SPEAKING ABOUT LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

OPEN THIS LINK 

and just have a talk with your classmate.

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN LANGUAGES

Learning a language:  10 things you need to know.
Read this interesting article:

THE GUARDIAN

And watch the following Youtube videos:

 

Would you like to come with us next Saturday morning?

Would you like to come with us next Saturday morning?

A women's group meets at half past eight under the motorway bridge, every Saturday. Immediately we go to run by the forest.

Neither the route nor the kilometres are the same, but this is not a problem, because each of us is there to give it all during an hour or more.

The last day we went through a small forest and we went up and down the hills, testing our physical strength and mental endurance, also we were speaking about our plans for the weekend or about the children’s homework, for example.

Everybody finished sweaty and tired; on the one hand with aching muscles, but on the other hand with a great happiness as we had once again surpassed ourselves……we were gobsmacked!!

In the end, a good shower was waiting for us and after that, we were ready to take the world by storm !!

Come on! Do you trust me??

I invite you to be happy on Saturday morning. If you come, you will not regret it.

Under the motorway bridge we will be waiting for you.

See you

GLOBALIZATION MAKES PEOPLE FREER BY RAQUEL

GLOBALIZATION MAKES PEOPLE FREER

Before starting to write about this subject I, honestly, think we would better know the meaning of the globalization word.

If we look it up in Wikipedia we can read:

Globalization is an economic, technological, political and cultural planetary scale process, which consists in the increasing communication and interdependence among countries of the world, connecting their markets, societies and cultures, through a series of social, economic and political transformations.

In the last decade this integration has incredibly advanced due to progress in the technology, communications, science and transport.

Overall we can say that globalization has brought with itself one of the most interesting debates of the last decade. 

Immediately we can go into detail about it:

Although there are a lot of opinion about this topic, nowadays two totally opposite positions are coexisting  :

1-    Defenders of this phenomenon give us several reasons. On the whole, they think  this process has closed the world trough the  exchange  of  products, goods, information,  culture  and  knowledge .

They said that it allows  freedom to go all over the world, also that it produces more jobs and an important increasing of the economy;  therefore,  infant mortality has decreased, life expectancy has increased.

Finally as a result many countries like China, India,Vietnam  have  raised  their wealth.

2-    Critics support that this process has brought the exploitation of the people in the developing countries and  as a result  a lot of problems  and few benefits are produced, such as the wealth is concentrated among the most of  the developed countries and only the 25 per cent  of the internationa linvestments goes to the poor countries.

Besides, there are too many currents of thought which defends that this process goes beyond economy and also includes culture, helping the cultural imperialism threatening  against the particular people identity.

To sum up, we can say  globalization takes with itself advantages and disadvantages.

  
Benefits:

       -  Free movement of goods and products.

          - Reduction of the inflation.

       -  Increase in Foreign Investment.

           - Technological development.

        - Cultural Exchange

·       For instance some countries which have benefited from globalization are:

 -India: wchic has reduced by half the rate of poverty in the last two decades.

      -China: the reform has led to the greater decline in the poverty of the history, the  number of                poors  in rural areas fell or declined and worsen from 250 million in 1978 to 34 million nowadays.

       
         .Drawbacks:

      - Increase of unemployment

      - Loss of traditional cultural identities

      -  Globalization of crime

      - Increase in the consumption of energy and natural resources

      
        For example :

        Many African countries have not benefited at all,  its exports are more or less the same.

     

       So far, my explanation has arrived. What about you?, Which is your opinion??

        

ARE DRUGS THE ANSWER TO LANGUAGE LEARNING?

•  Could smart drugs be the future for language learning? 
• What are the moral and ethical implications of medically enhanced education? 
• Would you take a pill if it would help your ability to learn?  

• These were some of the questions tackled by a panel of experts at a recent Guardian and British Academy debate. See the highlights here or watch the full debate on YouTube

What happens in the brain when you learn a language?
OPEN HERE

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

It's never too late to reconnect with a foreign language

Rosie Driffill

As evening classes come round again, it could be the perfect time to have another try at that language you learned in school. 

READ THE ARTICLE 

 AND LATER SPEAK A BIT WITH YOUR CLASSMATE:

-               What do you think it is the best for you when learning English?

-     What do you enjoy doing?

-     Do you think you are aware of your learning, of the aspects which fit better with you and the ones don’t fit? 

-     Do you take profit of this awareness?  It's the best.

