cmg_blog

L1 Pronunciation of Past Tenses

2012-01-31T12:05:00.002+01:00

PRONUNCIATION RULES OF THE PAST SIMPLE TENSE OF REGULAR VERBS:

a) Verbs ending in the sound /t/ or /d/, add an extra syllable, pronounced /-id/: decide > decided; want > wanted; hate > hated; visit > visited; start > started

b) After the sounds /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /sh/, /ch/ or /x/, the -ed syllable is pronounced /t/: look > looked (pronounced /lukt/); watch > watched; laugh > laughed; stop > stopped

c) After other consonants and vowel sounds, the –ed is pronounced /d/: live > lived; play > played; die > died; love > loved; clean > cleaned; marry > married

WHO DID WHAT?
Do you want to know more about 1 Pablo Picasso, 2 Albert Einstein, 3 Rudolf Nureyev or 4 Wolfgang Amedus Mozart? Match each activity with one of these four celebrities. Example: G2 = Einstein couldn't read until the age of 8. Then, say which past tense is pronounced /-tid/, /-vd/, /-zd/, /-ld/, /-rd/, /-pt/ or /-st/. Finally, read each sentence aloud for pronunciation practice.

A He came from a Jewish family.
B He painted the Guernica for the Spanish Republic.
C He emigrated from Russia to Paris.
D He escaped the Nazis and survived.
E He criticised Franco’s dictatorship all his life.
F You can find his face on some 50-cent coins.
G He couldn’t read until the age of 8.
H He died of Aids.
I He failed his Physics exam at school.
J He died young and poor.
K He invented cubism.
L He was the best dancer of his time.
M He composed a wonderful Requiem.
N He discovered the relativity theory.
O He died in exile.
P He wrote music for several kings.
Q His paintings are sold for millions.
R His mediocre competitor, Salieri, hated him.
S He never danced at the Maestranza theatre.
T He had the reputation of being a Latin lover.

Answer KEY:
A Einstein came from a Jewish family.
B Picasso painted the Guernica for the Spanish Republic.
C Nureyev emigrated from Russia to Paris.
D Einstein escaped the Nazis and survived.
E Picasso criticised Franco’s dictatorship all his life.
F You can find Mozart’s face on some 50-cent coins.
G Einstein couldn’t read until the age of 8.
H Nureyev died of Aids.
I Einstein failed his Physics exam at school.
J Mozart died young and poor.
K Picasso invented cubism.
L Nureyev was the best dancer of his time.
M Mozart composed a wonderful Requiem.
N Einstein discovered the relativity theory.
O Picasso died in exile.
P Mozart wrote music for several kings.
Q Picasso’s paintings are sold for millions.
R Mozart’s mediocre competitor, Salieri, hated him.
S Nureyev never danced at the Maestranza theatre.
T Picasso had the reputation of being a Latin lover.

Films in English on DVD coming up!

2012-01-23T00:54:00.002+01:00

On DVD with next Sunday's ABC for 1€

Both on DVD with El País for free on Sunday February 5th and 12th.

Sobre corruptores y corruptos

2012-01-22T23:24:00.005+01:00

Corruptores y corruptos

RAFAEL ARGULLOL

El País, 22/01/2012

No hago mucho caso de las cartas que circulan por Internet, pero estos días una de ellas llama la atención. Su encabezamiento es "Ley de Reforma del Congreso", y el remitente, como sucede a menudo, pide el reenvío del texto a conocidos que pudieran estar de acuerdo con el contenido. En sustancia se trata de proponer un cambio constitucional que delimite estrictamente el estatuto del diputado, modificando múltiples aspectos de la condición actual. El propulsor o propulsores de esta idea quieren que el "representante del pueblo" deje de tener unos privilegios y excepciones que -se considera implícitamente- han tenido consecuencias nefastas para la democracia. En lo fundamental se defienden medidas que limitarían draconianamente los juegos de intereses económicos en los que pueden verse inmersos los representantes de la ciudadanía. Se exige una radical transparencia. También el fin de la impunidad de los diputados, los cuales, durante su mandato, deberían responder ante los tribunales, como cualquier otro ciudadano, de aquellos delitos cometidos durante el ejercicio de su cargo. Se recuerda, por último, que el servicio democrático a la ciudadanía no es una profesión, de la cual deba sacarse rendimiento, sino una función honorable que debe ser ejercida con dignidad y siempre provisionalmente, es decir, con una fecha de caducidad que dé paso a nuevos representantes...

Para leer el resto del artículo, pinche en este enlace.

Más y más cosas, pero menos importantes

2012-01-21T15:00:00.002+01:00

Juan Goytisolo escribe:

... El hecho incontestable de que el amor a la lectura ha bajado entre los jóvenes, que el nivel del estudiantado decae paulatinamente en los últimos 20 años, que numerosas librerías cierran y, mientras en la planta de cualquier FNAC donde se expone la infinita gama de ordenadores, artefactos de comunicación virtual y videojuegos rebosa de un público curioso y ávido, la de los libros en papel atrae tan solo a un puñado de personas interesadas en su mayor parte por el último superventas de tema policiaco-esotérico o por los libros de cocina ... enciende una lucecita roja y debe hacemos reflexionar.

... a la juventud "conectada" de todo el planeta, a la que el saber no rentable, excepto para una minoría, ha dejado de interesar. ¿Para qué partirse la cabeza leyendo a Joyce o Kafka, si Google te procura en un instante el catálogo de todas las obras y autores habidos y por haber? ... Las bibliotecas no interesan sino a una tenaz cofradía de doctos y estudiosos. Para quienes conectan con el mundo virtual, la conciencia de tener el saber condensado a su alcance les dispensa de perder el tiempo en la lectura. El resultado de ello, lo resume Rodrigo Fresán: "La pérdida de la capacidad de concentración que procura la lectura larga y tendida (ha sido) suplantada por la voraz disposición para consumir telegráfica y espasmódicamente frases de 140 caracteres y por la cada vez menor capacidad de hacer memoria, porque disponemos de un cerebro exterior y eficiente, llamado Google".

Sí, sabemos hoy más y más cosas, y cada vez menos importantes. El dios Mercado se arroga el papel de principal educador: ha sustituido al profesorado en su tarea gracias a una publicidad omnímoda que subyuga a niños, adolescentes y jóvenes superconectados con la Red y ha reducido su vocabulario a una serie de sintagmas abreviados como los del GMS, en el idioma estándar con el que se comunican millones de usuarios de los renovados prodigios de la alta tecnología. Ciertamente, las Humanidades y el estudio de las lenguas clásicas son poco rentables en un mundo en crisis, pero no creo con todo en las predicciones sombrías sobre el fin del libro y la prensa en papel..
Fragmentos de Más y más cosas, pero menos importantes, publicado en El País el sábado 21 de enero de 2012.

Was Weber Wrong?

2012-01-15T15:07:00.007+01:00

Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant History, by Sascha Becker (University of Stirling) and Ludger Woessmann (University of Munich).

Abstract: Max Weber attributed the higher economic prosperity of Protestant regions to a Protestant work ethic. We provide an alternative theory: Protestant economies prospered because instruction in reading the Bible generated the human capital crucial to economic prosperity. We test the theory using county-level data from late-nineteenth-century Prussia, exploiting the initial concentric dispersion of the Reformation to use distance to Wittenberg as an instrument for Protestantism. We find that Protestantism indeed led to higher economic prosperity, but also to better education. Our results are consistent with Protestants' higher literacy accounting for most of the gap in economic prosperity.

L3 Comp 5: A Film Review

2012-01-11T15:33:00.008+01:00

True Romance, released in 1993, is a romantic thriller written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. It tells the story of a young couple who fall in love but have to leave Detroit quickly when they find themselves in possession of a large quantity of drugs. They are pursued by violent gangsters all the way to Hollywood. After a spectacular shoot-out between the gangsters and cops, the young couple escape to Mexico and live happily ever after.

Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are perfect in the main roles. In the all-star supporting cast, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Dennis Hopper and Samuel L Jackson all give memorable performances.

Tarantino's script is stylish and witty and the excellent soundtrack includes songs by Elvis Presley. The action is fast-paced, but sometimes very violent, and will not appeal to all tastes. Still, a must-see film, and not just for Tarantino fans! (150 words)

Meryl Streep's Iron Lady

2012-01-09T13:51:00.003+01:00

Meryl Streep gives a stunning physical and vocal performance acting as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. A must-see film now showing in town. Watch it and hear it in the original version!

What is an Internet Troll?

2011-12-21T10:55:00.005+01:00

By Timothy Campbell

Here are a few excerpts from Timothy Campbell's article on Internet trolls:

An Internet "troll" is a person who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. He (and it is usually he) tries to start arguments and upset people.

Trolls see Internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are not quite human but are a kind of digital abstraction. As a result, they feel no sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict. Indeed, the greater the suffering they cause, the greater their 'achievement' (as they see it). At the moment, the relative anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish.

Trolls are utterly impervious to criticism (constructive or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you cannot cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason with them. They cannot be made to feel remorse. For some reason, trolls do not feel they are bound by the rules of courtesy or social responsibility.

Perhaps this sounds inconceivable. You may think, "Surely there is something I can write that will change them." But a true troll can not be changed by mere words.

Why does it Matter?

Some people -- particularly those who have been online for years -- are not upset by trolls and consider them an inevitable hazard of using the net. As the saying goes, "You can't have a picnic without ants."

It would be nice if everybody was so easy-going, but the sad fact is that trolls do discourage people. Established posters may leave a message board because of the arguments that trolls ignite, and lurkers (people who read but do not post) may decide that they do not want to expose themselves to abuse and thus never get involved.

Another problem is that the negative emotions stirred up by trolls leak over into other discussions. Normally affable people can become bitter after reading an angry interchange between a troll and his victims, and this can poison previously friendly interactions between long-time users.

Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that a casual criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious and inappropriate backlash.

The Internet is a wonderful resource which is breaking down barriers and stripping away prejudice. Trolls threaten our continued enjoyment of this beautiful forum for ideas.

The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls. When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.

What about Free Speech?

When trolls find that their efforts are being successfully resisted, they often complain that their right to free speech is being infringed. Let us examine that claim.

While most people on the Internet are ardent defenders of free speech, it is not an absolute right; there are practical limitations. For example, you may not scream out "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, and you may not make jokes about bombs while waiting to board an airplane. We accept these limitations because we recognize that they serve a greater good.

When a troll attacks a message board, he generally posts a lot of messages. Even if his messages are not particularly inflammatory, they can be so numerous that they drown out the regular conversations (this is known as 'flooding'). Needless to say, no one person's opinions can be allowed to monopolize a channel.

The ultimate response to the 'free speech' argument is this: while we may have the right to say more or less whatever we want, we do not have the right to say it wherever we want. You may feel strongly about the fact that your neighbor has not mowed his lawn for two months, but you do not have the right to berate him in his own living room. Similarly, if a webmaster tells a troll that he is not welcome, the troll has no "right" to remain. This is particularly true on the numerous free communications services offered on the net.

Conclusion

Next time you are on a message board and you see a post by somebody whom you think is a troll, and you feel you must reply, simply write a follow-up message entitled "Troll Alert" and type only this:

The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.

By posting such a message, you let the troll know that you know what he is, and that you are not going to get dragged into his twisted little hobby.

