Bernard Schwartz, best known as TONY CURTIS, American actor, has just died. Earlier today, on 29 September, he suffered from a cardiac arrest and died in his house in Las Vegas. Curtis participated in many films, such as Spartacus or Some Like it Hot, a fragment of which you can watch below. And he is also well-known for having a turbulent personal life that took him to marry several times, some of them with much younger women. But let's remember him for his outstanding career.
If you want to read further about Curtis's death, click on his photo (source: bbc.co.uk)
Now, watch how it was told in the news reports. This one, from the American TV channel CNN:
Some Like it Hot is one of my favourite films of all times, if you don't mind my saying. It was directed by Billy Wilder in 1959 starring Curtis along with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. It tells the story of two jazz musicians, Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon), who witness the St Valentine's Massacre, and because of that, they are forced to flee disguised as women as part of a female orchestra that's performing in Florida. Things get complicated when Joe tries to seduce the leading vocalist of the orchestra, 'Sugar' Kane Kowalczyk (Monroe) and when Jerry/Daphne gets wooed by Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown)...
The extract you are going to watch belongs to the moment when Joe/Josephine and Jerry/Daphne are going to board the train that's going to get them to Florida. No subtitles, sorry. Just listen and see what you can understand. ENJOY!!! And remember...
So we were talking about weekend activities in class (we've just started our textbook), when this phrase came along: SO DO I. Hmmmm...what's this, exactly?
So far, when we wanted to agree with a positive statement, we have used ME TOO, right? And when we wanted to agree with a negative statement, we used ME NEITHER, yes? And, come to think of it, how can we disagree to something a person tells us?
Okay, let's expand your options a little bit. For some grammar, click HERE.
Today, in our class, we have been talking, among other things, about Howard Gardner's MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES theory.
But what are "multiple intelligences"? According to the Birmingham City Council:
"It has been claimed by some researchers that our intelligence or ability to understand the world around us is complex. Some people are better at understanding some things than others.For some of us it is relatively easy to understand how a flower grows but it is immensely difficult for us to understand and use a musical instrument. For others music might be easy but playing football is difficult.Instead of having one intelligence it is claimed that we have several different intelligences."
Knowing the 8 type of intelligences suggested by Dr. Gardner can be extremely helpful for us in the classroom and outside of it. Knowing the predominant types of intelligence of each student can help the teacher plan his/her classes, choosing the activities the best suit the students' profiles. As far as the learner is concerned, multiple intelligences can help him/her with self-study. The learner can select those learning methods and activities most adequate to him/her.
So if you want to know which are your predominant intelligences, click on the image below, and take the test. Then, when you have finished, print out the results.
I also took the test, of course!! This was my resulting pie chart.
In our 1º de Nivel Básico class we're learning how to SPELL. In English, it is very important to know THE ALPHABET, or your ABC, very well. So here you have some help for you to practise:
These are the letters of the English alphabet. As you can see, they are the same as in the Spanish alphabet. But how do you pronounce them correctly? Would you like some help? You'll find the pronunciation between brackets. But be careful, that's not a phonetic transcription!!!!
Now watch the video, listen and repeat:
This is another video about the alphabet in English. But there is a small difference. Can you tell me which one it is?
Here you have some famous acronyms that we talked about in class last week:
EU = European Union CIA = Central Intelligence Agency UFO = Unidentified Flying Object L = Learner B.C. = Before Christ A.D. = Anno Domini NHS = National Health Service Ph.D.: = Doctor of Philosophy SOS = Save Our Souls IQ = Intelligence Quotient NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization PC = Personal Computer MTV = Music Television OK = Okay (other version: zero killed) USA = United States of America UK = United Kingdom CD = Compact Disc VIP = Very Important Person/People BMW = Bavarian Motor Works DVD = Digital Versatile Disc FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation GMT = Greenwich Mean Time MPH = Miles per hour DIY = Do it yourself VAT = Value Added Tax NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration HIV = Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome IRA = Irish Republican Army MP = Member of Parliament PM = Prime Minister
Welcome back to the Official Language School of Mairena del Aljarafe and to my blog. This year I will be teaching 1st level of Nivel Básico and Nivel Intermedio. Here you will find extra resources and information related to the English language and the culture of the English-speaking countries, as well as tools to practise the basic skills: listening, writing, reading and speaking.
