This May 27th the big final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United will take place in Rome. For many of us who live and work in Catalonia this is a very exciting time, and the energy is palpable: draped over many a balcony are the typical ‘blaugrana’ flags, and the newspapers and television stations update us regularly on the latest FC Barcelona developments.
Even though Europe stands united behind the flag of the European Union, its citizens still speak their own languages, watch different television shows, and read different newspapers. Football, the world’s most popular game, is something that many Europeans share in common. People from different backgrounds come together to watch the game – even though they might wish for different results.
Perhaps an effortless and enjoyable way to practise your English is to follow the Champion’s League in English. Here are a few English language websites about football (‘soccer’ in American English) that you might find useful: soccernet.com, fourfourtwo.com, sportinglife.com, footballnewsblog.co.uk
VISCA BARÇA! 
Since the late nineties some amazing communication systems have become part of our daily lives at work. Just imagine a day at work without consulting your email, using your mobile phone, or text chatting. The omnipresence of these new technologies has also coincided with an accelerated process towards globalisation. In the end this means we increasingly work with people from all over the world. Multicultural meetings – in person, or virtual – are simply a fact of life.
What are all those politicians, advertisers, newspapers, and television programs talking about? With the recent news that the English language will soon be reaching its 1 millionth word – with a new word created every 98 minutes – no wonder some of us are confused with all of these buzzwords.