Exercise your Reading and Listening skills but best of all: enjoy!!
Level 1
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-rIv8i2NfY
Level 2
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfIMHsVfWhc
Level 3
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59P6IdqG19U&t=356s
Saturday, 31 May 2025
Thursday, 29 May 2025
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B2/C1 OnlineReading Comprehension + Vocabulary (NGL source)
Write to aulaonlinedeingles@gmail.com for the link to the comprehension activity)
Food for a community
Every year for many years the people of Milpa Alta, Mexico, have prepared a feast in the week before Christmas. Sixty thousand tamales and 15,000 litres of hot chocolate are made in less than a week, not too much and not too little for the thousands of people who show up for the feast. The feast is called La Rejunta and is made for pilgrims preparing for the long walk to the holy cave of El Señor de Chalma on January 3rd. The people responsible for organising La Rejunta are called the majordomos. It’s an honour to be chosen and so many people want to do it that the waiting list is full until 2046.
The stages in the organisation of La Rejunta are the same every year. Tradition is important to the Milpa Alta people. Corn has been grown here for hundreds of years and the name of the region means ‘high cornfield’. Local farmers grow most of the corn, meat, and vegetables needed as ingredients for the meal. And a year before the event, the men go to the forest and collect wood that they pile up high near the home of the majordomo so that it will be properly dried before it’s used for open-air cooking. This year’s majordomos are Virginia Meza Torres and her husband Fermín Lara Jiménez. ‘There is an infinity of things to do,’ Virginia Meza Torres says firmly, as if to indicate there is no time to talk. Virginia is heading to the local offices to get the necessary permits and Fermín sets off into the countryside in search of more ingredients. They leave their daughter Montserrat Lara Meza in charge. She is a 24-year-old graduate student who’s come home to help her parents for the week. Volunteers are starting to arrive and Montserrat wanders down the hill to a shed to see how the toasting of the corn is going. Everything is made from the basics – no instant mixes or other culinary shortcuts are allowed.
Such traditional approaches are part of everyday life here. Eating together is perhaps the most important example. ‘In my experience, there is a glue, a bonding, that comes from the time together at the table,’ says Josefina García Jiménez. She often cooks for her nieces and nephews and says, ‘It feels like I am passing down a tradition, and when it comes to their turn to be adults, they will remember what I have done. Here we have time to cook, time to think just what ingredients are needed, time to show our kids through cooking that we love them.’
When the day of La Rejunta arrives, the volunteers have been up all night, though no one admits to feeling tired. Fermin has made sure there are enough tamales for everyone, and the head cook has been stirring the atole (chocolate drink) all night. After a 14-year wait, and a full year of preparation, it’s almost time for Fermin and Virginia to hand over responsibility to the next majordomos. But first, there are thousands of cups of atole to serve.
glossary
culinary (adj) related to cooking
tamales (n) a type of food made from corn with a variety of fillings
pilgrim (n) a person who travels to a holy place
shortcut (n) a quick route to somewhere or a quick way of doing something
Keywords:
glue (n) a sticky substance used to stick things together
hand over (phr-v) to give something to someone
head (v) to start to go in a particular direction
holy (adj) associated with a religion or religions
instant (adj) made quickly by adding hot water
permit (n) an official document that proves that you have permission to do something
pile up (phr-v) to arrange a lot of things one on top of another
shed (n) a small building for storing things, usually made of wood and located in a garden
wander (v) to walk slowly and in a relaxed way
B1 Online Reading Comprehension + Vocabulary and Online task
(write to aulaonlinedeingles@gmail.com for the link to the comprehension activity)
Food for a community
Milpa Alta is a region of twelve villages and towns to the south of Mexico City. In Milpa Alta, traditions are still very important and one of the most famous traditional events is a community meal. It takes place every Christmas and is called La Rejunta. More than a meal, it’s a feast, where about sixty thousand tamales and fifteen thousand litres of hot chocolate are made and consumed. Tamales are made from corn. They are typical of the region: the name Milpa Alta means ‘High cornfield’. The feast is offered to the people who go on the long walk to El Señor de Chalma about 80 kilometres away. It’s an important event on the religious calendar for local people and as many as 20,000 people take part.
The planning and organisation of La Rejunta takes the whole year. Every year, different people are given the job of majordomo, which means they’re responsible for organising the meal. There’s a waiting list for the opportunity to do this and currently the next available year is 2046. This year’s majordomos are Virginia Meza Torres and her husband Fermín Lara Jiménez, who put their names on the list 14 years ago.
