We'll miss you, Madiba!

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Last week was a sad week for South Africa and for the entire world, as they lost one of their most significant figures. A man who changed the course of history in his country and who opened the way to the abolition of race-based discrimination in other parts of the world. Here's our humble homage to Madiba, as he was called back home.

Nelson Mandela, the former South African president and anti-apartheid icon, diead on Thursday December 5, following the latest in a series of lung infections. He was 95 years old. 

Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) party in the 1940s and would go on to lead protests against the ruling Apartheid regime, which restricted the basic rights of South Africa's nonwhite propulation and barred their participation in government. His resistance to such oppressive policies earned him nearly three decades in prision, during which he became an international symbol of the anti-Apartheid movement. Upon his release in 1990, Mandela helped negotiate an end to the Apartheid system, and four years later he won the election as the first black president of South Africa. He retired from politics in 1999, but remained a global advocate for peace and social justice.

(source: history channel)

Obituary: Nelson Mandela

Who could explain who Nelson Mandela was better than Mandela himself? The lights and shadows of a symbol. Take a few minutes to watch the video below: 

Here are 6 things maybe you didn't know about Nelson Mandela:

1- He was a boxing fan.
2- His original name was not Nelson, but Rolihlahla. (from Xhosa, one of the 11 official languages of the country)
3- He was on a US terror watch list until 2008
4- He forgot his glasses when he was released from prision (he had to borrow his wife Winnie's)
5- He dressed up as a chauffeur to evade police
6- He had his own law firm, but it took him years to get a law degree

For further information, click here.

Mandela's memory is inevitably linked to one word: APARTHEID.

Apartheid was a system of legal racial separation which dominated the Republic of South Africa from 1948 to 1993. However, the mechanisms of apartheid were set in place long before 1948, and South Africa continues to deal with the repercussions. Under apartheid, various races were separated into different regions, and discrimination against people of colour was not only acceptable, but legally entrenched, with whites having priority housing, jobs, education, and political power. Although South Africa was heavily criticized for the system, it wa not until 1991 that the legal system of apartheid began to be broken down, and in 1993 was thrown out altogether with the election of Nelson Mandela, the first black democratically elected President of South Africa. The term is also used more generally around the world to refer  to systematic racism which is tolerated, rather than confronted.

(source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-apartheid.htm)

Rest in Peace, Madiba

Beware of Friday 13!!!

Dear students and readers of this blog,

Do you avoid walking under ladders? How do you feel when you see a black cat? What's your reaction when you break a mirror? What do you think about when you see a calendar and you realise...IT'S FRIDAY 13!!

It is a day most feared by many people all around the world. The number 13 has all sorts of negative connotations, and many superstitions in different parts of the world are linked to this day. But why? When did all begin?

Here you will find some interesting information on the meaning of this day:

• Why is number 13 considered unlucky?
• British superstitions
• Superstitions around the world
• Who's afraid of Friday 13? 

Here you have some worksheets you can use to learn about superstitions and learn some new English words:

• Worksheet
• Glossary
• Key

Are you superstitious? What superstitions are there in your country? Please click on COMMENTS and tell us!

HAPPY FRIDAY 13!!

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.

------------------------

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.

---------------

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.

--------------

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.

--------------------

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!!

NB 2 - Practical English File 1: At a hotel

Dear students & readers of this blog,

In our Basic Level class we have just revised some useful phrases to use when we check in at a hotel. Here you will find a sample dialogue and a few videos you might find interesting. Take a minute or two to have a look!

SAMPLE DIALOGUE:


Receptionist: Welcome to the Wyatt Hotel. How can I help you?
Guest: I'd like a room, please.
Receptionist: Would you like a single or a double room?
Guest: I'd like a double room, please.
Receptionist: May I have your name, please?
Guest: Timothy Findley.
Receptionist: Could you spell that, please?
Guest: Sure! It's F-I-N-D-L-E-Y.
Receptionist: How many are you in your party?
Guest: Just two.
Receptionist: Just for tonight?
Guest: Yes, that's right.
Receptionist: How will you be paying?
Guest: Is Visa okay?
Receptionist: Yes, sir. Would you like a wake-up call?
Guest: Yes, please. At 6.30.
Receptionist: Here's your key. That's room 405 on the 4th floor. The lifts are over there. Enjoy your stay, Mr Findley.
Guest: Thank you!

