Hi everyone. I thought I'd type a few lines to basically wish you all a Merry Christmas.
I also think that this season is an opportunity for you to get (re)acquainted with some archaic expressions that only seem to pop up in poems and traditional songs. I'm talking about the pronoun ye (=you), the possessive thy (=your), the adverb yon (=around / over there), obsolete meanings in words such as gay (=happy) and terms like Yuletide (=Christmas) that you may not hear often. Check out those meaning so you don't freak out the next time you hear O Come All Ye Faithful or listen to that other classic carol:
Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Make the yuletide gay
I happen to like Michael Bublé, but I'm definitely not a fan of Ariana Grande. That said, boy can she sing! Her range is off-the-charts awesome and her technique is simply impeccable. Enjoy this short clip and remember that, in a few hours, Santa Claus is coming to town.
Chances are... if you are reading this post you're probably an English student trying to get to or stay in the advanced level. Understandably, you think the classroom material you covered years ago is somehow "beneath you". Stuff like relative sentences, prepositions and irregular plurals are "a thing of the past", which is why you probably prefer to center on truly advanced content: lexical accuracy (epaulet, flout, etc.), inversions (seldom would I dream of...), emphatic structures (an opinion he voiced in no uncertain terms) and that sort of thing. Fair enough. That's a healthy C1 obsession. And if you're inching towards the coveted C2 certificate you may even choose brood over he subtle semantic differences between terms such as masterful and masterly.
Okay. I'm painting something of a caricature. I know. Still, deep down, you know what I'm talking about here, right?
Let's just consider the following situation (which is, by the way, no caricature). Imagine you are reading the press and you stumble upon this:
Now, as the European Union regulators edge closer to approving two of those vaccines...
You stop reading, go online and look up the verb to edge. You immediately realize that its meaning is quite specific: "to move gradually". That is a word you need to incorporate right away (because you're a bit of a word nerd). Somehow, while you look for your vocabulary notebook on your cluttered desk, you vaguely remember a synonymous verb (to inch), which your teacher used in his blog (check out line 7 of this post). Anyway, you finally find the notebook and jot down the word "edge" and its meaning. Who knows? You might also take down a sentence that illustrates how to use the term in a real context. Some days later you decide to use the recently acquired word. So you say:
We're edging close to face a new economic crisis
The sentence does not conform to the grammar rules of the English language. After the adverb close you use the "-ing" form of a verb. Just reread the sentence above ("...edge closer to approving..."). What does this little thought experiment tell us? The answer is quite clear. You may learn an "advanced" word but fail to use it properly due to "intermediate" issues.
This is why I've decided to revisit B1 material and by that I mean prepositions, singular/plural forms, etc. Just this week I touched on the case of weird plurals. Yes. In my C1.2 class we read an article about the kind of life that papparazzi lead. I mentioned that the singular form of papparazzi is, of course, papparazzo. I went on to remind my students that the plural of nucleus is nuclei and the plural of kibutz is kibutzim. I added that this state of affairs makes many native speakers rather uncomfortable, which explains why some language users will write several ultimata but most people prefer the regular several ultimatums.
Of course it's not only Latin terms and loanwords that have unusual plural forms. Take the case of "secretary general". What is its plural form? It is "secretaries general". I know. It feels bizarre, but that's the way it is. Is it possible, then, to be learning sophisticated grammar and make basic mistakes? I'm afraid it is, but the solution to that is extremely simple. Read up on the subject!
If you are curious about the history of irregular plurals in English the video below is an entertaining condensed lesson that will put things into some kind of perspective. Have fun.
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N.B. Word to the wise: check your Educantabria mailbox you should soon receive an email informing you that there's a new quiz ready for you. If you are a C1.1 student the test will be about ways of describing "importance" without using the word "important". Students in the C1.2 and C2 courses will take a quiz about singular and plural forms. Don't panic if your score is not too high. Both quizzes are really challenging. I haven't designed them to boost your self-esteem but rather to teach you some necessary grammar/vocabulary.
This may sound like an obvious statement, but lately I have noticed a gaping divide between two kinds of students: those who still struggle to build sentences and those who simply say them. I know it seems simplistic, but just bear with me.
At the advanced level you're not really supposed to build sentences anymore. By that I mean that you don't make many choices in terms of word combinations. When you want to describe how you feel about a sensitive personal situation you may (understandably) take your time to find the right words. But as far as expressing yourself in most contexts you string sentences together without giving much thought to the grammar or the collocations that are needed. Allow me to repeat this: you do make decisions, of course, but not many.
Let's suppose that you're working on a project with a friend who feels frustrated because of a minor mishap. You may say: "Hey! Keep your chin up. It's not the end of the world". I know that those are two idioms, which means they are somewhat predictable. Few people want to speak in cliches. And that's commendable, but first things first. Before an English learner sets out to speak "originally" (whatever that means) they should master the "obvious" phrases. The beauty of this approach is that, when you finally resort to fixed phrases, you realize that you don't even stop to think of the potential options, that is to say, you don't have to choose between these sentences:
Keep your eyes up
Keep your hair up
Keep your chin up
You just know what you are supposed to keep up: your chin. This way a silly mistake is avoided. As for the second sentence, again, you don't really need to consider the following options:
the end of the universe
the end of the cosmos
the end of the galaxy
See what I mean? You just say "the end of the world" because it is the conventional expression. So, you don't have to hesitate and consider nonstandard/"incorrect" alternatives.
A speaker that is "sort of familiar" with the idea (in the phrase "the end of the world") might ponder the merits of such phrases as "the finish for the world", "the world's ending", "the termination of the galaxy", etc. which needless to say, do not conform to the convention. For all I know, they may be translating from their mother tongues. Unfortunately, that happens to be irrelevant. It just doesn't work in English, which means it's a no-no in an advanced class. Anyway, my point is that all those moments of hesitation vanish into thin air when you know the sequence and say it.
So that's what I mean when I say that "some students just know what to say". They've heard an expression before and simply use it when they identify the function that it serves. Yes. That's the way to go about it, I'm afraid. Less grammar and more "usage awareness".
I can anticipate your reaction: "But I want to be myself. I don't want to speak in stock phrases" (because you avoid cliches like the plague). Well, I've got news for you: you already speak in stock phrases in your mother tongue. Yes, you do. Unless you're a creative speaker, the kind of language user that can come up with dazzling never-before-used similes, the talker that coins neologisms and creates new turns of phrase, you are using expressions that somebody else has created and millions have used. Even great writers are compelled to resort to conventions (even if they often go beyond them). Otherwise nobody would understand their texts. So, however idiosyncratic your English may be, it is, it cannot be not totally original. And that's not sad. That's what a language is: a complex set of conventions. Certain combinations do feel refreshing even if their "components" are not new. Millions of speakers use time-honored expressions to good effect. Some sound predictable and boring while others shine.
I remember Amazon.com used to offer an interesting piece of information about most books: the so-called SIPs (Statistically Improbable Phrases). I haven't seen that feature for a while, but I recall sitting and reading them before buying a book. What are SIPs? Simply put, they are unusual combinations that can give an on-line shopper a taste of what makes a book quirky or different. Think about it. If I told you about a book that contains the phrase turophobic chucklehead, would you be curious or put off by it? I haven't checked (I just put those two words together), but I can imagine not many books in the world contain sentences which include that peculiar "word sequence". So, how many unusual combinations can you come up with? Do you still be want to be original or are you ready to settle for something... less demanding? The good new is... you don't have to be that creative to be an advanced speaker and, of course, you have time to become a writer. Just don't get ahead of yourself.
In short, be humble. Find competent speakers and imitate what they say. Do not try to improve on those expressions. Not yet, anyway.
I know most of you are logophiles in one way or another. That's why your eyes light up whenever I write terms like regolith on the blackboard. Okay. You're probably aware that every language is a repository of memories, beautiful metaphors and wondrous concepts. Memories? Concept? Metaphors? Yes. If you don't believe me simply think of these three etymologies:
The origin of the English word enthusiasm is the Greek term enthousiázein, whose exact meaning was possessed by a god. Yes. In English, if you are enthused you are in touch with the divine.
In Spanish the word anhelar (obviously related to the English verbs exhale or inhale) means to have trouble breathing. Therefore its current meaning (to long for something) is suggestive of a situation in which a strong desire will barely let a person breathe.
Last but not least, consider the term consider. There is no consensus on its actual etymology but a tantalizing hypothesis interprets the original term (considerare) as a combination of cum (i.e. with) and sidus (i.e. star), which leads us to contemplate the notion that to consider an idea consists basically in examining it "while looking up at the stars".
Isn't all this fascinating? Indeed, it is... Words can have that power, which is why many advanced students relish the acquisition of new vocabulary. They collect words as though they were precious gems. That said, their grammar sometimes leaves much to be desired. This is the reason why I would like you say a thing or two about the lowly prepositions.
I know. Prepositions are not sexy. Some may say: "Who cares if we're supposed to say FOR or TO? Listeners will get the message". Right? Well, maybe not. I could argue that, sometimes prepositions make all the difference. Just check out the comic strip below:
Likewise, arriving ON time is not the same as arriving IN time. I know. I know. The context can often dispel any misunderstanding. However, I don't think I need to remind you that no self-respecting advanced learner should ever rely on the context alone. It just goes against the grain, doesn't it? Occasionally a confusing use of a preposition can make your interlocutor stop listening to you (so they can figure out what you meant) and if those arguments mean little to you just remember that, as a teacher I can tell you it's always kind of disappointing to hear a student bandy about fancy words like obstreperous, sialoquent, nudiustertian or mercurial in sentences that fail to include the right prepositions. So remember that you should learn prepositions in several positions:
After a noun: Human beings have an instinctive sense FOR cause and effect
Before a noun: I grew up ON a farm. He's stuck IN a rut.
After an adjective: eligible FOR, indifferent TO, hopeless AT, absent FROM
After a verb: to comply WITH the rules, to marry INTO money,
Within an idiom: lay claim TO, you hold me TO a high standard, a pie IN the sky, look ON the bright side of life, you lay the groundwork FOR...
Every now and then you may have options: Thanks for coming AT/ON such short notice, different TO/FROM, etc. but, more often than not there is an appropriate preposition for every sentence. So, remember: it's perfectly okay to learn big words, but please make sure that you have a handle ONyour prepositions. Don't put them ON the back burner.
As some of you may already know, in a past life I lived in a few countries and learned a few languages. One of the greatest benefits of that patchwork of experiences has to do with the mind-blowing variety of concepts for which I could not find one-word translations. The lexical area of feelings is particularly complicated. Different cultures, it seems, categorize romance (for instance) in so many different ways that it becomes tempting to even question whether different societies experience the same feelings. The author of this academic article published in 2015 claims to have an answer to that question:
Love is a universal
emotion experienced by a majority of people, in various historical eras, and in all the
world’s cultures, but manifests itself in different ways because culture has an impact
on people’s conceptions of love and the way they feel, think, and behave in romantic
relationships.
In my experience, languages offer a glimpse into those subtle differences. In German, for example, there are two ways of declaring your love for someone: Ich liebe dich and Ich habe dich lieb. Considering the striking similarities in those two expressions, it comes as no surprise that both should be customarily translated as I love you. Yet, any native German speaker will tell you that there is a significant difference in those two kinds of love. Analogous problems arise whenever a learner delves into the intricacies of lexical taxonomy regarding other semantic areas. Whether we like it or not, languages simply classify reality in similar but not quite identical ways.
I have chosen to discuss the topic of love because it is the vocabulary area that my C1.1 students are learning. Remember? It's part of the second unit ("Relationships"). So far as I can remember, we looked into all kinds of interesting words: hero-worship, crush, mutual love, etc. By the way, could you answer the questions below without using a dictionary?
What adjective describes one-sided love?
Can you accurately explain the difference between love and infatuation?
Infatuation is superficial and short-lived. Real love is not.
A fling is a casual kind of love. An affair usually involves some form of betrayal. Liaison, on the other hand, is always illicit.
Both refer to a former lover, but while ex is a neutral word, old flame retains a certain romantic ring to it. In other words, an old flame may be an ex for whom one still has feelings.
Those of you that don't find this post sickeningly sweet should probably watch this wonderful video,which presents some thought-provoking love-related words from around the globe. I believe some comments are a tad exaggerated. Other have been simplified. If you ask a Portuguese speaker to explain what saudade means they might probably come up with a simpler description than the one presented in the clip. Conversely, the Japanese expression wabi-sabidefines (as far as I can tell) a profound, philosophical concept that goes far beyond the mere idea of romantic love. Anyhow, I do like the video and I think you should watch it if only because it can greatly stimulate your endless love of words.
"Is this correct?" That's quite a common question among students who (understandably) tend to feel the urge to know if a particular phrase is acceptable or not. The thing is... the labels "correct" and "incorrect" are not exactly technical terms.
Most languages are made up of a variety of dialects, which -needless to say- have their own rules. Therefore what is standard in a dialect may be alien (i.e. incorrect) in another. This is true across the board.
Take the case of the personal pronouns. How do you translate I saw him into Spanish? A native speaker from Bogotá may well translate it as "lo vi". However somebody from Bilbao might render it as "le he visto". We have not one, but TWO differences in a very short phrase. The verb tenses are different and so are the pronouns. The pronouns. Should we say "le" or "lo"? Well, it depends. Let's consider another difference. "¿Dónde está Javier?" asks somebody. "Lo tengo aquí" replies a Bilbao speaker. A speaker from Santander (just 70 miles away from Bilbao) will say "le tengo aquí". Again, which one is correct?
The Cantabrian use of "le" does not conform to the usage of standard European Spanish. That is what we call "wrong". That said, a Colombian professor may argue that "le he visto" is wrong. There are actually very good reasons to support that claim. So... it's complicated.
In English we find a similar state of affairs. Something which is "acceptable" in certain circumstances may be a mistake in a different situation and that affects to pronunciation, vocabulary and, of course, grammar.
Read these phrases:
I am going to do it
I'm gonna do it
I'ma do it
The first and the second phrases are pretty normal. Uttering one or the other depends entirely on how fast the speaker is talking. The third one, though, is way too slangy. You may hear it in hip-hop songs and some films but it sounds careless. It clearly does not comply with the rules of the standard dialects (i.e. the prestigious varieties) and should, therefore, be avoided by learners.
Grammar rules also challenge the narrow interpretation of what is "correct", which is why an intermediate student may feel befuddled when facing seemingly contradictory structures. Consider these options:
She suggests (that) he should go over
She suggests (that) he go over
She suggests (that) he goes over
All three are correct. What about these two?
It is essential that he is on time
It is essential that he be on time
Again, both are correct. Using one or the other depends on style or personal choice. I know it appears to be a grey area. In a way, it is, because things are not black or white.
Alright. This does NOT mean that anything can be okay. Some productions (e.g. they has doing it) are unequivocally wrong. However, it is not always easy to spot incorrect productions. Grammar books, for instance, don't usually consider literary devices. Something written by a top-tier poet may be deemed incorrect by an old school grammar book. For a learner the wisest approach consists in paying heed to prestigious dictionaries, well-established writers and competent speakers. What is wrong now may well become the norm in just two decades. Take my word for it.
Eons ago, when I started learning English, the sentence "I can't believe what I'm hearing" was considered incorrect. Today it's not uncommon, even amongst prestigious speakers. It goes without saying, any by-the-book, stuffy teacher will tell you that it is "incorrect". The fact remains, it is ubiquitous. You come across it on talk shows, serious films, news, you name it. In short, its use is pervasive enough to be considered "acceptable". So there you go. Something which was non-standard just a while ago is now normal.
With this in mind, I have edited a video which gives you several examples of phrases that look "obviously wrong" but happen to be okay. Most of it is stuff that can be found in the best dictionaries. Yet, many of you would probably wince at them. I'm talking about subjectless phrases, unconjugated verbs... that kind of "wrong". For kicks, I have included two phrases that you should NOT use. One demands that your English be virtually second nature to you (in which case you could theoretically pull if off). The other is plain inappropriate for a foreign speaker, that is to say, incorrect by all conventional standards. I hope you enjoy the clip:
A couple of friendly reminders.
There will be no classes on 17 November.
C1.1 students: your essay on on-line shopping is due next Tuesday (24 Nov).
C1.2 students: the deadline for your essay on gender equality is Tuesday (24 Nov).
C2 students. I have received five digital packs for those students who bought the simple edition of Keynote Proficiency. You should get them on Wednesday. By the way, I would like you to write a 300-word essay on the subject of creativity. Is it prerogative of artists or can we all develop some form of creativity? How are "creative people" different? Deadline: 30 Nov.
Today I would like to tackle one of those vocabulary areas that I find truly fascinating: the worldview inherent in a language.
Last week, in my C1.1 class, I briefly discussed the controversial case of linguistic relativity: the notion that a person's mother tongue basically shapes their worldview and thought processes. While there are several schools of thought on the subject, there is nothing in the neighborhood of academic consensus. My personal take on the whole issue lies somewhere in the middle. In my experience skeptics of the hypothesis (those who dismiss the idea out of hand) tend to be people that may speak several languages but don't think in those languages. I am fortunate enough to be able to think in two languages and I can tell you that thinking in a language does have an impact on your thoughts. The differences are not stark, but I do feel them. The problem is I can't quite specify to what extent languages affect me. I'm not a cognitive scientist, nor am I a language researcher. Yet, I don't quite feel the same when I speak English, when I think in English. The reason I mention this has to do with the very beginning of this process, which really should be part of your learning experience.
By the way, if you are curious as to what linguistic relativity is about, feel free to watch this three-minute clip, which offers a pretty good summary of the topic.
As I said, I only mention this "problem" because the hypothesis of linguistic determinism lies at the core of the transition to the advanced level of a language. Long before a student is capable of complex thought processes in a second language, they must master the conventions that make up that language.
It often starts with simple vocabulary differences, but as you hack your way through the L2 jungle you realize that not everything is easily translatable. Certain concepts and nuances are invariably "lost in translation" and a student feels frustrated when they can't quite say things in English the way they feel them in their mother tongue. Consider this example. Do the words farce, mess and joke accurately translate the meaning of cachondeo in Spanish?
Nevertheless, not every problem can be put down to translatability. Whether we like it or not, the culture-language spectrum in Anthropology (let's call it "spectrum") is not unlike the spacetime continuum in Physics. Yes. We can discuss one or the other, but ultimately they're so intricately interlaced that isolated discussions may not always make much sense. So... is it possible to learn a language without knowing the culture that made it possible? I fear it's not.
My contention is that history, religion, poetry and even science permeate the vocabulary and imagery of a language. Let's think of history for a while.
The Spanish phrase quemar las naves harkens back to none other than Alexander the Great (even if it was later reused by Hernán Cortés). The expression a buenas horas mangas verdes (meaning too little too late) refers to the Santa Hermandad (los mangas verdes), a police force established in the kingdom of Castile in the 15th century whose response time sometimes left much to be desired. As you see, history still has an effect on the expressions we use in the 21st century.
How about religion? Spanish uses the word ojalá, which means something to the effect of if only god wished. Adieu (i.e. to god) is the French term for goodbye, which in turn is a shortened form of god be with you. Even the days of the week are laden with religious references. Thursday is an obvious reference to Thor, a Scandinavian deity, just like the French word mercredi (Wednesday) is a reference to another god: Mercury. So there you go: religion is part of the vocabulary. Can we really avoid those (etymological) references. I'm afraid we can't: there are no synonyms for the days of the week.
That said, there is a deeper level of sophistication: understanding metaphors. The Spanish words pesar and pesadumbre, whose meaning is "grief" or "sorrow", refer to the idea of physical weight (peso). The underlying metaphor is that a person walks around as if carrying a heavy weight. Come to think of it, in English we say someone looks as though they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Similar references are ingrained in every language. In most European languages up is good. Down is bad. Just like North has a positive ring to it whereas South is usually negative. That's why heaven is supposed to be somewhere up in the sky and hell is some place underground. When we say you are my north it means something like "you are quite a reference to me", but when something goes south it is a disaster.
I would argue that other elements worth contemplating are just as important as vocabulary and may even affect a speaker's choices in terms of syntactical structures. Using the passive voice, for example, allows you to remain neutral. Languages in which personal subjects prevail or those whose grammar does not include a passive voice may not make it easy for a learner to deal with a subject without "getting personal", not an optimal approach in a business situation.
These simple notions are part of every language. So we don't even think about them, do we?
When a student transitions from the intermediate plateau to the advanced level, they should forgo not only vocabulary but also the tendencies dictated by their mother tongue so they can embrace the conventions of the English-speaking world. I believe you may keep a certain amount of your "color", but of course, but just go easy on it. A speaker of a language such as Spanish or Russian, which are often deemed to be more "direct" than English, will easily say something along the lines of you have to be careful when an English speaker would go for something more tentative, something like: you should probably be careful, you ought to be cautious, etc. The same is true when we voice an opinion. Consider all these common English phrases:
He strikes me as weird
He seems to be / he appears to be weird
As far as one can tell, he's a weird man
She usually comes off as weird
He comes across as weird
I'm under the impression that he's (sort of) weird
They are a far cry from in my opinion he is... right? At the C2 level you may want to resort to "wordier" turns of phrase even if you use the verb to be:
While that may be the case, he can also be...
I have a sneaking suspicion that she is...
I feel it in my bones. She is...
I'm of the opinion that he is...
Strange as it may seem, he is...
Should you feel the urge to steer clear of the verb to be (and I think you should) you may choose to describe someone like this:
He had none of the hallmarks that make it relatively easy for a layperson to spot a narcissist -the grandiosity, the need to be the center of attention, the haughty or overbearing remarks and competitiveness...
Do you see what this language user did? At no point does she say "he is".
