A Teacher In London

Easy Halloween Costumes

2011-10-26T19:03:00.004+01:00

Qué poco falta y como todos los años, trato de agregar algo a todo lo que ya he escrito y mostrado sobre Halloween.

Esta vez me concentro en los disfraces, algunos muy fáciles de hacer y otros no tanto, pero con un poco de tiempo y maña, todo se logra!

Esta página de Disney está muy buena porque además presenta gráficos de cómo lograr unos disfraces muy bonitos y originales.

Este sitio es genial, GENIAL! Además de que ofrece unas ideas súper originales, el enfoque está en que se utiliza material reciclado. Hay una galería de imágenes muy claras y un paso a paso que no dejan lugar a dudas de cómo construir estos disfraces!

Aquí encontrarán ideas para enseñar idioms, increíblemente, a través de disfraces. Si es que no tuvieran tiempo para disfrazarse de tanto ejemplo que dan aquí, está bueno para hacer los dibujos tipo flashcards y es una forma amena de aprender. Claro que hay que proveer de ejemplos para entenderlos, pero ustedes sabrán cómo enfocar este teaching point!

Acá encontrarán muchos disfraces pero además es interesante ver los videítos del costado con interminables ideas para crafts.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Tawkin' Like A Cockney

2011-07-17T20:49:00.003+01:00

Pygmalion, escrita por George Bernard Shaw, es una obra de teatro que está en mi lista de libros a leer pero por una razón u otra sigo posponiendo.

Es que para una profesora de inglés es interesantísimo ver cómo Eliza Dolittle va puliendo su acento cockney hasta lograr el más rancio RP!

Llegó al cine con el nombre de My Fair Lady y actualmente en Londres está la comedia musical.

También se ha hecho una adaptación americana que data del año 1999 y se llama She's All That.

Todo esto es porque hoy en el diario Mail On Sunday apareció un muy interesante escrito por la actriz que interpreta a Eliza, Kara Tointon, en la comedia musical. Ella describe cómo tuvo que pulir su acento de Essex y sus reacciones a medida que iba adquiriendo mejor pronunciación.

El artículo, clickeando aquí.

También les comento que encontré el texto de la obra completa, online y con lesson plans, preguntas y respuestas y lo mejor es que hay ciertas palabras que están subrayadas y esto es, si uno apoya el mouse sobre ellas, se lee su definición!

Ain't it great?!?

Teaching English With Minimal Resources

2011-06-26T10:29:00.001+01:00

Tal vez porque uno trabaja en zonas donde no hay muchos recursos o quiere imponerse un desafío personal ("veamos cómo me manejaría si no tuviera tanto material..." "cómo hacían antes sin CDs, compu, internet, etc") que uno escucha "teaching English with minimal resoureces" y se preocupa... o se siente reivindicado! Cuántos teachers trabajan en zonas de bajos recursos y no hay textos ni fotocopias?

Pues aquí les ofrezco unos artículos muy interesantes donde nos ofrecen ideas de cómo enseñar con recursos mínimos... o nada!

Grammar (photocopy-free... yay!)

The World Around You (miremos a nuestro alrededor para ver qué nos puede ayudar en nuestra tarea.)

Vocabulary.

Skills.

Coursebooks (con o sin?)

Miscellaneous ideas (de todo un poco)

Students' ideas (ellos también colaboran!)

Encontré este blog de una teacher en Malaysia y tiene ideas interesantes también.

Espero que les sean útiles. Y si tienen ideas para compartir, las pueden dejar en los comentarios!

Americanisms The British Hate

2010-07-04T00:08:00.005+01:00

'Nowadays, people have no idea where American ends and English begins. And that's a disaster for our national self-esteem. We are in danger of subordinating our language to someone else's - and with it large aspects of British life.'

Hace poco salieron publicados unos interesantes artículos por Matthew Engel en el Mail On Sunday sobre cómo Americanisms está invadiendo la manera británica de hablar, para el horror de muchos.

No sólo se queja del spelling sino también de las nuevas palabras que se adoptan o de cómo se pronuncian.

Les dejo la lista de las frases y/ o palabras más odiadas por él y por sus readers que le mandaron más.

(Tengan en cuenta que las explicaciones o definiciones que se dan están expresadas en forma muy sarcástica!)

Hospitalise (or worse still, hospitalize): It's bad enough going to hospital, without being accompanied by this hideous word.

Faze: It doesn't faze me (even when it's spelt 'phase') especially as it's useful in Scrabble. It's just downright irritating.
Movies: Can we please watch a film? Or go to the pictures? Or the flicks?

Truck: It deserves to get run over by a lorry.

A Hike: Is a nice walk in the country, not a wage, price or tax rise.

The Finger: If I cut you up on the motorway, would you mind showing your finger by sticking up two fingers, the British way? Thank you.

(Esto es porque aquí la gente cuando quiere insultar a otro, no muestra generalmente el dedo mayor como los americanos. Hacen una V con los dos dedos pero no del lado de la palma de la mano, o sea, hacen el signo V de la paz o al victoria al revés, palma de la mano apuntando para nuestro lado.)

Do The Math: No, do the maths, for Heaven's sake.

Rookies: In Britain, they are big birdies, not newcomers.

Outage: An American power cut, now in use in a newspaper near you. I always read it as 'outrage'.

Monkey Wrench: An adjustable spanner, if you please.

Otras:

The U.S.-dominated computer industry, with its 'licenses', 'colors' and 'favorites' is one culprit. That ties in with mobile phones that keep 'dialing' numbers that are always 'busy'.

I accept that estate agents find it easier to sell fancy apartments rather than boring old flats. And it's right that our few non-passenger trains should carry freight not goods, because that's a more accurate description of the contents.

Ask any lawyer and they will explain: witnesses in British courts do not testify, they give evidence; nor do they 'take the stand' to do this, they go into the witness box.

It also used to be understood that, while American politicians 'ran' for office, British politicians always 'stood'. I liked that: it implied a pleasing reticence. Now in Britain both words are used interchangeably and in this month's General Election candidates stood and ran at the same time.

Del segundo artículo:

Top of the long hate-list was probably ‘Can I get a coffee?’ (and these days it probably would be an overpriced, overmarketed American coffee rather than a nice cup of tea).

It was closely followed by ‘I’m good’ as opposed to ‘I’m very well, thank you’. This phrase is even more infuriating when used as an alternative to ‘No, thanks’, in declining a second helping.

Other leading hates include ‘snuck’ as the past tense of ‘sneak’ and ‘dove’ as the past tense of ‘dive’;

driver’s license instead of driving licence;

overly rather than over;

autopsy for post-mortem;

burglarized instead of burgled;

filling out forms instead of filling them in;

fries for chips;

chips for crisps; and food to go as opposed to take away.

There is also period instead of full stop; and of course ‘Hi, guys’, guys in this case being of either sex.

(...) Martin Levin of London E4, says he keeps emailing Radio 2 to remind them there is no k in ‘schedule’ (...)

It includes airplane for aeroplane, pharmacist for chemist, advisory for warning (...)

The land is also full of ‘gotten’ haters – understandable because it is an extremely ugly word. This is a complex area, though, in that it was formerly used in Scotland and can be found in the works of Sir Walter Scott.

And there is widespread loathing of the verbalisation of nouns: incentivizing and all that rot.

In sport, Bob Carr winces when his team suffer an American ‘loss’ far more than when they go down to an English defeat.

Wayne Bryant says that, if he were still playing competitive sport and was told ‘you’re ON the team ON the weekend’, he would refuse to turn up. Gordon Spalding adds ‘Can we touch base?’ to the collection of ludicrous baseball metaphors.

Los artículos completos aquí y aquí. Si leen los comentarios al final de cada artículo, van a ver LA CANTIDAD que aportaron los lectores!

FIFA World Cup English Activities

2010-06-06T00:58:00.000+01:00

Llega ese momento, cada 4 años, en que todo el mundo anda medio loco y/o agitado: los alumnos que no hablan de otra cosa que de fútbol (al igual que los adultos, por supuesto) y las teachers que no saben qué inventar para enseñar o reciclar temas a través de este deporte, a ver si los chicos se interesan...

Y sí que se interesan si las actividades que ofrecemos son variadas, entretenidas, divertidas... y enseñan!

Les propongo visitar algunos sitios que ofrecen printables y lesson plans que cubren todos los niveles.

Suerte, que les sea leve y que gane el mejor! Y que todos aprendan!

Si quisiéramos empezar a organizarnos con cómo idear diferentes lesson plans a lo largo del campeonato, podríamos basarnos en esta página que, a pesar de que fue hecha para el campeonato 2006 y las actividades no están on line (no nos servirían), sí se encuentran ideas de qué actividades crear, las copio aquí:

Day One:

Activity 1: Introduction to the World Cup
Pupils find out the location of the 32 countries participating in the World Cup final.

Activity 2: World cup quiz
A quiz to stimulate interest in the countries which will be under the World Cup spotlight.

Activity 3: Country research (introduction)
Project work for the week. Groups of pupils do research on some of the lesser-known countries participating in the World Cup finals.

Day Two:

Activity 1: We play football
Pupils compare two photos of children playing football, one taken in (an African country) and one in the UK (or your own country). They discuss them, then learn about life in a shanty town in the suburbs of Nairobi.

Activity 2: A game of empowerment
Do competitive games help poor people with the problems they face?

Activity 3: Country research (part 2)
Continued project work about countries participating in the World Cup.

Day Three:

Activity 1: My ideal school playtime
A writing activity to help pupils think about their leisure time at school.

Activity 2: Recreation at school
What problems can occur during playtime at school? This thinking skills activity helps pupils to determine issues and identify possible solutions.

Activity 3: Presentation of country research
Pupils present posters displaying the results of their research.

Day Four:

Activity 1: From shopper to worker
Developing a concept map of the way sportswear gets from factories in the developing world to consumers in the richer countries.

Activity 2: Write to clothing companies
Pupils write letters to clothing companies asking how they know that workers producing their clothes are fairly treated.

Activity 3: Design a logo
An art activity in which pupils design a logo which would show that workers had worked reasonable hours.

Day 5:

Activity 1: Good competition, bad competition
Brainstorming the good and bad points about competition.

Activity 2: The great debate
A formal debate: ‘This house believes that competition should be banned'.
Adobe PDF file

Activity 3: Evaluation: what have we learned this week?
Assessing the week’s activities.

Para niveles intermedios y más altos, aquí hay una lista de diferentes actividades (vocab, fill in the gaps, etc) basadas en noticias reales.

English Soccer Boss in World Cup Scandal (17th May, 2010)

Baboons a 2010 Soccer World Cup Problem (5th May, 2010)

Visiten este sitio seguido porque constantemente están subiendo noticias con actividades.

Para los chiquititos, aquí encontrarán una lista de crafts.

Este quiz está muy interesante, pueden adaptarlo según el nivel e incluso hasta les va a ayudar a crear vuestras propias preguntas.

Este sitio tiene listening activities y su correspondiente handout.

Y por último, 5 printable activities con wordsearch, vocabulary, crosswords, etc.

Aprovecho este post para invitarlos a ver el post del año pasado sobre el Día del Padre.

Contracts Jargon

2010-03-22T18:07:00.005Z

Quería compartir con ustedes parte de un contrato que firmé con una agencia que a su vez me recomendará para dar clases de ESOL en diferentes colleges.

Espero que les resulte interesante leer esto, es muy distinto a lo que uno por ahí firma en otros lados, particularmente el tener que decir de qué raza es uno (en realidad, esto prácticamente lo tenés que aclarar en todos lados, hasta para cuando te querés asociar a la biblioteca! -aunque puede ser opcional) y las secciones de cómo tratar a los alumnos, evitando en lo posible, toda clase de physical contact y cómo proceder si se van a usar las computadoras del colegio. (ICT class)

Equal Opportunity and General Information Questions:

The following questions and relating answers are necessary for entering your details onto COMPANY'S NAME's candidate database to ensure the effective monitoring of our equal opportunities policy. They will at all times be kept confidential.

