tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73635562929688160472024-02-21T07:12:37.588+01:00Ana Bueno's English CornerIf you want to keep your English alive and continue learning outside the classroom, this is the place for you!Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-12863404179603247182014-11-28T07:00:00.003+01:002014-11-28T07:00:09.918+01:00Exam Practice A2 level (I)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwfVDCx3ZybJ9Zrzv9-ursWtG-dX6tqBggEjtf3ZXX-LSIr0SbiAdncCgfq7w_O1GXm_-IioF0bAwgL_5znCx7Al0Y1E-66QbGbjHbBmi8Ajv-zUhSZNFxFuUS7fHAId1s6cyYfNfJpk/s1600/Level-A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwfVDCx3ZybJ9Zrzv9-ursWtG-dX6tqBggEjtf3ZXX-LSIr0SbiAdncCgfq7w_O1GXm_-IioF0bAwgL_5znCx7Al0Y1E-66QbGbjHbBmi8Ajv-zUhSZNFxFuUS7fHAId1s6cyYfNfJpk/s1600/Level-A2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOedH3ZsCaKWUQ9Q3l6xs0BselVwWDTJ2-N2j-ifiQRs_wDSSuoYamJ73D13QBLuRIK8QrJBpP_pNVNzFHn24c1oPbxbAykD80UkDy9SM4W3ZqpoUNQWvSRqUu9MFO6_O79em-8J1a98/s1600/Exam-practice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The exams are coming closer and I wanted to give you some <strong>exam practice</strong> to get ready!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These exams are all taken from the Key English Test from Cambridge, which roughly corresponds to a level<b> A2</b>:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>READING</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/KET_reading1.htm">Reading Part 1</a>: signs and short texts</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/KET_reading_part2.htm">Reading Part 2</a>: gapped sentences</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/KET_reading_part3.htm">Reading Part 3</a>:multiple choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/KET_reading_part4.htm">Reading Part 4</a>: long text with multiple choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/KET_reading_part5.htm">Reading Part 5</a>: text with multiple choice gaps</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LISTENING</b></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/ket_listening_part1.htm">Listening Part 1</a>: pictures with multiple choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/KET_listening_part2.htm">Listening Part 2</a>: longer recording and matching</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/KET_listening_part3.htm">Listening Part 3</a>: multiple choice</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/ket_listening_part4.htm">Listening Part 4</a>: fill in a form</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/KET/ket_listening_part5.htm">Listening Part 5</a>: fill in a form</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck! :)</span></div>
Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-68574686129850329512014-11-28T07:00:00.002+01:002014-11-28T07:00:10.069+01:00Exam Practice B1 level (I)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEN-PUZrlr0UhyphenhyphenywNO0Iw56aFULLraH7SI1CXDtapNd15q4dYAA2N4ABaOB7SQ_woyvs4eAvRBt3_q2HgRRNYldq7or74AQ3rJK_6bQw6chVt6NbccQNqXSFUbjZ1Tbe33Eo1sOTVbS0/s1600/B1-level.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEN-PUZrlr0UhyphenhyphenywNO0Iw56aFULLraH7SI1CXDtapNd15q4dYAA2N4ABaOB7SQ_woyvs4eAvRBt3_q2HgRRNYldq7or74AQ3rJK_6bQw6chVt6NbccQNqXSFUbjZ1Tbe33Eo1sOTVbS0/s1600/B1-level.jpg" height="200" width="199" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOedH3ZsCaKWUQ9Q3l6xs0BselVwWDTJ2-N2j-ifiQRs_wDSSuoYamJ73D13QBLuRIK8QrJBpP_pNVNzFHn24c1oPbxbAykD80UkDy9SM4W3ZqpoUNQWvSRqUu9MFO6_O79em-8J1a98/s1600/Exam-practice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The exams are coming closer and I wanted to give you some <strong>exam practice</strong> to get ready!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These exams are all taken from the Preliminary English Test from Cambridge, which roughly corresponds to a level <strong>B1</strong>:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>READING</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading1.htm">Reading Part 1</a>: signs and short texts</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading2.htm">Reading Part 2</a>: match 5 people to 8 texts</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading3.htm">Reading Part 3</a>: text with True/False questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading4.html">Reading Part 4</a>: long text with multiple choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_reading_part5.htm">Reading Part 5</a>: text with multiple choice gaps</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LISTENING</b></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part1.htm">Listening Part 1</a>: pictures with multiple choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part2.htm">Listening Part 2</a>: longer recording and multiple choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part3.htm">Listening Part 3</a>: complete notes</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/PET/pet_listening_part4.htm">Listening Part 4</a>: true/false</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck! :)</span></div>
Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-62007064930831459452014-11-28T07:00:00.001+01:002014-11-28T07:00:01.707+01:00Exam practice C1 level (I)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOV36T7OY4h4q9lsiIpGJGjcXBsO1yPJxuEyVLmMZ3eGDYRz4i38cH5zkrk0QnWxH1Fn_WuEaZcGrv56-zGzBHpEscyzaYXXXngeFJziQ5nrsHfKw9T86k7e6wsMY6ytmYvjB8ecSVMA/s1600/C1-level.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOV36T7OY4h4q9lsiIpGJGjcXBsO1yPJxuEyVLmMZ3eGDYRz4i38cH5zkrk0QnWxH1Fn_WuEaZcGrv56-zGzBHpEscyzaYXXXngeFJziQ5nrsHfKw9T86k7e6wsMY6ytmYvjB8ecSVMA/s1600/C1-level.jpeg" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOedH3ZsCaKWUQ9Q3l6xs0BselVwWDTJ2-N2j-ifiQRs_wDSSuoYamJ73D13QBLuRIK8QrJBpP_pNVNzFHn24c1oPbxbAykD80UkDy9SM4W3ZqpoUNQWvSRqUu9MFO6_O79em-8J1a98/s1600/Exam-practice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The exams are coming closer and I wanted to give you some <strong>exam practice</strong> to get ready!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These exams are all taken from the Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English, which roughly corresponds to a level <b>C1</b>:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>READING</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_reading1.htm">Reading Part 1</a>: three themed texts with multiple-choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_reading2.htm">Reading Part 2</a>: text with 6 paragraphs missing</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_reading3.htm">Reading Part 3</a>: long text with multiple-choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_reading4.htm">Reading Part 4</a>: Multiple matching</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>USE OF ENGLISH</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_use_of_english1.htm">Use of English Part 1</a>: multiple-choice cloze</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_use_of_english2.htm">Use of English Part 2</a>: open cloze</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_use_of_english_part3.htm">Use of English Part 3</a>: word formation</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/useofenglish4.php">Use of English Part 4</a>: Gapped sentences</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_use_of_english_part5.htm">Use of English Part 5</a>: Key word transformations</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>LISTENING</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening1.htm">Listening Part 1</a>: three short extracts from conversations with multiple-choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening2.htm">Listening Part 2</a>: sentence completion</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening3.htm">Listening Part 3</a>: conversation with multiple-choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening4.htm">Listening Part 4</a>: multiple matching</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck! :)</span></div>
Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-21578392494684830752014-11-28T07:00:00.000+01:002014-11-28T07:00:00.216+01:00Exam practice B2 level (I)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OFR0-CMFGQ7HLrTiFvmztJVhct3VisUtVoIREc0SZJrhDyzQREtStilk5tm68Ma9xT6k47UiiD7v6qXB-92TZvjL2bbpB1aMOAVzL5j2IReiFaw2G4yZpCicyHw2PpbZ9Ayimseza6s/s1600/B2-level.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Level B2" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OFR0-CMFGQ7HLrTiFvmztJVhct3VisUtVoIREc0SZJrhDyzQREtStilk5tm68Ma9xT6k47UiiD7v6qXB-92TZvjL2bbpB1aMOAVzL5j2IReiFaw2G4yZpCicyHw2PpbZ9Ayimseza6s/s1600/B2-level.jpeg" title="Level B2 CEFRL" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOedH3ZsCaKWUQ9Q3l6xs0BselVwWDTJ2-N2j-ifiQRs_wDSSuoYamJ73D13QBLuRIK8QrJBpP_pNVNzFHn24c1oPbxbAykD80UkDy9SM4W3ZqpoUNQWvSRqUu9MFO6_O79em-8J1a98/s1600/Exam-practice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The exams are coming closer and I wanted to give you some <strong>exam practice</strong> to get ready!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These exams are all taken from the First Certificate in English Exam from Cambridge, which roughly corresponds to a level <strong>B2</strong>:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>READING</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_reading.htm">Reading Part 1</a>: text with 8 multiple choice questions</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_reading2.htm">Reading Part 2</a>: text with 7 sentences missing</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_reading3.htm">Reading Part 3</a>: multiple matching</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>USE OF ENGLISH</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_use_of_english_part1.htm">Use of English Part 1</a>: multiple choice cloze</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_use_of_english_part2.htm">Use of English Part 2</a>: open close, text with gaps</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_use_of_english_part3.htm">Use of English Part 3</a>: word formation</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/Use_of_English.htm">Use of English Part 4</a>: key word transformations</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>LISTENING</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening_part1.htm">Listening Part 1</a>: multiple choice (8 conversations)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening_part2.htm">Listening Part 2</a>: open answers</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening3.htm">Listening Part 3</a>: choose the speaker</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening4.html">Listening Part 4</a>: multiple choice (1 conversation)</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck! :)</span></div>
Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-64240738526693481842014-11-26T07:00:00.001+01:002014-11-26T13:52:50.032+01:00I want a non-native teacher! (or a qualified native one!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHxJ6_7fQ_o_9yAItyrZ4KsmWo0ha6m5zh9NtzbZ-Hqmjxm-YkZLE4Ec1e-vAl8DZVCNgeKHxksZtLXoQZ-kuKWQsOCme-IICAE36I3HXHAqItX6XOQ2zg4Qv0ls9M_RDtS5joGpiCiI/s1600/Native-non-native.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Native or non-native" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHxJ6_7fQ_o_9yAItyrZ4KsmWo0ha6m5zh9NtzbZ-Hqmjxm-YkZLE4Ec1e-vAl8DZVCNgeKHxksZtLXoQZ-kuKWQsOCme-IICAE36I3HXHAqItX6XOQ2zg4Qv0ls9M_RDtS5joGpiCiI/s1600/Native-non-native.png" height="220" title="Native or non-native teacher" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few days ago I came across a <a href="http://www.elconfidencial.com/alma-corazon-vida/2014-10-26/por-que-un-espanol-puede-ser-mejor-profesor-de-ingles-que-un-nativo_407013/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook">newspaper article</a> defending why a Spanish can be a better English teacher than a 'native'. This can be a highly controversial topic, but it's one that badly needs clarification, and, in my opinion, an urgent re-evaluation of 'non-native' teachers.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
has always been the idea that ‘native speakers’ of English are the best
teachers of English.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Indeed, in hiring practices ‘native
speakers’ are very often given preference, and some language schools even take
the liberty to charge more if their teachers are ‘native’.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Prrafoconsangra" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This disadvantage in the job market,
besides the social pressure of having to imitate a ‘native’ model, has had a
truly harmful effect on ‘non-native’ language teachers, many of whom have lost
confidence in their lessons, especially as regards the teaching of pronunciation. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Canagarajah puts it, "t</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">heir predominant concern
is in effect “How can I lose my accent?” rather than “How can I be a successful
teacher?” (1999: 84-85).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Prrafoconsangra" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reality today is that <b>80% </b>of
teachers of English in the world are <b>not native</b>. Be that as it may,</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the difference should not really reside in the dichotomy ‘native’/‘non-native’, but rather in the opposition <b>‘qualified’/’non-qualified’</b>.
In other words, qualified teachers, be they ‘native’ or ‘non-native’, are
superior to ‘native speakers’ who have not undergone training (Pavón Vázquez, 2010).</span></div>
<div class="Prrafoconsangra" style="margin-right: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Prrafoconsangra" style="margin-right: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By all mens, 'native' teachers have the advantage of having a flawless command of the language. Still, there is now
growing agreement that ‘non-native’ teachers have a number of advantages worth mentioning:</span></div>
<div class="1" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only ‘non-native’ teachers can serve as imitable models of the
successful learner of English.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their previous status of learners of the language allows them to provide
students with more information about the English language.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are endowed with the priviledge
of bilingualism, which allows them to have a better understanding of the
learning situation.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They can teach learning strategies more effectively.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They can anticipate areas of potential problems.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They can benefit from sharing the students’ mother-tongue and culture.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are trained in methodological
issues.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="Prrafoconsangra" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Paradoxically, all these advantages
stem from the fact that they have undergone a
process of learning that ‘native speakers’ have not. These advantages, combined
with the fact that the vast majority of them present an adequate level of
language competence to perform their task, can certainly place ‘non-native’ teachers in a
superior position over ‘native speakers'.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">So the next time an academy sells their lessons saying that their teachers are native, ask if they are <b>qualified</b>, since that is what really matters.</span></span></div>
Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-6118173442089657802014-11-06T07:00:00.000+01:002014-12-03T18:22:16.572+01:00Politics: anti-corruption raids in Spain<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsU8j8i45lHUQkUVS-7nQBGwH_XtwwUIrcs2ppnq1_ICq2sPckRZBZyq8aE0FUrK8td0YrP2iAzJIPAP4aqk7YhzHU5SwgWCBTfZK0k02-mdFnzDPgq8JIsMR7Jc1XR4Oe6TY77t2kGZg/s1600/Politics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsU8j8i45lHUQkUVS-7nQBGwH_XtwwUIrcs2ppnq1_ICq2sPckRZBZyq8aE0FUrK8td0YrP2iAzJIPAP4aqk7YhzHU5SwgWCBTfZK0k02-mdFnzDPgq8JIsMR7Jc1XR4Oe6TY77t2kGZg/s1600/Politics.jpg" height="216" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi everybody!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today's entry is a summary of one of my lessons and, as you can see, the topic is <b>politics</b>. I'm going to share some of the materials I used in class for you to practise reading, listening and also learn some vocabulary related to politics!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without a doubt, politics is becoming a hotly debated topic in the streets today because of the countless cases of corruption that are coming to light. What characteristics do you think every politician should have? Would you include some of the ideas below? (please, look up the new words in a dictionary).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtVXJU7qbUBmFjAWYbN4Ku6TkQL558V1TocmRFk4HCcPKYtBMBy91H5ReUBlkpYTactFBxgbNuCzX0BVuXOHhkDU9LQjMrmnTEeGrvXHXEE8yuBiuz74vqEeagm2W3XiG9dwZV4j3T9Y/s1600/Politics-vocabulary.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtVXJU7qbUBmFjAWYbN4Ku6TkQL558V1TocmRFk4HCcPKYtBMBy91H5ReUBlkpYTactFBxgbNuCzX0BVuXOHhkDU9LQjMrmnTEeGrvXHXEE8yuBiuz74vqEeagm2W3XiG9dwZV4j3T9Y/s1600/Politics-vocabulary.png" height="249" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every time there is a "domestic" scandal, it is well-advised to investigate a little bit and see how the international press is covering it. Is the image of Spain abroad changing? For the better or for the worse? Have a look at the following three newspaper articles and see for yourselves:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/28/us-spain-corruption-apology-idUSKBN0IH1V320141028">Spain's Prime Minister says sorry for corruption</a> (Reuters) </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-2809612/Spanish-police-arrest-dozens-300-million-corruption-case.html">Spanish police arrest dozens in €300 million corruption case</a> (Dailymail)</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/08/spanish-cristina-corruption-probe_n_4750749.html">Infanta Cristina, daughter of Spanish king, testified in corruption probe</a> (Huffington Post)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After reading the articles, take some time to think about the following questions:</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are the main points put forward?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How is Spain depicted?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is there any reference to the Spanish citizens' attitude towards these events?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you feel about the articles?</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, we're going to end with a short video from Euronews. Watch it the first time to see how much you understand. Then do the listening activity below (the answers are at the end of the document, as usual!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="351" mozallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/video/spain-dozens-arrested-anti-corruption-152403527.html?format=embed&player_autoplay=false" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="624"></iframe></span></div>
