Are you tired of winter? Have you had enough of chilly nights, foggy mornings, rain, sleet and gale-force winds? Of course we are right in the middle of winter, halfway through the winter solstice and the spring equinox, time to celebrate the Gaelic Imbolc festival or the Christian Candlemas feast or St. Brigid's Day in Ireland..., or time to start planning your next holiday!
If you want to learn which are the coolest (and the hottest) holiday destinations this year you can read the BBC report The 25 best places to travel in 2025, and you will find sustainable holidays in exotic landscapes like Haa Valley, Bhutan (above) or the Western Australia bubblegum-pink lakes (below). The article is a compilation of 25 short, but vocabulary rich, descriptions with a picture, where context can help you to guess the meaning of unknown words, so the article (or a selection of destinations) can be recommended for highly-motivated B2+ students, C1 students and above. Here you can find a lesson plan for B2/C1 students with reading, vocabulary and speaking tasks (for the Word version, please click here). Some of the expressions students can pick up are:
A very different list of destinations is provided by Lonely Planet, you can check it out at "Best in Travel 2025". But if you want to watch wonderful videos, you can click below on Ryan Shirley's "Top 10 Places to Visit in 2025 (Year of Travel", which is recommended for C1 students.
The exhibition is a 5,000-year, cross-cultural stroll that shows the visitor how femininity has been perceived and represented by different faiths, mythologies and cultures across the world, often in contradictory terms: how women have been worshiped as the embodiment of protection, fertility, purity, gentleness and modesty, but often the very same goddesses have been feared as the epitomes of destruction, vengefulness, lust and wrath. Gender fluidity is also showcased in the exhibit, with artifacts of ancient non-binary deities, who display male and female sexual attributes and can transform into different animals to connect to mortals.
The British Museum published a number of helpful guides for the teachers and students who are planning to visit "Feminine Power: the Devine to the Demonic", as well as comments by high-profile collaborators like Mary Beard, Elisabeth Day, Bonnie Greer, Rabbia Siddique and Deborah Francis-White, or by current religious communities, like the Bengali Hindu London Durgostav Committee (LDC), or the pagan Children of Artemis. This kaleidoscope of opinions and materials will certainly sharpen the visitors' eyes to spot crucial details in the figures, and, hopefully, may open their minds to ideas beyond accepted beliefs and truths to prompt meaningful conversations with their companions. Personally, I would stongly recommend watching a long video with subtitles below (01:11:43) "The curators introduction to the exhibition" -or at least parts of it- where Belinda Crerar and Lucy Dahlsen discuss the artistic and cultural significance of the highlights of the exhibition (note: in "Veneradas y Temidas", the exhibit touring Spain, Kiki Smith's Lilith 1994, has been substituted by Zanele Muholi's Somnyana IV 2015 etc., and John William Waterhouse's Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses 1891, has not come to Spain).
Travel + Leisure magazine has just published the 50 Best Places to Travel in 2022, for their affluent American readers, featuring Alaska (left) among other national and international destinations.