• Martial Status: Married Single Other

• Do you consider yourself to have a disability: Yes No

• Nationality: ________________________

• Ethnic Origin: Please indicate from the list below (optional)

• Black African
• Black British
• Black Caribbean
• Bangladeshi
• Black Other
• Chinese
• Indian
• Mixed White/Black African
• Mixed White/Black Caribbean
• Mixed Race
• Any Other Ethnic Group
• Any Other Asian Group
• Any Other Black Group
• Pakistani
• White

ADVICE ON ICT USAGE IN COLLEGES

Background

It is now a regular and frequent requirement upon supply staff to utilise the college’s ICT equipment as part of their teaching and learning responsibilities. This is a perfectly reasonable expectation of colleges and candidates should seek to utilise such resources to maximise their impact on students’ learning.

Some simple rules…

When utilising ICT equipment in colleges, candidates should follow some simple rules:

1. Acquaint yourself with the college’s policy and procedure on the use of ICT equipment. As with all college policies, you are expected to adhere and abide to such rules when you are working in that college. So try and establish what the rules are.

2. Try and organise yourself access to the college’s network with your own user name and password. Try and avoid using another person’s ‘log-in’.

3. Do not use the college’s computers for personal use. It reflects badly on you and COMPANY'S NAME if you are observed undertaking such activities.

4. If you are using the internet (for research or teaching purposes) ensure that the sites you visit are always relevant and appropriate. If you inadvertently visit a site that has inappropriate material displayed, immediately close down the site and report the circumstances to a senior member of staff.

5. Do not let students or other staff use your ‘log in’ details and always ‘log off’ if your computer is going to be left unattended at any time.

6. If you suspect students (or another member of staff) has used a computer with your log in credentials, report the details to a senior member of staff immediately.

7. If you discover evidence that college computers may have been used to access inappropriate web sites or download inappropriate material, report this to a senior member of staff immediately.

8. If you have access to the college’s email system, do not use it for sending personal emails. If you receive joke emails do not forward these on in any circumstances.

9. If you have reason to send emails, ensure that the language you use is always appropriate. Check what you are writing to make sure that it could not be misconstrued.

10. Never enter into over-familiar correspondence with students. Remember that you are in a position of trust. Do not give your facebook/bebo/my space or any such social networking account details to any students and if requested as a friend do not accept them. This will only blur the boundaries between student and teacher and will certainly put your motives in question.

11. If you receive any email correspondence from a student that concerns you please report this to a senior member of staff immediately.

12. Never give a student your mobile phone number. Similarly, do not ask for (or receive) the mobile telephone number of a student. There are no valid reasons why this should be necessary and to do so will create suspicion and place you in a vulnerable position.

13. Don`t have your mobile phone in view during lessons and never try to take photographs or videos of students on your phone. If, as part of the learning experience you need to photograph or video students, get clear permission from the college beforehand.

ADVICE ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH STUDENTS

Introduction

Physical contact with students in college is a very sensitive subject. As a member of supply staff, you have the same rights and obligations as permanent members of staff. However, as a member of supply staff (who may not be familiar to students) you may be susceptible to people misinterpreting your actions and/or students making unfounded or mischievous allegations. Be aware of this potential and always follow this guidance which is offered to assist you.

The general rule is to avoid student contact wherever possible. In that way your actions can never be misconstrued. However, there are situations where physical contact is necessary and there may be other situations where you cannot avoid physical contact.

The Law

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 has given new statutory powers to members of staff in colleges. This allows them to “use such force as is reasonable” to prevent a student from:

• Committing an offence
• Causing personal injury to others (or themselves) or damage to property
• Prejudicing the maintenance of good order and discipline at the college

More detailed guidance on the application of this new power is set out in the DfES Circular 10/98 – “The use of force to control or restrain students”. This can be found at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/guidanceonthelaw/10_98/summary.htm.

Situations when physical contact might be appropriate

Some physical contact may be proper or necessary (e.g. to demonstrate exercises during a PE lesson or to administer first aid).

Young children and children with special educational needs may need staff to provide physical prompts and help. Equally, when young children are in distress it may be appropriate to offer comforting. In such situations these are judgement calls that have to be made at the time. However you must be aware that for some children touching may be particularly unwelcome for cultural or personal reasons. You must be sensitive to such situations. You should also ensure that you do not touch or hold a student in a way that might be considered indecent.

Intervention and the use of reasonable force

Inevitably, there will be situations when it is necessary to intervene either to protect yourself, the student or others. There is no legal definition of ‘reasonable force’ but there are two relevant considerations to guide you:

1. Do the circumstances warrant it? If a student is only committing a minor misdemeanour or the situation could be resolved without the use of force, then force would not be warranted.
2. The degree of force has to be in proportion to the circumstances. The use of force has to be the minimum needed to achieve the desired result.

In all circumstances you should not act in a way that might be expected to cause injury, e.g.

• Holding a Student by the neck or collar
• Slapping punching or kicking a Student
• Twisting or forcing limbs against a joint
• Tripping up a Student
• Holding or pulling a Student by the hair or ear
• Holding a student face down on the ground

Some simple rules to guide you…

1. Acquaint yourself with the college’s behaviour management policy. If an incident is developing know from where you can summon assistance.

2. Try to avoid situations where you are alone with a student.

3. Have strategies ready to diffuse potential conflict situations.

4. In the event of an incident, summon assistance as soon as is practicable.

5. Ensure you report all such incidents to college staff and your consultant at COMPANY'S NAME.

6. If you have inadvertent physical contact with a student, report this immediately (explaining the circumstances in which this occurred).

7. If you have been injured in an incident seek medical attention immediately and ensure that the incident is properly reported to the college and your consultant at COMPANY'S NAME.

8. Whilst it is fresh in your memory write a record of the incident. Give as much detail as you can (including the names of any witnesses).

9. Remember that when you are in a college you are an ambassador for COMPANY'S NAME, so avoid any sort of behaviour that could be criticised or misinterpreted.

Qué les parece!?!

Teaching Citizenship

2010-02-23T10:40:00.005Z

Citizenship es una materia que se enseña en los colegios aquí, en todos los niveles. No se trata de, como leí por aquí, enseñarles a los chicos a ser respetuosos o cómo recaudar fondos para hacer caridad, etc, sino de explorar una serie de conceptos y procesos sobre justicia, democracia, derechos y responsabilidades. Les recomiendo el ARCHIVE de este sitio donde encontrarán temas y resources para explorar y adaptar. Hay generalmente tres que son gratis, listos para imprimir y a los demás se accede si uno es miembro.

Este sitio que también les recomiendo ver, contiene Citizenship activities según el nivel de los chicos (nivel en colegio de aquí). Cuando hacen click, encontrarán links a diferentes resources.

Este otro sitio está genial! Me encanta! Cuando hagan click en un tema en particular, verán unos pocos renglones. Miren a la izquierda y ahí encontrarán, en un costado, Introduction, Task 1, Task 2, etc. Haciendo click ahí entonces verán las actividades paso a paso.

Y este otro es Citizenship activities para GCSE.

Y este otro está muy bueno también, del sitio de la BBC. Tiene photostories, quizzes, etc.

Pero mi preferido absoluto es este, que usé yo para dar clases aquí y es bárbaro! Se lo pueden bajar todo o por capítulos. Este es muy bueno porque el lenguaje es sencillo y se aprende un montón!

Aprovecho para desearles a muchos profes, feliz comienzo de clases y recordarles un post que escribí hace tiempo, sobre qué hacer el primer día de clase.

Toda la suerte en este nuevo año académico!

Beautiful London

2010-01-07T10:12:00.002Z

Les sugiero pasar por aquí y ver unas hermosas fotos de Londres sacadas a la noche y desde arriba.

Enjoy! Felices vacaciones para el hemisferio sur!

Auld Lang Syne

2009-12-30T11:43:00.004Z

Quisiera agradecerte tu visita este año, si fue un minuto o una hora, igual te doy las gracias. Me hace bien saber que hay colegas por allí con quien hermanarme aunque sea a través de posts e ideas que te puedan servir.

Te deseo un 2010 con muchos éxitos, para vos y tus alumnos, en tu vida y en tu carrera.

Que disfrutes de esta maravillosa profesión cada vez más!

Aquí iremos a The London Eye a ver los fuegos artificiales y a cantar Auld Lang Syne, esta maravillosa canción escocesa, que tiene su historia y aquí transcribo la versión inglesa.

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
and surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine^† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Para ver la versión escocesa original y su pronunciación, click aquí.

Te recomiendo que escuches esta hermosa versión por la BBC, la imagen de fondo es del Sydney Harbour.

Happy New Year!

Traditional Christmas Carols

2009-12-17T15:01:00.004Z

'Tis the season...

Londres está cada vez más linda, se respira Navidad, hay pantos y por supuesto, también se cantan los villancicos.

Uno puede ir a la iglesia a escuchar un coro o incluso se dan sing-a-longs como el que hubo hace poco en el Royal Albert Hall.

Tuve la dicha de ser invitada a un sing-a-long y fue mi segunda vez y les puedo asegurar que es una experiencia maravillosa cantar villancicos con gente que no esconde su voz y canta a viva voz, familias, gente grande, niños, todos juntos!

Les paso los que cantamos ayer, bastante "entonados" en todo sentido, después de haber comido mince pies y de tomar mulled wine...

También agrego las letras para que puedan enseñarlos, particularmente The Twelve Days Of Christmas, una especie de cumulative song, muy divertida!

Si ya están de vacaciones, será el año que viene.

Clickeen PLAY y a cantar! Merry Christmas!

The First Noel

The First Noel, the Angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the East beyond them far
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

And by the light of that same star
Three Wise men came from country far
To seek for a King was their intent
And to follow the star wherever it went.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

This star drew nigh to the northwest
O'er Bethlehem it took its rest
And there it did both Pause and stay
Right o'er the place where Jesus lay.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

Then entered in those Wise men three
Full reverently upon their knee
And offered there in His presence
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made Heaven and earth of nought
And with his blood mankind has bought.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

Ding Dong Merrily on High
(Mi villancico favorito! No se olviden de la intrusive r cuando canten Hosanna in Excelsis!)

Ding dong merrily on high,
In heav'n the bells are ringing:
Ding dong! verily the sky
Is riv'n with angel singing.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

E'en so here below, below,
Let steeple bells be swungen,
And "Io, io, io!"
By priest and people sungen.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

Pray you, dutifully prime
Your matin chime, ye ringers;
May you beautifully rime
Your evetime song, ye singers.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

Away in a Manger
(generalmente, la primera estrofa la cantan los niños, la segunda las mujeres y la tercera, los hombres)

Away in a manger, no crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay

The cattle are lowing the poor Baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my side,'til morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever and love me I pray
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care
And take us to heaven to live with Thee there

Good King Wenceslas

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuel

"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather

"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

Esto es lo que significa:

1 True Love refers to God
2 Turtle Doves refers to the Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying refers to the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking refers to the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping refers to the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

All Come All Ye Faithful

O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

A Beatles Conspiracy Theory

2009-10-29T09:46:00.011Z

Ustedes alguna vez escucharon hablar de esa famosa teoría conspirativa que dice que Paul McCartney habría muerto y que fue reemplazado?

Bueno, les copio parte de un artículo que apareció en el diario The Mail On Sunday, muy interesante por cierto y que seguro es de interés supremo para todo Beatle fan.

El artículo apareció el día 9 de agosto de este año un día después de haberse conmemorado los 40 años del cruce de la famosa calle Abbey Road. Que lo disfruten!

Pictured: The Beatles album cover that started a decades-long conspiracy theory

Forty years ago yesterday, at 11.35am, The Beatles walked across a zebra crossing in an innocuous North London street.

The photoshoot for their new Abbey Road album happened just yards from the eponymous recording studios and took ten minutes - only six frames were taken by the photographer, Iain Macmillan, who was perched on a stepladder.

It has since become one of the most iconic covers in history for two reasons - no album cover has inspired more imitations, and none has spawned such a mass of conspiracy theories.

For Beatles obsessives with fevered imaginations, it was ultimate proof of the bizarre theory of the time - that Paul McCartney was, in fact, dead.

