English Around the World

                                                              English-speaking countries
 How many people speak English?

• English is spoken as de facto or official language in more than 75 countries: United Kingdom, Ireland, USA, Australia, Canada, India, Cameroon, Nigeria, New Zealand, Singapore, Guyana, Barbados, etc.
• English is spoken as a first language by around 375 million and as a second language another 380 million speakers and around 750 million are believed to speak English as a foreign language.

What do people use English for?

• English is often called the International Language since it is the main language in fields such as science, technology, international sport competitions, music, business, air-traffic control, ICT, the Internet, diplomacy, international trade, entertainment and travel.
• According to the British Council "over two-thirds of the world's scientists read in English. Three quarters of the world's mail is written in English. Eighty per cent of the world's electronically stored information is in English."

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!

On October 31^st, 2012, we held Halloween activities for students in the high school Los Albares in Cieza. And in my opinion, it was a success! We had two groups of Bachillerato students lead different activities while we had different groups of ESO students enter and participate in the activities. Since this was an English-based activity, the students were asked to speak English as much as possible.

               Our different activities included: horror story,  starring 4 bachillerato students;fortune telling, where the older students told the younger students their futures through card readings or palm readings; face-painting, students were allowed to bring out their creative side by painting their faces just as children in America would on this holiday; costume competition, after having their face painted, students would race against the clock to create unique costumes to gain points for their team; arts and crafts, here, students had a chance to sit down and make bookmarks or straw witches to have memorabilia from their time at the Halloween program; finally, the pumpkin race, in pairs, students were asked to hold a small, plastic pumpkin between their foreheads and run to the end without dropping it! These activities offered the students the opportunity to learn a little about a different culture and holiday, while also practicing their English skills.

Saint Valentine's Day

Every February we celebrate Valentine's Day by giving flowers, candy and cards to those we love. We do this in honor of Saint Valentine. You may be wondering, "Who is St. Valentine"? Time to brush up on your Valentine's history!

Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. There was an Emperor at that time by the name of Claudius II. Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. With this thought in mind he outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger military base. Supposedly, Valentine, decided this decree just wasn't fair and chose to marry young couples secretly. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine's actions he had him put to death.
Another legend has it that Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor's daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first 'valentine' himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it 'Your Valentine', words still used on cards today.
Perhaps we'll never know the true identity and story behind the man named St. Valentine, but this much is for sure...February has been the month to celebrate love for a long time, dating clear back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent.
Another valentine gentleman you may be wondering about is Cupid (Latin cupido, "desire").

In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love. Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around wounding both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love.