Back from class now.
Before the class we had a little Halloween do, with sweets and drinks, decorations and some face masks to choose from. It was fun.
The winners of the Horror Short Stories writing competition were announced. And I was 'lucky' to be chosen as the winner of the English Level C category .... but, I have a sneaking suspicion that my entry was the only entry. Easy to win when there is no competition. But hey, I made the effort. Sometimes success is just showing up, to paraphrase Mr Allen.
By the way, Manuel did not even give the chance to pretend that I am shy or something, and pretty much 'forced' me to read my story to the attending audience.
'Forced' meaning 'encouraged'.
Here is a link to the story I wrote ... I hope it does scare you a little bit.
The Little Laugh
:)
I got talking to a couple of people afterwards, particularly remember a fellow student named Edu (A2) and one teacher named Marilo (I think!) ... she mentioned to me that there is a meetup.com English conversation group in Boiro. I will be eternally grateful to her for that tip. Whether the group turns out to be active or not remains to be seen, but it is a great lead on my quest to practice my English more regularly.
Thank you so very much to all the EOI Noia team for a lovely evening!
20191029
What do you call a language that is designed to hide and twist the facts? What do you call a language that manipulates the facts into something it later claims to be the truth?
The Language of Politics.
We are all politically biased, that is inevitable. Taxes become ‘redistribution of wealth’ or ‘confiscation of earnings’ depending on your political leanings. And all issues are political issues.
But the language in politics is used to deliberately mislead to hide unpleasant facts or to highlight and claim pleasant ones; often both at the same time, always trying to appease both sides of the argument, at least not to alienate any of the sides. ‘We successfully managed to reduce the cost base and restructure the company’.
At its most dangerous the language in politics is used to fan the flames of hate and appeal to basic instincts of war and survival. Them against us. Immigration rethoric examples abound.
The most successful politicians were the ones that navigate the fine line of political language for the longest before they are found out. Over the past few years it has become acceptable to polarize the bases with blunter and bolder language, getting closer and closer to the danger zone of politics.
It is imperative that we all educate ourselves in understanding the use politicians make of language. It is not a very difficult task, but it takes a bit of effort.
I suggest starting by breaking our own echo chambers and try to read two newspapers from opposite sides of the political spectrum. Only when you read both sides of the same story, you can start to see the facts in the middle and make up your own mind.
(286 words)
(This is my post relating to the task "Journal post and comment" proposed by Manuel on edmodo)
20191027
Sunday.
Haven't blogged since the 21st, six days ago. That is just terrible of me!
Over the classes this week we finished Unit 1 from the book.
The overarching theme of the lesson was imprecision ... although I am sure there is a better way of putting it.
Agreement and disagreement degrees, vagueness, understatement, nuances, even the use of the perfect tense of verbs, were all studied in this unit and it made for a very interesting learning experience. Yes, we can all speak English now, so it is high time we start being flexible with it. Less talking in absolutes and more expressing relative thoughts. Relative to whomever else might be in the conversation.
On Thursday I went again to Ribeira and met with some English assistant teachers. It is so nice to have a proper conversation in English; I really wish it was a daily occurrence.
I met Esther from Houston, Texas; she teaches at two schools in Boiro. I also met Clarissa, from the UK; she teaches in Ribeira. Clarissa brought along her little daughter Athena. Such a lovely name in my opinion.
Also there were Madeleine and DeVaughn, from Minnesota and Texas respectively, if my memory serves me well. Both I had met the previous Thursday.
And, of course, Pepe was there too!
And that is that about Thursday.
Today ... Binomial pairs ... one of those things one does not know one already knows, if that makes sense.
I have learnt that they are short expressions that are incredibly common in English. I have used them before countless times, and never even knew they were a thing or had a name.
Examples:
first and foremost
time and time again
loud and clear
part and parcel
sooner or later
little by little
step by step
good and proper
give or take
short and sweet
hustle and bustle
now or never
take it or leave it
rise and shine
flesh and blood
sink or swim
sick and tired
and hundreds, possibly thousands more! Live and learn!
Haven't blogged since the 21st, six days ago. That is just terrible of me!
Over the classes this week we finished Unit 1 from the book.
The overarching theme of the lesson was imprecision ... although I am sure there is a better way of putting it.
