En caso de que estés interesado en alguna de las becas para estudiar en el extranjero que oferta el MEC, puedes consultar en las siguientes direcciones:
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Todas las entradas para el mes de 29 marzo 2012
Another list of some classics that your library and your mind shouldn’t be missing!
1. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1847) by Emily Brontë
2.THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (1886) by R.L. Stevenson
3.THE PORTRAIT OF DORIAN GRAY (1890) by Oscar Wilde
4. HEART OF DARKNESS (1899)by Joseph Conrad
5. THE GREAT GATSBY(1925) by F.S. Fitzgerald
6. A BRAVE NEW WORLD (1932) by Aldous Huxley
7. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (1951) by J.D. Salinger
8. THE MAGUS (1965) by John Fowles
9. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY(1989) Kazuo Ishiguro
10. FIGHT CLUB (1996) by Chuck Palahniuk
This week we will focus on one of the most famous American voices of all time. Frank Sinatra’s career spanned an amazing 60 years from 1935 to 1995! He was also a popular actor. He passed away in 1998, but he left behind a large collection of iconic music. Below are two of his songs on «lyrics training.» He sings clearly and somewhat slow, so these songs should be a little easier to understand than others.
Enjoy the practice and the coming Easter holidays!
Fly Me to the Moon (1964)
http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/9106/frank_sinatra/fly_me_to_the_moon
Something Stupid (1967). Sung with his daughter, Nancy Sinatra
http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/1424/frank_sinatra/something_stupid
Hello everyone! Today I’m going to talk about something you all do: watching TV. As a foreigner in a strange land, I find watching TV in Spanish helps me practice and learn the language. I also discovered that on the TV remotes here in Spain, there is a button that allows you to change the audio language into the «original version.» It is a very useful tool for me when I am feeling lazy and don’t want to think in Spanish. BUT, since we are all learning a foreign language, WE SHOULD NOT BE LAZY! As students of English, you should be watching the TV in English (with Spanish subtitles if you like), whenever possible!
Not only does watching TV in the original English version help you learn English, it also sounds much better! Though a few shows are dubbed well, most are not. They lose a lot of the emotion that the actors are showing, and the quality of the show decreases drastically. Films and TV are much better in their original version. I think it is terrible that here in Spain there is a culture of watching films and TV that are dubbed instead of subtitled.
While watching TV here in Spain, I have made a list of 10 shows that I recommend for you to be watching in English. All of these shows are shown on basic Spanish television, so you do not need expensive satallites to watch them. In no particular order:
1 – Top Gear. Even if you don’t like cars, the British version of this show is great fun for men and women. I highly recommend it.
2 – Mythbusters (Cazadores de Mitos). If you like science and engineering, then this is an entertaining show where the hosts run experiments testing common myths.
3 – Sponge Bob Square Pants (Bob Esponja). I don’t watch this cartoon, but it seems popular enough that I have included it on the list.
4 – Friends. This sitcom (situational comedy) is always on TV here, and was very popular in the USA during the 90s.
5 – The Simpsons (Los Simpsons). The longest running comedy program on TV, and it’s very frequently on TV here. Though the Spanish dubbing is pretty good, the original English is even better. Also, since you’ve seen the episodes already in Spanish, it should be easier to follow in English.
6 – Knight Rider (Coche Fantastico). David Hasselhoff in this 80s classic. Need I say more?
7 – MacGyver. Another 80s hit and cult classic. This man can solve almost any problem with just a paperclip. What crazy solutions will he engineer next?
8 – Walker, Texas Ranger. I once wrote an episode for this show with my friend and mailed it to CBS (the TV station) when I was a kid. It wasn’t accepted, but this Chuck Norris show is a 90s classic that helped fuel all the «Chuck Norris jokes» that were popular all over the world.
9 – Cheers. Set in a bar in Boston and broadcast for 11 seasons, mainly in the 80s, this was one of the most popular American sitcoms ever. It is also one of my favorites.
