English in Madrid

My name is Graham - a name that some Spanish students have difficulty pronouncing. I'm from Inverness which, unless you've been to Scotland, is a city that you have probably never heard of. It is in the far north of the country and the most famous lake in the world lies next to it. 1. How is Inverness? It's a pleasant city to visit. It has a castle on a hill with some nice views of the surrounding countryside . There is a river that runs through the centre. 2. How long time are you teacher? Over twenty years now. I never thought that I'd still be teaching in my forties. 3. What would you do if you don't be a teacher? I'm not sure but when I was younger I liked the idea of being a journalist. 4. How long are you living in Madrid? Thirteen years. 5. Do you enjoy to live here? Not as much as I used to but I still think Madrid is a great city. 6. Have you lived in other country besides Spain? I lived in Rome for nearly ei...

In your first week of class you start getting to know your new classmates. You will probably find out about their job, family, interests and experience learning English. Here are some typical sentences which I'd like you to translate. (I hope I haven't made any mistakes) A. ¿Cómo te llamas? ¿De dónde eres? Nací en (Galicia) pero me crie en (Madrid). Nos mudamos a (Madrid) cuando tenía (12 años). Originalmente soy de (Murcia) pero llevo viviendo en (Madrid) diez años. ¿ Dónde vives? ¿Desde cuándo vives aquí?  B. ¿Estás casado? Estoy casado con (María). Estoy divorciado. Estoy comprometido. Me casaré el año que viene. ¿Tienes novio/novia? ¿Cuánto tiempo os conocéis? ¿Cuánto tiempo lleváis saliendo? Me casé el año pasado. ¿Dónde os conocisteis? ¿Tienes hijos? Vienes de una familia grande? ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes? Soy hijo único.  C. ¿Qué carrera estudiaste en la universidad? ¿Dónde hiciste los estudios? ¿Qué estudias? Estoy licenciad...

Hi! My name's Graham. Nice to meet you. Where are you from? I'm from the Scotland. Have you ever been ? No, never but I'd love to go. I'm from a town called Inverness. Haven't heard of it. It's next to Loch Ness. Ah, ok. I've heard of that. How often do you go home? Twice a year. Do you miss it? Sometimes. How long have you lived in Madrid? For 9 years. Wow! A long time. So you must speak Spanish fluently. It should be much better than it is. What do you like about Madrid? The lifestyle, I guess. What do you do for a living ? I'm an English teacher. How long have you been doing that? Since 1994. I started teaching in Italy. I used to live in Rome. Really? How long did you live there? For   seven and a half years and then I came to Madrid. Do you like teach ing ? It  has its ups and downs . I'd like to combine it with something else. What would you like to do? I'm not sure. Something where I cou...

This is another photo of me. I am often sitting on a wall in my holiday pics for some reason. My name is Graham. It's a name that is difficult to pronounce for most Spanish people at first . I was born in the North of Scotland. I think that most people agree that it is a beautiful part of the world. I acted as a guide for a friend this summer and we drove all over the country. You can never guarantee the weather but the beauty of the landscapes is always guaranteed. I left home in 1994 and started teaching the same year. I went to Rome and for one reason or another , I ended up stay ing for seven and a half years. Rome is an amazing city and I have some wonderful memories of my life there. However, it is a difficult city to live in for a foreigner and I grew tired of the Italian mentality in the end . So I decided to pack my bags and come to Spain. I spent two months here initially and I used the time to travel around a bit . I knew I had to come to live in Madrid...

Hi people! My name is Juan Antonio and I suppose I'm the laziest and shyest student that (1) ever Graham had . But he was kind enough to offer me the opportunity to write something about me. I couldn't refuse his offer. (2) Ask about to him... I was born in Madrid, the best capital of Europe. If you don't think so, how can you explain all these foreigners that come to Madrid just to teach us English? Even when they “do miss the Italian food.” Oohh Mamma mia! With the     kitchens that we have in Spain. It's a pity that they don't have a Spanish mother to teach them to eat all our marvellous food; like I did. This is why I love Spanish food and I miss it (4) the most of the times that I travel around the world. When you are more than 4 days eating the same foreign food, all the meals have the same taste. Don’t you think so? Even in India or Turkey, where I ate the most (5) original and made food, a long way from Spain. Thank God, in ten days I travel to Japa...

This is me. My name is Graham. I am from a town in the North of Scotland called Inverness. I left there more than 13 years ago to go abroad. I have been living in Madrid for (1) the past six years and I used to (2) live in Rome. I prefer life in Spain but I do (3) miss Italian food. I am also proud of my roots . I am 35 years old but most people think I look older. I have been teaching ever since (1) I left home. I have never been passionate about it but at least it gives me the chance to meet all kinds of people. It also means I have long holidays. This year I have done quite a bit of travelling. I spent a week in Paris in July. I hadn't been (4) there for 14 years and it was great to be back. From there I * headed to Sicily, a region of Italy which I regret not visit ing (5)   while I lived there. I also went home to visit my parents, as I do twice a year. Apart from travell ing , (6) I spend a lot of time (and too much money) going out. Madrid has so...