Jaialdi/ San Inazio, the Basque Festivals in Idaho

Jaialdi is a major Basque Festival held in Boise, Idaho, every five years. Thousands of Basques migrated to the Western states of the U.S. in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, to work as shepherds or farm labourers in the cattle ranches. In 1987, the first Jaialdi festival began to celebrate Basque heritage in Boise and now it is the largest and most popular festival in the Basque diaspora. San Inazio is a smaller festivity that takes place every year, both events are organised by the Basque Center in Boise.

Jaialdi 2025 runs from July 29th to August 3rd. B1 students can read the article "Drinks and dancing though the decades: Boise's Basque Festival Jaialdi returns this week" written by Jaime Gear on Boise State Public Radio, and they will find interesting expressions like: to chop, an attendee, a [basque] staple, the Gold Rush, a tight-knit [community], a garb, buoyant, to toss, a hay bale. For B2 students, George Prentice's story "Dancing, wagon lifting, chorizo and kalimotxo. Hey Boise, here's your Jaialdi 2025 preview" is more suitable, as the text summarizes a more complex (13':06") radio interview to Lael Uberuaga in "Morning Edition" (C1 level). Some of the expressions in the article are: an overstatement, to skip, to date back [to 1987], a footprint, to stretch, naively, to reconvene, to gather, a vendor, to get underway, an attendee, to ramp up, to dub, herri kirolak, a hay bale, to hoist, an anvil, to be hard-pressed.

If you want further information about Basque culture in Idaho, you can check The Basque Museum and Cultural Center (BMCC) in Boise, which includes Esther Ciganda's The Immigrant All Around podcasts -where Pedro Ciganda's bilingual account of how he picked up English and how he adjusted to the American way of life, is highly recommendable, and the BMCC Oral Histories, a library of interviews to numerous Basque migrants like José Ramón Larrea, or their desendants like Juan Pablo Aramburu who talk about their experiences in the U.S.A. You can also watch a Visit Idaho video about the Basque Block in Boise or another short video from Idaho News 6 about San Inazio 2024, the smaller festival which is held annually.

Finally, C1 students can watch the KTVB report with subtitles below about Jaialdi, where they will find expressions like: a gamut, a thunderstorm, to honour [the culture], to head [to], a closure, to check out, to shape, seating.

England Wins the Women's Euro Title, 2025

England beat Spain in the penalty shootout to retain the title at Euro 2025, Emma Sanders reported for BBC News. The match ended 1- 1, and then England scored 3 goals in the penalty shootout, whereas Spain scored 1. 

The report contains many football technical terms, so it is recommended for C1 students who will find interesting expressions like: the score, a fixture, an assist, a venue, stunning, penalty-shootout, the winner, a spot-kick, to seal, [to miss three] in a row, to save, soil, [single-]legged, comeback, to trail, to concede, [a] knockout [match], feeble, a header, to dampen, unwavering [belief], to come on, struggling, the build-up, a [whipped] cross, to pick out, to dig [deep], to have what it takes, to bounce back, to backfire, resilience, the limelight, to whirl, the wake, sexual assault [case], to stumble, free-flowing [football], to pull away, to prove [costly], a stumbling block, to stand out, a [long-ball] outlet, the backline, to dribble, to set up [a goal], to slot [back into team].

Below you can watch the highlights of the match and the penalty-shootout:

Azizam and the Best 2025 Summer Songs in USA

 

Which is your summer song this year? No ideas? Well, here you have a couple of lists to help you decide. First, you can check the American Top 40 chart July 12- 19 and look around if any tune sounds fun. A alternative/ indie/ electronic list was drawn up by Hazel Cills, Sheldon Pearce and Robin Hilton for NPR on July 1st, 2025's best songs (so far).

I have compiled a short-list of YouTube links to the songs that, one way or another, have struck a chord with me: Relationships by Haim, It's a mirror by Perfume Genius, Room of fools by FKA twigs, Gold rush by Lucius. Sabrina Carpenter has three hits on the charts, Taste, Bed Chem and Manchild- and, furthermore, the latter has been positively reviewed by Hazel Cills in Sabrina Carpenter can crack a joke, while Billie Eilish has two songs, Birds of a feather and Wildflower. Other international hits are Messy by Lola Young, Die with a smile by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, Nice to meet you by Myles Smith, APT by Rosé & Bruno Mars, Too sweet by Hozier, and, last but not least, All the Way, by BigXthPlug, feat. Bailey Zimmerman, an original blend of rap and country music.

Azizam by Ed Sheeran is a catchy summer song that mixes British pop with Persian influences and has been a number one hit in many countries around the world, as you can read in the Wikipedia entry for Azizam. Here you can find a listening task for B1 and B2 students with the key for self-study, and a few interesting words that come up in the song: azizam, floor, wrapped, careless, [do it our] way.

Relationships, by Haim talks about the complexity of inner feelings, when reading the lyrics, B1 students can pick up expressions like: to be through, to be cought up in [something], to end up, to blame, guilty, averse to [conflict], to bring [you] down.

Listen, dance and enjoy your summer!

Toxic Mushroom Murder Trial in Australia

Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering her in-laws by serving them poisonous mushrooms in a family dinner. The case has gathered huge media attention in Australia and all around the world for the jury had to weigh up the evidence and the lies, to decide if the poisonings were deliberate or not, and for the family relationships between the victims, the murderer and her estranged husband.

B2 learners who are not familiar with the story will find it difficult to understand the details at first, so I recommend them to read Rachel Treisman's report for NPR first, An Australian woman is found guilty of murdering her in-laws by toxic mushrooms, where they will come across interesting words like: death cap mushrooms, guilty, estranged [husband], beef Wellington, a paste, [finely] chopped [mushrooms], [multiple organ] failure, a witness, a twist and turn, a prosecutor, a motive, to plead [non-guilty], [three] counts [of murder], to forage [mushrooms], to cover up [her actions], to prove [her guilty], a recap, a split, an amicable [relationship], to pull out, a quirk, amanita phalloides mushrooms, to be discharged, scrutiny, back and forth, to throw up, to acknowledge, a grocery store, to dispose of [something], the stand, to dump, a knee-jerk [reaction], to dig [deeper], to cover her tracks, a deception, a fabricated [cancer claim], to plant the seed, a lump, to spark [a search for death cap mushrooms], to cherry-pick, a ruse, to take a leap, 

After reading the text, C1 students can listen to a 3-minute NPR radio report and check how much they understand the American accent, where they can pick up words such as: to grip, a suburban [mom], to pass up, an estranged [husband], death cap mushrooms, the leftovers, bizarre, to fake [a cancer diagnosis], to forage for [mushrooms], to chalk it up, a [kitchen] mix-up, devastated, on [pretty] decent [terms], to pull out, to recap. To fully understand all the words in the report, C1 learners will problably have to use the transcript after listening a couple of times.

For further information, students can read the following Wikipedia entry, 2023 Leongatha mushroom murders, watch this 9News story to test their understanding of Australian accent (C2 level) or watch the shorter ABC YouTube video below, also in Australian English: