Non-alcohol Day, 15th November

Don´t throw yourself away!

This slogan may be the starting point to convince you that drinking and specially at an early age can destroy yourself and cause irreversible problems to your future life.

This photo taken from a German awareness campaign about youth alcoholism, should serve to  rise awareness among Spanish teenagers today when we celebrate the non-alcohol Day.

                                          

                                                   Great artwork from McCann Erickson     

Bing drinking is on the rise in Spain. According to the Nationsl Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a safe level of drinking for men is two drinks per day and for women is one per day.

However, a recent Ministry of Health survey revealed that 50 % of teenagers are now getting drunk, a noticeable increase from the past.

In fact as the "botellon" phenomenon, young people meeting in outdoors places to drink, continues, college students have the opportunity to booze for hours, an activity that was unheard of with their parents´generation.

Bing drinking is very common among teens, but lots of people aren't aware that their drinking habits qualify as bingeing. Although it is well known that binge drinking can lead to long-term liver damage, brain damage and heart disease.

Source: The Olive Press

Tasks:

Find out what binge drinking means, the risks of bingeing on alcohol, and how to kick the habit.

BRAM STOKER

 Who´s Bram Stoker? If you look at the picture of the character that made him famous,  you´ ll  guess immediately who he was. Today on his 165 birthday, we have the opportunity  to learn something about his life.

                                                    
Abraham (Bram) Stoker was born November 8, 1847 in Dublin, Ireland. His father was a civil servant and his mother was charity worker and writer. Stoker was sickly child and spent a lot of time in bed. Growing up his mother told him a lot of horror stories which may have influenced his later writing.

In 1864 Stoker entered  Trinity College Dublin. While attending college he began working as an Irish civil servant. He also worked part time as a freelance journalist and drama critic. In 1876 he met Henry Irving, a famous actor, and they soon became friends. Not long after that, Stoker met and fell in love with an aspiring actress named Florence Balcombe. In 1878 Stoker accepted a job working in London as Irving´ s personal secretary. Stoker and Balcombe got married on December 4, 1878 and on December 9, they moved to England to join Irving.

His first book "The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland" though written while he was still in Dublin, was published in 1879. On December 30, 1879 Stoker and his wife had their only child, a son Noel. While in England Stoker also wrote several novels and short stories. His first book of fiction. "Under the Sunset", was published in 1881. Although best known for "Dracula", Stoker wrote eighteen books before his death in 1912. He died of exhaustion at the age of 64.

(Source: http://bramstoker.org/)

You also may like: Dracula´s homepage:

http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/index.html

Contrasting Photos

Contrasting photos is part of the activity that involves talking and describing pictures  in speaking lessons this year.
As a result of surfing the Net to look for photos, I found two useful powerpoints  that show you the way  to face this activity.
I hope they help you in your task.

Comparing and Contrasting photos from David Mainwood

Fce speaking part from Ascension Villalba

Channel to the Future

Channel to the Future by Sandra Sherwood. This is the book you have to read for this first term.

The plot tells the story of Jordan Connelly, the teenager who accidentally finds a mysterious channel on the family´s new Tv set. The Channel to the Future allows him to see events the day before they happen and he becomes a "prophet" overnight. He not only sees happy events but also serious and catastrophic disasters.

Will he be able to save people and avoid suffering?.

Read the book and see what happens.                                     

For Audio material and Activities, visit: http://www.burlingtonbooks.com/Spain/Page.aspx?PageID=237

The Ghost of Featherstone Castle

The Ghost of Featherstone Castle, written by Elspeth Rawstron, is the story you have to read for this term.

The main character, Robbie Sumner, a boy of your age  meets Heather on an adventure holiday in  Featherstone Castle and become friends. As it usually happens in castles, strange things happen there, including the appearance of a ghost.Your task is to discover who the ghost is.

Enjoy the reading!

For Audio material and Actvities on the book: http://www.burlingtonbooks.com/Spain/Page.aspx?PageID=235

The  video below  shows you the settings and historical landmarks of the region where the story of the Ghost of Featherstone Castle takes place. It will help you to understand better the influence of the Roman Empire in Great Britain.

 The Roman Empire´s legacy is important in  Great Britain, and as you can see in the reading, The Hadrian´s Wall is one of the most interesting wonders of the Ancient World.

  

"The Angel´s share"

 "The Angel´s share" a film by Ken Loach. Starring Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, William Ruane, Gary Maitland, Jasmin Riggins, and Siobhan Reilly. This is the title that you will be able to watch on 13th  November on the 10th anniversary of " Un día de Cine".

Plot: Narrowly avoiding jail, new dad Robbie vows to turn over a new leaf. A visit to a whisky distillery inspires him and his mates to seek a way out of their hopeless lives.

Tasks:
1. Read the review by the Guardian and answer the questions below.

Ken Loach's new movie arrives in the UK garlanded with the Cannes Jury Prize: a freewheeling social-realist comedy caper. In many ways this is his most relaxed and successful screen offering for some time. The Angels' Share could stand as a companion piece to his Sweet Sixteen (2002) or even his early classic Kes (1969), and of course, it also draws on the Ealing film Whisky Galore! Again, Loach has used non-professionals: his leading man is newcomer Paul Brannigan, playing Robbie, a young Glasgow criminal who finds himself sentenced to repaint a community centre with a bunch of lawbreaking dopes and dorks: Mo (Jasmin Riggins), Rhino (William Ruane) and Albert (Gary Maitland). The supervisor, Harry (John Henshaw), is a kindly soul who has a connoisseur's passion for whisky, and out of the goodness of his heart takes them on an outing to a distillery. Miraculously, Robbie turns out to have a "nose" – an untrained discerning judgment of whisky, perhaps like Billy's bird-training ability in Kes. He is intrigued by the fact that some whisky evaporates in the cask – the so-called "angels' share" – and the unreconstructed criminal in him wonders how he can get his share. How strange to compare the conclusion of The Angels' Share with that of Kes. Robbie and his mates are no angels, but the film finds a way of giving them something that real life can't or won't: a chance.

The Guardian.

Questions:

1. Has Loach won any award in recognition of this work?
2. What´s uncommon in the cast?
3. What´s a cask for?.
4. What do the characters in the film get in the end?

2. After watching the film, write your own review.

If you want to have a look at the best films of this great British film director, visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/KenLoachFilms