brief summary of class

academic vocabulary book: 16, 33, reference at back US vs British English
advanced grammar in use:  44-48 articles

beans on toast video
cask of amontillado for next class

Articles

Here are some links to useful information on articles.

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives-determiners-the-a-an.htm
http://www.usingenglish.com/handouts/50.html
http://www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/grammar-reference/nouns-and-phrases/countability-and-noun-types-article/152822.article

Poets in our midst

Tuesday, 4:42 pm

There is a guy in the room next door

His voice, a drill in my ear

But I guess I can do nothing more

Than try to relax and sit right here

But I wish I had a spoon in my pocket

To pull his eyes out of their sockets

                                                      Xavi

Ode to Public Transport

A train quickly crosses a city 

The windows show busy people

Going to work which is a great pity

Because they waste their time, which is little

Doing things they do not want to make

And feeling it makes them ache.

                                Pau

A Real Picture

Reflections of the sky on the quiet lake

Give the sense of the depth of the universe

An upside down picture will make

A sight, where the space seems immense

Lost the reference of gravity, the world appears

As a void, or a fiction, but it's more real.

                                                 Isabela

 

What is an "Empty Suit"?

Quick recap of what we did today:

Went over academic writings,
Read, discussed poems,
Did dictionary bluff activity
Groundhouse films trailer--Werewolf Women of the SS

Homework: work on an academic writing, and enjoy your "puente" (long weekend)!

Academic Writing Continued

Today we starting off talking about the Pope's visit to Barcelona, and discovered that Ruben was actually there in the Sagrada Familia!  I think that had to have been a remarkable experience...
We spent the rest of class working on academic writing: analyzing an abstract, listening to some advice on writing abstracts from Texas A&M, and providing some feedback to each other on our own writing.

Vocabulary:
He can write a creative abstract and get away with it because he's famous.
word of mouth
mouth to mouth
pitch an idea (promover?) = to attempt to promote or sell
ex. pitch a movie idea to a producer, give a sales pitch


Homework:
Bring a writing (abstract, introduction, paper) to class next time.  If possible, bring copies to share.
Optional: Watch the TED presentation embedded below.  We will discuss it in class next time.
Translate: How do  you translate "sobre la marcha"?
Curiosity: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/09/action-plants-time-l.html


 Movie Recommendations: A River Runs Through It, The Social Network

Link to TED talk by the artist Chris Jordan (among other things, image of cigarettes)
For a transcript and more options, go directly to TED.com 

Academic Writing

Check the previous post for a summary of class today.  As for links to academic writing, I will put them to the immediate right on the blog cover page...
Have a good week!
Lewis

Every man for himself!

When the ship began to sink, it was every man for himself.  I mentioned this in reference to waiting in line in Spain at the health clinic or bakery.  It's survival of the fittest...
Today we:
exchanged articles to be read for homework,
read about modern health problems and listened to an article speaking about the dangers of alcohol,
proposed and discussed changes to the health care system in Spain.

Next week we'll take a look at a guide to academic writing.

Homework: read article, and formulate 5 questions about drugs and society.