NA 2 - File 1C - The adventure of a non-native speaker of English

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Last September 26 was the European Day of Languages, which aims to celebrate the rich and diverse culture behind each and every language. Their website offers information about the purpose of the celebration, a calendar of events in different countries, a self-assessment language test, etc. Have a look! 

 

Language Facts

Did you know that...

• There are between 6000 and 7000 languages in the world - spoken by six billion people divided into 189 independent states.
  
  
• There are about 225 indigenous languages in Europe - roughly 3% of the world’s total.
  
  
• Most of the world’s languages are spoken in Asia and Africa.
  
  
• At least half of the world’s population are bilingual or plurilingual, i.e. they speak two or more languages.
  
  
• Many languages have 50,000 words or more, but individual speakers normally know and use only a fraction of the total vocabulary: in everyday conversation people use the same few hundred words.
  
  
• In its first year a baby utters a wide range of vocal sounds; at around one year the first understandable words are uttered; at around three years complex sentences are formed; at five years a child possesses several thousand words.
  
  
• The mother tongue is usually the language one knows best and uses most. But there can be “perfect bilinguals” who speak two languages equally well. Normally, however, bilinguals display no perfect balance between their two languages.
  
  
• Bilingualism brings with it many benefits: it makes the learning of additional languages easier, enhances the thinking process and fosters contacts with other people and their cultures.
  
  
• Languages are related to each other like the members of a family. Most European languages belong to the large Indo-European family.
  
  
• Most European languages belong to three broad groups: Germanic, Romance and Slavic.
  
  
• The Germanic family of languages includes Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, German, Dutch, English and Yiddish, among others.
  
  
• The Romance languages include Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, among others.
  
  
• The Slavic languages include Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and others.
  
  
• Most European languages use the Latin alphabet. Some Slavic languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. Greek, Armenian, Georgian and Yiddish have their own alphabet.
  
  
• Most countries in Europe have a number of regional or minority languages – some of these have obtained official status.
  
  
• The non-European languages most widely used on European territory are Arabic, Chinese and Hindi, each with its own writing system.
  
  
• Russia (148 million inhabitants) has by far the highest number of languages spoken on its territory: from 130 to 200 depending on the criteria.
  
  
• Due to the influx of migrants and refugees, Europe has become largely multilingual. In London alone some 300 languages are spoken (Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Berber, Hindi, Punjabi, etc.)

                                                                                                                       (source: http://www.ecml.at/)

Self-evaluation game: would you like fo find out your level of English? Language quiz: what do you know about European Languages? Memory game. How many flags do you know?

• self-evaluation game. Would you like to find out your level of English?
• plain English quiz (done in class)
• Language quiz: how much do you know about European languages?
• Memory game: How many flags do you remember?

A while ago, in class, we spoke about learning and speaking a foreign language. We discussed how a non-native speaker has to deal with the grammar, intonation or pronunciation of a foreign language. Maybe you can relate to the people in the video below:




Check this extremely interesting document: GUIA DEL APRENDIZ DE LENGUAS (in Spanish)

Guia aprendiz lenguas

View more documents from leticiaeoiplasencia.

A penny for the guy...It's Bonfire Night in the UK!

"Remember remember the fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot..."

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

1600 - Elizabeth I dies. James I is the new King of England.

James I was the son of a CATHOLIC queen, Mary Queen of Scots. But he was PROTESTANT. And he passed (aprobó) some LAWS against Catholics. They had to practise their religion IN SECRET. So they weren't happy, and they felt the situation had to change.

AND SO...

...a group of men decided to KILL THE KING, HIS FAMILY AND ALL MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT on the 5 Nov 1506.

To learn about the conspirators, click HERE.

How? The king had to OPEN PARLIAMENT that day, so the CONSPIRATORS (= conspiradores)  decided to BLOW UP (= volar -with explosives!) the Houses of Parliament with the King inside, by using 36 BARRELS ( = barriles) OF GUNPOWDER (= pólvora). They hid (=escondieron) them in the CELLARS of the building. And a man called GUY FAWKES was left to WATCH (=vigilar) over the barrels, and light (=encender) the FUSE ( =mecha).

One of the conspirators sent a LETTER to a MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT telling him everything about the plot. And so the King FOUND OUT (= lo averiguó). Guy Fawkes was the first one to be ARRESTED. All the CONSPIRATORS were killed.

Click HERE to read the letter Francis Tresham sent Lord Monteague, telling him EVERYTHING about the plot!

This historical event originated one of the most characteristic festivities of the UK, BONFIRE NIGHT. Do you want to know more? Watch the video:





If you want to read more about the history behind Guy Fawkes' Night, click here.

WHAT WE CELEBRATE TODAY. AND HOW!