Agreement and disagreement degrees, vagueness, understatement, nuances, even the use of the perfect tense of verbs, were all studied in this unit and it made for a very interesting learning experience. Yes, we can all speak English now, so it is high time we start being flexible with it. Less talking in absolutes and more expressing relative thoughts. Relative to whomever else might be in the conversation.
On Thursday I went again to Ribeira and met with some English assistant teachers. It is so nice to have a proper conversation in English; I really wish it was a daily occurrence.
I met Esther from Houston, Texas; she teaches at two schools in Boiro. I also met Clarissa, from the UK; she teaches in Ribeira. Clarissa brought along her little daughter Athena. Such a lovely name in my opinion.
Also there were Madeleine and DeVaughn, from Minnesota and Texas respectively, if my memory serves me well. Both I had met the previous Thursday.
And, of course, Pepe was there too!
And that is that about Thursday.
Today ... Binomial pairs ... one of those things one does not know one already knows, if that makes sense.
I have learnt that they are short expressions that are incredibly common in English. I have used them before countless times, and never even knew they were a thing or had a name.
Examples:
first and foremost
time and time again
loud and clear
part and parcel
sooner or later
little by little
step by step
good and proper
give or take
short and sweet
hustle and bustle
now or never
take it or leave it
rise and shine
flesh and blood
sink or swim
sick and tired
and hundreds, possibly thousands more! Live and learn!
20191021
Yes, I missed a few days of blogging.
So let's try to recall the last few days ... I left it last Thursday when I had finished writing a short horror story.
After that, on Thursday evening I met a chap from Boiro who was going to Ribeira to meet an English speaking group and invited me to join them.
This comes from a whatsapp group of people that meet on Monday evenings in Boiro, but this guy does sometimes go to Ribeira on Thursdays to meet there too.
It turns our that the groups are centered around the native assistant teachers from the schools around Boiro and Ribeira. And the groups are named 'Intercambio' because are there to help those teachers to get familiar with the culture and language of Spain, well, Galicia in this case.
There were nine of us, seven native assistant teachers and two locals. Of the seven teachers, six were from the US and one from the UK. I did not get to talk to a few of them because of the table arrangement, but I managed to have a lovely conversation with the three that I had around me.
I felt a bit guilty for not speaking any Spanish to them, but I think they enjoyed the hour and half we were there. I certainly did!
I need to find out more about the group that meets in Boiro; like how many assistant teachers are there and if they are available any other day of the week.
What else?
Friday and Saturday were very quiet to be honest. Don't recall much. I guess I just watched the Brexit news unfold.
On Sunday I joined the "III Andaina Solidaria contra el cáncer de mama" ... my mum and dad were going, so I did too. It was very nice. Around three thousands people walked eleven or so kilometers around Boiro and paid ten euros for the privilege. I heard that well over twenty thousand euros will be sent to cancer charities.
Today we have class. I will be bringing the horror story to Manuel.
:)
So let's try to recall the last few days ... I left it last Thursday when I had finished writing a short horror story.
After that, on Thursday evening I met a chap from Boiro who was going to Ribeira to meet an English speaking group and invited me to join them.
This comes from a whatsapp group of people that meet on Monday evenings in Boiro, but this guy does sometimes go to Ribeira on Thursdays to meet there too.
It turns our that the groups are centered around the native assistant teachers from the schools around Boiro and Ribeira. And the groups are named 'Intercambio' because are there to help those teachers to get familiar with the culture and language of Spain, well, Galicia in this case.
There were nine of us, seven native assistant teachers and two locals. Of the seven teachers, six were from the US and one from the UK. I did not get to talk to a few of them because of the table arrangement, but I managed to have a lovely conversation with the three that I had around me.
I felt a bit guilty for not speaking any Spanish to them, but I think they enjoyed the hour and half we were there. I certainly did!
I need to find out more about the group that meets in Boiro; like how many assistant teachers are there and if they are available any other day of the week.
What else?
Friday and Saturday were very quiet to be honest. Don't recall much. I guess I just watched the Brexit news unfold.
On Sunday I joined the "III Andaina Solidaria contra el cáncer de mama" ... my mum and dad were going, so I did too. It was very nice. Around three thousands people walked eleven or so kilometers around Boiro and paid ten euros for the privilege. I heard that well over twenty thousand euros will be sent to cancer charities.
