Wednesday 30 December 2015

Palabra del año 2015...



The (Spanish) word of the year for 2015* is (cue drumroll...) well, why don't you (and your students) have a little guessing game before looking?

To help narrow the field, here's a short video featuring the 12 'finalistas' from which the winner was chosen. BTW, have your finger on the 'pause' button and your dictionaries at the ready as some of the words might be a little obscure. (Well, they were to me...) And before you do search the dictionaries, there's a lot of useful dicusssion to be generated by attempting to guess the meanings.

Palabra del año 2015, doce finalistas video 

Palabra del año 2015, doce finalistas (definitions) 

The winning word is here: 2015 ganadora 

And if you enjoyed that, here are the 12 finalistas and la ganadora for 2014 plus the 2013 ganadora.

Palabra del año 2014, doce finalistas (video plus TVE news report) 

Palabra del año 2014, doce finalistas (definitions) 

2014 sopa de letras 

2014 ganadora 

2013 ganadora 

Disfruta!

*According to the Fundéu BBVA, asesorada por la Real Academia Española (RAE).

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 13 December 2015

Elecciones Generales 2015

Spain has a general election on December 20th. Here are the first 'Party Political Broadcasts' of the top 4 parties. You'll find more info and videos on their websites (linked below).

PP. Partido Popular. The equivalent of the British Conservative Party. 

Leader: Mariano Rajoy. 


Website: http://www.pp.es/

PP broadcast

PSOE. Partido Socialista Obrero Español. The equivalent of the British Labour Party. 

Leader: Pedro Sánchez. 


 Website: http://www.psoe.es/

PSOE broadcast

Ciudadanos. New, slightly right-of-centre 'citizens party'. 

Leader: Albert Rivera. 


 Website: https://www.ciudadanos-cs.org/

Ciudadanos broadcast

Podemos. New, left-of-centre 'citizens' party. 

Leader: Pablo Iglesias. 



Websire: http://unpaiscontigo.es/ 

Podemos broadcast 

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 5 December 2015

Chencho y la Bombilla Mágica.



I've seen the John Lewis 'Man in the Moon' Christmas video, but did you know that the Spanish equivalent to John Lewis also has a Christmas video? 

El Corte Inglés is the most famous department store in Spain, with shops in most of the large cities. They're noted for their Christmas displays so this year's video is very apt...


¡Feliz Navidad!


plus

The Making of...

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 20 November 2015

El Porro Más Caro del Mundo...



If you (or your students) don't know, 'un porro' is a joint or splif. So this video, the third in the DGT's hard-hitting road-safety campaign, might be a step too far for your average MFL Spanish class. (See gafas and cancion for the other two.) But if you think your students can handle it, it's another great exercise for listening skills.

¡Disfruta! (The video, that is...)


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 14 November 2015

Las Gafas Más Caras del Mundo...

A few weeks ago I shared a thought-provoking DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico) road safety video for your students to translate. Here's another in the same vein, along with the accompanying poster.

Las Gafas Más Caras del Mundo



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 1 November 2015

El Cocinero Desnudo??

Well, that's my Spanish translation of 'the Naked Chef'. Who else, but Jamie Oliver? 



Here's an interview with J.O. from this morning's XL Semanal magazine which I spotted earlier today in our local coffee-shop. (Who says this blog isn't up-to-date?)

Have a great finde!


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 23 October 2015

La Canción Más Cara del Mundo...?

What´s the most expensive song in the world?

Wrong.

It´s this one...


Spanish public information films have a reputation for pulling no punches. Here´s one from the DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico) about taking care when driving. A good translation exercise for your students, and maybe a debate afterwards...


Un saludo,
JJD


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

Thursday 4 June 2015

El Himno No Se Pita

The Copa del Rey (football) final last weekend caused a huge controversy here in Spain, when the (Catalan) supporters of Barcelona and the (Basque) supporters of Athletic Bilbao whistled throughout the playing of the national anthem. Here's a flavour of some of the news coverage:


Since the game the news has been full of reports and investigations speculating on the sanctions which might be imposed on the two clubs.

Below is the latest contribution to the debate, from the Spanish world champions of rhythmic gymnastics, who have made this video supporting silence during the national anthem. I have a feeling this won't be the last word on the issue. Watch this space...

#elhimnoNOsepita

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

Monday 1 June 2015

It's off to work we go...

With unemployment among 19-25 year-olds hovering around the 50% mark, tens of thousands of young Spaniards have emigrated over the last few years. Here's the story of one who went to the UK. A translation exercise for A-Level, I'd guess...

Emigrating to the UK in search of work.

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 24 May 2015

¡Elecciones!

24th of May is the day of elections to many municipales and autonómicas. Here's an interesting article from today's ABC describing how some British residents in Spain take part.


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

Monday 4 May 2015

La invasion de los emoticonos...

I enjoyed this article on emoticonos in this weekend's edition of the ABC newspaper's magazine XLSemanal. My guess is that A-Level students would like it also. Let me know if you think I've misjudged the level.



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

Wednesday 1 April 2015

Taking Care During Semana Santa.

Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Easter is a big celebration in España. Lots of processions like the one pictured here. 









But for this post, I've found a rather amusing, Easter-related, advert for... burglar alarms! I think your students will enjoy translating it. Happy Easter.

Securitas Direct: link to Youtube

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 8 March 2015

Acierto

A bunch of great ads which shouldn't tax your students' powers of translation too much:




Acierto.com 4

Acierto.com 5 

Assessment shouldn't be difficult either: if they're laughing, they've understood! 

