 How to produce an activity set for ESL students:
The activity set will include 1) a 500-1,000-word text on a subject of your choice (please send me an email with the subject and source of the text to make sure it's ok for the site - ie is it original - i.e. yours - or from Wikipedia, etc? I'll attach a recommended list below.) (Note: It must not be copyright material. eg: Texts published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain. In the U.K. works are copyright for the author's life plus 70 years.), 2) two decent quality MP3 recordings of your reading of the text - one slow-speech recording and one normal-speed one, 3) a comprehensive vocabulary list extracted from the text with definitions and translations to Spanish (the text should have the words on the vocabulary list highlighted), and 4) 5-10 quiz questions with 1 correct answer and three wrong answers. I will make the Hotpotatoes activities myself.
Regarding the recordings, if you aren't familiar with doing recordings, here is a program (or app) that seems to work well in Ipad/Iphone: Audioboo. The advantages of doing these is that the Ipad and Iphone come with built-in microphones and at least you won't have to have the PC's own noise in the recording. (You might close the window if you're microphone is picking up street noise, for instance.) For a PC, you might try Totalrecorder or Audacity, but you'll need a microphone. Some general parameters for the quality settings of your PC version: 64kbps, 44 100 Hz Mono. The file shouldn't be much bigger than 20 megabytes. If it's too big, it's probably because the quality is set too high.
Here is an example of what I want to receive in an email:
Text:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Modified extracts from Wikipedia.
The Plot of the book:
The book opens with Greg Heffley saying how embarrassing it is to be having a journal with "diary" on the front and that when someone sees him with it will call him a "sissy". Greg also goes to mention that one day he will become rich and famous but for now he is "stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons".
Greg faces too many hardships, including Halloween. As Greg and Rowley go Trick-or-Treating, they anger some teenagers who chase them. They barely escape but manage to get to Greg's grandma's house, the teenagers see them inside and so Greg and Rowley taunt them. Not all goes to plan though and when they get home and Greg's dad, who was hassled by kids, throws water at them and the water soaks their candy.
The “Wizard of Oz” play is also a hardship for Greg, Patty Farell, who plays Dorothy, is coming on stage, and since Greg is a Tree, he thinks he can throw apples at her, but the director takes it out for health and safety. Mrs. Norton, the music director, tries to make the Trees sing an embarrassing song, but on the night nobody sings out of fear and the play is ruined.
Greg and Rowley's friendship is starting to fall apart. Greg invents a game where one person would throw a football to make the other fall off the “Big Wheel”, a gift Rowley got for Christmas, however when Rowley falls off, he breaks his arm. Greg is jealous of the attention Rowley is getting. Rowley is also framed for scaring kindergarteners, when it was Greg wearing Rowley's hat. When Greg confesses, Greg is kicked out, and Rowley is promoted. Rowley also declares himself the owner of a comic strip, “Zoo-Wee-Mama,” that was created by Greg and Rowley, but Greg drops out to make his own comic strip. The two stop being friends.
Greg and Rowley get into a fight at the blacktop, when the teenagers from Halloween come, and grab Greg and Rowley. They make Rowley eat the cheese, and are to make Greg do it too, but Greg finds a way out. The students however notice the cheese is gone. Greg, being a good friend to Rowley, lies and says he threw it away, but this gives Greg “the Cheese Touch.” Greg and Rowley become friends again, and Greg begins to see the good advantages of having the Cheese Touch.
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is the first book in a series about a middle-school child named Greg Heffley and his struggles in middle school and many hardships with his family. The original online book was read 20 million times on Funbrain.com, where you can still read the first book. The hardcover was released on April 1st 2007 and became a New York Times bestseller. A film of the same name was released on March 19, 2010.
See: Sample Hotpotatoes activity (notice the recordings)
Vocabulary words, definitions and translations list:
a diary – a journal; a notebook for writing about daily personal experiences (typically, the word “journal” is thought to be more masculine) (diario)
wimpy - timid and weak (debilucho)
a plot - the pattern of events or main story in a narrative or drama (argumento)
to open – to start (empezar)
embarrassing - an adjective that describes a situation that produces painful emotions of inadequacy or guilt (vergüenza)
a journal - a diary; a notebook for writing about daily personal experiences (typically, the word “diary” is thought to be more femenine) (diario)
a sissy – a timid, weak, effeminate and cowardly boy or man (gallina, mariquita)
stuck - trapped (past tense and past participle of “stick”) (atrapado)
a middle school - a school for 7th and 8th graders between elementary school and high school (escuela intermedia o media)
a bunch - a group (un montón o una pandilla)
a moron – an idiot or imbecile; a stupid person (un imbécil)
a hardship – extreme suffering (privación)
as - while; during the time (mientras)
Trick-or-Treating – a traditional activity in the U.S.A. where children visit neighbors and ask for candies (truco o susto)
chase – to follow someone rapidly in order to catch them (perseguir)
barely - to do something, but only by a little (a little slower and they would have been caught by the teenagers) (apenas)
manage to get to - to succeed in arriving somewhere (lograr llegar)
to taunt - to provoke a reaction using criticism or insults (mofarse o reirse de)
to go to plan - to proceed according to the scheme or method (salir como está previsto)
though - although (aunque)
to hassle - to argue with or bother (molestar, fastidiar)
a kid – a child (un niño)
to soak - to make completely wet (empapar)
a candy – a sweet (un caramelo)
a play - a drama performed on a stage (una obra)
to play a character – to perform a role in a play (hacer un papel)
to come on stage – to go on a platform where plays or theatrical performances are presented (entrar en el escenario)
since - because (porque)
to take it out - to remove it (sacar lo)
out of fear - because they’re afraid (por miedo)
a friendship - a condition of having a very close and sociable relationship (amistad)
to fall apart – to collapse; to break down (derrumbarse, collapsarse)
to make the other fall off - to cause the other person to fall from something (hacer que el otro se caiga de)
a gift - a present (un regalo)
jealous - envious and afraid of losing affection or position (celoso)
to frame - to catch a “criminal” falsely with fabricated evidence (tender una trampa)
kindergartener – a child who attends preschool (escuela preescolar)
to be kicked out – to be directed to leave; to be rejected (ser rechazado y echado)
to promote – to advance to the next higher level or grade (ascender)
to declare – to tell officially; to affirm (declarar)
the owner - the person who possesses property (propietario)
a comic strip – a sequence or series of drawings in a newspaper such as Calvin and Dobbes and the Adventures of Tintin (historieta o tira cómica)
to drop out – to quit; to stop participation (dejar de pertenecer)
to get into a fight - to hit each other; to have conflict (pelearse)
the blacktop – the playground (el patio)
to grab - to take or hold suddenly (coger o agarrar)
to make somebody do something - to force someone to do something (forzarle a alguien que haga algo)
somebody is to do something – somebody is obliged or forced to do something (alguien es obligado a hacer algo)
to find a way out – to find a way to escape the problem (encontrar una forma de escapar algo)
the “Cheese Touch” – an imaginary infection created by schoolchildren in the story (el toque del queso)
an advantage – a beneficial factor (una ventaja)
struggles - difficulties or problems that make for difficult progress (problemas o dificultades que hacen que el progreso sea díficil)
a “hardcover” – a type of book that has a hard exterior instead of a soft exterior (libro de tapa dura)
to be released - to be published; to be put on the market (ser estrenado)
a bestseller – a book that is identified as extremely popular (éxito de ventas)
See: Sample Hotpotatoes activity (notice that this activity will be placed first in the set)
Quiz questions:
What did Greg and Rowley do to the teenagers?