According to the legend, Paul had died in a car accident and been replaced by an impostor. The band, it was said, subsequently felt guilty about the deception, and so placed hidden clues on the album cover for their fans.

Thus, even today, despite the apparent rude health of McCartney, they insist that if you look closely at the images on the front and back of the album it is packed with deathly symbolism.

What is certain is that the album denoted one death of sorts. Unbeknown to the public at the time, The Beatles were in the final throes of a bitter break-up and would never record another album.

Relations had deteriorated to such an extent that the group abandoned their original title of Everest, together with a shoot in the Himalayas, and were photographed instead walking away from the studios and everything they had once shared.

For other devotees, however, far more could be read into the image...

1. THE FUNERAL
The procession of The Beatles across the zebra crossing, say the conspiracy theorists, represents Paul's funeral.
John Lennon leads in a white suit and symbolises the preacher; Ringo Starr is the mourner, dressed in black; George Harrison, in scruffy shirt and trousers, denotes the grave-digger; Paul is wearing an old suit and is the only one who is barefoot.
He later explained that he began the shoot wearing sandals but, because it was a hot day, he kicked them off.
The theorists believed that if this was the case, the hot tarmac would be too uncomfortable. This, they argued, was a sign that Paul was the corpse.

2. THE CIGARETTE
Paul McCartney is left-handed, but here holds his cigarette in his right hand. At the time, cigarettes were commonly referred to as 'coffin nails'. This, therefore, could be seen as a message that Paul's 'coffin lid' had been nailed down and that the man in the picture was a lookalike.
Paul is also out of step with the other band members. Each of the others has his left leg forward, but Paul has his right leg forward - again marking him out as different.

3. THE REGISTRATION PLATE
The white VW Beetle in the background has the registration LMW 28IF - 28 being the age conspiracy theorists say Paul would have been IF he hadn't 'died'.
In fact, Paul was 27 when Abbey Road was released - but fortunately for the theorists, Indian mystics count a person's age from conception, not birth, in which case Paul would have indeed been 28 at the time.
Besides, the band were famously followers of the Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It has also been suggested that the LMW stands for 'Linda McCartney Weeps' - referring to his new wife whom he had married earlier that year.

4. THE SPECTATORS
In the background, a small group of people dressed in white stand on one side of the road, while a lone person stands on the other.
Is this meant to be Paul, alone and different from the others?

5. THE POLICE VAN
On the right-hand side of the road is a black police van, believed to be a reference to the police who kept quiet about Paul's 'death'.
According to legend, the band's manager, Brian Epstein, bought their silence, and the presence of the Maria is meant as another subtle thank you.

6. THE LINE OF CARS
A line can be traced from the VW Beetle to the three cars in front of it. If it is drawn connecting their right wheels it runs straight through Paul's head, with theorists suggesting that means Paul sustained a head injury because of a car crash.

7. THE BLOODSTAIN
On the Australian version of the album, the cover showed what could be a bloodstain splattered on the road just behind Ringo and John, supposedly backing claims of a road accident.

8. THE CRACKED S
On the back cover there is a picture of the Abbey Road sign and above it the name Beatles has been written. There is an obvious crack running through the S - thought to suggest problems within the group.

9. THE DOTS
To the left of the name 'BEATLES' there are a series of eight dots. When joined together they form the number three.
Did this mean there were only three Beatles left?

10. IMAGE OF DEATH
If the back cover is turned 45 degrees anticlockwise a crude image of the Grim Reaper appears, from his skull to his black gown. Theorists believed it was a sign that someone in the group had died.

11. THE GIRL
Nobody knows the identity of the girl dressed in blue on the back cover. On the night of the theorists' 'car crash' it was raining heavily and Paul is said to have given a lift to a fan called Rita. It could be that this girl is her, either fleeing the scene or running to get help.

12. PAUL'S FINAL RESTING PLACE
If the writing on the wall is split into sections, it conveys the cryptic message, 'Be at Les Abbey'. In numerology the following two letters, R and O, are the 18th and 15th letters in the alphabet. By adding this together (33) and multiplying by the number of letters (2), we get 66, the year Paul is supposed to have died.
Three also represents the letter C so 33 could also stand for CC. Cece is short for Cecilia, with theorists claiming Paul was 'laid to rest' at St Cecilia's Abbey, a monastery in Ryde, Isle of Wight.

La nota completa aquí.

Y la foto completa:

La Quinta Beatle! ;)

No, metira! :(

What is a mum?

2009-10-18T00:01:00.001+01:00

Happy Mother's Day!

ELT Halloween 2009

2009-10-06T11:47:00.007+01:00

La época más divertida!

A decir verdad, aquí la gente grande lo ve como una invasión de costumbres americanas pero los que tienen chicos están bien contentos (o por lo menos lo aparentan) de acompañar a sus niños, a la vuelta del cole, a pedir golosinas por el barrio.

Hubo un año en que me vinieron a visitar (ahora vivo en un departamento así que es medio difícil que vengan) y golpeaban mi puerta porque vieron que había puesto una calabaza en la ventana.

Gritaban "Halloweeeeeeennnnnn!!" y cuando salí a convidarles golosinas, muy tímidamente agarraban uno cada uno! Les invité a tomar más y les daba vergüenza!!! Después les pedí a las mamis si me daban permiso para sacarme una foto con ellos y aceptaron!

Bueno, les cuento esto porque les confieso estuve buscando infructuosamente nuevos sitios y/ o actividades para este año y no he encontrado casi nada nuevo que valiera la pena, salvo estos dos sitios muy interesantes.

Click aquí donde encontrarán worksheets y actividades varias y aquí donde tienen un lesson plan para desarrollar una clase sobre Halloween u otras seasons.

Les recomiendo darse una vueltita por los posts de Halloween de años anteriores los cuales he actualizado y allí encontrarán games, classroom decorations, etc.

Halloween 2007 y Halloween 2008.

Que disfruten de Halloween!!!

Urban Accent

2009-10-02T21:10:00.001+01:00

El 18/08/09 en el diario de circulación gratuita The London Paper, apareció una columna escrita por un lector, Sert Fetti, que trata cómo hablan los adolescentes en general.

Les copio aquí el texto.
THE URBAN YOUTH TALK NANG, INNIT

Recently I met up with my 14-year old-cousin who, since starting secondary school, has somehow managed to morph himself into Ali G. His accent is now largely indecipherable to his family, much to their annoyance. During our time together words like “nang”, “sick”, “marvin”, “yard”, “blud” and “innit” kept rolling off his tongue.

This got me thinking about accents, language and my cousin’s new-found love of speaking – what I like to call “urbanese”. Does the way youngsters in London speak really say anything about them?

Programmes like The Catherine Tate Show and Little Britain poke fun at kids who’ve adopted this urbanese accent, depicting them as anti-social and unintelligent.

Personally, I’m not “bovvered” with the way some of our kids speak today. I admit, it can sound peculiar but I also think it shows creativity. According to many, a “proper” accent is the one that carries the most social prestige, and that’s how we should all be speaking. This is the pronunciation taught in schools and used by newsreaders, but why should it be classed as superior?

Everyone has an accent. Surely it’s what you say, not how you say it. I’m sure most of us are guilty of doctoring our accents depending on the company we’re in. Perhaps by speaking urbanese youngsters are just trying to conform to what is now the majority accent in their peer group.

Does a person’s accent really indicate how intelligent they are or their ability to do a job properly? Let’s suppose you have a vacancy in your company. Candidate A is experienced, qualified, bright and, on paper, perfectly able to do the job, but speaks urbanese. Candidate B is less experienced, skilled and qualified, but speaks “properly”. Who would you employ? I’m guessing that, although most of us wouldn’t admit to it, we’d probably discriminate against Candidate A.

It seems that people stereotype and make judgements based on accents. So should we be encouraging youngsters to smarten up their speech or should we forget snobbery about accents because urbanese is just a natural evolution of a London accent?

Only time will tell how future generations of Londoners will speak. We’ll just have to wait and see... innit!

Sert, 25, from east London, runs a website

La nota se puede encontrar aquí.

Swine Flu

2009-08-09T21:42:00.002+01:00

Sé que a lo mejor llega un poco tarde esta info, pero a lo mejor, ahora que parece que pasó lo peor y los chicos volvieron a clase, viene bien información en inglés acerca de lo que ya saben y dominan bien.

Aquí tienen información lista para imprimir, con gráficos muy fáciles de seguir. Es un leaflet que está en los diarios, que se bajar de internet, como ustedes también pueden hacerlo. Contiene temas como medicinas a tomar, vacunación, cómo protegerse, etc.

Acá tienen el audio que también se pueden bajar a un CD para idear un entretenido listening comprehension.

Clickeando este link encontrarán la misma información pero en versión easy read, con dibujos, ideal para los niveles elementales.

Y aquí hay una interesante lista de Q&A.

Father's Day English Activities

2009-06-11T16:01:00.008+01:00

Cada tercer domingo de junio se celebra el Día del Padre o Father's Day. Aquí en UK, también como así en USA.

Aquí les recomiendo unos sitios con actividades de todo tipo.

Este sitio es muy interesante, además de ofrecer diferentes tipos de actividades y lesson plans, también hay un powerpoint slideshow (Things Dads Do) muy bueno para practicar o aprender vocabulario en simple present tense. Para chicos es ideal, incluso lo pueden adaptar y hasta incentiva a los chicos a crear sus propias oraciones.

Aquí hay un sitio que presenta cinco lesson plans para que los alumnos aprendan a honrar a los padres o las figuras paternas.

Si quisieran actividades simples, listas para imprimir (como Hidden Picture, Colouring Pages, Projects, etc), hagan click aquí. También se encuentran reading comprehension exercises aunque para acceder se tienen que registrar. Acá también hay muy buenas actividades listas para imprimir, especiales para niños.

Siempre es lindo acompañar un regalo con una tarjeta. Aquí encontrarán varias. Y acá, certificados!

Y si les interesa las manualidades, origami, etc., este es un buen lugar para buscar.

Para los teachers sensibles y románticos, este sitio y este otro, ofrecen poemas para dicha ocasión.

Y para que todo termine en un mar de lágrimas de emoción, acá hay canciones para enseñarles a los pequeñitos.

Que disfruten de la preparación de las actividades.

Mucha suerte y feliz día para los padres!

Easter English Activities

2009-03-27T10:22:00.004Z

Mientras los chicos esperan al Easter Bunny con ansias, las teachers tienen que planificar (qué novedad!).

El año pasado, el post sobre Easter fue desde el punto de vista religioso, con actividades y lesson plans para adaptar. Si en las escuelas donde trabajan exigen que el tema de Pascuas sea tratado desde ese plano, clickeando aquí encontrarán varias ideas.

Y encontré aquí unos flashcards muy interesantes, además de actividades sobre textos bíblicos, ideal para nivel pre-intermediate en adelante.

Para los pequeños de jardín y los primeros grados, acá hay unas bonitas colouring pages, listas para imprimir. Y en este sitio, innumerables worksheets y printables, también para pequeños.

Me gustó también esta página donde hay word searches, board games, awards, señaladores, y hasta tarjetas, todos con el tema de Pascuas. Y aquí hay desde crafts hasta poemas y canciones.

Felices Pascuas y disfruten de esos días de descanso que se vienen!

St Patrick's Day Activities

2009-03-12T20:36:00.004Z

Generalmente se celebra St Patrick's Day el 17 de marzo si esta fecha no cae en Semana Santa.

Tienen que preparar algo para esa fecha?

Empecemos con algunos lesson plans entonces...

Este plan es de un sitio americano donde explica cómo desarrollar un lesson plan especial para esta fecha. Fíjense, es fácil de adaptar y tiene muy buenas ideas. Y al final, una lista de resources.

Para nivel Elementary aquí hay un crucigrama basado en un texto. Está listo para imprimir.

Este plan es un listening comprehension explicando la historia de St Patrick's Day. Es un texto que pueden adaptar para muchos niveles.

Este también es un listening comprehension y es para Upper Intermediate level. Aquí encuentran de qué se trata y el link para bajar el mp3, o sea que después lo pueden copiar a un CD. Y aquí tienen el lesson plan listo para imprimir y aquí el worksheet.

Este es un reading, listening and speaking plan, bien completo, para nivel Intermediate a Advanced. Y éste también es para Advanced; es una speaking activity y es para aprender idioms con la palabra green.

Este otro está perfecto para First Certificate students! Donde dice mp3 clickeen así se pueden bajar el audio.

Para niños, actividades aquí tienen lo que imaginen! Sobre todo crafts, games y printables.

Aquí poemas y canciones. Y acá flashcards. Acá encontrarán diferentes actividades listas para imprimir, hasta colouring pages.

Enjoy!

Teaching Speaking

2009-02-18T16:29:00.003Z

Y cómo los hago hablar? Y de qué? No se me ocurre ningún temaaaaa!!!

Se puede enseñar "speaking"?

Por experiencia puedo decir que un alumno adquiere fluency y vocabulario con tiempo pero siempre que el tema a hablar les sea interesante y tenga que ver con sus vidas o intereses.

No sirve de nada tirarle cualquier tema para que hable y hable y hable.

Y también es muy importante que la teacher se interese en lo que el alumno esté diciendo, por ejemplo, haciendo preguntas, sonriendo, haciendo eye contact, sobre todo...

Demás está decir que interrumpir para corregir no es una buena idea si lo que queremos es que nuestros alumnos se "suelten" a hablar.

Cuando los alumnos son de un nivel inicial, no esperemos que se sientan con mucha confianza para hablar. Una buena idea es hacerlos hablar en base a algún juego, en base a una lectura que hayan tenido, así pueden usar vocabulario y estructuras que ya vieron.

Teaching Speaking links:

Un poco de teoría y tips: aquí, y aquí para nivel avanzado. Y aquí, genial, unas muy interesantes preguntas para hacernos pensar.

Conversation lesson plans para todo nivel, clickear aquí. Acá también hay una lista interesante de lesson plans.

Una lista de ideas muy prácticas aquí.

Aquí encontrarán unos videos interesantes, se ve diferentes estrategias para enseñar speaking, cómo desenvolverse en la clase, etc.

Para beginners/ elementary o children, divino este sitio donde tiene board games listos para imprimir y jugar, con personajes, counters, etc., a todo color!

También les invito pasar por aquí, un post del año pasado con recursos e ideas para el primero día.

Espero que los links les sirvan y desde ya les deseo buen comienzo de clases!

Classic TV Shows Songs

2009-02-13T23:06:00.005Z

A mí me encantaba ver series cuando era chica, allá por los setenta. Y mi favorita era La Mujer Maravilla.

Más aquí en el tiempo, mi serie favorita, la que no me canso de ver nunca es Friends y The Nanny.

Y las de ustedes ? Cuáles son sus series favoritas? Las de ahora o las que veían de pequeños?

Aquí les dejo los videos de la presentación de algunas y las letras de las canciones.

Sing along and enjoy!

Friends

So no one told you life was going to be this way.
Your job's a joke, you're broke, you're love life's DOA.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear,
Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.

But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.

You're still in bed at ten, the work began at eight.
You've burned your breakfast, so far, things are going great.
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these,
But she didn't tell you when the world has brought you down to your knees.

That, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.

Pink Panther

The Pink Panther

Think of all the animals you've ever heard about
like rhinoc'ruses and tigers cats and mink
There are lots of funny animals in all this world
But have you ever seen a panther that is pink?

Think!

A panther that is positively pink,

Well here he is, the pink panther,
The rinky-dink panther,
Isn't he a panther ever so pink?

He really is a groovy cat,
and what a gentleman, a scholar, what an acrobat !

He's in the pink - the pink panther
The rinky-dink panther,
and it's as plain as your nose,
that he's the one and only, truly original,
Panther-pink (panther) from head to toes !

Mr Ed

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed.

Go right to the source and ask the horse
He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse.
He's always on a steady course.
Talk to Mr. Ed.

Gilligan's Island

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost.

The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan
The Skipper too,
The millionaire and his wife,
The movie star
The professor and Mary Ann,
Here on Gilligans Isle.

So this is the talel of the castways,
They're here for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.

The first mate and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To make the others comfortable,
In the tropic island nest.

No phone, no lights no motor cars,
Not a single luxury,
Like Robinson Crusoe,
As primative as can be.

So join us here each week my freinds,
You're sure to get a smile,
From seven stranded castways,
Here on "Gilligan's Isle."

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
All the world's waiting for you,
and the power you possess.

In your satin tights,
Fighting for your rights
And the old Red, White and Blue.

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
Now the world is ready for you,
and the wonders you can do.

Make a hawk a dove,
Stop a war with love,
Make a liar tell the truth.

Wonder Woman,
Get us out from under, Wonder Woman.
All our hopes are pinned on you.
And the magic that you do.

Stop a bullet cold,
Make the Axis fall,
Change their minds, and change the world.

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
You're a wonder, Wonder Woman.

The Nanny

She was working in a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens,
Til her boyfriend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes.
What was she to do, where was she to go
She was out on her fanny.

So over the bridge from Flushing to the Sheffield's door,
She was there to sell make up but the father saw more,
She had style, she had flair, she was there,
That's how she became the Nanny.

Who would have guessed that the girl we described
was just exactly what the doctor prescribed?

Now, the father finds her beguiling, watch out C.C.,
The kids are actually smiling, such joie de vivre
She's the lady in red when everybody else is wearing tan.
The flashy girl from Flushing, the Nanny named Fran.

President Obama's inaugural speech

2009-01-21T17:21:00.003Z

Mucho con Londres no tiene que ver pero es importante saber qué pasa en el mundo, no?

Aquí les copio el discurso que dio Barack Obama el día de ayer cuando asumió (Lo anunciaron "Mr Barack H. Obama", aunque cuando juró, dijeron su nombre completo, o sea, Barack Hussein Obama). Les sugiero que lo lean mientras lo escuchan.

PRESIDENT BARACK Thank you. Thank you.

CROWD: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation...

(APPLAUSE)

... as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.

(APPLAUSE)

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

(APPLAUSE)

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.

It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died in places Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed.

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

(APPLAUSE)

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth.

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality...

(APPLAUSE)

... and lower its costs.

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.

And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.

But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

(APPLAUSE)

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

(APPLAUSE)

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan.

With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.

And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, "Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

(APPLAUSE)

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

To those...

(APPLAUSE)

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

(APPLAUSE)

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.

And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.

It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old.

These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.

What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

(APPLAUSE)

So let us mark this day in remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.

In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by nine campfires on the shores of an icy river.

The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood.

At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

And God bless the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

PET

2008-11-20T01:11:00.002Z

Con Mirta.

El año pasado tuve la alegría de conocer a Mirta Polla. Mirta dirige la cultural inglesa P.E.T. (Practical English Teaching) Argentina. No conforme con eso, también entrena NLP a distancia.

Mirta, trabajadora incansable, luchadora, optimista y profesional (como lo es cualquier teacher que se precie como tal) me invitó a que diera unas charlas a sus alumnos sobre cómo es vivir en Inglaterra.

Me sorprendí gratamente al ver este poster a la entrada del lugar! Me sentí toda una celebrity!

Dí dos charlas, una a los niños y otra a adolescentes.

Mientras preparaba la presentación aquí en Londres, me preguntaba qué podría interesarles a los chicos. Y comencé a mirar la ciudad desde otro punto, pensando "Qué me sorprendería de Londres?" Qué me gustaría aprender?"

Entonces, ustedes se reirán, pero comencé a sacar fotos de toda la ciudad pero de cosas que nadie saca: los diferentes tachos de basura, los especiales que hay para chicles y colillas de cigarrillo, los de reciclaje, los autos, lo que está pintado sobre las calles, infinidad de cosas.

Y a los chicos les encantó!

Guardo muy gratos recuerdos de aquel día (un año ya pasó, increíble!) y aquí les dejo unas fotos.

Los chicos de P.E.T.!

Halloween 2008

2008-10-09T23:31:00.002+01:00

Sí! Me atrevería a decir que está por llegar el día más esperado por todos los alumnos!

Cuando trabajaba en Argentina, una de las primeras cosas que me preguntaban al empezar el año era "Miss, este año vamos a festejar Halloween?" Para su alegría, les decía que sí, pero eso significaba planificar algo más de lo que una siempre tiene que planificar!

Pero... Así es la vida de un teacher...

Bueno, vamos a lo nuestro.

Encontré este sitio fabuloso donde no sólo encontrarán games, crafts, recetas, lo usual, sino también stickers y awards para darle a los chicos como premio por haber ganado algún juego, etc. Tiene una sección de party planning donde verán que hay tarjetas de invitación y una sección genial que se llama Classroom Decorations donde pueden hacer click en dibujos listos para imprimir y decorar el salón. Divino.

Todo eso aquí.

Interesante también este sitio del British Council! Tiene hasta flashcards para imprimir, historias para escuchar y ver, actividades varias, dénse una vuelta por acá.

Y este último sitio es uno de Disney con actividades varias, muchos juegos y muy buenas ideas.

Además, les recomiendo darse una vuelta por aquí, lo posteado el año pasado, con otras listas de sitios para visitar.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Same thing

2008-09-14T22:53:00.000+01:00

Alejandro Sanz cantaba "No es lo mismooooooo", y acá les muestro un ejemplo de productos que en Argentina tienen un nombre y aquí otro.

Estos son todos los que pude recopilar.

Aquí, Wal-Mart es ASDA.

Espadol es Dettol.

Axe es Lynx.

Sedal es Sunsilk.

Santander es Abbey.

Rexona es Sure.

Bingo Number Rhymes and Nicknames

2008-09-08T14:06:00.001+01:00

Por lo menos en Argentina, los números que se apuestan tienen un significado, el 17 la desgracia, el 22 los dos patitos, el 15 la niña bonita, etc.

Y en inglés?

Pues aquí están:

