It’s tea time!

Hello everyone!

Is there anything more British than a good cup of tea? I don’t think so. British people have had an affair with the cuppa for centuries, and yet tea is not originally from the UK.

American English vs British English

Hello everybody!

I hope you have had a good Carnival!

Today we are going to talk about a common problem for intermediate (and above) students. In our day to day life we are exposed to English but there are two main issues that I would like to address:

What do British people mean when they say….?

Hi everyone!

Today we’re going to discuss what British people say vs what they really mean.

Language Interference in the UK

Hi everyone!

How did those passives go? How many did you get to form? Remember, you can leave your exercises at the reception desk and I will correct them and give them to your teacher so he/she can give it back to you!

Today I’d like to address a recurrent students’ issue. Often, when our students go to the UK they come back a little bit discouraged because they say they didn’t understand a word of what people told them! Although this seems to be a common head scratcher there’s a very simple explanation to it! I often tell my students that the English language is an alive language, it’s not fixed, every month new words start to be used in different regions of the country and it is just not possible to keep track of all of them! It’s not that you don’t understand the language, what happens is that the different accents and slang words make it more difficult! That’s why, from very low levels, at Euroschool we insist on the importance of understanding meaning by context, because English is relentlessly growing.

Rugby in Spain

Today we have Daniel Davis’ testimony not only about his first impression of our city, Coruña, but he is also going to tell us about one of his passions: Rugby!

Before you keep reading, take a look at this video to get a better idea about this sport:

What’s rugby about?

Little bit clearer, right? Keep scrolling to find out how a rugby player actually lives here in Coruña!

My name is Daniel, I am a teacher here at the Euroschool of English, what you are about to read is an account of my rugby season here in A Coruña.
Despite living in Gijón four years ago and playing against my current club, Club Rugby Arquitectura Tecnica (CRAT), I knew very little about A Coruña. Like most people from the UK I had heard of Deportivo but, apart from that, I moved to A Coruña with an open mind, ready to learn as much as possible about the city and the people.
One plus point to start with, was the fact that I joined up with the rugby team straight away.

Rugby is a sport unlike any other, where teamwork, discipline and respect are the core values, this means that any team in any country will welcome a new player and treat him like an old friend. This was exacly the treatment I recieved and it helped me settle in to life here in no time.
The season started with an away game to Belenos RC in Aviles, a “short” three – hour bus journey. This was a totally new experience for me, coming from Wales where a 30 minute journey would be considered a long one. Wales as a country is the same size as Galicia, with almost the same population. The difference is that in Wales there are over 200 clubs with 79000 registered players, compare this to Galicia where there are only 14 and the difference in popularity is stark. The travelling situation was highlighted in two journeys that I will mention.

The distances we covered this year were for me truly staggering, if I left my home town in Wales and travelled east on a bus for 8/9 hours I would be somewhere near the Dutch/German border, not preparing for a league game in the same country. Coming from a rugby mad country it is interesting and refreshing to see the comittment that these people put in to play a game of rugby.

One Sunday when we were due to play a regional game in Ourense. I had been on the bus for an hour when I asked (in my broken Spanish) how long the journey would take, “only two more hours” came the reply. 3 hours for a local fixture?! Worse was to follow however.
We have two teams, one team in the national second division along with teams from Asturias and the Basque country. One example of an away trip was early in Feburary and a trip to Eibar. A league game in the Basque country means leaving A Coruña at 12 on a Saturday and arriving in Bilbao 7 hours later. After a night in a hotel and an early morning journey to Eibar the game started 24 hours after leaving A Coruña. After a famous victory (the club’s first in Eibar) the realisation of the 8/9 hour journey back to Galicia sank in.

Our season was a good one, winning as many games as we lost which is very good considering we often had to travel without many players due to work or family commitments.
We, CRAT, play our home games at Acea de Ama and our season runs from October to April. Why not come down, watch a game and enjoy the friendly atmosphere? You’ll be sure to recieve a warm welcome!!

So, doesn’t it sound appealing? 🙂 If so, be sure to watch the rugby World Cup this summer which is being held in Britain!

Remember to leave your rugby comments and questions below!

Why “Red Lobster”?

Why not? 😀

I think our heading picture is a good graphic explanation, but let’s go bit by bit!

The oyster shell.- Many are the references to the word “Oyster” in the UK and in English language on the whole.

If you have ever been to London you may have seen this card:

Its name is thought to have been chosen due to the expression “The world is your oyster”, have you ever heard it? This phrase was coined by William Shakespeare and first appears in his play “The Merry Wives Of Windsor”.