Monday, 19 October 2026

Current affairs. Protests around Europe

Listening: Schools closed in France as students clash with police

Why are people protesting across Europe?

Amid a wave of diverse local grievances, protests have erupted across Southern and Western Europe this week, sweeping through France, Albania, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Greece.

Demonstrations against living costs and school conditions have rocked France since late September, with many turning violent. Meanwhile, Albania has entered its fifth day of anti-government riots and protests over general economic conditions have taken place in Milan and in several cities in Portugal.

Spanish protests targeted housing affordability and the right to housing, while motor oil refinery workers in Greece gathered over demands for better workplace safety.

Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Vocabulary. Word building

The Logical Song by Supertramp

Complete the song using the correct form of the words given.

When I was young, it seemed that life was so ______ WONDER,

a miracle, oh, it was ______ BEAUTY, ______ MAGIC.

And all the birds in the trees,

they'd be singing so ______ HAPPY,

oh, ______ JOY, oh, ______ PLAY, watching me.

But then they sent me away to teach me how to be _____ SENSE, ______ LOGIC, oh, ______ RESPONSE, ______ PRACTICE.

And then they showed me a world where I could be so ______ DEPEND,

oh, ______ CLINIC, oh, ______ INTELLECT, ______ CYNIC.

There are times when all the world's ______ SLEEP, the questions run too deep for such a simple man.

Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned I know it sounds absurd, please tell me who I am.

I said watch what you say, they'll be calling you a radical, a liberal, oh, ______ FANATIC, ______ CRIME.

Oh, won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're ______ ACCEPT, ______ RESPECT, oh, _______ PRESENT, a vegetable!

Oh, take, take, take it, yeah! But at night, when all the world's ______SLEEP, the questions run so deep for such a simple man.

Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned I know it sounds absurd please tell me who I am, who I am… who I am… who I am.

Friday, 9 October 2026

Focousing on the past

Past Simple, Past Progressive Games

https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-video-lessons/grammar-practice/general-grammar-practice/coca-cola-commercial-used-to/668073

Past simple

We use the past simple to talk about past events in chronological order, i.e. for a story’s main events.

When she opened the door, she pretended we weren’t there and went to her room.
He called me and told me to go, but he wasn’t there when I arrived.

We also use the past simple to talk about past habits or past states.

We often went to the bar for a drink before dinner.
He really liked sport and was very fit.

Past continuous

We use the past continuous to set the scene in a story.

Last night, I was walking home listening to my iPod when…
The sun was shining, and lots of tourists were lying on the beach. Suddenly…

We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past or longer actions interrupted by shorter actions in the past simple.

After dinner, I went into the living room and saw that she was crying.
When she opened the door, we were talking about her.

Past perfect simple

We use the past perfect simple to talk about an earlier past: events which happened before the main event.

Earlier single events

We use the past perfect simple to talk about earlier events and experiences or single actions completed earlier in the past.

When she opened the door, he had already left.
I realised that I had been there before.
When I met her, I had never been in a serious relationship.
He noticed I had cleaned the car. It was smooth and shiny.

We use the past perfect simple (and not continuous) to say how much or how many we had done of something earlier in the past.

We had driven 500 miles, and we needed some rest.
How many hours had he slept when you woke him up?

Duration from earlier in the past (stative verbs)

We use the past perfect simple with stative verbs to talk about states or situations that had started earlier in the past. We often use how long, for or since, always, etc.

The day Anne died, they had been married for 48 years.
The day I left, I had been in England for exactly four years.
She told me she had always hated her sister.

Past perfect continuous

Duration from earlier in the past (dynamic verbs)

We use the past perfect continuous with dynamic verbs to talk about longer continuous actions that started earlier in the past than the main events of the story.

I was furious. I had been waiting for him in the cold, and he didn’t call to say he’d be late.
We had been driving for less than an hour when the car broke down.

Repeated actions from earlier in the past (dynamic verbs)

We use the past perfect continuous with dynamic verbs to talk about repeated actions from earlier in the past.

I couldn’t believe it. She had been writing a letter every day for over a year.

Monday, 5 October 2026

Housing crisis.

Coversation questions. Warm-up:

It is said an average person lives in 11 homes in their lifetime. What is your number?
If money was not a problem, where would you live and what kind of house would you have?
Making housing more accessible would help reduce…
What share of a household budget do you think is spent on average on housing?
Why has the price of housing risen so dramatically in the last decade?
What share of a household budget is spent on housing in low-income households?
In many countries, a large share of young people is still living with their parents. Is Spain one of these countries? Justify your answer
Is giving homeless people homes more effective and sensible than making them stay in shelters or on the street?
How much is Airbnb affecting the housing market in cities where rent is on the rise?
What can be done about rising homelessness in big cities?
Does it make sense to encourage homeownership through tax policies?
Should housing policy be more balanced, supporting rental housing and homeownership on a more equal footing?

Time to listen:

Vocabulary:

affordable home
low-income housing
budget
low -income households
mortgage
tenants
landlords
overburdened with housing costs
homeowners
social housing
to make a down payment
disposable income
average price
to evict /eviction
homelessness
rising home prices
overcrowding and under occupations
real state bubble
subsidized
housing issues
cohousing
utility bills
to downsize
squatting/squatters
to rehabilitate /rehab, rehabilitation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2kej47095no

Tens of thousands of people have protested across Spain calling for greater protections for tenants after the government failed to pass emergency housing legislation.

About 50 marches took place on Saturday in cities including Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. "There is a lot of anger in the streets," a spokesperson for the Valencia Tenants' Union said. Clashes have taken place between some protesters and police in the city. It is calling for a general strike over the housing crisis.

Getty Images About a dozen small tents are pitched in a concrete square in the centre of Madrid. It is raining and people walk around the tens with umbrellas. — An encampment has been set up for days by protesters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid

IES Cantabria. Learning English. (Santander)

European Parliament Ambassador School