Living and studying abroad: the Erasmus Program

Have a look at this piece of news http://www.eppgroup.eu/tv/default_en.asp

Halloween is coming!

Here you have a video explaining the history of "Halloween". More information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

B2

Here you have some more information about the B2 level exam, should you be interested at all. http://ingles.eoimalaga.net/descargas/Curriculum%20B2.2%20%20April%2012.pdf

Marco de referencia europeo para el aprendizaje de lenguas

Here you have some links where you can find information about both the B1 and B2 levels, as well as other levels you might be interested in. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_com%C3%BAn_europeo_de_referencia_para_las_lenguas

Stress

The protagonist of the first text of our text book probably looked forward to living in the woods because he felt stressed at work. I hope it is not your case with exams and stuff ;)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/nov/19/brain-stress-research-reshape

The history of stuff

Do you think we live in a materialistic world with no values?

Catching up with our discussion topic at the beginning of the topic I paste here some videos. The first video has to do with the treatment of elderly people in our society nowadays. The second video has to do with our treatment of our planet.

3rd debate

Looking for an apartment?

Many of you will have to live in another city next year. And many of you will live in another country the year after. It is important that you get familiar with the way to look for an apartment abroad. I paste here some links related to this issue.

Information about the B1 exam

As you know, many of you are interested in getting the B1 exam. I paste here some information for you to have a look at in relation to this issue. https://www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org/ts/digitalAssets/115928_PET_schl_RW_Sample_Paper_REVISED.pdf http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/exams/pet/pet-info-candidates-en.pdf http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/exams/pet-schools/pet-schools-info-candidates-en.pdf http://www.sioc.no/pdf/2012/navitas/07%20Navitas%20English%20Pretest%20-%20PET.pdf http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/exams/pet/pet-info-candidates-en.pdf http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/exams/pet-schools/pet-schools-info-candidates-es.pdf http://assets.cambridge.org/97805217/54743/sample/9780521754743ws.pdf http://colorincoloradosl.com/pag%20web1/pet.pdf http://ebookbrowse.com/preliminary-english-test-pdf-d257844815 http://www.cambridge.org/servlet/file/store7/item619994/version1/PET4_LPI_TEST_ReadingWriting.pdf http://cdextras.cambridge.org/ObjectivePET/start.htm http://www.cambridge.org/gb/elt/students/zones/categoryresources/item2325600/2325600844817/Exams-IELTS-&-Cambridge-English-Preliminary-English-Test-(PET)/?site_locale=en_GB¤tSubjectID=2325600¤tCategoryId=844&parentCategoryId=817#anchor2505910 http://www.cambridge.org/servlet/file/store7/item5632981/version1/ObjPET_WLM_WithDefinitions.pdf http://www.cambridge.org/servlet/file/store7/item5632982/version1/ObjPET_WLM_WithoutDefinitions.pdf

2nd Debate Obama-Romney

Topic 1: HOME

Ok, we move on now to a different topic: Home. As a warm-up, have a look at these articles and at this video.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/may/29/3m-young-adults-live-parents http://ideas.time.com/2012/02/23/the-surprising-benefits-of-boomerang-kids/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/nini-and-the-european-dream/article1389123/ http://www.finanzas.com/noticias/empleo/reportajes/2010-09-17/346748_nini-generation.html http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/expertpapers/2011-10_Iacovou_Expert-paper.pdf

Summary of starter unit

Khalil Gibran´s poem!

Compositions deadline

Compositions will have to be handed in on Monday the 22nd as the latest. Compositions sent after that date will not be collected

International day against poverty

Today is the international day against poverty. We will tackle this issue (matter, topic) in due time when we talk about social issues (matters, ...)

From EL PAIS: Spanish children now at greater risk of poverty than seniors (Twenty-six percent of minors live in homes that fall below the 2010 poverty threshold/Only Bulgaria and Romania exceed these figures within the European Union) "Poverty has the face of a child," said the director of Unicef Spain, Paloma Escudero, at the presentation on Monday of a report entitled The impact of the crisis on children. Some 26 percent of Spaniards under the age of 18 - 2.2 million children - live in homes that fall below the 2010 poverty threshold, according to National Statistics Institute figures compiled for the report. For the first time, children living in situations of deprivation in Spain outnumber the over-65s, which was the worst-affected demographic until this year at 21.7 percent. Furthermore, the number of children on the poverty line has risen by 10 percent with respect to 2008, which represents families of two adults and two children with income of less than 16,400 euros. Of the 205,000 children in this bracket, 13.7 percent live on a total income of less than 11,000 euros, which is considered extreme poverty. Only Bulgaria and Romania exceed this figure within the European Union. Unemployment has also taken its toll: 714,000 families in Spain have no working members, a 120-percent increase over 2007, according to Eurostat figures. "The cost of not acting now will not only affect the most vulnerable children and families today but will also jeopardize the growth of society in the medium and long term," said Escudero. Government spending cuts saw the suppression of the so-called "baby bond" - a 2,500-euro payment for new or adopting parents - in 2010 and the reduction of social security subsidies for families with two children and income of less than 13,000 euros from 500 euros to 291 euros.

Writing tools

As you know, you will have to write a composition in the Selectividad test. It is important that you get familiar with the types of texts or text formats that you may be required to write in as well as with the expressions that you can make use of. Hence, I have left a dossier in conserjería for you to use when writing the composition that you are supposed to hand in by next week. Remember that it is a narrative. Should you have any questions do please let me know.

Spain on the Road

Does anybody know where the "Churros" eaten at the begining come from?