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<div style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;">
<a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/249056019/Dozens-Arrested-in-Anticorruption-Raids" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Dozens Arrested in Anticorruption Raids on Scribd">Dozens Arrested in Anticorruption Raids</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/AnaBueno_LearnEnglish" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View AnaBueno_LearnEnglish's profile on Scribd">AnaBueno_LearnEnglish</a></div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7080062794348508" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_24840" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/249056019/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-1C7OWR6dJpzS4ltqzIET&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After these activities I hope you now have some more ideas and vocabulary to talk about this so up-to-date topic!</span>Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-69792721091351800462014-10-17T10:00:00.001+02:002015-10-01T19:45:09.732+02:00Urban legends<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi there!</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCL3Bk0j6EBrdi5I2Xcku52AWnWDR6Hi21w7j0Y6krCtP9SNtjX4qz-tSdrXVdoxPsQcLeT2ZVvIIyCQYXuV9pkB2UhNK8U1hgqGMODSOsO3Xji4vp-WhroAJLbNK6f9c6_t8N_LSTu0g/s1600/Urban_legends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Urban legends" border="0" height="150" legends="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCL3Bk0j6EBrdi5I2Xcku52AWnWDR6Hi21w7j0Y6krCtP9SNtjX4qz-tSdrXVdoxPsQcLeT2ZVvIIyCQYXuV9pkB2UhNK8U1hgqGMODSOsO3Xji4vp-WhroAJLbNK6f9c6_t8N_LSTu0g/s1600/Urban_legends.jpg" title="Urban legends" urban="" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Today we are going to talk about <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-weight: bold;">urban legends</span><span class="Apple-style-span">, which are a form of modern folklore made up of stories whose truth is doubtful, but which nonetheless spread like wildfire!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
In the document below you have several urban legends taken from <a href="http://www.snopes.com/">www.snopes.com</a> (this website is ideal if you want to check if a spreading rumour is true or not!!). Take some time to think whether you believe these stories, and then check clicking on the link at the bottom of the page!</span><br />
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</span><br />
<div style="display: block; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/243201388/Urban-legends-pdf" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Urban legends.pdf on Scribd">Urban legends.pdf</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/ana_uk877884" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View ana_uk877884's profile on Scribd">ana_uk877884</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_53046" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/243201388/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-3eoUv5WTWfGXq4fIcjbC&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe>
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once you read that, take some time to watch this video about the 25 most popular urban legends still being told!</span><br />
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<div class="youtube" id="8ThQcXnW2g4" style="border: none; display: block; height: 315px; margin: 0 auto; width: 560px;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Are there any urban legends famous in your area? Please share them in a comment! :)</span>Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-56799297773713938292014-10-13T10:00:00.000+02:002014-11-01T20:44:14.241+01:00How did Scotland and England become united?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofRiL3MqCznwMSLPXrRdObugJAAd_Xt-gpzk-10xsDCi_9ZyaV57hPsIQm91ssI63RoXx0kQkd66kwQs4E-_USPZAeHhq9U1t3PdR-01ZDKP1AEGR-esFQHVz6J7ez43Vapv-Bb8_8G8/s1600/20140817-uk-scotland-england-afp-640-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="United Kingdom" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofRiL3MqCznwMSLPXrRdObugJAAd_Xt-gpzk-10xsDCi_9ZyaV57hPsIQm91ssI63RoXx0kQkd66kwQs4E-_USPZAeHhq9U1t3PdR-01ZDKP1AEGR-esFQHVz6J7ez43Vapv-Bb8_8G8/s1600/20140817-uk-scotland-england-afp-640-2.jpg" height="133" title="United Kingdom" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, and after the Scottish referendum a few weeks ago, I'd like to write a little bit about British history. More concretely, I wanted to go back in time and analyze when and how Scotland and England became originally united.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Everything goes back to the 16th century... Queen Elizabeth accessed to the throne of England in 1558, becoming the fifth, and eventually the last, monarch of the Tudor dynasty.</div>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">Not having married, she did not have any descendants. She was profoundly conscious of the importance of this issue and, fearing what would become of England after her death, she asked his nephew James to become her heir.</span></div>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">He had been King of Scotland since 1567 and so his acceptance and later accession to the throne of England after Queen Elizabeth’s death in 1603 inevitably brought about the union of the Scottish and the English monarchies under one and the same crown.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">This Anglo-Scottish unity marked a decisive point in history: bearing in mind the multitude of attempts and the innumerable bloody battles to incorporate Scotland into England, this union was a veritable achievement without the shadow of a doubt. Still, and however significant this event was, the truth is that it faced serious opposition on the part of the English, for they did not want a Scottish –and, what is more, Catholic– King.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">At this point we should highlight that King James was
not “only” the King of England and Scotland. From the times of Henry VIII (1509
– 1547), the King of England had also been the King of Ireland. Still, it is
worth noting that the complete conquest of the island did not take place till
1603, curiously enough the very same year of King James’s accession to the
throne of England.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="ES" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Proceeding
like this, he managed to unify the whole of the British Isles under his crown,
a deed he was immensely proud of. Being King of England, Scotland and Ireland,
it did not take long for him to be proclaimed “<b>King of Great Britain</b>” (1604).</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-65782589189812348842013-11-11T10:00:00.000+01:002014-10-21T13:16:37.287+02:00Chimananda Ngozi Adichie: the danger of a single story<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZHb6rgcMF4/UnaU238gCLI/AAAAAAAAAI8/ou7kmOBEnrM/s1600/img-chimamanda-adichie_173927396968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmDukZr61qzQOoe6csXYxmaJnf2lufhuSneastPnzdxL6_M24Hyi6qiraCIWAsg_eRCNMORM2UL2my_PhY_q_6L3s9qEtGvvgnGwpinNJ9UxSnd_aKAHisTiykxDSpcGpjl5nh_oi2918/s1600/Chimamanda-Ngozi-Adichie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmDukZr61qzQOoe6csXYxmaJnf2lufhuSneastPnzdxL6_M24Hyi6qiraCIWAsg_eRCNMORM2UL2my_PhY_q_6L3s9qEtGvvgnGwpinNJ9UxSnd_aKAHisTiykxDSpcGpjl5nh_oi2918/s1600/Chimamanda-Ngozi-Adichie.jpg" height="161" title="The danger of a single story" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I wanted to write about <b style="color: #38761d;">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie</b> an Igbo writer from Nigeria that I have very recently discovered. For the moment I have read her short story collection <i>The Thing around her Neck </i>and the novel <i>Purple Hibiscus</i>. I strongly recommend both of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She has been labeled as the most prominent of a procession of acclaimed young anglophone authors that has succeeded in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature. Since she's settled in the US, some of her stories also show the cultural clash between the Western and African views of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Listen to her on this <u>very interesting talk </u>about the power of stories. You'll find her extremely easy to understand due to her crystal-clear diction and her outstanding communicative skills.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to read a little bit more about her life, and her writing career, check the document below. You can also visit </span><a href="http://chimamanda.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's official website</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://es.scribd.com/doc/181201599/Chimamanda-Ngozi-Adichie" title="View Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Scribd">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"> by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://www.scribd.com/ana_uk877884" title="View ana_uk877884's profile on Scribd">ana_uk877884</a></span></span></div>
