded paper landed right on my leg I unfolded it with curiosity and on it there was a house adress on it, I ran back home, slept and the morning I went to that specific adress:(x0127ae*, I know... weird. So I went to that adress and there was a sign with this template: under the mail-box. I was freaked out while entering the dark yard slowly and I took a sneaky peek under the mail-box, I saw a note it was writing something on it: out in the hole. I searched everywhere and found a hole above the mail-box when I put it inside the hole reptiles flew out imidiately, scorpions, spiders, snakes, lizards. I shouted for help but then I realised they were gummy candy! Well I guess it was my 'sweetest' scare!

Level B1

SPOOKY SUMMER CAMP

by Theodore Damagas

Do you want to scare the living daylights out of you, do you want some adventure, do you want to do something special, then come to Spoocy Sumer Camp. It's a very good place for children who want to learn special facts. The text below is an example for our camp.

1st September 2019.
It's morning, the sun is shining and nothing is scare. We are, now, climbing a mountain. Afternoon: I'm too tired! Evening: Something is making noise outside my tent. I'm to scared. Next, I looked and saw... a... a... a bear!
2nd September 2019.
Today, we are learning how to use guns! Then we are going for hunting in the forest. When we were walking a scary noise is hearing. Next, a green zombie came out of nowhere. All started shooting. Actually we killed it. From then we were have, all the time, the guns in hand.
3rd September 2019.
Now, we have been here in big wooden, haunted house. It is night. Everything in there does spooky noises. Then a vampire, a murderer and 5 zombies start to fighting us...

We found this page on the base camp. It came to us with the river. If you want to learn the end of the story, come to spoocy sumer camp!

THE HAUNTED HOTEL

by Konstantina Triantafillou

The story took place at a little town near Texas. In Brown 2 Street there was a 5 stars hotel that was the most popular in the area. But one day when one family went there creepy things happened...
Thomsons family (the family that went on the hotel) was included by mr. John, mrs Kathrin and their kids, Anna and Bill. After their trip they were very tired so they let their baggage and went at the mini cafe at the ground flour[floor] of the hotel. Anna and Bill wanted toplay so they went to their room. Suddenly there was a blackout and a scary voice said: "If you wanna stay alive live[leave] this place until tomorrow morning." After a while when the lights came up everyone thought it was a joke and laughed. But it wasn't...
When John and Kathrin arrived at their room they saw their kids choked and they saw a ghost holding a knife. The ghost killed them too. The receptionist heard screams and ran to the room and he saw the ghost. It was too late. It hanged him at the chandelier.
But did everyone die? Has anybody servived? Did the hotel close? Why this ghost killed the Thomsons? No one knows.
Maybe the ghost visit your house too!

UNTITLED

by Natalia Sophia

It was Halloween, at midnight. Mary and her friends had gone for pranks. They walked and saw a huge house. But this house has a vampire and Mary and her friends isn't know. They hit the door but nobody answer sudenly the door is open. The girls go insite the house. Sudeny they listen a a strange voice the girls want to go out but the door is closed and they don't up [open] it/ They find secret stairs and they follow it. Sudenly they lisen again the strange voice, on the floor had blood. On the wall its wrote with blood I KILL YOU. Mary it open her eyes and she saw her mother where she said: "Wake up it's time for school." She [Mary] understand that this is a nightmare.