People light BONFIRES (= hogueras) and they burn EFFIGIES (= efigies) of Guy Fawkes. Children go around asking "A PENNY FOR THE GUY", and with the money they get, they buy FIREWORKS (= fuegos artificiales). There are also FIREWORKS DISPLAYS (= espectáculo de fuegos artificiales) IN THE STREET! Read more. Click on the picture:

Did you know that, even today, before every STATE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, the YEOMEN OF THE GUARD (a.k.a. BEEFEATERS) SEARCH (= buscan) in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament by the light of old candle-lanterns?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT? Click HERE for an online tour.

AND NOW, YOU CAN PLAY THE GUNPOWDER PLOT GAME. Discover the barrels of gunpowder and stop the conspiracy. SAVE ENGLAND AND THE KING!!

April 23 - A FLASH MOB TAKES THE MAIN SQUARE OF PLASENCIA -Come celebrate the World Book Day with us

I've traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,

Old stars and hopeful beginners,

I've been where no-one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket

To the wonderful world of books.

~ Anonymous ~

Next Monday the world celebrates the existence of books and the pleasure of reading them, by remembering two great men who died on the same date, April 23, 1616: William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

Can you recognise these two extracts? Whose are they?

"In a village of La Mancha, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind, there lived not long since one of those gentlemen that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean hack, and a greyhound for coursing."

"To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them?

To die: to sleep; No more;

and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub"

The Official Language School of Plasencia also wants to celebrate such a day in a special way. Here it goes:

Get a book you like, or your e-book, or your favourite comic or graphic novel...and bring it with you!! It can be in any language you prefer, English, Italian, French, Portuguese, German...even in Spanish, if you fancy. Take it and...

PLEASE JOIN US NEXT MONDAY, APRIL 23, FOR A FIFTEEN-MINUTE READING FLASH MOB AT THE PLAZA MAYOR OF PLASENCIA, AT 7:30 P.M.

But what does 'flash mob' mean?

flash mob 

noun

1.

a group of people mobilized by social media to meet in a public place for the purpose of doing an unusual or entertaining activity of short duration: The flash mob brought wide smiles to the faces of commuters waiting for their trains. (source: dictionary.com) 

We'll stay there for a little while, and celebrate the World Book Day in the best possible way: reading!!

YOU'RE ALL INVITED. DON'T MISS IT!!!!

2º NA - File 1C - The adventures of a non-native speaker

Language Facts

Did you know that...

• There are between 6000 and 7000 languages in the world - spoken by six billion people divided into 189 independent states.
• There are about 225 indigenous languages in Europe - roughly 3% of the world’s total.
• Most of the world’s languages are spoken in Asia and Africa.
• At least half of the world’s population are bilingual or plurilingual, i.e. they speak two or more languages.
• Many languages have 50,000 words or more, but individual speakers normally know and use only a fraction of the total vocabulary: in everyday conversation people use the same few hundred words.
• In its first year a baby utters a wide range of vocal sounds; at around one year the first understandable words are uttered; at around three years complex sentences are formed; at five years a child possesses several thousand words.
• The mother tongue is usually the language one knows best and uses most. But there can be “perfect bilinguals” who speak two languages equally well. Normally, however, bilinguals display no perfect balance between their two languages.
• Bilingualism brings with it many benefits: it makes the learning of additional languages easier, enhances the thinking process and fosters contacts with other people and their cultures.
• Languages are related to each other like the members of a family. Most European languages belong to the large Indo-European family.
• Most European languages belong to three broad groups: Germanic, Romance and Slavic.
• The Germanic family of languages includes Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, German, Dutch, English and Yiddish, among others.
• The Romance languages include Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, among others.
• The Slavic languages include Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and others.
• Most European languages use the Latin alphabet. Some Slavic languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. Greek, Armenian, Georgian and Yiddish have their own alphabet.
• Most countries in Europe have a number of regional or minority languages – some of these have obtained official status.
• The non-European languages most widely used on European territory are Arabic, Chinese and Hindi, each with its own writing system.
• Russia (148 million inhabitants) has by far the highest number of languages spoken on its territory: from 130 to 200 depending on the criteria.
• Due to the influx of migrants and refugees, Europe has become largely multilingual. In London alone some 300 languages are spoken (Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Berber, Hindi, Punjabi, etc.)

                                                                                                                               (source: http://www.ecml.at/)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Last September 26 was the European Day of Languages, which aims to celebrate the rich and diverse culture behind each and every language. Their website offers information about the purpose of the celebration, a calendar of events in different countries, a self-assessment language test, etc. Have a look!

• Self-evaluation game: would you like fo find out your level of English?
• Language quiz: what do you know about European Languages?
• Memory game. How many flags do you know?

