MAKE Vs DO (Part 1)

Last week, during my usual Wednesday class, I was asked to explain the difference between the verbs “make” and “do”; no easy matter, I can tell you! I started by saying that we use do mainly for duties and obligations, whereas make is used for building something (this was no time, and certainly not the right level, for complicated explanations). Some of the examples I used were, “make a car” and “do your homework”. The ensuing silence seemed to indicate that no further explanations were needed.

I was just about to change the subject when someone asked:” Can I make a favour?” “No,” I said. “You don’t make favours, you do favours”. “And, can I do a suggestion?” “No, you can’t,” I replied. “You make a suggestion.” Fifteen pairs of unconvinced eyes stared at me during several seconds. They were obviously confused. Just then, a shy female voice from the back row asked: “Why?”!!!!! I was trapped. “Look,” I said, “I understand you. You’d like to know the difference, but it isn’t easy to see it. English is based more on the evolution of the Anglo-Saxon languages and the influences of French and Latin than on rigid rules. So, you will find occasional contradictions and/or situations where both verbs can be used. Why don’t we discuss it at our next lesson and I’ll bring you some notes to help you see it more clearly.”

So, there goes my weekend! I shall prepare the material I need for my class and post it here at the same time. In the meantime, here are some links with interesting quizzes to test your understanding of the two verbs in question. Some are aimed at Spanish speaking students so the instructions may be in Spanish. Enjoy.
Quiz http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blmakedo1.htm
http://www.better-english.com/vocabulary/makedo.htm
http://www.quia.com/pop/84958.html?AP_rand=840467976
http://www.iescampanillas.org/ingles/activities/make%20and%20do/make_do.htm
http://www.iescampanillas.org/ingles/activities/make%20and%20do/makedo2.htm

THE "ROCIO" MASS

(Pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Rocio in Spain)

Last Sunday I went to mass; not something I've been doing a lot just recently. The occasion was very special. A close friend invited me, just as she had done several years ago, to attend a "Rocio" mass in the near-by town of Badalona, a very short distance from Barcelona. This particular mass takes place on the last Sunday of every month. It's actually called "Misa Rociera" in Spanish and is named after Our Lady of Rocio.

It would seem that during the XIII century, King Alfonso X, known as "the Wise", had a chapel built in the territory known as "Las Rocinas", an area he had reconquered from the Moors and where he enjoyed hunting. This sanctuary contains a life-size wooden statue of Our lady, apparently found by a hunter. Further information of interest can be found at the following link.

http://www.elrocio.net/page2.html

The special feature that makes the Rocio mass so unique is its music. A group of "Rocieros", devout followers of Our Lady of Rocio, dressed in the typical Andalusian costumes of the region, sing the official songs of the mass, as well as others, in the traditional flamenco style of the South of Spain. The experience is so emotive that it really is difficult to hold back the tears; I certainly couldn't. The high point of the mass is usually the "Salve", though there are times when they don't sing it.

Here's a video with a selection of photographs (I couldn't find a decent film of the mass) and the "Salve" sung by "Ecos del Rocio" or "Gente del Gines" - I'm not quite sure - and offered by kakiera on youtube.com. Lyrics follow the video in original language (Spanish). Translation, and other pictures, on the left.Thank you kakiera and thank you youtube.com for your excellent iniciative. I really do hope you'll enjoy this and that you'll find the experience as. or at least almost as, spiritually enriching as I did.

For other versions of this beautiful song, try searching for "salve rociera" in youtube.com. In particular, I recommend this other version from Isabel Pantoja's concert at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona. The standing ovation lasted four minutes! The song comes after the ovation-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YClSepfy_BM

There's also a beautiful version by Rocio Jurado-namesake of the virgin- who died a couple of years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrxsfBkszdQ&feature=related

For a more popular version, try this one from the singers at the Virgin's Sanctuary of Almonte, the village where it all took place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ6Y-dP1lnc&feature=related

Dios te salve María, del Rocío Señora, luna, sol, norte y guía, y pastora celestial.

Dios te salve María, todo el pueblo te adora, y repite a porfía, como tu no hay otra igual.

Oléééééé, olé / olé, olé, olé / olé, olé, olé, olé, olé,olé, olé, olé,olé,olé,olé / olé, olé, olé,

al Rocío yo quiero volver, a cantarle a la Virgen con fé,

con un Oléééééé...............................................................................................................

Dios te salve María, manantial de dulzura, a tus pies noche y día, te venimos a rezar.

Dios te salve María, un rosal de hermosura, eres tú, madre mía, de pureza virgina

Oléééééé, olé / olé, olé, olé / olé, olé, olé, olé, olé,olé, olé, olé,olé,olé,olé / olé, olé, olé,

al Rocío yo quiero volver, a cantarle a la Virgen con fé,
con un Olé...............................................................................................................

NEW COURSE AND THE CRISIS

Summer's over and classes have begun. The new course has been inaugurated and the first students have started to learn English or, in the case of previous years' students, are busy revising what they've learnt so far.

The CRISIS, however, has taken its toll and I thought the cartoon on the left was particularly apt for the occasion! It reads:

We’re sorry… we just can’t afford to send you to the kinds of schools where the guys who wrecked the economy went! )

There are fewer classes; fewer students; fewer grants; less work; less teaching hours. Result: more time for writing. So, I'm taking advantage to put on paper some ideas, revise my work and send copies to book competitions, agents and publishers in the hope that someone will, in the words of ABBA, "take a chance on me"!

Getting a book published is proving to be really difficult. Publishers don't want to take risks on new, unknown writers and prefer to stick to classics and outstanding authors. Unfortunately I'm neither one nor the other; I just write reasonably good (I am told) stories for children and adolescents.

However, time will tell. In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

PLAY-OFF (2)

Incredible! We made it to the semi-finals.

The team we played against, Viladecans, was reputed to be much stronger and, on paper, they were. Their top four players all had much higher ratings than our top four players. Further down, the bottom four were more evenly matched. I was lucky and won in fifteen moves (anyone interested in the game can send me a mail. I'll be happy to provide it). Our top two players lost and then our player number 5 won. So, there we were, 2-2, with four games to go. Each team won and additional game. So, with 3 points to them, from the first four boards, and 3 points to us, from the bottom four boards, it looked as if the match would end up in a draw, which would have favoured them, as the top boards score more in a tie. However, Lady Luck was on out side and we managed to win the last two games, giving us an outstanding victory of 5-3.

We're now through to the semi-finals, which will be played on Sunday. Another strong opponent, apparently.

Wish us luck!

FEBRUARY

Nice month, February. What with Carnaval (great fun) and St. Valentine's day (Love, love, love) there will be plenty to do.... I hope. Furthermore, it's a short month - only 28 days before we get paid again!

So, to all of you out there, I wish a very happy month. May the joyful celebrations of Mardis Gras bring unprecedented cheer into your life and may Cupid's arrows find their way to your heart.

FINANCIAL CRISIS

"Laugh and the whole world laughs with you," - says the song. - "Cry and you cry alone!"
So there's a new financial crisis. I don't know about you, but I think I've had enough bad news this year, so I'm all for a good laugh. I hope you'll join me. Here are the views of two famous comedians on the on- going financial crisis (with Spanish subtitles for my Catalan and Spanish students).

WELCOME BACK TO THE NEW ACADEMIC COURSE

Well, summer came and whispered sweet things in my ear,
as it flew south across the border.
But now that autumn's chill begins and winter's near
I start to feel a little colder ...
and a little older!

Welcome back. I hope you've all had an enjoyable summer holiday (those of you who live in the northern hemisphere, that is!). Summer went by all too fast for me - which explains my little poem above - and I do feel a little colder; must be old age creeping up on me. Anyway, I managed to write a couple of stories and compose a couple of songs, one of which is my previous posting.

So, glad to have you all back and I hope you'll continue to enjoy popping in from time to time. Do post a comment now and then.

Joe.

END-OF-COURSE PARTY

Tuesday 6th of May is a date I'm going to remember for a long time.

A group of students organised an End-of-Course BBQ (Barbecue) at Rosa's home, see Rosa's pic at:

http://picasaweb.google.es/printimatge/2008_05_06_englishgroup_graduaciNCursoAleman/photo?authkey=MTPx0EgXLCQ#5199999281447458338

and Party pics at:

http://picasaweb.google.es/printimatge/2008_05_06_englishgroup_graduaciNCursoAleman?authkey=MTPx0EgXLCQ

We ate very well (canadian maple leaf syrup cookies and María's home-made browny included), drank moderately (some of us had to drive back to work, but we did just get a modicum of a good 12-year-old Speyside whisky, provided by yours truly!) and sang old campfire songs such as "Oh, Susanna" and "She'll be coming round the mountain": Luís Miguel took the excellent photographs that you can see at the previous web address. All in all it was a most enjoyable party that will linger on "among my souvenirs" for a very long time.

Thanks friends.

Song "Among my souvenirs" - sung by Dave Williams (what a voice!)

Lyrics on the left

Try also "The way we were" sung by Barbara Streisand

Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xtu9RXeYSLU

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/barbra+streisand/way+we+were_20013256.html

READING

There's no doubt about PMP - Practice Makes Perfect!

Reading will help you recognise, revise and consolidate the structures you have studied. At the same time, it will introduce you to new vocabulary.

To do this effectively, however, it is a good idea to read books that are slightly (a little) below your own (personal) level. As your level increases, so will the level of your reading material.

Don't be tempted to aim (choose as an objective) too high. After all, the object is to enjoy, as well as improve, your English, not to spend all day looking up words in the dictionary!

Graded readers (books of varying levels) are there to help you do just that! Spending 5 or 10 minutes every day reading a relatively easy book can be much more beneficial than spending 1 hour once a week!

Useful links for students:
General:http://www.richmondelt.com/spain/english/resources/richmond_times.htm
Reading:http://www.richmondelt.com/spain/english/resources/PDF/richmond_times/2%20Ciclo%20Eso/Richmond12_low_18.pdf
Listening:http://www.richmondelt.com/spain/english/resources/audio/rt12/13.mp3

Other useful links for students:
http://www.macmillanenglish.com/readers/studentsite/bookclub.htm
http://www.short-stories.co.uk/
http://www.crimelibrary.com/
http://www.awesomestories.com/index.php
http://dewey.uab.es/pmarques/pdigital/webs/cmprimenglish.htm
http://www.cambridge.org/elt/elt_projectpage.asp?id=2500560

I shall be adding more links as and when I descover them. It's especially difficult to find easy texts!

Links for teachers:
http://www.marmaraelt.com/kategori/reading-texts/
http://iteslj.org/
http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/labels/Reading%20activities.html
http://www.eoiburgos.es/ingles/websitesrecommended.htm
This last one is definitely one of the best I've seen!

MORE SONGS

Here's a song I'm sure you'll all like. Needless to say it's one of my favourites. The first line is pure poetry: Lay a whisper on my pillow...!"
Enjoy...
Video:
Lay a whisper on my pillow - Leave the winter on the ground - I wake up lonely, there's an air of silence - In the bedroom and all around - Touch me now, I close my eyes And dream away...
It must have been love, but it's over now - It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now - From the moment we touched till the time had run out.
Make believing we're together - That I'm sheltered by your heart - But in and outside I turn to water - Like a teardrop in your palm - And it's a hard winter's day I dream away...
It must have been love, but it's over now - It was all that I wanted, now I'm living without
It must have been love, but it's over now - It's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows
It must have been love, but it's over now - It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now - From the moment we touched till the time had run out

ENGLISH and SONGS (and the Second Conditional!)

Listening to songs in English is an excellent way of consolidating structures and improving both pronunciation and intonation. It also helps you acquire new vocabulary. However, you must choose your songs carefully because in many cases the lyrics (words) are just too poetic and can be difficult to understand.

Let me illustrate how useful this technique can be with a song that was popular in the sixties.
[It's from the West End musical, Pickwick, based on Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers. In the context of the stage musical, the song is sung by Samuel Pickwick when he is mistaken for an election candidate and called on by the crowd to give his manifesto.-Source Wikipedia]

The song 's title is "If I ruled the world". It's a very good example of the Second Conditional and is a really good opportunity to practise this relatively difficult grammatical structure (If I had a car I would drive to Rome)
Video:
Lyrics: http://www.lyricsdepot.com/tony-bennett/if-i-ruled-the-world.html

Now, compare it with "If I ruled the world" by Nas (Different song, much more difficult, rap style)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMn2cCBwH18
Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nas/ifiruledtheworld.html

By the way, the first version is by Tony Bennett. Sir Harry Secombe's version is far better, but I can't find it anywhere. HELP!