Today we have class. I will be bringing the horror story to Manuel.
:)
20191017
Habemus a paciscor!
Will the deal hold? Will it pass the parliament tests? What happened with the DUP?
The new chapter of news is just starting.
Manuel posted the answers to the Writing Mistakes Exercise from the 10 Oct.
1. Correct. Squinting Modifier.
2. How dare anyone correct Shakespeare!
3. Correct. Split Infinitive
4. Correct. Wordiness
5. Correct. Double Negative
6. Correct. Subject-Verb agreement
7. Correct. Illogical
8. Correct. Comma slice
9. Correct. Sentence Fragment
10. Correct. Run-on sentence
It is worth pointing up that some of those 'mistakes' might sometimes be valid as literary constructs.
See example number 2 as the perfect example.
I finished a little 'horror story' for the contest at the school ... it is a big longer than 250 words, 413 to be exact. But it fits nicely in one page. I hope they don't disqualify me!!
I called it "The Little Laugh". I hope it scares you!
Will the deal hold? Will it pass the parliament tests? What happened with the DUP?
The new chapter of news is just starting.
Manuel posted the answers to the Writing Mistakes Exercise from the 10 Oct.
1. Correct. Squinting Modifier.
2. How dare anyone correct Shakespeare!
3. Correct. Split Infinitive
4. Correct. Wordiness
5. Correct. Double Negative
6. Correct. Subject-Verb agreement
7. Correct. Illogical
8. Correct. Comma slice
9. Correct. Sentence Fragment
10. Correct. Run-on sentence
It is worth pointing up that some of those 'mistakes' might sometimes be valid as literary constructs.
See example number 2 as the perfect example.
I finished a little 'horror story' for the contest at the school ... it is a big longer than 250 words, 413 to be exact. But it fits nicely in one page. I hope they don't disqualify me!!
I called it "The Little Laugh". I hope it scares you!
20191016
Back from class.
Taking from where we had left it on Monday, we started talking about languages and ways other languages surprised us ... I mentioned gender in languages, specifically mentioning Spanish vs German and how people assign different qualities to the same word because in one language is feminine and in the other is masculine .... we quickly moved onto the Sapir Whorf hypothesis and discussed the links between thought and language and if it possible to think without a language ... very enjoyable and very philosophical!
Then we touched a bit of grammar focusing on the perfect tense, with a bit of listening and some verb exercises.
The perfect tense is definitely useful and can indeed be beautiful ... but, the proper rules can get a little bit mystifying!
Present Perfect: I've read Orwell before.
Present Perfect Continuous: I've been reading Orwell for years now.
Past Perfect: I had read Orwell well before college.
Past Perfect Continuous: I had been reading Orwell for years, but then life kept me away from books.
Future Perfect: I will have read 1984 by Orwell again by next Christmas.
Future Perfect Continuous: This time next year I will have been reading Orwell long enough to take on a Masters Degree on it!
(some of the examples work better than others!)
Funny thing: The Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous, despite their names, are actually Past Tenses ... well, at least they refer to the past.
Of course the whole thing can get way more complicated ... but Manuel assures me that there won't be questions on verb conjugation in the C1 exams ... what a relief!!
I have found this on the Cambridge website:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/tenses-and-time
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/verbs
Tomorrow: EU Council Meeting ... big day!!
Taking from where we had left it on Monday, we started talking about languages and ways other languages surprised us ... I mentioned gender in languages, specifically mentioning Spanish vs German and how people assign different qualities to the same word because in one language is feminine and in the other is masculine .... we quickly moved onto the Sapir Whorf hypothesis and discussed the links between thought and language and if it possible to think without a language ... very enjoyable and very philosophical!
Then we touched a bit of grammar focusing on the perfect tense, with a bit of listening and some verb exercises.
The perfect tense is definitely useful and can indeed be beautiful ... but, the proper rules can get a little bit mystifying!
Present Perfect: I've read Orwell before.
Present Perfect Continuous: I've been reading Orwell for years now.
Past Perfect: I had read Orwell well before college.
Past Perfect Continuous: I had been reading Orwell for years, but then life kept me away from books.
Future Perfect: I will have read 1984 by Orwell again by next Christmas.
Future Perfect Continuous: This time next year I will have been reading Orwell long enough to take on a Masters Degree on it!