July 13, 2001 members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm#WIA

L3 Language Recognition

2011-12-17T16:32:00.000+01:00

Prospective employers are likely to [reject candidates who are into dangerous sports] (pages 6, 9, 27)= alternative way of expressing probability or improbability: [not] be likely + to + INF

Most bosses would rather their employees didn't risk their lives every weekend (p 6)= to express that someone would prefer somebody else to do [or not to do] something: would rather + different subject + PAST TENSE

...baseball bats are supposed to be used for hitting balls (Listening, p 150): something/someone + be + supposed + to + INF

...it's my turn to babysit tonight (p 9): to be someone's turn to do something: it + be + possessive + turn + to + INF

The rarer an autograph is, the more I can ask for it (p 10): the + COMPARATIVE + subject + verb, the + COMPARATIVE + subject + verb

This is the first time I have heard such a thing: This is the first time + subject + PRESENT PERFECT (p 29) BUT The first time my mother went clubbing she was 19: The first time + subject + PAST SIMPLE!

Nowadays children are not used to playing games outdoors. BUT When they were children, my parents used to play in the street and would invent their own games. be/get used to + GERUND BUT used to + INFINITIVE!

Rosa Parks was sitting with three other blacks in the fifth row. (p 41) Syntactical order: NUMBER + other(SINGULAR) + PLURAL NOUN

Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the Civil Rights Movement. (p 41) The film Crash won the Academy Award for Best Film in 2005. Someone is awarded a prize for something/doing something

Whenever you feel like it. (p 48) ALSO: Do you feel like going out tonight, or would you rather stay in? [not] feel like something/doing something

To express when something is not where it should be or someone is not present (p 50): My keys are missing from the cupboard; have you seen them anywhere? Seventy five years after the war, her grandfather's remains are still missing. something/someone + be + missing

La versión original como horizonte

2011-12-15T15:03:00.004+01:00

Un informe encargado por los ministerios de Educación y Cultura aconseja que en dos años las televisiones emitan por obligación en VOS - Solo un 3% consume cine sin doblar

Establecer una obligación de programar sesiones de cine en Versión Original Subtitulada (VOS) en un porcentaje creciente en el tiempo; que se vean en los colegios programas en VOS; y que de aquí en dos años el canal de audio de las televisiones sea por defecto el original, y no como ahora, que al encender un televisor se oyen las películas y las series extranjeras dobladas. Estas son las principales propuestas de la Comisión para el fomento de la versión original en la exhibición de las obras audiovisuales, creada por los Ministerios de Educación y Cultura, que se reunió durante julio, agosto y septiembre. Su informe final, no vinculante, al que ha tenido acceso EL PAÍS y que se hará público en los próximos días, recuerda: "España es, junto con Italia, el país donde el doblaje goza de una mayor implantación en la emisión de contenidos audiovisuales".

La propuesta más llamativa es la referente a la televisión. Sobre la posible respuesta negativa de las cadenas privadas o de los actores de doblaje, Carlos Cuadros, director del ICAA, el organismo que regula el cine en el Ministerio de Cultura y uno de los impulsores de esta comisión, explica: "El mundo del doblaje no se verá afectado, porque seguiría existiendo. Creo que la educación acabará provocando una demanda de cine en VOS. Las televisiones públicas están a favor de ese cambio, porque apoya emisiones en diversas lenguas oficiales".

La TDT ha hecho posible ese salto tecnológico. "Las cadenas ya emiten en dual. Solo hay que cambiar el canal de sonido que sale por defecto, y que el subtitulado para sordos aparezca automáticamente. Si los ancianos ya saben manejar ese mando, apretar un botón si quieres oírlo en doblado no requiere esfuerzo", dice Cuadros. Sin embargo, las cadenas privadas no quieren ni hablar del cambio. Desde UTECA, asociación que agrupa a las televisiones comerciales, ningún portavoz quiere hacer declaraciones, pero en conversaciones off the record califican la iniciativa de "absoluta tontería y sinsentido; nadie lo quiere".

"A mí me parece que es el momento", responde la filósofa Victoria Camps, una de las integrantes del comité. "En educación se están haciendo progresos -aún hace falta más- que deberían prolongarse en casa. Yo creo que la gente está dispuesta a este esfuerzo, porque facilita la asimilación de idiomas".

Hay clasificaciones que merecería la pena que España no liderara. Como que solo el 27% de los españoles puede expresarse en inglés, según un Eurobarómetro de la Comisión Europa de 2006; o que el 63% de los españoles no hablan ni entienden un idioma extranjero, según un Barómetro del CIS de 2010. En Internet, igual: el 58% de los españoles considera que se les escapa información importante en la Web por estar redactada en una lengua que desconocen o no dominan, porcentaje solo por debajo del de los griegos (60%) y por encima de la media europea (44%), según otro Eurobarómetro del pasado mes de mayo. Son datos que ratifican el runrún de toda la vida: en España se hablan poco y mal los idiomas extranjeros.

¿Hablan más lenguas quienes ven la tele y el cine en versión original? En Europa parece que sí. Y ese "parece que sí" es la madre del cordero. No existe un estudio que relacione directamente un mejor aprendizaje de idiomas con la versión original en el consumo audiovisual, pero sí es cierto que donde se emite la televisión en VOS se hablan mejor los idiomas extranjeros (un estudio de la Comisión Europa titulado Study on the use of subtitling desarrolla esa posibilidad).

En España la televisión se ve doblada, y en el cine menos de un 3% de los espectadores escogen películas en versión original subtitulada. "Esto viene de la ley de 1940 [la que impuso el doblaje durante el franquismo], que a mi entender es desde luego anticonstitucional, porque es anterior a 1978", asegura Francisca Sauquillo, presidenta del Consejo de Consumidores y Usuarios y miembro de esa comisión. Junto a Sauquillo y a Victoria Camps, estuvieron en el comité, entre otros, el abogado y expresidente de la Junta de Andalucía Rafael Escuredo, el presidente de la Academia de Cine Enrique González Macho o el director académico del Instituto Cervantes Francisco Moreno. En su informe piden al Gobierno que aborde "medidas audaces". "Hubo grandes discusiones, sobre todo en el apartado del cine, pero creemos que debemos fomentar un bilingüismo real en España", cuenta Sauquillo. El exhibidor y distribuidor Enrique González Macho explica: "Los idiomas no se aprenden en el cine. Algunos compañeros propusieron cuota de cine subtitulado, lo que hundiría el mercado de las salas. La gente se iría a casa a ver las películas en la tele dobladas. Por eso no incluimos límites temporales para las pantallas de cine y sí en la televisión. No es un problema de oferta y demanda, sino de educación del país. Y los primeros educadores son los padres en las casas".

La comisión nace tras una Enmienda transaccional en la mesa del Senado que instaba el pasado 12 de julio al Gobierno a fomentar la versión original y la difusión de las lenguas oficiales. Todos los grupos votaron a favor, excepto el PP, que se abstuvo. "A nosotros nos dijeron que pensaban que se debía ir más lejos", asegura Cuadros. "No hemos presentado el informe antes porque no podíamos hacerlo durante la campaña electoral. Efectivamente, nos han faltado meses de legislatura para desarrollar esta iniciativa". El nuevo Gobierno deberá decidir si el informe es papel mojado o el inicio de un profundo cambio social. (El País, 15.12.11)

The Protester

2011-12-15T14:59:00.000+01:00

L1 File 4B Reading: Clothes

2011-12-13T17:26:00.004+01:00

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?

The world of clothes and fashion is changing. In the 1950s, men wore a suit for work and women never went out without a hat and gloves. Today, people can wear jeans and a T-shirt in the office and young men only wear a suit for interviews or weddings. Colours are also different today. People wear blue, green, yellow, and red as well as more formal colours like black, grey, and brown. My boyfriend works in an office and today he’s wearing jeans and a pink shirt!
Sports clothes are very popular today. I’m wearing jogging trousers, a T-shirt, and trainers today, but I don’t go jogging! I wear them because they are fashionable and comfortable. People sometimes wear ski jackets and walking boots or trainers when they go to the pub!
Children are also very interested in fashion. In the past, parents chose and bought clothes for children and teenagers. Now, children choose their own clothes and often like to have designer labels. My sister’s children are wearing Paul Smith jeans, Donna Karan T-shirts and Nike trainers at the moment. I think she spends more money on clothes for them than I spend on my clothes!
I like today’s fashion because it is more informal and men and women can wear the same things. I often borrow my boyfriend’s trousers, shirts, and T-shirts −but he doesn’t borrow mine!

Read the text aloud for pronunciation practice and answer these questions:
1. How is today’s fashion different from the one in the 1950s?
2. What clothes and colours can people wear for work?
3. Does the writer wear sports clothes to go jogging?
4. Do parents choose clothes for today’s teenagers?
5. Why are children’s clothes expensive?
6. Why does the writer like today’s fashion?

Write questions for your partner.
1. How often/go shopping for clothes?
2. like/today’s fashion?
3. What/favourite clothes shop?
4. buy clothes/on the Internet?
5. How much/spend on clothes?
6. buy/designer labels?
7. What/wear for work/school/university?
8. What/wear/now?
9. What/favourite colours?
10. borrow/other people’s clothes?

L3 Composition 4: A Covering Letter

2011-12-12T18:05:00.001+01:00

After doing the Reading and Language Focus self-correcting exercises 1 + 2, on page 79 of the Straigtforward WORKBOOK, write a 3-paragraph, 150-word, double-spaced covering letter. Hand it in on Monday 19th or Tuesday 20th in class. Write about an imaginary vacancy and use Mark Goodsworth's letter to Mr Wright as a model. It is essential to proofread your composition. Look up words if you are unsure of their spelling, check your punctuation, etc. You may want to revisit the punctuation rules.

L3 Composition Linking Exercise KEY

2011-12-12T18:04:00.000+01:00

A “Typical Spanish” Myth

People all over the world are enchanted by Spain—its perfect climate, beautiful beaches, and vibrant social life—but many common ideas about the country aren’t particularly true. One the most pervasive myths about Spain is that it has a “fiesta/siesta” culture: that people stay out late at night and sleep off their excesses during the midday siesta. Spaniards, it is said, are relaxed and even lazy at work but energetic on their own time, which is typically devoted to eating, drinking, dancing, and other diversions. In other words: they don’t live to work, but work to really live.

Spain’s reputation of having a high quality of life isn’t entirely false, but neither is it the whole story. On the one hand, Spaniards are less stressed than other Europeans—and have lower levels of productivity. On the other hand, Spain has the longest working hours of any nation in the EU, and few people take siestas nowadays. In fact, Spaniards sleep, on average, an hour less per day than other Europeans. What’s more, several of the world’s most profitable and innovative companies (Banco Santander, Zara, Iberdrola, Telefónica) are Spanish. Therefore, it’s hardly fair to suggest that Spaniards aren’t hard-working—even offensive, given the current level of unemployment; if there’s one thing that the unemployed do care about, it’s work. To sum up, the idea that they are lazy and hedonistic just isn’t true.

It’s safe to say that the image of Spain’s “fiesta/siesta" culture has always been an exaggeration. These days, however, Spain is even further from the easy-going, fun-loving place people imagine. Its quality of life has suffered in recent years. The Euro has made it more expensive, and the financial crisis has brought ruin to Spain’s main industries, construction and tourism. Just as fewer Europeans are choosing to spend their vacations in places like Benidorm and Mallorca, Spaniards are increasingly forced to relocate outside of the country to find work. They don’t work to live, but emigrate to work. Nowadays, young people worry that a new myth is taking shape: that Spain has a weak economy and a workforce that can’t keep up with the rest of Europe.

It's called bullying (video)

2011-12-06T22:04:00.007+01:00

A French colleague, who also teaches English, sent me this video with the following message: A VOIR, A MEDITER, A UTILISER EN COURS...

UPDATE, PLEASE READ
To all my friends and supporters,
I made this video 4 months ago just before school was about to start. I was 13. It was a very emotionally dark time in my life. I made the video at 4 am in the morning; I hadn't been sleeping at night for a long time, too many things going on in my head. I was dreading going back to school and I had not come out to my family yet. Only my closest friends knew. I didn't know how to say what I needed to say. All I could think about were all the bad things that had been happening at school last year, every year for that matter. I just couldn't bare to go through that anymore. I was done being fake happy, pretending hateful words didn't hurt, done hiding it from my family.
So this video was made for my friends that had moved on to High School who were worried for me, to say to them that I was going to take a stand, and to the haters at my middle school that I'm not going anywhere. I am who I am. I posted the video here and told people were to find it. That was it.
My friends were moved by the video and thought I did something important. I was encouraged to upload it to my Facebook page so more people could see it. Maybe it could help someone else going through the same thing. So I linked it Dec. 1st. My Parents saw it for the first time Dec, 2nd.
Then..... all this happened.
I never expected in a million years that it would have such a wonderful impact on so many people. I am truly humbled and truly thankful for all the love, encouragement and support from people all over the world. It's been incredibly overwhelming. I don't know what to say. Thank you so, so much!
Lastly, yes you have seen me happy in a couple short videos replies I posted; I would think that would be a good thing, and yes I do have friends, my High School friends, and I have made friends because when I came out they realized that they had hurt me and that they fealt sorry. The video is real, and true.
In the last few months everything eventually came out in the open, I felt a huge weight off my shoulders; I'm happy, I'm excepted for who I am, I'm more confident and feel stronger every day.
Thank you all, Love and peace to all who are hurting.
Jonah Mowry

Language Humour

2011-12-06T20:29:00.002+01:00

L3 Compiling Phrasal Verbs

2011-12-06T10:44:00.008+01:00

If you want to participate in this interactive compilation, send in a post (click on comments below) adding a few new phrasal verbs to the ongoing list as they come up in your Student's book. Follow the pattern of the first five verbs which I am posting for you: VERB IN CAPITALS, page number in Straightforward Upper Intermediate (in parenthesis), transitive/intransitive, separable/inseparable, = the meaning of the verb, plus one or two examples. I will then supervise the entries and add them to this list.

A good reference work is Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus (Macmillan, ISBN: 978-1-40-506390-6). To revise the three types of phrasal verbs click here.

TURN INTO (p. 6) transitive, separable= to change or develop into something different. What started out as an enjoyable holiday turned into a nightmare.

SET UP (p. 6) transitive, separable= do all the organizarion necessary to start a business, company, system, etc. This may involve arranging things, paying money, signing legal documents, etc. He asked his secretary to set up a meeting for the following Friday.

TAKE SOMETHING UP (p. 6) transitive, separable= start to do an activity, especially for pleasure. My 70-year-old grandmother has just taken up sailing and my grandfather is thinking of taking up Japanese.

BE INTO SOMETHING (p. 6) transitive, inseparable= be interested in something. My brother is really into classical music. I'm not into cricket at all. I've always thought it's a very slow and boring game.

STAND OUT (p. 6) intransitive, inseparable= to be much more impressive or important than other people or things. All the candidates were good, but one in particular stands out.

MAKE SOMETHING UP (p.7) [transitive, separable]: to invent something such as a story or excuse, sometimes in order to deceive people. I think it´s very unkind of you to make up stories about him. You shouldn´t make it all up on your CV, because you can find yourself in deep water.

CHECK OUT (p. 9) [intransitive]: to pay the bill when leaving a hotel. After she checked out, she took a cab to the airport. Also, CHECK OUT OF [inseparable]: After she checked out of the hotel, she took a cab to the airport.

START OFF (p.8) [separable]: to cause someone or something to start. We start off our meetings with a summary of the previous meeting's minutes. My father started me off in business. Also, START OFF [intransitive]: to start or begin. He started off as a programmer and ended up as the CTO.

FIND OUT (p.10) [separable]: to discover information by chance or deliberately. To find out something/if.../when.../who.../what.../why.../that…/about…, etc. I found out that it was worth five times what he’d paid for it. I tried to keep him from learning its value, but he found it out. Also, FIND OUT [intransitive]: to ascertain (something) through examination or inquiry. I don't know what he's up to, but I'm going to find out. **note that this verb is often intransitive even when an object seems implied or apparent, e.g. I tried to keep him from learning its value, but he found out.

TRACK DOWN (p.10) [separable]: to follow the course or movements of something or someone until it is located. To find someone or something after a lengthy search. If someone asks me to track down a copy of some rare, Spain-only pressing of an Elvis single, I’m quite happy to do it. It took us all summer to track him down.

START OUT (Straightforward Workbook p. 5) [inseparable]: to take the first steps or actions in an activity (life, career, etc.) or to be in a particular way originally. Paintballing didn't start out as a game. He started out in the mailroom but ended up a mid-level executive. START OUT AS (p. 6) transitive, inseparable= to begin a new experience, action, activity, etc. Example: What started out as an enjoyable holiday turned into a nightmare.

GET BACK (Straightforward workbook p. 5) [intransitive]: to return; to answer. We got back from our vacation last week. I´ll get back to you. Also, GET BACK [separable]: to recover, to regain possession of. I loaned him my iPod and never got it back.

PUT ACROSS (p. 18) [transitive, separable]: to transmit an idea or a message. John is a very good politician because he is the best at putting his ideas across.

ADD UP (p. 19) [intransitive, inseparable]: to be reasonable, plausible, or consistent; make sense. The witness's testimony simply did not add up

BUTT IN (p. 19) [intransitive, inseparable]: It is when someone interrupts a conversation or an activity without permission. Please stop butting in. You will have a turn to speak.

CLEAR UP (p. 19) [transitive, separable]: 1. Tidy. We always clear up the kitchen after breakfast = After breakfast we clear it up. 2. Clarify the troubles or mysteries. They should clear things up among themselves. The police managed to clear up the case of the missing diamond.

HOLD OUT (p. 50) [transitive, separable]: To offer something to someone.
He got on his knees, showed her a beautiful ring and held it out to his girlfriend.

L3 Students on Freedom Fighters

2011-12-01T13:48:00.011+01:00

Class Presentations on Freedom Fighters

Tell your classmates about a courageous person in the history of your country that fought for civil rights. What did this person do? Don't mention his/her name until your classmates guess it at the end of your presentation, and then write his/her name on the board. OR Tell your partners about an important breakthrough in human rights in the history of your country. What was achieved and how? Speak for 2 minutes. You may look at your notes but try not to read them. (See text on Rosa Parks for vocabulary and expressions on page 41, and use passive tenses when necessary.)

Here are two of your classmates' presentations. If you can you guess who they talked about, post your comment below.

_________________________(1888-1972) She was born in 1888 and died in 1972. She was a Spanish politician who was the first person to fight for the right of women to vote in Spain, when only men were allowed to vote in parliamentary elections. She was a courageous woman, because she defended universal suffrage, in spite of being criticized by many people, including women like Victoria Kent, who was another member of the Spanish Parliament during the Second Republic. Finally, the Spanish Government granted women the right to vote in 1931 and since that moment all Spanish people have had equal rights regardless of their gender. Can you guess her name?

A courageous person in the history of my country is ____________________. Born in 1910, he was a young diplomat from Zaragoza who was assigned to Hungary during the Second World War. He was shocked by the horror of the Holocaust and he saved the life of more than 5,200 jews. Four hundred more than those saved by Oskar Schindler. However, the latter is more well-know than our Spanish hero. He forged jews’ passports and he had to bribe people and rent some flats with his own money to hide jews. He even built an annex at the Spanish embassy in Budapest, so they were untouchable for the Nazis. He didn’t have the approval of Franco’s regime to do this. He died in 1980.Also known as the Spanish Schindler, he is an example of true bravery in Spain. Can you guess who he was?

Music to grow up by

2011-11-30T15:57:00.006+01:00

Do your parents' passions shape your own? Laura Barton, one of The Guardian's music writers, looks back on her formative years.

guardian.co.uk, Sunday 27 November 2011

In the evenings, after he had set down his briefcase and taken his first sip of gin and tonic, my dad would teach me how to rock'n'roll dance in the living room. I would be swooshed into the air, shown how to twist right down to the floor on one leg, while we played Chubby Checker, Chuck Berry, the Big Bopper up loud on the stereo.

Music was a constant presence in my childhood home, soundtracking Sunday lunches, housework, homework, afternoons in the garden. It was a rush of Graceland, Supertramp, Kate Bush; Sgt Pepper, Duffy Power, doo-wop. It was Tango in the Night and Jazz on a Summer's Day, and all four of us crammed in the car, singing a little ditty, 'bout Jack and Diane.

Some moments seem scored on my memory: my dad playing Sixteen Candles on my birthday; a school morning with my mum as she played Phil Collins's No Jacket Required. And when I stop to consider it now, I see how much music has fed and shaped and enriched my relationship with my parents.

I often think it was my mum who gave me lyrics, who gave me Leonard Cohen and Dory Previn: a delight in the sound and colour and weight of words. My dad gave me music: song as a physical experience, as rhythm, as the beat and the off-beat drummed against the car steering wheel. He gave me jazz, and blues, and rock'n'roll, Dion, John Lee Hooker and Thelonious Monk. He would take me to record fairs, where I would stand quietly among the rows and listen to the flick-flick-flick of the vinyl-hunters. He would make me compilations, send me messages about his latest musical infatuation, greet my return home with a casual, "Have you heard the new Kanye?"

My dad and I are still talking about music. When I went home recently we sat at the kitchen table sipping red wine while he explained what he loved about Wu-Lyf's intros. And when my parents went to see Bon Iver play in Manchester this autumn, he emailed me the following morning to rave and to rhapsodise, to try to articulate his awe at the previous night's show.

It was my mum who introduced my dad to the music of Van Morrison: some time around 1970 she bought a copy of Astral Weeks in HMV in Manchester and forced him to listen to it. Ever since, Morrison's music has been a beam, a bolster between my parents, our family.

For my whole life, this is music that has somehow shouldered our relationship; his music has become part of our family language every bit as much as bad puns, Monty Python jokes and references to I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. We'll talk about "gardens all misty-wet with rain" and of being "famished before dinner" and "meet me down by the pylons".

And still, now, some of the happiest sounds in the world to me remain those late-night murmurings – drifting up the stairs, pressing up between the floorboards, the sound of wine glasses, low voices, the muffled lyrics, rhythms, raptures of Into the Music playing on the stereo: "When you hear the music ringing in your soul," Morrison sings, "And you feel it in your heart and it grows and grows/ And it came from the backstreet rock'n'roll/ And the healing has begun …"

Laura Barton is a journalist and author

Laura Barton and her dad

L2 Online Listening Exercises

2011-11-28T17:11:00.000+01:00

I recommend Level 2 students the following online listening exercises:

http://www.esl-lab.com/school1/scholrd1.htm (University / college life- goes with File 1A)

http://www.esl-lab.com/schedule/schedsc1.htm (Daily Activities- goes with 1B)

http://www.esl-lab.com/party/partrd1.htm (Party Time! - goes with 1B-1C)

http://www.esl-lab.com/customs/customrd1.htm (Immigration and Customs - goes with 1D)

IdI students at the cinema

2011-11-25T10:27:00.000+01:00

We are going to the cinema! On Wednesday, December 7th I am taking you and other IdI students to the Avenida Cinema to see The Help, a very moving, entertaining film about the unfolding of the Civil Rights Movement in America in the early sixties. The film starts at 7.30, and we will meet at 7 pm outside the cinema, on 15 Marqués de Paradas Avenue, opposite the Plaza de Armas Hotel. Feel free to bring a friend, a housemate or a relative along and enjoy cinema in the original version!

The Help is a 2011 comedy-drama film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel of the same name. The film is about a young white woman, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, and her relationship with two black maids during Civil Rights era America in the early 1960s. Skeeter is a journalist who decides to write a controversial book from the point of view of the maids (known as the Help), exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families. The film takes place in Jackson, Mississippi, and stars, among others, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain and Sissy Spacek.
Tickets with a student discount are €5.70

V.O.: La voz humana

2011-11-20T10:00:00.000+01:00

Por CARLOS MARTÍN GAEBLER

Una de las prácticas más nefastas de la dictadura franquista era el doblaje de películas extranjeras, lo que ayudaba a censurar convenientemente cualquier diálogo considerado incorrecto por el régimen nacional-católico. El pensamiento único que, cual martillo pilón, propició el fascismo español también exigía un idioma único, que suprimió las otras lenguas españolas y, por supuesto, evitó cualquier lengua extranjera en las películas que se proyectaban en cines o, a partir de los años sesenta, en televisión. La consecuencia de este hábito inculto produjo un empobrecimiento idiomático progresivo en los españoles, circunstancia que tristemente hemos arrastrado hasta la actualidad. Y así, mientras nuestros vecinos portugueses se manejan con soltura en inglés o en francés, los españoles que pretenden hablar un idioma distinto al suyo materno se han de enfrentar a una desventaja de partida: no tienen hecho el oído a escuchar lenguas extranjeras porque ni las televisiones ni la mayoría de los cines respetan la versión original de las películas de ficción.

Sólo en los últimos años se ha extendido la buena costumbre de ver y escuchar películas en VO (subtituladas en español) en diversas ciudades españolas, privilegio hasta hace poco únicamente de Madrid y Barcelona. Una generación de españoles cinéfilos y cosmopolitas reclama su derecho a disfrutar del cine en todo su esplendor. Pero hay más consideraciones que hacer. Escuchar una película doblada es equiparable a escuchar una sinfonía de Beethoven interpretada por una orquesta de música ligera, o a leer un poema de García Lorca traducido a otro idioma. La voz humana es una riqueza en sí misma; suplantarla es como dejar que el espectador simplemente vea el filme pero no lo oiga como fue originalmente creado. Este flagrante atentado contra la obra artística priva al espectador del placer de la palabra dicha, de la interpretación completa (acto + texto) de los actores y actrices del celuloide y ahora del soporte digital. Gozar con las voces de otros nos enriquece como personas. Si bello es escuchar recitar un poema con duende, igualmente gozoso es oír la cadencia de una escena cinematográfica emotiva. A mi memoria vienen las voces llenas de matices y de empaque de Paul Newman, Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, Gerard Depardieu, Marcello Mastroianni, Emma Thompson, Juliette Binoche, Javier Bardem, Hugh Grant o Paco Rabal, por citar sólo a algunos.

Hoy en día, la técnica del subtitulado simultáneo permite seguir los diálogos de cualquier película sin demasiado menoscabo de la experiencia fílmica. El espectador poco habituado a leer mientras ve tardará poco en poder simultanear ambos actos; y, casi sin darse cuenta, empezará a disfrutar de la autenticidad de las voces originales, que, no olvidemos, representan el 50% de toda película hablada. Una vez despertado el gusanillo, se preguntará cómo pudo alguna vez escuchar películas dobladas. Compartir y comentar el visionado de una película en la pantalla gigante de una sala de cine con otros ciudadanos (sin interrupciones comerciales ni telefónicas) es en sí mismo un hermoso acto social. ¡Pasen y oigan!

Here is a list of 21 memorable films I recommend for learners of English (with the names of actors and actresses whose voices you will enjoy hearing). I advise you to try to watch these films on DVD with English subtitles on first.

The Bridges of Madison County (with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep)
American Beauty (Kevin Spacey + Annette Bening)
Love Actually (Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, etc)
Match Point (Scarlett Johansson + Johnathan Rhys Meyers)
Babel (Cate Blanchet + Brad Pitt)
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
Crash (Matt Dillon)
The English Patient (Ralph Fiennes)
Dogville (Nicole Kidman)
About a Boy (Hugh Grant)
Billy Elliot (Julie Walters + Jamie Bell)
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Vigo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, etc)
The Godfather trilogy (Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, etc)
Blade Runner (Harrison Ford)
The Day After Tomorrow (Dennis Quaid + Jake Gyllenhaal)
A House at the End of the World (Colin Farrel)
The Truman Show (Jim Carrey + Laura Linney)
The Talented Mr Rippley (Matt Damon + Jude Law)
Dead Poets’ Society (Robin Williams)
Good Will Hunting (Matt Damon + Robin Williams)
American History X (Edward Norton)

L3 Composition 3: Comparing Youth Cultures

2011-11-16T16:53:00.003+01:00

Composition 3: Comparing Youth Cultures

Compare your parents’ youth culture to your own. Recycle what you have learned so far, incorporate some of the following expressions in bold into your text from Straightforward Upper Intermediate and use past tenses appropriately. Write 150 words, double-spaced. You may illustrate your contrastive essay with one or two photos. Here is an example of the first half of the writing task:

Frankly, this is the first time I’ve been asked to compare my own youth culture to that of my parents’. My father and I are not used to discussing his youth at home. Although the Spanish “Movida” didn’t actually reach his hometown, he told me he would often get on a train and spend weekends in Madrid going to concerts and having fun. He even remembers meeting the lead singer from Radio Futura, dressed in black and wearing dark make-up, backstage once. My father was in his twenties and he was such a fan! As he was not into drugs, he just enjoyed the sex and the rock’n' roll. Now, the more I learn about it, the more interested I become in that exciting period of my country’s history, the legendary eighties.

As for my generation, we are supposed to be …

Oscar Wilde dixit:

2011-11-09T11:00:00.001+01:00

I have nothing to declare except my genius.

I find it harder and harder every day to live up to my blue china.
Who, being loved, is poor?
Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others.
Experience is the name everyone gives to his mistakes.
I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never any use to oneself.
Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.
There is no sin except stupidity.
A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple and the simple thing is the right thing.
Punctuality is the thief of time.
Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.
Nothing looks so like innocence as an indiscretion.
Thought is not catching.
Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of art.
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim.
I can resist everything except temptation.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

L1 Vocabulary Bank: Families

2011-11-09T09:00:00.001+01:00

1. Rafael Ramos is a Mexican doctor from a little village in the north of the country. He’s married to María Sánchez. They got married in a Catholic church. They have two children. His wife is a nurse. She’s 35. They both speak English because they use it at work with their foreign patients.

2. Yasmina Kamal is an Egyptian girl from Cairo. She is an engineering student at Cairo University. She’s 19 and she’s single. She's a Muslim. She has one sister and two brothers. Her parents were born in Cairo, too. She wants to learn English because it’s an international language.

3. Angela, Anne´s mother, isn’t married; she is a single mother. They live in a lovely house on the beach. They love the sea. Angela has an exciting job; she’s a fashion model. She travels all over the world. She wants her daughter to learn English because she wants to give her a cosmopolitan education.

4. Kevin and Lucy married in 1985. Their marriage was very unhappy, so they divorced in 2000. In 2003, Kevin met Julia and remarried. They have twins, John and Peter. His first wife, Lucy, moved to a different city after their separation. She now works at the Town Hall. She’s a civil servant.

5. Alejandro met his boyfriend Juan at a friend’s party. They married last summer. All their friends and relatives were at the wedding. They are planning to adopt two children. Alejandro is a very famous film director and Juan is a doctor. They own one flat in Madrid and another in Seville. They both speak French and English fluently.

6. Emma and Virginia are another same-sex couple. They are businesswomen and they live together in Barcelona. They want to get married next year. Emma has two sons, Julian and Oscar, from her previous relationship. Her mother-in-law is called Susan. She’s 60 and she loves her grandchildren very much. She doesn’t speak English at all.

L3 Composition 2: For and Against

2011-11-02T18:35:00.002+01:00

Write a "for and against" discursive essay on one of the topics in Lesson 2B, Functional Language, exercise 3 or in Speaking exercise 1, Straightforward Upper Intermediate, page 19. Write 150 words, double-spaced and follow the composition format instructions. Here is a model:

Should Animals Be Kept in Zoos?

Some people think that all zoos should be closed down and the animals returned to the wild.They argue that zoos keep animals in cruel and unnatural conditions, such as small cages, only to entertain visitors, and animals can’t be happy if they are not allowed to be free. They point out that animals rarely breed in captivity, and if they do, animals which are raised in a zoo are afterwards unable to survive in wild conditions. Furthermore, zoos are expensive, and if we are serious about animal welfare, we should spend the money on conserving the animals’ natural habitats and helping save animals in the wild.

However, supporters of zoos say that modern zoos are very different from old-fashioned ones where animals were kept in cages.Today’s zoos provide habitats similar to the animals’ natural environments. Animals in zoos live longer than animals in the wild because they are well fed, given medical help when necessary, and protected from predators. Modern zoos also have breeding programs intended to help save endangered species and return animals to nature. Another important function that zoos have is educational; they teach us (especially children) to respect and care for animals and emphasize the importance of conservation of the animals’ natural habitats.

Being Bilingual

2011-11-02T11:25:00.004+01:00

Important Information for Learners of English

Being able to speak English as a second language opens up a world of opportunities for you in many walks of life. Speaking a foreign language not only makes you a richer person both socially and culturally, but also allows you to feel like a citizen of the world. A reasonable competence in understanding and speaking the English language will certainly make you feel confident wherever you go, even in Europe! Within the European Union alone there are several countries (apart from the United Kingdom and Ireland) where English is broadly spoken by the majority of the population, which makes it easy to get by. Such is the case with Sweden, Denmark, Holland or Malta

Travelling offers you the best way to practise your English. In this respect, the Erasmus Mobility Programme provides Spanish university students with the best chance to acquaint themselves with their European fellow students. Bear in mind that quite a number of European universities offer some of their courses in English. So you might want to consider the possibility of applying for an Erasmus grant and spending a few months at another European university. Studying for a year abroad should be an integral part of every young Spanish university student’s education. It always turns out to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I warmly encourage you to seize the opportunity. You’ll never regret it later! Also remember that travelling in Europe has become much easier after the euro, the European single currency, was adopted by seventeen EU countries.