Here you have some videos you might find useful:




The following video recreates a real check-in situation. (In American English. Please note that the word "guys" is quite informal). Have a look!



And to finish, some humour with Mr Bean:

Breaking barriers: showing the talent of some of our students

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Last year, some students of our school decided to make a short film to participate in a contest promoted by a website which tries to fight against excesive medication of patients. They were awarded de second prize (those alluded, please correct me if I'm wrong!). So they obviously made a good job.

The authors and masterminds of this initiative are in my advanced class this year, and I personally think they did an excellent job. Their film is wonderful and definitely worth watching. So I decided to post their work here, to give you the chance to meet them, and congratulate them if you see them around.

Thanks to Juanjo Alcón, Raúl Rodríguez and Antonio Villafaina (NA2 - group C), for the link.

Enjoy!!

NA 2 - File 1A - What motivates us

Dear students & readers of this blog,

We have finally started our book, and we are talking about MOTIVATION. But what exactly is that?

According to the Business Dictionary online, motivation is:

"Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested in and committed to a job, role, or subject, and to exert persistent effort in attaining a goal

Motivation results from the interactions among conscious and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her significant others." (www.businessdictionary.com)


But what motivates people anyway? Yesterday in class we talked about the different types of motivation:

• Intrinsic: motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure.


• Extrinsic: motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide.


• Integrative: When students want to learn a language to become part of a speech community (integrate). People who immigrate to new countries are some examples of people who may want to identify with the community around them. An important aspect of this form of language learning is using language for social interaction. This form of motivation is thought to produce success in language learners. This is often compared to instrumental motivation.

Is that the truth, and nothing but the truth, about motivation? Here's a video that can throw some light into the issue:

In the year 2005, Apple & Pixar CEO Steve Jobs delivered a speech at the Commencement ceremony at Stanford University that inspired many. Here it is:

Here you can find some comprehension questions on Steve Job's speech:

1- What is the tone Steve Jobs uses in his speech? What kind of language does he use?

2- What are the three stories that he shares with the graduate students?

3- What important topics does he talk about?

(Thanks very much to Elena Rebollo, colleague of the English Department at the Official Language School of  Plasencia for this activity)

 What it is that motivates you, at work in particular, or in life, in general? Go ahead and tell us. Write a comment!

Back to school: the 2013-2014 school year is about to start!!!

Dear students & readers of this blog,

I know, it is not easy to come to terms with the fact that summer holidays are over, and that we have to blow the dust off our backpacks and our notebooks and our folders. Yes, I'm afraid... IT'S TIME TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

So I want this first post of the academic year 2013-2014 to be one of welcome. Both if you have been students of mine in the past, if you are going to be so this year, or if you just happened to pass by, this blog is for you, and intends to be a place of encounter for all of you, somewhere where you can learn new things about English and English-speaking countries, where you can find resources to practise the different skills (YES, WRITING INCLUDED!!), and, as far as my students-to-be are concerned, a place where you can keep track of what we're doing in class.

 Keep track of the posts that will be published in the main body of the blog. But also, very important, don't lose sight of the SIDEBAR. Right there is where you will find, apart from information on the weather in Plasencia and in London, or a converter for measure, speed, distance and so on, PERMANENT LINKS  to online dictionaries, to sites like the BBC or the British Council, or to different resources to practise your skills. You will also find links to different resources like newspapers, magazines or such things as the Shakespearean insulter (yes, you read well).

Please take some time to have a look and...enjoy. Welcome to my blog!!! And...

OFF WE GO!!

BEST OF LUCK ON YOUR EXAMS!!!!

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Believe it or not, we've come to the end. It seems like yesterday when we started our classes, and when we met for the first time. Now we've been together for eight months, and the time is come to show what you can do.

This is just a short message to wish you the best of luck on your exams. I know it is easy to say, but you have to do your best to keep cool and try to show what you have learnt and what you can do. I'm sure you'll do it.

As far as I am concerned, and in spite of what it might have seemed at times, I'm really happy to have had you as my students, this year or in the past. I hope to have contributed to your understanding and command of the beautiful English language.

See you soon!

Class Diary week 29 (20-23 May 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

This is what we did last week in class:

2º NB

Contents:

- Grammar: 'Be going to' for predictions

- Grammar: Introduction to the present perfect tense.

- Talking about experiences in the past: have you ever...?

