Living life to the fullest

Hi again, my students. Here are some thoughts on the subject of the bucket list, which is part of the first unit.

Although the expression bucket list is fairly recent (you all know the movie), the underlying idea has always been part of the American mindset (whatever that may mean). I personally believe that writer Ernest Hemingway and his macho antics helped the average American understand what life can be when you seek real adventure and live your life like there’s no tomorrow. Not only did he witness a war firsthand but he also traveled the world. He went on safari to Uganda. In France he met intellectuals. In Cuba he drank more mojitos than anybody on the island. In Spain he ran the bulls in Pamplona and hanged out with bullfighters. To this day the experience of running the bulls belongs to the to-do list of many young Americans that one day would like to say “I did it”. In short, he did a bit of everything: he won the Nobel Prize for literature (1954) but also fought with boxers. What happens if you’re a woman? I’m not sure what an equivalent approach might be like but there’s no denying that the idea of “living life to the fullest” does exist amongst women, of course. Diane Sawyer, for instance, is no Hemingway but has had some pretty impressive experiences in her life. She worked in the White House under the Nixon administration. As a journalist she was the first female correspondent on 60 minutes. She wrote news reports in caves in Afghanistan during the war and remains one of the major personalities in TV history. I don’t know if she has ever gone skydiving but she has a truly amazing resume.

Anyhow, here’s a piece of Americana: a country song about a guy who’s diagnosed with cancer and decides to basically go skydiving and cross out all those things on his own bucket list. I know it’s really corny, really corny. I know. Still, I find it enjoyable, kind of like a guilty pleasure… Anyway there’s some interesting vocabulary there.

N.B. Yes. It’s not a typo: Americana is an actual word. You can look it up if you don’t know what it means.

Like The Scream by Edvard Munch or Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, The thinker by Auguste Rodin is one of those works of art that have trascended the world of so-called highbrow culture and conquered the ever-changing realm of general knowledge. I don’t know exactly what Rodin was thinking when he came up with the idea of chiseling a brooding person out of a block of stone but the fact is that he had the idea (i.e. he “thought” about something) and then he carried it out (i.e. he “did” something). I, for one, pride myself in doing my fair share of thinking, including extensive day-dreaming, but I suppose that a person is best defined by their acts, not necessarily their thoughts.

Where am I getting at? Bear with me for a few more lines. You all have ideas. For example some of you probably think that English is hard or you think learning a language is time-consuming. Many of you think speaking English fluently is quite feasible or completely out of reach. Okay. Ideas. You have lots of ideas, which means that you do a lot of thinking. So... What are you going to do about all those ideas? Look at this cartoon:

See what I mean? Thinking is great (and necessary) but there comes a time to act on those ideas. So, here’s something for you to do: 

Avanzado 1. You’re supposed to write 250 words on the following statement: "Brainy is the new sexy". It will be part of your progress report.

Avanzado 2. "Follow your dreams" we hear often. Okay. I would like you to write 250 words on the matter: What kind of person follows their dreams? Do certain cultures promote that attitude more than others?

I don't usually post this kind of video but as you probably know I’m a harsh critic of the way Spaniards approach foreign language learning and after watching this clip featuring Guillermo Amor I feel the urge to comment on it.

First and foremost, I’m well aware that this problem is not at all unique to Spain. Germans had to suffer Trappatoni’s press conferences in an impossible version of Goethe's mother tongue and do you remember David Beckham speaking Spanish? Of course not everyone in the world of professional sport is so bad at languages. There are some sportspeople from Spain who can actually handle foreign languages pretty well. Pep Guardiola speaks really good English (and very aceptable German!) and Pau Gasol’s English is outstanding. Sergio García, Rafa Nadal and Fernando Alonso are not as good as Gasol but speak fluent English even if their pronunciation is obviously Spanish. Still, they say what they want and their speech is always clear. I can understand that they are not particularly interested in perfecting their vowels or using accurate adjectives. So absolutely no problem there.

What I find it increasingly difficult to accept is the case of those who don’t even try to pronounce a foreign language, consistently copy-paste expressions from their mother tongue and consequently turn any conversation into an excruciating experience. More often than not their speech is barely understandable and they reinforce and perpetuate the old stereotype that Spaniards are simply hopeless at foreign languages.

I’m afraid Guillermo Amor belongs to this sorry category. After two years in Australia, he doesn’t seem to even care that his English is just embarrassing ("Yes, lo que pasa es que the game was difficool, eh?"). The interview below reminds me of the kind of chutzpah displayed by Pedro Almódovar during his acceptance speech at the 2003 Oscars. Is this going to change? I think the change is already happening but it’s so slow... My consolation is that you, my dear students, are trying hard to break away from that old cliche. Keep up the good work!