Another selectividad test!

Here you have another selectividad test related to the article I refered you to some entries ago!!! (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/love/ )It has to do with the science of love. http://www.uhu.es/antonia.dominguez/selectividad/2003/examen_2.pdf Put down all the words you don´t know and create a personal dictionary with the new words you learn (revise them from time to time) not just from this test but from all the material we have been having a look at.

Europe´s living in celebration!

As you know, the European Union has received the Nobel Prize. This could well be a topic of a selectividad exam. I paste here an article about this topic. We will deal with the concept of Europe again in topic number 4. I paste below some other tests for you to read and do at your own pace related to Europe. The exams are old, and the criteria not longer holding. Nonetheless, the topic is still, say, universal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/13/world/nobel-peace-prize.html?pagewanted=all http://www.telefonica.net/web2/allp/ew/PAU/generationeurope.pdf http://www.telefonica.net/web2/allp/ew/PAU/LOGSE96-eurokids.htm

Next class!

As you know, we did not have class today. Do the exercises I sent you and we will have a look at them in due time.

Conversation classes put off!

As you know, we have parents meeting tomorrow. Conversation classes will therefore be postponed (put off) till next Monday.

Homework

Do exercises from page 82 from the students book

Columbus Day: Venio Ergo Es

As you know, we don´t have class tomorrow due to the "Día de la Hispanidad". In the anglo-saxon world this day is referred to as "Columbus Day". It is just celebrated by those contries that happen to have certain connection with Spain because of the so-called "Discovery of America". Now, you just probably know the history of the "Discovery" from a Spanish perspective. Have you ever thought of what native americans think of that "Discovery"? Let me know your reflections on the topic on Monday. By the way, do you perceive certain sarcasm in my using the expression "Venio Ergo Es"? Does it ring a bell to you?

Correction!

As you will have seen, the photocopies I asked you to do today did not correspond as far as content is concerned to the topic we are working on. There was a confusion. I will give you the right copies on Monday.

Listening exercise and research questions

Remember to bring the research questions I asked you to research on for Tuesday. Remember also to bring the listening exercise I told you to do at home. You had to put down what you heard from Khalil Gibran´s poem. See you on Thursday!

Selectividad exams

Hi! As I told you in class, I am going to paste two links with two exams related to the topics we are dealing with. Do them at home and do the compositions on a separate sheet of paper so that I can bring it home. http://www.telefonica.net/web2/allp/ew/PAU/MarriedSingle.html http://www. telefonica.net/web2/allp/ew/PAU/domesticviolence.pdf

Another parenthesis: First debate between Barak Obama and Romney

We will deal with politics in due time (lesson 3). In the meantime do please hear the fist debate between Obama and Romney. Remember the importance of listening in the learning of English!

Research questions

I want you to research on the next questions. Some of them you were supposed to have answered already, but apparently you didn´t! a) Where did the potato come from and how did it get to Ireland? b) What does the potato famine have to do with immigration? c) Where did many Irish people emmigrate to? d) Who was Sir Walter Raleigh? e) What´s the name of the historical period Shakespeare was living in? d) What other things interesting from a cultural point of view were coming about at that time? f) What does the Reformation mean for England? g) What points of connection were there between England and Spain at that time?

On marriage

As I told you, there are many poets that have dealt with the issue of love. One of them was William Shakespeare. Another poet perhaps less well-known is Gibran Khalil Gibran. Do this listening exercise about the concept of marriage. Try to put down what you hear (you might have to take notes in English when you go to university!!!!). I will give you the poem in written form (with music) next week! Have a nice weekend, and remember that the only way to learn a language is to be surrounded by the language!

Homework

Remember to do all the exercises for next day. I will try to finish the topic next week. From page 9 exercise 3. We will do exercises 4 and 5 in class. From page 10 do exercises 1, 2, and 3.

Conversation clases

Just to remind you that conversation clases to train you for the B1 exam and for you to have more fluency are due to start on Monday 15th. The clases are optional, so it is not compulsory to come. Classes will be informal and intended for you to feel more confident when speaking English.

Radio Stations available!!

I can´t remember if I told you this, but there are a couple of radion stations you can have access to. One of them is TALK RADIO EUROPE (TRE): 88.9. The other one is CENTRAL FM: 98.6. I want you to listen to them every morning. Remember that listening to a language is the starting point of learning any language.

Very funny!: The museum of broken relationships!

Did you know that there is a museum where one can send all the stuff related to a failed relationship? It is in Croatia! Pay atention to the way they speak English! You may find Croatian students at the university when you get there!!!

The science of love: From the BBC

Here you have a very interesting article about love from a scientific perspective: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/love/

Homework

Last day we corrected some of the exercises I asked you to do. We also corrected the rest of the selectividad exam that I gave you at the beginning of the course. And we also talked (less than I expected!) about relationships! Next day, we will continue correcting the exercises from page 7 and 8 and will also revise how to make negative structures and interrogative structures n English. This last aspect is very important for you, not just because it may be a question in the selectividad test, but also because knowing the tools to make questions and negative sentences will enable you to create all sorts of questions (an infinite number, in fact). Creativity is a skill that you have to develop! NOTE: Remember to do the exercises of the workbook I told you to do!!! See you on Thursday!

A parenthesis! Social Issues: Some information related to the initial test!

I want to provide you with some videos around the topic that was dealt with in the reading comprehension section of the initial test. In the test, the U.S. election process is also mentioned. Here you have another video on how presidents are elected in UNCLE SAM.