C they taunted them
X they took them to Greg's grandma's house
X they chased them
X they threw water at them
Who was hassled?
X Greg's Grandma
X the teenagers
C Greg's dad
X Patty Farell
How did Rowley break his arm?
X he was framed
X he fell off a Big Wheel
C Greg broke it by accident
X Greg was jealous
What happened to Greg and Rowley's candy?
C Greg's dad got the candy wet
X Greg and Rowley ate the candy
X the kids got the candy wet
X the teenagers ate the candy
Why is the diary embarrassing to Greg Heffley?
X because Greg's friend is a "sissy"
X because Greg is stuck in the middle of a bunch of morons
X because Greg faces a lot of hardships at Halloween
C because dairies are for girls and journals are for boys
Why did nobody sing the Tree song in the "Wizard of Oz" play?
X because they wanted to ruin the play
C because it was too embarrassing
X because Greg played Patty Farell
X because they Greg threw apples at Patty
Why did Greg and Rowley NOT end their friendship?
C they stopped being friends because Greg got the "Cheese Touch"
X they stopped being friends because Rowley stole the comic strip, "Zoo-Wee-Mama"
X they stopped being friends because Rowley was jealous of the attention that Greg was receiving
X they stopped being friends because they got into a fight at the blacktop
Why do the teenagers chase Greg and Rowley?
C because Greg and Rowley angered them
X because the teenagers were crazy
X because Greg and Rowley were Trick-or-Treating
X because Greg and Rowley manage them
See: Sample Hotpotatoes activity Here's an example activity set by one of your fellow teachers:  The Spanish Financial Crisis 2008-11 - Actividades para leer y escuchar de Hotpotatoes - Vocabulary, Cloze, Quiz.
A few options that I've already prepared for any collaborator:
1:
Iron Sky.
Modified
extracts from Wikipedia (Creative Commons).
Iron
Sky is a 2012 science-fiction comedy film spoof.
In
1945, at the end of World War II, top German scientists under the control of
Hans Kammler make a breakthrough in antigravity research. They launch two SS submarines to the Antarctic, where they have established a secret base for
studying space-travel technology. From there, Nazi spaceships are sent to the dark
side of the Moon where they hole up on the military base "Black Sun" that
they have established. The base becomes a permanent home for the Nazis where
they prepare themselves for war during the next 63 years by studying Earth
technology, advancing Nazi weapons technology and building a powerful fleet of space
battleships
In
2018, the fanatical descendants of the Nazis under the control of chief bungler General Klaus Adler (Götz Otto) and Lieutenant Renate Richter (Julia Dietze),
are preparing a final strike to finally accomplish what their ancestors had unsuccessfully set out to do, conquer the Earth once and for all. The space Nazis set their
evil plans into motion with an invasion of the USA but the new President (Stephanie
Paul), who apparently looks like past presidential candidate Sarah Palin, has contingency plans and secret weapons of her own to put a stop to the invasion.
Iron
Sky is one of a new wave of productions, including “Artemis Eternal”, “The
Cosmonaut”, “A Swarm of Angels” and “RiP!: A Remix Manifesto”, produced in collaboration
with an online community of film enthusiasts who are creating a new kind of
participatory cinema. At Wreck-a-Movie (http://www.wreckamovie.com/),
a collaborative film-making web site, the producers have invited everyone
interested in chipping in with their ideas and creativity to read the tasks given to the community and to take a shot (write an entry) or perhaps even become
a collaborator in a worknet film production community. The service doesn't
distinguish between "professionals" and "amateurs", but
emphasizes enthusiasm instead. Indeed, with enthusiastic crowd funding the
producers of the film were able to kickstart production of Iron Sky with $1,300,000.
In another example of crowdsourcing in Iron Sky, around 200 unpaid extras appeared in a scene from the movie. Wreckamovie is considered a model example
of the potential of Web 2.0 social media. As a business model it presents the
exact opposite of the traditional way of making movies. With it a community
creates and distributes the film, and only then, once popularity has already
been gained, profitability steps in.
The
space Nazis theme is already evident in Robert A. Heinlein's “Rocket Ship
Galileo”, published just two years after the end of WWII, where Nazis found on
the Moon originated from the just-defeated Nazi Germany on Earth. A similar
premise has also been used in many other novels, video games, movies and episodes
in TV series.
Read by . . . for MadridTeacher.com.
Resources
http://www.ironsky.net/
http://youtu.be/_Ctt8ecJi8o
RIP! A remix manifesto
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2107903,00.html
Are Germans Ready to Laugh at a Film About Nazis from Space?
http://youtu.be/kNDaOFQ6g2I Iron Sky
Teaser 3 - We Come In Peace!
http://youtu.be/Xn4DW1uvsAE
Space nazis attack! Iron Sky teaser 720P HD 2.
The
Tulsa Race Riot.
