Aye, I'm tellin' ya

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Class Diary Week 20 (4-7 March 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

This is what we've done in class last week:

2º NB

Contents:

- Present simple vs present continuous

- Practical English: in a clothes shop

- Grammar: revision of personal pronouns (subject & object)

- Speaking about favourite times

Students' book:

- p. 132 - exercises

- p. 42-43, ex. 1a, 2 a & b, 3 a (p. 43) b & c, ex. 4 a & c

- File 6 - p. 133-134 - exercises on personal pronouns

- p. 46, ex. 1 d, ex. 2 a, b & c, ex. 3 a & b

Homework:

None

Photocopies:

- Personal pronouns (subject & object)

Videos/games:

- Practical English: in a clothes shop.

2º NA

Contents:

- Talking about history and historical films

- Vocabulary: discourse markers

Student's book:

- p. 66 - Interview with Brian Hodges; In the street

- p. 40, ex 1a & b

- p. 41, ex. 2a, c & d

Videos & interactive games:

- p. 66 - Interview with Brian Hodges

- p. 66 - In the street

Photocopies:
- Discourse markers

- Historical film quiz

- Talking about history. If you could have lived in another historical period, which one would it be? Is there a historical character you particularly admire? Why?

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Class Diary Weeks 18 & 19 (18-28 Feb 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

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

2º NB

Contents:

- Grammar: there was/were

- Grammar: present continuous
- Grammar: present simple vs. present continuous
- Vocabulary: weather & dates

Students' book:

- p. 65, ex. 4 a & b
- p. 138 & 139 - Grammar
- Speaking, pp. 104 & 109
- p. 38, ex. 1 a, b & c
- p. 38 (p. 132 - Present continuous)
- p. 39, ex. 2 f; ex. 4 a, b, c.
- p. 102 / 107 - spot the difference
- p. 40 ex. 1 a, c, ex. 2 a, b (reading)
- p. 159 - Weather & dates
- p. 41, ex. 3a + pag. 132

Homework:

None

Photocopies:

- Present continuous
- Present continuous / present simple

Videos/games:
Card game: what am I doing?

2º NA

Contents:

- Talking about historical films & history: your favourite historical film & your favourite scene.
- Vocabulary: history and warfare
- Vocabulary & pronunciation: stress in word families
- Oscars 2013 - Voting for the winner of the Best Feature Film of the year
- Grammar: discourse markers

Student's book:

- p.52, ex. 1a, b
- p. 163 - Vocabulary of history & warfare
- p. 53, ex. 3
- p. 54, reading, ex- 4 a & b
- p. 55, ex. 4 c + lexis in context. Ex. 5 a, b & c

Videos & interactive games:

- Thunderball in a nutshell: Michael Carranza explains his favourite scene of the film

Photocopies:
None

Monday, March 4, 2013

NA 2 - File 4A: History goes to the movies

Dear students & readers of this blog,

These days, at our Advanced level class, we are talking about history and movies. First of all, it might be interesting to distinguish between two concepts that are confusing for a Spanish speaker: 'historical' and 'historic'

HISTORIC: Something that is important in history, or likely to be considered important at some time in the future. E.g. ...the historic changes in Eastern Europe.

HISTORICAL: People, situations or things that existed in the past, or that are considered a part of history. E.g. ...an important historical figure. (source: Collins cobuild dictionary)

What is it, then, that makes a film historical? According to some, a film can be considered as historical when it is based on a real event, or is set in a historical period. But the real issue here is accuracy. How accurate should film screenwiters and directors be? How faithful should films be to historical events? According to this, what historical films you know?

In class, we saw three clips corresponding to three wll-known historical films:

"They may take our lives, but they'll never take OUR FREEDOM!!!! - "Braveheart", Mel Gibson, 1995. Based on the Battle of Stirling (13th century) - The English rule Scotland. William Wallace, Scottish hero and leader of a rebellion against the English, speaks to the discouraged armies before the battle.

"As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again" - "Gone with the wind", Victor Fleming, 1939. Based on the American Civil War (1861-1865) . Scarlett O'Hara, starving and desperate, after almost being sick for eating a turnip she pulls from the ground, rises from the ground, and vows she'll do whatever it takes not to be hungry again.

"I'm Spartacus!!!!" - "Spartacus", Stanley Kubrick, 1960. Based on the Rebellion of the slaves led by the gladiator Spartacus in the 1st century BC. - After the rebellion of the slaves is crashed, general Marcus Licinius Crassus promises the captives that they will not be punished if they will identify Spartacus. But the reaction of the slaves is somewhat unexpected: one by one, each or them stand out and shout "I'm Spartacus"

Here is a clip of one of my favourite historical film, not historically accurate at all, but fun just the same.

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius". The gladiator, and former general Maximus, whose family has been killed by emperor Commodus, finds himself at last in front of his enemy, whom he wants to take revenge on, and swears he will avenged his family. "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, leader of the Phoenix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or in the next" - "Gladiator", Ridley Scott, 2000.

Which is your favourite sequence of a historical film? Please click on COMMENTS to tell us about it, indicating the name of the film, the director and the year it was released, and briefly describing what happens in the scene and what historical event it is based on.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Oscars 2013 - And finally, the contenders for BEST FEATURE FILM

Dear students & readers of this blog,

The Oscars will finally be celebrated next Sunday 24 in Hollywood, as usual. The American movie industry and everyone who is related to it will try to look their best to enjoy their evening.

These past weeks we've been revising the main categories, and voting for our favourite nominees for supporting actor and actress, leading actor and actress and director. Now, it is the time for the BEST FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR.

By the way, if you are curious to learn about the origin of the oscar statuette, click here.

This week, the students will stop being students for a while, and forget they are in Spain, and will become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Hollywood. Their task, and their resposibility, will be considerable: they will have to vote for the film which will receive the oscar for best feature film of the year. For that, you will have to focus on:

Plot: what is the film about? Is the story appealing to the public? Is it interesting?
The cast: who are the actors and actresses who play the main characters? Have they received any other awards? Are the well-known? How good is their performance, in your opinion?
The director: is he a veteran or not? Have you seen any other films directed by him/her? Has he received any awards before?
The language: Is it in English or in another language?
Which are the reasons why your favourite film should win?
Any other aspects you might consider important to comment on.

And the nominees are:

AMOUR, directed by Michael Haneke

For more info on the plot, characters, cast (actors & actresses), click on:

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, directed by Behn Zeitlin.

For more info on the plot, characters, cast (actors & actresses), click on:

ARGO, directed by Ben Affleck

For more information on the plot, cast, characters, etc, click on:

DJANGO UNCHAINED, directed by Quentin Tarantino.

For more information on the plot, cast, characters, etc, click on:

LES MISÉRABLES, directed by Tom Hooper

For more information on the plot, cast, characters, etc, click on:

LIFE OF PI, by Ang Lee

For more information on the plot, cast, characters, etc, click on:

Official website (Please, select an English-speaking country to see the website in English. If not, it will detect where you are and the website will be in Spanish. DON'T CHEAT!!)
Wikipedia

LINCOLN, directed by Steven Spielberg

For more information on the plot, cast, characters, etc, click on:

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, directed by David O. Russell

For more information on the plot, cast, characters, etc, click on:

ZERO DARK THIRTY, directed by Kathryn Bigelow

For more information on the plot, cast, characters, etc, click on:

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Class Diary Weeks 16 & 17 (4-14 February 2013)

Dear students & readers of this blog,

This is what we've done in class in the last week and a half:

2º NB

Contents:

- Vocabulary: house & furniture

- Grammar: there is/are

- Prepositions of place

- Pronunciation: silent letters

- Brief mention to St. Valentine's Day

Students' book:

- p. 62, ex 1 a + p. 161 (the house), ex, 2 - listening, a, b, c.

- p. 63 ex. 2 d., ex 5 (speaking)

- p. 138-139: there is/are

- p. 64, ex. 1 a, b, c & d.

- p. 65, ex. 2 a + p. 162 (prepositions of place), ex. 3 a, b, ex. 4 a, b

Homework:

- Writing p. 114: A description of your hourse for a house swapping website

- There was/ were pp. 138-139.

Photocopies:

Vocabulary of the parts of the house & and furniture

Videos:

None

2º NA

Contents:

- Vocabulary: Onomatopoeias

- Talking about speculation and deduction

- St. Valentine's Day

- Pronunciation: Consonant clusters

Student's book:

- pag. 36, ex. 1 a, b, c & f

- p. 161 - Sounds and the human voice

- p. 162 ex. 2, 3 a, b, c

- p. 38, ex 4 (speculation & deduction), a + p. 142 (grammar & exercises). Ex, 5 a & c

- p. 39, ex 4 d, e, f, g.

