Christmas Wishlist

Christmas is almost there and it’s time to start thinking about what to offer. Books make perfect gifts and there are books suitable to every taste and pocket as well! Either with bookstore gift certificates, or taking advantage of book fairs, book sales, discounts or even second-hand books, there are no possible excuses for not choosing at least a book for yourself and/or for a Christmas gift.

Now, what books have caught your eye during 2012? Which ones are in your Christmas wishlist, either for you to buy / read or would like to get as a Christmas present? What book(s) are you most looking forward to reading on your upcoming days off?

My challenge and request would be for YOU to visit this  new wallwisher and simply write down what your choice(s) is/are. You just have to double click to add a new post-it or drag a file from your computer; If you wish to add any kind of multimedia file, at the bottom of the post, there are options to add a link, upload a file, or take a picture from webcam.

Why Wallwisher? Well, because it is so simple and allows you to publish anonymously. Experience tells me that many people visit this blog and one of the reasons some readers don’t leave a comment is to avoid being identified… That’s ok, I understand that - and exactly to try and persuade more people to collaborate and share their preferences, I’ve created this wallwisher. Nevertheless, if you lack ideas and/or have read a book recently, why not pay here a visit and (also) leave your recommendation(s)? 

Brace yourselves! Christmas is coming... and so (hopefully) are books!
Happy Wishing :=)

Thanksgiving 2012

Prior to this blogpost, I've already left here, here and here a lot of info as well as loads of resources for teachers with different age groups and levels. This year, and because I'm teaching adult beginners' courses, I felt I had to prepare something based on visuals, yes, but not childish...
Observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving is one of the most celebrated holidays in the US. As it is so often broadcast in the news, even the president pardoning a turkey, I think we can and should use the holiday as a teaching moment: an interesting way of bringing in some cultural content, some history, the concepts of sharing and gratitude, of being thankful for something, ...
Here is the PPt presentation I'll be showing next Thursday:

Open publication - Free publishing - More give thanks

I also browsed a bit, trying to find some books and reading for and about Thanksgiving, but the truth is that I basically found children's books. Anyway, here they go:
You can find some info here

You can also find info about the one below here.

Hope you can make good use of these resources and ideas! I'll be waiting for some kind of feedback via mail or blog.

In any case, a happy day, a happy Thanksgiving day.                                                                  

International Day for Tolerance

A quote...
"We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race" 

KOFI ANNAN,  former UN Secretary-General

A poem...

CELEBR8

WE SHOULD CELEBR8

NOT DISCRIMIN8

LEARN TO APPRECIATE

DON'T PLAYER HATE

BECAUSE THERE'S ROOM FOR YOU

AND THERE'S SPACE FOR ME

LIVING IN THIS WORLD OF DIVERSITY

LET'S CELEBR8 DIVERSITY

Nature has dressed us up

in many shades of skin 

the variety of tone we display

is the result of melanin

if you hate your neighbour

becaus of their skin colour

you really hate yourself´

as we are all versions of each other.

People embrace religion 

but still they fuss and fight

many believe in one God

so why on earth don't they unite

there are many different faiths

we have lots of beliefs

so let's celebr8 our differences

instead of crying out in grief

WE SHOULD CELEBR8
NOT DISCRIMIN8
LEARN TO APPRECIATE
DON'T PLAYER HATE
BECAUSE THERE'S ROOM FOR YOU
AND THERE'S SPACE FOR ME
LIVING IN THIS WORLD OF DIVERSITY
LET'S CELEBR8 DIVERSITY

Battle of the sexes
the competition is rigid and strong
women cry out for equality 
as men treat them wrong 
society creates roles
for the genders to define
I know we are the yin and yang
but we could be floating on cloud nine.
The elders in our communities 
they still have a lot to give
you don't reach  that golden gate
by being stupid
so let's respect our elders
to lift their spirit higher 
as everyday we're getting older
like them one day we'll all retire.


WE SHOULD CELEBR8
NOT DISCRIMIN8
LEARN TO APPRECIATE
DON'T PLAYER HATE
BECAUSE THERE'S ROOM FOR YOU
AND THERE'S SPACE FOR ME
LIVING IN THIS WORLD OF DIVERSITY
LET'S CELEBR8 DIVERSITY

When it comes to sexuality

there is true diversity

now a days sexual expression

is red hot and spicy

some people abstain

while others are down right kinky

STRAIGHT, GAY, A OR BISEXUAL

which is your category?

Being Trans

is not about sex or sexuality

the Trans of this world

need to define their own identity

Trans just want the right

to a little privacy

the right to protection

in this society.

WE SHOULD CELEBR8

NOT DISCRIMIN8

LEARN TO APPRECIATE

DON'T PLAYER HATE

BECAUSE THERE'S ROOM FOR YOU

AND THERE'S SPACE FOR ME

LIVING IN THIS WORLD OF DIVERSITY

LET'S CELEBR8 DIVERSITY

Now disabilities they vary

society has a long, long way to go

people exclude disable people

as if they are really slow

equal opportunities are vital

for disabled people to succeed

your disability is not the problem

it’s the world that doesn’t cater to your needs.

Refugees are really suffering

Who really knows their plight?

refugees are fleeing persecution

in the middle of the night

dressed in desperation

where do they go from here?

We all need somewhere to live

Free to live without living in fear.

WE SHOULD CELEBR8

NOT DISCRIMIN8

LEARN TO APPRECIATE

DON'T PLAYER HATE

BECAUSE THERE'S ROOM FOR YOU

AND THERE'S SPACE FOR ME

LIVING IN THIS WORLD OF DIVERSITY

LET'S CELEBR8 DIVERSITY

LEVI TAFARI, 2006

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/britlit/celebr8-levi-tafari

Blog Anniversary #4

http://www.4-anniversary-gifts.co.uk

Looking back, I find it hard to believe that 4 years have already gone by, but here I am, with the same commitment and dedication to learn, teach and share!
Thank you all,
A

Read... DRACULA

Today's Google Doodle celebrates Bram Stoker's 165th birthday, the Irish author best known for his vampiric creation, the gothic novel Dracula.
As I have often suggested in former blogposts, one doesn't need to spend money to read - that can only be considered an excuse (and a bad one) once there are different sites where you can get ebooks as these - public domain - legally and freely.
Again and again, Project Gutenberg offers over 40,00 ebooks you can download and here is Dracula, by Bram Stoker: 1. Choose format 2. click on download link 3. Done!!! You can read it any time anywhere.
Another possibility is http://dailylit.com/, a fantastic website I haven't mentioned before, where you can get installments of books and decide HOW, WHEN and WHERE to receive them! You browse books (by title, author, category) or enter search terms. In this case, Dracula is entirely free and has 176 installments - click here to check it and try it out for yourself! Weekend is coming, why not choose to start reading an installment on Saturday evening and another one on Sunday? Register and decide whether to receive these 176 short installments by email or RSS, the days you feel you can / want to read, the time... everything really is in (y)our hands. Have a go and let me know.
Happy Reading :=)

SUMMLY - for more Reading!

Summly logo

Summly is a free mobile app that automatically summarises full news pages from different sources. Developed by a now seventeen year-old British schoolboy, Nick D'Aloisio, and already dubbed “the internet’s newest boy genius” and “the next Mark Zuckerberg”, this young tech whizz found it difficult to look for what he needed when surfing the web and created a simple and easy to use app. According to him, regular news articles and blog posts are long and always sprouting the web, don’t fit in a mobile screen and we can’t afford to waste so much time reading huge blocks of texts that may end up not being what we were looking for. So, why not a convenient app that customizes content for a mobile screen, now that we are always on the go?

Summly condenses news articles into three key paragraphs that fit onto an iPhone screen. It already includes package categories such as BUSINESS / TECHNOLOGY / ENTERTAINMENT and ARTS / US NEWS / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and obviously APPLE (the only platform that currently supports it). These categories are represented by large horizontal color blocks and the latest story shows up after choosing one. By swiping left or right, you can navigate through the latest summaries.  If any of them sounds interesting, you may save it for later use, email it, tweet it or share on Facebook – you just hold down and a flower-shaped menu shows up for sharing options.

Why am I interested in this? Well, first I believe it may improve reading skills and habits taking advantage of the fact that even our students own a smartphone… though it’s only available for iPhones (or any other iOS-using hardware) yet, it’s surely just a question of time to make it available for Androids, thus allowing many more to download this free app and READ short texts, eventually longer ones. As a teacher and an avid reader, hope dies last, and for reluctant readers (either adults or teens) this can be a start – with news, then with other areas that Summly might develop.

I did try to introduce a new category… EDUCATION… then CULTURE… none of them worked and my doubts are whether they don’t work at all and still need to be developed once this app is brand new, or whether it’s simply blocked due to excessive traffic overloading Summly servers.

On a final note, I find it relevant that this app is simple to use even with more troubled students since the UI (user interface) changes according to the user’s country, thus making it easier to understand how it works whilst still having to read the SUMMLYS and news articles in English ;=)

To sum up, Summly is still pretty much a fresh app with its downsides, but has had a good start and is looking promising.

Let’s wait and see!

Did you know...?

Have a look at this short video by History.com with loads of info on pumpkins, a fruit, so often used in soups, jams, desserts...



Again, out of curiosity, check ou this The Wall Street Journal with the greatest pumpkins :=)
And... why not finish with a gap fill exercise to review vocab??? Try this !