It is common knowledge that tourism has become Seville’s number-one industry. Thousands of people work or intend to work in this field, but sadly enough very few of them could claim that they have an acceptable level of English. It is a fact that the level of English of local shop assistants, taxi drivers, waiters or bank clerks, for instance, leaves a lot to be desired. Being competent in English should go with certain jobs, even if some do not seem to see the logic of it. In this case, speaking a foreign language is just another way of being hospitable.

Finally, one of the best and most enjoyable ways of achieving some kind of bilingual ability is watching films in their original English version. In Seville you can now do so at the Avenida cinema, which regularly show English-speaking films with Spanish subtitles. TDT television also allows you to watch films, series or documentaries in English with Spanish subtitles. Not only will you learn new expressions or recognise the ones you have already learnt, but you will also enjoy the different accents of great actors and actresses, because, as any film lover would tell you, a good film is a magical combination of moving images and human voices, and the latter should never be dubbed.

In short, being bilingual will broaden your perception of the world around you and will give you the tools to become part of the multilingual global society we live in. If you overcome your initial communicative shyness and reach the point when you feel confident to speak today’s lingua franca at any time anywhere, you will have the world in the palm of your hand. If other Europeans can do it, so can you! Remember the saying, “Where there’s a will there’s a way.” Have a go and enjoy the difference! cmg

L3 Compound Adjectives

2011-11-02T11:16:00.000+01:00

Compound adjectives that express the idea of with or having often end in -ed. For example, a a guy with blue eyes is a blue-eyed guy. These -ed endings are often known as "false participles":

A baby with curly hair is a curly-haired baby.
A cat with one leg is a one-legged cat. (Here notice the pronunciation and spelling of "legged".)
A girl with black hair and green eyes = a black-haired, green-eyed girl.
A robber with one eye = a one-eyed robber.
A model with long legs = a long-legged model.

Compound adjectives with expressions of time, quantity, weight, distance or measurement:

A journey that lasts 12 hours is a 12-hour journey. (Note that "hour" is singular.)
A baby that weighs seven pounds = a seven-pound baby.
A walk of 20 miles = a 20-mile walk.
A holiday that lasts 2 weeks = a 2-week holiday.

Sentence Transformation Exercise:

1. My bag was stolen by a teenager with green hair
A green-...

2. Bruce Springsteen gave a concert that lasted four hours.
Bruce Springsteen gave a four-...

3. A man who was dressed in smart clothes came to see you.
A well-...

4. The competition was won by a model with blue eyes and blonde hair.
A blue-...

5. That job pays well.
That's a well-...

L3 used to + INF vs. be/get used to + GER

2011-10-26T10:16:00.000+02:00

Please be aware of these two very different verb patterns:

When she was a child, she used to spend her summer holidays in Conil. (=solía)

It took me a long time, but I am now used to getting up early on weekdays. (=estar acostumbrado)

After a few basic lessons, he quickly got used to typing with all his fingers. (=acostumbrarse)

THE FIRST VERB PATTERN IS CONSTRUCTED WITH THE INFINITIVE, THE OTHER TWO WITH THE GERUND! (The presence of the word used in all of them is what may cause confusion.)

L1 Pronunciation of -s endings

2011-10-25T10:31:00.001+02:00

Pronunciation of -s endings:

In general: /-z/ e.g. pens, days, bags, photos, sews, ties, potatoes, goes, babies, universities, companies, studies, tries, wives, shelves, is, has.

After -f(e){-ph,-gh}/-k(e)/-p(e)/-t(e): /-s/ e.g. books, students, photographs, works, types, laughs.

After -ce/-s(e)/-ss/-sh/-ch/-x(e)/-ge: /-iz/ (extra syllable) e.g. produces, nurses, garages, buses, classes, dishes, teaches, fixes, washes.

L3 Role Play on Animal Rights

2011-10-24T00:14:00.005+02:00

Role Play: Discussing Animal Rights

Together with your classmate, write down an imaginary debate between an animal rights campaigner (A) and a bullfighting fan (B). They are trying hard to reach some common ground. Use the functional language from page 19 to express their opinions and recycle the language and expressions that appear in the tapescript (page 151) and pair work exercises from Lesson 2B, Straightforward Upper Intermediate. Try to agree on what each of them would say and make sure that both of you write down the complete conversation. Remember to use the following idiomatic expressions:

Personally, what upsets me is …

Frankly, that is absolutely unacceptable.

As far as I am concerned, there is no problem with that.

I am absolutely convinced that measures need be taken to …

I really don’t think most people agree with you there.

I may be wrong, but not everyone actually…

To be perfectly honest with you, I think it’s about time …

I don’t believe for a minute that these animals are treated with cruelty.

cruel

pointless

unfortunate

totally absurd

unacceptable

traditional

business

passionate

ban

torture

close down

draw a line

miss the point

L2 HW: Correct the errors

2011-10-23T16:42:00.003+02:00

Level 2

Correct the most common errors:

My name is Maria Lopez and I live in Alcala de Guadaira, a town near to Seville. I am spanish and I am 29 years.

I work as secretary. I work in this company since 1999. I’m also study Audiovisual Comunication at the UNED. I am a active person. I go to english classes two times a week.

I have a long black hair, I have a piercing in my left ear and I wear lenses of contact.

In my free time, I like listening music and going to shopping. I don’t like very much going to discos. I love sports; I play football and paddel.

At the weekend, I have dinner in different restaurants with my friends and then we go to dance.

Writte soon.

L1 Pronouncing Names, Learning Sounds

2011-10-18T18:00:00.003+02:00

What's your favourite pop band?

GREEN DAY /i:/
THE CORRS /ko:rz/
U2 /ju: tu:/
THE CRANBERRIES /'krænberis/
GUNS N' ROSES /'rousez/
COLDPLAY /ou ei/
ROLLING STONES /stəunz/
THE WHO /hu:/
THE BEATLES /i:/
RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS /'pepəz/
BOB MARLEY /'ma:rlei/
FRANZ FERDINAND
R.E.M.
POLICE /pə'li:s/
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND

What pop band is this? Can you guess?

What are these abbreviations? Match them with the definitions below.

BBC
MSN
www
EU
FAQ
CIA
AC/DC
M&S
UN
MIT
B&B

an international organisation__a technological institute__a heavy metal band__the European project__internet__a network of spies__an American computer company__a television channel__a series of questions__a British department store__a cheap form of accommodation

L3 Punctuation Rules

2011-10-17T10:42:00.000+02:00

Here you will find wrong sentences containing punctuation *errors (in red) preceded by an asterisk (and the correct form in parenthesis):

1. Sentence fragments, i.e. dependent clauses or phrases standing alone:
*Tom listened. Although he was very angry.
*Having worked hard all day and played basketball most of the evening.

2. Commas.
Comma splices, i.e. joining two independent clauses only by a comma:
*We were an hour early for the meeting, we though it started at eight. (We were an hour early for the meeting; we thought it started at eight.)
*Rachel was having difficulty, she had never studied English before.

The lack of comma in: *Yes I do. *No he didn’t. etc. (Yes, I do.)
The use of comma after a subject clause: *My mother and I,. (My mother and I.)
The incorrect use of comma after but and so.

3. Fused sentences, i.e. two or more independent clauses joined neither by punctuation nor conjunctions:
*We were an hour early for the meeting we thought it started at eight.
*Rachel was having difficulty she had never studied English before.

4. Run-on sentences, i.e. excessively long sentences with lots of conjunctions, that could and should be broken up by full stops/periods.

5. The use of a full stop/period after another form of punctuation:
*What was I thinking?. *She had to do it!. (What was I thinking? She had to do it!)

6. The inappropriate use of ellipsis:
*Last year I went to Paris, Rome, London… (Last year I went to Paris, Rome, London, etc.)
*The teacher called on me, so… I had to read out loud in English. (so I had)

7. Direct speech in an essay should be punctuated correctly.
The incorrect use of quotation marks:
*Last weekend I went to “Disneyland”/”London”. (Last weekend I went to Disneyland/London.)
The lack of any form of punctuation before quoted material:
*David shouted “you are mad”. (David shouted: “you are mad”.)
*Have you seen Woody Allen’s Match Point? (…Woody Allen’s “Match Point”?)
8. The use of < > or « » as punctuation.

9. The lack of a question mark at the end of a question.

10. The use of Spanish inverted exclamation or question marks at the beginning of a sentence:
*¡Wow! *¿You what? (Wow! You what?)

11. Failure to capitalize the first word of a sentence.

12. Capitalizing words other than proper nouns within a sentence:
*When I got to the office, It was closed. (When I got to the office, it was closed.)

15.O_United for Global Change

2011-10-14T15:22:00.006+02:00

Steve Jobs's Speech at Stanford

2011-10-11T11:48:00.009+02:00

Thank you, Steve.
We already miss you :(
To access the text of the Commencement address
delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer
and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005, click here.

Composition Format

2011-10-10T10:11:00.005+02:00

How to hand in an essay at university.

These instructions will help you improve your written English. Please follow them.

1. Write your composition on an A4 sheet (folio). If you type up your composition, use a size 11 or 12 typeface; do not write this small! do not write this small!

2. If you have access to a word processor, you might want to use it; if not, write it clearly by hand. Do not cross out words; hand in a clean composition. No tachaduras, please!

3. Write your full name, your group number, the composition number and the date on the top right-hand side corner:

Juan Pérez López
English 314
Composition 7
25th Februrary 2012

4. Give your composition a title and write it in bold (negrita) or underline it.

5. Divide your text in paragraphs.

6. Write double-spaced.

7. When possible, incorporate the language you have learned so far in this course and/or in previous levels into your composition: phrasal verbs, idioms, reported speech, relative clauses, conditionals, new lexical items, etc.

8. Read the Punctuation Rules published on this blog and use them correctly. For example, add connectors (followed by commas) to link sentences or paragraphs. (First,… On the one hand,… On the other hand,… Nevertheless,… In fact,… However,… Finally,… Frankly,... etc.)

9. If you can't remember how to spell a word properly, look it up in the dictionary. (For example, is it ocassion or occasion?) Or, if you are using a word processor, activate the English spellchecker. This will save you any spelling mistakes.

10. Please, write only the number of words required: 100 words in Level 1, 125 words in Level 2, and 150 words in Level 3.

11. Meet the deadline and hand in your composition on the assigned date. All compositions are mandatory!

B.O.O.K. :)

2011-10-05T15:25:00.002+02:00

THE Latest Breakthrough
in Educational Technology!

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade-named: B.O.O.K.

B.O.O.K is a revolutionary break-through in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it.

Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere, even sitting in an armchair by the fire; yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.

Here's how it works:

B.O.O.K. is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.

Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, B.O.O.K.s with more information simply use more pages. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.

B.O.O.K. may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it.

B.O.O.K. never crashes or requires rebooting, though, like other devices, it can become damaged if coffee is spilled on it and it becomes unusable if dropped too many times on a hard surface. The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pin-points the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.

An optional "B.O.O.K.mark" accessory allows you to open B.O.O.K. to the exact place you left it in a previous session -- even if the BOOK has been closed. B.o.o.k.marks fit universal design standards; thus, a single Bookmark can be used in B.O.O.K.s by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous B.O.O.K. markers can be used in a single B.O.O.K. if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the B.O.O.K. You can also make personal notes next to B.O.O.K. text entries with optional programming tools, Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Styli (P.E.N.C.I.L.S.).