10 – Dirty Jobs (Trabajos Sucios). A show about a man going around trying out the jobs that few people want to do. Entertaining to watch and makes you thankful for the people that do these jobs.
*Bonus – Seinfeld. I have not seen this show on spanish TV, but it is easily my favorite comedy. TV Guide Magazine named it as the «Greatest TV Show of All Time,» and it is well worth watching.
That ends the list, but there are many more series as well as movies on Spanish TV that you can and should be watching in English. So please, next time you watch TV, take advantage of the opportunity to practice your English!
til next time,
paul
Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day! On March 17, people around the world celebrate the feast day of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick. This mainly involves people dressing up in green, parades, irish music and dancing, and having a good time with friends.
Also every year in my home city, the city of Chicago dyes (changes the color) of the Chicago River to green! Below is a real photo of the Chicago River. It’s not photoshopped.
This week’s song is from the Irish-American celtic punk band, Flogging Molly. Though the performers are American, the lead singer was born in Dublin, and their music has an Irish influence to it. The group was formed in 1997 and is still playing today. The song is called «Salty Dog» and was released in 2000 on the album «Swagger.»
Here are the lyrics in English and Spanish:
Hi everyone!
As you may know, if you study here I’m sure you do, we are celebrating Dickens’ 200 birthday.
For this reason, our students have made a great amount of posters which include information
about Dickens: his works, his characters, his ghosts, his house, his
themes, his adaptations…
We want to thank them for their effort, and to show you some of their works. We hope this project has been useful to know alittle bit about one of the greatest English authors.
This week we pay tribute to Davy Jones who just died on February 29, 2012. Though Davy Jones is English, he is best known for being a part of the 1960’s American rock group, the Monkees. The Monkees were a music group made for a TV series which aired between 1966 and 1968. After the show was cancelled, the band continued to play together until 1970. The group had a number of major hits, and their music is still being played on the radio today.
This week’s song is titled, «I’m a Believer.» It was written by Neil Diamond (another famous musician) and performed by the Monkees in 1966. The song reached #1 on the charts on December 31, 1966 and stayed there for 7 weeks! More recently, the band Smash Mouth covered the song for the popular film, Shrek.
Below is the link for the song on LyricsTraining. Davy Jones is the one playing the tambourine in the video.
http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/11762/the_monkees/im_a_believer
I bet you didn’t know, but yesterday (Monday March 5) was a holiday for Chicago area school students. Why? It was Casimir Pulaski Day of course! Kazimierz Pulaski was a Polish soldier born on March 6, 1745. Since attempts to regain Poland’s independance from Russia at this time failed, Pulaski moved to the American colonies to help the USA fight for its independance from the UK. Pulaski helped the US military by training its soldiers and its cavalry. In fact, Pulaski has been called «the father of American cavalry.» During the American Revolutionary War, Pulaski became a general in the US army and was also credited with saving George Washington’s life! Kazimierz Pulaski died on October 11, 1779 from injuries during the Battle of Savannah. Because of the help he gave the American colonies, he is honored in Illinois on the first Monday of March every year since 1977.
Although it ended a week ago, I thought I would share a little bit about carnival celebrations in the USA. While it is not very popular in the USA, some cities still do have large carnival celebrations. The most famous american carnival celebration is held in New Orleans, Louisiana. The festival is called «Mardi Gras.» The name comes from the French who used to own New Orleans, and it means «Fat Tuesday.» It is called «Fat Tuesday» because it is the last day you can eat a lot before Lent (Quaresma).
Similar to carnival celebrations here in Spain, there are parades and people party in the streets. In addition, it is common for people to throw bead necklaces to each other during Mardi Gras. Below are a few photos from Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Enjoy!
Hello everyone again! This week’s song is from an English alternative rock band from Oxford called Supergrass. The band was formed in 1993, but stopped performing in 2010. The song is from 1995 and is titled «Alright.» The song was very popular in the UK in its time, and is still played on the radio today. It was even included in the 2009 films, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Astroboy.
This week I have returned to using «lyrics training.» Without further delay, I hope you enjoy this light upbeat song: