"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, AND that has made all the difference" The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

DREAMING IN ENGLISH. Are you dreaming in English yet?

WELCOME!!! This is a bit of a challenge for me!!! This blog is intended for all audiences. I hope you enjoy and get the most of it!!!

Here you might find resources to help you navigate the muddy waters of English. The humble aim of this blog is just to keep you in touch with different types of English and different aspects of the English culture , to increase your curiosity about English through many different fields.

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Are you dreaming in English yet? por BE se encuentra bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 Unported.

miércoles, 10 de octubre de 2012

CHARITY


A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization. It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philantropic goals (e.g. charitable, educational, religiuos etc).

Have you ever worked or been involved in a NGO? What are the reasons to participate in one of them? In these type of organizations you give and offer help to others, but do you get something from them? Are there any advantages / disadvantages in cooperating with them?
Here you have some logos of some registered charities that may help you in your project. You can design your own as well. By the way, do you recognize the logos and what do these organizations do?
In your project you have to create your own charity event. Remember to include the following information:
-  Description of the event (where it will take place, people involved,which part of your own community is going to be helped, etc). Give as many details as possible.
-  How are you going to manage to get cooperators? Publicity ideas.
-  Raising money. ( Donations, tips, who is going to sponsor you, etc)

Listen to John talking about two different types of charity and answer the following questions.
1. How does John and his group raise money to help people in need? listen and summarize.
2. John talks about a famous British charity associatoin. What do they do? summarize what he says and write about what kind of people they help and how.


HOMELESSNESS is  a serious problem. Is there any way to avoid it? Have a look at this activity and do the following tasks:
1. Vocabulary exercise. Place each word in the right category and then analyze how we can connect some of these words to the idea of homelessness.
2. Listen to the suggested song and do the adjoined activities


Watch the following videos . What´s your opinion about them?
1. What has the woman done in the 1st video?
2. Oxfam ´s slogan in the second video is " putting and end to bad presents" . Why do they say that?



lunes, 8 de octubre de 2012

Legend has it.... The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Washinton Irving was born in 1783 in New York City and he served as U.S Minister to Spain. Much of his writing was influenced by his travels. Among his most famous books are The Sketch Book, which included The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip van Winkle, Tales of a Traveler and The tales of the Alhambra. He used a pen name(Diedrich Knickerbocker) for his first book A History of New York.
 Here you have a slideshare to learn more facts about him.



Let´s work with legends a little bit. What´s a legend for you? Legends are stories that have been handed down from generation to generation and they usually include information from the past. All cultures have legends. Do you know any one?
Here we are going to work with one legend that Washington Irving made popular ( The Legend of Sleepy Hollow). 
 Legends are always based on previous stories and we have a mixture of facts and fiction. Irving had already heard about this story before and he was based on German folk tale where the image of the headless horseman is introduced.


Here you have a link to the story, click on it and read and listen at the same time. Enjoy the story and have a spoooooky time!!!!!
Once we have read the story, who can tell me what may have happened to Icabod?  His horse has been found in a field, there are remains of a splattered pumpkin.....
I give you some suggestions:
- he´s been the victim of a cruel man. Some people blame Brom Van Brunt....
- he´s been spirited away.....
- he´s too embarrased so he ran away....
Have you got more options? The end is very open so you can say many things. Use your imagination and write your comments. Explain your ideas.
Disney has also done his own version of the story. Have a look at this video!! The film was done in 1949!!



Tim Burton , of course, has done his own version of this famous legend. Even though his film is loosely connected to the real story here you have the trailer so that you can see how he creates an impressive gothic atmosphere!!!



This is Tim Burton´s plot: It all begins in 1799, in the New York City Police department, where Ichabod Crane, a scientifist and detective has been dispatched by his superiors to the little hamlet of Sleepy Hollow. There, a succession of horrible crimes takes place: all the victims have been found beheaded.
When he arrives in Sleepy Hollow all the inhabitants are convinced that the murderer isn’t of flesh and blood but a headless warrior from beyond the grave who, on a massive black steed, mows off heads at a gallop and that they all call: THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN.
But Ichabd Crane doesn’t believe this “fairy tale” and he begins to lead the investigation, with his bag of scientific tools....
Do you want to know more? and how the story ends? Let´s watch the film .