The Holi Festival is an ancient Hindu festival that celebrates the
arrival of spring. It takes place at the end of March. People gather
around a bonfire and the next morning, at the Rangwali Holi, they throw
colored powders and water to each other (a bit like a "tomatada" but
more colourful and less edible haha). They also sing and dance, and
families and friends gather together to enjoy food and drink.
In
terms of significance, this festival could be compared to Saint John's
Eve bonfires: the fire symbolizes getting rid of the old (winter, cold)
to make room for the new (spring, warmness), spiritually speaking.
However, Saint John's Eve takes place much later, at the beginning of
summer in June.
This tradition has been "Westernized" and now many places organize "colour runs", without the spiritual significance but with the same spirit of joy and playfulness.
Australia
Day is the official National Day of Australia; it is celebrated
annually on January the 26th. Most Australians take the day off and
schools close.
If you want to know what happens in Australia during this day, watch this video(forget about Covid):
What does Australia Day commemorate?
The
creation of the first British settlement in Australia in 1788. And this
is a summary of history: Captain Arthur Phillip, the very first
Governor of New South Wales, set up a community to run a prison in what
is now Sydney.
However, not all Australians celebrate this day.
Many Aboriginal Australians do not like the idea of a day to celebrate
the British landing. Aborigines have dubbed the 26 January as "Invasion
Day" or "Survival Day". The latter name celebrates the fact that the
Aboriginal people and culture have not been wiped out.
Lesson plans suggestions:
If you want to learn more on this beautiful country, you can try the following resources, full of great ideas:
Another
interesting idea I use with my students is to watch this clip for them
to learn the Australian English; the main differences in vocabulary and
pronunciation between British and Australian English:
If you are one of those who think
English has always sounded in the same way, you are wrong. There are
clear samples of this change of sound in films, for instance.
In the following video, you'll be able to listen to that sound difference:
A Middle English reading of John Skelton's poem "Speke Parrot". Find the full poem, with notes and glosses:
Below you will find the link to an interesting video where one of my
favourite gurus of Linguistics, David Crystal, talks about how British
English has been affected by other Englishes from around the world and
what in effect will happen to English in the future - Globish.
Here's a link to a YouTube video about a very quirky and, in my opinion, very dangerous English "sport" - cheese rolling.
I
am bemused by this but I happen to think this is quite odd. Why would
you willingly run/tumble/roll down a very steep hill, risking doing
some serious damage to your body?
And all for the glory of a wheel of cheese! I mean I personally love cheese. However, not quite that much to do something quite so potentially hazardous to my health.
Is there an activity or "sport" here in Spain comparable to this?
Would you be brave or silly enough to take part?
Shared by Michael Church
and the anwer to Michael's challenge:
by Cristina Sánchez
There's a tradition in my city, Salamanca, which involves a person (the
Mariquelo) going up the cathedral to its highest point once a year,
dressed in traditional costume with traditional instruments in tow. Once
there, he plays, prays and waves at the people congregated below. Here
are some pics:
Lately, he has not been allowed to climb the last stretch, which he used
to do with no security measures at all. He does this to bring attention
to different causes each year. This year he remembered COVID victims.
by Ana Andreu:
Image credit: "El Norte de Castilla" newspaper
The story
about Mariquelo (that Cristina is talking about) comes from a very
ancient tradition, since the Portugal (Lisbon) earthquake, which took
place in 1755. It was that intense that it reached the city of Salamanca
provoking important damage to our Cathedral, in which many people who
was walking around took shelter.
Fortunately there were no victims apart from the damage in some
monuments, and to thank God about the protection of the people, the
Clergy decided to commemorate that moment, every October 31st, by
climbing up to the dome.
This action was performed by "Los Mariquelos" family until 1976 and
nowadays, since 1985, this tradition is taking place by Ángel Rufino:
"El Mariquelo", who carries a bagpipe and a tambourine, dressed in a
typical "charro" costume.
This performance amazes everyone who visits the Cathedral every October 31st, I highly recommend you to assist at least once :)
We can travel to south Québec thanks to Louis Penny's detective novels. Their protagonist is Chief Inspector Gamache and they are set (or connected) in an imaginary village called Three Pines. Montreal, Québec, Charlotte Islands ...are some the settings in her novels, great to read in English (and also published in Spanish by Salamandra publishers).
Once you get in Three Pines you live in English but enjoying French food and plenty to drink -as good heirs of their French inheritance. I also enjoy that she uses some
words in French and many English words with a French origin. It's a cultural immersion in so many ways...I think it could be great to work with some students learning both languaguages because there are many references to the anglophones vs.francophones
way of living and relate to each other in the region.
