Listening Exercise: "Rebel Restaurant" -The Guardian

Dearest students,

this is the listening exercise we did yesterday (+key). And this is the transcript. If you feel like testing your ears, try other podcasts provided by The Guardian here.

Best regards and have a great weekend,

r

A Book Every Week: The New Yorker

The New Yorker is one of my favourite magazines. This is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. I love the fact that they pay a lot of attention to modern fiction by the inclusion of short stories and literary reviews. Many great writers publish their brief texts here. Jonathan Franzen or Zadie Smith, for example, are two of The New Yorker contributors. I suggest you browse the web and find articles and short stories you like, and read them. Here you are a selection of texts to start with (but you'd rather find your own style, of course):

Zadie Smith, "Moonlit Landscape with Bridge"

Jonathan Franzen, "Farther Away"

David Sedaris, "Leviathan"

Reading!!

Dear students,
as you know, reading is an activity by which you "magically" learn much English. Then, please, try to read as much as possible in order to improve your vocabulary (and not only that, your writing and oral skills will also improve). Something which I find useful and motivating is to read opinion articles. Browse, for example, The New York Times and find texts that you consider interesting. There are many perspectives, trendy topics, and discussions published by The New York Times. Besides, if you feel like watching a documentary about this famous newspaper, just click here: "Inside The New York Times". Enjoy!

A Book Every Week: "Mathilda" by Roald Dahl

You can either watch the film I have linked to the previous post before reading this marvellous book or the other way round: read the book and see if you like the screen adaptation. I think I'd rather read the book first, because I love it (is it a bit childish?). Anyway, I hope you find a bit of time to do some reading and listening, I am sure that practice is the key to develop your skills and pass the final exams.
See you soon!

Click here if you want to read Roald Dahl's text!

Weekend Movies: "The Secret of Nichola Tesla" by Crsto Papic

Have you heard the latest news on the development of a new battery that might power our homes in the future? It is said to require solar energy but it might free us  from our current electricity providers and, most important, from their extremely expensive electric bill (read here if you want to know more about it). If you feel curious about the inventor of such a thing, Nikola Tesla, you are welcome to watch the film The Secret of Nikola Tesla, directed by the Croatian director Crsto Papic in 1980, and starring a bunch of good actors, Orson Welles among them. Warning: the first minutes are an introduction in a different language: English starts at 1:20 and the movie starts at 7:42. Youtube provides subtitles if you click on one of the buttons below.

I hope you enjoy the film!

Practice Reading

I recommend books every week, but I am pretty sure you didn't have time to read all of them. Therefore, I would like to suggest new ideas today. Do you feel you have to read more texts in English but you don't really have time to read literature? Why don't you try reading short articles like the ones provided by this webpage? They come with activities and quizzes that might help you improve your reading skill. Good luck!

Too easy? Try these texts instead!!!

A Book Every Week: Poetry Foundation and Dorothea Lasky

Dear students,
as you know, reading is one of the best ways to learn a language. I usually recommend my students to read short stories, or other forms of narrative such as novels. However, today I would like to refer to the following American webpage: POETRY FOUNDATION. This is a literary organization committed to "discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience"- they say. Well, you can just browse the web and try to discover something you like.

I like reading poems by Dorothea Lasky, for instance. You can see her HERE. But, of course, you might find some other poets to read, enjoy, and even identify with.

A Book Every Week: "The Picture of Dorian Gray", by Oscar Wilde

Did you enjoy The Happy Prince? Well, now you have a new chance to read Oscar Wilde. The book I would like to recommend today is The Picture of Dorian Gray. This is the only published novel written by Oscar Wilde. The basic theme is of a man whose portrait ages while he remains young, leading him to debauchery. If you feel like reading something good while listening to an actor at the same time, follow this link. Notice that there is a pdf available for each chapter.

You can also watch a recent film adaptation here!!!

Have a great time!

 

A Book Every Week: "The Night Flier", by Stephen King + FILM

Dear all,
do you fancy a thrilling short story? If you are nodding your head right now, you have to read (and listen to!) Stephen King's "The Night Flier". I am sure you are going to enjoy King's reflections on tabloids and the appetite for sensationalism through the misadventures of the main character, Richard Dees...
Providing you enjoy the story, you might also want to watch the adaptation to the screen, also available here.

A Book Every Week: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by Scott Fitzgerald

Hey guys, have you watched the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? It was directed by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt. This is the story of a man who ages in reverse and it was originally written by the celebrated American author Scott Fitzgerald. This week, I would like to encourage you to read such story and listen to the audio available here. If you choose the "slower listening speed" option, it will take you only one hour to listen to the two parts of the story. Come on, there is no excuse this time!
I hope you enjoy!

A Book Every Week: "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story" by Paul Auster

Do you fancy a short story?
Read and listen to a Christmas Story by Paul Auster:

Listen to Paul Auster reading his short story here.

Download the text from here.

A Book Every Week: "The Elephant Vanishes" by Haruki Murakami

The book I would like to recommend this week is entitled The Elephant Vanishes, a short story by the contemporary Japanese author Haruki Murakami. His books can be described as surrealistic, but such experimental touch has not prevented people from enjoying them. On the contrary, Murakami is a best-selling author, and his books have been translated to fifty languages. 

As for the plot of The Elephant Vanishes, it narrates the mysterious disappearance of an elephant and the consequences of this event in the life of the main character. Would you like to know more about this story? Give it a try and read! As you will see when clicking on the link, there is an audio available for you. This way you can listen to someone reading the text in perfect English.