(some of the examples work better than others!)
Funny thing: The Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous, despite their names, are actually Past Tenses ... well, at least they refer to the past.
Of course the whole thing can get way more complicated ... but Manuel assures me that there won't be questions on verb conjugation in the C1 exams ... what a relief!!
I have found this on the Cambridge website:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/tenses-and-time
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/verbs
Tomorrow: EU Council Meeting ... big day!!
20191014
Monday, so class later today.
Very quiet weekend I had.
It was my dad's birthday on Saturday.
Hard to celebrate a birthday with someone that does not know it is his birthday, no matter how many times we reminded him.
We just went out for a meal and I think he enjoyed it.
See, my dad does not join group conversations anymore, he might just quip a (bad) joke or two when he hears something in particular.
But if the conversation lasts for more than 30 seconds, as most conversations do, he just tunes out quietly and immediately forgets what the people just around him are talking about.
If anyone asks him for an opinion, he just says something like 'eso non me preocupa', but to me it is obvious that he does not know what the question is about, although most people don't realise that.
He just seems fine, if just a little bit disinterested.
Anyway, English learning ...
I have been following Brexit news ... it seems that the UK and Ireland can see a 'pathway to a deal' ... Let's home the pathway is clear and free from too many obstacles.
Today Manuel has posted a couple of things on Edmodo.
First one was about an upcoming trip to Stockholm in March 2020 ... like a school trip, but not.
I won't be going, but definitely envy the ones that do. I have never been to Stockholm and I would not mind it at all. It looks very interesting.
The other post was about the reading task he gave us at the end of the class last Wednesday.We will be getting the answers this week. It is not an easy reading exercise if you ask me.
Blimey! As I type Manuel has just posted on edmodo again ... twice!
So his third post is about 'Learning Diaries' ... it includes a picture too with some pointers.
In a way this blog is my own learning diary ... but it is too unstructured to be considered a good one.
Mine is just mind dumping more than anything else. Almost makes me glad that no one reads it!! LOL
His last post (for the time being!) is a BBC Sounds 26 minutes long documentary about language learning for adults.
I am listening to it now ...
1. un deux trois ... you are never too old!
2. un deux trois ... don't worry about your accent! Just give speaking a go ... and don't obsess about grammar either.
3. un deux trois ... allow yourself to be a beginner
4. un deux trois ... language can help you unlock a culture
5. un deux trois ... motivation + resources + time ... find a topic you actually care about
6. un deux trois ... discipline and (a lot) of patience (500+ hours)
Argh!! More posts from Manuel ... will be back later! LOL
Very quiet weekend I had.
It was my dad's birthday on Saturday.
Hard to celebrate a birthday with someone that does not know it is his birthday, no matter how many times we reminded him.
We just went out for a meal and I think he enjoyed it.
See, my dad does not join group conversations anymore, he might just quip a (bad) joke or two when he hears something in particular.
But if the conversation lasts for more than 30 seconds, as most conversations do, he just tunes out quietly and immediately forgets what the people just around him are talking about.
If anyone asks him for an opinion, he just says something like 'eso non me preocupa', but to me it is obvious that he does not know what the question is about, although most people don't realise that.
He just seems fine, if just a little bit disinterested.
Anyway, English learning ...
I have been following Brexit news ... it seems that the UK and Ireland can see a 'pathway to a deal' ... Let's home the pathway is clear and free from too many obstacles.
Today Manuel has posted a couple of things on Edmodo.
First one was about an upcoming trip to Stockholm in March 2020 ... like a school trip, but not.
I won't be going, but definitely envy the ones that do. I have never been to Stockholm and I would not mind it at all. It looks very interesting.
The other post was about the reading task he gave us at the end of the class last Wednesday.We will be getting the answers this week. It is not an easy reading exercise if you ask me.
Blimey! As I type Manuel has just posted on edmodo again ... twice!
So his third post is about 'Learning Diaries' ... it includes a picture too with some pointers.
In a way this blog is my own learning diary ... but it is too unstructured to be considered a good one.
Mine is just mind dumping more than anything else. Almost makes me glad that no one reads it!! LOL
His last post (for the time being!) is a BBC Sounds 26 minutes long documentary about language learning for adults.
I am listening to it now ...
1. un deux trois ... you are never too old!