Modified
extracts from Wikipedia (Creative Commons).
The
Tulsa Race Riot was a large-scale racially motivated conflict
which took place on the 31st of May of 1921 between the white
and black communities of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the U.S.A. in which the wealthiest
African-American community in the United States, the Greenwood District also
known as 'The Negro Wall Street', was burned to the ground.
The
area was home to several prominent black businessmen, many of them multimillionaires.
Greenwood boasted a variety of thriving businesses that were very
successful up until the Tulsa Race Riot. Not only did African Americans want to
contribute to the success of their own shops, but also the racial
segregation laws prevented them from shopping anywhere other
than Greenwood. Following the riots, the area was rebuilt and thrived
until the 1960s when desegregation allowed blacks to shop in
areas that were restricted before.
Aerial fire bombing of black residential neighborhoods was
reported. During the 16 hours of the assault, over 800 people were admitted
to local hospitals with injuries, more than 6,000 Greenwood residents
were arrested and detained at three local facilities. An estimated 10,000 were
left homeless, and 35 city blocks composed of 1,256
residences were destroyed by fire. The official count of the dead by the
Oklahoma Department of Vital Statistics was 36, but other estimates of black fatalities
have been up to about 300.
The
buildings on Greenwood Avenue housed the offices of almost all of
Tulsa’s black lawyers, realtors, doctors, and other professionals.
In Tulsa at the time of the riot, there were fifteen well-known African
American physicians, one of whom, Dr. A. C. Jackson, was considered the “most
able Negro surgeon in America” by one of the Mayo brothers. Dr. Jackson
was shot to death as he left his house during the riot. Greenwood published two
newspapers, the Tulsa Star and the Oklahoma Sun, which covered not only
Tulsa, but also state and national news and elections. Buildings housing the
two papers were destroyed during the riot.
In
the early 20th century, lynchings were not uncommon in Oklahoma, as part
of a continuing effort by whites to maintain social dominance. Between the
declaration of statehood on November 16, 1907, and the Tulsa race riot
13 years later, 31 persons were lynched in Oklahoma; 26 were black and most
were men. The Ku Klux Klan had made its first major appearance in Oklahoma shortly
before the worst race riot in history. It is estimated that there were about
3,200 members of the Klan in Tulsa in 1921.
The
events of the riot were omitted from local and state history; "The
Tulsa race riot of 1921 was rarely mentioned in history books, classrooms or
even in private. Blacks and whites alike grew into middle age unaware
of what had taken place." In 1996, the state legislature commissioned
a report, completed in 2001, to establish the historical record. It has approved
some compensatory actions, such as scholarships for descendants
of survivors, economic development of Greenwood, and a memorial park, dedicated
in 2010, to the victims in Tulsa.
Read by . . . for MadridTeacher.com. 3. Google Defends Hotfile (and Megaupload) in Court.
Copyleft by Ernesto, March 19, 2012 on Torrentfreak.com.
Google has filed a brief at a federal court in Florida defending the file-hosting site Hotfile in its case against the MPAA. The search giant accuses the movie companies of misleading the court and argues that Hotfile is protected under the DMCA’s safe harbor. Indirectly, Google is also refuting claims being made by the US government in the criminal case against Megaupload.
In February 2011, the MPAA announced a lawsuit against Hotfile, one of the Internet’s most popular cyberlocker services.
The site’s popularity is “a direct result of the massive digital theft that Hotfile promotes,” the movie industry group said.
Two weeks ago the movie studios asked the court to issue a summary judgment against Hotfile and shut the site down. The MPAA argues that Hotfile is a piracy haven that should not be eligible for DMCA safe harbor protection.
This request didn’t go unnoticed by Google, who have now filed an amicus brief in support of the file-hosting site. According to Google, the movie studios are misleading the court by wrongfully suggesting that Hotfile is not protected by the DMCA.
What makes this even more interesting is that many of the arguments made by Google are also relevant to the criminal indictment against Megaupload.
In their brief, Google points out that YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia are able to thrive because they are protected by the DMCA. But, if the MPAA has its way, these and other services will be in serious trouble.
“Without the protections afforded by the safe harbors, those services might have been forced to fundamentally alter their operations or might never have launched in the first place,” Google writes in the brief.
The MPAA has argued that Hotfile has no right to exist because it’s used predominantly for copyright-infringing purposes. Google replies to this by arguing that it’s irrelevant how many infringements there are. Under the DMCA it would only be problematic if Hotfile is aware of each and every individual pirated file on its systems.
“The case-law uniformly rejects efforts to deprive service providers of the safe harbor based on generalized awareness that unspecified (or even ‘rampant’) infringement is occurring on their services,” Google writes.
Google continues to say that the DMCA specifically states that service providers such as Hotfile can’t lose their safe harbor protection because they refuse to filter content upon request from the movie companies.
“It guards against any claim that a service provider loses the safe harbor by failing to ‘adopt specific filtering technology’ or any other technique suggested by copyright owners for affirmatively seeking out possible infringement occurring on its service.”
Google stresses that the burden to report and identify pirated material lies with the copyright holder, not Hotfile, and suggests that the MPAA tried to mislead the court to believe otherwise.
“The Court should not be misled. It should resist any effort to shift the investigatory burden that Congress deliberately allocated to copyright owners or to impose on Hotfile policing obligations of which it is specifically relieved by the DMCA,” Google writes.
Moving on to another issue, one that’s also key in the criminal case against Megaupload, Google says that there’s nothing wrong with only removing links to files.
Both the MPAA and the US Government claim that it’s wrong for Hotfile to delete links but keep the actual files on their servers, but Google disagrees.
“Plaintiffs make much of the fact that Hotfile, at least for a time, apparently removed only the specific download link identified as infringing in a given DMCA takedown notice, and did not take the additional step of blocking other files on its system (not called out in the notice) that might have also have contained the copyrighted work at issue,” they write.
“But, in this respect, Hotfile did exactly what the DMCA demands, and plaintiffs’ takedown notices cannot be used to charge the service with knowledge of allegedly infringing material that those notices did not specifically identify.”
This is an interesting observation that does indeed make sense. While Google doesn’t mention it, removing the actual files would indeed be overbroad and wrong. For example, if an artist stores his files on Hotfile but wants to take unauthorized copies offline, he or she would not want Hotfile to delete the original as well. The same is true for YouTube videos and a variety of other content.