Students' book:

- pp. 142-143: 'Be going to' for predictions

- p. 93, ex. 3 a, d; ex. 4 a, b, & c

Homework:

- Watch short film on i-tutor: The history of the sandwich

Photocopies:

None

Videos/games/listening:

- p. 83: Can you understand these people?

- Listening practice

2º NA

Contents:

- Word building: prefixes

- Talking about education

Student's book:

- p. 70 ex. 4 a, b & c.; ex. 5 a, b.

- p. 71 ex. 5 c & d

 

Homework:

- Search QI's website

Videos & interactive games:

- Listening practice: The five-second rule (gap-filling)

Photocopies:
None

NA Listening Practice - BBC Podcasts: The five-second rule

Dear students & readers of this blog,

As listening practice for the exam, last week we watched a podcast from the BBC on the so-called 'Five-second rule'. But what is it about?

According to the wikipedia, 'the five-second rule' states that food dropped on the ground will not be significantly contaminated with bacteria if it is picked up within five seconds of being dropped.'

A BBC correspondent gets to work to show how this is a myth. Here's the video. You'll find its corresponding exercise for practice below:

Listening practice. Fill in the gaps:

• We all have been there. You _______    _________late, you are cooking a meal, your child is hungry.
• The five second rule is if they ___________their food I think you’ve got about five seconds  to sort of ________it __________
• I’m gonna ______________the five second rule
• We are gonna drop them on different ___________and see what different types of _________ we can actually detect
• Back on the lab we’ve got three ___________ ready to put them under the microscope
• It’s covered in bacteria and some are __________ bacteria and some of them are not. I _____________ wouldn't eat it.
• Nice fresh fruit no real ___________ surface but still picks up lots of bacteria
• So the moral of the story is if you drop it, __________  it
• So no matter how quickly you pick it up, still going to be ______________

Deeply grateful to my colleague and friend Laura Parrilla, an English teacher at the EOI Constantina (Sevilla), for passing this on to me. Cheers!

Class Diary Week 28 (13-16 May 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

This is what we did last week in class:

2º NB

Contents:

- Grammar: to be going to for future plans 

- Making suggestions

- Advice: should

- Revision of superlatives

Students' book:

- p. 78 ex. 1 a, b & c, ex. 2 a, b, c & e + pp. 142-143

- p. 79, ex. 5 a, b

- pp. 105-110 (making plans) 

- p. 79, ex.4, a, b & c; ex. 5 a & b + making suggestions + should

Homework:

- Writing: an informal email

Photocopies:

- Listening practice

- What do you know about the UK? Photocopies

Videos/games:

None

2º NA

Contents:

- Talking about addictions and obsessions

- Grammar: expressing permission, obligation and necessity

- Talking about laws and regulations

Student's book:

- p. 63, ex. 6a, b & c (speaking)

- p. 68, ex. 1a, b & c 

- p. 69, ex. 1 e, f , ex. 2a, ex. 3

- p. 70, ex. 4b, c., ex. 5a, b

Homework:

- Check the website www.dumblaws.com

- Look for info on the BBC TV programme QI

Videos & interactive games:

None

Photocopies:
None

NEW!!! Check this link if you're studying the irregular verbs

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Recently, a student of one of my Basic level groups, Mª José González, sent me this link to ask for my opinion. Mª José, I think this link is great! Thank you for sending it!!

I have taken the liberty to post it here for everybody to use, and it's going to be permanently linked to our blog. Please check on the sidebar under the heading "Vocabulary & grammar", and look for "irregular verbs + conjugations". Yes, you read well. You can also check the correct conjugation of irregular verbs.

For a taste, have a look. Click here.

THANK YOU, Mª JOSÉ!!!

Class Weeks 26 & 27 (29 Apr - 9 May 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

This is what we've done in the last two weeks:

2º NB

Contents:

- Comparative adjectives

- Practical English: at a restaurant (ordering a meal)

- Vocabulary: a menu

- Vocabulary: places and buildings

- Grammar: the superlative

- Grammar: to be going to for plans in the future

Students' book:

- p. 72, ex. 2 a, b, c & d, ex. 6 a, b, c & d

- Speaking: Quiz night (pp. 105-110)

- p. 76, ex. 1 a & b + p. 164 (places & buildings), ex. 2 a, b, c + p. 142-143

- p. 77, ex. 4 a (reading), ex. 5 (speaking & writing)

- p. 78, ex. 1 a, b, c, d

 

Homework:

- Practical English: at a restaurant - pp. 74-75 (student's itutor)

- Write a short text advertising your city. Use superlatives (px 77, ex 5 b)

Photocopies:

- Practising comparatives

Videos/games:

- Practical English: at a restaurant - pp. 74-75

2º NA

Contents:

- Speaking about self-help books

- Vocabulary: compound adjectives

- Vocabulary: phone vocab.