C1 students can do some virtual travel with the article 50 Best Places to Travel in 2022, they can look at the beautiful pictures and pick up English words galore, as the text is packed with descriptive adjectives, nouns and verbs like: a far-flung destination, a thrill, travel restrictions galore, albeit, to cross off [destinations], the hospitality industry was hit hard, downtime, to venture, to reap [the benefits], valiant [efforts], to teem with [fresh-air activities], to be raring, to make up for, splashy, hard-hit destinations, buzzy, stateside, to hold back, wellness, farm-to-table living, to stretch, overlooked, unspoiled [villages], picturesque, stunning, sleepy, underdog, harbinger, an eco-lodge, glamping, a [food] hotspot, local produce, an eager [traveler], vast, towering snow-capped [peaks], pristine [wilderness], to roll out [itineraries], to launch [new ships], myriad, a gathering, easy-going, to resume [service], a fleet [of jets], a sprawling [resort], perks, butler, to debut, a shutdown, a compelling [reason], seals, heli-hiking, a craps table, to skip, crystal-clear waters, [50 miles] off the coast, a day pass, to be whisked away, to indulge [in local food], conch, stew, rock lobster, hiatus, to keep an eye for, junkanoo, an all-inclusive [stay], vibrant, a spa, hammam [treatment], vendors, to stroll down, a boardwalk, ocean-front [food], rainforests, diver, a barrier reef, abundance, casual [spots,], luxe [resorts], an oceanfront [villa], a nonstop [flight], charm, a shining [example], a rooftop [library], an oenophile, unassuming, a wine cellar, draped, a estate, resilience, on tap, hilltop [suites], to glimpse, glitzy, to unveil, [room] renovations, an outpost, a mogul, to snag [the term], a venue, a low-key [escape], stunning, white-washed [buildings], to lust after, cerulean blue, to peruse, to seek out, to hop [aboard], to wield [lightsabers], to brush shoulders with, to be slated, to encapsulate [a definition], a [steel] monolith,
to be buzzing [with energy], to bolster, to carve out a name, the [luxury travel] realm, riesling [wine], to knock, a lighter-bodied [red wine], a [foodie] draw, festival roster, to grasp onto its charms, quaint [downtown], chock-full, storefronts, lining, sidewalk, [race] riots, a winery, a rock quarry, a quirky-cool [enclave], brand-new, a lush [setting], rolling [hills], nourishing [food], to be raised, to be foraged, bustling, to tack on [to], a [presidential] decree, to seek [to combat], amenities, a carbon-neutral footprint, to kick its signature into high gear, a cue, to soak, hot springs, a speakeasy [bar], a budding [surf scene], a state-of-the art [wave pool], a [wave] lagoon, pending [city approvals], a splash zone, a craft beer hotspot, a [biking] trail, alum, to grab [headlines], to make strides, to showcase, jetty, wary [of travelling], solace, to hop on [a flight], to straddle [three regions of Zambia], a hot air balloon, a sundowner, a lofty [resolution], to commence, sparkly [new] digs, to [venture] off the beaten track, snorkeling, scuba diving, to top, to splash out on [dinner and a show], to wrap [a project], a racetrack, the attendees, a medley [of cultures], a smattering [of terrain], verdant [rain forests], to blend, hawker food stalls, a coveted [resort], turquoise, an overwater [villa], primed for [snorkeling], zip-lining, to meld, sleek,
available for charter, a slew of [hotel openings], a [cocktail] curator, to set sail, a tagline, a suspended bridge, an all-nighter, high-end, alluring, otherworldly, cloud-shrouded, an uptick, to partake, volcanic terroir, a grueling [hike], ample [opportunities], a humpback [whale], an orca, to spot, nuanced, a gateway, to tag [a turtle], a hideaway, to put [an area] on the radar, a hub, moss-draped [streets], slick, hazy [ales], sours, a taproom, luster, to garner, cooped-up [city dwellers], to be enthralled, vortex, stargazing, to follow suit, revamped, glitz, to flock, skijöring, snowkiting, tobogganing, to pop up, rugged [land], a penthouse [room], over-the-top [hotels], a flagship [hotel], a stretch [of a path], a hillfort, [gourmet Mexican] fare, boho-chic [lodgings], a beachcomber, to lift off, to ramp up, a jaunt, the edge [of space], a dealbreaker.
If you prefer urban travel, you can look at the pictures of the 25 Best Cities to Travel in 2022, also from Travel + Leisure magazine, which puts Oaxaca and San Miguel de Allende (Mexico) at the top of this inventory and Ubud (Indonesia) ranking 3rd. The Spanish city of Seville is also included in this year's list at number 11.
Ellen MacArthur has recently won the Princess of Asturias Prize for International Cooperation, The Majorca Daily Bulletin reported last week. In 2005, Ms MacArthur became the first woman to break the world record as a solo sailor around the world and later she started the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to promote the circular economy and design a more sustainable future for the finite world resources. As a result of their campaign, in March 2022 the UN adopted a resolution to negotiate a legally-binding treaty on plastic pollution, which is hoped to be drawn and signed by the end of 2024.
