LANGUAGE ASSISTANT IN SPAIN: Recent Episodes
LOIDA
Hi everyone! Improve your listening skills while learning about different English speaking countries; you will listen to a diverse range of accents, learn about other cultures, improve your pronunctiation and enlarge your vocabulary. The perfect tool for language learning!
Three girls plan their ideal trip to New York City using conditionals and wish clauses.
Our language assistant, Madison, will read chapters 77-82 from We Were Liars by E.Lockhart. Hope you enjoy it! :)
Hi there! Listen to David, our trainee student of English Language and Literature, explaining the contents of Listening Cambridge Exam and some tips that will help you nail it!
Listen to Diego explaining the main characteristics of FCE and PET Speaking Tests and some tips for the day of the exam.
The COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns and global recession of 2020 have provoked a highly uncertain prospect for the job market and accelerated the arrival of new models of work. Listen to Joe, Kate, Harry and Lucy giving their own views about the future of jobs and how they have adapted to the new requirements.
Listen to Maddie reading the last five chapters of this thrilling story written by E. Lockhart. Thank you Maddie for giving life to the characters. I hope you have enjoyed the experience! :)
Gone are the days of waiting for the news for breaking stories or reading magazines to know about celebrities. We have everything we need at the touch of an app and most people now use social media to get their news information. In fact, it has become the main source of news but, can we trust everything they say? Today our assistants Jimmy, Maddie and Diego will talk about how they get their news and the need to discriminate fake from true before sharing, in other words, how to break out of your social media echo chamber.
Since we are born we relate objects to sounds and words and it is rather easy for us to point at something and say a name. This is how the linguistic sign is about. In fact, things do not exist for us if they don't have a name! BUT there's something that is really hard for us to put into words, and that is how we feel. Maybe because we cannot point at something that relates to that feeling. Sometimes music can help and we tend to listen to the same song a thousand times when we feel down or depressed, or the contrary if we feel happy. However, what if we could relate our feelings to images???
Jimmy, our assistant, who works as a film maker in the US, is carrying out a project on the link there is between words and images and has asked our students to write five lines, either prose or poetry, and shoot images that relate to their words with the purpose of making a short film focusing on emotions. Here he is giving some useful guidelines. Enjoy!
We are very close to the end of this exciting story! Why are they called liars? What is just happening in Cadance's mind? Who provokes the fire? The answers are still to be found. Listen to Maddie and Lucy reading chapters 70 to 76 from We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Pay especial attention to the pronunciation of new words, write them in your glossaries and contextualize them in a sentence.
If you feel stuck, need a change in life, a goal, or are going through an emotionally difficult situation and don't get the results you expected even though you tried hard, you possibly need a life coach. Listen to Diego talking about his own experience looking for harmony.
I bet you have felt upset some time in the past when you started looking for a baking recipe and came across a US one ... and did not follow the metric system!!!! All those cups, tsps, tbsp...OMG!!! Well, Maddie and her flatmate Lucy may help you understand the different units of measurement when it comes to baking. I hope you enjoy it!
Whatever the situation might be, it takes at least two for an interview, the interviewer and the interviewee. The interviewer will try to put interviewee at ease while the interviewee will try to appear confident. The interviewer usually asks questions and the interviewee responds providing information which may be used with different purposes, for example, a job interview or an interview with a witness. Listen to Maddie, our assistant, who will dive into this communication process.
Art helps us make sense of the most inexplicable parts of life. At the top of this list is Death. Death has been portrayed for centuries in different formats, painting, sculpture, architecture and, of course, literature. But today we will focus on Death and Life by Gustav Klimt. I use this picture to help my students understand the meaning of symbols and how the use of colors, patterns, texture also builds meaning. I read this analysis i took form gustavklimt.net to my students and focus on key words.
I also like connecting art and poetry to explain that words are like the strokes of a brush. For example, a story can be told in broad brushstrokes, but they can also be vigorous, true, pure, dark, shadowy, careful, heavier, clumsy... as words are. This is very well represented in Emily Dickinson's celebrated work Because I could not stop for Death.It depictsthe uncertainties of Death and its inevitability. You can see the whole lesson plan here.
Listen to Maddie, our assistant, reading chapters 51 to 55 from We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.
Alzheimer is a type of dementia that involves a progressive destruction of memories and thinking skills. It often starts from 5 to 20 years before symptoms appear. Symptoms can go from difficulty remembering new information to confusion, mood, behavior changes, and inability to care for one’s self and perform basic life tasks. It is ultimately fatal.
Jimmy, our language assistant reads an extract from The Backward Fall by Jason Helmandollar. This short story depicts the progress of dementia in a woman's mind, the falling into her memories and how it affects the whole family. Jimmy will also add a short introduction and his view of dementia as depicted in films.
Many important events have happened this year, being the emergence of a new pandemic that has changed almost every aspect of our lives the most important one. But how has our vocabulary been affected by this unfortunate event? Listen to Maddie giving a quick recap of 2020 and the effect on our language. For example, what were the two words of the year chosen by the Cambridge and Merriam-Webster?
Listen to Maddie, our language assistant, reading chapters 46-50 from We Were Liars written by E. Lockhart.
We Were Liars is a suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
A rich and distinguished family living in a private island. An accident. A group of young friends called the Liars, who have many secrets. Love and the quest for truth. This makes We Were Liars a must-read. Listen to our assistant Maddie from England reading chapters 41-45.
What do you need to become the President of the US? What is a caucus? What is the Electoral College?...The U.S. election system is fairly complicated. Listen to our language assistants, both from the US, explaining the whole process of electing a new President.
Listen to our assistants talking about what they would be doing if they were not in Spain working a language assistants. Check out the use of verbs in conditional situations.