The Advanced level 2 students chose the words of the English language they considered most beautiful. Here they are:

SUNSHINE (noun, uncount, sing.): the light and heat from the sun. (Guadalupe Baquero Maestre)
PEACE (noun, uncount, sing): A situation or a period of time in which there is no war or violence in a country or an area. (May González Santana)
SWEETIE (noun, informal): A person who is kind and easy to like. (May González Santana)
LOVE (noun, uncount): A strong feeling of deep affection for sb/sth, especially a member of your family or a friend. (Pepa Torrado Langa)
SERENDIPITY (noun, uncount): the fact of something interesting or pleasant happening by chance. (Marián Paiva Mediavilla)
PLAY (verb, trans./ intrans.): To do things for pleasure, as children do; to enjoy yourself, rather than work. (Pedro Piedelobo)

RAINBOW (noun): A curved band of different colours that appears in the sky when the sun shines through rain. (Gema Beorlegui Aristu)

HOPE (verb. Trans/ intrans.): To want something to happen and think it is possible. (Ramón Cano de la Ossa)

CHOCOLATE (noun, uncount): A hard brown sweet food made from cocoa beans, used in cooking to add flavour to cakes, etc, or eaten as sweet/candy. (Teresa Martín Muñoz)

CHEWING-GUM (noun. uncount):  A sweet/candy that you chew but do not swallow. (Gema Jiménez Gutiérrez)

A while ago, in class, we spoke about learning and speaking a foreign language. We discussed how a non-native speaker has to deal with the grammar, intonation or pronunciation of a foreign language. Maybe you can relate to the people in the video below:



Check this extremely interesting document: GUIA DEL APRENDIZ DE LENGUAS (in Spanish)

Guia aprendiz lenguas

View more documents from leticiaeoiplasencia.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November...It's Bonfire Night in England!!!

"Remember remember the fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot..."

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

1600 - Elizabeth I dies. James I is the new King of England.

James I was the son of a CATHOLIC queen, Mary Queen of Scots. But he was PROTESTANT. And he passed (aprobó) some LAWS against Catholics. They had to practise their religion IN SECRET. So they weren't happy, and they felt the situation had to change.

AND SO...

...a group of men decided to KILL THE KING, HIS FAMILY AND ALL MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT on the 5 Nov 1506.

To learn about the conspirators, click HERE.

How? The king had to OPEN PARLIAMENT that day, so the CONSPIRATORS (= conspiradores)  decided to BLOW UP (= volar -with explosives!) the Houses of Parliament with the King inside, by using 36 BARRELS ( = barriles) OF GUNPOWDER (= pólvora). They hid (=escondieron) them in the CELLARS of the building. And a man called GUY FAWKES was left to WATCH (=vigilar) over the barrels, and light (=encender) the FUSE ( =mecha).

One of the conspirators sent a LETTER to a MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT telling him everything about the plot. And so the King FOUND OUT (= lo averiguó). Guy Fawkes was the first one to be ARRESTED. All the CONSPIRATORS were killed.

Click HERE to read the letter Francis Tresham sent Lord Monteague, telling him EVERYTHING about the plot!

This historical event originated one of the most characteristic festivities of the UK, BONFIRE NIGHT. Do you want to know more? Watch the video:





If you want to read more about the history behind Guy Fawkes' Night, click here.

WHAT WE CELEBRATE TODAY. AND HOW!

People light BONFIRES (= hogueras) and they burn EFFIGIES (= efigies) of Guy Fawkes. Children go around asking "A PENNY FOR THE GUY", and with the money they get, they buy FIREWORKS (= fuegos artificiales). There are also FIREWORKS DISPLAYS (= espectáculo de fuegos artificiales) IN THE STREET! Read more. Click on the picture:

Did you know that, even today, before every STATE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, the YEOMEN OF THE GUARD (a.k.a. BEEFEATERS) SEARCH (= buscan) in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament by the light of old candle-lanterns?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT? Click HERE for an online tour.

AND NOW, YOU CAN PLAY THE GUNPOWDER PLOT GAME. Discover the barrels of gunpowder and stop the conspiracy. SAVE ENGLAND AND THE KING!!

Ready for the Royal Wedding of the year?

The event of the year in the UK is finally coming along. At this same hour, Prince William & Kate Middleton will be celebrating a state dinner with their guests and spending their last hours as single people. Probably when you read this, they will already be man and wife. And on such important occasion, bearing in mind that we are fans of "All Things British" and we just LOVE happy endings, we had to be there. Why can't we practise our English while witnessing THE event? Let's take a break of so much football and speak about something else. Surely, even if you don't care at all about it, you've got something to say.