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Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-64479715152772401952013-10-10T12:28:00.000+02:002014-10-17T12:47:01.347+02:00How to get your point across in SpainHi there,<br />
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I've just found this very interesting article on how we communicate in Spain. I believe the writer manages to capture many of our cultural features, and how we display them in communication... or doesn't he?<br />
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<a href="http://www.spainbymikerandolph.com/how-to-get-your-point-across-in-spain-101/#more-1469">How to get your point across in Spain</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhptQXPtOFurlXGWE8YMZS3AW97a7REgcKLg5QT5iXPhY2wwBJJ84oWb46w5ymffswKaGdxsC_t07GKrTfGhVs1ozyGRpYKVen7N7rBzVU6X_FdZXEdfMYuMEoRGe7RggcHVIlAZqB3Q/s1600/Captura+de+pantalla+2013-10-10+a+las+12.23.58.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhptQXPtOFurlXGWE8YMZS3AW97a7REgcKLg5QT5iXPhY2wwBJJ84oWb46w5ymffswKaGdxsC_t07GKrTfGhVs1ozyGRpYKVen7N7rBzVU6X_FdZXEdfMYuMEoRGe7RggcHVIlAZqB3Q/s400/Captura+de+pantalla+2013-10-10+a+las+12.23.58.png" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
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What do you think of the image given of the Spanish? Do you agree with the way we are portrayed? Feel free to post a comment below!Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-17092852665802070422012-11-23T13:32:00.000+01:002013-09-28T20:53:52.416+02:00FCE Test Practice ONLINE! :)Hi again,<br />
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Looking for materials that some people from 5º CAL had asked me for, especially reading, I have come across a website with several <b><u>real FCE tests</u></b> that you can do online (awesome!!).<br />
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Because there's quite a lot of material there and I don't want you to feel overwhelmed, I'll regularly make a selection of tests for you to do during the week/weekend, or whenever you manage to put some time aside. Here you have three of them.<br />
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<li><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_reading3.htm">Reading Part 3 (Which person...?): Book reviews</a></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_use_of_english_part1.htm">Use of English Part 1: Fill in the gaps with multiple choice</a></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/fce_listening3.htm">Listening Part 3: Match Speakers 1-5 with statements</a></li>
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Apart from that, I have also visited the website of the EOI in Ciudad Real and they have a list of listenings for B2, classified according to topic. The level of these listenings is not very well measured, and the activities are not exactly exam-like, but they can be good for general practice; you can also have access to the transcription. Click <a href="http://edu.jccm.es/eoi/ciudadreal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=110">here</a> for the link.<br />
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If anyone finds any other interesting website on the Internet, please tell me and I'll post it here so that everybody can use it. Remember that what you do at home makes all the difference :) Thank you!<br />
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<br />Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-9722573424560831052012-11-21T11:56:00.000+01:002014-11-06T00:23:37.155+01:00Reading; Videos and Indian cuisine; Skyfall<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As usual, here I post a summary of what we did last week along with some other complementary/extra material that you may find useful.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.fla-keys.com/newsletter/200705/images/YellowTaxi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fla-keys.com/newsletter/200705/images/YellowTaxi.jpg" height="116" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week we started Unit 3. We began talking about places and travelling, and discussed some sights that we thought were overrated. I've found a link on the Internet about the "10 most disappointing Attractions in Europe". Check it <a href="http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/11-03/10-most-disappointing-attractions-in-europe-part-ii.html">here</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also did a listening about an anecdote on an air taxi (funny, yet still terrifying if we had been there!). On the Internet I found a video of a girl who had another "dangerous" situation with a taxi. Click <a href="http://www.insideout.net/video/anecdote-video-player?video-id=844">here</a> to watch it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As promised, in 5ºA we finished with the song "Set fire to the rain". Here I leave you with a live version at the Royal Albert Hall:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ri7-vnrJD3k" width="560"></iframe> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Thursday 5º CAL had normal class, and we eventually got round to doing the activity on the film "Skyfall". Here I leave you the first video, so that you can watch it again at home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6kw1UVovByw" width="560"></iframe> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here you have the interview with Javier Bardem:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xURdoM4R0Og" width="560"></iframe> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During 5ºA's lesson time we attended a presentation by Susen Ahwulalia, a Londoner from Indian descent. It was absolutely superb, and we all learnt a lot about traditions and festivals in India!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe you'd be surprised to know that she's actually an expert in Indian cuisine! If you are interested in cooking, visit her <a href="http://asianaromas.com/">blog</a> and check out a few Indian recipes! (Be careful not to get a "Delhi belly" though! haha).</span></div>
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Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-74306436774964983292012-11-20T08:51:00.000+01:002014-01-22T19:50:12.202+01:00"Top Ten Beaches in the World" - thanks to Pablo SuárezHi everyone,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-ZsxRDafm7kBnHEfddObfUDtKEaShXCmfojbnNZMFonv1JBp_M-knwdgP8qERs5rJ1Q9Nh2CTEp3R5Cu9l-jdC_iS0SymjUwknRghv0IjIpXrQk_AHuvvKVu3Zgt9zogj9SoxS9OsN7j/s1600/cies_island_spain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-ZsxRDafm7kBnHEfddObfUDtKEaShXCmfojbnNZMFonv1JBp_M-knwdgP8qERs5rJ1Q9Nh2CTEp3R5Cu9l-jdC_iS0SymjUwknRghv0IjIpXrQk_AHuvvKVu3Zgt9zogj9SoxS9OsN7j/s200/cies_island_spain.jpg" height="160" width="200" /></a><br />
I hope your week is off to a good start! :)<br />
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The other day we talked about places and discussed sights that had lived up to our expectations, sights that hadn't, and also places we felt guilty about not having visited. Pepe (5º CAL) talked about the Cies Islands, and that reminded Pablo of an article by The Guardian entitled "Top Ten Beaches in the World".<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/feb/16/beach.top10">Here</a> you have the link<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">.</span><br />
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Check out for number one! :)<br />
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Thanks for sharing, Pablo.Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-65792514188597253672012-11-11T16:51:00.000+01:002014-10-01T11:32:21.655+02:00Child prodigies; EspañasmusHi! How's the weekend going? I hope you are making the most of it! :)<br />
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In this entry you have a brief summary of what we've done in class this week, together with some other interesting material you might find useful. This week we've mainly focused on speaking and listening, although we've done a little bit of grammar as well: <i>like</i> and <i>as </i>and collocations in 5º CAL; expressing opinion in 5º A. (Please, note that I cover the same areas with both groups, but sometimes on different days).<br />
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On Tuesday we "played" a funny game where you had to decide who had to jump from the hot air balloon. I can't yet believe some of you even volunteered!! haha. On Thursday we also started with a speaking activity with cards. Some of the questions were rather controversial, and we held a heated debate on some of them.<br />
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On Thursday we also discussed the topic of nature (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ph" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 10pt;">/ˈneɪtʃə(r)/</span></span>) vs. nurture (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ph" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 10pt;">/ˈn</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ph" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 10pt;">ɜː</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ph" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 10pt;">tʃə/</span></span>) and we watched a documentary about Vanessa-Mae, a child prodigy with the violin -remember that you can watch it again at home with the CD at the end of your book-.<br />
