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New vocabulary!!!! Such a boring task ... and a difficult one. Very often the mere sound of the word gives the shivers to both students and parents, even though learning new words is of paramount importance for the mastering of the target language.  No worries though. This article by the LearnEnglishTeens in the British Council's webpage gives you some ideas and "know how" on learning new words. It also contains many new words in groups and exercises for practicing them. Take a look! http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams/grammar-vocabulary-exams/learning-new-words

Christmas crackers is a very popular custom in Britain mostly. Most people around the world don't really know what it is about. Most of my pupils, as well, haven't ever heard about it.  Let's first talk about what christmas crackers are. They are short tubes of cardboard wrapped with coloured paper and twisted at both ends. They usually contain a small toy, a riddle, a joke or a party hat (like a kind of crown). They will be found decorating Christmas dinner table settings throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, some Commonwealth countries - and elsewhere, including the Netherlands.  But what do you do with them? You grasp the ends and pull them apart. The sound they make, when they are pulled apart, is like a "crack!" and that is due to an explosive snap they contain. Then the suprise gift falls out. The cracker is usually pulled by two people, but that's not always the case. It can also be done by one person as well. And now you will ask "Who...