At the end of the brief Google asks the court to “reject plaintiffs’ efforts to undermine the protections provided by the statute’s safe harbors” and dismiss the motion for default judgment against Hotfile.
While Google’s interest in the Hotfile case is no surprise (they rely heavily on the DMCA themselves), it is intriguing to see that Google is fiercely defending Hotfile and in part Megaupload.
After all the attacks on cyberlocker sites in recent months Google’s support will be welcomed with open arms by the file-hosting industry. Whether the MPAA will be very happy is a different story.
Update: MPAA just asked the court to deny Google’s amicus brief. They argue that Google’s perspective is one-sided and that the company acts as a partisan advocate for Hotfile.
Read by . . . for MadridTeacher.com.
Resources: http://torrentfreak.com/google-defends-hotfile-and-megaupload-in-court-120319/
4.
The Battle of Saipan.
Modified extracts from Wikipedia.
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from the 15th of June to the 9th of July of 1944. By the end of the battle, almost the entire garrison of 30,000 troops on the island had died, as well as some 20,000 Japanese civilians. For the Americans, the victory was the most costly up to that date in the Pacific War. 2,949 Americans were killed and 10,464 wounded, out of the 71,000 who had landed.
By the 7th of July, the Japanese had nowhere to retreat. Lieutenant General Saito made plans for a final suicidal banzai charge. On the fate of the remaining civilians on the island, Saito said, "There is no longer any distinction between civilians and troops. It would be better for them to join in the attack with bamboo spears than be captured." At dawn, with a group of 12 men carrying a great red flag in the lead, the remaining 3,000 able-bodied troops charged forward in the final attack. Amazingly, behind them came the barely armed wounded, with bandaged heads and crutches. The Japanese surged over the American front lines, engaging both Army and Marine units. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 105th U.S. Infantry were almost destroyed, losing 650 killed and wounded. However, the fierce resistance of these two battalions, as well as that of Headquarters Company, 105th Infantry, and elements of 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines (an artillery unit) resulted in over 4,300 Japanese killed. For their actions during the 15-hour Japanese attack, three men of the 105th Infantry were awarded the Medal of Honor—all posthumously. Numerous others fought the Japanese until they were overwhelmed by the largest Japanese Banzai attack in the Pacific War.
The weapons and tactics of the close quarter fighting also resulted in high civilian casualties. Civilian shelters were located virtually everywhere on the island, with very little difference noticeable to the attacking Marines. The standard method of clearing suspected bunkers was with high-explosive and/or high-explosives augmented with petroleum (e.g. gelignite, napalm, diesel fuel). In such conditions, high civilian casualties were inevitable.
Emperor Hirohito personally found the threat of defection of Japanese civilians disturbing. Much of the community was of low caste, and there was a risk that live civilians would be surprised by generous U.S. treatment. Native Japanese sympathizers would hand the Americans a powerful propaganda weapon to subvert the "fighting spirit" of Japan in radio broadcasts. At the end of June, Hirohito sent out an imperial order encouraging the civilians of Saipan to commit suicide. The order authorized the commander of Saipan to promise civilians who died there an equal spiritual status in the afterlife with those of soldiers perishing in combat. General Hideki Tojo intercepted the order on the 30th of June and delayed its sending, but it went out anyway the next day. By the time the Marines advanced on the north tip of the island, from the 8th to the 12th of July, most of the damage had been done. 1,000 Japanese civilians committed suicide in the last days of the battle to take the offered privileged place in the afterlife, some jumping from "Suicide Cliff".
Read by . . . for MadridTeacher.com
Resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNusk-NUoWs
5.
Modified extracts from essays by John Burroughs.
The other day a clergyman who described himself as a preacher of the gospel of Christ wrote, asking me to come and talk to his people on the gospel of Nature. . . . What had all my many years of journeyings to Nature yielded me that would supplement or reinforce the gospel he was preaching? Had the birds taught me any valuable lessons? Had the four-footed beasts? Had the insects? Had the flowers, the trees, the soil, the coming and the going of the seasons? Had I really found sermons in stones, books in running brooks and good in everything? Had the lilies of the field, that neither toil nor spin, and yet are more royally clad than Solomon in all his glory, helped me in any way to clothe myself with humility, with justice, with truthfulness?
It is not easy for one to say just what he owes to all these things. Natural influences work indirectly as well as directly; they work upon the subconscious, as well as upon the conscious, self. That I am a saner, healthier, more contented man, with truer standards of life, for all my loiterings in the fields and woods, I am fully convinced.
That I am less social, less interested in my neighbors and in the body politic, more inclined to shirk civic and social responsibilities and to stop my ears against the brawling of the reformers, is perhaps equally true.
One thing is certain, in a hygienic way I owe much to my excursions to Nature. They have helped to clothe me with health, if not with humility; they have helped sharpen and attune all my senses; they have kept my eyes in such good trim that they have not failed me for one moment during all the seventy-five years I have had them; they have made my sense of smell so keen that I have much pleasure in the wild, open-air perfumes, especially in the spring--the delicate breath of the blooming elms and maples and willows, the breath of the woods, of the pastures, of the shore. This keen, healthy sense of smell has made me abhor tobacco and flee from close rooms, and put the stench of cities behind me. I fancy that this whole world of wild, natural perfumes is lost to the tobacco-user and to the city-dweller. Senses trained in the open air are in tune with open-air objects; they are quick, delicate, and discriminating. When I go to town, my ear suffers as well as my nose: the impact of the city upon my senses is hard and dissonant; the ear is stunned, the nose is outraged, and the eye is confused. When I come back, I go to Nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in tune once more.
The longer I live the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and wonder of the world . . . I have loved the feel of the grass under my feet, and the sound of the running streams by my side. The hum of the wind in the treetops has always been good music to me, and the face of the fields has often comforted me more than the faces of men. I am in love with this world . . . I have tilled its soil, I have gathered its harvest, I have waited upon its seasons, and always have I reaped what I have sown. I have climbed its mountains, roamed its forests, sailed its waters, crossed its deserts, felt the sting of its frosts, the oppression of its heats, the drench of its rains, the fury of its winds, and always have beauty and joy waited upon my goings and comings.