So great is her fame around the world that the publisher opened a blog where readers comment on the most important features of her books: the Canadian cultural references (art -painting mainly-, literature, Canadian landscapes and nature,, food)....
And talking about food, they have also published online and free some of the recipes belonging mentioned in the books (see below a beautiful document which you can print). There are also many readers who have published their own blogs containing the recipes of the meals mentioned in the books and commenting them. Although they can be read independently, I advise you to read them in order, as the charachers and the village evolve along the years.
One of the most important characters of the book, a poet called Ruth Zarco, impersonates and gives voice to Margaret Atwood's poems!!! wose poems you can read in every book, as for instance Half-hanged Mary.
Below you can see the list of her books in English, the blog and the recipes I told you about.
P.D. Louise Penny says the village Three Pines is not a place, but a state of mind with a cosy bistro and a B&B, a new and second-hand book shop, two wonderful artists, a Laurate poet, and a bunch of people who enjoy sharing food, drink , books, art and nature.
I'm talking about Margaret Atwood, a well-known Canadian author of dystopian novels such as The Handmaid's Tale or thrillers like Alias Grace, both of them adapted for television in recent years, to great applause.
I remember having a course on Other literatures of the diaspora and she was one of the authors we studied. One of my classmates actually tweeted her about her work and she responded!
This is a still from the Netflix adaptation of Alias Grace, a chiling portrayal of the workings of a murderer's mind.
And here's a still from The Handmaid's Tale, a series I'm sure you'll be familiar with. Scarily current, even though it was written in 1985.
Another great piece of Canadian literature that has been adapted for television is Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This coming-of-age story, published in 1908, takes place on Prince Edward's Island (PEI), on Canada's easternmost coast,
and it follows the life of Anne Shirley, an orphan girl. Sadly, despite its success, it was cancelled after only three seasons, which led fans to ferociously campaign on social media for its return.
This is a documentary series that
I came across. This is just a brief overview, However, I think it is
definitely an interesting perspective.
Twerking, the clothes women wear,
the lyrics of songs are often considered sexist or degrading, yet from
Jamaican women´s point of view Jamaican dance halls are where women
rule. They choose what they wear, who they want to dance with. I think I
am definitely getting over the hill as my young teammates often listen
to Reggaeton which then is followed by my exasperated sighs and
eye-rolling, yet this clip gave me a different insight.
Hi all! I wanted to share a bit about popular Caribbean singers.
First of all, I love this song by Mavado, which has been stuck in my head since time immemorial:
Mavado is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Years ago, he collaborated with famous rapper Nicki Minaj, who was born in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago:
Another very very famous Caribbean singer and performer, fashion and makeup mogul is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, known by most as Rihanna or RiRi. She was born and raised in Barbados, and she goes there at least once every year, for the Crop Over Festival, or Carnival.
Last but not least, Koffee! She's a reggae musician, and the youngest and first woman ever to win a Grammy for Best Reggae Album. I love her song "Toast":
Every time I listen to any of these artists, my mind travels to sandy beaches, positivity and warm weather instantly, which is greatly appreciated in these, dare I say it, unprecedented (I'm sure you've all heard this adjective many times at this point)
times!
For me any trip, be it short or long, is defined by the local delicacies that I savour.
So
I couldn´t resist mentioning doubles. Street food has really taken off
in most countries and the need for something quick to eat on the go has
redfined our eating habits. As the UK has such a melange of different
cultures, more and more Caribbean places are popping up.
Although
let´s face it scoffing on a double in dreary London is not the same as
gorging on the real deal overlooking Caribbean waters. So I cook up a
storm and close my eyes.... everyone can dream can´t they?
Last 25th January, Virginia Woolf's birth date was celebrated around the world, above all amongst literature lovers.
She was an English writer considered one of the foremost modernists of the 20th Century and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. I studied and read her pieces of writing during my degree studies and I fell in love
with her!!!
I've always included her birthday as a teaching unit for my students, no matter their level. Two weeks ago, that same day, my Bachillerato students learnt about her (they had never heard of this wonderful writer).
These are some of her most famous quotes:
In this video, you can learn about her life in a different way (sorry, but TikTakDraw is in Spanish).
An English Dialects App has been developed by University of Cambridge researchers. It easily guesses which part of the country you're from. As an English teacher, I firmly believe it's a great development since students can use this App as a way of learning about English dialects.
Although I'm sure you are aware of many of the differences between British English and American English I feel like this video touches on a lot of the common ones. As I am a United States citizen I find the difference between British English and American
English amusing, enjoy!