Portable, durable, and affordable, B.O.O.K. is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. B.O.O.K.'s appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking to invest. Look for a flood of new titles soon.
Heathorn. R.J. (1962). Punch Magazine, May 9, 1962.
Circulated through bulk emails, 2000, 2001.

L2 Recommended Readers

2011-10-04T11:19:00.009+02:00

Even though readers have been eliminated from the Level 2 syllabus and you will not be examined on them at the oral exam, I do recommend that you read a few short books during your Level 2 course to improve your English. Here are some titles that you could check out for free from the Engineering library on the Cartuja campus:

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding, (Macmillan Readers Intermediate)

Bristol Murder, by Philip Prowse, (Macmillan Readers Intermediate)

The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, (Macmillan Readers Intermediate)

A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute, (Macmillan Readers Intermediate)

The Thirty-nine Steps, by John Buchan, (Penguin Readers Intermediate)

"A" Is For Alibi, by Sue Grafton, (Macmillan Readers Intermediate)

L1 First Day Info

2011-10-04T10:00:00.007+02:00

inglés 1

Curso 2011-12

INSTITUTO DE IDIOMAS

Profesor Carlos Martín (CM) Grupo 128

gaebler@us.es

Área de Inglés: 954 551 157

DIRECCIÓN WEB del IdI: http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/

PROGRAMA INGLÉS 1 Curso 11/12: http://centro.us.es/secridi/progs11_12/in_1.pdf

NORMAS GENERALES http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/index.php/informacion-general/normas-generales

Personal de inglés y Tutorías del área de inglés:

http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/index.php/ingles/cursos-profesorado/profesorado-y-tutorias

Sitio web del área de inglés: http://institucional.us.es/aiidi/Lev1/Lev1_g.htm

Blog de inglés 1: http://level1idi.blogspot.com

Blog del profesor: http://engidicm.blogspot.com

BIBLIOGRAFÍA OBLIGATORIA:

TEXTO: Clive Oxenden, Cristina Latham-Koenig, Paul Seligson, New English File Elementary (Student's Book, Workbook with Key and Multi-ROM Pack – Spain) Oxford University Press.

ISBN 843-5-15-740131-8 (2007/8) ó 978-0-19-451943-4 (2008/9)
NOTA PARA ALUMNOS QUE REPITEN LA ASIGNATURA: El ISBN corresponde al pack completo y no a los componentes individuales (Student's book, Workbook, Multi-Rom). ES EL MISMO TEXTO DEL CURSO 2010/2011.

L2 First Day Info

2011-10-03T12:30:00.007+02:00

inglés 2

Curso 2011/2012

INSTITUTO DE IDIOMAS

Profesor Carlos Martín (CM) Grupo 227

gaebler@us.es

Área de Inglés: 954 551 157

DIRECCIÓN WEB del IdI: http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/

PROGRAMA INGLÉS 2 Curso 11/12:http://centro.us.es/secridi/progs11_12/in_2.pdf

NORMAS GENERALES http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/index.php/informacion-general/normas-generales

Personal de inglés y Tutorías del área de inglés: http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/index.php/ingles/cursos-profesorado/profesorado-y-tutorias

Sitio web del área de inglés: http://institucional.us.es/aiidi/Lev2/Lev2_g.htm

Blog de INGLÉS 2: http://level2idi.blogspot.com

Blog del profesor: http://engidicm.blogspot.com

BIBLIOGRAFÍA OBLIGATORIA:

TEXTO: Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham-Koenig, New English File Pre-Intermediate (Student's

Book, Workbook with Key and Multi-ROM Pack –Spain). Oxford University Press.

ISBN: 978-0-19-451945-8

If you miss a class and want to find out what the homework is,

email or phone one of your classmates.

PLEASE, SWITCH OFF YOUR TELEPHONE IN CLASS OR DURING EXAMS! Thank you.

DO NOT PHOTOCOPY BOOKS!

L3 First Day Info

2011-10-03T12:26:00.010+02:00

INSTITUTO DE IDIOMAS

CURSO 2011-2012

inglés 3

Profesor Carlos Martín (CM) Grupos 314, 317

gaebler@us.es

Área de Inglés: 954 551 157

DIRECCIÓN WEB del IdI http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/

PROGRAMA INGLÉS 3 Curso 2011/12: http://centro.us.es/secridi/progs11_12/in_3.pdf

NORMAS GENERALES del Curso 2011/12: http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/index.php/informacion-general/normas-generales

Personal de inglés y Tutorías del área de inglés: http://intra.sav.us.es:8080/idi/index.php/ingles/cursos-profesorado/profesorado-y-tutorias

English 3 Website: http://institucional.us.es/aiidi/Lev3/Lev3_g.htm

English 3 Blog: http://level3idi.blogspot.com

Teacher’s Blog: http://engidicm.blogspot.com

BIBLIOGRAFÍA OBLIGATORIA:

TEXTO: Philip Kerr and Ceri Jones, Straightforward, Upper Intermediate Student’s Book. Macmillan (2007). ISBN 978-0-230-02080-1

Como complemento, también obligatorio, el Workbook with Key con Audio CD del mismo título. ISBN 978-0-2300-3021-3

LIBROS DE LECTURA: es obligatorio leer los dos libros siguientes:

· John Grisham, The Firm (Pearson-Longman. Penguin Readers Level 5, ISBN 978-1-40827632-7)

· John Boyne, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Definitions, ISBN 978-0-38575153-7)

If you miss a class and want to find out what the homework is,

email or phone one of your classmates.

PLEASE, SWITCH OFF YOUR TELEPHONE IN CLASS OR DURING EXAMS! Thank you.

DO NOT PHOTOCOPY BOOKS!

My Tutoring Hours/Horas de Consulta 2011/2012

2011-10-03T09:00:00.010+02:00

Profesor Carlos Martín, Ph. D.
gaebler@us.es

These are my tutoring hours this academic year until the last day of classes: 17th May 2012.

lunes, 16.45 – 18.00
Escuela de Ingenieros
Despacho del Instituto de Idiomas, Entreplanta 1ª 954 487 395
martes, 17.15 – 17.45 (previa cita)*
Escuela de Ingenieros
Despacho del Instituto de Idiomas, Entreplanta 1ª 954 487 395

miércoles, 10.00 - 10.30 + 10.30-11.30*, 13.00-14.30* (previa cita) Instituto de Idiomas, Avda. Reina Mercedes, s/n 954 551 157
16.45 – 18.00 Escuela de Ingenieros Despacho del Instituto de Idiomas, Entreplanta 1ª 954 487 395

PLEASE, SWITCH OFF YOUR TELEPHONE IN CLASS OR DURING EXAMS! Thank you.

If you miss a class and want to find out what the homework is, email or phone one of your classmates.

The Okinawa Aquarium on HD

2011-09-27T20:32:00.007+02:00

Filmed at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. The main tank called the 'Kuroshio Sea' holds 7,500-cubic meters of water and features the world's second largest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with a thickness of 60 centimeters. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst many other fish species in the main tank. This high definition film was shot by Jon Rawlinson using a Cannon 5D MKII SLR with a 28-135mm lens.
Watch it on full screen and enjoy life! It is awesome to watch! Click on link below:
http://www.flixxy.com/okinawa-churaumi-aquarium.htm

The Debt_film

2011-09-19T16:14:00.005+02:00

"Every secret comes with a price!" The Debt, a new espionage thriller about a hunt for Nazi war criminals, was released on August 31st, 2011 and stars Sam Worthington, Helen Mirren, Ciarán Hinds, Marton Csokas, Tom Wilkinson, Jessica Chastain, Jesper Christensen. The film is directed by John Madden.
The espionage thriller begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stefan (Tom Wilkinson) about their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds). All three have been venerated for decades by their country because of the mission that they undertook back in 1966, when the trio (portrayed, respectively, by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington) tracked down Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin. At great risk, and at considerable personal cost, the team's mission was accomplished - or was it? The suspense builds in and across two different time periods, with startling action and surprising revelations. A must-see film!

One Man, Two Guvnors at the NT

2011-09-10T17:27:00.002+02:00

Si te encuentras a Dustin Hoffman en la cola de una matinée es que algo está pasando. One Man, Two Guvnors, que este verano ha batido récords de público y se ha convertido en el espectáculo de mayor éxito en la historia reciente del National Theatre de Londres (NT), es lo que está pasando. Cuando lean estas líneas la función ya no estará en cartel, pero salta al Adelphi Theatre del 21 de noviembre al 25 de febrero: luego no digan que no se lo anuncié con tiempo. No es habitual un transfer tan inmediato, pero es que One Man, Two Guvnors es un terremoto cómico con la inconfundible firma de Richard Bean, el "hombre del momento" de la nueva comedia británica.

Hará dos años, Nicholas Hytner, mandamás del NT, le estrenó England People Very Nice, una sátira que tuvo la virtud de irritar considerablemente a los integristas islámicos. Esta temporada, Bean ha vuelto a la carga con tres éxitos consecutivos: The Big Fellah, dirigida por Max Stafford-Clark en el Lyric Hammersmith; The Heretic, a cargo de Jeremy Herrin, en el Royal Court, y, desde luego, One Man, Two Guvnors (a partir de ahora, OMTG) en el Lyttelton, de nuevo con la firma de Hytner. El espectáculo, una libérrima adaptación de Arlequín, servidor de dos amos, de Goldoni, es una fiesta de principio a final (tres horas con intermedio, que pasan volando o, como diría Bean con su humor feroz, "como la mierda por el intestino de un perro pequeño"), un irresistible homenaje a las más descastadas progenituras del humor británico: la farsa de equívocos (inaugurada en 1892 con La tía de Carlos), el panto (que nada tiene que ver con la pantomima europea), donde conviven en gozosa mescolanza las canciones, el slapstick (o humor de batacazo), los disfraces, los chistes "de actualidad" y la participación del público, así como la tradición de la vieja comedia salaz, que en cine acaudilló, durante la década 1960-1970, la tropa de Carry On...

Lo que importa es que, a) el texto de Richard Bean es arrasadoramente tronchante, a razón de un gag (verbal o de situación) cada medio minuto; b) la puesta de Hytner es una lección magistral de trepidación farsesca y, c) los actores son y están soberbios y provocan la infrecuente y contagiosísima impresión de que se lo están pasando bomba. Conocen a sus clásicos (Frankie Howerd, Morecambe y Wise, Norman Wisdom) y dominan como pocos el aside, que es el arte del aparte: dirigirse al público colocando el chiste con precisión milimétrica...

Cierro da capo: si todo el aforo del Lyttelton (y Dustin Hoffman) no pueden parar de reír durante tres horas, es que algo (y bastante gordo) está sucediendo.

The Perfect Host_film

2011-09-04T10:57:00.000+02:00

Mi horizonte es mi provincia

2011-09-03T15:42:00.006+02:00

Uno de cada 10 españoles no ha salido de su territorio más próximo y el 48% no ha pisado el extranjero. La falta de hábito, la escasez de recursos y el buen clima invitan a no alejarse de casa. Un reportaje de Aurora Muñoz. El País, 3 de septiembre de 2011.

A buena parte de los españoles les cuesta hacer las maletas para emprender viaje. Las razones son de distinto rango, desde el bolsillo poco boyante hasta la falta de interés por conocer otras tierras. Sin embargo, existe un amplio grupo de irreductibles: el 20% de la población realiza casi el 80% de las escapadas de ocio.

El estudio Comportamiento Turístico de los Residentes en España, elaborado por las profesoras de la UNED Teresa Garín y María José Moral para la Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorros (Funcas), constituye una radiografía de los ciudadanos ante el viaje. Este trabajo, realizado a partir de los resultados de la encuesta sobre el movimiento turístico de los españoles de 2006 a 2009 -conocida como Familitur y alentada por el Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio- ofrece resultados concluyentes: uno de cada diez jamás ha salido de la provincia donde nació y un 15% de los 53.000 consultados no ha traspasado los límites de su comunidad autónoma. España es una gran potencia turística, pero eso no implica que los españoles practiquen masivamente el turismo.

Esa paradoja no es una contradicción, según Pablo Rodríguez, investigador del Instituto de Estudios Sociales Avanzados (IESA), entidad que forma parte del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. "China es el principal fabricante de artilugios tecnológicos y su población no los consume masivamente. Los recursos de un país no tienen por qué coincidir con los de su población", explica. "Eso de que todo el mundo se puede permitir una escapada es un prejuicio de clase media. Con una pensión baja, difícilmente alguien puede plantearse viajar", añade. Además, hay quien tiene otros obstáculos: "Los empresarios que no pueden cerrar por vacaciones, los agricultores y ganaderos ligados a su tierra por motivos profesionales", enumera. "Eso por no hablar de los inmigrantes que solo viajan para reunirse con sus familiares", añade.

Marta Parra forma parte de ese 15% de españoles que nunca ha puesto el pie fuera de su región. "Me casé a los 20 años y me fui de luna de miel a Granada. Desde entonces no me he vuelto a mover de Constantina [Sevilla]". Esta ama de casa de 28 años dice no tener demasiada curiosidad por aventurarse más allá de las lindes de Sierra Morena: "Aquí estamos bien y mi madre está enferma, ¿para qué tanto trastorno?".

El investigador del IESA entiende la postura de Parra: "Para que alguien haga turismo debe tener inquietud por conocer lugares nuevos y dinero para hacerlo. Los viajes no tienen por qué ser una prioridad en un país en el que buena parte de la población disfruta de un clima suave y cuenta con un presupuesto apretado".

María José Moral, coordinadora de la revista Papeles de Economía Española y profesora de Economía Aplicada, apoya este punto de vista: "El hecho de que España sea un país con destinos atractivos justifica que tengamos menos incentivos para viajar, pero se nos olvida que la actividad turística del país se reduce en la medida en que muchos deciden quedarse en casa durante las vacaciones". Moral estima que el turismo interno está infravalorado a pesar de que tiene un poderoso efecto sobre la economía y el empleo: "Viajar es positivo, porque contribuye a ampliar nuestros horizontes y nos volvemos más receptivos a la movilidad laboral".

A tenor de otro estudio, La polarización en el consumo turístico de los españoles -realizado por Manuel Ángel Santana y Pablo Rodríguez, de la Universidad de La Laguna-, un 17% de los ciudadanos no había hecho turismo fuera de su región porque no tenía interés por viajar, no le gustaba hacerlo o prefería dedicar su dinero a otros asuntos. El 32% declaraba que no había salido por falta de recursos económicos o de disponibilidad.

Este trabajo revela que el 20% de la población realiza casi el 80% de las escapadas. "Las nuevas tecnologías y los vuelos low cost no han servido para que acceda mayor cantidad de gente al turismo, sino que para que aquellos que ya viajaban lo hagan más", señalan los autores de este trabajo.

El 48% de los españoles no ha salido nunca de España, según el estudio de Garín y Moral. Aunque, a priori, los jóvenes lo tienen más fácil -por ejemplo con las becas Erasmus- también afrontan dificultades. "Mi sueño es ir a Italia, pero mis veranos están hipotecados porque tengo que trabajar para pagarme la matrícula de Medicina y las dietas de la Erasmus no dan para vivir en otro país sin respaldo familiar", explica Laura Espinosa, salmantina de 22 años.

La edad del individuo, su poder adquisitivo, su nivel cultural, el estado civil y la situación familiar son factores que condicionan la decisión de hacer turismo. "El retraso educativo que acumulaba España en el pasado también está detrás de que todavía estemos lejos de los comportamientos turísticos de otros países de nuestro entorno. Solo un 7% de los españoles viajaron por ocio al extranjero en 2009", relata la economista María José Moral. Sin embargo, los datos del Eurobarómetro revelan que los españoles, franceses e italianos están en la media de UE en cuanto a viajes turísticos: lejos de los países nórdicos, pero muy por encima de los nuevos socios de Europa del Este.

"Las infraestructuras de transporte son básicas para explicar los movimientos de los turistas. El hecho de que la familia posea un vehículo o que habite en una ciudad con aeropuerto aumenta las posibilidades de que salga de su ámbito cercano", afirma Teresa Garín, responsable del informe de Funcas y profesora de Microeconomía.

El investigador Pablo Rodríguez apunta una variable más: "Las aglomeraciones de población generan entornos de los que se hace necesario escapar, por eso el turismo se asocia de forma importante con la concentración urbana".

Los residentes de Madrid -la ciudad más poblada del país y la que tal vez añora más las playas- son el mayor exponente de esta tendencia: aglutinan el 18,5% de los desplazamientos por ocio que realizaron los residentes en España en 2010, según los datos de Familitur.

Eso no evita que en la capital se pueda encontrar a vecinos que no han salido nunca o casi nunca de la provincia. Ese es el caso de Eulalia, de 75 años. Esta extremeña residente desde los 13 años en la zona de Atocha cuenta que ha estado sirviendo en "casas de ricos" hasta su jubilación y cuidando de su madre. Ahora, cuando sus obligaciones comienzan a liberarla y las piernas aún le responden, se atreve a llegar más allá del parque del Retiro con la asociación Amigos de los Mayores. A principios de este mes se subirá en un autobús camino de Ávila, donde le espera una casa habilitada en la Sierra de Gredos. "He descubierto tarde esto de los viajecitos para gente de mi edad, pero ya he hecho amigas y pienso recuperar el tiempo perdido. Si los achaques me dejan tranquila, me marcho a París el día menos pensado", cuenta, risueña.

Su perfil no es el habitual, o al menos no lo era hace once años, fecha del último estudio oficial. El informe Hábitos turísticos de los residentes en España, publicado en 2004 por el Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio, definen al turista español: entre 30 y 39 años, con estudios universitarios, empleadores o asalariados fijos que residen en un municipio de más de 500.000 habitantes, con pareja, familiares fuera del municipio y una segunda vivienda.

Isabel Tejada rompe -al menos en parte- este retrato del español con el síndrome Willy Fog. Esta administrativa de 37 años nació en Lisboa y al mes su familia se trasladó a Jaén. Esa fue su última experiencia internacional. "Nunca me ha sobrado el dinero para darme el lujo, y cuando lo he tenido no me he atrevido, porque no domino otros idiomas", confiesa.

La renta no lo explica todo en lo que se refiere al comportamiento turístico de los españoles. También está la geografía, entre otras cosas. "Galicia tiene una renta inferior a la media y el porcentaje de su población que ha cruzado la frontera está muy por encima del de la mayoría de las comunidades autónomas", señala la economista Teresa Garín. Los frecuentes cruces de la frontera portuguesa avalarían tal movilidad, como les ocurre también con los extremeños. Estos tienen muchas facilidades de traslado por su situación geográfica y son los terceros en la tabla en viajes al extranjero.

"La crisis económica ha reducido el número de pernoctaciones, pero hay que ser optimista y pensar que el modelo está cambiando", aconseja Moral apoyándose en cifras de Familitur.

El porcentaje de la población que aún no ha salido de su provincia ha bajado cuatro puntos porcentuales de 2006 a 2009, mientras que el dato de los españoles que no han viajado más allá de la frontera nacional se ha reducido aún más, cayendo del 56% al 48% de la última encuesta.

En los últimos años los españoles se han hecho más viajeros, pero sus desplazamientos han cambiado. Pasan cada vez menos tiempo en los tradicionales destinos de las playas y se han visto obligados a reducir su gasto medio diario, pero no han sacrificado sus escapadas, a menudo rurales o con tinte cultural. Las preferencias también se ajustan al bolsillo.

Siesta digital contra el tecnoestrés

2011-06-30T18:47:00.000+02:00

Lo que necesita es una siesta digital
M L Ferrado y J Martín
El País, domingo, 10 de julio de 2011

En Sealords, la multinacional piscifactoría de Nueva Zelanda, las mujeres desconchan mejillones a una velocidad de vértigo. Cada diez minutos la cadena se para. La empleadas -no hay hombres- intercambian su posición sin decir palabra y realizan estiramientos de dedos, manos y muñecas. El trabajo repetitivo no nació, ni mucho menos, con el ordenador, pero parece que en esta actividad, quizás por ser más aislada que en las cadenas de producción, la prevención va con retraso, física y psíquicamente.

Buena parte del día, el cerebro se encuentra en red, procesando información de Internet, correos, redes sociales, trabajando con programas de gestión, tecleando, hablando por teléfono... Los especialistas en salud laboral empiezan a aconsejar que desconectar de vez en cuando resulta imprescindible. Las siestas digitales son necesarias. Lo defiende José María Martínez Selva, catedrático de Psicobiología de la Universidad de Murcia y autor del libro Tecnoestrés. "Mucha tecnología durante mucho tiempo pone literalmente enferma a la gente", según el investigador, que no olvida las ventajas que aporta el mundo del ordenador. Sin embargo, las nuevas tecnologías son armas de doble filo.

Las siestas digitales -entendidas como pequeños descansos- ya se aplican en algunas empresas, como Google o Intel, que ven con buenos ojos que sus trabajadores pasen un tiempo desconectados, pues redunda en la mejora de la productividad. No hay empresa de Silicon Valley que se precie, de Facebook a Yahoo!, sin gimnasio, habitación para juegos reales -el futbolín triunfa- y unos confortables puffs para relajarse. "Gestionar bien el tiempo es uno de los mejores instrumentos de los que se dispone para controlar los efectos nocivos de las nuevas tecnologías, del tecnoestrés y de las tecnoadicciones", afirma Selva.

Gestionar mal el tiempo significa sucumbir ante una de las ventajas de la red: la flexibilidad que otorga el poder estar conectado en cualquier momento desde cualquier lugar. En cualquier instante puede llegar un mensaje de correo electrónico o una llamada profesional, con lo que el trabajador se siente obligado a mantener un rendimiento continuo y a no poder desconectar ni distanciarse de sus obligaciones y problemas. Es decir, a disfrutar de un tiempo de descanso necesario para la salud mental. De hecho, un 26% de los empleados cree que el uso de Internet y del móvil aumenta su horario laboral y que esa disponibilidad permanente le genera estrés.

Tony Schwartz, director The Energy Project, el año pasado colocó una encuesta en Huffington Post para conocer los hábitos de los trabajadores. El 60% reconoció que sólo se desconectan completamente del correo electrónico dos horas al día. El 20%, menos de media hora.

Internet y el móvil no hacen necesario el trabajo presencial. Pueden ser un excelente medio para conciliar vida laboral y personal; pero también puede acabar comiéndose la vida del teletrabajador. "El teletrabajo es más flexible, pero rompe con las funciones de organización de actividades vitales, sean o no cotidianas, como los fines de semana, las vacaciones, el horario de comidas o verse con la familia", explica Selva.