To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
Resources: http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/21513/
A couple of options for a collaborator who isn't comfortable doing a recording:
1: This text is from a video on Youtube (linked below).
Mystery Times:
I just read an article the other day about Jack the Ripper, which a sort of, well, a mystery story because nobody really knows who killed those five women, you know? It was actually just between a, in a seven month period, five women were killed. Two on the same day. And what, what the mystery is, is first of all, they never found the guy, and second of all, well, you know there are suspects that it was Queen Victoria’s grandson, who was maybe a Freemason, who, you know, there was all these . . . And there, but there were other suspects as well. The question is also, like, why did they stop all of a sudden, you know? Like, why did he kill those, just those five women? And so there are theories that maybe he killed them, you know, because there was some sort of plan, diabolic plan that he had and he, and, or these women had some sort of relation between each other and once he killed the five of them that’s, that was it. He’d finished his plan. Or, maybe it’s because people started suspecting who it was, and he just wanted to, you know, disappear off the map and not do any more.
Yeah.
But, but that’s a bit of a mystery, you know? But there are lots of things like that there are mysteries, like for example, Nazca planes, in Peru.
Oh, yeah!
You know? Do you know a little bit about it?
I know . . . I’ve never been there. My boyfriend has, but I know that some of them are so large you can see the designs from outer space, apparently. And, many . . .
Like the, like the Great Wall of China.
Yeah, OK, fair enough. But, some people believe that they are tracks for alien landings and what not. Spaceship tracks.
Yeah.
Or runways, I suppose you could call them.
Spaceship runways.
Yeah. If spaceships run, I don’t know.
The thing is, like, how could they, how could people have made those, like if you could only see them from the, even if it’s not from outer space but from an airplane, like . . . how have, could people have engraved these in the, you know?
That’s a good point.
They’re deep, aren’t they? They’re about . . . two feet deep or something?
Yeah.
They’re huge. Yeah, they’re huge.
Yeah, they’re enormous.
Yeah it would have been difficult to sort of plan it out, to see it from, from the sky.
Another thing are the Moais, or I think it’s pronounced Moais. The ones in Easter Island, those big statues, you know?
Oh yeah.
Like all the bodies are facing one direction, and all the heads are facing another direction. But I mean the heads are like, they weigh like a ton. And how, how can they move these big heads from one end of the island to the other? Like thousands of years ago, like, they didn’t have any, you know modern equipment, or anything to carry these big heads. But the thing is that the head and the body are perfectly aligned. So . . . you know? Like, it wouldn’t be like just any old head, you know, lined up. Like, it perfectly matches . . . so, that’s a very, that’s a sort of mysterious thing.
There are no surveys or anything. How did they do it? It’s just ‘cause, if you think about it, it’s not, there’s. . .
It’s a mystery still, isn’t it? Like Stonehenge, I suppose. They don’t know exactly where the stones came from, or how they were erected, but it happened.
Yes, that’s right.
Is Easter Island the place where it’s an island that obviously used to have a population but, for the past hundred years or so, nobody’s lived there?
Well, it belongs to Chile. I mean, it’s the, it, it belongs to . . . I don’t, I, I actually . . .
But it’s uninhabited.
Is it? Yeah.
I don’t know . . .
They did, there was some deforestation, I think, and they were unable to support themselves on the island. Some . . .
Yeah, that’s what I heard. With the possibility that they used the trees to move the stones.
Well, there’s a movie about that called, Rapanui, which is about, there, there were two tribes of people on this island, and there were always competing with each other. Some of them had long ears and the other ones had short ears.
Oh?
Yeah, it’s, it’s a really cool movie, actually. And it talks about that mystery. And it talks about how possibly, that one group, well, they were like slaves to the other group. And how they made them carry these heads to the other side like you were saying, like, you know, sort of like when you think of the pyramids, you know? How they built the pyramids, you know? With all the slaves that they used and everything, so . . .
Magnetic force fields.
So that explains more or less how they did it, then? Or how do they think they did it.
That’s right, it’s a theory. That’s right. Of how they, you know, they sort of had big, you know, logs, and they just sort of rolled them, you know? And of course, people got squished and people got, you know, killed along the way, you know, like, like the pyramids.
It’s a bit different, I suppose, to the Loch Ness Monster, isn’t it? You know, you, you probably know a lot about that.
About the Loch Ness Monster?
Yeah.
I heard recently that the cast of Allo, Allo went on a boat on Loch Ness, and, I know, but while they were on their boat, the sonar started bleeping and allegedly, they found something very, very deep in the loch, and they didn’t know what it was.
Vocabulary list:
sort of
suspects
Freemason
all of a sudden
theory
diabolic
disappear off the map
plane
outer space
apparently
fair enough
tracks
landings
what not
runway
the thing is
engraved
that's a good point
enormous
plan something out
Easter Island
I mean
aligned
lined up
perfectly matches
surveys
belong to
uninhabited
deforestation
Magnetic force fields
log
to roll
squish
sonar
bleeping
allegedly
Resources
http://youtu.be/zEDq17SeJDk
2. Listen to this recording and prepare a transcript like the one above for Mystery Times. Title: "Goats apparently have accents." CC from: Tech News Today 439: A Delicious Dish Of Spectrum. Time: 2 minutes, 15 seconds from: 33:00-35.15. http://twit.tv.
3.
Listen to this recording and prepare a transcript like the one above for Mystery Times. Title: "The New SOPA: CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing Protection Act)." CC from: Tech News Today 479: Redundant Array Of Crabs. Time: 9 minutes, 30 seconds from: 21.32-31.02. http://twit.tv.
Resources: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57413627-93/say-hello-to-cispa-it-will-remind-you-of-sopa/
4.
Make a vocabulary list with definitions and translations and the comprehension questions (and answers) for "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe (Public Domain). Text, MP3.
5.
Make up a list of 3 example sentences of each of a list of 10 words chosen from this list of vocabulary words: MS Doc (or send me a list of possible candidates that you prefer) and give their corresponding definitions and translations. Then, make a couple of recordings (normal speed and slow) of the sentences and definitions. (Don't read out the spanish translation. Use just one meaning of a word. For the moment, use words that you would want your more advanced students to be able to use.)