While we're at it, What would Trini do if he had a hammer? and what would Topol do if he were a rich man? Answers below!
Video - Trini: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyTO5vcFWuw&feature=related
Lyrics - Trini: http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/trini_lopez/if_i_had_a_hammer.html
Video - Topol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBHZFYpQ6nc
Lyrics - Topol: http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/fiddlerontheroof/ifiwerearichman.htm

If you found this method useful let me know by e-mail or by posting a comment below. I would then include some more songs.
Enjoy!

EASTER

When I was a child, a long time ago, an Easter tradition at home was the Egg Painting Competition.

My mother would boil some eggs. When the hard-boiled eggs were completely cold, my brother, my four sisters and I, and occasionally some friends, would get down to the seemingly impossible task of converting the dull, inanimate shells into miniature masterpieces. We used food colouring, mainly, which we carefully applied with cotton wool and brushes.

Our creations usually consisted of heads: bald heads, funny heads, sad faces, animal heads, etc. We did, however, produce the odd ship or farmhouse.

When the paint was dry, we would rub the egg with oil to make it shine and protect the paint.

On Easter Sunday, during lunch, the eggs were judged by our parents and relatives and the winner of the painting competition was allowed to keep the winning example. This was followed by the "egg tapping" game. The rest of the eggs were shared out and each player hit another player's egg with his/her own egg. The winner was the holder of the last intact egg. The losers got to eat their eggs while the winner of the game was also allowed to keep his/her egg.

I don't think I ever won a single egg painting competition.... but I did manage to eat dozens of colourful eggs!

CHESS

I wouldn't say chess is my passion, but it's definitely one of my main interests. I try and play three or four tournaments a year, especially during the summer. The picture is from the one-day Castelldefells tournament. I came second in my category. The youngish looking man in an orange T-shirt is my son Michael. He's much better than me and came third overall!

For those interested in this game here are the English names for the pieces:
Pawn = Peón
Rook = Torre
Knight = Caballo
Bishop = Alfíl
Queen = Dama
King = Rey

To check is Dar jaque.
Check mate is jaque mate.
Resign is abandonar
Offer a draw is ofrecer tablas.
To draw is hacer tablas.

From time to time I shall include short articles with some more vocabulary.

Interesting chess links:
This one's my son Michael's. It contains a number of recommended chess sites - http://mikerahal.blogspot.com/
The Catalan Federation -
http://www.escacs.cat/

SPEAKING (First Certificate Exam and Higher)

At these levels, examiners are not really interested in descriptions, they really want to hear opinions. The more varied the better.

You can of course play safe and use the standard "In my opinion" or "I think", etc.

But, how about being a little bit more daring and stun you listener with "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that...", or "From a purely personal point of view, I'd say that...".
Try "It's quite evident that..." or "It seems perfectly obvious that..." when the answer is quite clear.
When in doubt, you could venture :"I could be wrong, of course, but I'd say that...".
When absolutely certain of what you are looking at: "Well, I'd be prepared to bet my last farthing that..."

NOTE:
Speaking, contrary to popular belief, is not an intellectual activity. It's entirely Physical. It requires coordination between brain and vocal chords. Your brain sends a message to your vocal chords and they, in turn, perform the action. As in all other physical exercises, perfection requires practice. It's not enough to "KNOW" what you have to say, you ACTUALLY HAVE TO SAY IT...... AND SAY IT WELL!
Which means Plenty of REPETITION - Listen... and then Repeat.
REPEAT to improve your pronunciation.
REPEAT to improve intonation (Rythm and stress).
REPEAT to improve fluency.

GOLDEN RULE - REPETITION is the key to GOOD SPEAKING

The more = Cuanto más

To play safe = Ir sobreseguro

Daring = Osado, aventuroso

To stun = Abrumar

To hazard a guess = Aventurar (una Opinión), Atreverse (a dar una opinión)

Purely = puramente

To venture = Aventurar (una opinión)

To bet = Apostar

Farthing = Moneda de más baja denominación.

Brain = Cerebro

Chords = Cuerdas

Actually = De hecho

Today I had a fantastic opportunity to update and improve this blog. Raul, one of my PEC students, who is an expert in webpage design, spent over an hour explaining to me the secrets of this obscure but very necessary art. Thanks, Raul.

THANK YOU for visiting my blog

You're welcome to post a comment before you leave.