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The other day I watched this video about three brothers who are undoubtedly gifted in instruments as well! "The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys" they're called. Check it out!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GXcRI0BdioE" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGwsvtmfLVsfV9jSiUJwvAQenf19vGKDOIFmxIiNt7wNIuPIvfshjdRCO8zSFTUe_e0LtaWToH_AyNnQ_xd0evTmDzAptMiX3l-Cz5HJ_yXMXgjg8SidtdoEOxnMj6svEJwDBHNCAsFG-/s1600/1101121119_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGwsvtmfLVsfV9jSiUJwvAQenf19vGKDOIFmxIiNt7wNIuPIvfshjdRCO8zSFTUe_e0LtaWToH_AyNnQ_xd0evTmDzAptMiX3l-Cz5HJ_yXMXgjg8SidtdoEOxnMj6svEJwDBHNCAsFG-/s200/1101121119_400.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Finally, <a href="http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1532087,00.html">here</a> you have a newspaper article from the magazine "TIME" entitled "The downside of being a child prodigy". Do you agree with what it says?<br />
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As for Friday, thanks so much to the people that came. I truly appreciate your attendance :) In both groups we worked in a writing workshop, which we'll finish next Tuesday. Little by little during the year we'll do different types of exercises to help you with the difficult task of writing.<br />
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In 5º CAL we worked with a song, and in 5ºA we did an activity about "Skyfall", the last Bond film. I'll post the videos next week, when I've done the two activities in both groups :)<br />
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For <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">homework</span></b>, do the copy about "metaphors" and the FCE reading.<br />
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Finally, today I wanted to post this video that a friend shared on Facebook the other day. It's a Vodafone commercial based on how the Spanish get on with the Erasmus students.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oLyV96Bn1yY" width="560"></iframe><br />
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To be honest, I find the video quite funny, but... isn't it time we broke the stereotype that the Spanish can't learn a foreign language? Please, feel free to post a comment below with your impressions. Thank you!<br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-54137154473645327772012-05-13T20:37:00.000+02:002014-01-22T23:22:44.343+01:00My Sister's Keeper; cloning foodHi everyone!<br />
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I hope you've had a nice weekend! It's been scorching hot, so maybe some of you have already started to enjoy the beach! :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTA_O3rDb2_9LkZvFqHbXOrh-2I2VNW4W03OwEz-lNiqkqiHW6ZDo9CkSunJP-foEoNNS-jAFgYhH7evgJdIbuOmEqumnfalXLx7OiGZQJOKIw9elLWUCG5uDteEAHPo5XfVO3BMeoyPx/s1600/1261012729_16kcrj7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTA_O3rDb2_9LkZvFqHbXOrh-2I2VNW4W03OwEz-lNiqkqiHW6ZDo9CkSunJP-foEoNNS-jAFgYhH7evgJdIbuOmEqumnfalXLx7OiGZQJOKIw9elLWUCG5uDteEAHPo5XfVO3BMeoyPx/s200/1261012729_16kcrj7.jpg" height="200" width="138" /></a><br />
On Tuesday we started talking about some questions related with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><b>science</b></span> and then we discussed some <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">moral dilemmas</span></b>. One of them had to do with modifying embryos so that the born child would be compatible with his/her brother/sister. This reminded me of the film "My sister's keeper" (2009), a film I thoroughly recommend. I post the trailer below for you to decide whether you want to watch it or not!<br />
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Someone in Avanzado 1 A was also talking about cloning food to feed the world's population. This reminded me of a piece of news back in February: a scientist in Holland was developing a hamburger in a laboratory!! Click <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16972761">here</a> for the article from <b>BBC News</b>. What do you think of this? Feel free to post your opinion in a comment below!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SEM61BCHyLCWDXtrgl2KWtH9onS8mCdi5KgnjZoN3HKKrhJIY-Z_Q_nWrfAN2qgwkKLdGUMsJtN6jGiCjzgyBaPFTEHVsSBMGdJXdi48lrjrVJMPFPj7U4yYsuh_Trf2FqnCcT1eOrgJ/s1600/Captura+de+pantalla+2012-05-13+a+las+20.34.56.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SEM61BCHyLCWDXtrgl2KWtH9onS8mCdi5KgnjZoN3HKKrhJIY-Z_Q_nWrfAN2qgwkKLdGUMsJtN6jGiCjzgyBaPFTEHVsSBMGdJXdi48lrjrVJMPFPj7U4yYsuh_Trf2FqnCcT1eOrgJ/s640/Captura+de+pantalla+2012-05-13+a+las+20.34.56.png" height="171" width="640" /></a></div>
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After that we did the test on <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><b>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</b></span></i> and we corrected the activities we had left in the book.<br />
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On Thursday you talked about <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Feng Shui</span></b> with Leah. If you want to learn a bit more about it, go to this <a href="http://www.thespiritualfengshui.com/fengshui.php">website</a> called Feng Shui Your Life". In my hour we corrected the copy about "Crime and the law". I know there's a lot of vocabulary there, but it will be a lot less if you organise it properly. Remember:<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">"Work hard but, most importantly, work smart" :)</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><b>Homework</b></span>: On Tuesday we'll correct the text on Nanotechnology (Module 5) and Thursday is the deadline for your composition: <i>How would a day in my life be if I was a man/a woman?</i> Here I give you an opportunity to explore your originality and sense of humour! :)<br />
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See you on Tuesday then!Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-78589446748979335942012-05-05T12:47:00.000+02:002014-01-22T23:24:31.329+01:00Conditionals; crime; Jack the RipperHi everyone!<br />
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I hope your weekend is off to a good start (<i>nice expression to learn!</i>), although the weather is absolutely miserable!! Let's hope this howling wind goes away soon!<br />
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Last week we corrected the unit about "<b>The Natural World</b>". It's a lot of vocabulary, I know, but, remember, take things calmly: sit down, select the words you don't know, copy them in your notebook and check them regularly.<br />
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Last week we also started to talk about <b>crime</b> and we learnt some words such as:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbMs4_1j2sJyKwITSpwUv0mZoJ58fqlXgfVWGIaPnK8eXBePLlE9gtaoqD9_ruxOUnJIcU36cH-KNCnjC5XFSECdxQoXzt5s9fsEI6ZcgKf0TGNKrtjlrtc9RjhU9RdY8QW2kO2CXlOjj/s1600/Captura+de+pantalla+2012-05-05+a+las+12.25.29.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbMs4_1j2sJyKwITSpwUv0mZoJ58fqlXgfVWGIaPnK8eXBePLlE9gtaoqD9_ruxOUnJIcU36cH-KNCnjC5XFSECdxQoXzt5s9fsEI6ZcgKf0TGNKrtjlrtc9RjhU9RdY8QW2kO2CXlOjj/s320/Captura+de+pantalla+2012-05-05+a+las+12.25.29.png" height="198" width="320" /></a></div>
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On Tuesday we didn't have class because it was a bank holiday, and when we came back on Thursday I gave you back your <b>compositions</b>. I'm very glad to say that I can see a big, big improvement in comparison with the first compositions you sent me. Well done, and keep up the good work, guys. Keep up the good work :)<br />
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With Leah you talked about <b>World Book Day</b> and in my hour we corrected the unit about the <b>Conditionals</b> and some exercises which were lagging behind (<i>que se nos habían quedado atrás</i>). If you want to practise a bit more, try doing the following:<br />
<a href="http://es.scribd.com/doc/92483412/Conditionals" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Conditionals on Scribd">Conditionals</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.706697459584296" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_22464" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/92483412/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-1quq0agsxo36qkvxwzko" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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This week we also had class on <b>Friday</b>. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Thanks</span></b> once again for all the people that came. I truly, truly appreciate your effort :)<br />