Dracula's Castle by ANA

Dracula’s Castle

Bran Castle or better known as Dracula’s castle is an historic monument located in Transilvania, Romania, about 30 km far from Brasov city (famous because he has got (UK) a ski resort// famous for its ski resort).  The castle was built in 1377 under the command of King Ludwig I of Hungary.  It Was a military stronghold for self-defence and in 1920 it was converted in a regal residence. There are four floors in total, a lot of rooms each one with old furniture, weapons, pictures, armours, a fireplace and lots of costumes. The (Es un lugar muy concreto, se especifica con el "the") Music Salon, king’s Ferdinand bedroom or Dracula’s room are some of the most interesting things/bedchambers/ chambers.   The castle has got a secret passage to get to the other(s) floors.  In the courtyard of the castle, there is a big well where people use to throw coins and make a wish.

Dracula, fiction novel character wrote by Bram Stoker is a Count, owner of a castle located in a/the top of a rock in Transilvania. It is confused with Vlad Tepes (1431-1476 Romania) a Wallachian prince famous because he punished his enemies by impaling (torture method). 

Bram Stoker was inspired by Vlad to write his novel and there are many similitudes between both characters. The people think that Vlad lived in the castle but it is not true.  The legend is stronger than reality and attracts about half million tourists every year that/who want to visit Count Dracula’s Castle.  An English Association called Shadow Seekers visited it to investigate if the castle is haunted.  They said (that) they contacted some ghosts and the human presence bothered them.  The owner of the (es un castillo en concreto, se especifica con el "the) castle is Dominic Habsburg son of Elena Princess of Romania and Antonio Hasburg Toscana (grandson of Carlos VII of Spain). In 2007 Dominic tried to sell it for 50 million(s) dollars, but finally he couldn’t.  Forbs/Forbes magazine values it about 140 million(s) dollars.  Bran Castle is one of the most touristic spots of Transilvania with a lot of history. People should know that Transilvania is famous not only because of the Bran Castle. The Saxon cities, villages that evoke medieval times, ski resort, palaces, fortified churches and a beautiful landscape are awaiting to be discovered.

(Very interesting and not scary at all, your composition is very well written and it encourages to visit the area.  Just pay attention to the use of the definite article "the".  Loli)

ASTURIAS, A NATURAL PARADISE

ASTURIAS, A NATURAL PARADISE

I'm going to write about Asturias, the land where I was born 29 years ago.

 In my modest opinion it is the most beautiful land in the world. You will ask yourself why?, I am going to show it to you in the following lines.

Asturias is on the North coast of Spain. On The well-known Cantabric coast. The coast is shared together with  Galicia, Cantabria and the Basque Country.

 Within Asturias, a lovely town is found. It is called Colunga, my town, of course. It is a little town on the coast as well and it is famous for its coast. This coast also has a famous name, The Jurassic coast. The dinosaurs lived there during thousand millions of years.  Even on the beach rocks, the visitors can see footprints of these dissapeared animals.

In Colunga, we have a famous museum, too, The Dinosaur museum. All along the year a lot of people come to Colunga to visit this interesting showing. Inside the museum you can watch different kinds of dinosaurs which were living there. 

                                        

However,  tourists are not only coming to Colunga to see this museum. The visitors have plenty of oppotunities to enjoy this amazing area. One of them is to visit the Luces's cliffs and the lighthouse. 

The cliffs are a stunning and peaceful scenery where everybody enjoys of a relaxing atmosphere. If you visit them at night, you will be surprised by the lighthouse light.  It is the perfect place to have a drink quietly and enjoying life. 

After visiting the cliffs, you should visit the town of Lastres. Another town with incredible views. It is a town of fishermen where you can find good restaurants and you can taste its delicious seafood. Perhaphs do you hate seafood?, then you can always eat the most typical meal in Asturias: a dish of beans called "Fabada " which I think it is famous in the whole wide world.

It is very difficult to choose the best option to know my area. Therefore when you go to visit Colunga, you should have 3 or 4 free days.

 Until now I have explained the charming coast, but next I am going to show you the lovely mountains because we have mountains on the coast as well. Asturias is a very surprising land.

As I said in the previous paragraph, Asturias has got many mountains. In Colunga, there are mountains, of course, but we have a special one. It is called "Cordillera del Sueve". Why is this a special montain range?. The answer is that this montain chain has got the highest European top nearer the sea. It has got 1,149 metres. At the top you can see almost all places of Asturias. It is a stunning landscape for all visitors.

You are looking forward to visiting Asturias, aren't you?  So, just one thing more, Asturias is a cheap and affordable zone to spend your holidays.  I recommend you to come.  You will spend a good time, at the beach, in the mountain and  you will be able to enjoy the local gastronomy at the same time.  An unbeatable area where for sure you will be happy. 

SAMU