Una encuesta de Cisco Systems revela que el 45% de los empleados con acceso externo al sistema informático de la empresa trabaja entre dos y tres horas más al día. Una cuarta parte de ellos trabaja hasta cuatro horas extras. A la extensión horaria hay que sumar la posible desconexión personal y emocional que supone trabajar en solitario.

Se desconoce cuantas personas pueden estar afectadas por el tecnoestrés, pero hay que tener en cuenta que dos tercios de los trabajadores españoles trabajan en oficinas con ordenador. Según un informe de PandaLabs, el 63% de los usuarios afirma que las incidencias en el funcionamiento de los sistemas informáticos le genera estrés. Para que el tecnoestrés genere trastornos psicológicos deben sumarse otros factores, precisa Selva. Como por ejemplo la sobrecarga de trabajo, la pérdida de control del proceso de desempeño de un oficio, y otros procesos sociales como puede ser el sentirse expulsado del mercado laboral... (Para seguir leyendo el resto de reportaje, pinche en el enlace del encabezamiento.)

España-Estados Unidos_reportaje

2011-06-29T22:54:00.001+02:00

ESPAÑA-ESTADOS UNIDOS: Cómo les vemos, cómo nos ven
Por Antonio Muñoz Molina
El País Semanal, nº 1.814, domingo, 3 de julio de 2011

... Por encima de los malentendidos y los estereotipos, una realidad se impone: cuando americanos y españoles se encuentran de verdad, de uno en uno, suelen llevarse muy bien. Ayuda quizás la falta de formalidad, la disposición efusiva. Y por el lado español todo lo hace más fácil el grado de americanización más o menos inconsciente de muchas costumbres que hasta los más furiosos antiimperialistas han adoptado como propias, empezando por el mimetismo exacto en los lenguajes de la corrección política, traducidos literalmente del inglés. Lo paradójico del antiamericanismo español es su perfecta compatibilidad con la adhesión apasionada a algunos de los rasgos más insalubres de la cultura de consumo americana: los grandes centros comerciales, la comida basura, las bebidas carbónicas muy azucaradas, el cine más aparatoso y más vulgar, el juvenilismo bobo de las series menos interesantes de la televisión. La calamidad del doblaje lo agrava todo, al infectar el idioma, de modo que la sólida ignorancia nacional del inglés no estorba la degradación del castellano. Un país en el que las verduras se llaman vegetales y las detenciones arrestos, en el que la gente entra al cine abrazada a un macetón de palomitas y los cronistas de los periódicos escriben imitando las malas traducciones de novelas policiales o los doblajes de las películas -el tipo era un jodido perdedor, por ejemplo está claro que en el fondo no se toma muy en serio su antiamericanismo.

Nuestro talento para imitar exclusivamente lo menos interesante o saludable de una cultura no impide, sin embargo, que seamos capaces de admirar lo mejor de ella cuando lo encontramos de cerca, sin la interferencia de los prejuicios y los lugares comunes. Acostumbrados a las escalas reducidas de nuestro país, a una naturaleza casi siempre muy domesticada, la amplitud de los paisajes de Estados Unidos, la pura sensación del espacio, la desmesura de las obras humanas y de los dones naturales, provocan siempre en nosotros un asombro entusiasta. Un español se aclimata bien a la disciplina americana del trabajo, y responde en seguida a la cordialidad y a la exigencia que allí suelen ser simultáneas. Afligidos por la indigencia cívica, por la falta de estímulos y el poco respeto a lo bien hecho que son comunes en nuestro país, los españoles reaccionan con agradecimiento y eficacia en un entorno más favorable al esfuerzo y al mérito. No es que en Estados Unidos no haya cinismo, envidia o desgana: es que no tienen prestigio.

Casi en la misma medida, hay virtudes españolas que les sientan muy bien a los americanos, y que alimentan ese amor incondicional de muchos de ellos hacia nuestro país: una cierta sensualidad en el disfrute de la vida, una mayor fluidez entre los placeres y las obligaciones, una riqueza de afectividades que les sirven para mitigar una entrega excesiva al trabajo, a la competitividad, al individualismo. En Estados Unidos un español aprende a tomar conciencia de la responsabilidad personal en el cumplimiento del trabajo y de los derechos y los deberes cívicos, no en las abstracciones verbosas de la política o de la ideología, sino en la inmediatez de la vida práctica. También aprende algo que varios siglos de ortodoxia católica obligatoria, aislamiento y absolutismos políticos nos hace muy difícil aceptar en la práctica: que las ideas, las creencias y las costumbres de otros son tan legítimas como las nuestras, sin más límites que los del imperio de la ley, que está hecha de unos cuantos acuerdos básicos, tan sagrados como las innumerables diferencias que amparan.

Y en España un americano aprende una cierta dulzura y flexibilidad de la vida, un grado mayor de confianza en lo imprevisto, y en un modelo de organización social en el que algunas instituciones públicas pueden garantizar los bienes básicos de la educación y la salud con más justicia y hasta con más eficacia que la iniciativa privada. Y también aprende a armarse de una paciencia inmensa hacia los lugares comunes que escuchará cada día sobre su país.

Brokeback Mountain Bike :)

2011-06-28T22:45:00.005+02:00

The Power of Doubt_exhibition

2011-06-28T10:06:00.000+02:00

Fundación ICO (Calle Zorrilla, Madrid) sponsors the show created by Hou Hanru, which brings together over 50 recently made works from 16 artists coming from China and Western Europe. The Power of Doubt superposes site-specific installations and works in various new and old media, and somehow rooted in photography as a model of perception.

The exhibition, sponsored and organized by Fundación ICO and PHotoEspaña, begins with the idea that the art and artists of today, like the world itself, are globalized. Through digital media – from fixed and moving images to the Internet – these artists explore the nature of reality, of truth and of dreams, generating suspense and doubt in their work more so than conclusions. The idea at the core of the exposition is even more apparent in places experiencing intense social transformations, above all in those societies that are obligated to move toward a globalized world that is open and free, which, in turn, imposes, often in a violent fashion, fictions of happiness and peace that flatten reality.

The works in The Power of Doubt express the necessary role of doubt in seeing, remembering, and communicating with the real world, as it oscillates once more between spectacular truths and dramatized fictions. Their authors, from China and Eastern Europe – places that have experienced drastic changes from communism to capitalism – and Southeast Asia and Africa – which must reckon with postcolonial memories and geopolitical conflicts – affirm the doubts and the collective desires of their societies, at the same time that they embark on broad artistic and intellectual inquiries of their own.

Further information: www.phe.es

Featured above: "National Day", from the Super Tower photographic series by Chinese artist Du Zhenjun, 2010

Hoy es el Día del Español

2011-06-18T00:00:00.001+02:00

Reset EU-Turkey Relations

2011-06-15T18:27:00.003+02:00

by Javier Solana

MADRID – Just five months ago, Osama bin Laden was alive, Hosni Mubarak was firmly in control in Egypt, and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali ruled Tunisia with an iron hand. Today, popular rebellion and political change have spread throughout the region. We have witnessed brutal repression of protests in Syria and Yemen, Saudi troops crossing into Bahrain, and an ongoing battle for Libya.
For Europe, the “Arab Spring” should refocus attention on an issue largely ignored in recent months: the benefits of Turkey’s full membership in the European Union. Given the tremendous opportunities present in the current circumstances, the advantages for Europe of Turkey’s accession should be obvious.
With Recep Tayyip Erdoğan now elected to another term as Turkey’s prime minister, and with Poland, a country well acquainted with the importance of Europe’s strategic position in the world, assuming the EU presidency at the end of the month, now is a time for the Union and Turkey to “reset” their negotiations over Turkish membership.
The good that Turkey can bring to Europe was visible even before the “Arab Spring.” Europe is, by definition, culturally diverse, so diversity is the EU’s destiny. And, if Europe is to become an active global player, rather than a museum, it needs the fresh perspective and energy of the people of Turkey.
Europe today is both larger and different compared to the Europe of 1999, when Turkey was invited to begin the accession process. It is also experiencing a profound economic crisis, which erupted around the same time that the Lisbon Treaty – aimed at accommodating EU enlargement – was finally approved. Had the treaty been approved in 2005 as intended, it would have been in place for six years, and the strain placed by the crisis on EU economic governance – so visible in the eurozone’s recent problems – would have been much more manageable.
But the EU always faces problems, resolves them, and moves on. Today, we don’t have a treasury, but we are about to have something similar. Similarly, the European Central Bank has capacities today that no one imagined in, say, 1997.
A major challenge that Europe must still face is migration, which will only become a bigger problem over time. Between now and 2050, Europe’s workforce will decrease by 70 million. Maintaining our economy requires migration and open EU borders – and facing down the populist movements in Europe that would shun “outsiders.”
Today’s Turkey has also changed dramatically since 1999, both politically and economically, and this has much to do with the EU accession process. Indeed, without the attraction of the EU – its “soft” power – such changes would not have occurred.
Economically, Turkey is now in the G-20 – and playing an effective role there. And, politically, Turkey has emerged as a regional leader, a role that it takes extremely seriously.
With just-concluded parliamentary elections, and a new constitution to be approved, Turkey is approaching an epochal moment. I was a member of the Spanish Constitutional Commission that wrote the Spanish constitution in 1975 and 1976, following the death of Franco, so I know what it is to move from dictatorship to democracy – and how important it is that a constitution be framed by consensus.
The EU-Turkey relationship began with an association agreement signed in 1963. Now the accession negotiations have started, and 35 “chapters” – covering everything from agriculture to energy, competition, environment, employment, social policy, and beyond – must be opened. We have already opened 19 chapters – fewer than we would like. But the real problem is that we have closed only one, and, worse, the pace of negotiations has slowed. In fact, in the second half of 2010, nothing happened. I hope that meaningful progress comes in 2011.
Turkey and the EU need each other. The EU now accounts for 75% of foreign investment in Turkey and roughly half its exports and inward tourism. Likewise, Europe’s energy security depends on cooperation with Turkey on transit of oil and natural gas from Central Asia and the Middle East.
We need each other politically as well. Turkey’s neighborhood is our neighborhood; its problems are our problems. The security benefits and strategic advantages for the EU with Turkey as a member would be many, starting with the relationship between the EU and NATO, of which Turkey has long been a member.
Likewise, the EU’s involvement in today’s problems in the Mediterranean region would be much easier in concert with Turkey. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, EU-Turkey cooperation is fundamental to achieving a durable solution.
In 1999, Turkey did not want to become an accession candidate, because its leaders thought that the conditions would be too tough. I was there; I talked to Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit at midnight, then to President Süleyman Demirel. And, two days later, Ecevit was in Helsinki to declare formally Turkey’s wish to become an EU member. And we said: Turkey will be an EU member. I supported the signature of that document; I would do the same today.
In these times, difficult and unpredictable but full of hope, the world needs Turkey and the EU to work together. That does not mean meeting every now and then to decide how to handle a certain problem. It means something much deeper and well defined. It means Turkey’s admission to the EU. That is my dream, and I will continue to fight to make it a reality.

Javier Solana, formerly the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and a former Secretary General of NATO, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and President of the ESADE Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics.

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