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We talked about famous criminals and serial killers, and we focused on <b>Jack the Ripper</b>, who really existed! Below I post some of the newspaper articles that were published after his murders (1888). Really interesting!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZtNrlAscNjFhUcNhoBf889blsMogavXsqBLcFLMA4JpCF0S59gfdquikzj0J6gDxUfz-2mcOch2NBCrApQzt7pLBnL-EOLXnEc6wSDP7DOEh4XOX1OcgzyyeXlDCyJAHgqSyF7RkrVt6/s1600/From+Hell+NEWSPAPERS+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZtNrlAscNjFhUcNhoBf889blsMogavXsqBLcFLMA4JpCF0S59gfdquikzj0J6gDxUfz-2mcOch2NBCrApQzt7pLBnL-EOLXnEc6wSDP7DOEh4XOX1OcgzyyeXlDCyJAHgqSyF7RkrVt6/s320/From+Hell+NEWSPAPERS+2.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kdaHTeCJmIpeIOi_VRKl7LV2TfWEKV3lB7W-rs5MmzxbvC3F_eoj0QqKpCAwXrjjldDF4jEUIB294AcyaTEywlcXy7iJrvRGcGfTt3Y1p_zE4mYJK6wym43gnfU7TiX3phQ5NVczKkqg/s1600/From+Hell+NEWSPAPERS+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kdaHTeCJmIpeIOi_VRKl7LV2TfWEKV3lB7W-rs5MmzxbvC3F_eoj0QqKpCAwXrjjldDF4jEUIB294AcyaTEywlcXy7iJrvRGcGfTt3Y1p_zE4mYJK6wym43gnfU7TiX3phQ5NVczKkqg/s320/From+Hell+NEWSPAPERS+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeGpzqNTwIcBGWR5e92Z93h8DaPcEoy9t8G2kdZfw1nAnCKttUACko0_jiilXHQUENfE8Wm_dFIyZUqib2BTaBivdSlosxl-KXQhc25KkvAQVDDefCbcGRK_TiEN5mTlflQeHVtdifDlG/s1600/From+Hell+NEWSPAPERS+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeGpzqNTwIcBGWR5e92Z93h8DaPcEoy9t8G2kdZfw1nAnCKttUACko0_jiilXHQUENfE8Wm_dFIyZUqib2BTaBivdSlosxl-KXQhc25KkvAQVDDefCbcGRK_TiEN5mTlflQeHVtdifDlG/s320/From+Hell+NEWSPAPERS+4.jpg" height="320" width="173" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbq62pNVSd55MzmC7zXQy1F0Cv_uUYtchRofEnmgLtpznbKpATwaAe6lrq7xtDcRGvA4CXmxlZ0f-9RLnvPM9ZS-QC6LmXF2WxlgpW8_Puf8ZwJGiVPAQug12GA9vWvIIV5SazLmTWoUk/s1600/FromHell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbq62pNVSd55MzmC7zXQy1F0Cv_uUYtchRofEnmgLtpznbKpATwaAe6lrq7xtDcRGvA4CXmxlZ0f-9RLnvPM9ZS-QC6LmXF2WxlgpW8_Puf8ZwJGiVPAQug12GA9vWvIIV5SazLmTWoUk/s200/FromHell.jpg" height="194" width="200" /></a><br />
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We then watched some fragments from the film "From Hell" and with Advanced Level 1 A we also had time to play a game called "Ullaby"... All the suspects were found guilty!! If you're interested in this case, check this <a href="http://www.jack-the-ripper.org/">website</a>, where you have plenty of information and videos about the mysterious Jack the Ripper.<br />
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Have a nice weekend! :)<br />
Ana.Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-70343920633058125932012-04-24T11:04:00.000+02:002013-10-08T14:19:15.042+02:00International Day of the BookHi again!<br />
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As you all know, yesterday was the <b>International Day of the Book</b>.<br />
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I've just found this video from the Book Council in New Zealand, whose aim is to promote reading.<br />
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Watch it till the end, even if you don't understand what the man is reading. It perfectly shows the magical and unique effect that reading has in our heads :)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F_jyXJTlrH0" width="560"></iframe>Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-58772921494361197382011-11-28T09:44:00.000+01:002014-10-08T10:45:57.694+02:00Reporting verbs / newspaper articlesHello everyone!<br />
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Last week we finished correcting the handout on Reported Speech and we learnt the use of some reporting verbs. Remember that each verb is different, so you have to learn them separately.<br />
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I found this document from the University of Adelaide (Australia), where you have a wide array of verbs classified according to their meaning and whether they're weak, neutral or strong. On the second page they tell you which ones are followed by a preposition, <i>-ing</i> or a <i>that</i>-clause:<br />
<a href="http://es.scribd.com/doc/74002049/Reporting-Verbs" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Reporting Verbs on Scribd">Reporting Verbs</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.706697459584296" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_87917" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/74002049/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-rozm2y6jka87mjmsoh0" width="100%"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })(); </script><br />
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After that, we worked with a handout about what to do in awkward social situations. We watched a video where Andrew was offered food and drink he didn't like... but he didn't know what to do! On Thursday we continued working with this and we saw some expressions we could use. Surfing the Internet I've found a short article from the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><b>CNN </b></span>talking about what to do when you can't remember the name of the person you're talking out. Check it out <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-30/living/rs.react.awkward.situations_1_public-places-sick-child-greet?_s=PM:LIVING">here</a>!<br />
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Finally, we talked about <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Thanksgiving</span></b> and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><b>Black Frida</b></span>y. I don't know if you watched it on the news, but Friday turned out to be quite a violent day because of some crazy shoppers. Check out this article entitled "<a href="http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/25/big-crowds-big-mischief-on-black-friday-and-thursday-too/"><b>Big crowds, big mischief on Black Friday</b></a>". You also have several <u>videos</u> which show what happened when shops opened.<br />
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And that's all for now!<br />
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See you tomorrow!Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-3046806444942890842011-11-06T13:16:00.000+01:002014-12-03T00:41:16.185+01:00The Statue of Liberty Anniversary - 125 years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Lady Liberty, whose full name is “Liberty Enlightening the World,” was a gift from France to the United States on October 28th 1886, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Independence.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">"The statue has evolved in meaning since she first graced our shores 125 years ago," said David Luchsinger, superintendent of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, in a release. “She began as a symbol of friendship between France and the United States, evolved into a symbol of our great country, and is known today as an international symbol of freedom for people everywhere. This coming Friday is an opportunity to celebrate her complete legacy.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Statue of Liberty was of special importance to all the <b>immigrants</b> sailing to the New World during the end of the 19th century. The European ships would arrive in <b>Ellis Island</b>, only a few miles away from the Statue of Liberty. After several months of voyage in extremely poor conditions, with people falling ill and dying around you, the sight of the Statue of Liberty made everyone jump of joy, for it meant the journey was over and a whole world of opportunities was open before your eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seeing the Statue of Liberty meant leaving behind the famine and the political and religious persecution in Europe; in short, it meant the start of a new life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(A boy was screaming with joy, "wake up, wake up you can see the Statue of Liberty - you can see the Statue of Liberty"). Picture of a letter by a witness to people arriving at Ellis Island. Picture taken at Liberty Island Museum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the day of Lady Liberty's 125th Anniversary, the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><b>CNN</b></span> decided to interview several immigrants and recall the passage from Europe to the New World. Click <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/28/travel/new-york-statue-liberty/index.html?iref=allsearch"><b>here</b></a> to watch the video and read the item of news. Extremely chilling!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To celebrate the anniversary, five <b>webcams</b> have been installed around its famous torch, giving people around the world outstanding views previously off-limits to even the statue’s in-person visitors. The cameras will stream live video footage 24-hours a day, seven days a week of vistas of the New York City skyline, New York Harbor, Ellis Island, Governors Island, Liberty Island and the Freedom Tower.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here you have a video explaining the installation of the cameras. And... wait for it! You can see the live web cameras clicking<b> <a href="http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/statueofliberty/">here</a></b>! Absolutely amazing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.11NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzMjA1ODAwNTczNDUmcHQ9MTMyMDU4MDA2MzQ2OSZwPSZkPSZnPTImbz*zMTBjOTMzZTYzNDU*NzFkODQxZTRiZmI2/MDdjYWI2ZCZvZj*w.gif" height="0" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><object allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" data="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/1_3g0zxkjz/uiconf_id/5590821" height="221" id="kaltura_player_1320579904" name="kaltura_player_1320579904" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="392"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><param name="movie" value="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/1_3g0zxkjz/uiconf_id/5590821"/><param name="flashVars" value="autoPlay=false&screensLayer.startScreenOverId=startScreen&screensLayer.startScreenId=startScreen"/><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com">video platform</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/video_platform/video_management">video management</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/solutions/video_solution">video solutions</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/video_platform/video_publishing">video player</a></object></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seeing the Statue of Liberty from the ferry sends a shiver down one's spine, especially thinking about the feelings, dreams and hopes of the people that travelled for months and months yearning for a better life. The sight of the Lady Liberty meant their effort had been worth it, and their suffering would for once and for all come to an end.</span></div>
