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!!

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!!