Listen to Loida interviewing her students about their experience with the Erasmus project "BeYOUropean", which we will be developing next year. It was momentarily interrupted by the lockdown but, as you will see, we did not sit on our hands! Our plans may have been postponed, but never cancelled. Well done, guys! Happy holidays!
As part of the Art for Change mini series, this lengthy episode is in collaboration with artists/friends: Olivia, Hannaa and Natifah. Join them as they discuss the theme of Erasure looking at this from a variety of perspectives. They use Zineb Sedira’s art work: Mother Tongue (2002) as a starting point for discussion although over the course of the episode, they also talk about current events as well as the importance and impact of cultural preservation, cultural ignorance and dual nationality.
Many centuries of inequality and racism have passed but recent events seem to have enhance the visibility of anti-racist protests. There has also been much conversation about what it means to enact antiracism in everyday lives — not just when there is social unrest. A performative emotional post on Instagram about it does not necessarily make you more sensitive. The truth is that antiracism is more about doing and not just knowing. Listen to Natifah's brilliant exposition on what being a real ally actually is.
George Floyd's death has incited condemnation and protests around the whole world. He died after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a police officer, which was recorded on video by a bystander. As a consequence, there have been episodes of looting and arson provoking curfew. Listen to Brook, who is currently living in US, giving a non-biased view of the situation lived in her country.
There are many myths out there about mental illnesses, These ideas make it harder for those suffering from mental health issues to get the support and attention they need. Listen to Katie explaining her own view. She studied Psychology in University and also experienced depression and anxiety in the past and managed to overcome it in her daily life.
Summer is the peak season for hiring . If you are looking for a job for the first time, maybe you'd like to listen to Diego talking about his own experience. If the summer job you land works out, you may be able to continue working part-time in the fall...
Listen to Natifah reading chapters 21 to 25 from the London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd.
With this episode Natifah inaugurates a mini series called "Art for Change" in which she and her friends will focus on art as a way to educate, spread ideas and share knowledge. In this episode she will analyse the work of Jean Michel Basquiat, an American artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, famous for his enigmatic graffiti epigrams that coalesced into early hip-hop music.
Listen to Diego reading the last five chapters of The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. Thanks to our assistants for their great help! We hope you enjoyed it!
Listen to Diego & Natifah's interviews. Diego interviews Federica from Italy who is currently living in Spain and Natifah interviews her friend Tammy from London.
Listen to Brook interviewing her sister Britlyn in Utah and Katie interviewing her friend Haley in N.Y about their activities during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Listen to Diego reading this famous frame tale by Mark Twain (1865). This is a good example of Southwestern Humour, a tradition of regional sketches and tales based in the "old South-West": Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. They used to be published in local newspapers and were a combination of tall tales, southern dialect and ironic humour.
In "The Jumping Frog" the narrator is sent by a friend to interview an old man he knows about Leonidas W. Smiley. Finding the man at an old mining camp, the narrator asks him if he knows anything about Leonidas; Simon appears not to, but instead he tells a story about somebody called Jim Smiley, a man who had visited the camp years earlier.
It seems that Coronavirus has ruined all our travel plans. Listen to Natifah, Katie, Brook and Diego talking about what they had arranged before the outbreak of this pandemic and the plans they still have.
More depth or more breadth? Maybeyou are considering getting your education in either the UK or the US. In that case, you should take into account the differences between the two systems, especially the amount of time it takes to finish the degree and the tuition fees. Listen to four graduates, Natifah from the UK and Diego, Katie and Brook from different parts of the US talking about their personal experiences while at University.
There was one subject at school that you really struggled with either because you hated it or because you felt unable to assimilate it. In any case, throughout time, you may have changed your mind due to maturity and experience. Listen to four University graduates exchanging ideas about what made them change their minds.
Confusing say and tell is very common, even for advanced learners. Listen to Loida explaining the difference in structure and let's consider other reporting verbs that behave like say or tell.
Listen to Brook reading Thorpe's celebrated tall tale about a boastful bear hunter, Jim Doggett, narrating how “the greatest bar was killed that ever lived.” The story is set on a steamboat on the Mississippi River and the narrator reflects about the nature of the people he meets onboard. This story is about storytelling and how people construct their own version of reality. Tall tales are a fundamental part of American literature and contributed to build the myth of the frontier. Read here: "The Big Bear of Arkansas".
Revise third conditionals with Natifah's audio. What would her life have been if she had not come to Spain as a language assistant?
You will listen to four language assitants working for a Spanish school talking about their personal experiences during the quarantine due to Covid-19.
Listen to Natifah talking about her own experience visiting Andromedan Sad Girl exhibiton.
Listen to Natifah reading chapters 11 and 12 from The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd.
Listen to Diego talking about Californian culture and, in particular, how important the freeway is in their lives.
Listen to Loida reading this adaptation from William Cullen Bryant's Planting the Apple Tree by Steven Watts
Listen to Natifah interviewing her two friends, Orla and Kyra, about Music and what it means to them.
Listen to Natifah talking about certain expressions common in London and some cockney expressions.
Listen to Chris from Perth (Scotland) talking about his life in Spain and some common Scottish expressions.
Listen to Diego from Southern California talking about the area he is from. Analyse his accent as opposed to Katie's from San Francisco (Northern California)
Listen to Katie from San Francisco, Northern California. She talks about the area she is from. Analyse her accent as opposed to Diego's from Southern California.
Listen to Katie reading chapter 5 from The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd Read while listen.
Listen to Katie reading to chapters "Mrs Pratchett's revenge" and "Going to Norway" from Roald Dahl's Boy
Listen to Katie reading chapter 4 from The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. Read while listen.
Listen to Katie reading chapter 3 from The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. Read while listen to her!