1 Kelly's Eye. At the Beginning. Nelson's Column. Buttered Scone. Little Jimmy. B1 Baby of Bingo
2 Me and You. Doctor Who. Little Boy Blue. Baby's Done it. One Little Duck
3 Cup of Tea. You and Me. Dearie Me. Goodness Me. I'm Free. Monkey on the Tree. Debbie McGee
4 Knock at the Door. B4 and After. On the Floor. The One Next Door. Bobby Moore
5 Man Alive. One Little Snake (The number 5 looks like a snake). Jack's Alive.
6 Chopsticks. Chopping Sticks. Tom Mix
7 Lucky. Lucky 7. God's in Heaven. David Beckham
8 Garden Gate. Gareth Gate. Golden Gate. Is She in yet?. She's Always Late. Sexy Kate. Harry Tate
9 Doctors Orders
10 Cock and Hen. Uncle Ben. Downing Street. Gordon's Den.
11 Legs Eleven. Skinny Legs. Chicken Legs. Legs - They are Lovely.
12 One Dozen. One and two - a Dozen. One Does If One Can. Monkey's cousin
13 Unlucky for Some. Devil's Number. Baker's Dozen.
14 Valentine's Day
15 Rugby Team (A Rugby Team consists of 15 players). Stroppy Teen. Young and Keen
16 Sweet Sixteen. She's Lovely. Never been kissed
17 Posh & Becks. Old Ireland. Often been kissed. The Age to Catch 'em. Dancing Queen
18 Now You Can Vote. Coming of Age. Key of the Door
19 Goodbye Teens
20 One Score. Getting Plenty. Blind 20
21 Key of the Door. Just My Age. If Only I Was. Royal Salute
22 All the Twos. Two Little Ducks. Ducks on a Pond. Bishop Desmond. Dinky Doo. Too Too.
23 Thee and Me. The Lord is my Shepherd (Refers to Psalm 23 in the Good Book)
24 Two Dozen. Pompey Whore (Pompey = Portsmouth). Did You Score? Do You Want Some More?
25 Duck and Dive
26 Pick and Mix. Half a Crown. Two and Six. Bed and Breakfast
27 Little Duck With a Crutch. Gateway to Heaven.
28 Over Weight. In a State. Duck and its Mate. The Old Brags
29 Rise and Shine. You're Doing Fine. In Your Prime
30 Ali G. Your Face is Dirty. Flirty Thirty. Blind 30. Dirty Gertie. Burlington Bertie
31 Get up and Run
32 Buckle my Shoe
33 Two Little Fleas. Gertie Lee. Dirty Knees. All the Threes. All the Feathers. Sherwood Forest.
34 Ask for More. Dirty Whore
35 Jump and Jive
36 Three Dozen
37 More than Eleven. A Flea in Heaven
38 Christmas Cake
39 Jack Benny. 39 Steps. Those Famous Steps
40 Naughty Forty. Life Begins at 40. Two Score
41 Life's Begun. Time for Fun
42 Winnie the Pooh. That Famous Street in Manhattan (42nd Street)
43 Down on your Knees
44 Droopy Drawers. Aldershot Ladies. Open Two Doors. Diana Dors
45 Halfway There. Halfway House. Cowboy's Friend
46 Up to Tricks
47 Four and Seven. Stairway to Heaven
48 Four Dozen
49 Rise and Shine. Nick Nick. Copper. PC
50 Half a Century. Blind 50. Bung Hole. Snow White's Number. Hawaii Five O. Bull's Eye
51 Tweak of the Thumb. The Highland Division. I Love My Mum
52 Weeks In A Year. Chicken Vindaloo. Pack o' Cards. The Lowland Division. Danny La Rue
53 Stuck in the Tree. The Joker (Regarded as the 53rd card in a deck of cards). The Welsh division
54 Clean the Floor. House of Bamboo (Famous song by Earl Grant)
55 Snakes Alive. All the Fives. Bunch of Fives. Give Us Fives. Double Nickels
56 Was she worth it?
57 All the Beans. Heinz Varieties
58 Make them Wait. Choo Choo Thomas
59 Brighton Line (The number of the London - Brighton bus service)
60 Five Dozen. Three Score. Blind 60
61 Baker's Bun
62 Turn on the Screw. Tickety Boo.
63 Tickle Me
64 Red Raw. The Beatles Number (Refers to the Beatles Song "When I'm 64")
65 Stop Work. Old Age Pension
66 All the Sixes. Clickety Click
67 Made in Heaven. Argumentative Number
68 Saving Grace
69 Either Way Up. Anyway Up. Any Way Round. The Same Both Ways. Your Place or Mine. Meal for Two.
70 Blind 70. Three Score and Ten
71 Bang on the Drum. J-Lo's Bun
72 Crutch and a Flea. Six Dozen. Par for the Course (Golfing terminology)
73 Queen Bee. Camomile Tea. Under the Tree.
74 Candy Store. Grandmamma of Bingo
75 Strive and Strive. Big Daddy. Granddaddy of Bingo.
76 Trombones. Seven 'n' Six - Was She Worth It?
77 All the Sevens. Umbrellas. Two Little Crutches. The Double Hockey Stick. Sunset Strip
78 Heaven's Gate
79 One More Time
80 Eight and Blank. Gandhi's Breakfast. Blind 80. Eight and Blank. There You Go Matey.
81 Stop and Run. Fat Lady and a Little Wee.
82 Straight On Through. Fat Lady with a Duck
83 Time for Tea. Fat Lady with a Flea. Ethel's Ear
84 Seven Dozen. Big Brother
85 Staying Alive
86 Between the Sticks
87 Torquay in Devon. Fat Lady with a Crutch
88 Two Fat Ladies. All the Eights. Wobbly Wobbly
89 Nearly There. All but 1.
90 Top of the Shop. Top of the House. Blind 90. End of the line

Y la explicación de algunos:

The Bingo words are used by Bingo callers when they announce the numbers to add even more fun to the Bingo games. Many of the nicknames for Bingo Numbers are based on rhyming slang, like 5 rhymes with "Man Alive". Others are based on the shape of numbers, for example the number 7 looks like a crutch.

Bingo play using nicknames persisted in British Bingo halls until faster computer draws replaced air-blown balls. This is a way of announcing or repeating the Bingo number drawn in a humorous way. In a crowded, noisy room, it also helps to confirm the number called.

The bingo game starts with the traditional call to attention: "Eyes Down".

1 Kelly's eye: In reference to the one-eyed Australian bushranger gangster Ned Kelly.

2 One little duck: The shape looks a bit like a swan.

3 One little flea: Looks a bit like a flea.

7 One little crutch: Looks like a crutch.

8 One fat lady: Resembles the two halves of a large lady.

9 Doctor's orders: A pill known as Number 9 was a laxative given out by army doctors in Britain. Apparently in the second world war in Britain doctors wrote on sick notes a 9 pm curfew, thus if patients were found out of their homes after that time they were violating their sick note. (Provided by a visitor)
The curfew story's not true. In the Great War, however, there was such a thing as a "number nine" pill, that was freely prescribed for virtually everything. (Provided by another visitor)

10 Downing street: UK Prime Minister's address, 10 Downing Street.

12 Royal salute: As in, a 21-gun salute for a Royal birthday or other celebration.

13 Bakers Dozen: Bakers in olden times used to make one extra piece of bread/cookie etc to the dozen ordered by a customer so they could do a taste test before it was sold to the customer, hence the phrase.

17 Dancing queen: From the Abba song of the same name. Over-ripe: Opposite of tender; 14 and 17 straddle 16 which is sweet!

23 Lord's My Shepherd: From Psalm 23.

26 Bed and breakfast: Traditionally the cost of a nights' lodgings was 2 shillings sixpence, or two and six.

26 Half a crown: Equivalent to 2'6d. Or two and six.

39 The famous steps; all the steps: From the 1935 Hitchcock film

59 The Brighton Line: The London-Brighton service was no. 59.

65 Old age pension: 'Pension' age in the UK is at the age of 65.

76 Seven 'n' six - was she worth it?: The price of the marrige licence, seven shillings and six pence.
A marriage license may have been 7/6 (37.5p in new money) once upon a time, but 7/6 was more recently the cost of a "short time" with a lady of negotiable affection.... (Provided by a visitor)

78 Heavens gate: it rhymes: heaven-seven, gate-eight.

80 Gandhi's breakfast: in reference to Ghandi’s famous peace protest, in which he abstained from food - Imagine him sitting crosslegged with a big empty plate in front of him, looking from above. Another suggested explanation: ate (8) nothing (0).

81 Corner shot: Generally used in Military clubs tambola aka housie in India; origin unknown.

83 Ethel's Ear: Fat lady beside ear-shaped three.

Les gustó?

Urban Tribes

2008-09-02T20:01:00.000+01:00

"Shoot me, Mirta"

Este artículo que les copio (porque no está online) salió el día 21 de agosto de 2008 en el diario The London Paper, en la página 8. Es sobre tribus urbanas y su categorización. También da el website donde uno puede hacer el test pero las preguntas son muy localistas, pero si están interesados, go on, give it a try. Al final del artículo hay descripciones de algunas tribus y yo les agrego la lista de todas las demás.

POLLS LISTS TRENDSETTERS' 'GANGS'
YOUNG URBAN TRIBES FIGHT OVER FASHION
BY ALEX STEPHENS

Yuppies, Tweenies and Sloane Rangers move over - it is time to introduce the Trendies, Indie Scenesters and Blingers.

After questioning more than 80,000 people across the UK, social experts have identified 26 different "tribes" that young people fall into.

The categories, ranging from Emos, who are sensitive types with floppy fringes, to Indie Scenesters, whose uniform is Converse and skinny jeans, have been listed on the website www.findyourtribe.co.uk as part of an online quiz. Visitors to the site are placed in a tribe after being questioned about their lifestyle.

The quiz has been created for Channel 4 by research agencies Crowd DNA and Voodoo. The results will help brands to understand customers.

WHICH TRIBE ARE YOU?

BHANGRA MUFFIN: Your accent is half Asian, 25 percent urban and 25 percent English. You bought Shilpa Shetty's perfume. You wear Iceberg jeans and Rocawear.

BOY RACERS: You know what a Pug, Scort, Onion and Cossie are. You can perform doughnuts, handbrake turns and burn-outs. You haven't indicated since 2002.

BLINGERS: You think Mr T was under-dressed and wear your bling on your D&G sleeve. People ask you if you're from the US because of your New York accent and you take this as a compliment.

CRAFT KIDS: Your house could be in the 1950s. You prefer to wear clothes you have made yourself and would love to be studying History of Art and Central St Martins.

EMOS: You have dyed black hair brushed over your face to protect you from the cruel world. You seek solace in poetry and music.

GET PAID CREW: You devote your life to getting rich and aspire to having an empire.

GRUNGERS: Your god is Kurt Cobain. Your bleached blonde hair is the same length as your girlfriend's and your jumpers have thumb holes in.

SKATERS: Your motto is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". You're happy if there's concret to grind, trainers to ruin and rock to rock to. You regularly video your own stunts - but would run a mile if you saw the police. You don't want no trouble.

INDIE SCENESTERS: You know all the major players in the indie scene. You're always moving on to the next thing once everyone joins in.

STREET RATS: You're always ducking and diving, trying to make a few quid. You hang on park benches, drinking and getting in the face of any innocent passer-by.

TRENDIES: Your look is more important than life itself. You buy Vogue and Glamour, mainly just to carry around and remind the plebs of your social standing. You aspire to be a fashionista and worship at the skinny feet of Gwen Stefani and Kate Moss.

Ok, es algo sarcástica la descripción, pero es divertida y da una idea de algunas de las que hay.

Las otras tribus son:

HIPSTERS

CLUBBERS

PC WORLD

TECHIES

TOWNIES

RAHS

CHAVS

SPORTS JUNKIE

TRACKIES

DIYERS

SMART URBAN

INDIE KIDS

MOSHERS

GOTHS

SCENE KIDS

Shooting London

2008-08-26T20:20:00.002+01:00

No pun intended!

Maratón de Londres, mayo 2008:

El mes pasado en St James's Park, una ardilla de las tantas.

La semana pasada, en Buckingham Palace:

Pero qué distraída! Me olvidé que si ponés la cámara en "portrait" no se filma bien! Pero quería mostrarles qué didáctica esta mesa-pantalla en el museo que hay en Greenwich, donde está el observatorio, donde se puede "ver" el meridiano de Greenwich.

Royal Warrant

2008-08-01T23:38:00.000+01:00

Sí, hay demanda para estos productos.

El otro día, mientras paseábamos por Westminster, caminando por St James's Street descubrimos varios negocios que conservan cierto estilo y te dan la sensación de haber retrocedido un poco en el tiempo.

Para quienes gustan de fumar habanos, los mejores:

Con el argentino más famoso.

Éstos fabrican yates.

Si una persona tiene un negocio o fábrica y produce con calidad y eficiencia, puede ser elegido como proveedor de la reina, de Charles o del marido de la reina, el duque de Edimburgo. La madre de la reina, o sea, la Reina Madre, también tenía sus propios proveedores pero la concesión terminó 5 años después de que ella muriera.

Los negocios y productos tienen la insignia del miembro de la realeza al cual proveen, al frente del local y de los productos.

Este negocio provee de zapatos a Charles, el príncipe de Gales, futuro rey.

Como lo indica la insignia.

Este negocio provee a Charles con sus artículos de tocador (y también a la Reina Madre, como lo indica el cartel)

Éste provee a la reina de guantes y látigos (supongo que para los caballos).

Un shopping pequeño y muy exclusivo por Piccadilly que provee a la Reina y a Charles.

Aquí el sitio oficial donde se puede ver quiénes proveen a quién.

Y cholula como soy de la monarquía británica, me puse a inspeccionar lo que hay en casa y ver qué tenemos en común.

Y encontré que:

- Lavamos nuestra vajilla con detergente...

- Y nuestras delicadas prendas con...

- Nuestras tostadas (o scones) son más ricos con mermelada...

- El té de la tarde, mis queridos, es de...

- Al estilo británico, no endulzamos el té con azúcar pero para alguna otra cosita, nuestro azúcar es...

- Y nuestras ollas, tostadoras, pavas y mesadas de acero inoxidable mantienen su orgulloso brillo con...