A set of example words that have already been made into an activity set:
to pander - to cater to the lower tastes and desires of others or exploit their weaknesses, especially in order to make money. (complacer, ceder, condescender) Examples: “The Republicans’ debates this year are pandering to the public's worst tastes.” “Politicians have to pander to their constituents’ desires.” “Child soldiers are abused on a large scale to pander to the malafide interests of adults.”
to nitpick - to meticulously search for minor, even trivial errors in detail, and then criticize them. (sacarle faltas a todo) Example: “His wife nitpicks about everything: from how he washes the dishes to how he makes the bed.” “The politician refused to pander to his constituents’ nitpicking about his former wives.” “When he was at the house and changing the baby and she was nitpicking everything, she was getting on my nerves.”
to get/give/take a shellacking – to defeat decisively; to strike repeatedly and severely; to batter. (paliza) Examples: “The basketball team took a 100-65 shellacking from the almighty LA Lakers.” “Good news! I'm not dying after all! My cold is retreating slowly and my chest is giving this cough a right old shellacking.” “Conservatives got a public shellacking by unions protesting outside the Supreme Court on Monday.”
visceral (adjective) - perceived/obtained through intuition (by illogical means from the gut) rather than from reasoning or observation. (visceral) Examples: “Ballet choreographers began to tap into the visceral power of modern-dance movement.” “I equally deplore the mirror image of that: the visceral contempt that one sometimes reads about and hears expressed (in the media) in the United States about Europe.” “I think the Mario series has been loved and supported for so long because whichever game you look at in the series, it has that visceral pleasure in operating it.”
a riddle, to riddle - a question or statement requiring thought to answer or understand; a puzzle; a difficult problem. (acertijo, adivinanza) Examples: “Riddle me this: the more light there is, the less of me you see, what am I?” “A friend who's always e-mailing me things sent me a riddle the other day about the difference between a mother and a Rottweiler (answer: the mother eventually let's go)." "This is a riddle of our existence, the full answer to which may be only in the mind of God.”
to convey - to communicate or make known; impart; to pass on information. (comunicar, expresar) Examples: “One of most intimate human gestures, a kiss can convey greetings, give comfort, and show love.” “Some languages sound faster than others but most convey information at the same rate.” “There are no magic words that convey an instantaneous understanding of religion.”
compelling (adjective) – convincing, persuasive, arousing strong interest, having a powerful effect. (convincente, irresistible, apasionante) Examples: “The author of Hunger Games should be mortified that a movie made a more compelling narrative than her novel.” “Here are some compelling photos of how we use, abuse, and depend on water in our lives for World Water Day.” “At a time when we are confronted with a series of crises, including the financial crisis, we find a compelling and urgent need for the disarmament and non-proliferation agenda to move ahead in an expeditious manner.”
to belittle - to represent or speak of as contemptibly small or unimportant; to disparage; to cause to make small. (menospreciar, quitar importancia a, minimizar) Examples: “Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Petty people always do that.” “Never belittle the fear as a way of forcing your child to overcome it.” “The more they feel belittled, the less they feel able to demand that they be accorded the minimum of respect.” “Just because I am a woman they belittle me, she said to loud cheers.”
utter (adjective) - complete; absolute; entire. (completo, total) Examples: “The assistance of volunteers makes it possible to reduce the proportion of the population living in utter poverty.” “I can't stand the argument that one can't criticise sportsmen unless you've played at the highest level. It's utter nonsense.” I'm never angrier at myself than when I feel the need to explain myself to someone who has already shown their utter disregard for me.”
to dwell - to think moodily or anxiously about something; to fasten one's attention on something (dar vueltas a, pensar obsesivamente en). Examples: “Nothing lasts forever, not even your problems, so don't dwell on them too long.” “Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward.” “Learn from the past, don't dwell on it.”
See: Vocabulary List 1 Cloze, Vocabulary List 1 Quiz,
by Victoria Fontana. This activity is linked from this page: Vocabulario - inglés.
Resources:
Brainy Quote
Wiktionary
Concordancer
Linguee
The free dictionary
Google Tranlsator
Twitter (Good for example sentences.)
Word Reference
1,000 Word Vocabulary list
Technical Vocabulary
Gutenberg
Urban dictionary
Here are a few lists that you can choose one from to make activities if you like:
A list of verbs:
to threaten – to give warning as a source of danger to express danger of harm (in this context)
to acknowledge - to admit the existence, reality, or truth of.
to blame – to hold responsible
to claim – to state (assert or maintain) to be true, especially when open to question to state to be true, especially when open to question. - Afirmar.
to debut
to enhance - improve, make better
to flee – to run away, escape
to heckle – try to embarrass and annoy with irritating questions, comments, etc.
to neglect
to overshare to divulge excessive personal information, as in a blog or broadcast interview, prompting reactions ranging from alarmed discomfort to approval
A list of verbs:
to apologize - to say you’re sorry
to denounce
to discourage
to lack – carecer
to praise – to express admiration and approval (elogiar)
to float
to squeeze – to press hard together, compress
to suck - to draw or pull as if by suction: adolescents who are sucked into a life of crime.
to undermine
to dispute
A list of verbs:
to tumble
to flag (weaken)
to boost
to dwindle
to fade
to lull
to lurch
to sprawl
to pour
to offset - to cancel or reduce the effect of. (Compensar)
A list of verbs:
to endulge
to endanger
to hail
to hitchhike
to poach
to quieten
to ransack
to rig
to slaughter – to kill animals (matanza)
to weld
Phrasal verbs with "out":
to sort out
to break out
to carry out
to be kicked out – to be directed to leave; to be rejected (ser rechazado y echado)
to call out - to say something in a loud voice so that everyone can hear it. - decir en voz alta.
to catch somebody out – pillar a alguien
to come out, "a party game that came out" - appear on the market. - Salir (al mercado).
to cry out against – to protest.
to draw something out
to drop out – to quit, to withdraw from participation in a sport, to stop participation, to stop going to a school, college, etc., before finishing (dejar de pertenecer, abandonar)
Phrasal verbs with "out":
to figure out - to solve or discover the solution to a problem. - averiguar. (You can "figure it out," but you can't "figure out it." However, you can "figure the problem out" and you can "figure out the problem." I.e. You can't end the phrasal verb with a pronoun.)