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 28 February 2015

Nada Será Igual.

Nada Será Igual is a series of short films (made by the Castellón de la Plana Department of Social Welfare). Each of the six films is 3-4 minutes long and contributes to a story which highlights 'problem' issues relevant to teenagers: relationships, drugs etc.

Here's the trailer (link to YouTube): Nada Será Igual trailer

The website also has pen-portraits (written) of the six main characters which give background information to help understand their actions in the episodes. Here are two examples:

Los padres de Lucas son médicos, gozan de una buena posición económica y sueñan con que su hijo siga algún día sus pasos.
Él es muy deportista y juega al futbol en el equipo local, va a la piscina al club de natación a las 6 de la mañana cada día antes 
del colegio y está más que acostumbrado a ser un ganador desde pequeño.
En el colegio sus notas son excelentes y podría decirse que es el ojito derecho de todos los profesores.
En definitiva, un chico perfecto, un chico modelo. Lucas cree que no puede defraudar a nadie, pasa el mayor tiempo 
entrenando y lo que le sobra estudiando para que su media no baje, sabe que llegar a la media de medicina es difícil 
y no puede despistarse ni un segundo.
Tanta presión hace que sea alguien muy inseguro, obsesivo y radical. No soporta la idea de perder, no puede perder a Marta.
Marta es una chica inocente y leal, amiga de sus amigas, siempre ha estado ahí cuando le han necesitado.
Le encanta bailar Ballet, es su gran pasión y cada verano viaja con una beca a Londres para perfeccionar su técnica.
Hace no mucho, el chico más perfecto del colegio le pidió salir, ella llevaba meses enamorada en secreto de él.
Marta ahora centra toda su atención en Lucas, empieza a descuidar a sus amigas, sus notas, el ballet y no se plantea ni por asomo irse esta vez a Londres, cree que Lucas le quiere tanto, tantísimo que no puede estar sin ella, y cree que si se fuese, él se enfadaría muchísimo y eso podría significar perderle. Lucas la ciega y esto hace que Marta cambie.
























It looks like a very interesting site which could be useful if you have older students. N.B., the subtitles are in the local Valenciano language, but the videos are made in Spanish. Also note that there are a number of common 'swear' words included.


Let me know if you find this useful, and also the age that you think it might be appropriate for. I'd guess it's probably for A-Level.

Check it out here: nadaseraigual

Stop Press: Sixth episode plus extended interviews with the actors now available on YouTube and Facebook. Use the links from the website. 

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

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Paint the Town...

If you can gloss over the fact that this is an ad for beer...

Fun little listening activity in the run-up to the Madrid derby match on Saturday. Isco (Real) and Koke (Atlético) paint the town red (and white).

Come on you yellows!


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

Monday 19 January 2015

Sunny Spain...?

Navarra
 Well, actually no. Not always and not everywhere. If you've studied your geography, you'll know that temperatures drop as altitude rises. But do you also know that "...the average height of the ground (in Spain) is greater than in any European country except Switzerland..."? (The New Spaniards; John Hooper, Penguin 2006.)

So expect many parts of Spain to get very cold at this time of year. Here's a report from El País with a video for you to translate.


Keep warm!

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

Tuesday 6 January 2015

¡Sí, se Puede!

I was at the Mestalla on Sunday to see Valencia's match against Real Madrid. On the big screen they showed a promotional film which I thought the soccer-mad would enjoy translating.

And for some listening practice, how about the highlights of the game, with commentary in Español? What more could you ask for on your return after the Xmas break?

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!


Valencia v Real Madrid Highlights

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 2 January 2015

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

That's 'Happy New Year', I'm sure you know that.
But do you know the thirteen essential items for a happy Spanish new year?

Answer: Un reloj y doce uvas!

(That's a clock... and twelve grapes.)

It's a tradition in Spain to gather with friends and eat one grape with each 'bong' of the midnight chimes. It's so popular that you can buy your twelve grapes ready-skinned in most supermarkets. (Although I'll warn you, from experience, that they're very slippery: the lid of the tin is quite sharp: and the pressure of the bells clanging away makes for a pretty hectic New Year! One of our grapes ended up rolling around the town square!)



In the province of Castellón de la Plana (Valencia), the local Chamber of Commerce is trying to establish a new tradition (which might also help out the local farmers), 'Doce gajos en nochevieja'. Instead of eating twelve grapes, the good farmers of Castellón are suggesting twelve segments of clementina. (Might be easier to handle than twelve slippery uvas!)

12 Gajos de Nochevieja

So, a Happy New Year was had by all... Well, not quite.
José Luis Pereñiguez of Canal Sur (Andalucian TV station) has lost his job for cutting into the striking of the bells with adverts. In the first video of the following newspaper article you can see what viewers saw on their screens. The second video shows the reaction of a family who (for reasons best known to themselves) had decided to record the event for posterity. 

elpais 


It soon became clear that quite a few families record their New Year grape- (or clementina-) eating festivities, as dozens of videos began to appear on Youtube. Some of them are hilarious...

Disbelief

The next one features a brewing family row about who suggested watching the bells on Canal Sur... 

Family row


I must say, what I notice most is how good-natured the response usually is. But then, the videos are still being posted...

And BTW, don't worry if you find it difficult to understand what some of the people are saying, Andalucia is famous (even among Spaniards) for having an almost impossibly incomprehensible accent. And anyway, words aren't necessary, the faces tell the whole story...

Happy New Year!

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