- Talking about addictions

- Grammar: adjectives + prepositions

Student's book:

- p. 58, ex. 4 a, b, c & d

- p. 59, ex. 4 e, ex. 5 a & c

- p. 60, ex. 1 a, b

- p. 61, ex 2 c, d, e & f; ex. 3 (conditional sentences), a & b + p. 147 , d (speaking)

- p. 62, ex. 4a & b

- p. 63, ex. 4 c & d

 

Homework:

- Writing: discursive essay pp. 64-65 (see instructions there)

Videos & interactive games:

None

Photocopies:
- Dependent prepositions

I, too, sing Poetry...

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Not very long ago, we celebrated the World Book Day. We celebrated our passion for reading in all forms: we have talked about book covers, about our favourite books...and about poetry.

Most people read novels, so that's what we can find in libraries and bookshops more easily. But what about the many poetry lovers that are hidden in the vast crowd? 

Here are the poems we discussed in class, for you to read and listen. Enjoy!!

 1.

"I, Too, Sing America" (Langston Hughes)

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I'll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody'll dare

Say to me,

"Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides,

They'll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

2.
"What every woman should carry" and "The Elevator" (Maura Dooley)

What every woman should carry
My mother gave me the prayer to Saint Theresa.
I added a used tube ticket, Kleenex,
several Polo mints (furry), a tampon, pesetas,
a florin. Not wishing to be presumptuous,
not trusting you either, a pack of 3.
I have a pen. There is space for my guardian
angel, she has to fold her wings. Passport.
A key. Anguish, at what I said/didn’t say
when once you needed/didn’t need me. Anadin.
A credit card. His face the last time,
my impatience, my useless youth.
That empty sack, my heart. A box of matches.


The Elevator
As an oyster opens,
wondrous, and through mud
lets glitter that translucent
promise, so the lift doors
close and I am inside
alone with Leonard Cohen.
Vertigo, fear, desire.
I could unpeel myself here,
not just down to honest
freckled skin but through
the sticky layers of a past.
Surely he’d know me anywhere?
Remember that time in the Colston Hall,
how you sang only to me?
The Albert Hall, when I blagged
a press seat and you never once
took your eyes from my shining face?
Here, now, today, in Toronto,
how did you find me?
How did you know I’d be here?
He looks to where I stand
in the radiant silence,

the earth falling away beneath us,
till the silvery gates slide open
to release him. He steps out.
He steps out and I stand still.
‘D’you know where you’re going?’
he asks.
‘Is this where you wanted to be?’






3.
"Those Winter Sundays" (Robert Hayden)

Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?






4.
"In Paris with you" (James Fenton)

Don't talk to me of love. I've had an earful
And I get tearful when I've downed a drink or two.
I'm one of your talking wounded.
I'm a hostage. I'm maroonded.
But I'm in Paris with you.
Yes I'm angry at the way I've been bamboozled
And resentful at the mess I've been through.
I admit I'm on the rebound
And I don't care where are we bound.
I'm in Paris with you.
Do you mind if we do not go to the Louvre
If we say sod off to sodding Notre Dame,
If we skip the Champs Elysées
And remain here in this sleazy
Old hotel room
Doing this and that
To what and whom
Learning who you are,
Learning what I am.
Don't talk to me of love. Let's talk of Paris,
The little bit of Paris in our view.
There's that crack across the ceiling
And the hotel walls are peeling
And I'm in Paris with you.
Don't talk to me of love. Let's talk of Paris.
I'm in Paris with the slightest thing you do.
I'm in Paris with your eyes, your mouth,
I'm in Paris with... all points south.
Am I embarrassing you?
I'm in Paris with you.






