October Week Three

First off, I'd like to invite you to this month's extra activity, going to see a film in original version this Thursday October 19th at 22:00 at 7 Infantes Cinema.  We are going to see the film Mother! starring Javier Bardem, it looks like an interesting thriller by the director of Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream.  Check out the trailer here. If you would like to participate, please email me to get tickets.  We will meet for a drink and conversation at 9:15 and go to the movie at 10.

This week we practiced using the past tense with two main tools: our own personal timeline, and talking about the changes in Spain over the last century. Check your mastery of the past tense with this diagnostic.

Listening:
Let's get started with some adapted materials for learners. Try Grammar Stories Simple Past or Victoria's Last Weekend.  Another option is to try one of the many listening options at VOA American History.

For original version listening, try one of many fine podcasts that focus on history and the past: The Memory Palace, BackStory, or Stuff You Missed in History.

Reading:
Learners should try reading about someone famous in history: Rosa Parks, Elvis Presley, or Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you want to try something in original version, there are a couple interesting articles out there from the New Yorker about memory and the past: Why We Remember So Many Things Wrong, and Remembering the Murder You Didn't Commit.

Writing:
For writing this week, the focus is on the past tenses, of course.  You could write about your daily life when you were 18 years old, your first love, your parents or grandparents lives before you were born, or how Spain has changed in the last 100 years.  The point is to really focus on the past simple, continuous, used to, etc.

Best,
Kelly