Movie Releases

More and more adult are watching cartoons, and these two movies made for older viewers are garanteed to amaze.
Two new Animated films for  adults are released, and both of them with good prospects: "Chico and Rita", 2012 Nominated Oscar Award toBest Animated Feature, and "Wrinkles"  (Arrugas), 2012 Nominated Goya Award to Best Screeplay- Adapted.

CHICO and RITA.

Spain will be present at the 84th Academy Awards with the film "Chico and Rita", which is up for Best Animated Film.

Javier Mariscal who co-directed with Oscar-winner Fernando Trueba, heard the nod in Barcelona.
"We all know the Oscars are a lottery, but credit goes out to the people who rewarded an independent animation film for adults like ours", he said. "They gave their backings to a movie that is not part of the industry, and that´s taking a risk".
Source: El País.

The Plot:  Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unite them., but their journey- in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero- brings heartache and torment. From Havana to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas, two passionate individuals battle impossible odds to unite in music and love. 

Courtyard Rumba (Chico and Rita)

Tasks:

1. Listen to Trueba and Mariscal talking about the film.



2. Add True or False.

In Trueba´s words:

a. Not  every movie is a sensual experience, watching something in the dark. T/ F

b. Watching Chico and Rita is especial, because of the image drawn, the music...It´s like a feast for him. T/ F

c. Young people discover the music of the period, jazz and Latin music in the film.

T/ F

d. Chico and Rita can´t be compared to a painting you like in a Museum. T/ F

e. Trueba doesn´t like that people fall in love with the characters, because Chico and Rita are not real people. T/F 

In Mariscal´s words:

a. Going to the cinema gives you hapiness and you forget your problems. T/F

b. Chico and Rita isn´t a classical movie. T/F

c. The Scene when Chico is playing the piano and Rita dancing, arises viewers´desire to be in tha bar and have a table there.  T/ F

d. He thinks he  and the young belong to a similar decade. T/F

e. He didn´t have to study  or read about that period of time, because he knew a lot about the 40´s and 50´s. T/F

This is not the first time Mariscal and Trueba work together . It was "Calle 44"movie  when they met and became friends.

"WRINKLES" (Arrugas)

Dedicated to "all the old people of today and all the old people of tomorrow". It is an eye-opening exploration of a topic too often sidelined by popular culture.

Animation "Arrugas" offers an eye-opening portrait of old age. It is based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Paco Roca. It´s a Spanish animated about where all of us going but few of us stop to consider. It´s the story of Emilio, a retired bank manager showing signs of dementia, who´s deposited in a Galicia retirement home where he strikes up a friendship with wheeler-dealer roommate Miguel. As Emilio´s health deteriorates, Miguel agrees to help him avoid a dreaded move to the upstairs ward for continuous care patients. The hand-drawn animation may jerk along, but there´s no denying the effectiveness of director Ignacio Ferreras´visual storytelling. Especially neat is the way it incorporates the characters´fantasy worlds into the narrative: the opening scene, which collapses from Emilio arguing over a mortgage in his office to rowing over his soup in his bed, is a perfect encapsulation of bthe tradegy of old age.

Source: El País.





Tasks:
1. Read the article and watch the trailers of the film.
2. Answer the following questions about the movie:
a. The group of ederly people are full of energy today, what two types of exercises do they have to do?
b. How do you define Agustín´s character? What disability does he seem to have?
c. Why can´t Eugenia and Dolores go on with the exercise?
d. Apart from deafness, what other disability is suffered by another of the characters.
e. Who is a clumsy person in the group? Why?
f. Did the group beat the record in the end? If so, by how much?

3. Write five feelings that the characters of the film evoke or suggest you.
4. What features and skills do you think Miss Anna have?

Writing an essay

Writing an essay is not an easy activity for many students, it needs brainstorming, vocabulary knowledge,  practice, and  some   tips to follow to improve your writing skills. If you want to learn vocabulary and organizational skills for writing, follow this link and practice:   

 Writing a college essay

 http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/theclassroom/activities/#

When writing an essay you need to know a range of vocabulary not only related to the topic but also structural and academic vocabulary to make your essay stronger.