5.
"For Women who are difficult to love" (Warsan Shire)

you are a horse running alone
and he tries to tame you
compares you to an impossible highway
to a burning house
says you are blinding him
that he could never leave you
forget you
want anything but you
you dizzy him, you are unbearable
every woman before or after you
is doused in your name
you fill his mouth
his teeth ache with memory of taste
his body just a long shadow seeking yours
but you are always too intense
frightening in the way you want him
unashamed and sacrificial
he tells you that no man can live up to the one who
lives in your head
and you tried to change didn't you?
closed your mouth more
tried to be softer
prettier
less volatile, less awake
but even when sleeping you could feel
him travelling away from you in his dreams
so what did you want to do love
split his head open?
you can't make homes out of human beings
someone should have already told you that
and if he wants to leave
then let him leave
you are terrifying
and strange and beautiful
something not everyone knows how to love.



Warsan Shire - "For Women Who Are Difficult To Love" from MovingOn & StereoOpticon on Vimeo.

Class Weeks 24 & 25 (15-25 April 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

This is what we've done in the last two weeks:

2º NB

Contents:

- Culture. Talk on Chicago.

- Grammar: Revision of countable & uncountable nouns

- Grammar: Revision of some/any

- Grammar: partitives & containers

- Grammar & vocabulary: How much/many & quantifiers 

- Vocabulary: high numbers

- Grammar: comparatives

- Guided tour: Sylvia Plath

Students' book:

- p. 70, ex. 1; ex. 2 a, b, c + p. 140 (quantifiers)

- p. 71, ex. 4 a, b, c

- p. 71, ex. 3 (pronunciation); ex. 5 (reading)

- p. 72, ex 1; ex. 2 a, b, c, d

- p. 73 ex. 3 a +  pp. 140-141; ex. 5 (speaking)

Homework:

- (in class): write about what you ate yesterday

Photocopies:

- Food vocabulary, containers & partitives; some / any

- Communicative activity: how much/many + quantifiers

Videos/games:

Edinburgh castle

2º NA

Contents:

- Talking about love & money

- Grammar: unreal tenses

- Culture: Talk on Chicago

- World Book Day: talking about poetry

Student's book:

- p. 46 ex 4 d

- p. 47 ex. 5a + p. 144 - Unreal tenses; ex. 5 c (warm-up); ex. 6 a, b, c, d, e

 

Homework:

- Read 5 poems and choose your favourite one

Videos & interactive games:

- Video on the Boston Marathon bombing - Interview to Allison Raite
- p. 50 - Interview to Sarita Gupta

Photocopies:
- 5 poems

NEW!!! CHECK THIS WEBSITE WITH AUDIOBOOKS

Dear students & readers of this blog,

There's a new addition to our list of listening websites. A colleague of mine has kindly sent me the link to booksshouldbefree.com, where you will be able to find many audiobooks in English. It is going to be permanently linked to this blog, on the sidebar, under the heading 'Listening websites"

Enjoy!!!

50 years without Sylvia Plath

Dear students & readers of this blog,

You may have seen the book covers that adorn one of the corridors of our school. They talk of a writer and her work, of a woman and her personal demons, of someone who left too early, but who had the time to leave her mark on English-speaking poetry. Her name was Sylvia. Sylvia Plath.

50 years ago, on 11 February, 1963, Sylvia killed herself. A month before, she had published her only novel, entitled 'The Bell Jar', one of her most remarkable works, whose covers are the main subject of the exhibition "Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar: 50 years in covers". Elena Rebollo, a teacher in the English Department, is currently working on her PhD thesis, where she analyses the different editions currently existing of Sylvia Plath's works in Britain and in the USA, marking the fiftieth anniversary of her death. 

As we are celebrating the month of the book and our love of reading, it is just the perfect occasion to celebrate Sylvia Plath's life and work, beyond feminist debates, controversies and simplifications of her as a person and as a poet and author. Let's just get this chance to learn something about her.

First, a short bio:

Early Life

Poet and novelist Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts. Sylvia Plath was a gifted and troubled poet, known for the confessional style of her work. Her interest in writing emerged at an early age, and she started out by keeping a journal. After publishing a number of works, Plath won a scholarship to Smith College in 1950.

While she was a student, Sylvia Plath spent time in New York City during the summer of 1953 working for Mademoiselle magazine as a guest editor. Soon after, Plath tried to kill herself by taking sleeping pills. She eventually recovered, having received treatment during a stay in a mental health facility. Plath returned to Smith and finished her degree in 1955.

