News: Five historical facts about Christmas

Here you can find five historical facts about Christmas from All About History

http://www.historyanswers.co.uk/

1.The origin of the Christmas celebration is the Roman tradition of Saturnalia, where Romans would honour the god of agriculture – Saturn, during the winter solstice.


2.Gift giving traditionally took place at New Year, but as Christmas became increasingly important during the Victorian era gifts were exchanged on 25 December in the United Kingdom.


3.The term ‘x-mas’ has been in use since the 16th century and the ‘x’ actually stands for the Greek letter ‘Chi’ – the first letter of the Greek word for Christ.


4.Christmas cards were started in 1843 by British civil servant Henry Cole. Approximately 1,000 original Christmas cards were produced, and today these are worth thousands of pounds.


5.The history of Rudolph is far more recent than Saint Nick himself. He was created in 1939 in Chicago as a way to sell children’s Christmas colouring books. The names ‘Rollo’ and ‘Reginald’ were both also considered.

To know more about Christmas, how it is celebrated in Russia look here 

TED-Ed: Atom

There is a video lesson created by Magomedova Irina. Follow the link to know more about Atom

Some information about national clothes

An interesting glog, have a look Traditional Clothes in Suvalkija

News: Autumn

Очередное заседание кружка “Web 2.0.  технологии в изучении иностранного языка” состоялось в один из последних дней уходящей осени. Оно было посвящено самому многоцветному сезону. Члены кружка подготовили юмористическое выступление в стиле детсадовских утренников.

Перед гостями пели, танцевали и читали рифмовки фрукты и овощи. Леди Autumn продекламировала стихотворение November (Edward Tomas). Ведущий вечера предложил каламбур (FALL ‘падение’ и американский вариант слова ‘осень’). Участницы старались продемонстрировать свои таланты для того чтобы заслужить звание «Королева Осени».

Выступление содержало определенную степень самоиронии.

В рамках данного мероприятия проводилась работа не только над пополнением словарного запаса студентов, им было предложено просмотреть анимацию “British English colour idioms” и ответить на вопросы. Данный видеоурок был разработан руководителем кружка Мишаевой Марианной Владимировной на образовательной платформе TED-ED. Цель его изучения – ознакомить студентов с идиомами и идиоматичными выражениями содержащими «цветовые» компоненты. Так студенты узнали, что лучше всего удается людям с «зелеными пальцами» и насколько ужасны те у кого «красные руки».

Мероприятие прошло очень весело и оживленно и завершилось чаепитием.  Хочу поблагодарить руководителя и членов кружка за удовольствие от посещения этого праздника.

К.филог.наук, старший преподаватель каф.англ.яз. для ЕНФ

 Зайналова Дженет Абдурагимовна

The video lesson is here.

What's happiness? Paulo Coelho

What dou you mthink aboout  Paulo Coelho's idea what happiness is?

News: The universe, man… THE UNIVERSE.

Here you can see several pictures that show our real size in the Universe. I am impressed and what about you?

TED-Ed: English mania

Here you can find a new Ted-Ed lesson : English mania

Ted-Ed: Diagnosing a zombie

Hallo!

Язык невозможно изучать в отрыве от традиций и культуры его носителей. Поэтому обойти стороной такой колоритный праздник как Халловин было бы просто грубейшей оплошностью. Члены кружка английского языка биологического факультета “What, where and when” подготовили красочное выступление. 
Студенты воплотились в образы ярких представителей англоязычной “нечистой силы”: в вампиров, русалок, ходячих скелетов. Не остались забытыми и мифологические персонажи славян: Кощей Бессмертный, кикимора, оборотни и прочие. Выступления сопровождались яркими презентациями и видеороликами. Зрители участвовали в традиционном английском гадании “Три блюдечка”.
 
Вторая часть мероприятия была посвящена сложностям диагностирования зомби. Участники и зрители просмотрели видеоурок Happy Halloween: Diagnosing a zombie. Урок был разработан на платформе TED-ED, одном из инструментов Web 2.0. На интерактивной доске студенты выбирали  ответы и проверяли их правильность.
 
