Monthly Archives: May 2010
Sade: pure magic
I had to choose a singer, it would undoubtedly be her. I absolutely love this woman! The beautiful sweet Sade /ʃɑːˈdeɪ /is the lead vocalist of the English group, Sade, and I’ve been addicted to her music ever since I heard her song Smooth Operator back in 1984. I’ve got lots of favourite songs but two of my favourites are “By your side“ and “Is it a crime? “
My love is wider, wider than Victoria Lake
My love is taller, taller than the Empire State
Now, after 10 years in retirement she’s just released her new album “Soldiers of Love” and she’s as good as ever but I want to show you what made me fall in love with her music. I was very young when I watched the music video of The Sweetest Taboo but I was mesmerized by her beauty, her elegance and her incredible voice.I’m convinced that Sade’s music will be in my life for ever.
This song is probably not her best one but I think it very well shows the essence of Sade and what made me fall in love with the sound of her music.
Talking Photos: Fotobabble
What a great tool this is!!
The Certificación exam is just around the corner and bumping into this little tool right now got me thinking whether some things happen by sheer chance or by some divine intervention. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with .
Now, as you know , in the oral part of the exam you’ll be asked to describe a/some picture(s) in three minutes. Well, here’s a good tool to help you rehearse for this part of the exam. It’s called Fotobabble and it looks promising.
This is what you have to do to use this app:
- First, sign up. Don’t worry it’s free and it only takes a few seconds.
- Upload a photo from your computer.
- Record your voice using a microphone
- Listen to your recording.
This is quite OK as far as you are concerned but I’d like to see what you are doing , so why don’t you send me your fotobabbles ? No idea how to do it ? Click on the link below and in a video and in Spanish I’ll explain it all to you. No excuses now!!
http://www.screencast.com/users/cristinacd/folders/Jing/media/a9ed9e6f-4356-468f-82d9-8c10558a9a8b
Word of the Day : Damn
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” is a line from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind. It was spoken by Clark Gable, as Rhett Butler, in his last words to Scarlett O’Hara.
At home I was never allowed to use bad language or swearwords, not that my father didn’t use them more often than necessary but I swear to God I’ve never ever heard my mother utter a single rude word. My parents were brought up in the traditional way, which meant going to church on Sundays and even though my father then changed his mind about the Sunday ritual, my mother is still quite devoted to most church rites. I guess being educated at a nun’s school ’til the age of 18 has a lot to say in this matter.
So as I said not a single taboo word was ever allowed at home although as you can imagine everything forbidden was used and overused when we thought we weren’t heard and also in the midst of some angry arguments among my siblings and me. Among the words we couldn’t use was the word ” Damn”and although we knew that it could only be used in church ,by priests when preaching ( it is used in religious contexts to mean “To condemn to hell”) we liked to tease our parents by saying it as often as we could pretending we didn’t know it was popularly used as a cuss word.
Although it still maintains the religious connotations, the word Damn is used, nowadays, to express anger, annoyance, disgust…etc . Look at the word being used in context:
No, damn it, you wait a minute!
God damn it, the man said he’d write, so why doesn’t he send me a letter?
That car isn’t worth a damn ( worthless)
What is the Government doing to reduce global warming? Damn all (nothing at all)
Damn it all! (expressions of anger, annoyance or impatience)
I don’t give a damn about what they say ( I don’t care)
Now if you’re in the mood for more Damn, watch this video where Beyoncé plays the role of a gorgeous housewife who can’t understand why her husband doesn’t love her:
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Why don’t you love me?
Tell me, baby, why don’t you love me
When I make me so damn easy to love?
Why don’t you need me?
Tell me, baby, why don’t you need me
When I make me so damn easy to need?
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Creative Writing : Using Wordle
I’ve been using Wordle for quite a long time now but this idea is something I have not yet tried. This task involves using this great little tool called Wordle and the very popular Breaking News English site.
I read about this idea in Marisa Constantinides’ blog, which I highly recommend if you’re a teacher.
Lesson Plan:
• Tell students they are going to write a short news report. Write on the backboard the following heading
” Teacher on trial for attacking student”
and ask students to comment of this heading and what they think might lead a teacher to attack a student.
• Display with the OHP the Wordle and ask students in pairs to brainstorm ideas for an article using the words in the Wordle Cloud. Explain new vocabulary if necessary
• Give students about 15 minutes to write the first draft of the article.
• Play the audio from Breaking News English twice and ask students to add, improve or edit their articles.
• Students write the final draft of the article on a coloured sheet of paper, which is them posted out on the walls of the classroom. Students stand up, read everybody’s article and vote for the best.
Students compare their aticle with the real one. Click here
• Finally, it would be interesting to talk a bit about the role a teacher plays in our society. These questions might be helpful to get them started.
Do you think being a teacher is easy or difficult?
Do you feel sorry for Mr Harvey or the student?
What kind of behaviour do you see in your classroom?
What can society do to make students respect their teachers?
If web cameras were put in classrooms, teachers would teach better classes and students would behave better. What do you think?