Time to give thanks for what we have - THANKSGIVING 2013

Thanksgving, one of the most important festivities in the US, is almost here. The time is come to learn about how people celebrate it.

Did you know that...


...Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November?
...in Canada, Thanksgiving is in October?
...the turkey, the cornucopia, the corn or the pumpkin are the symbols of this holiday?
...people give thanks for everything good in their lives?
...every year, the President of the United States pardons the life of two turkeys, one of which is named National Thanksgiving Turkey?
...every year, there's a spectacular parade in many American cities like New York or Chicago?

If you want to read about Thanksgiving traditions, click on the image below:

Now some history. What's the origin of this festivity? Where do its main traditions come from? Take some time to watch this video:

Want to know some facts about the ship that took the Pilgrims to America? Watch the video THE MAYFLOWER DECONSTRUCTED (source: History Channel)

Millions of turkeys will be stuffed, roasted, carved, and served this Thanksgiving. But today, one lucky bird will be granted a reprieve in the form of a PRESIDENTIAL PARDON. Watch President Barack Obama granting the official pardon to Cobbler & Gobbler, last year's lucky turkeys.

With subtitles!!

This year, this important event will take place today, November 27, the day before the festivity. Would you like to meet the candidates?






















One of these two turkeys will be happy enough to be named National Thanksgiving Turkey 2013 and will be able to live a golden retirement at some privileged place like Mount Vernon, Virginia. If you wish, you can listen to them gobble and even vote for your favourite candidate on Facebook! Click here.

To find out more about the history of this tradition, click here.

YOU ARE THE HISTORIAN. Hey, don't miss this!!! Click again on the picture below if you want to find out more about the festivity. It will be worth your time, believe me!!

And to finish, let's have some fun:

For all of you, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

NA 2 - File 1C - Whose English is it?

Dear students and readers of this blog,

In the last few classes we have been talking about why we decided to start studying English, what our motivations are to do so, or about how good we are at learning a foreign language.

Here you have the video we watched in class where people from all over the world say why they are learning English:

Anyway, another thought came along. What is, in their opinion, the "most correct" variety of English? Which English should be taught at schools? Is British English preferable to American English, or vice-versa, or non of the above? Do we have to speak like Queen Elizabeth II? Who does English belong to, to native speakers, or to speakers from all over the world, even if it is not their first language? Shouldn't these speakers have a say on what is correct and what is not about the English language?

To sum it up: WHY IS ENGLISH A GLOBAL LANGUAGE? Watch the answer writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster David Crystal gives to this question.

So what do you think? Please feel free to write a COMMENT with your opinion on the subject. (click on 'comment' below)

25 November: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse or intimate partner violence (IPV), can be broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviours by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation. Domestic violence has many forms, including physical aggression (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation.Alcohol consumption and mental illness can be co-morbid with abuse, and present additional challenges when present alongside patterns of abuse. (source: wikipedia)

Next 25 November we celebrate the International Day for the elimination of gender-based violence. We would like to spend such a day with you and share our common concern for the growing violence against women all around the world. That is why we have prepared some activities to remember those women, and to raise conscience on how important education is to help younger generations eliminate any type of violent conducts.

Please take some time to watch the following videos:



Every woman has a story, every story can create change:



When times get rough, you can fall back on us. Don't give up, please, don't give up (Peter Gabriel)

Let's hope that, one day, we will live in a world where women won't have to suffer violence anymore.

NA 2 - File 1B: Families in the Prado Museum

Dear students & readers of this blog,

In the last few classes we have been talking about families. And the pretext to deal with this topic has been a world-famous painting that nowadays is in the National Museum of El Prado: The Family of Carlos IV, by Francisco de Goya. 

Now we are going to follow an itinerary along the different rooms of El Prado, suggested by the museum itself. To be able to do it, we need to understand what we call 'a family' nowadays, so we have to ask ourselves the following questions:

- What do we consider 'a family'?

- What is our family like?

When answering these questions, probably the concept 'nuclear family', that is, a family formed by the father, the mother and the siblings, came to our minds. But even then, sometimes there are people we have no blood relationship with who are so close to us that we consider them as members of our family too. So then, we should ask ourselves:

- What other people do we consider as part of our family? 

This would be the family of the 21st century, but what about families in the 17th or 18th centuries? Were they like ours? Maybe these families were bigger or had more children. Maybe high-class or noble families included other people: ladies-in-waiting, pets...

Back then, there were no photographs to immortalise families, so the way of doing it was through painting. But not many people in those times had the money to commission a professional painter to paint a portrait. Therefore, what type of families can we find at the museum?

Our mission in this itinerary will be to guess what type of family is depicted in each portrait, how it is represented and why it was made in the first place.

As we said before, in class we discussed The Family of Carlos IV, by Francisco de Goya. Click on the picture to listen to an audioguide in English. Who is who? Why have they been depicted?

So now, we are ready to start our itinerary:

FAMILY TYPE 1

In this picture we can see two scenes, one in the foreground and the other in the background. Answer the following questions:

- In the foreground scene, who can we see?
- Are they relatives?
- What relationship is there between them, do you think?
- What type of family is this?
- What is happening at the background? Who are they? Is there any relationship between them? Are they related in any way to the people in the foreground?

Click here for an answer to the questions above.
Click here for a description of the painting from the online catalogue of the Prado Museum.

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FAMILY TYPE 2

In this picture we can see a middle-aged man standing next to two other women - one of them young, the other also middle-aged - and a five-year-old girl.

- Who's the woman in the centre? 

- What are they doing? 

- Might we be missing some other important member of the family?

Click here for an answer to the questions above.
Click here for a description of the painting from the online catalogue of the Prado Museum.

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FAMILY TYPE 3

We can see nine people in this picture, together with a dog on the foreground. There are two more people, only you have to look closely and carefully to find them. Where are they?

Are all the people on this painting relatives? Why are they then in the painting?

Click here for an answer to the questions above.
Click here for the audioguide of the painting from the online catalogue of the Prado Museum.

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FAMILY TYPE 4

Here we can see a lady sitting next to a man who is standing and holding a girl's hand. There's one more girl, leaning against the woman's legs. Two more children, this time two boys, surround the woman. Clearly, they are a family, being the man and the woman the parents of the four children around them. But there are two other members we have not mentioned and that are hidden from view. Who are they?

- What type of family is this?

- How has the painter depicted them? Are they happy or sad?

Click here for an answer to the questions above.
Click here for the audioguide of the painting from the online catalogue of the Prado Museum.

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As you can see, families have changed a lot throughout the centuries, don't you think?

(Source: Área de Educación del Museo Nacional del Prado. www.museodelprado.es) 

Plasencia Language School Logo contest: WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

Dear students & readers of this blog,

The students in our school have recently participated in a contest to design the logo that is going to represent our school in its 25th anniversary. The image you can see on the left of this post is the winner. It was designed by Rubén Hernández Castellano, a student of Intermediate Level 1 in our associated centre of Hervás. Congratulations, Rubén!!

But many people participated. We want to thank them for designing such wonderful logos. Please take a few minutes to have a look at the logos of the other contestants. Click here. It will be worth your while!

CHEERS!!