Okay. Many of you will argue that all the expressions above have simple translations into your respective mother tongues and I will counter that the frequency with which a competent speaker in your L1 uses those equivalent phrases is extremely relevant. A speaker that overwhelmingly favors expressions as basic as I think he is great may sound simple-minded, unsophisticated or plain ignorant to speakers of a language which promotes a more tentative approach. It's inevitable. That's why you should not forget that frequency (e.g. he's sometimes brash) and tendency (e.g. he's prone to losing his temper) can be critical factors.
Remember: you want to become advanced English speakers (I gather that's why you come to class). Incorporating all those "fancy phrases" and understanding the value of nuance, be it tentativeness or uncertainty, simply come with the territory.
Due to one of those quirks of fate I have found myself teaching two very similar units in two different courses in the very same week. How about that? The first unit of the C2 textbook, Keynote Proficiency, is devoted to the subject of creativity. Unit 11 from Outcomes (the book I'm using in my C1.2 classes) has a section about wordplay. Needless to say, both topics are connected.
Alright. Allow me to say something right out the gate. For language learners creativity is a bit of a double-edged sword. An eager student may be tempted to dabble in wordplay, to try and be literary in their essays. I'm all for creativity. I believe it's actually a state of mind and one you can't just get out of. That said, being creative with language is the domain of writers, poets and wits. Not exactly your average joes, if you know what I mean. So it should come as no surprise that, as a teacher, I don't encourage linguistic creativity amongst my students. Asking a student to get creative is not unlike encouraging a pupil to walk on a tight rope when they are not exactly steady on the ground. I hope you do not misrepresent this statement.
By and large, learners don't know when they may flaunt the grammar rules. When it's okay to use a word instead of another. Allow me to sum it up by paraphrasing Liam Neeson in Taken: creativity requires "a particular set of skills"; mostly because language creativity is fraught with potential pitfalls. For instance, you may want to write a spy novel and use the word spook to refer to a secret agent (because you're an advanced learner and you know that spook is a term for undercover agent). Unfortunately spook is also an old racist term (which you might not find in many current dictionaries today). So, should a hypothetical advanced student use that word to refer to a black spy... they may wind up have the wrong kind of impact on the reader. I know that this is a rather contrived example, but I suppose you get my meaning.
On a more technical note, I can discourage you by simply reminding you that all levels, from A1 to C2, are about the conventions in the language. So, developing a personal idiosyncratic style takes long years (and you still use conventions) but shaping a creative voice is clearly off-limits for most students Having said all that, I am all for creativity in every conceivable way. Just watch this little video. You'll understand what I mean.
This is creativity in all its glory, isn't it? You can be creative in a restaurant, in an office. Even in politics! In Germany the coalition of three political parties (the CDU/CSU, the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party) brought about the expression Jamaican Coalition, just because the colors of those three parties are the very same colors you see in the Jamaican flag. That same coalition has been called Schwampel, a neologism that blends together the word Schwarz (black) and Ampel (traffic lights) because that political alliance shows the same colors of that hypothetical traffic lights: black, yellow and green. Something similar happens in the U.S., where states are sometimes called purple states (because they are red and blue at the same time). Isn't that creative?
The way I see it, creativity usually consists in challenging expectations. A quote by American comedian Roger Dangerfield (1921-2004) is a perfect example of just that. In twelve words Dangerfield managed to set up an expectation and then surprise you. He once said: "My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met". They key to that joke lies in the little twist, which defies what is expected. You may argue that such a one liner depends on wit not on creativity, but I would counter that being witty involves a form of creativity.
Again, students are not supposed to get off the beaten track. They're expected to beat the darned track. A way of being moderately creative can occur when a speaker plays around with a well established idiom. Check out this exchange:
-You know what they say: "When in Rome do as Romans do"
-Maybe you've been in Rome for too long.
Witty, right? Okay. In practical terms, you may want to learn some vocabulary. So here goes. Idioms that describe a person's originality and celebrate creative thinking do abound in English. Just check out this short sample:
They are common because the media keep discussing scientists that break new ground. Artists and business people that push the boundaries. I would argue there is an obsession with pioneers, rebels and unconventional types, which -come to think of it- is only logical. What else do we learn at school? Were Picasso and Van Gogh traditional painters? Was Albert Einstein a conventional man?
As far as your learning process goes, I don't think you should try and write poetry. Not yet, anyway, but you should try your best to go off the script, take chances, go out on a limb and attempt to do something new. That's how you learn, isn't it? By trying new things. In terms of wordplay... Maybe you can try punning, for instance. Punning tends to be harmless. Or if you want to go the distance try palindromes. They're so much fun. You may not be surprised to learn that I'm a closet palindromist, which is why I'm so happy about this recent documentary:
Picasso is said to have stated that every child is creative and that the secret to becoming an artist consists in "staying creative" into adulthood. Why are children so creative? Because, out of ignorance or sheer indifference, they disregard conventions. Think about it. Children are not conventional. We teach them to follow the rules (i.e. the conventions). So that's the secret, right there. You want to be creative? Dare to be childlike!
Hello. I'm back. We are back. We made it through the quarantine, the weird summer, the exam season... We can even pretend we're back to "normal" (whatever that means). Anyhow, this school year I'm going to be teaching advanced courses (C1.1, C1.2 and C2). So, my greatest concern at this point is connected to your understanding of what the advanced level is about. Most of you already know what I'm about to say. Some of you, though, may still be in the dark in terms of the specific features of the level you're supposed to attain. In order for you not to row in the wrong direction I think I should just hint at some of the defining characteristics of the C level.