If you're planning to watch the wedding, why not watching it in English? Watch in live on bbc.co.uk

Other than that, here you can check:

• the wedding route
• Westminster Abbey 360º tour (don't miss this!)
• Route video
• the official programme
• History of the British Monarchy in three minutes - listen to the Reduced Shakespeare Company telling a long, complex story in a very, very short time!
• Past Royal Wedding gowns (video)
• The Royal Wedding and Republicanism - Because not everybody cares about royals.

Play the Royal Wedding game: take the William & Kate challenge!

Maybe YOU want to have your say on this. What do you think? Are you going to watch the wedding? Are you a royal wedding fan? Do you enjoy get-togethers with your family and friends to comment on the ceremony and guests' attires? You couldn't care less about it? Do you think events like this are ostentatious and unnecessary? WRITE A COMMENT!

After the wedding takes place, we'll update this post! HAVE FUN (...or not)

On the night of the 31 October...

Next Sunday 31 October many people celebrate the night of the Dead, the night where evil spirits and witches run free among the living.

As it is traditional, we want to celebrate it in our school. But as you know, this year Halloween falls on a Sunday, and we're not going to be here, are we?

So please join us for a party on THURSDAY 29, from 6.30 to 9 pm.

There'll be lots of fun with:

- A pumpking carving workshop: we'll give a prize to the best carved pumpkin!!
- Costumes: every person who comes disguised will be given a little treat ;)
- Storytelling: Lauren, our language assistant, and students of 1º de Nivel Avanzado, will be reading some scary stories
- Face painting
- Halloween videos & music
- And some food & drink (don't forget to bring a little something; we'll buy the rest)

... Lots of fun. DON'T MISS IT!!!

Did you know that...

• Halloween has Celtic origins? The Celtic festival SAMHAIN [pronounced /saun/] celebrated the end of the year, which finished in October.
• the Celts believed that ghosts, witches and evil spirits entered the world of the living on the night of the 31st October?
• people wore costumes to scare the evil spirits away?
• orange and black are the colours of Halloween?
• the word "Halloween" comes from "All Hallows' Eve", which is the day before All Saints' Day?
• in some English-speaking countries people wear scary costumes and masks and go to parties?

Now watch the video below about the origins of Halloween. No subtitles. Try to get the most important words and follow the images!

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?

Now watch the following video. You will see how a Jack-O'-Lanternt is made:

Another of the most characteristic activities of Halloween is TRICK-OR-TREATING? Children go, between 6 and 8 pm, to their neighbours' houses, wearing costumes, asking for sweets (or candy, as they say in the USA). Be careful. If children go trick-or-treating to your house, and you don't give them sweets, they'll play a trick on you...and some are NOT funny...

Watch this old 1952 Donald Duck cartoon about trick-or-treating.

Now, enough of history. Now let's have some fun. LET'S PLAY! Try playing these games...

Do you like SCARY STORIES? Here you have some...

And finally, let's SING A BIT...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Kids, would you like to hear the story of how I met your mother?

One day, in our Nivel Intermedio class, this extremely popular American TV show came up. As, thanks to the Internet, we can watch almost anything online in the original version, here you have a couple of links where you can watch the episodes of this thrilling sitcom online. But, first of all, would you like to read a summary of its plot?

Created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, the comedy series “How I Met Your Mother” is “a love story in reverse“. In 2030, Ted Mosby tells his daughter and son the story of how he met their mother. This sob story begins in 2005 when Ted, a single 27 year old architect, finds out that Marshall Eriksen, his best friend, is proposing to Lily Aldrin, a kindergarten teacher. Ted realizes that is also the time for him to make the big step, but this involves first finding the great love. The one who helps him with the search is his friend Barney Stinson, a womanizer with an unnamed corporate job. He introduces Ted to Robin Scherbatsky, an ambitious young reporter. Although Ted is convinced that it’s love at first sight, Robin isn’t ready to have a relationship. Destiny has something else in store for them. (source: cucirca)

Here you have a sample of it:

If you want to watch the episodes with Spanish subtitles, click here (and please, ignore the Spanish dubbed episodes).

Nevertheless, if you are bold and enjoy challenges, and want to watch it with no subtitles, click here.

A2 (2º NB) - Hey, check this!

Click on the picture if you want to have a look at an online version of THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY. Also, check the entry of 27 NOVEMBER for another online version of this original dictionary.

Here you have a taste of it:

CHILDHOOD, n.
The period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly of youth -- two removes from the sin of manhood and three from the remorse of age.

Enjoy!!

Do you speak English?

For a bit of fun:

Surely, you must have been in this situation sometime or other. Going to a foreign country, and addressing someone, trusting he or she will speak English...