OUR LADY OF VICTORY- 8TH SEPTEMBER

Our Lady’s birthday is generally celebrated by the Catholic Church on the 8th September and so this date has been adopted as an opportunity to honour the different images of Mary. In Malaga, people celebrate the feast day of the patron of the city, ‘Our Lady of Victory’.

As her name would suggest, the ‘Virgen de la Victoria’ is venerated due the role she is believed to have played in various military victories.

The first was in 1571 at the battle of Lepanto, near Greece, when the Holy League (made up of Spain and the Papacy among others) fought the Ottoman Empire. Christians prayed the Rosary in St. Peter’s Square in Rome in the hope that Mary would intercede for them, winning them God’s help in keeping the Muslim Empire out of Western Europe. A miraculous victory was won.

In Malaga itself, a statue of Our Lady of Victory is thought to have been kept in Ferdinand’s chapel in the military encampment during the siege when Malaga was re-conquered by the Catholic King and Queen. In 1867, Pope Pius IX appointed this image of Mary as patron of the city. The Church was inaugurated in 1700 and it is dedicated to the Patron Saint of Malaga that is Our Lady Virgen de la Victoria

Thus the 8th September is a local holiday. On the last Sunday in August, in preparation for the feast day, the image of the ‘Virgen de la Victoria’ is taken to Malaga cathedral where a novena (a particularly powerful way of praying the Rosary) is said in devotion to Our Lady. On Wednesday there will be a procession much like those one sees during Semana Santa, during which the image is carried to the Santuario de la Victoria in the Plaza Santuario, near the Plaza de la Merced. If you won’t be around Malaga at Easter time then this is not to be missed!

INTERNET RESOURCES

Carefully selected links arranged by theme. Each resource is briefly described.
Free online EFL / ESL Resources for learning English

The Internet is full of sites for learning English.

The problem is that there are so many it's difficult to choose.
You can find a selection of web pages to help you quickly locate useful ones.
There is a brief description of each rescource - except for those that need no introduction.
The criteria for selecting exercises:
•the objective is learning and understanding (that is, they're not just tests of knowledge),
•images, graphs, examples and/or other ways of leading to understanding are included,
•immediate feedback is given to each question,
•the context is as realistic as possible,
•they are interesting and fun to do.

The links lead to resources as directly as possible.
The links are to pages rather than to sites. RESOURCES

PRONUNCIATION EXERCISES

These are original English pronunciation exercises for English students based on a discovery learning approach.

These pronunciation exercises encourage student autonomy because they lead students to build their own criteria for how to produce English sounding sentences.

Sounding English is not just a question of pronouncing individual sounds correctly, much more important is to be able to control the rhythm and stress of what is said.

Having a feeling for English pronunciation not only helps students to be understood by other people, it also helps students to understand native speakers.

Rhythm
• The Rhythm of English

Stress and the Schwa

•Pronunciation tips: Schwa

BBC Learning English
•Stressed Syllables and the Schwa Sound Schwa_stress
•The General Rule 1 01_tonic_accent
•The General Rule 2 02_tonic_accent

•Words with Latin or Greek suffixes 1 01_tonic_accent_2
•Words with Latin or Greek suffixes 2 02_tonic_accent_2
•Words in -ion words_in_ion
•Limericks

Voiced and voiceless
•Vibration and no vibration  voiced_unvoiced

Distinguishing between voiced and unvoiced consonants
•Pronunciation of the -ed ending - 1 pronunciation/01_-ed_endings
•Pronunciation of the -ed ending - 2 pronunciation/02_-ed_endings

Spelling and Pronunciation
•Magic "e"  magic-e-spelling-pronunciation-rule

Minimal Pairs
•hot vs hut  pronunciation/min_pairs

ENGLISH LISTENING EXERCISES

100 listening exercises for learners of English.

•Listening practice for different levels, different interests. Plenty of practice.

•Listening actively can help your pronunciation too.Even the simple exercises can help you to get your ear tuned to English sounds and rhythms.

•Try listening to several different styles. A fairy story or a folk tale which is soothing, or a lively movie ad –some of these are quite challenging!

•Do a little at a time, but often and you will soon notice the difference.

•The dictation exercises help you pay attention to detail. Writing like this helps you assimilate.

•The variety of the listening selections and the different types of exercises keeps it fun and interesting. If it gets too difficult, choose an easier exercise.

BEGINNERS-DICTATIONSA step-by-step course for real beginners.

REAL ENGLISH VIDEO DICTATIONS      Street interviews of ordinary people.

TELEPHONE EXPRESSIONS DICTATION

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE   Stories from around the world.

STUDENT'S INTRODUCTION  Four adult students introduce themselves.

TV COMMERCIALS 1960'S TV Ads.

FAIRY STORIES For people who enjoy fairy tales.

MOVIE TRAILERS  Click on a picture to find an exercise.

ACADEMIC TEXT RECONSTRUCTION Based on the Voice of America's Special English programs.

ENGLISH EXERCISE- SONG

Read and listen to the song while you fill the gaps. Click on the following link:

BEAUTIFUL DAY by U2

13th ANNIVERSARY OF PRINCESS DIANA'S DEATH-

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor; née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997)

Princess Diana was an iconic figure of the late 20th Century. During her life she was often said to be the most photographed person, appearing on the cover of People magazine more than anyone else. She epitomised feminine beauty and glamour. At the same time, she was admired for her groundbreaking charity work; in particular her work with AIDS patient,s and supporting the campaign for banning landmines. Married to Prince Charles in 1981, she received the title of “Her Royal Highness Princess Diana of Wales” She is the Mother of Prince William and Prince Harry 2nd and 3rd in line to the throne respectively.

Diana was born to an aristocratic family who links to the Royal Family. Her father was Edward Spencer, Viscount Althorp. Edward Spencer was a direct descendent of Charles II.. Her mother was Frances Viscountess Althorp. Her mother was distantly related with the Queen Mother, and was also of American descent. When Diana was young, her parents divorced with her father winning a bitter battle for custody of the children. Diana grew up in the family home of Park House, before moving to Althorp in 1975. Diana did not shine as a student, but did well in music and ballet. When she met her future husband, Diana was working as a part time assistant in a nursery school in London.

DIANA'S TRIBUTE

MALAGA FAIR 2010

Malaga Fair 2010

MALAGA FAIR 2010 WEBSITE

MICHELLE OBAMA ARRIVES IN MARBELLA FOR LUXURY HOLIDAY

US First Lady, Michelle Obama and her youngest daughter Sasha arrived in Malaga airport Wednesday morning aboard Air Force Two. The First lady and her daughter were picked up by a motorcade of black limos and police cars. They were driven directly from the airport to the luxury hotel Villa Padierna.

5-star Luxury Holiday in Style

The hotel Villa Padierna, officially located in the municipality of Benahavis (Malaga), is ranked amongst the top 30 hotels in the world. With its tuscany styled architecture and 2,000 square meter spa the Obama family will have plenty to enjoy. The U.S. First Lady was welcomed by hotel director, Ricardo Arranz who confirmed to the press that the Obamas had reserved 60 rooms at the hotel for themselves, their friends and their extensive Secret Service detail.