If I had to boil the whole level down to just one word, I would say "range". You are an advanced speaker when you record yourself speaking and every time you start over (because you're a bit of a perfectionist and repeat your speech several times) you don't use quite the same words. You produce different sentences. That's range. You can say things in many different ways. Why?
Because you feel you ought to adapt to certain circumstances
Because your interlocutor didn't understand you the first time around
Because you want to strike a particular note
Because you want to keep the conversation within certain boundaries (academic, impersonal, friendly, etc.).
That's a taste of what lies ahead... and, in order for you to better become acquainted with the concept of a well spoken person, I've decided to post an excerpt of an interview with famed theoretical physicist Richard Feynman (Nobel Prize 1965), whom I admire for many reasons, the first of which is not related to his scientific breakthroughs. Listen to him talk. In the clip below you might just identify some of the multiple factors that render a speech "advanced" or "sophisticated":
First and foremost, the topic he discusses is "cognitively demanding". By that we should not understand "abstruse" or "too technical" but rather "complex in nature". He presents the scientific approach to knowledge by means of an inspired analogy and he doubtlessly brings the point home. The man was a brilliant conversationalist. So, what's advanced about his explanation? Okay, let's take a look:
Formal word choices: analogous instead of similar
Colloquial phrases: some little gimmick
Subject specific vocabulary: bishop, castling, pawn
An inversion: only later do you discover
A complex relative clause: we have to investigate the conditions under which this bishop's...
When you pack all of that into a seamless explanation with the right flow and the right pronunciation you are in the C2 heaven. Notice that MOST of what he says is not off-scale awesome language. It's actually pretty simple English, but it's the little things that combine to produce a marvelous description. One last thing. Check out these sentences:
Unlike the chess game, though... In the case of the chess game the rules get more complicated as you go along, but in the Physics, when you discover new things...
See what he does? He begins a sentence, breaks off and immediately starts all over. In this case his mind was probably too fast. So, he chose to discard a false start, reorganize the elements and begin again. That, my dear students, is also an advanced skill. You may stammer. You may hesitate (while in search of the right term). You may rearrange a sentence or two... It doesn't really matter. You can still be an amazingly articulate speaker.
Every once in a while I have to inform you about the practicalities of your life as a student. So here goes: practical information.
GRADES
On June 5, at exactly 14:00, the grades will be officially published. In order to be able to check them you should go to our websiteand just follow the instructions that will allow you to pass this screen.
REGISTRATION FOR 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR
After checking your grades, you may want to attend classes in October. If that is your plan make sure you register for the next school year. Your place is not compromised, but you still need to register.
EXAMS
Once your grades have been published, you can choose to take the certification exam (nivel C1). There are two potential scenarios here:
If your are a C1.2 student you don't have to pay for the examination fees. The deadline for registration is June 17. Remember that the exam will be held in September.
If you are a C1.1 student but would like to try your luck and take the official C1 exam you can also do it. The difference is: you have to pay and you there is a different schedule for registration. Unfortunately the dates are not available as yet. It will be, obviously, after June 17. I'll keep you posted.
As for the "examen de promoción", it will also be held in September. Remember: even if you have failed to be promoted (on account of a negative progress report) you can still make it to the next level (C1.2 or C2). You don't need to register for the "promotion exam". Just show up on the right date and take the part of the exam that you haven't passed now. Example: if you only failed the listening comprehension exercises that's the skill you will have to redo in September.
At any rate no exam calendar has been published yet, which is only logical. Our school will only be able to welcome half the usual number of students at a time. Therefore ensuring that the health, physical and safety needs are met is going to be rather complicated. To make matters worse the official rules and recommendations may change over the summer. So stay tuned.
The lockdown came into force 71 days ago, but I feel that today we enter a new phase, so I'm going to drop the word lockdown.
How are you all? I hope you're at least healthy. These days that's saying a lot. I'm still writing out reports (which some of you should have already received). Anyway, I thought you could just take a look at this photograph I took after a class months ago. If you understand all those words (which, of course, came up in class) congratulations. If you actually use them when you speak English, then my hat is off to you: you're now ready to attend a C2 course.
Hi again. I keep working on your final grades and your reports, which doesn't mean I cannot answer questions or solve problems. Some of you are clearly going over the grammar we have seen in class and require my technical assistance. I am willing to oblige. So here you have a brief clip in which I discuss a grammar point we didn't quite tackle at the time because I thought it was not "advanced" material. Anyway, here are my comments.
Today I'd like to share with you an item of news that is already two days old (so by our pressing current standards it's Ancient History). Still, I think it's worth a read. Cambridge University, one of the leading institutions in the academic world, has announced that all lectures will be on-line in the next school year. Some of you may regard that decision as a bit of an overreaction, but I beg to differ.
In fact, I think we ought to pay close attention to what Cambridge and Oxford do, not only because they have set major trends in the past, but simply because a veritable paradigm shift has become overwhelmingly clear in these past two months. The transition to remote learning is no flash in the pan. Therefore we might as well get ready to make the most of it. For better or worse we are going to have to expand the use of digital resources, just like two decades ago teachers had to accept that they would have to learn to use a computer. On a more practical note, I believe we should all start to come to terms with the fact that our classes in October might have to be partially on-line. At this point it is unclear how the beginning of the new academic year will be like. There's a good chance that nothing will go back to normal for quite some time.
