October -- Week Three

Greetings!

This week we discussed the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize - The European Union.  Many of you thought this wasn't the best choice, and some of you thought the EU deserves such a prestigious prize.  We also talked a lot about different countries, people and history of Europe.  So for your homework this week, you can warm up by testing your Europe geography knowledge, Eurotrivia or watching this time lapse video of the formation of Europe.

For listening this week, I recommend Breaking News English's article for learners about the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize (mp3, text, quiz)  VOA also has a video and text of the article for learners.  For original version materials, watch an intesting TED talk about mapping borders (available with subtitles in English and Spanish)

For reading, learners should try finding an article of their choice to read in English in the Europe section at VOA.  Or, for original version reading, try the BBC's article about the mixed reaction the prize got, or the NYTimes Editorial in favor of the prize.

Don't forget to do the writing!  Please write a short composition comparing different European countries.  You can use anecdotal evidence from your travels around Europe.  Try to be as descriptive as possible!

This week there is original version theater (in English and Catalan with Spanish subtitles) called Forests at the Bretón Theater.

This month's extra activity will be on Sunday October 28th so mark your calendars!  If anyone has any specific ideas, let me know.  I will announce the activity next week.

Best,
Kelly