Dame Ellen MacArthur was invited to the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs back in 2009. In this 45' interview she talks about her background, her achievement in sailing, and her charity work. Her English is a perfect model for C1 and C2 students, because it is rich, but not pompous; there are technical terms, but it is not packed with jargon; the colloquial expressions fit naturally in the context because they are genuinely used to clarify ideas, unlike the florid attempts of some C1 and C2 students who force the one or two expressions they have recently learnt in their textbooks to try to impress their examiners. The interview has no script, so it is recommended for C2 students, but this vocabulary list can also be used as a rough listening guide to help C1 students follow the interview:
Castaway, to sail solo, limitless passion, iron-will [to triumph], upbringing, to pour over, to skip [school lunches], dinghy, the finish line, relief, it's over, dock, pitch black, to stumble upon, odd scene, crammed, loo, toilet seat, to step off [a boat], to crave [for normalilty], track, outcast, voyage, to get [somebody] through, multitasking, to fix [the engine], chafing, kettle, a gas stove, gas cilinders, to pour in [the water], fuel, an intolerance [to bread], appetite for [a pint of beer], difficult to be around, a feeling of achievement, adrenaline, to wear off, to have a knack [for fixing things], to grow your own vegs, to go karts, lawnmower, a girly girl, a Cindy, a tomboy, to whittle wood, caring, to change the path, to see [me] off, to wish [me] well, scholarship, to make sure [her children went to university], canteen, an inspiration [to me], dinghy, a cabin, a chart table, a bunk, [my] nan, an instrumental force, to dismantle [my bed], barn, a sleeping bag, sewing machine, a set [of sailing trousers], pocket money, income, school dinner money [change], mashed potato & gravy, meniscus, to pile [the money], the money box, a building society, to hand over [the cash], a pet chicken, reservoir, to make do [with playing in the garden], obsessiveness, achiever, obsessive, break times, focused, [I like] being around people, time runs, survival, a moneyed pastime, Derbyshire Education Committe, a wetsuit, a tracksuit, a pakamac, to make it through [to the end of the week], properly equipped, to pack it in, a telling look, brutally selfish, to spread the wings [and fly], poignantly, a massive challenge, to come your way, to take each day as it comes, to be out there, the sunset, the highlights [of your life], in terms of, to smash the daggerboard to pieces, to sum it up, sponsorship, amassing funds, to cobble together [money], the stakes are higher, miniature, Boots, there is room [for relationships], a beanbag, a net, to flush right through, a fleece blanket, waterproofs, to doze, freezing cold, emotional, cheery [song], to recapture [a solo record], an astounding lap [of the planet], to jar [inside me], everything is looked after, precious, to take [something] for granted, kitchen roll, to tear a square, to hit home to me, an adventurous place, resources, [a moment of] epiphany, to eclipse, to draw a line [on that part of your life], leukemia, a new understanding, to maroon, shelter, to have a good shot [at something], a trust, a luxury, bearable, a worm, slinky, fluffy, goggly eyes.
In the Majorca Daily Bulletin report you will find interesting words like: yachting champ, social entrepreneur, to sail solo, to play a key role, to bring about [a move], to be hailed as a watershed moment, an [environmentalist] campaigner, prestigious, the circular economy, to head, to bear [her name], the jury, a statement, to outlast, to outpace, demanding, to advocate, a sustainable model [of production and consumption], to forge a major legally-binding [international agreement].
Here you can also watch a TED Talk she gave in March 2015 about her sailing experience and what she learnt about the scarcity of resources in the global economy. The talk lasts 15':47", and it has subtitles, so it is accessible to B2 students and above.
If you are still interested in Ellen's sailing, you can watch the documentary "Taking On the World: The Official Story" about her participation in the Vendée Global, 2001. There are no subtitles available, but the little density of the words might make it accessible for C1 students with the help of the images (1h. 10m, 12s.).
You can celebrate International Biodiversity Week (18- 22 May) by watching the first episode of the Netflix documentary "Our Planet", which has just been released on YouTube. The stunning beauty of the images, the music, and the impeccable English on the voice of Sir David Attenborough will surely open an imaginary window to the wonders of our natural world and the fragility of its future preservation.
Subtitles are available, so this 49':27" documentary can be enjoyed by B2 students and above.