At the EOI we are going to spend a big part of the summer setting up on-line classrooms so, come October, we can be ready to face the inevitable challenge. Believe it or not, I have already started to edit materials for the next course. Anyway, I'm happy to see that most of you have managed to navigate the complexities of the digital world. You have been able to put together narrated PowerPoints. You have sent them over via WeTransfer or put them up on OneDrive. If anything, this pandemic has forced quite a few technophobes to shape up in terms of becoming acquainted with the basics of remote learning (in my case remote teaching). The clip below, published by Cambridge University less than a month ago, describes this befuddling state of affairs. If you watch it you will surely learn some interesting way of putting into words those feelings of frustration that you must have experienced over the past few weeks.
What's up, everyone? As promised, I am going to inform you about the practical side of the imminent end of our course, which is not going to be nothing like the educational apocalypse that some of you may have envisaged. So let's jump right into it!
CERTIFICATION EXAM
You can all still register to take the exam in September (should you feel like doing so). The deadline for registration for the official exam was March 22. The state of alarm came into force on March 16. So, of course, it became impossible for many of you to register, but as far as office formalities go everything was put on hold, as though Dr. Strange himself had frozen time. In short, every student who wishes to take the certification exam will be able to register. The dates cannot be published yet on account of the lack of official legislation regarding this specific procedure. I've been told that the lawmakers at the Board of Education are putting the finishing touches on the regulations, which should be published pretty soon. So stay alert.
PROMOTION
Over the next few days you will receive an email in which I will let you know whether you pass to the next course or you get held back. As simple as that. The actual grades will be published on our website on June 5 at 14:00.
If you should not get promoted you can always cancel registration. No strings attached. The present school year 2020-2021 will not count in terms of the number of school years ("convocatorias") you are allowed to be an official student before you access the next level. Remember that one level consists of two courses. The C1 level, for instance, consists of courses C1.1 and C1.2. If you take three years to pass the C1.1 exam you'll only have one to clear the C1.2. So, even if you fail to get promoted this time around, you will have not "used up" one of the four "convocatorias". As this has been such an exceptionally weird year, it's only fair that these last eight months should not be considered as one of those four chances everyone gets.
PROMOTION EXAM
Those of you who do get promoted to the next course won't have to sit the promotion exam. The promotion exam is actually for the students that have not canceled their registration at the school and still want to take a shot at getting into the next course, be it C1.2 or C2.
WHAT AM I GOING TO DO IN JUNE?
Since no official exams are going to be held during the month of June, we teachers won't be giving tests, proctoring students or grading exams, which does not mean that we plan to slob around the house. I'm afraid we are going to be quite busy. Apart from getting the promotion exams ready for September and attending several on-line courses on both remote learning and exam standardization, we have been required to be available to our students. So I will devote a number of hours to assisting you in several ways. I will clarify doubts, offer advice, etc.
Our calendar will be duly published on the school's website so that you know when I will be available for questions, emails, etc. Personal circumstances still make it quite difficult for me to host videoconferences, but I might and take a stab at it. The most interesting I'm going to be doing has to do with the reports I'm compiling for all of you. In the classroom it is impossible for any teacher to cater to every single learning style. I am aware that every student had their own needs. I sometimes talk to some of you individually about your specific strengths and weaknesses, but I don't believe I have gone into detail about the state of your English and the way you can go about improving your command of the language. So be ready to get some tailored reports and comments, which will include specific advice. That is a time-consuming activity. So be patient.
Rest assured that I will keep posting on this blog. Maybe not every day, but frequently. Anyway, remember that, as far as grades go, as of today... the die is cast, which leads us to my next two paragraphs.
TODAY'S MESSAGE
Even though the course finishes on May 28, today is for me the last "class day". I want to thank you all for keeping in touch and showing interest and determination in the face of adversity. On May 15, I uploaded a video, which was a summary of the C1.1 course. Unfortunately, I accidentally listed it as "private", which made it impossible for you to view from this blog. One of you was kind enough to tip me off about the glitch. I just wanted to tell you that the problem was fixed so you can watch it (just click on the blue phrase). I think it may also be interesting to some students in the C1.2 courses. And for those of you who, at some point during this crisis, have asked yourselves "What's going on?", I have decided to share with you this inspired rendition of the Marvin Gaye classic. Strictly speaking it's not educational and it has little to do with our syllabus... but, boy is it uplifting! I believe we can use a bit of feel-good music. Enjoy.
N.B. The "Boy, is it uplifting!" is C2 material. I just realized...
My dear students. The end of our course is only ten days away. You have been kind enough to send me the exercises for the progress report. So there is not much I can teach you at this point. I plan to devote most of the remaining days to rather laborious clerical duties. Also I'm still recording audio commentaries on your presentations. So be patient. You'll get yours. Since there are no new contents to be taught, I will use this blog to make sure you are duly informed of the novelties regarding not only your promotion but also the certification exams. I will keep posting. Don't worry about it. On a more practical, tomorrow a staff meeting is going to be held. All teachers at EOI Laredo will join a videoconference to discuss this unusual state of affairs and the impending end of the course. So expect a digest on Wednesday.
I hope you can afford to take seven minutes of your day and watch the video below. If you are a C1.1 student this clip can help you get an idea as to what the next course is going to be about. If you are part of a C1.2 class it will help you remember some of those strategies that can make you sound "natural" which, let's face it, is the holy grail of the C1 level.
My dear C1.1 students. This post is for you, but if you you are in my C1.2 class you are welcome too.
The course is almost over. Pretty soon we're going to have to wrap this up. So I thought it would be nice to hit the pause button, look back on the past few months and give you a recap on the most important areas we have tackled in class. I will edit a similar video for my loyal C1.2 audience. Enjoy (or not).