In order to improve your writing about some PAU topics, here you are some online interactive exercises to practise on:
1. Education: compulsory education.
http://www.dcielts.com/AWL/essays/compulsory-education.htm
2. Education: the curriculum
http://www.dcielts.com/AWL/essays/school-curriculum.htm
3. Families and modern life.
http://www.dcielts.com/AWL/essays/modern-family.htm
4. Television.
http://www.dcielts.com/AWL/essays/television.htm
5. Nuclear technology.
http://www.dcielts.com/AWL/essays/nuclear.htm
6. Diet and health education.
http://www.dcielts.com/AWL/essays/diet.htm
7. Homes.
http://www.dcielts.com/AWL/essays/homes.htm
8. Unemployment.
http://www.dcielts.com/AWL/essays/unemployment.htm

Year of the Dragon starts on 23rd January 2012

Happy New Year 2012, Year of the Dragon!

The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday of the year for Chinese people.The festival traditionally begins on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month in the Chinese calendar, and lasts for 15 days.

There  are three ways to name a Chinese year:

1. By an animal (like a mascot)

2. By its Formal Name (Stem-Branch)

3. In the  "Stem- Branch" system, the years are counted in 60-year Cycles, so that the Name of the Year is repeated every 60 years. A "Cycle" is analogous to a "century" in the International Calendar system which is 100 years long.

Each year is also designated by one of the 12 animals: Rat Ox Tiger Hare Dragon Snake Horse Sheep Monkey Rooster Dog Pig (in English).

This system is extremely practical. A child does not have to learn a new answer to the question, "How old are you?" in each new year. Old people often lose track of their age, because they are rarely asked about their present age. Every one just have to remember that he or she was born in the " Year of the Dog " or whatever.Thus, instead of asking the question " How old are you? ", ask the person " in which (animal) year were you born ?"

Source: http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html

 

2012 Year of the Dragon

 Tasks:

1. Watch the video of the 12 Chinese Animals Zodiac, and decide in which animal year you were born.

2. Make a list of your features depending on your animal Year.  

 

National radio plays 75 years

RNE 75 years with us! But let´s see its beginning....
Origins of RNE

Radio Nacional de España officially came into existence in Salamanca on 19 January 1937, at the height of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and was dependent on the recently created Delegación de Estado para Prensa y Propaganda (State Delegation for Press and Propaganda). The station's studios were in Palacio de Anaya, the headquarters of the Oficina de Prensa y Propaganda (Office for Press and Propaganda) whose first directors were also those of RNE.

The first transmitter, made by Telefunken and having a broadcasting power of 20 kW, was a gift from Nazi Germany to the Francoist Estado Nuevo.

It was then that the immense propaganda potential of radio became apparent, and beginning 14 June 1937 RNE became the nationalist’s radio masthead. Until then, this distinction had been held by Radio Castilla de Burgos, which produced the information and propaganda that all of the radio stations that had fallen into the hands of the nationalist forces had been obliged to transmit.

During this era and the early years of the Second World War, until the arrival of the Allies in Italy in 1943 and the German retreat from Stalingrad, RNE collaborated with the Axis powers to retransmit in Spanish news from the official radio stations of Germany and Italy.

Source: Wikipedia

Tasks: 

1. As Radio, TV and Mass Media are included in PAU topics, how about starting reading about RNE origins and evolution to present days. It may be a good way to celebrate its 75 bithday.

http://www.panoramaaudiovisual.com/en/2012/01/19/national-radio-is-75-years-and-celebrates-with-a-travelling-exhibition/

2. Then, you can revise some vocabulary and terms related to radio.

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus/british/radio

You can also look up words related to radio in the urban Dictionary:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Radio%20Station%20Withdrawal

3. Listen to Kerri talks about she gets her news and info to keep in touch with the world. 

http://www.elllo.org/english/0101/116-Kerri-Media.htm

4. There are some great British and American Radio Broadcasts free to listen to. So you haven´t got excuses! Visit the link and choose among them: BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7. BBC World Service. NP12, One Word, Radio Australia and VOA.

http://www.learnenglish.de/Level1/TasteOf/broadcastpage.htm

 

Newspapers in English

Today, mass media is generally divided into7 branches. These "seven mass media", in order of their introduction are:

1. Print (books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, etc.) from the late 15th century
2. Recordings  magnetic tapes, cassettes, cartridges, CDs, DVDs) from the late 19th century
3. Cinema from about 1900
4. Radio from about 1910
5. Television from about 1950
6. Internet from about 1990

   7.   Mobile phones from about 2000

Each mass media has its own content types, its own creative artists and technicians, and its own business model. The sixth and seventh media, internet and mobile, are often called collectively as digital media; and the fourth and fifth, radio and TV, as broadcast media.

Newspapers, Types and Formats

There are a wide number of newspaper types and formats, but three in particular tend to be used above all other in the UK. These are broadsheet, Berliner and tabloid.

