1. Social Media and ELT
Check out the "The Digital Story of the Nativity.” Your students use these forms of digital communication every day. Can we learn from them? How could these new forms help us in teaching English?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/21/digital-nativity-story-video_n_799405.html
2. A new Winter Holidays Project for your Students?
Special thanks to Martha Maza, from San Luis Potosi, for sharing this site: http://www.freerice.com/ This site is run by the United Nations World Food Program, and works as a game: if you answer right, you will get a slightly more difficult question next, and so on. For every correct answer given, you are donating 10 grains of rice to fight against world hunger. This is a fun way for our students to learn something new and to contribute to a good cause. The main page is set to test English vocabulary, but you can customize it for English grammar or for other subjects.
3. Excellent Opportunity for Undergraduate Students
IREX started recruitment for the Global UGRAD program today! The application deadline is January 14th and more information and links to the application can be found at http://www.irex.org/application/global-undergraduate-exchange-program-eurasia-and-central-asia-global-ugrad-fellowship-a and http://www.irex.ru/.
While some part of the application period falls on the holiday season this year, IREX has developed several innovative strategies to keep in touch with the applicants and respond to their questions. Please direct interested students to www.irex.ru.
4. American Shelves Project
The American Shelves Project is open for more participants. Please check the website www.americanshelves.ru and if your University is interested in taking part in it, please e-mail  Nataliya Fomenko at fomenkonv@state.gov
5. Quotes for the New Year
Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”
William Arthur Ward  (American dedicated scholar, author, editor, pastor and teacher)
And here is one more quote to end  this letter:
Alyona Groushkina, editor-in-chief of “English”, shares with you a wonderful quote from T.S. Eliot:
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning” in the Issue # 24 http://eng.1september.ru