Hi, everyone. How are you all doing? I'm quite busy, grading exercises and writing out reports. However, I have somehow found the time to edit a little video which deals with one of those grammar areas that, even if it belongs to the C2 level, should be introduced in the C1 classes. I'm talking about the subjunctive mood. It is not a typo. The subjunctive mood. Strictly speaking, it is meant to be mastered at the C2 level. Nevertheless, you cannot discover, use and master something at once, which is why the subjunctive was included in the curriculum for the C1.2 course. By doing this, I try to first present this verb form so we can practice it before you finally master it.
Even though we are only supposed to learn a few fixed expressions (e.g. God save the Queen) I thought some of you might benefit from a more intense exposure to this peculiar (some would say "obscure") matter. Those of you who are in my C1.1 class but feel curious about the subjunctive can sneak a peek before you are officially required to deal with it. Enjoy.
This post is going to be about the mediation exercise that I need for the progress report. I'm sorry. It just needs to be done. I don't make the rules. The deadline, by the way, is May 17. Given that we already did written mediation exercises in February, it is only logical that we should now try our hand at oral mediation. Therefore I would like you to record watch a video clip and record an audio file which should be between one and two minutes long. I know you'll need several takes to actually nail it (that's my hope). So, be ready to take your time, rehearse and use your best enunciation skills to make a good impression.
C1.2 STUDENTS
The fourth unit of our textbook, Outcomes, deals with politics (check out page 32). The mediation activity will consist in summarizing the contents of this video clip about Chinese immigration to the United States of America.
C1.1 STUDENTS
Your job is slightly easier. The fourth unit of our textbook, Close-Up, tackles the world of show business, specifically theater and movies. Therefore I thought it would be perfect for you to watch a brief analysis of a famed movie and record your own summary of a critic's take on a famed film, in this case La La Land (2016), for that nonexistent classmate that missed "the class".
ABOUT YOUR END-OF-COURSE GRADES
From most of you I already have enough grades to evaluate your oral skills. Still, 20% of the final grade will depend on the document that you send me now. I'm happy to report that three of you have already sent me their narrated presentations. Really good stuff, by the way. As for the rest of you, you still have time to put together a little PowerPoint or record a speech on your favorite subject. If you can... The grades will be published on June 5 (https://www.eoilaredo.org/examenes.html).
N.B. Get ready for a fascinating clip. Yes. Tomorrow I will get back to hardcore grammar and discuss one of those areas that belong to the C1 curriculum, mostly because you should be vaguely familiar with it before you face it in the C2 level: the subjunctive mood.
Hi everyone! Today's message is quite simple: fight your own tunnel vision. Allow me to elaborate on that. All too often, when you're doing a fill-in-the-blank exercise you focus so hard on the gaps that you overlook the stuff around them. Don't get me wrong. Paying attention to the blanks IS your job. That said, once the exercise has been done, you should devote some time to looking at those expressions, words or turns of phrase that you find interesting or simply "usable". That's when you incorporate new input and you really learn. Also, this particular text shows how one can be formal (scrutinize) and informal (eyeball) at the same time. Anyway, watch the video and then consider how many of the words I use you are likely to "steal".
_____________________ N.B. By the way, the phrase "lest I forget" means "otherwise I might forget".
My dear students. Yesterday was a day without a post. I honestly had every intention of uploading a video on verb tenses. Unfortunately circumstances beyond my control made it impossible for me to sit down to edit the presentation. So here you have a "mini-class" in which I discuss a rather basic concept that should help you jazz up your writing skills, specifically your ability to structure information. I do hope it is useful.
There is a running joke in our English department. During the exam season intermediate-level students can typically be broken down into two categories: those who use moreover and those who prefer furthermore. This is specially noticeable in students that only register for the certification exam. I suppose they are eager to show off the connectors they took pains to learn at school. Whatever the reason, they never fail to plug those linkers into any conversation:
Hello, my name is Javi. Furthermore my last name is Pellicer.
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against moreover and furthermore, but they are rather formal and sort of set the bar pretty high. What I'm trying to say is that you should not be too quick to dispense with simple words likealso, besides, too, as well, another, etc. The key to clear writing does not lie in the use of fancy words. That's why today I would like to touch on a very specific skill: the art of building an efficient sentence, one that includes the information we want to get across. So I'm not talking about crafting a stylish phrase or attempting to wax lyrical. That's not our battle (yet).
Let's suppose we want to convey these simple ideas:
Fact: the airport is going to be closed down
General reason: security is compromised
Specific reason: red-haired people are a threat
Bearing those three elements in mind we could come up with up something like this:
The local authorities have decided to close down the airport due to security considerations as they see a potential threat in red-haired foreigners
What are the key words in that sentence? Clearly they are due to and as. They both allow the speaker to articulate the reason why something is the case. Due to and as are synonyms for because or because of. Once we have understood the cause and effect relationship we may proceed to choose among an array of possible alternatives such as owing to, on account of, etc. Interestingly enough, we don't always need these terms to express such a conceptual connection. Look at how causality is expressed in this sentence:
The scarcity of data on these crimes makes it
difficult to ascertain the true scope of the problem
Of course, the writer could have gone down a different road:
Due to the scarcity of data on these crimes
it is difficult to ascertain the true scope of the problem
Should you be a fan of as or given you could have decided to write something like this:
Given the scarcity of data on these crimes,
it is difficult to access the true scope of the problem
In short, you don't need to resort to fancy linkers if you want to sound advanced. A solid structure (and some accurate vocabulary) will convince any examiner that you know your stuff. ________________
N.B. I'll give you a heads-up. Tomorrow I'm going to post a video in which I discuss precisely how to organize information.