to freak someone out - to cause someone to get very upset or nervous. - Hacer que alguien le de un ataque de nervios. (You can "freak him out," but you can't "freak out him." However, you can "freak Michael out" and you can "freak out Michael." I.e. You can't end the phrasal verb with a pronoun.)
to hang out with somebody - ir con alguien (informal)
to kick somebody out – poner a alguien de patitas en la calle
to point out – call attention to something, señalar algo
to sell out – existencias agotadas
to set out - salir de viaje o empezar un viaje (similar to “to start out”)
to spit out - soltar
to take it out - to remove it (sacar lo)
to wear out – gastar, to use completely. For example, if you “wear” clothes for a very long time, you can use them up completely or “wear them out”.
to pull out
to plan out -
Two phrasal verbs from earlier lists which you can add to a phrasal verb list above as a review:
to splash out – to spend freely or extravagantly on things that you want, but don’t need. (gastar libremente, derrochar dinero) Examples: "The unemployed are unlikely to splash out on a new 3D TV." “We splashed out on an expensive dinner.” “I’m going to splash out and buy him a PS3 with a couple of video games.”
to turn out - to end up; to result: The cake turned out beautifully. (resultó ser que ...) Examples: “Their nuclear device could turn out to be the biggest suicide bomb the world has ever seen." "Sometimes the warning signs turn out to be false alarms." “Things may not always turn out the way you want them to, but even in disappointing times there is still reason to hope.”
Phrasal verbs off
to cart off
to wear off
to go off
to set off
to polish off - zampar
to pull something off - conseguir con éxito
to put off
to pay off
to write off
to break off
to live off
Phrasal verbs off
to rub off on somebody – pegarselo a alguien
to make the other fall off - to cause the other person to fall from something (hacer que el otro se caiga de)
to lay off
to call off
to take off (to start to do well)
to bring off
to show it off – presumir de algo
to finish off
to carry off
to start off - salir de viaje o empezar un viaje (similar to “to set out”)
to cut off
to leave off - I start where the last man left off. Thomas A. Edison
Phrasal verbs with “up”
to catch up
to pick up – to take in one’s hands
to fill something up
to own up
to get caught up in something / get tangled up in something – engancharse / enredarse en algo
to get wrapped up in detail - Envolverse en detalles sin importancia
to give up - renounce. - Renunciar. "You have to give up one of your points." - Pierdes uno de tus puntos.
to grow up - madurar
to head up – dirigirse hacia al norte
to hold up - to continue to function without losing force or effectiveness. - Resistir o mantenerse firme frente a otras cosas. "Attribute tends to hold up a little better with people you don't like" - Attribute suele aguantar un poco mejor con personas que no te caen bien.
to wind up + ing (doing, going, working, etc.) – acabar haciendo, yendo, trabajando
Phrasal verbs with “up”
to live up to – to prove equal to
to pick up – to continue
to pull up – to put something on or pull in an upwards direction (synonym: perhaps to “put on”, in this context)
to round up – to find and bring together, gather.
to sit up and take notice - hacer caso
to come up with, "to come up with an idea" - to occur in the mind. - Ocurrírsete una idea.
to draw up – hacer parar un vehículo
to tear up torn up – divided/split/cut into little parts
to take it up a notch - to make something a little more challenging; a notch is a level. - Subirlo de nivel.
to wipe up - limpiar, secar (con un paño)
to wise up - espabilarse
A phrasal verb from earlier lists which you can add to a phrasal verb list above as a review:
to spice up - to add something to make it more interesting. (añadir un poco de picante, estimular, condimentar). Examples: “Visit the Itunes store to get instant access to music, games and all the other stuff you need to spice up your iPhone and iPad.” “Google is hard at work trying to spice up its Google+ social network.”
A list of linkers (etc.):
although (linker) - despite the fact that aunque
despite – a pesar de
due to – because of
hence – for this reason, therefore
in fact – de hecho
luckily - afortunadamente por suerte
specifically - concretamente
thereafter – after that
whereas – while on the contrary, while at the same time
unlike – not like or similar. a diferencia de A list of linkers (etc.):
consequently - as a result or effect or consequence of; therefore; because of the reason given (por consiguiente, por lo tanto) “In 1843, a Parisian street mime got stuck in his imaginary box and consequently died of starvation.” “It turns out that laughing burns calories. Consequently, I work out a lot!” “I keep hitting the EN/ES button on my phone . . . and consequently, only Spanish words come up. I don't speak Spanish!”
unless - except on the condition that; except under the circumstances that; if something doesn’t happen (a menos que, a no ser que) “The sound of children laughing makes me happy. Unless I'm home alone and my power goes out.” “Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as a reality in your own mind.” “It's time to follow your passion, stop living someone else's life because people rarely succeed unless they have fun at what they are doing.”
as for
bear in mind -Bear in mind that there is no such thing as a satisfactory superficial education.
. . .“talk low, talk slow and don't talk too much”. Bear this in mind when you are planning your presentation . . .
by and large
likewise
undoubtedly
indeed
whether ... or whether by commission or omission the eager teacher’s first two projects were shot down in their infancy.
Otherwise - in another way, differently under other circumstances
A list of adjectives (etc.):
boisterous - referring to a rough, loud, rude, noisy and out of control group of people. - Escandaloso.
convoluted - intricate, complicated. - Complicado, enrevesado.
disrespectful – rude, discourteous, showing no respect
lucid – mentally rational in an especially clear and transparent way
notorious – infamous, famous in a negative way
outrageous – scandalous, having extreme disregard for morality
puffy (adjective) – inflated
relentless (adjective) – sustained, persistent
scarce (adjective)
remarkable their remarkable idiocy - su suprema imbecilidad
A list of adjectives (etc.):
accountable – “Creating the right financial, fiscal and democratically accountable institutions to match Europe’s single currency will take a long time.”
underlying – “Relying on austerity alone in a shrinking economy is a recipe for deflation and depression that could easily end up worsening the underlying fiscal position.”
disruptive – “Like all revolutions, this one will be disruptive.”
grimy – “They will not be full of grimy machines manned by men in oily overalls.”
momentous Catan 3D Collector's Edition: To commemorate this momentous and joyous event, a special edition is being created. Today was my last day of law school classes, ever. It was a momentous occasion. If the IRA's words are borne out by verified actions, it will be a momentous and historic development.
outrageous
quaint
brazen - “Her most brazen move yet came this week with the nationalisation of 51% of YPF, the former state oil company, belonging to Spain’s Repsol.”
spare - “The days when projects ground to a halt for want of a piece of kit, or when customers complained that they could no longer find spare parts for things they had bought, will one day seem quaint.”
piddling - "Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner."
