​This week, in honor of Daylight Savings Time, which we celebrate in Spain on Sunday October 27th this year, we discussed our opinion about this custom, as well as other questions related to time.  Free time, spare time, wastes of time... Now use your time to do some homework!

Listening:
Learners can start with an exercise about Free time from British Council or a listening exercise aboutDaylight Savings Time from Breaking News English.

For original version, please watch the short film anExercise in Time Perception from TEDex or thepsychology of time.

Reading:
Learners can try some expressions about time(along with quiz), or read some time idioms.

For original version, try the article The Bizarre Reality that We Can Change Our Perception of Time or A Stopwatch on the Brain's Perception of Time. Or, on another note, try the article, How to Prepare Your Kids for Daylight Savings Time.

​Writing:
This week for writing, choose one of the following prompts:

1. You have been given a time machine and can travel to any point in the history of the Earth. Where will you travel and why? What is your first week like in this new time period?
2. Theories of time and space go (as far as my understanding at least :)) that if you travel at the speed of light, you will not age while the rest of the world goes on at normal time. Imagine that you have gone on a journey and come back to Earth to find that ten years have passed. All of your friends, family, and favorite restaurants have aged ten years. How does this change the way you live your life?
3. If you could fast forward ahead or rewind backwards to any point in your life, what would it be and why? Be very detailed about how you deal with this second chance or sneak peak.
4. What would you do if you had control over space and time (like Hiro Nakamura in the television show "Heroes")? Would you use it to help people or just to get everything that you want? Talk about your first full day with this power and how it changes things.5. Spend a week making a list of how much time you spend on given activities. Using this, create a story of you crafting your ideal week in which you spend every waking moment doing something productive or exciting. You can skip work, try something new, and spend time with the ones you love. Just be very specific. Then think to yourself, "Is there anyway I can actually do this in my real life?"

Best,
Kelly

​We continued last week's fascinating stereotypes conversation using the illustrated and humorous bookAtlas of Prejudice.

Listening:
Learners can start with something easy such as English Listening Lesson on Prejudice - Listen A Minute and then move on to something more challenging such as a video talking about vocabulary and grammar related to prejudice.

For original version, please watch the short film theLunch Date (available with Spanish subtitles here) or a short film talking about what exactly prejudice is.

Reading:
Learners can try an article from Heads Up English called Jealousy, Prejudice and Short People or an exercise called Gender Bias and Poverty.

For original version, I recommend participating inProject Implicit, an interactive from Harvard that helps discover and research implicit biases we hold.

​Writing:
Have you or anyone you know suffered unfair prejudice? Describe the situation and how they handled it.  What could have been done differently?

Best,
Kelly

Last week we got off to a great start with our English routines.  This week we dove into conversation!  The topic was stereotypes and we broke down different common prejudices about gender, nationality, profession, etc.

Listening:
Learners can start with something easy such as English Listening Lesson on Stereotypes from Listen A Minute and then move on to something more challenging such as a video from the BBC aboutNational Stereotypes or a test about gender stereotypes.

For original version, check out Leah Georges: How generational stereotypes hold us back at work, or 50 State Stereotypes in 2 minutes.

Reading:
Learners can read an article from British Council about Spanish stereotypes or try a game testing yourreading comprehension.

For original version, try an article from Huffington Post about 12 Stereotypes About the Spanish That are Totally Untrue or the NYTimes Article My American Friends.

​Writing:
This week, please write an article about how stereotypes are reinforced in media.  Think about how different groups (genders, nationalities, race, professions, generations) are represented in advertisements, films, reality TV.  Are they accurate? What do they depict? 

Best,
Kelly

Last week we got off to a great start with our English routines.  This week we dove into conversation!  The topic was stereotypes and we broke down different common prejudices about gender, nationality, profession, etc.

Listening:
Learners can start with something easy such as English Listening Lesson on Stereotypes from Listen A Minute and then move on to something more challenging such as a video from the BBC aboutNational Stereotypes or a test about gender stereotypes.

For original version, check out Leah Georges: How generational stereotypes hold us back at work, or 50 State Stereotypes in 2 minutes.

Reading:
Learners can read an article from British Council about Spanish stereotypes or try a game testing yourreading comprehension.

For original version, try an article from Huffington Post about 12 Stereotypes About the Spanish That are Totally Untrue or the NYTimes Article My American Friends.

​Writing:
This week, please write an article about how stereotypes are reinforced in media.  Think about how different groups (genders, nationalities, race, professions, generations) are represented in advertisements, films, reality TV.  Are they accurate? What do they depict? 

Best,
Kelly