Праздник удался. Зрители и участники были довольны. Руководитель кружка Рабаданова Саният Меджидовна в заключительном слове отметила, что такого рода мероприятия призваны расширить кругозор и мотивируют изучение языка.
 

Today  I want to share a video lesson Diagnosing a zombie that is used in our Halloween party. See Dig Deeper before answering the questions.

News: Halloween

Hello! This week lots of people of the globe selebrate Halloween. Read an article on 10 idioms with a Halloween theme here.

Our second-year students are going to present us Halloween show! Something of that kind? :)

Ted-Ed: British English colour idioms

Autumn is a multicolour season. so it is the right time to lear English colour idioms. There is a lesson here. See the film and pass the  test.

News: Changing our clocks

We turned our clocks back. now how do you feel?
Read an article here.

What really happened to the Dodo?

Read the article to make it clear if it were only the  hungry Dutch sailors who caused extinction of the Dodo birds

For the first-year students

Ted Ed. True story of the word 'true'

Dear second-year students, the link below is for you:
ed.ted.com

Frozen

Beautiful song! Enjoy it with explanation of the word meanings! :)
www.multimedia-english.com

Derbent

The most ancient city in Russia is Derbent.
Click pictures below to see Veronika's glogs about it.

 

Air pollution in Makhachkala

Air pollution is one of the most actual problems nowadays. To see a glog created by Kasumov Magomed click the picture below:

Dagestan. Woman dress

 Click the picture below to see Patina's glog about Dagestani women:

Click the link below to see a film with English subtiteles:
Traditional national dresses of women in Dagestan

Dagestani nature

Enjoy the glog about Dagestan Nature. Click here

Digestive system of human body

 To see the glog about digestive system of human body folow the link:
mesedu.edu.glogster.com

Meals. Traditional Dagestan Dishes

Hi everyone! Below you can see the words describing cooking :

 

Today I want you to see Zamana's glog about Dagestan traditional dishes: Dagestani Cuisine

While watching a film Traditional Dagestan Food use English subtiteles :)
Can you tell me what dishes are your favourite?

International Dance Day

International Dance Day 2014, 29th April

We are happy to know that the International Dance Day message author 2014 is the French choreographer and dancer Mourad Merzouki!

To read the text of the  message klick here.

News: the Queen's birthday

Today is a birthday of Elizabeth II.

But she has two birthday a year, please follow the link and read some information about: www.royal.gov.uk

For the first year students the best way to get ready to final test

The link below is the best way to revise the material:
www.multimedia-english.com

Don't worry :)

The video below is ok for The World Health Day:
 www.multimedia-english.com

News: The World Health Day

The World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 7th, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO).

In 1948, the WHO held the First World Health Assembly. The Assembly decided to celebrate 7th April of each year, with effect from 1950, as the World Health Day. The World Health Day is held to mark WHO's founding, and is seen as an opportunity by the organization to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year. The WHO organizes international, regional and local events on the Day related to a particular theme. Resources provided continue beyond 7 April, that is, the designated day for celebrating the World Health Day.

Meals

Tomorrow there will be The World Health Day and our health care is tied with the food we eat so see the video below and try the activities:

www.multimedia-english.com

Alexander Fleming's Discovery of Penicillin

Difficult words: a) physician, b) lysozyme, c) antiseptics, d) the Nobel Prize, e) staphylococcus, f) pneumonia, g) leucocytes, h) physiology, i) meningitis, j) penicillin.
Can you guess the meaning of the words above? Match them with their definitions (be attentive as there is no deffinition for one of the words above):

1. an enzyme occuring in tears, certain body tissues, destroys bacteria by hydrolyzing polysaccharides in their cell walls;
2. an antibiotic that kills bacteria and is used to treat many types of infections, including pneumonia, gonorrhea and others;
3. the branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts;
4. a person qualified to practice medicine;
5. any of six international prizes awarded annually for autstanding work;
6. a white or colourless cell which circulates in the blood and body fluids and is involved in counteracting diseases;
7. a substance that kills germs and harmful bacteria;
8. any Gram-positive bacterium including many pathogenic species;
9. a serious diseas which affects your lungs and makes it difficult for you to breathe.