2. un deux trois ... don't worry about your accent! Just give speaking a go ... and don't obsess about grammar either.
3. un deux trois ... allow yourself to be a beginner
4. un deux trois ... language can help you unlock a culture
5. un deux trois ... motivation + resources + time ... find a topic you actually care about
6. un deux trois ... discipline and (a lot) of patience (500+ hours)
Argh!! More posts from Manuel ... will be back later! LOL
20191010
1. Students who study rarely get bad grades.
- Squinting modifier. What does rarely modify? Do they rarely study? Or do they rarely get bad grades? Missing a comma, or simply move the modifier to a better position. Students who rarely study get bad grades.
2. Sleeping in my orchard, a serpent stung me
- I will not be correcting Shakespeare.
3. I wanted to quickly dash off to the supermarket.
- Split Infinitive. To dash off quickly ... although it is a little bit of a redundancy too. I suppose it is to add emphasis.
4. For all intents and purposes, the reason Mr. Sparrow missed the conference was due to the fact that he had to stop very many traffic lights that were mainly red in colour.
- Wordiness. Mr. Sparrow was late because of traffic.
5. Ann can't hardly get up in the morning
- Double negative. Ann can't get up in the morning. She hardly makes it to breakfast ... Ann can hardly get up in the morning.
6. The list of items are on the desk
- Subject-verb agreement. The list of items is on the desk.
7. The students at our school are smarter than Gemini Middle School
- Illogical. Can a school be smart?
8. I wanted to go out for dinner before we went to the cinema, however I decided to go after instead.
- Comma slice. The comma is better replaced by a full stop. I wanted to go out for dinner before we went to the cinema. However, I decided to go after instead.
9. I found great a new position in tech. The remedy for all my financial problems.
- Sentence fragments. Also, 'great' is misplaced. I found a great new position in tech, and it will be the remedy to all my financial problems.
10. I can't figure out how to set up this rice cooker, it came without an instruction manual.
- Run-on sentence. The comma might be needed for a bit of a breathing pause, but it is missing a connector. I can't figure out how to set up this rice cooker, since it came without an instruction manual. Or replace the comma with a full stop. I can't figure out how to set up this rice cooker. It came with no instruction manual.
20191009
I am a bit annoyed I did not win the Euromillions lottery last night.
Class later today.
Last night, actually very early in the morning, I went to put some of the English Conversation Club stickers around Boiro and today we had the first person joining the facebook group, but she hasn't said anything yet so I am not even sure if she is from Boiro.
Nevertheless, welcome!! :)
I must remember to ask how the 'online' part of the book works. I wasn't able to successfully join a class or group or whatever on the website.
If I forget to ask in class today I will ask in edmodo later.
Back from class. Grammar (Adverbs), Listening and Speaking. Moving swiftly through Unit 1! Well, not that swiftly!
I find myself very tired today.
Class later today.
Last night, actually very early in the morning, I went to put some of the English Conversation Club stickers around Boiro and today we had the first person joining the facebook group, but she hasn't said anything yet so I am not even sure if she is from Boiro.
Nevertheless, welcome!! :)
I must remember to ask how the 'online' part of the book works. I wasn't able to successfully join a class or group or whatever on the website.
If I forget to ask in class today I will ask in edmodo later.
Back from class. Grammar (Adverbs), Listening and Speaking. Moving swiftly through Unit 1! Well, not that swiftly!
I find myself very tired today.
20191008
13.7 billion earth years (approx) the universe was 'born' somehow.
49 earth years I was 'born', made of the stuff the universe has been forging from day 1.
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
20191007
Good morning!
Back from class now.
We started the book! Yay!
We briefly discussed the Getting Sated section.
Here are some of my thoughts (that I did not share in class)
In the picture we see Kanzi and Sue Savage-Rumbaugh at the Language Research Centre at GSU in Atlanta.
Kanzi is a bonobo, born in 1980 ... and learned to use lexigrams from a very early age when researchers were trying to teach his mum ... he picked up the language by just observing as a baby bonobo.
He now knows over a 1000 words, although he uses 40 to 50 a day.
Kanzi is also very adept at problem solving and very good at using tools.
One of the main goals of the Language Research Centre is to understand the role of language in the development of rational thought.
They do not only work with primates. But they are mostly known for their work with them.