A list of nouns:
a bailout - a rescue from financial distress.
a bid
a buyout – the acquisition of a majority share of a company
a currency
a disclaimer – descargo de responsabilidad
a gambler – a person who places a bet or wager on the outcome of a game or race
a line - a group of things arranged in a series a series of products or merchandise of a similar or related nature
a perk - perks of the job - privilegios del trabajo.
a promotion: the act of moving someone to a higher or more important position or rank in an organization. (ascenso)
a shortfall
A list of nouns:
a whim
adrift
antics
austerity - “An austerity budget aims at a huge €27 billion cut in the deficit.”
chivalry
fate
recklessness
complaceny
treachery
a fellowship - a close association of friends or equals sharing similar interests.
Some expressions:
to look the other way
to scrape the barrel
to sate appetite
to nail something
to ground to a halt
to burst bubbles
to hold a grudge - guardar rencor
to be loathe to see
to take your chances - I'm taking my chances - I'm running the risks
to keep something to yourself – guardar algo para uno mismo
to make someone cringe in pain – me hace encogerme de dolor
More information:
The activities would be placed temporarily (probably at least a few years) here:
http://www.madridteacher.com/estudiar-y-aprender-ingles.htm
The activities would also be placed permanently on their respective pages here:
http://www.madridteacher.com/ingles.htm
If you don't like any of the text options I've set out for you above, send me your own and let me have a look at it. If you want to do your own, a general list of topics to start with would include ones that fall into these categories (I'll link some possible candidates for activity sets on Wikipedia.):
Anecdotes
Books and Comics
Business English
Crime
Curious things
Current events
Death
Economy
Education
Energy
Exercise
Sports
Films
Food
Recipes
The Future
Global Warming
Happiness
Health
Holidays
Homes
Job Interview
Memory
Men and Women Same-sex marriage in Spain, Wife Selling
New Technologies
Cool gadgets for students
People
Personality
Pets and Animals
Science
Songs and Poems
Stress
Television
Tourism
My Last Vacation
Transportation
Video Games
War
Weather
For reference, here's all the vocabulary that we've looked up so far (which I've remembered to put on these lists). all adjectives, etc., all linkers, etc., all nouns, etc., all verbs, etc..
Any Copyleft or Creative Commons article would be a legitimate resource, but not anything that is Copyright. Example
Creative Commons sites:
Wikipedia
http://twit.tv
http://librivox.org/short-story-collection-001
http://www.storyofstuff.org
http://www.yesmagazine.org
gutenberg - famous passages from public domain books (500 words for context)
http://www.wikihow.com
Environment:
http://onthecommons.org/creator-story-stuff-shows-whats-stake-commons-assets
Company
Requires English Teachers
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Alternative: Autobiographical article
I'm currently interested in getting one kind of article from teachers:
the autobiographical "What I did and what happened to me
while I was in Madrid" article. This is probably the easiest
and most pleasant article for teachers to write. If you came,
saw and conquered (or not), why not let others know how you
did it? Other future teachers will appreciate knowing what happened
to you, both good and bad.
The best thing for you about writing
this article is that it needs zero research and writing experience.
Everyone just wants to know about your experiences here in a
direct way. The basic article is easy to write but I do want you to show that
you've put some deep thought into it and that you've learned something
important from your experiences. It doesn't matter to me whether
you're completely new and inexperienced in English teaching and
/ or Madrid. In fact, I'm very interested in what you've experienced
in order to both get here and get settled in. In other words,
if you're new here, for example, you're still going through the
process which means it's all still really fresh to you as your
reactions will be: i.e. your TEFL course, getting a room, putting
up with stinky roommates, looking for a job, opening a bank account,
etc. etc... Have you had any mishaps? Surprises? Shocks? Good
things? Bad things? Are you worried? Anxious? Excited? Care free?
Are you disillusioned and overwhelmed or is it a cake-walk? Do
you recommend people do something or not do something else? etc.
etc. In the article, I want to know who you are (or were), what
made you decide to come over here in the first place and is it
what you expected it to be. I want to know what happened and your
reactions. Obviously, the whys and why nots aren't as easy to
understand or to write about.
Above all, don't just assume that there's something I don't want
to hear about because it's either too negative or too light. Take
a risk, there's always time to edit it later and we can work on
the article together if need be. (i.e. there are some things which
I cannot print due to the legal difficulties it might cause the
site, but we can usually work around them.)
I'd rather have you answer all those questions in one article.
What I'm looking for is something general, but focus on whatever
anecdotes or information (resulting from your personal experiences)
that you think will be most interesting to your readers (other
teachers that are either working or thinking of working in Madrid,
Spain).
The so-called "writing style" of the article is not important.
Whether they know it or not, everyone has a writing style: their
own personal "voice" or the way they speak. I'm not interested
in your sounding like an article in People magazine. I'm interested
in hearing you in the article in the same way that you speak and
think about things.
There are some other autobiographical articles here for you to
look at: The
Experience is Waiting for You,
Part 2: The Wrap Up! by Trent Brock, Adrian
in Spain, My
Experience in Madrid,
Mary, Monica
and this one on Transitions
Abroad.
By the way, Photos are obligatory. (Maybe in front of a monument?)
I need at least 1,500 words. Also, if you just got here, you might
consider doing two articles, one when a little bit after you get
here and another one when you leave.
Here's an alternative take on the autobiographical article (make an activity set from it):
 About William Christison - Actividades para leer y escuchar de Hotpotatoes - Vocabulary, Cloze, Quiz.
In addition:
If you like, make up a profile page like William's at: Clases Particulares de Inglés |
 
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