PC

2008-07-09T10:32:00.000+01:00

Police constable or politically correct? Both!

Hace unos días volvíamos de un viaje y llegamos a Gatwick Airport. Fuimos a tomar el tren que sale desde allí y mi esposo me dejó con las valijas un momento mientras iba a chequear los horarios de salida. Cuando estaba buscando, se detuvo unos segundos para ubicarse y se le acercó un policía a preguntarle, les enfatizo, muy correctamente, si podía tomarle unos datos, invocando unas leyes que leyeron arriba.

Le preguntó qué estaba haciendo y una identificación (aquí la gente no tiene documento de identidad. Quieren imponerlo y la gente está como loca porque lo ven como un atropello a su identidad).

Y luego le dio el siguiente papelito. Y nada más.

Esto hace unos años era impensable pero desde el atentado del 7 de julio hay carteles en algunas estaciones diciendo que es posible que en algún momento se acerque un policía y te pregunte algo y que tengas la amabilidad de colaborar.

Loophemisms

2008-06-23T11:05:00.001+01:00

Les copio un artículo muy interesante y divertido sobre eufemismos sobre "ir al baño". Salió en el suplemento Books en el diario The Times, el día sábado 21 de junio de este año, página 16. Está escrito por Ben Macintyre.

(Las palabras o frases que están en italics o bold, las resalté yo)

Pueden leerlo aquí y/o guardarse el link a la nota.

MY GRANDFATHER, a former naval commander, used to announce that he intended to “go and pump ship”. My grandmother, however, was more likely to inquire if anyone needed to “spend a penny”, or disappear to “powder her nose”. My great-uncle, on the other hand, liked to scandalise his relatives by declaring loudly that he needed to “point Percy at the porcelain”.

Euphemisms for excretion - or “loophemisms” - are one of the most fertile areas of the English language. In his new book of euphemisms, Nigel Reees lists no less than 103 separate ways of saying the unsayable.

Englishmen and women will tie themselves in linguistic knots to avoid calling a toilet a toilet, or lavatory, or loo. There are more synonyms for this room than any other, ranging from blunt slang to fastidious genteelisms: WC, khazi, bog, thunder box, little house, chapel of ease, the usual offices, privy, rest room, the amenities, jakes, and thousands more.

Love of a good loophemism is (or was) a peculiarly British trait. No other language has such a rich stock of these phrases, for the lavatorial euphemism combines two profound national characteristics: a delight in word-play, and the ingrained belief that going to the loo is embarrassing and therefore extremely funny.

There was a time when every family, and even individuals within a single family, would have a different way of saying the same thing. Writers compete to mince words in this arena. John Betjeman would announce: “I need to go and stand up” (or “sit down”).

In Anthony Powell's Journals, guests are asked: “Do you want to put your hat straight?” In Time Must Have a Stop (1946) Aldous Huxley refers to “a place where even the King goes on foot - enfin, the toilet chamber”. This is one of the few examples of a lavatorial euphemism that crosses language boundaries to make a universal socio-political point. The French also refer to the room Ou le roi va seul and Russians announce they are going “where even the Tsar goes on foot”.

One strand of loophemism involves invoking some activity that one could not possibly be doing. Excuse me while I go and turn the vicar's bike around/see a man about a dog/look at the garden/water the horse.

Another subset subtly implies the activity itself. I need to drop the kids off at the pool/go and see a friend off to the coast/empty the teapot to make room for another cup.

Others do the same job more graphically: I am just going to bleed the lizard/squeeze the peach/wring out my socks/shake hands with my best friend, and so on.

Tracing the roots of lavatorial language is difficult, since such euphemisms tend to be flushed away almost as quickly as they are produced. The phrase to “go and pick a daisy” may refer to the floral patterns on Victorian chamber pots. To “go for a quick burst on the banjo” apparently refers to the Japanese word for loo: benjo.

The term to “go north”, much in vogue in the 1950s, may be traced to Noël Coward, who sang, in The Stately Homes of England: “And the lavatory makes you fear the worst/It was used by Charles the First/Quite informally/And later by George the Fourth/On the Journey North.” The origin of “spending a penny” is more obscure. I have long believed this phrase to be the legacy of a professional magician named Jasper Maskelyne. During the Second World War Maskelyne ran the “Magic Gang”, a motley group of conjurors and stage performers whose task it was to bamboozle the enemy by sleight of hand; before the war he invented the first coin-operated toilet door.

Rees, however, points out that we may have been spending a penny at least a century earlier. Toilets were provided at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851, costing one penny, and the first permanent public toilet opened in London four years later. Oddly, this euphemism has survived immune from inflation. According to the website measuringworth.com, the cost of “spending a penny” should have risen to about 34p.

But while some loophemisms are evergreen, most seem oddly dated. During the war there was a boom in such locutions: a wartime wee was described as going to “check the blackout”, “go and see the man I joined up”, or even “go and telephone Hitler” - the latter phrase was particularly popular among members of the French Resistance.

Today, the parlour game of coining loophemisms may be dying out. No one powders their nose today, or puts their hat straight, let alone makes use of the coy little boy's/girl's room. Perhaps we no longer feel any need to skirt around the unmentionable, or squirt great clouds of verbal air-freshener through the smallest room in the house. Or perhaps we have just run out of ideas for one of the most euphemised activities in the world.

As George says in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, when asked by Honey where she may “put powder on her nose”: “Martha, won't you show her where we keep the...euphemism?”

A Man about a Dog: Euphemisms and other Examples of Verbal Squeamishness by Nigel Rees

Dirty Words (Q to Z)

2008-06-12T12:46:00.000+01:00

Q

Quim /kwm/ noun
(taboo, BrE, slang) a woman’s genitals

S

Shag //
noun [C, usually sing.]
(BrE, taboo, slang) an act of sex with sb

verb (-gg-) [v, vn] (BrE, taboo, slang) to have sex with sb

Shit /t/
exclamation (taboo, slang) a swear word that many people find offensive, used to show that you are angry or annoyed: Shit! I’ve lost my keys!

noun (taboo, slang)
1 [U] solid waste matter from the bowels excrement: a pile of dog shit on the path

2 [sing.] an act of emptying solid waste matter from the bowels: to have a shit

3 [U] stupid remarks or writing; nonsense: You’re talking shit! She’s so full of shit. Don’t give me that shit.—see also bullshit

4 [C] (disapproving) an unpleasant person who treats other people badly: He’s an arrogant little shit.

5 [U] criticism or unfair treatment: I’m not going to take any shit from them.

A crock of shit (taboo slang, especially NAmE)
something that is not true

Beat, kick, etc. the shit out of sb
to attack sb violently so that you injure them

In the shit / In deep shit
in trouble:
I’ll be in the shit if I don’t get this work finished today. You’re in deep shit now.

Jack shit (taboo) [U] (NAmE, slang) (usually used in negative sentences)
anything or nothing at all:
You don’t know jackshit.

Like shit really bad, ill/sick etc.
really badly:
I woke up feeling like shit. We get treated like shit in this job.
No shit! (often ironic)
used to show that you are surprised, impressed, etc. or that you are pretending to be

Not give a shit (about sb/sth)
to not care at all about sb/sth:
He doesn’t give a shit about anybody else.

Scare the shit out of sb / Scare sb shitless (taboo, slang)
to frighten sb very much

Shit happens
used to express the idea that we must accept that bad things often happen without reason

Shit·head noun Slang
Vulgar. a stupid, inept, unlikable, or contemptible person.
(www.dictionary.com)

When the shit hits the fan
when sb in authority finds out about sth bad or wrong that sb has done:
When the shit hits the fan, I don’t want to be here.

Shit stirrer noun (BrE, taboo, slang)
a person who tries to make situations in which people disagree even worse
shit stirring noun [U]

verb (shit•ting, shit, shit) (taboo, slang) shat / S&t / and, in BrE, shit•ted are also used for the past tense and past participle.

1 [v, vn] to empty solid waste matter from the bowels

2 [vn] ~ yourself to empty solid waste matter from the bowels by accident

3 [vn] ~ yourself to be very frightened

adj. (taboo slang, especially BrE) very bad:
You’re shit and you know you are! They’re a shit team.

Snatch /snt/noun (taboo, slang)
an offensive word for a woman’s outer sex organs

Sod /sd; NAmE sd/ noun
1 (BrE, taboo, slang) used to refer to a person, especially a man, that you are annoyed with or think is unpleasant:
You stupid sod!

2 (BrE, taboo, slang) used with an adjective to refer to a person, especially a man:
The poor old sod got the sack yesterday. You lucky sod!

3 (BrE, taboo, slang) a thing that is difficult or causes problems:
It was a real sod of a job.

verb (-dd-) [vn] (BrE, taboo, slang) (only used in orders) a swear word that many people find offensive, used when sb is annoyed about sth or to show that they do not care about sth:
Sod this car! It’s always breaking down. Oh, sod it! I’m not doing any more. We’re going on holiday and sod the expense.

Sod all noun [U] (BrE, taboo, slang)
a phrase that some people find offensive, used to mean ‘none at all’ or ‘nothing at all’

Sod•ding /sd; NAmE sd/ adj. [only before noun] (BrE, taboo, slang)
a swear word that many people find offensive, used to emphasize a comment or an angry statement:
I couldn’t understand a sodding thing!

Sod off (BrE, taboo, slang)
(usually used in orders) to go away:
Sod off, the pair of you!
Sod that for a lark (BrE, slang)
used by sb who does not want to do sth because it involves too much effort:
Sod that for a lark! I’m not doing any more tonight.

Slag /sl/
noun[C] (BrE, slang)
an offensive word for a woman, used to suggest that she has a lot of sexual partners

Spunk /spk/ noun
[U] (BrE, taboo, slang) = semen

T
Tit /tt/ noun
1 [usually pl.] (also titty) (taboo, slang) a woman’s breast or nipple
2 (BrE, slang) a stupid person
Toss /ts; NAmE ts/sb / yourself off (BrE, taboo, slang)
to give yourself sexual pleasure by rubbing your sex organs; to give sb sexual pleasure by rubbing their sex organs masturbate

Tosser /ts(r); NAmE ts/ noun
(BrE, slang) a stupid or unpleasant person

Turd /td; NAmE trd/ noun (taboo, slang)
1 a lump of solid waste from the bowels:
dog turds

2 an offensive word for an unpleasant person

Twat /twt; twt; NAmE twt/ noun
(taboo slang, especially BrE)
1 an offensive word for an unpleasant or stupid person
2 an offensive word for the outer female sex organs
W

Wank /wk/ verb [v]
(BrE, taboo, slang)
to masturbate

Wank noun [usually sing.]
(BrE, taboo, slang)
an act of masturbation

Wanker /wk(r)/ noun
(BrE, taboo, slang) an offensive word used to insult sb, especially a man, and to show anger or dislike:
a bunch of wankers

Whore /h(r)/ noun
1 (old-fashioned) a female prostitute
2 (taboo) an offensive word used to refer to a woman who has sex with a lot of men

See also:

Dirty Words (A to B)

Dirty Words (C to D)

Dirty Words (F to J)

Dirty Words (M to P)

And sing along!

London Elections

2008-05-02T23:05:00.000+01:00

Así, con este cartelito nomás, te señalaban que ahí se votaba.

Hace un par de años pude presenciar una elección municipal gracias a que me colé con mi amigo Jonathan, pero estuvo todo bien, o sea, no había problemas que estuviera "chusmeando".

Ayer me tocó a mí! Había que votar para intendente (mayor) de Londres y para dos tipos de concejales (London Assembly Constituency Member y London-wide Assembly Member).

Votar no es obligatorio pero te tenés que registrar. Si te registrás y así y todo no querés votar, pues no vas.

Hace 15 días me llegó una tarjetita con un mapa que señalaba dónde debía votar.

Fui a la mañana y cuando llegué le di a una chica mi boleta y me pidió que confirmara mi nombre en voz alta. Anotó mi código y un chico me dio tres boletas de tamaño carta, una de color rosa, una de color amarillo y una de color durazno. Si quieren verlas, hagan click acá.