One year before the meal, men go to the forest and collect wood that they store near the home of the majordomo. It has to be dry when it’s used to make the cooking fires. Local farmers grow most of the corn, meat and vegetables that are needed as ingredients. In the week before the feast, hundreds of volunteers arrive to help with the preparation and the cooking. No instant or ready-made foods are allowed. Amazingly, everyone seems to know what they have to do. On the day of the feast, the majordomos and others have stayed up all night cooking. Fermin is in charge of the numbers – making sure there are enough tamales for everyone.
For the people of Milpa Alta, eating together is one of their most important traditions. One woman, Josefina García Jiménez, explains that sitting together at the table is like a glue that keeps people together. ‘It feels like I am passing down a tradition, and when they are adults, they will remember what I have done. Here we have time to cook, time to think about the ingredients, time to show our kids through cooking that we love them.’ The time that everybody stays at the table after the meal has finished is just as important as the food. They talk, tell stories and laugh together. At Christmas, La Rejunta is a giant version of a family meal.
glossary
feast (n) a large, special meal
glue (n) a sticky substance used to stick things together
instant (adj) made quickly by adding hot water
tamales (n) a type of food made from corn with different fillings
Keywords:
community (n) all the people who live in a particular area
corn (n) a tall plant with yellow seeds that people eat as a vegetable
event (n) something like a party or ceremony that is organised to happen at a particular time
ingredient (n) one of the different types of food you need to make a dish
local (adj) from near to the area where people live
ready-made (adj) already made and ready to eat
typical (adj) usual and normal for a particular place or person
version (n) something that is slightly different from another similar thing
volunteer (n) someone who does a job because they want to and without being paid
A2 Reading Comprehension (NGL material)
Text + Vocabulary + Online Comprehension task (write to aulaonlinedeingles@gmail.com for the link)
A special meal
Milpa Alta is a region to the south of Mexico City. It has a famous volcano – Teuhtli – and twelve villages and towns. Milpa Alta is also famous for a traditional meal every Christmas, called La Rejunta. The meal is part of the Christmas celebrations and it feeds huge numbers of people. The cooks make about sixty thousand tamales. Tamales are made from corn and have different fillings. They also make about fifteen thousand litres of hot chocolate. They make all of this food and drink in less than one week. The meal is one of the activities for people who go on a walk to the cave of El Señor de Chalma. It’s an important place for people from the region at Christmas. The cave is about eighty kilometres away and the walk begins on the 3rd of January. About 20,000 people go on the walk each year. That's 20,000 hungry people!
Every year, the organisers of the meal change. This year, Virginia Meza Torres and her husband Fermín Lara Jiménez are the organisers, or majordomos. They waited for 14 years to do this. Lots of people want to organise the meal because it’s a very important tradition. They put their names on a list. At the moment, the list has names for every year until 2046.
The preparation for the meal takes a whole year. At the start of the year, men collect wood from the forest. They store it near the home of the majordomos so that it will be dry and ready to use. The wood burns in the fires that they use to cook the food. The farmers in the area grow the ingredients for the meal, such as corn, meat and vegetables. Everything is natural; there’s no ready-made food. Lots of volunteers help to cook and serve the meal.
Tradition is very important to the people of Milpa Alta, and one of the most important activities is eating together. One woman, Josefina García Jiménez, says that sitting together at the table shows love to your family. Everybody stays at the table after the meal finishes and they talk, tell stories and laugh together. At Christmas, La Rejunta is like a huge family meal.
glossary
corn (n) a plant you can eat
Keywords:
cave (n) a very big hole in the side of a mountain or under the ground
filling (n) the food that is inside a sandwich or cake, for example
huge (adj) very big
ingredient (n) one of the different types of food you need to make a dish
list (n) names, numbers, or items written one below another
preparation (n) the process of making something ready to happen in the future
region (n) a part of a country
tradition (n) something that people have done for a long time as part of their culture or way of life
volunteer (n) someone who does a job because they want to and without being paid
walk (n) a journey you make on foot, usually for a pleasure
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
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Tuesday, 27 May 2025
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Monday, 26 May 2025
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Sunday, 25 May 2025
Hello friends!
Do you want to practise your English in a simple way?
Join English in Small Doses!
Every day of the week, there is a small activity for you to do.
It’s easy and fun — perfect if you follow English Connection or Once Upon a Book Club.
Don’t miss the chance to exercise your English little by little!
¡Hola amigos!
¿Quieren ejercitar su inglés de manera simple?
¡Únanse a English in Small Doses!
Cada día de la semana hay una actividad pequeña para hacer.
Es fácil y divertido — ideal si siguen English Connection o Once Upon a Book Club.
No pierdan la oportunidad de practicar su inglés poco a poco.
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Saturday, 24 May 2025
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Friday, 23 May 2025
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Thursday, 22 May 2025
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