Here is a short video from Oprah about Kanzi and Sue (and Teco)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CcVFjRPLLo
Class later today.
I shared a video to the edmodo group.
It is the first song from one of my favourite movies, My Fair Lady.
Professor Higgings is doing some research in Covent Garden, and it coincides with the end of an opera performance and so the upper classes are streaming out of the Opera House and getting their taxis home, whilst the populace are going about their lowly business, including Eliza Doolittle, a street flower girl. And so it begins.
Eliza is told that someone is taking notes about her and she decides to confront him, Coronel Pickering just happens to be nearby and gets involved too.
What follows is the song that sets the whole movie.
Back from class now.
We started the book! Yay!
We briefly discussed the Getting Sated section.
Here are some of my thoughts (that I did not share in class)
In the picture we see Kanzi and Sue Savage-Rumbaugh at the Language Research Centre at GSU in Atlanta.
Kanzi is a bonobo, born in 1980 ... and learned to use lexigrams from a very early age when researchers were trying to teach his mum ... he picked up the language by just observing as a baby bonobo.
He now knows over a 1000 words, although he uses 40 to 50 a day.
Kanzi is also very adept at problem solving and very good at using tools.
One of the main goals of the Language Research Centre is to understand the role of language in the development of rational thought.
They do not only work with primates. But they are mostly known for their work with them.
Here is a short video from Oprah about Kanzi and Sue (and Teco)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CcVFjRPLLo
We did a little bit of reading from section 1A, with the four cases of language learning. I did not know that Chris Packham had a house in France.
Then we moved onto Adverbs and how they are not as simple as they appear to be. Some of my answers were not completely correct.
It is interesting to see in what positions some adverts fit best.
I must properly read the Grammar Focus 1A in page 138.
Little bit of vocabulary afterwards and then very suddenly the class ended.
I swear there is some sort of time warp when I am in Noia, time just flies by!
20191005
Last night I binged!
All twelve episodes of Fleabag in one sitting.
A M A Z I N G
Hadn't laughed and cried so much in ages. It is a comedy, but like all good comedies there is a huge drama behind it. Sometimes the drama hits you very hard.
The series was created and written by the talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and she also performs as the main character in it.
If you haven't watched it yet, I would highly recommend you do so. In English of course.
It is available in Amazon Prime, not sure where else. But find it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX2ViKQFL_k
Talking about talent ... Jameela Jamil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIxJxxM6BCM
Clever, intelligent, articulate, funny, proper role-model, uplifting, feminist ... did I say clever?
She used to be in tv and radio in the UK and recently moved to the US.
Manuel has shared a video on edmodo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ROnc2OXzuY
In 2018 UNESCO listed the Art of dry stone walling, its knowledge and techniques on the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This listing is important, not only because it highlights the art as a human heritage, but it also because the countries (eight in this case, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland) do commit to preserve and protect the art, knowledge and techniques, and to ensure visibility and awareness and to encourage dialogue, promoting it.
Documentation and training courses will be a cornerstone (no pun intended!) of the safeguarding programs.
All twelve episodes of Fleabag in one sitting.
A M A Z I N G
Hadn't laughed and cried so much in ages. It is a comedy, but like all good comedies there is a huge drama behind it. Sometimes the drama hits you very hard.
The series was created and written by the talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and she also performs as the main character in it.
If you haven't watched it yet, I would highly recommend you do so. In English of course.
It is available in Amazon Prime, not sure where else. But find it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX2ViKQFL_k
Talking about talent ... Jameela Jamil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIxJxxM6BCM
Clever, intelligent, articulate, funny, proper role-model, uplifting, feminist ... did I say clever?
She used to be in tv and radio in the UK and recently moved to the US.
Manuel has shared a video on edmodo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ROnc2OXzuY
In 2018 UNESCO listed the Art of dry stone walling, its knowledge and techniques on the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This listing is important, not only because it highlights the art as a human heritage, but it also because the countries (eight in this case, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland) do commit to preserve and protect the art, knowledge and techniques, and to ensure visibility and awareness and to encourage dialogue, promoting it.
Documentation and training courses will be a cornerstone (no pun intended!) of the safeguarding programs.
20191004
Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love
So, it is Friday. The only plan for today is to bring my dad to the Alzheimer workshop this afternoon.