Videos & interactive games:

Song - The Only Exception

Photocopies:

- Sound or noise

Homework:
None

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Because love is not only for couples...HAPPY ST. VALENTINE'S DAY!

'Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport. General opinion makes out that we live in a world of hatred and greed. I don't see that. Seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy but it's always there. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, none of the phone calls from people on board were messages of hate or revenge, hey were all messages of love. lf you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.'

These are the words spoken at the intro scene of 2003 British Box Office hit Love Actually.

...and these words express what St. Valentine's Day means in some English-speaking countries such as the USA: a day to celebrate love between people: not only husbands and wives or boyfriends and girlfriends. Also between friends, brothers and sisters, parents and children...

Did You Know?

Approximately 141 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas. Want to know more?

For some fun facts about St Valentine's Day, click here.

Traditions

Click here for information about St Valentine's traditions in the UK.

Click here for information about St Valentine's traditions in the USA.

Love stories

One of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read was compiled in the book The Golden Ass, by Apuleius. It is the story of EROS & PSYCHE. Venus, goddess of Love, is envious of young Aphrodite's beauty, and sends her son, Eros, otherwise called Cupid, to punish her. But instead, he falls in love with her and wants to make her his wife...Would you like to know the rest of the story? Then click on the photo below: that of the statue of Eros & Psyche by Antonio Canova, which is currently at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Love Songs

What would be St. Valentine's Day without love songs? Bands, singer-songwriters, solo singers...all of them, in all music genres, have sung about love: passionate love, unrequited love, lost love, early love, love that still hasn't arrived, tragic love...Here you have four examples, from four completely different singers/bands. Four different types of singing to love:

PARAMORE - The only exception (lyrics)

SIA - My love (lyrics)

And finally...

Best love scenes

Now I would like you to tell me about your favourite love scene from a film.

I will tell you mine. It's from the 2005 Spanish film "The Secret Life of Words" by Isabel Coixet, starred by Tim Robbins and Sarah Polley. In this film, Hannah, a hearing-impaired factory worker, gives up her first holiday in years and instead travels out to an oil rig, where she cares for a man, Josef, suffering from severe burns. Josef will slowly break her shell of silence...

My favourite scene is towards the end. Josef is waiting for Hannah outside the factory where she works. It is the first time Josef actually sees Hannah, who's been taking care of him through his convalescence, but he already knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. But she has been through a terrible experience, and is afraid to let herself feel anything for anyone. She tells him that she can't be with him, because she will start crying, and won't be able to stop, and then both will drown. And he tells her "I'll learn how to swim, Hannah. I swear. I'll learn how to swim." Maybe, out of context, that line doesn't mean much, but it makes complete sense when you see the whole film, and for me is one of the best, most delicate, love scenes I've ever seen.

I haven't found a video of that scene, so here you have the theatrical trailer of it (sorry for the subtitles in French, but I couldn't find a Spanish-subtitled version).

Now I'm really looking forward to your favourite love scenes, so...

PLEASE CLICK ON "COMMENTS" AND DESCRIBE YOUR FAVOURITE LOVE SCENE FROM A FILM OR A TV SHOW, TELLING WHY IT IS YOUR FAVOURITE.

And have a Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Oscars 2013 - Time to vote for the BEST DIRECTOR

Dear students & readers of this blog,

In last week's poll, it seems it was a very difficult choice, as there were three nominees with two votes, which means that, for you, there are no clear winners. These were Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman & Denzel Washington. Last night, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London celebrated their annual BAFTA awards. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts voted for the best of the year in the British cinema industry, and they voted for Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, as the best film of the year. Ben Affleck himself won the Bafta for best director. Unfortunately, he was not nominated for the Oscar too, as you will see below. Because this week, it is time for you to vote for the BEST DIRECTOR.

And the nominees are:

David O. Russell
Silver Linings Playbook
(El lado bueno de las cosas)

Benh Zeitlin
Beasts of the Southern Wild
(Bestias del sur salvaje)

Steven Spielberg
Lincoln

Ang Lee
Life of Pi
(La vida de Pi)

Michael Haneke
Amour

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Oscars 2013 - Time to vote for the BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Dear students & readers of this blog,

In last week's survey, voters decided that JENNIFER LAWRENCE & NAOMI WATTS are the two most probable winners of the oscar for best leading actress. Time has come now to vote for the BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE.

And the nominees are:

Bradley Cooper
Silver Linings Playbook
(El lado bueno de las cosas)