I hope you like it.
Have a good weekend!

r

A Book Every Week: John Fante's "Ask The Dust"

           

It might be a bit long to read. You might need to wait. But, if you have a free weekend, or whenever you have enough time to breathe and relax (at Christmas? In summer?), I recommend that you read this amusing book. To me, this is one of the best novels ever written. And you can find it here! But I will remain silent this time and let somebody else talk about the novel. Did you know that Charles Bukowski was a huge fan of John Fante? He wrote an introduction to Ask The Dust that is worth reading before you swallow the book:

I was a young man, starving and drinking and trying to be a writer. I did most of my reading at the downtown L.A. Public Library, and nothing that I read related to me or to the streets or to the people about me. It seemed as if everybody was playing word-tricks, that those who said almost nothing at all were considered excellent writers. [...] I pulled book after book from the shelves. Why didn't anybody say something? Why didn't anybody scream out? [...]

Then one day I pulled a book down and opened it, and there it was. I stood for a moment, reading. Then like a man who had found gold in the city dump, I carried the book to a table. The lines rolled easily across the page, there was a flow. Each line had its own energy and was followed by another like it. The very substance of each line gave the page a form, a feeling of something carved into it. And here, at last, was a man who was not afraid of emotion. The humour and the pain were intermixed with a superb simplicity. The beginning of that book was a wild and enormous miracle to me.
I had a library card. I checked the book out, took it to my room, climbed into my bed and read it, and I knew long before I had finished that here was a man who had evolved a distinct way of writing. The book was Ask the Dust and the author was John Fante. He was to be a lifetime influence on my writing. [...] 

There is much more to the story of John Fante. It is a story of terrible luck and a terrible fate and of a rare and natural courage. Some day it will be told but I feel that he doesn't want me to tell it here. But let me say that the way of his words and the way of his way are the same: strong and good and warm.
That's enough. Now this book is yours.

There is a film adaptation too, but I don't think this is as good as the book:

I hope you enjoy...

Click and read!!!!!!!

HALLOWEEN, Reading and Listening: "The New Catacomb" by Conan Doyle

Dear students,
this is the video we watched today in class. You can watch it again at home and read the short story at the same time. Just click the links below:

The New Catacomb (Video)

Transcript of this short story (Text)

Enjoy!

A Book Every Week: Mark Strand

Together with novels and short stories, poems are excellent learning companions. They are short, musical and, sometimes, unforgettable. I am especially fond of British and American poetry so today I would like to introduce you to Mark Strand. He is a Canadian-born poet, essayist and translator. You can watch the video below and listen to Mark Strand reciting one of his poems, The Couple. If you feel like reading the poem at the same time or more slowly, click here.

First Aid -Belén's lecture

Dear students,

as you know, we started a new unit today (Unit 2) and our lecturer, Belén, made a presentation about First Aid for you. This is part of one of the topics we will be studying this year: Health. Some of you were quite interested in such topic, so I think this is a good idea to upload the presentation for you:

JUST CLICK HERE AND DOWNLOAD BELÉN'S FIRST AID PRESENTATION

A Book Every Week: "There Will Come Soft Rain" by Ray Bradbury

Dear students,

this weekend I want to recommend this short story by the great writer Ray Bradbury. You can listen to Burgess Meredith reading it while reading the Pdf file available HERE.
If you feel curious, you can also have a look at this webpage full of resources and continue researching a bit. Just click.

Enjoy!!!

Weekend Movies: "Detachment"

Detachment is a 2011 American drama film about the high school education system directed by Tony Kaye, starring Adrien Brody. This is also a distressing film only recommended for spectators who feel on top of the world, because the story turns quite tragic at some points. Just click HERE if you feel like watching this film.

And if you feel like researching a little bit more after the film, there is an interesting interview with Adrien Brody available in The Observer. Click and read!

Reading & Pleasure: Getting to Know Yourself as a Reader

Dear students,

reading is one of the best ways to learn a foreign language, especially if you are interested in what you read. Motivation is the key component of any language learning process. This is the reason why I would like to recommend a bunch of various online newspapers and magazines. Pick the one you prefer and start reading a little bit in your spare time. I have classified the magazines into different categories in the hope that I can help you develop a reading habit.

* Serious readers worried about world issues: THE GUARDIAN 

* Fans of science and technology: I FUCKING LOVE SCIENCE

* Globetrotters:  NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL MAGAZINE

* Incurable gossips: HELLO!

* Mad about (mostly indie) music (in English): NME

* Fashion lovers: DAZED & CONFUSED

* Poets and muses: POETRY FOUNDATION


And, finally, click here if you want to read some tips about how to develop your reading habit...

A Book Every Week: "The Happy Prince"

My dearest students,

I am going to fulfill my promise and recommend a book every week.  I have been thinking about different fascinating short stories that you might like, and a title has come to my mind: The Happy Prince, by Oscar Wilde. I have read this story many times in my life and its beauty has always touched my heart. Even though, in a sense, The Happy Prince is a sad story, I believe there is something blissful and marvellous about it. You might have read this story when you where kids, as I did. Now we have the chance to read it in English and "hear" Oscar Wilde's real voice. In order to do so, you just need to CLICK HERE.

Do you also want to listen to the story? Just play the video below:

Enjoy the reading!