Hi again. Okay. So you’ve got the sneaky feeling that you can now tell a friend about that awesome wing-walking experience a few years back... Well, maybe not.

Anyway, we have seen that English is full of idiomatic expressions. Remember we should learn one at a time. Of course, not everyone is patient enough to learn the words they accidentally encounter. So, for those of you that are into that sort of thing, here is a long list of idioms we use in English to express happiness or sadness. This can be useful both for my Avanzado 1 and Avanzado 2 students.

The following is for my Avanzado 2 crowd.

If you've done your part we are all in a position to describe that jaw-dropping thing you did some years ago. You've done a bit of wing-walking or bungee jumping or you ate insects in the jungle... Just don't forget that in order to tell your story efficiently you must:

1.     Make sure we know the key vocabulary (skydive, jump off, parachute)

2.     Pay close attention to the chunks (get on the plane, pull the cord, spin out of control, etc) so you can use all those words in long sequences (when it was time to pull the cord, I thought I was going to be sick).

3.     Express how you felt before, while and after the activity. In this area it may be necessary to spice things up a little by using "interesting" expressions. What do I mean by that? Well, to begin with use idioms (I was having a blast) which may or may not consist in analogies (I was happy as a flea in a doghouse) and, of course, remember all those extreme adjectives (absolutely exhilarating, utterly devastating). If not engaging, you will not sound boring.

N.B. Only in the truly advanced levels can you use deliberate wordplays (like saying “I was jumping for joy” when discussing a skydiving experience).

Okay. One last thing: check out this video (we watched part of it in the classroom). Not only is it full of interesting vocabulary but it also has plenty of pretty usable expressions (peak in high school, tramp stamp, highly noticeable...). Do not forget to take notes. Oh... One more thing. If you find it hard to understand the videoclip just click on the "CC" button (it stands for "closed-captioned") and you'll watch it with subtitles.

Okay. We’ve already started the classes. Some of you may still be wondering if my teaching style really suits your needs. What can I say? This is only the beginning. Your initial shock is part of the process.

Anyhow, I’d like to share with you some of the principles that are going to guide our classes. Pronunciation is key (you know why). Vocabulary should always be learnt in a context and with considerable patience. Try to make sure you learn the first meaning of a word/expression. Most people say “I’m on cloud nine”, don’t say “I’m on cloud seven” even if dictionaries tell you it is okay. Remember that you’re not expected to be stylish or creative (not yet, anyway). Having to choose between mesmerizing, hypnotic, spellbinding and enthralling is a problem that belongs to the advanced level. We're not there yet. In short, distrust third, fourth and fifth meanings and, please, don’t try to learn twelve words for one concept. At this point, three is more than enough, specially if they express interesting semantic differences (e.g. peculiar, strange, bizarre).

And now some practical tips: avoid overusing simple structures like “she is…”.  It's okay to say "she's great" but you should also be able to handle alternative phrases such as “she makes me think of…”, “she represents…”, “she seems…”. At any rate, use expressions that you like to voice opinions that are true. For example, the very thought of this man becoming president makes my stomach turn. I’m sorry but he’s just repulsive. The first sentence is a combination of two structures we saw in the classroom. The second one is a simple enough phrase with a powerful adjective. Two options: one more complicated than the other. Both belong to the upper-intermediate level.

One final note for all the potential wordsmiths out there. The expression “I’m in seventh heaven”, which came up in class the other day, comes from Jewish and Muslim theology. Indeed. According to these religions there are seven levels of heaven, the seventh being the abode of god and the angels. Apparently that’s the place to be when you’re dead, although I can’t help wondering if they have a good cinema up there. Eternal life without movies will be a tad boring. Don’t you think?

Alright. Here's something for you to smile for a while: the five-year-old who has slammed the British Prime Minister for not implementing efficient policies regarding the homeless people. Her name is Brooke Blair. I dread to think what this little girl will be like when she's 25.

My dear students. I’m back. It looks like this year I’m going to center my efforts on the so-called “avanzado” level. Let me make something clear. As I have already said in the classroom that label (“avanzado”) is a bit of a misnomer. Our courses are by no means advanced. “Avanzado 1” is defined by the B1 + level and “Avanzado 2” takes you to B2 ar. If you don’t believe me just check out the names of the textbooks (they say upper intermediate, don't they?). We got that out of the way. Good.

So… welcome everybody. If everything goes according to plan we will all walk together through the English desert and hopefully reach the B2 oasis in about eight months. Here is an extended thank-you note (in the form of a magazine) for my former students, some of whom may actually decide to visit this blog. For the new ones that text may well be a reading exercise. It is full of interesting vocabulary. Enjoy.

One last thing. Some of you know my personal approach to the learning process. Those of you that don’t know me much may want to read this article which basically explains my view of the foreign language problem in our country and this one, where I simply touch on the symbiotic relationship between language and culture.