Universidad Europea de Madrid

Halloween Eve: Madrid, 1975

Halloween Eve: Madrid, 1975

In 1975 Halloween hadn’t yet arrived in Madrid. Only the foreigners, the ex-pat community celebrated this childhood classic at private parties and bilingual schools. Halloween costumes and decorations were nowhere to be found. October 31^st was the eve of All Saints Day, and that was that.

The film “Halloween” appeared a few years later. And then in 1982 a little extra-terrestrial named E.T. joined a group of trick-or-treaters and the world took notice: Steven Spielberg introduced Halloween to Spanish children. E.T. was surrounded by children in costume who had parties and went “trick-or-treating”. What fun! And they were on the big screen!

Over the last 30+ years Spanish children have seen more and more of Halloween in films and TV shows. And now Halloween is celebrated at schools. Whole aisles are devoted to witches costumes and draculas, pumpkins and Halloween décor at the local stores and supermarkets. It’s hard to ignore. Children demand to celebrate Halloween. The older generation don’t really approve.

Well, let’s get back to October, 1975. Girls had to be home at 10 pm. The Serenos patrolled every block. Things were pretty quiet and controlled. And we were going to have a Halloween party at my apartment! We were young! We didn’t realize that there could be any objection to this. Who could possibly care? Well, there were objections and not from the neighbors calling about too much noise. No, this party was stopped before it started. Someone from the Embassy called to say that more than 3 people at a time could be considered a political act, that wearing costumes was not acceptable either. Franco was terminally ill at the time, and our little party would not be appropriate.

Wendy

Publicado por shakespeare

A challenge! A goal! A necessity?

What's your biggest challenge right now? --To LEARN English or to IMPROVE your English! That's right. You need to be able to communicate in English, read in English, write and understand spoken English. And you need to do it NOW!

How are you going to do this? You're too busy! You work or study 9 or 10 hours a day. Then you have to get home and pay attention to your family. You need to spend at least a few minutes with your spouse and the kids. Or maybe you just need time for your friends.

Well, that's fine. It's important to have some free time. However you need to start working on your English NOW! Well, you really needed to start yesterday, or back in September, or on January 1st or many years ago. Unfortunately you didn't, so NOW is where we are, so....let's start right NOW! YOU have an "asignatura pendiente"

Question:

Are you going to learn English if you are in an entirely Spanish environment? NO. NO, you're not. What can you do, starting TODAY, to change that situation. How can you create an atmosphere more conducive to learning a second language?

That's right. Surround yourself with that language, in this case ENGLISH !

1.You like music. LISTEN TO it. Get a print out of the words and learn them. Read them! Sing them!

2. STOP and TALK to people you hear speaking English. Just say "Hello" or "Good Morning" and ask a question.---"Excuse me. "Where's X restaurant? -or-Do you know where Plaza Mayor is? -or-"Could you tell me where the bus stop is? ---Anything to start a conversation.

"I never see any English speakers," you say. That's just not true. There are many foreign students here at the university. Approach them. Talk to them. Other foreigners? Go to any of the major museums, train stations, tourist areas of town.

"I'm shy. I can't just walk up to a tourist". Yes, YOU CAN! Take a notebook. Write down 10 questions. Walk up to an English speaker and say you need some information for a BLOG in English and could they please help you. Your notebook makes you look like you're doing serious research. Be friendly: make a new friend.

3. Watch DVDs. Get foreign films. Watch them first in Spanish or your native language so you enjoy the film and understand everything. Then watch it again in ENGLISH with ENGLISH subtitles. Voilá....you understand much more than you thought you would. Watch a little bit or whole scenes again and again until you're comfortable with what you hear. Go back to the same film again a few days later.

4. Read! READ! READ! Get simple books, even children's stories. There's a lot of repetition in children's books. Just think about "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears", "The 3 little Pigs" That's too easy. Try "The Little Prince". That one's available in dozens of languages. Read to your children or brothers and sisters or to your mirror. Now we're combining quality time and language learning. Get adventure stories. Lots of past tense to review there. Read in your native language. Then read the same book in English.

5. Write! That's the hard one because you need someone to correct you. Keep a journal and go back and look at it months later. You can correct yourself! Send an email in English to a friend who knows the language better than you do. Hopefully that person will answer you, in English. Try it. Try chats. Emails and chats can become learning tools. Send a brief paragraph about yourself and see if someone who speaks English and wants to learn Spanish answers. Remember to include your name and email address.

6. This BLOG is here to encourage you. It's a way to get into contact with others. Send me a "comentario", a comment, about yourself. Don't forget to include your email address. We'll see if anyone writes back to you. Send me a paragraph about yourself and I'll put it on our bulletin board for other students to see. Remember to include your email address. Here's an example:

My name is Pepe Perez. I'm 20 years old and I study Advertising at the UEM. I live in Madrid, Spain, but I'd like to go to the US when I graduate. I'd like to exchange emails with another student. I can help you with your Spanish if you help me with my English. Pepe (email address).

"Mensaje recibido?" NO MORE EXCUSES! Learn English.

We're here to help you, and encourage you, and if necessary push you a little. The more English you speak, the more employment opportunities you will have. Take our advice. Start NOW. It's never too late.

Wendy

Vocabulary:

challenge: desafio

improve: mejorar

pay attention: prestar atención

spouse: marido o mujer

the kids: los críos

environment: ambiente, lugar

surround: envolver, meterse en medio

foreign: extranjero

approach: acercarse

mirror: espejo

tools: herramientas

bulletin board: tablón de anuncios

advertising: publicidad

encourage: animar

Publicado por shakespeare

Traffic on the bridge

There's always a lot of foot-traffic on the bridge at the UEM and this week was no exception. In fact, there were more people than usual. 18 NGOs, non-governmental volunteer organizations, set up their stands around campus and gave out information about volunteering on the bridge. UEM LAB Reporters were out there too, encouraging students and employees to register for English and handing out "I speak English" stickers. Lots of you stopped for a chat, in English, of course!

I speak English!
Mahou was there too. They were giving away free samples of their new Mixta, a low-alcohol content beer with lemon drink. It was thirst-quenching on a hot afternoon, and several students walked over the bridge again and again, collecting free bottles for an after-school party.

bridge = puente (long weekend = puente)

Wendy

Publicado por shakespeare

An inspiring book: "Three Cups of Tea"

"Three Cups of Tea" : One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time.

by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

This is an important book.......right now! It's an outsider's inside look at what schools mean to people who want to educate their children, especially their daughters, and can't. It shows first hand what Mortenson was willing to do to bring hope to isolated villages, in this case in Pakistan and Afganistan.

He found a need and found a way to fulfill that need, by building schools. Then he searched for collaborators and funds. And he's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Read it.

www.threecupsoftea.com

Publicado por shakespeare

The Blog experts at work !

The Blog experts at work! Here they are on a recent visit to the UEM LAB.

Oscar and Diego are always willing to help the bloggers get their acts together.

They are the problem solvers, the ones who work incognito. They keep the Blog up and going, and respond to the cries of , "Help! Ayúdame! I can't upload the photos." The spacing is off!" and a big etc. Thank you Oscar and Diego!

Wendy

Vocabulary:

are always willing: siempre están dispuestos

get your act together : espabílate

keep X up and going: mantenerlo activo
X is off: está mal

Publicado por shakespeare