Some formats seem to have been used by newspapers with particular kinds of content, leading to the formats being associated with the seriousness of the publication.

Broadsheets are generally thought to be the purview of high-quality journalism, but they are also large and cumbersome, unsuited to reading on public transport. The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, as well as The Sunday Times and the Financial Times, are all broadsheet newspapers in the UK by format.

Other papers that fit the high-quality journalism standard of broadsheets, but use a smaller format similar to the tabloid, called the ‘compact’ format, are The Observer, The Times and The Independent.

newspapers.co.

Here you are the links to some of the most important and  serious newspapers:

THE GUARDIAN (UK) 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

THE INDEPENDENT(UK)
 http://www.independent.co.uk/

THE NEW YORK TIMES (USA)
http://global.nytimes.com/

LOS ANGELES TIMES (USA)
http://www.latimes.com/

BRITISH MEDIA ONLINE.  UK Newspapers: national, local, daily, weekly, plus major magazines and portals.
http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/britnews.htm

EL PAÍS IN ENGLISH (Spain)
http://www.elpais.com/english/

Tasks:
1. Read what´s in the news.
2. Listen to: where these people get their news.
http://www.elllo.org/english/Mixer/41-NewsSource.html
3. Listen  to: what part of the newspaper these people read first.
 http://www.elllo.org/english/Mixer/42-NewsPart.html
4. Listen to Simon and Todd discuss newspapers.
http://www.elllo.org/english/0401/416-Simon-Paper.htm

The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher is a major contender for the 1012 Oscars!

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Stars: Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent

Rated: PG-13



In The Iron Lady, we meet the first and still the only female prime minister in Britain’s history in something like present time, long after her glory days. (Thatcher is now 86.) In flashback, we are introduced to her as a young student, and later as an accomplished middle-aged politician. Originally Lloyd thought she would need three different actresses for the role. Enter Streep, who convinced Lloyd she could believably be Margaret from age 49, at which point she took the lead of England’s Conservative Party, well into her 80s. (Welsh newcomer Alexandra Roach portrays Thatcher in her youth). Thanks to some very adept make-up, applied by J. Roy Helland, and Streep’s gift of inhabiting real-life characters, the actress channels Thatcher through those years — in voice, expression, gesture and stature.

We all know Thatcher held her own with male political leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. We know she had a reputation for being almost anti-feminine, ruthless with her nearly all-male cabinet and, at times, dangerously decisive. Ingeniously, Lloyd presents Thatcher completely against type. Because the film centers on Thatcher late in life, after she has lost her husband and soul mate, Denis (played tenderly by English actor Jim Broadbent), it exposes her vulnerability. We can relate to this Thatcher, a devoted partner in a loving, romantic marriage — a woman who can’t let go of her husband, even in death.

By Bill Newcott

If you want to watch a subtitled version, link to: http://youtu.be/83oOgNJmMSY
You can also listen to Meryl Streep  talking about her role in the film in an interview by the BBC:  http://youtu.be/Tkhz6te9xfc

Tasks:
1. Watch the videos and verify how astonishing Meryl Streep´s performance is.
2. Read the movie review and find synonyms for the following terms taken from it:

Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
Newcomer	Adept Ruthless Anti-femenine	Channel(-s) Portray(-s) Expose(-s)	Believably Tenderly

3. And if you are a cinemagoer, learn English through movies.
Watch, listen and read at the same time, and study the vocabulary and script. And when you are ready, take a quiz.
For a start, you can choose among the following titles:

TITANIC  http://youtu.be/KD6r4wsAjd8

CASTLE ROCK  http://youtu.be/oKK0hpCzwKg

DREAM WORKS  http://youtu.be/FqLpOEf7gF4

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING  http://youtu.be/4D8pnm3cSzM

I hope you enjoy  watching these trailers, an enjoyable way to learning English! 

 

The Three Wise Men are coming...

Have you written your letter to the Three Wise Men yet? If not, what are you waiting for?



Although as you know, Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar only bring presents to those who have behaved themselves all the year around. Do you deserve all the presents that you have asked for, or perhaps only some of them or none at all?  

If not, don´t worry! New year´s resolutions also count.

New Year's Resolution List

Tasks:
1. Watch the video  and see if any of these resolutions are the same as yours.
If not, write a list of your goals for the new year. 
2. Revise how to write letters and the tips on letter-writing, by visiting this site:

http://penpallingandletters.blogspot.com/p/tips-to-write-letters.html