First things come first, so here you have the recommended text books for this year:
1º Nivel Básico: NEW ENGLISH FILE Elementary, by Clive Oxenden & Christina Latham-Koenig. Ed. Oxford.
Nivel Intermedio: FACE 2 FACE Intermediate, by Chris Redston & Gillie Cunningham. Ed. Cambridge.
You'll find information about the recommended readings on this blog later on in the year.
Well, that's all, folks, at least for now. The summer holidays have just started. I wanted to thank all of you who have been following this blog along the year. I hope it has been interesting and useful to you. I honestly tried to do my best, but I didn't always have the time it takes to keep a good blog.
Thanks to those who went to the End-of-year Party. It was nice to have you there, and to see your performances!!!
To those who promote, congratulations!!! To those who don't, keep it up, you will surely succeed if you work a little bit more in summer.
I'm so sorry for having been away for so long. This last month of June has been very tough for us, teachers at the Official Language School of Mairena. Lots of work to do, exams, paperwork...and I have been forced to set the blog aside for a while, but I'm back, if only to say goodbye for now. But before that, and considering that right now we're in the middle of the FIFA World Cup of South Africa, I though that the time is come to speak a bit about football...
To start with, test your football knowledge. Click here.
- This is the 19th International Association Football TOURNAMENT.The previous one was held in Germany and the next one will be held in Brazil.
- 32 QUALIFYING TEAMS compete in matches held in ten stadiums across the country for the WORLD CUP TROPHY.
- The QUALIFICATION PROCESS began in August 2007.
- The finals began on 11 June with the group stage, in which the 32 qualifying teams were reduced by half by playing in groups of four teams for points over three matches per team. The 16 remaining teams advanced to the KNOCKOUT STAGE, beginning on 26 June. TIES after normal time are settled using EXTRA TIME or a PENALTY SHOOTOUT if necessary, up to and including the World Cup Final, scheduled for 11 July at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
- The different rounds of the competition have a name:
The Group Stage: In this first round, the 32 teams are divided in 8 groups of 4 teams, and each of them has to play one match with the other three teams in the same group. The teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. The teams finishing first and second qualify for the next stage.
The Knockout State, round of sixteen or eighth finals: There are four rounds of matches, each round eliminating half of the teams.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Play-off for the third and fourth place
Finals
- Venues:
THE CURRENTNATIONAL TEAMOF SPAIN
Would you like to taste your knowledge on the group Spain belongs to, GROUP H? Take the test!
Now, listen to the goalkeeper of the National Team of the USA, Tim Howard, talking about living in Britain. Click here.
And finally some music. Watch the video of the Official FIFA World Cup Song: Waka Waka (This time for Africa) by Shakira. Please find the lyrics below.
You're a good soldier
Choosing your battles
Pick yourself up
And dust yourself off
Get back in the saddle
You're on the front line
Everyone's watching
You know it's serious
We are getting closer
This isn't over
The pressure is on
You feel it
But you got it all
Believe it
When you fall get up, oh oh
If you fall get up, eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
Cuz this is Africa
Tsamina mina, eh eh
Waka waka, eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
This time for Africa
Listen to your God
This is our motto
Your time to shine
Don't wait in line
Y vamos por todo
People are raising
Their expectations
Go on and feed them
This is your moment
No hesitations
Today's your day
I feel it
You paved the way
Believe it
If you get down get up, oh oh
When you get down get up, eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
This time for Africa
Tsamina mina, eh eh
Waka waka, eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa a a
Tsamina mina, eh eh
Waka waka, eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
This time for Africa
Awela Majoni Biggie Biggie Mama One A To Zet
Athi sithi LaMajoni Biggie Biggie Mama From East To West
Bathi . . . Waka Waka Ma Eh Eh Waka Waka Ma Eh Eh
Zonke zizwe mazi buye
Cuz this is Africa
Voice: Tsamina mina, Anawa a a
Tsamina mina Tsamina mina,
Anawa a a
Tsamina mina, eh eh
Waka waka, eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa a a
Tsamina mina, eh eh
Waka waka, eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
This time for Africa
Django eh eh
Django eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa a a
Django eh eh
Django eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa a a (2x)
This time for Africa (2x)
We're all Africa
And finally, allow me to say: GO SPAIN!! GO "LA ROJA" ;-)