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</span>Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-32585758629565805712011-04-19T11:30:00.000+02:002014-10-18T18:27:34.303+02:00The Canterbury Tales<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello everyone,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During these days I'd like you to read </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Canterbury Tales</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, by Geoffrey Chaucer. I know it's a book you have to read for the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Escuela</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, but, please, don't read it with a feeling of obligation: I want you to enjoy the book, and to appreciate the real treasure you have in your hands. It's one of the best works ever written in English, a veritable masterpiece, and don't forget that Chaucer is known as the Father of English Literature.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of you might not like reading, but, trust me, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Canterbury Tales</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> has something for everybody's taste: some stories are deep, some others are hilarious, some are a bit bold/dirty, others are a lesson of morale... And they portray a perfect picture of 15th century England.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4f0k-0m3Tp0usxMe2LcIuyFt_RP135ABM61j8P0kYX8IzILNEoRkjFgb3JZaUrmV1SoVihGqsy-DRSD-s6_F0x30kMSB7zVnawiPLQ0dBYiXEWQrFDgxppEaYZB0acBUO7HPDtVu0_Y3/s1600/PT-AK275_BK_Cov_G_20081121121120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4f0k-0m3Tp0usxMe2LcIuyFt_RP135ABM61j8P0kYX8IzILNEoRkjFgb3JZaUrmV1SoVihGqsy-DRSD-s6_F0x30kMSB7zVnawiPLQ0dBYiXEWQrFDgxppEaYZB0acBUO7HPDtVu0_Y3/s200/PT-AK275_BK_Cov_G_20081121121120.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I said in class, the context of the tales is that of a group of pilgrims travelling from London to Canterbury Cathedral to visit Thomas Beckett's tomb; they are people from all the levels of society, from a miller to a knight, from a squire to a priest. The original idea was for every character to tell four tales</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. But, instead of 120 tales, the text ends after twenty-four tales.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVqgdM6h7Ymxa4dutTTgWdxgqAkgajeTIVV5fZOiF2Eag0OPKZlY4RF7ZwTf9cxCnNNg5xDoG8DFIduG4HlwVr92Va1AnTgggA1_GWmHDr09xCnQMNed_8DnC6k51RhS_LBFUvvvIekpt/s1600/14_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVqgdM6h7Ymxa4dutTTgWdxgqAkgajeTIVV5fZOiF2Eag0OPKZlY4RF7ZwTf9cxCnNNg5xDoG8DFIduG4HlwVr92Va1AnTgggA1_GWmHDr09xCnQMNed_8DnC6k51RhS_LBFUvvvIekpt/s200/14_02.jpg" height="200" width="141" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The original text was written in </span><a href="http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=verse"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">verse</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Middle English</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (you'll see how different it is from the English we speak now!!). You can have a look at the original manuscript </span><a href="http://molcat1.bl.uk/treasures/caxton/record.asp?LHPage=0v&LHvol=&LHCopy=1&RHPage=1r&RHvol=&RHCopy=1&disp=s&Linked=0#DispTop"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Click </span><a href="http://www.sd-editions.com/AnaServer?NPEx+0+start.anv"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to read part of "The Nun's Priest's Tale". If you know a bit of German, Latin or a bit of History of the English Language, you might be able to understand a few words!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here you have a video where you can actually listen to how Middle English sounded like!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QE0MtENfOMU?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've found a </span><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section10.rhtml"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">website</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> where you can read all 24 tales. The only thing is that they are not adapted, and they're in verse -I'm sorry but I haven't been able to find any adapted version on the Internet-. Anyway, it's a chance to try your hand at something different! :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">Now, here I leave you some links for your stories. Remember that you have to prepare a summary for your classmates, and add any extra information you feel like:</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 16px;">Geoffrey Chaucer and his world</b><span style="line-height: 16px;">: Click </span><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/context.html" style="line-height: 16px;">here</a><span style="line-height: 16px;"> to read about Geoffrey Chaucer, his life, his style and his importance in English literature. Also talk about the context he wrote in.</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 16px;">Thomas Beckett</b><span style="line-height: 16px;">: click </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beckett" style="line-height: 16px;"><span id="goog_1980805740"></span>here<span id="goog_1980805741"></span></a><span style="line-height: 16px;"> and read the assassination and the legacy.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b>The</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b>General Prologue</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">: Click </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section1.rhtml">here</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"> for an analysis of the Prologue. When it comes to describing the characters, only pay attention to the 5 in our stories (The Knight, the Nun's Priest, the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath and the Franklin).</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 16px;">The Knight's Tale</b><span style="line-height: 16px;">: Click </span><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section5.rhtml" style="line-height: 16px;">here</a><span style="line-height: 16px;"> and </span><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section6.rhtml" style="line-height: 16px;">here</a><span style="line-height: 16px;"> for some more information about "The Knight's Tale", and an analysis of </span><u style="line-height: 16px;">its real meaning</u><span style="line-height: 16px;">. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Nun's Priest's Tale</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: out of curiosity, click </span><a href="http://www.sd-editions.com/AnaServer?NPEx+0+start.anv"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to have a look at the original; click </span><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section12.rhtml"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for some more information </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about "The Nun's Priest's Tale", and an analysis of </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">its real meaning</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Pardoner's Tale</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">click </span><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section11.rhtml"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for some more information </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about "The Pardoner's Tale", and an analysis of </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">its real meaning</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Wife of Bath's Tale</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">click </span><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section10.rhtml"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for some more information </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about "The Wife of Bath's Tale", and an analysis of </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">its real meaning</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class. You can also watch this video of the story!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b>The Franklin's Tale</b>: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">click <a href="http://www.gradesaver.com/the-canterbury-tales/study-guide/section13/">here</a> for some more information </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">about "The Franklin's Tale", and an analysis of <u>its real meaning</u>. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.</span></div>
