Tags - do you care?

      Who does the washing in your family? Have you ever made a mistake not treating a piece of clothing the way it should have been? And: do you know all the symbols and meanings? Here are some useful, funny and unique solutions.

Business English I. - why and how?

     Learning Business English can be a great form of investment - basically, you can use what you learn in your every day life at the workplace, you can solve your own consumer problems no matter which company you are addressing e.g. with a complaint letter etc.! Let's see an interesting and useful video which is set in a working environment.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/youre-hired/episode-10

The task was designed by the British Council. So, high quality is guaranteed!

The best TV commercial

My students have all liked this video a lot - and, from a teacher's point of view, it's extremely useful as it's packed with actions! Can you make a list of, say, thirty verbs the narrator uses if you can listen to him twice only? Enjoy!

Dalmatia: coast and dog?

What really made me think about etymology was the funny hat on two street musicians in the city of Zadar: they were wearing hats which had a pattern similar to the one of a Dalmatian dog.

The question is: is there a connection between the Dalmatian dog and the part of Croatia called Dalmatia?

The answer is a big YES. Here we go.
Dalmatia (Croatian: Dalmacija, pronounced [dǎlmaːt͡sija]; see names in other languages) is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south. Dalmatia lies in Croatia.^[1] The Dalmatian dog received its name from Dalmatia, as does the dalmatic, a Roman Catholic liturgical vestment worn by deacons and bishops.

The Dalmatian (Croatian: Dalmatinac, Dalmatiner) is a breed of dog whose roots are often said to trace back to Dalmatia, a region of Croatia where the first illustrations of the dog have been found.^[1] The Dalmatian is noted for its unique black- or brown-spotted coat and was mainly used as a carriage dog in its early days. Today, this dog remains a well loved family pet and many dog enthusiasts enter their pets into the competitions of many kennel clubs.

(source: Wikipedia, mypetla.com, old-picture.com)

Tasteless British food? No way! - A Jamie Oliver recipe

Yummy. By-the-way - do you know all of the ingredients? Scallions, for instance? Well, here they are:

Jamie Oliver's Deliciously Easy Chopped Salad

Ingredients
4 scallions
1/2 cucumber
One handful of fresh basil leaves
2 small, just ripe avocados
1 butterhead lettuce
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon English mustard
Salt to taste
Ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Get yourself a big chopping board with a sharp knife. It's best to start by chopping the harder and crunchier veggies first. So trim and chop your scallions and slice your cucumber. Slice your basil. Bring it all into the center of the board and continue chopping and mixing together.
2. Halve your avocados around the big pit. Carefully remove the pit and peel the skin off. Add the avocado flesh, lettuce leaves to the board. Continue chopping until everything is roughly the same size. Put it in a large bowl.
3. In a small cup add 6 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Add one tablespoon English mustard and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the olive oil and vinegar. Stir well. Plate your salad and drizzle the dressing over the top.

Serves 4.

(Source: http://www.fitsugar.com/Jamie-Oliver-Recipe-Chopped-Salad-8565263)

V - A - C - A - T - I - O - N!

     Well, my daughter has already started her three-month-long summer holiday. It's fun and hard at the same time. How will we spend three months without ANY obligatory programs?

Here is a wonderful idea from About.com:

If the bottom line says it's just not in the family budget to take a vacation this year, don't let it get you down. This is the perfect opportunity to teach your kids a lesson in life; you know, the one about making lemonade out of lemons. Take your vacation at home this summer. With a little creative thinking it can be a lot of fun!

The first thing to do is call a maid service and schedule them to come on the Friday of your vacation. Then, you can ignore the dust and dirt the week you are on vacation knowing that the house will be clean and fresh before you go back to work. Now, get out your vacation clothes and attitude and just relax. Here are a few ideas from the Web for your at-home vacation.

Visit your own city as if you are a tourist. Go to the museums, theme parks, all those places that tourists visit when they come to your town. Eat out every night. Visit some new places in another part of town away from your usual haunts.

 

(Photos from hungarystartshere.com)

Dreadful Prepositions?

      Let's admit the fact that using prepositions can sometimes be a nightmare. Let's revise them gradually! Here are the first visuals:

     Please, check if you know all of them precisely. We'll continue with some more tables, tips and exercises soon!