Are you afraid of HALLOWEEN 2014?

'Where there is no imagination there is no horror' - Arthur Conan Doyle

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Once more, Halloween is here. It is a festivity especially associated with the U.S., although its origins are to be found quite far from there. Anyhow, Halloween is gradually imposing again on the continent where it was born. Many of us know something about it through films or TV shows. Many others have heard about it, but don't really know much about Halloween traditions, or what people do to get ready for the night when the limit between the world of the living and that of the dead disappears. So let's find out...





FOR NB STUDENTS - Take a look at this video:




What do we know now?

...that Halloween has Celtic origins. The Celtic festival SAMHAIN [pronounced /saun/] celebrated the end of the year, which finished in October.

...that the Celts believed that ghosts, witches and evil spirits entered the world of the living on the night of the 31st October.
...that trick-or-treating comes from the ancient "Souling", when poor people used to go around asking for "soul cakes" to eat in exchange for prayers for the family.

...that people wore costumes to scare the evil spirits away.

...that the word "Halloween" comes from "All Hallows' Eve", which is the day before All Saints' Day.

...that in some English-speaking countries people wear scary costumes and masks and go to parties.

If we could reduce Halloween to numbers, this would be it:

Jack-O'-Lanterns are made out of pumpkins. People put Jack-O'-Lanterns in front of their windows or in their gardens, to frighten evil spirits. Did you know that this tradition originated in Great Britain and Ireland and that, originally, people used turnips?

Would you like to know how a Jack-O'-Lantern is made? Watch the video below:

Anyhow, we have never thought how terrifying this is for pumpkins, have we? So please, don't miss this excellent, and really scary, short film about THE LIFE & DEATH OF A PUMKIN:


(source: tlfclips.com. Thanks, Rosa!)

For the transcript, click here.

And now that we are with scary stories, why not one more? Don't miss SUCKABLOOD!!

• For vocabulary & comprehension questions, click here.
• For the transcript, click here.

Have you been to Halloween town? Watch the following video and sing along:

TO ALL, HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

NA2 - Ways of responding: question tags & echo questions

Dear students & readers of this blog,

These days, in our advanced class, we have been revising the different ways one has to respond in English to what other person says. Short phrases like "¿ah sí?", "¿De verdad?" are of frequent use in Spanish. But English uses something completely different, a short grammatical structure that is usually very hard for Spanish speakers to incorporate to their active set of structures to manage. 

This, basically, has to do with the extended use of AUXILIARY VERBS, those underrated and underestimated nice little words. They can be used in all sorts of ways:

• For emphasis: I do believe you.
• In 'echo questions': I'm going to buy a house / Oh! Are you? How wonderful!
• In question tags: You locked the door, didn't you?
• To avoid unnecessary repetitions: My friends loved the film, but I didn't.

That's why, taking advantage of the chance our student's book gives us, we had a look at it again. Because...guess what? English speakers find it veeeeery difficult to use these structures on a regular basis and without thinking.

So let me give you a hand. Here are some wonderful power point presentations I found on the Net. Enjoy!!

ECHO QUESTIONS

Interesting cultural-facts-echo-questions from leticiaeoiplasencia

QUESTION TAGS


 

Question tags from leticiaeoiplasencia

Thanks to the person who generously posted this on the Internet!!

For more on question tags. Click here.

Interesting, isn't it?

NA2 - Unit 1A Sibling rivalry

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Have you got any brothers or sisters? How do you get on with them? What do you have in common? Have you ever felt jealous or envious? Do you compete with one another?

If you have answered 'yes' to any of these questions, then you suffer from 'sibling rivalry'. This rivalry may be positive, in the sense that you may have a bit of healthy competition and stay friends with your brother or sister. But sometimes, sibling relationships are difficult.

The short film you're about to see illustrates what I'm talking about. It's a semi-real, semi animated film, which tells the story of a teenage girl and her relationship with her brother. You will find the exercises we used to practice in class below.

(source: British Council)

• Exercises
• Key
• Transcript

In the following video clip, parenting expert and show host, Bill Corbett, interviews outlines tips on handling sibling rivalry.

Answer the following questions:

• What tips does he give to handle sibling rivalry? Can you give details about each one.

Feel free to write a COMMENT answering the questions above.

Do you know any siblings that are also rivals? Here you have some notorious examples, that are mentioned in our textbook (just in case you want to find out something more about them and what their relationship was like):

• Rudi & Adi Dassler: the brothers who revolutionized sportswear.

• Joan Fontaine & Olivia de Havilland: Eternal enemies. 

• Noel & Liam Gallagher: Life beyond 'Oasis'

• Venus & Serena Williams: Friends in life, rivals at court.

TALK TUESDAYS - Will you join us?

Dear students & readers of this blog,

If you are, or were, a student of the Official Language School of Plasencia, and you miss the chance to be able to practise your English and meet new people or your old friends, or if you have finished your English studies at the school and you need to find somewhere to keep the language living and fresh...

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!

We are going to start what we have called 'Talk Tuesdays'. Student old and new will meet at the SCHOOL LIBRARY, have some tea with pastries, NEXT TUESDAY 14 OCTOBER, from 7 to 8 p.m. 

This will only be the start. After next week, we will meet every two weeks, but this time, from 8 to 9 p.m. 

 

PLEASE JOIN US!!