I will stay there with him today, just in case!
Back from the Alzheimer workshop. At least my dad stayed for the whole meeting this time. But there were a couple of times he wanted to leave. Anyway.
On the way back I stopped at a printing shop to get some stickers done to promote the English Conversation Club. Well, I printed only a test sheet of them, 18 in total. Just to see. Sort of a proof copy.
I had to cut them at home, not too difficult a job though. So here they are. Any comments? Suggestions?
Tuesday Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love
So, it is Friday. The only plan for today is to bring my dad to the Alzheimer workshop this afternoon.
I will stay there with him today, just in case!
Back from the Alzheimer workshop. At least my dad stayed for the whole meeting this time. But there were a couple of times he wanted to leave. Anyway.
On the way back I stopped at a printing shop to get some stickers done to promote the English Conversation Club. Well, I printed only a test sheet of them, 18 in total. Just to see. Sort of a proof copy.
I had to cut them at home, not too difficult a job though. So here they are. Any comments? Suggestions?
20191003
"The hell with luck, I'll bring the luck with me."
A quote from The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
Apropos of nothing.
More Stephen Colbert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCocCQjViMk&t
A quote from The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
Apropos of nothing.
More Stephen Colbert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCocCQjViMk&t
20191002
Scrambled eggs for breakfast today.
Class later today.
More 'Don and the Giant Impeach' today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9HC8N5B2BI
There should be big news coming from the UK today.
Somehow I am not sure they will be that big. Boris Johnson "take it or leave it" offer will be met with a frosty reception at the EU and a flat rejection from Ireland.
Let's see what happens in today's episode of the Brexit saga.
Doing some work now with Radiohead in the background.
This afternoon we brought my dad to an Alzheimer workshop organised by AGADEA.
AGADEA (Asociación Galega para Axuda dos Enfermos con Demencia Tipo Alzheimer) just started this workshop in Boiro today and we were hoping that it somehow will help my dad.
Within an hour they called us (my mum) asking us to come and pick him up. He was in no condition to finish the class. Restless and just wanted to leave. So he was just too disruptive to the rest of people attending.
:(
I am now home, feeling a bit annoyed and sad ... so I am just going to read a bit of the British proposals for the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-proposals-for-a-new-protocol-on-irelandnorthern-ireland
Well, never had the chance to read it all ... my father dropped by to complain about the workshop. In the end I somehow managed to convince him to go back to the class under the condition that I would be there with him. So I went to the end of the workshop.
That left me no time for anything else.
After the workshop, rushed back home and grabbed my things to go to class.
And here I am now after arriving from Noia.
The class was highly enjoyable.
We started by discussing a couple of questions:
- Can a computer speak?
- Can a computer think?
- Can an animal speak?
- Can an animal think?
Of course, this questions were designed to provoke debate since they do not have black and white answers. All depends on definitions and we spent a very good few minutes having a lively discussion in our group.
Of course we discussed a little bit the Turing test, and it turned out that Manuel had an early demonstration of a program that some claimed had passed the test, ELIZA, created back in 1966.
After a general discussion and realising that the questions were philosophical and had no correct definite answer, we moved on.
We then watched a couple of videos and had to answer a few questions about them. This time the questions were definite and specific.
The first video was about the problem of computers translating languages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4BmV2t83SM
The video goes through the complexities of language translation and how computers take on those problems, without managing to 100% solve the problem. In the end it concludes that "for now learning a language the old fashion way will still give you better results that any currently available computer program".
But, who knows what will happen in the future.
The second video was about constructed languages, or conlangs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5mZ0R3h8m0
The video expands on the definition of conlangs and what makes them real languages. When is a conglang a language?
Famous examples include Klingon, Na'vi and Dothraki (I had never even heard of that one).
And of course the daddy of them all, Elvish, created by Tolkien.
It was all very enjoyable and interesting.
The class went by very quickly. I am not sure how will we manage to go through the Cambridge C1 book at this rate!
Next class, on Monday, we'll be starting with the 'Getting Started' section of Unit 1 in the book. Full of the joys of philosophy too! Looking forward to it!
Class later today.
More 'Don and the Giant Impeach' today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9HC8N5B2BI
There should be big news coming from the UK today.
Somehow I am not sure they will be that big. Boris Johnson "take it or leave it" offer will be met with a frosty reception at the EU and a flat rejection from Ireland.
