Hello All,

This week in class we talked about Halloween, fears and phobias, jobs, music, stereotypes -- our conversations went in many different directions!

In honor of halloween, you can read some classic creepy short stories: Lamb to the Slaughter (Roald Dahl), The Lottery (Shirley Jackson), The Monkeys Paw (W.W. Jacobs), and The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman).  For shorter reading, look at Creepypasta.  Or you can read about the history of Halloween (for learners).

You can listen to an ESL Podcast about Halloween. Also, for those of you who are teachers, there are some interesting education news story videos to watch at VOA that are easy to understand.

Don't forget you can write about many different topics.  You could try doing some creative writing and write a scary story.  Or you could explain what you think some stereotypes about Spanish people are and if you think they are true. 

This week there is original version cinema at the University -- The Loved Ones (1948) on Friday October 28th at 17:00.  Also, one Tertulias student recommends these websites for movies online with subtitles:   http://www.siestamovies.com/idioma/ingles/sub-ingles/ http://movos.blogspot.com/ Don't forget, next week we do not have class on November 1st.

And last but not least, the photocopier is up and running.  It's there for you to use, so feel free to make copies of the Grammar in Use books to reinforce and practice grammar points that you need to work on.Have a good week and a good long holiday weekend. Happy Halloween!

Hello All,
This week we've discussed several different topics in class, some about "trustworthy" and "untrustworthy" professions, others about creationism and evolutionism and how to teach science, and others have been introducing themselves because they have just started this week.  All interesting topics!  Remember, there are many possible writing topics to extend our conversations in class.

In one group, the topic of differences between the sexes came up.  There is an interesting article online about this topic (advanced level!) and a debate you can listen to and read the transcript along with it.

In another group, we talked a bit about Occupy Wall Street,  why people are protesting, and the worldwide protest last Saturday.  There is a reading exercise about it at Breaking News English. 

Listening ideas for this week include a visit to ESL Lab where there are many different topics there for different levels.

For writing, you can either use one of the topics proposed by students (Why are journalists considered both trustworthy and untrustworthy? Are our new parenting styles changing society?) or a topic of your choice.  One topic that I am curious about is, "What do you think Halloween means? How is it celebrated?" You don't need to do research to answer the question, just what you already know.

In regards to reading, I am working on improving my library.  There are books and magazines in the classroom for you to take, but if there are any specific authors, titles, or genres that interest you, we could order them for the class. 

Oh, and this week there is another movie showing in original version for free!  It's The Seven Year Itch (1955) at the University of La Rioja in the Salón de Actos del Edificio de Filología on Friday October 21st at 17:00.

This week in many groups we talked about the media coverage of Steve Job's death, the announcement of this year's Nobel Prize winners (the universe is expanding!), whether or not college degrees are overrated, and the tradition of Columbus Day.

Here are some ideas to study and work at home this week.

This week there are some FREE documentaries in original version (with Spanish subtitles) showing in Logroño -- Food Fight at the Casa de las Ciencias on Friday Oct 14th at 18:30, and on Saturday Oct 15th and Sunday  Oct 16th at 12:30 and 19.  On Wednesday October 19th is a screening of Inside Job at 19:30 at the Centro Cultural Caja Rioja on Gran Vía.

Here are some more recommended and requested links: Voice of American News for Learners, The English We Speak Podcast, Teacher's Resources for Teaching about Holidays, short stories by Roald Dahl,

Grammar points to review:

•  make and do : make (the product is more important) and do (the process is more important
• used to and usually
• for and since
  

Writing: One idea is to write a response to something you've read, watched or listened to in English (don't forget, you can always use the resources I sent last week).  Other possible writing prompts are:

• What is one aspect of your life that you would like to change?
  
• Technology makes communication easier in today's world. Many people choose to work at home in front of a computer screen. What danger does the society face depending on computer screens rather than face-to-face contact as the main means of communication? Are we the prisoners of the progress?
• Do you agree with Ken Robinson's idea that schools kill creativity? What can teachers and parents do?

Have a great week and don't forget to keep in touch with what you're working on!

It was a great first week at Meetghouse in the English Tertulias.  We mainly talked this week about how to best learn a language, and what our past experiences have been, as well as what our current objectives are. 

For homework this week, I would like you to explore some of the resources below to find some things that work for you.  Also, you could try some writing.  A good way to start writing is with a freewriting exercise, which means writing for 10 to 20 minutes without stopping and without worrying about grammar mistakes or vocabulary problems.  JUST WRITE.  Then, correct yourself.  Another possibility is writing about what you are an expert on, or something that you're passionate about -- this is a good way for me to get to know you.

Here are some links I would like to share with you so that you can work at home.

Listening:

• Online listening (Elllo, BBC English)
• Podcasts: Some are learners, like ESLPod, or for native speakers (Radiolab and This American Life, and Stuff You Missed In History Class are some of my favorites) but there are lots of others on NPR and BBC 
  
• Vaughan Radio (online or on TDT Radio)
• Videos online (TED and Frontline Documentaries have subtitles in English)
  
• Movies, with or without subtitles in English or Spanish.
  
• Music

Reading

• The news! Either in original version (NYT, BBC, CNN) or for learners
• Original essays, short stories, articles or novels
• Your interest are on the internet (including blogs).  Do you like reading about news, film, culture, music, art, food, cooking, education, art history, science, tecnology, the economy, nature, fashion, history, museums, interior design, big ideas, sports, or architecture? There is a something for you to read somewhere.  If you need help finding things to read or listen to online about your interests, please tell me!
  

Writing
Writing can be structured or unstructured. I am happy to correct your writing and give feedback, either digitally or on paper, whatever works for you. Think about trying to:

• keep a journal/blog in English
• write a response to something you read, watched, listened to

Hopefully you can find something that works for you.  Also, if you want to make any changes to your timetable, please let me know.