No había cuarto oscuro, y con un lápiz debía marcar mis preferencias. Para intendente podías elegir dos, tenías tu primera opción y si querías, también podías marcar una segunda opción de una lista de 10.

Metí los papeles (sin doblar aclaraban por todos lados) en una urna de cartón y me fui aunque tenía tiempo hasta las 10 de la noche. Igual, les comento, no cierra ningún negocio y aparte, aquí el 1 de mayo no es feriado.

Y para celebrar este día de alegría, desempolvemos nuestros tapados negros de paño que alguna vez usamos y bailemos mientras Simon Le Bon canta para todos nosotros, Election Day.

Teaching Phrasal Verbs

2008-04-27T22:33:00.002+01:00

Qué tema, no?

Como teachers siempre animamos a nuestros alumnos con desafíos, tratamos de que le pierdan el miedo a ciertos temas... pero cuando nos toca a nosotros... a quién recurrimos?!?!?

El tema de phrasal verbs causa escozor y pánico y miedo porque, como a nosotras nos costó aprender los que sabemos ("la letra con sangre entra") queremos evitarles a nuestros alumnos que pasen por lo mismo...

De más está decir que un buen approach para prevenir al alumnado no es NUNCA empezar la clase con la típica "Uffff... Phrasal verbs... Les comento, este es un tema difícil, cuesta, van a tener que aprenderlos para el examen, blah blah blah..."

Pero cómo ser positiva con un tema que a nosotros nos despierta tanta ansiedad?

Relax, first thing.

Como experiencia, estando viviendo en este país donde el phrasal verb está alive and kicking, les puedo decir que uno los aprende cuando los escucha, cuando ve que se emplean en el contexto que se tienen que emplear.

By the same token, entonces si ustedes quieren que los chicos aprendan, pues úsenlos. No crean que no les van a entender. Utilizados con regularidad en el contexto apropiado, entenderán. Si siguen sin entender, bien, lo explican.

Una buena forma es tratar de dejar usar tanto transparent words. Por qué en vez de decir investigate no decimos look into, find out, según el contexto? Prueben, don't be afraid.

Meanwhile, acá van algunos recursos:

Aquí encontrarán una lista de artículos sobre phrasal verbs con su correspondiente lesson plan. Yo recomendaría que los leyeran y luego impriman todas las hojas que quieran, pero es importante que los lean para ver si realmente se ajustan a ustedes, sus chicos, etc. Está por niveles.

En este sitio se presentan los phrasal verbs en temas. Pueden bajarse incluso el diálogo en mp3. Tienen el tapescript así que pueden trabajarlos como les plazca.

Un regalo

Recuerdan ese libro fantástico Making Sense of Phrasal Verbs? Lamentablemente ya no se publica.

No desesperen. Clickeando aquí lo pueden descargar gratis. Listo para imprimir. Cuando entren, hagan click en Download file.

De todas formas, si alguien tiene algún truquito o tip para compartir con todas, será bienvenida en mi mail o comentario.

Buena semana!

Dirty Words (M to P)

2008-04-05T21:35:00.000+01:00

Más malas palabras... Cuando empecé este post me pregunté "Más?". Y si...

M

Minge

noun
vulgar term for a woman's pubic hair or genitals

(www.dictionary.com)

Motherfucker noun [C]
(ALSO mother)
1 MAINLY US OFFENSIVE an extremely insulting name for someone you hate or for someone who has made you angry:
If that motherfucker touches my car again, I'll break his fingers!

2 US OFFENSIVE an extremely unpleasant thing:
That was a motherfucker of an exam.

Motherfucking adjective OFFENSIVE
He's a motherfucking son of a bitch.

P

Piss noun [S or U]
OFFENSIVE
urine:
There was piss all over the floor.
I need a piss.
He's having a piss.

Piss verb [I]
OFFENSIVE
to pass urine:
That dog keeps pissing on our fence.

Piss yourself verb [R]
OFFENSIVE
to urinate over yourself and the clothes you are wearing

Piss artist noun [C]
1 UK OFFENSIVE someone who does not do things correctly

2 someone who is often drunk

Piss-poor adjective
OFFENSIVE
having very little money, or being of very low quality:
We were piss-poor.
a piss-poor film

Piss-take noun [C]
UK OFFENSIVE
1 an act of making someone or something look silly:
He told me I'd won and I thought it was just a piss-take.

2 when someone copies someone else's behaviour and manner in an amusing way:
He did a piss-take of Fiona.

Piss-up noun [C]
UK OFFENSIVE
an occasion when a lot of alcohol is drunk

Piss (sb) about/around phrasal verb [I or T]
UK OFFENSIVE
to behave in a stupid way or to treat someone badly:
Look, we haven't got much time so stop pissing about.
Stop pissing me about and just tell me where they are.

Piss sth away phrasal verb [M]
OFFENSIVE
to waste an opportunity:
This is your last chance to win the league so don't piss it away.

Piss down phrasal verb [I]
UK OFFENSIVE
to rain heavily:
It's really pissing (it) down here at the moment.

Piss off (GO) phrasal verb
UK OFFENSIVE
to leave or go away, used especially as a rude way of telling someone to go away:
Everyone just pissed off and left me to clean up.
Why don't you just piss off - you've caused enough problems already!

Piss sb off (ANNOY) phrasal verb (ALSO pee sb off)
OFFENSIVE
to annoy someone:
He never does any washing-up and it's starting to piss me off.

Pissed off adjective [after verb] (US ALSO pissed)
UK OFFENSIVE
annoyed:
He'd kept me waiting for an hour so I was pissed off to start with.
She seemed a bit pissed off that she hadn't been invited.

Couldn't organize a piss-up in a brewery
UK OFFENSIVE
said about someone who is completely unable to organize things

Piss/Shit your pants
OFFENSIVE
to suddenly feel very frightened:
I shit my pants when all the lights went out.

Take the piss (out of) sb or sth
UK OFFENSIVE
to make a joke about someone or make them look silly:
They're always taking the piss out of him because he's a Barry Manilow fan.

Piss yourself (laughing)
OFFENSIVE
to laugh very much:
There I was writhing in agony on the floor and you lot were pissing yourselves laughing!

Pissed adjective [after verb]
UK OFFENSIVE
drunk:
I can't remember - I was pissed at the time.

Prick (BODY PART) noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
a penis

Prick (MAN) noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
a stupid man:
I'm not wearing that - I'd look a right prick.

Prick-tease noun [C] (ALSO prick-teaser)
OFFENSIVE
a woman who tries to make a man sexually excited but does not intend to have sex with him

Pussy (SEX) noun
OFFENSIVE
1 [C] a woman's vagina

2 [U] sex with a woman

See also:

Dirty Words (A to B)

Dirty Words (C to D)

Dirty Words (F to J)

Words and Phrases

2008-03-30T13:25:00.000+01:00

The London Paper (no está online los fines de semana) es uno de los cuatro diarios que se reparten gratis en Londres.

Todos los días publican una columna escrita por lectores. Y esto que copio es una escrita por Jon Armistead y es muy interesante para quienes quieran tener una idea de algunas frasecitas que se han puesto de moda y de las cuales él se queja.

Aquí la copio y lo que está en bold es lo que quise destacar, o sea, originalmente no aparecen en el texto.

Su columna se titula:

SO BASICALLY, ERM, IT’S OUR LANGUAGE

Language is a fluid thing that is constantly changing to fit our times and one of the many amazing faculties of the human brain is that as speech is updated, so too is our understanding of these changes.

For a good while now “basically” has been used as the new “erm”. For example, we will often hear someone who has been asked a question reply with a drawn-out “basically” – before stringing along some nonsense that they pass off as an answer (i.e. “Basically, I don’t know where she is”).

Other people say “erm, basically” before embarking upon an answer. This renders them wither clever or ignorant: clever because they are buying themselves a few more seconds to compose their new words, or ignorant because they are effectively saying “erm” twice. People who say “erm” twice are generally struggling for the answer due to ignorance.

“Eerm” can also be used to catch a person’s attention, and is often employed by someone who does not know the name of the person they are addressing. It is worth noting that when “erm” is used in this fashion, other less necessary words may be withdrawn. I often see this usage in the work place. Someone might say: “Erm; got an issue.” What they are trying to say here is “Excuse me, I have a problem with my computer. Can you help me, please?”

Some say “sorry” when in the past they may have said “excuse me”. This can be witnessed on the Tube when someone wants the newspaper that is on the shelf behind you. The speaker will reach over, saying “Sorry, just paper thanks.” The word “just” is whispered; the word “paper” and “thanks” are mouthed (the “ks” are audible).

There are those who employ a “literally” where an “is” will suffice. One of my friends went through a phase of saying “blatantly” (e.g. “It’s blatantly freezing”).

Some words have seeped in from America, such as “kinda”. There are people who say “smart” instead of “clever”, “cookie” instead of “biscuit” and “people!” or “guys!” instead of “excuse me, everybody!” “I was like” seems to have become the new “so I said”.

In summary, the “erm” that became “basically” is the new “excuse me”, while “sorry” has also replaced “excuse me”, “problems” are now “issues” and both men ad women are “guys”.

Dickens' World

2008-03-26T20:17:00.001Z

El sábado pasado fuimos a Chatham, Kent a ver de qué se trataba Dickens' World.

Es un mini "parque temático" sobre cómo era Victorian London. Era en un lugar cerrado (menos mal! El viento que había nos volaba!) y, como verán en el video, había una especie de calle central alrededor de la cual había edificios como esa época. Había gente disfrazada y que caminaba por allí, tenías a The Artful Dodger dando vueltas, dándote conversación mientras te sacaba de tus manos, no sé, a mí me sacó un catálago (aunque después me lo devolvió!) y se podía ver a Mr Bumble, también.

Yo, que adoro Dickens, estaba feliz! Estaba la Dotheboys School, entrabas y te sentabas a un pupitre y tenías a un profesor que te trataba como en esa época (pero no te pegaba!!!). Y te hacía sentar y tenías que responder una trivia sobre Dickens. Había una pantallita LCD empotrada en el escritorio... Yo me equivoqué sólo en una y cuando le dije mi puntaje, no les miento, se sorprendió de verdad y se puso malo otra vez y me dijo muy serio "You have passed!"

Fue divertido como también el boat ride que hicimos, a oscuras practicamente, por los túneles, tal como había escapado Magwitch.

Fue un poco "lisérgico" porque después con ese bote también recorrías los techos de las casas!!!

Literary Notes

2008-03-23T00:12:00.002Z

Debo confesarlo, como alumna, durante el año académico no me molestaba en hacer las tareas, sí leía los libros que me pedían... Y para los exámenes... me mataba! Me leía todo, me investigaba todo y (por suerte o por mi esfuerzo) me iba bien, sobre todo en Literature y Language, materias que no me costaban mucho (I'm not bragging, honest!) aunque las de castellano me costaban un horror! (Esto último sí me da vergüenza confesarlo!!!).

A qué viene esto? Pues que yo leía todas las obras literarias que las profesoras me pedían durante el año pero al momento de preparar el examen final recurría a las Notes. Porque no había tiempo y porque es lo más sensato! No me sentía con culpa de estar haciendo trampa porque yo durante el año había leído las obras con atención.

Yo cursé en la época del 1 a 1 así que no costaba tanto conseguir ni comprase las Cliff Notes. Hasta que tuve Internet y las conseguí online y gratis!!!!! Y lo mejor que tienen gratis la mayoría de los clásicos. Genial!

Les cuento cómo proceder ya que hay varios sitios, y algunos tienen sus trampitas.

El mejor es este sitio. Cuando quieran encontrar las notes de una determinada obra, escriban dicho nombre donde dice Search our Online Booknotes (MonkeyNotes).

No busquen donde dice Search our Downloadable/Printable Booknotes.

Una vez que escribieron el nombre y lo encontraron, van al link que aparece y luego clickean sobre el nombre de la obra, pero no clickeen donde dice Downloadable/Printable Version.

Ya está! Ahí tienen todo, y ni se les ocurra imprimirlo así! Utilicen el viejo y conocido Copy and Paste y peguen todo en Word. Después si quieren, achiquen más la letra y arreglen el tema de los párrafos, y ya! A estudiar!