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Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-82770753409885281232011-02-11T19:59:00.000+01:002014-10-18T18:31:00.820+02:00"The Birthmark", by Nathaniel Hawthorne<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just as we did with "Young Goodman Brown", we're going to work a little bit further with the second short story: "The Birthmark". I'm going to post several links below and, after reading/watching them, I'd like you to prepare the questions at the end of this entry:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1674/the-birth-mark">Original story</a>: here you have the link to the original story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Remember that it was written in the 19th century, so the English language has changed a lot since then.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-birthmark/summary.html">Plot</a>: here you have a summary of the story. You can either read this document, or watch the trailer below (or both!):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mKBRWhQ2ISg?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-birthmark/canalysis.html">Character analysis</a>: click here for analysis of the two characters in the story: Aylmer and his wife Georgiana.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-birthmark/themes.html">Symbolism</a>: finally, here you have some information related to the main topics and symbols in the story. This might probably be the document you find most useful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After you read these documents (they're really short), I'd like you to think about the following questions:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How does the character of Georgiana evolve during the story?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What made her want to remove her birthmark?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where should the limit between science and nature be?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How much would you be willing to pay for perfection?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can we find representations of this story in our everyday lives today?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll discuss all this next Wednesday / Thursday in class.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks beforehand for your time and effort.</span></div>
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Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-85267187000820336872011-02-02T13:02:00.000+01:002014-10-18T18:30:08.021+02:00"Young Goodman Brown", by Nathaniel Hawthorne<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello everybody,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've just finished reading your comments on Hawthorne's short stories. Thank you for all your contributions. I must admit I've been surprised by the depth of some of them. Well done! I didn't know some of you were such literary critics! :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once you've read the stories, reflected on them, made a comment and read your classmates' contributions, I think it's time to discuss the real meaning and symbolism of the stories in class. We'll start with "Young Goodman Brown", which is undoubtably the most obscure and difficult to understand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm going to post several links below. I want you to read the information carefully and prepare the answers to some questions: I want everybody to participate when we discuss the story in class.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1675/young-goodman-brown">The original story</a>: Rubén was suggesting it would be a good idea to have the<b> </b>original story: surely the characters and events will be described better. Click on Download PDF and it will automatically be saved in your computer. Don't forget that the story was written in the 19th century, so the English used is slightly different from contemporary English.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/young-goodman-brown/summary.html">The plot</a>: if you don't have time to read the whole story again, or simply if you prefer to read something slightly different, read this summary of the plot. You can also watch the silent film below:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-hzMyapahCk?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="425"></iframe><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/young-goodman-brown/canalysis.html">Character analysis</a>: here you have an analysis of the three main characters in the story: Goodman Brown, Faith and the Old Man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/young-goodman-brown/themes.html">Symbolism</a>: click here for an explanation of the main themes, motifs and symbols in the story. This might be the most interesting document.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'd like you to prepare an answer for the following questions:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who do you think the dark figure in the forest was? Can the dark figure be any other of the characters in the story?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What did Goodman Brown learn in the forest?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why do you think Goodman Brown didn't speak to the people of the town the next day?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why do you think Goodman Brown's "last hour was very sad and hopeless"?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why do you think Hawthorne called Goodman Brown's wife Faith?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story was written in the 19th century, but do you think it can still have present-day relevance? If so, in what sense?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you think of a different interpretation of the story?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll discuss this in class on the 9th/10th February, so you have a whole week to read the documents and prepare your answers :)</span></div>
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Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-89374679643094077232011-01-05T17:14:00.000+01:002014-10-18T18:31:23.021+02:00Stories of Suspense<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsQPxJfOkPEvGBOP5NYlJf1-8yzvMXM0Hshn7LIZVdp5v1cuAB3KDKIohDpU5jbngeWDUXpgdM3v2rSPGfQ-jfK5kpfcJRkA_nOu-tPo-MOFdPeeMmobaR2QeHZkryyofp4JeXg538vJH/s1600/110726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsQPxJfOkPEvGBOP5NYlJf1-8yzvMXM0Hshn7LIZVdp5v1cuAB3KDKIohDpU5jbngeWDUXpgdM3v2rSPGfQ-jfK5kpfcJRkA_nOu-tPo-MOFdPeeMmobaR2QeHZkryyofp4JeXg538vJH/s200/110726.jpg" height="200" width="140" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello guys,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This entry is related to the first reading book of the course: <i>Stories of Suspense</i>, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. As we saw in class, it has three short stories:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Young Goodman Brown"</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The Birthmark"</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Dr Heidegger's Experiment"</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It also has <u>comprehension activities</u> and two <u>cultural sections</u>: New England and witchcraft; The magic of alchemy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we said before Christmas, I want you to read each story carefully and choose <b>one</b> to make a comment on the blog (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">minimum 2 paragraphs - 10 lines</span>). After that, I want you to read your classmates' comments on the other stories and write about <b>two</b> of them (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">minimum 5 lines</span>). This way, you will write a little something about the three stories in the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Below you have three different entries, one for each short story. These are the entries where you will upload your comments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember that the deadline is 30th January, 23.59h</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have any questions or doubts, please ask me.</span></div>
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Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363556292968816047.post-4275286087486049172010-12-08T13:21:00.000+01:002014-10-18T18:31:32.060+02:00Air controllers' strike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZJ425BRqplbjk61118PjY6UDA9Pj5rikJMtiXdxPP3DRnoTsAnS1T1dYfBtYyUGkm-DBmVUq1ptqFrg1diOLr0R77ofHupQn44IzaKPrYt1LfpKV9BRcEeoIo4wYXcKP9UEGarJQ7m88/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZJ425BRqplbjk61118PjY6UDA9Pj5rikJMtiXdxPP3DRnoTsAnS1T1dYfBtYyUGkm-DBmVUq1ptqFrg1diOLr0R77ofHupQn44IzaKPrYt1LfpKV9BRcEeoIo4wYXcKP9UEGarJQ7m88/s200/images-1.jpeg" height="162" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you know, the air controllers strike has been the focus of attention during the whole bank holiday, both in Spain and abroad. I guess you've all seen the Spanish news / read the Spanish newspapers and know about the reactions in our country. But how has the rest of the world seen the strike?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, here you have an article by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/05/spanish-air-traffic-controllers-back-work">The Guardian</a>. It was published on Sunday and it gives a full account of the whole odyssey that started on Friday afternoon. The BBC also has some videos and telephone conversations of Britons that were stranded at the airport. Click <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11918008">here</a> to watch / listen to them. Finally, here you have an article entitled "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11918546">Your Stories</a>", where several people tell their experiences at the airport.</span></div>
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Ana Buenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401439195588360652noreply@blogger.com0