33 weather idioms and idiomatic expressions by online-english-lessons.eu

The weather in spring changes very quickly here, so it is not easy to choose suitable clothing.

As you know the weather is quite unpredictable in England and  they  have so many idioms and idiomatic expressions relating to the weather in English. Folowing the link you'll get the meaning of 

33 weather idioms and idiomatic expressions.

My heart's in the highlands

The poem of the national poet of Scotland Robert Burns

My Heart's In The Highlands
My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer -
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birth place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.

Farewell to the mountains high cover'd with snow;
Farewell to the straths and green valleys below;
Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods;
Farwell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer
Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Animal life: Sharks appear dead when upside down

Discover how these fearsome creatures are immobilised when flipped over

Many animals are capable of entering a trance-like state called tonic immobility whereby they appear dead to their surroundings. In the case of sharks it has been observed on many different species such as the lemon shark, reef shark and tiger sharks upon simply placing them upside down.

During tonic immobility the dorsal fin becomes straightened and the breathing and muscle contractions become more relaxed. It is such a reliable behaviour in certain sharks that it is used as a type of anaesthesia before minor surgery.

Some killer whales have learned to take advantage of this by using their tails to create currents in the water that can turn a shark over in order to eat it. The reason this happens to sharks is unclear, but it can be argued that tonic immobility has a role to play in survival allowing the shark to blend into the surroundings by being completely motionless, but in this case it’s obviously a disadvantage for the shark.

It has also been speculated that it may be something to do with the mating ritual of certain shark species as in some cases it can be induced by massage.

 From: www.animalanswers.co.uk 

Words: tonic immobility мнимая смерть, dorsal fin спинной плавник, current течение, to take advantage  извлекать выгоду

Emotions in English

Take into account that feelings, emotions and various types of state are uncountable nouns in English!

Feelings, emotions: anger, anxiety, calm, compassion, confidence, courage, curiosity, despair, determination, disappointment, enthusiasm, envy, excitement, forgiveness, happiness, hatred, jealousy, kindness, joy, love, patience, pleasure, sadness, pride, sensitivity, sincerity, sorrow, sympathy, tolerance, trust, uncertainty.	Чувства, эмоции: гнев, беспокойство, спокойствие, сострадание, уверенность, храбрость, любопытство, отчаяние, решимость, разочарование, энтузиазм, зависть, волнение, прощение, счастье, ревность, доброта, радость, любовь, терпение, удовольствие, печаль, гордость, чувствительность, искренность, горе, сочувствие, терпимость, доверие, неуверенность.
Various types of state: health, sleep, silence, laughter, stress, sanity, insanity, motherhood, childhood, youth, old age.	Различные виды состояния: здоровье, сон, молчание, смех, стресс, здравомыслие, безумие, материнство, детство, юность, старость.

Mapping Emotions On The Body

A team of scientists in Finland asked people to map out where they felt different emotions on their bodies. To see the map of emotions follow the link: /www.npr.org

Words to know: psychologist, mood disorder, to diagnose, to treat, to feel, excitement, to alter one’s mind, to have the opposite effect, top row, bottom row,  to map out, lead the study, the entire body, nervous system, the chest area, heart rate;

emotions: love, happiness, surprise, neutral, contempt, anxiety, disgust, anger, pride, depression, danger, fear, sadness, shame, envy, scared, tender

Idiom from the article : "butterflies in your stomach". To clear its definition follow www.idioms4you.com

Examples

“On the day of my wedding, I had butterflies in my stomach.”

“James always gets butterflies in his stomach before his basketball games. “

“If you have butterflies in your stomach, you should take a deep breath and try to think calm thoughts.”