Este otro sitio está muy pero muy bueno si tienen que leer Shakespeare. Porque tienen el texto original y a la derecha en layman's words!!!!

Abajo de donde dice All No Fear Shakespeare Titles, encontrarán los títulos para clickear.

Si no encontraron nada, busquen acá, pero cuidado que tiene mucho pop-ups. Cierren todas las ventanas que sean de propagandas, no bien entran se abre una que engaña, uno cree que está viendo la misma página pero no.

Y de última, aquí.

Les sirvió? Suerte en los exámenes!!!

More on the Oyster Card

2008-03-20T23:25:00.000Z

Se acuerdan lo que había posteado la otra vez sobre la Oyster Card?

Bueno, aquí tienen algo que filmé el otro día: cómo se maneja uno cuando tiene que cargarle más dinero.

ELT Easter

2008-03-16T22:41:00.000Z

Un poco sobre la hora pero espero que igual les sirva! El tema de Pascuas tiene que ver con el tema religioso y a veces se complica al preguntarnos "Y cómo encaramos o adaptamos el tema cuando se trata de niños?"

Gracias a Sofía San Gerardo, que me sugirió esta idea!

Tengan en cuenta que los sitios sugeridos son para native speakers pero las historias se pueden adaptar. (Cómo sólo las teachers sabemos hacer!)

Creo que este sitio es ideal para colegios religiosos bilingües. Si buscan bien hacia abajo, encontrarán canciones, teacher resources, actividades varias, crafts, printables para pintar, etc.

Para jardín de infantes o preschool, este sitio puede ser muy útil, tiene fingerplays, easter games, etc.

Este otro sitio es muy completo también, las historias bíblicas tienen su "children's version" y cuenta con teacher's guides.

Aquí encontrarán el tema de Pascuas adaptado para niños, adolescentes y adultos.

También les recomiendo darse una vuelta por los sitios que recomendé en este post, segúramente encontrarán muchas más actividades!

Happy Easter!

Cambridge

2008-03-10T17:00:00.002Z

Break time, teachers!

El sábado, a pesar del frío y de que se pronosticaba un día nublado, fuimos a pasear a Cambridge.

Tomamos el tren en la estación King's Cross St Pancras (donde encontramos la Plataforma 9 3/4 de Harry Potter!).

Después de 45 minutos de un placentero viaje, llegamos a esta ciudad preciosa. Fuimos a Información para el turista y contratamos una visita guiada a pie de dos horas.

Qué genial! No dejé de maravillarme con la arquitectura, la atmósfera y las pequeñas historias y anécdotas que guardan los diferentes colleges, algo así como facultades, aunque son autónomas.

La guía explicó que Universidad de Cambridge es todo, es una sola, comprende absolutamente todos los colleges, los museos, los departamentos de investigación, y que no es un edificio en particular.

La Universidad de Cambridge siempre se caracterizó por darle más importancia a las ciencias mientras que Oxford se inclinó por las artes.

Por donde vayas, hay bicicletas estacionadas, es el medio de locomoción que prevalece.

Algunos de los colleges:

Todos los colleges cuentan con residencias para alumnos (es obligatorio residir allí, por lo menos el primer año, después, si uno quiere, puede vivir en otro lado pero a no más de una milla de distancia), comedor, capilla y biblioteca.

Los alumnos van a estudiar (o más que nada, a clases) en otros edificios diseminados por la ciudad. Luego, se reúnen con un tutor para ser guíados en sus estudios y/o investigación.

Este es St Catharine's College, fundado en 1473.

Trinity College, fundado por Henry VIII en 1546.

Detalle. Originalmente, Henry VIII había sido esculpido sosteniendo en su mano izquierda la orbe y en su mano derecha, el cetro. Pero al poco tiempo, los alumnos del college, digamos que para hacer una "chanza", le sacaron el cetro y lo reemplazaron por la pata de una silla. Las autoridades volvieron a poner el cetro y los alumnos volvieron a cambiarlo. Al final, lo dejaron así, con la pata de la silla en la mano.

King's College, fundado en 1441.

Esta es la grandiosa King's College Chapel. Adentro es bellísima, rodeada de hermosos vitraux que fueron desmontados y enumerados, pedacito por pedacito, y guardados en algún lugar seguro durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, para protegerlos de posibles bombardeos.

Detalle.

Esta es una torre con dos relojes solares que corresponden a Gonville and Caius College. Tiene dos nombres porque fue fundado dos veces en 1348 y en 1557. Dr Caius insistió que nadie que fuera ciego, sordo, mudo, mutilado, retrasado, deforme o galés podía estudiar allí. Lo cual comentábamos qué irónico, ya que Stephen Hawking es profesor allí.

Algo para destacar: Todos los colleges tienen una especie de patio central de césped. Los alumnos tienen TERMINANTEMENTE PROHIBIDO pisarlo. Solamente los profesores y autoridades pueden "pisar el césped".

Aquí una lista de todos los colleges con sus historias y crests, etc.

Punting

Cambridge está rodeada por el río Cam. Una de las actividades típicas es navegar ese río en botes. Esta actividad se llama "punting".

Punting sobre el río.

Aquí cómo se ve Cambridge desde el bote.

Y al final...

Fuimos a cenar a este pub que se llama The Eagle. Desde este pub se anunció públicamente el descifrado del ADN.

Durante la Segunda Guerra, Cambridge fue una base militar y había muchos americanos. Solían reunirse en este pub y tenían la costumbre de subirse a una mesa y con velas o encendedores, escribían sus nombres sobre el techo.

La cena:

Se imaginarán, después de dos horas caminando y de haber navegado por 45 minutos, no dábamos más del hambre!

My hubby pidió el típico fish and chips con arvejas y salsa tártara.

Yo pedí un bife con papas, ensalada, aros de cebolla y salsa de hongos.

Dirty Words (F to J)

2008-03-03T13:15:00.001Z

Warning! Este post viene bastante heavy...

F

Felch: Léanlo ustedes, está sacado de una encyclopaedia, yo no me atrevo ni a copiarlo ni pegarlo.

Fuck: (HAVE SEX) verb [I or T]
OFFENSIVE
to have sex with someone

Fuck noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
1 an act of having sex
2 a sexual partner

Fuck (EXTREME ANGER) exclamation
OFFENSIVE
used when expressing extreme anger or annoyance, or to add force to what is being said:
Fuck - the bloody car won't start!
Shut the fuck up!
Who the fuck does she think she is, telling me what to do?

Fucking adjective, adverb
OFFENSIVE
used to emphasize a statement, especially an angry one:
What a fucking waste of time!
He's a fucking idiot.
He'd fucking well better do it.

Fuck all noun [U]
OFFENSIVE
nothing:
Don't blame me, mate - I had fuck all to do with it!
I've had fuck all to eat all day.

Fuck all determiner
OFFENSIVE
Now that the wheel's broken, it's fuck all (= no) use to anyone.

Fuck about/around (BEHAVE BADLY) phrasal verb
OFFENSIVE
to behave stupidly, or to waste time doing unimportant things:
Stop fucking around!

Fuck sb about (TREAT BADLY) phrasal verb
OFFENSIVE
to treat someone badly by wasting their time or causing them problems:
I'm warning you, don't fuck me about!

Fuck off (GO AWAY) phrasal verb
OFFENSIVE
to leave or go away, used especially as a rude way of telling someone to go away:
Just fuck off and leave me alone!
He's fucked off somewhere and left me to do all the work.

Fuck sb off (ANNOY) phrasal verb [M]
OFFENSIVE
to annoy or upset someone greatly:
You speak to me as if I'm stupid and it really fucks me off.

Fuck (sth) up phrasal verb [M]
OFFENSIVE
to damage, harm or upset someone or something, or to do something very badly:
Her parents' divorce really fucked her up.
I fucked up the interview.
The exam was a disaster - I really fucked up.

Fuck-up noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
a serious problem:
It's been one fuck-up after another since she took charge.

Hooters plural noun US SLANG
a woman's breasts. This word is considered offensive.

Jugs See Hooters

See also:

Dirty Words (A to B)

Dirty Words (C to D)

What to do on the first day...

2008-02-22T18:15:00.003Z

Teacher get ready!

Para muchos, se está acercando el comienzo de clases y hay que organizarse y empezar a pensar...

Todos los teachers tenemos una especie de First Day Template que seguimos a pie juntillas y es nuestra safety net. Pero... y si cambiamos un poco o nos aventuramos a descubrir qué hay más allá de esta pantalla?

Vamos por partes?

Lesson Planning:

Aquí van a encontrar un artículo cortito pero interesante de cómo uno puede planear una clase si no sabe cómo empezar. Sirve para cualquier tipo de tema y es especial para ESL/EFL. Y aquí un format sencillo y fácil de seguir.

Lesson Plan Templates:

Quienes trabajen en una escuela, ya lo tienen solucionado. Quienes no, pues podrían dar una mirada a este template muy interesante, corto, preciso y muy to the point. Además, sirve para lo que ahora se denomina Reflective Teaching. Tómense un tiempo para leer de qué se trata aquí y aquí está el template listo para imprimir.

Como con todo se puede adaptar a nuestras necesidades.

Y después qué?

Ice-breakers:

Aquí una larga lista de ice-breakers muy interesantes.

Warm-ups:

Una lista para leer con actividades para ir adaptando y usar durante todo el año.

The Teacher's portfolio:

Una de las cosas que una teacher siempre está orgullosa es su "carpeta". Aquí tienen una lista de dividers listos para imprimir, para mantenerla más ordenada y prolija. Hay de los temas que se imaginen!

Student's portfolio:

Aquí goals and aims para los alumnos, para que ellos mismos participen del proceso de aprendizaje.

Encouragement:

A todos, grandes y chicos, nos gusta que nos digan "Well done" "Good for you!" y qué mejor que expresarlos con señaladores, badges, certificates, etc.

Acá van a encontrar muchos listos para imprimir y tener alumnos felices!

Espero que les haya servido y si tienen algún otro sitio para recomendar o les parece que me olvidé de algún tema, espero vuestros comentarios!

Buen comienzo de clases!

Dirty Words (C to D)

2008-02-16T17:09:00.002Z

Sigamos con el aprendizaje...

C

Cock (PENIS) noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
a penis

Cocksucker
Slang: Vulgar.
1. a person who performs fellatio.
2.a a mean or contemptible person.

(www.dictionary.com)

Crap (EXCREMENT) noun [S or U]
OFFENSIVE
excrement, or when an animal or person produces excrement:
I stepped in a pile of crap.
That dog's just UK had/US taken a crap on my lawn.

Crap verb [I] -pp-
OFFENSIVE
The dog crapped right in the middle of the street.

Crapper noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
a toilet

Crap (BAD) noun [U]
INFORMAL OR OFFENSIVE
something which is worthless, useless, nonsense or of bad quality:
I can't believe she's trying to pass off this crap as art!
I've only read one novel by him and it was a load of crap.

Crap adjective crapper, crappest
1 INFORMAL OR OFFENSIVE
of very bad quality:
A bad film? It was crap!
UK He watches a lot of crap TV.

2 UK INFORMAL OR OFFENSIVE
not skilled or not organized:
He's totally crap at football.
I meant to call him and invite him, but I've been a bit crap about asking people.

Cut the crap!
OFFENSIVE
a rude way of telling someone to stop saying things that are not true or not important:
Just cut the crap, will you, and tell me where I'm going wrong.

Crap on phrasal verb
OFFENSIVE
to talk for a long time in a boring way:
I had to listen to Mikey crapping on about his music collection.

Cunt (PERSON) noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
a very unpleasant or stupid person:
You stupid cunt!
He's a right cunt.

Cunt (SEXUAL ORGANS) noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
the outer female sex organ; the vagina

dick (PENIS) noun [C]
OFFENSIVE
a penis

dick (PERSON) noun [C]
1 OFFENSIVE a stupid man:
That guy is such a dick.

dickhead noun [C]

OFFENSIVE
a stupid person:
You dickhead - you've dented the back of my car!

divvy noun [C]
(ALSO div) UK INFORMAL
a stupid person:
Don't be such a divvy!