Let's see what happens in today's episode of the Brexit saga.
Doing some work now with Radiohead in the background.
This afternoon we brought my dad to an Alzheimer workshop organised by AGADEA.
AGADEA (Asociación Galega para Axuda dos Enfermos con Demencia Tipo Alzheimer) just started this workshop in Boiro today and we were hoping that it somehow will help my dad.
Within an hour they called us (my mum) asking us to come and pick him up. He was in no condition to finish the class. Restless and just wanted to leave. So he was just too disruptive to the rest of people attending.
:(
I am now home, feeling a bit annoyed and sad ... so I am just going to read a bit of the British proposals for the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-proposals-for-a-new-protocol-on-irelandnorthern-ireland
Well, never had the chance to read it all ... my father dropped by to complain about the workshop. In the end I somehow managed to convince him to go back to the class under the condition that I would be there with him. So I went to the end of the workshop.
That left me no time for anything else.
After the workshop, rushed back home and grabbed my things to go to class.
And here I am now after arriving from Noia.
The class was highly enjoyable.
We started by discussing a couple of questions:
- Can a computer speak?
- Can a computer think?
- Can an animal speak?
- Can an animal think?
Of course, this questions were designed to provoke debate since they do not have black and white answers. All depends on definitions and we spent a very good few minutes having a lively discussion in our group.
Of course we discussed a little bit the Turing test, and it turned out that Manuel had an early demonstration of a program that some claimed had passed the test, ELIZA, created back in 1966.
After a general discussion and realising that the questions were philosophical and had no correct definite answer, we moved on.
We then watched a couple of videos and had to answer a few questions about them. This time the questions were definite and specific.
The first video was about the problem of computers translating languages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4BmV2t83SM
The video goes through the complexities of language translation and how computers take on those problems, without managing to 100% solve the problem. In the end it concludes that "for now learning a language the old fashion way will still give you better results that any currently available computer program".
But, who knows what will happen in the future.
The second video was about constructed languages, or conlangs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5mZ0R3h8m0
The video expands on the definition of conlangs and what makes them real languages. When is a conglang a language?
Famous examples include Klingon, Na'vi and Dothraki (I had never even heard of that one).
And of course the daddy of them all, Elvish, created by Tolkien.
It was all very enjoyable and interesting.
The class went by very quickly. I am not sure how will we manage to go through the Cambridge C1 book at this rate!
Next class, on Monday, we'll be starting with the 'Getting Started' section of Unit 1 in the book. Full of the joys of philosophy too! Looking forward to it!
20191001
Today I cooked, and the house smells delicious, even if I say so myself.
Blood sausage and chickpeas stew. Yummy!
Doing some work and watching some YouTube videos.
One of my daily watches is 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' for his monologues and interviews, although I don't watch all the interviews tbh.
I shared today's main monologue to the class in edmodo.
In this monologue Stephen goes through Trump's latest crazy tweets where he demands to know who the whistle-blower is and accussing the head of the House Intelligence Committee of treason. Mind blowing stuff!
Anyway, Stephen, as always, serves the news with a twist of humor and makes it all the more watchable for that.
Day coming to a close now. Watching some news items, mostly Brexit.
I saw a very interesting sit down interview on the BBC. Laura K interviews, or tries to, as the case may be, the PM Boris Johnson. Mostly about the chances of an agreement with the EU and what color do his intended proposals to the EU in relation to the Northern Ireland border take. Will he be able to reach an agreement?
Towards the end of the interview she also asks him about the more personal allegations of inappropriate behavior that came to light in the past few days.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49894249
Laura K is not adversarial as Andrew Neil, but she is no walk in the park either.
I shared the link to the class in edmodo.
Day coming to a close now. Watching some news items, mostly Brexit.
I saw a very interesting sit down interview on the BBC. Laura K interviews, or tries to, as the case may be, the PM Boris Johnson. Mostly about the chances of an agreement with the EU and what color do his intended proposals to the EU in relation to the Northern Ireland border take. Will he be able to reach an agreement?
Towards the end of the interview she also asks him about the more personal allegations of inappropriate behavior that came to light in the past few days.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49894249
Laura K is not adversarial as Andrew Neil, but she is no walk in the park either.
I shared the link to the class in edmodo.
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