Saturday 29 November 2014

El Gordo.

So it's Christmas! (Well, at least it'll be December by the time you get to school on Monday.) So what do you think of when you think of Christmas in Spain?

El Gordo. 'The Fat One'. 

Spain's annual 2 billion euro lottery draw is due to take place (as always) on the 22nd of December. And, as is now also 'as always', it comes with a high-profile publicity campaign.

This year it's a series of mini-stories under the theme, 'El mayor premio es compartirlo.' (The best prize is to share it.) 


Many bars, clubs and businesses buy a ticket which their customers subsequently purchase 'shares' in, meaning that a win is often for a group of people joined by a common interest or activity.

Here's the headline story, about a man who forgets to buy his share in his local bar's ticket, only to discover that it wins the top prize. Have your pañuelos at the ready as you translate, it's getting rave reviews in the Spanish press as a real tear-jerker. Who's going to be the first in the class to shed a tear?


There are nueve short stories in all, ideal for higher-level students to translate as the Christmas season kicks-in. You can find them at El Bar de Antonio (the official website):


¡Feliz Navidad a todos, y muy buena suerte!

JJD

And a P.S., If you're really up-to-speed with current Spanish politics, you'll enjoy this parodia, featuring current presidente Mariano Rajoy (of the right-wing Partido Popular) and the leader of the recently-formed (and fast-growing) Podemos party, led by Pablo Iglesias. Rajoy plays the unlucky loser, Iglesias is the barman. Imagine Rajoy is Cameron and Iglesias is Farage and you'll get the drift (although it's interesting to note that Podemos is a left-of-centre party).

 El bar de Pablo Parodia

Presidente Mariano Rajoy

Pablo Iglesias, Podemos



If you enjoyed this resource, you might enjoy reading about my life here in Spain as an immersion teacher of a class of primary children. Zen Kyu Maestro: An English Teacher´s Spanish Adventure is published as an eBook by Monday Books. There´s a free sample chapter available to download here: Zen Kyu Maestro


Sunday 16 November 2014

¿WhatsApp?

Yes, WhatsApp is big in España

The news that you could tell when your message had been recieved caused quite a stir in the press recently. El doble check azul (blue double tick) has caused quite a polemic. Here are a selection of articles you might find interesting... and another cartoon from one of my favourite dibujantes (J.M. Nieto, from the ABC newspaper) poking fun.





If you enjoyed this resource, you might enjoy reading about my life here in Spain as an immersion teacher of a class of primary children. Zen Kyu Maestro: An English Teacher´s Spanish Adventure is published as an eBook by Monday Books. There´s a free sample chapter available to download here: Zen Kyu Maestro



Friday 7 November 2014

Downton Abbey, España...

Yes, it's true. Downton Abbey is big en España. Here are a couple of 'Downton en España' resources for you to enjoy.

First, an article from Wednesday's (6th November) ABC newspaper commenting on the 'controversy' surrounding the fate of Isis, the dog.


Secondly, here's a link to TV station Antena Tres's Downton Abbey page, where you can enjoy video clips from series 5 (which is currently showing here)... all in glorious dubbed Español!


Who said studying Spanish was boring?

¡Disfruta!

If you enjoyed this resource, you might enjoy reading about my life here in Spain as an immersion teacher of a class of primary children. Zen Kyu Maestro: An English Teacher´s Spanish Adventure is published as an eBook by Monday Books. There´s a free sample chapter available to download here: Zen Kyu Maestro

Saturday 1 November 2014

Poverty in Spain, a cartoonist's view.

With unemployment (el paro) in Spain at close to 25% for adultos and 50% for the 16-25 age bracket, the issue of poverty (la pobreza) is high on the political agenda. Here's a cartoon (una viñeta) from Yahoo.es. 



If you enjoyed this resource, you might enjoy reading about my life here in Spain as an immersion teacher of a class of primary children. Zen Kyu Maestro: An English Teacher´s Spanish Adventure is published as an eBook by Monday Books. There´s a free sample chapter available to download here: Zen Kyu Maestro