Relationship and Published Poetry

A Fulbright Fellowship brought Sylvia Plath to Cambridge University in England. While studying at the university's Newnham College, she met the poet Ted Hughes. The two married in 1956 and had a stormy relationship. In 1957, Plath spent time in Massachusetts to study with poet Robert Lowell and met fellow poet and student Ann Sexton. She also taught English at Smith College around that same time. Plath returned to England in 1959.

A poet on the rise, Sylvia Plath had her first collection of poetry, The Colossus, published in England in 1960. That same year, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Freida. Two years later, Plath and Hughes welcomed a second child, a son named Nicholas. Unfortunately, the couple's marriage was failing apart.

Legacy

Much to the dismay of some admirers of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes became her literary executor after her death. While there has been some speculation about how he handled her papers and her image, he did edit what is considered by many to her greatest work, Ariel. It featured several of her most well-known poems, including "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus." He continued to produce new collections of Plath's works. Sylvia Plath won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for Collected Poems. She is still a highly regarded and much studied poet to this day.

The story of Sylvia Plath—her troubled life and tragic death—was the basis for the 2003 biopic Sylvia starring Gwyneth Paltrow in the title role.

(source: www.biography.com)

Here's one of her poems for you to read and to listen to, read by Plath herself.

Daddy
by Sylvia Plath
You do not do, you do not do Any more, black shoe In which I have lived like a foot For thirty years, poor and white, Barely daring to breathe or Achoo. Daddy, I have had to kill you. You died before I had time-- Marble-heavy, a bag full of God, Ghastly statue with one gray toe Big as a Frisco seal And a head in the freakish Atlantic Where it pours bean green over blue In the waters off beautiful Nauset. I used to pray to recover you. Ach, du. In the German tongue, in the Polish town Scraped flat by the roller Of wars, wars, wars. But the name of the town is common. My Polack friend Says there are a dozen or two. So I never could tell where you Put your foot, your root, I never could talk to you. The tongue stuck in my jaw. It stuck in a barb wire snare. Ich, ich, ich, ich, I could hardly speak. I thought every German was you. And the language obscene An engine, an engine Chuffing me off like a Jew. A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen. I began to talk like a Jew. I think I may well be a Jew. The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna Are not very pure or true. With my gipsy ancestress and my weird luck And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack I may be a bit of a Jew. I have always been scared of you, With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo. And your neat mustache And your Aryan eye, bright blue. Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You-- Not God but a swastika So black no sky could squeak through. Every woman adores a Fascist, The boot in the face, the brute Brute heart of a brute like you. You stand at the blackboard, daddy, In the picture I have of you, A cleft in your chin instead of your foot But no less a devil for that, no not Any less the black man who Bit my pretty red heart in two. I was ten when they buried you. At twenty I tried to die And get back, back, back to you. I thought even the bones would do. But they pulled me out of the sack, And they stuck me together with glue. And then I knew what to do. I made a model of you, A man in black with a Meinkampf look And a love of the rack and the screw. And I said I do, I do. So daddy, I'm finally through. The black telephone's off at the root, The voices just can't worm through. If I've killed one man, I've killed two-- The vampire who said he was you And drank my blood for a year, Seven years, if you want to know. Daddy, you can lie back now. There's a stake in your fat black heart And the villagers never liked you. They are dancing and stamping on you. They always knew it was you. Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through. 12 October 1962

 

---------------------

The Bell Jar is, as we said before, the subject or Elena Rebollo's exhibition and Plath's only novel. It was originally under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963. The novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed. The book is often regarded as a roman à clef, with the protagonist's descent into mental illness paralleling Plath's own experiences with what may have been clinical depression. Plath committed suicide a month after its first UK publication. The novel was published under Plath's name for the first time in 1967 and was not published in the United States until 1971, pursuant to the wishes of Plath's mother and her husband Ted Hughes. The novel has been translated into nearly a dozen languages.

(source: wikipedia)

Here you have some of the covers you will find at the exhibition:

Don't miss the chance to have a look at the covers at the LIBRARY CORRIDOR of our school to find out how much meaning and how much work there is behind a carefully planned and designed book cover.

A film was made in 2003 about Sylvia Plath and her relationship with Ted Hughes, which didn't have the approval of their children. Interesting to see anyway, though. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig.

Here's SYLVIA.

For more info, don't miss:

• Sylvia Plath info
• Sylvia Plath info (blog)
• Sylvia Plath: reflections on her legacy
• Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar as you've never seen it - gallery
• Don't judge The Bell Jar by its cover

'And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.'

Sylvia Plath