Slow down, you move too fast

(Workshop Meetings Feb 2nd and 3rd). Don't you sometimes have the impression that our life seems to be moving too fast and we are always in a hurry? Our modern way of living assumes that faster is better, but many people don't agree with this idea and that is why they have started a movement called "Slow Down". We've probably heard about "slow eating" and also about "slow cities", but you can find much more about this interesting movement in the following link.

The title of this post has been taken from Simon and Garfunkel's song 59th Street Bridge song (feeling groovy)

My time and I

(Workshop Meetings Jan 26th and 27th. Glossary). 
It is true that days have twenty-four hours for everybody, but what we achieve in that time varies significantly from person to person. Some people seem to be able to control their time while others are actually driven by the time. Some of us tend to find days too short to fit in as many things as we would like to do and we are always in a hurry. On the other hand other people manage to even find some time every day to relax and enjoy life.  What is the secret of good time management?  

From hearing to listening

(Workshop Meetings Jan 19th & 20th. Glossary) Let's start by reading this poem called 'Please, listen'.
Although some people actually think that hearing and listening are two words to define just one and the same concept, the truth is that there is a long stretch to go from hearing to listening, a distance that we should all start covering at some time in our life if we really want to improve our relationship with the people around us. For a brief definition of both terms click here.

I found this slideshow with plenty of information about listening. Funny, did you notice that in both places they use exactly the same definitions for hearing and listening? I wonder who copied who? 

Have you ever thought that you might be just hearing instead of listening most of the time? How good is your listening?
If you want to go deeply in the subject: The humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers put a lot of emphasis on active and -later in his life- receptive listening as a powerful strategy to use in therapy. Here is the text of a conference he gave on communication in 1964. 
Eugene Glendin, who developed the therapeutic process called 'Focusing', maintained that there are only two reasons to interrupt the person who speaks: to express that you are understanding what he/she is saying or to ask for a clarification of something that you did not understand.

New Year's Resolutions

Merry Christmas and 

Happy New Year!!

We are happy to announce that after the Christmas break we will resume our activities on Mon, Jan 13th for the afternoon group (16:30-18:00) and on Thur, Jan 8th for the new group that we are starting in the morning (12:15-13:45). There are still some places available in both groups. If interested, please contact Asociación de Estudiantes.
The beginning of a new year may be a perfect time to introduce positive changes in our lifestyle. That was probably the origin of the New Year's Resolutions. 

Every year thousands, millions of people worldwide make new resolutions at this time of the year in the hope that they will stick to them and that will help to change their lives for the best. Sometimes our resolutions are serious and most time are probably quite superficial, but it's part of the tradition and why not, it gives you something to chat about this time of the year.  Helpful vocabulary and questions for discussion. Here's an example of the resolutions some students have made. 

This document can help you to express your intention when talking about the future. If you want to find detail information about how to use the future tense click here.

Here are the 10 Top Resolutions in the US, which I found interesting  Why not share with us today the resolutions you have made for this year that now begins? 
Time also to make a balance of our Christmas holidays (See what other people have done)

A trip I will never forget

Hello, again. This coming Monday, Nov 24th I invite you to talk about the best and worst travelling experiences we have had. We all remember that one trip that meant a big change in our lives, something we'll never forget. 
Different people, different experiences. Here is how some people described the best trip they've ever had. 
It's also true that at different times and at different ages too, we travel in a different way. Have you heard about CouchSurfing? Read a bit more about it; it's the sort of experience that won't leave you indifferent. Do you think you would have a go at it? 
And if you think you are already the best traveller... forget it! Here you will find some tips on traveling that will surprise you.

See you on Monday. Get something ready, we are looking forward to hearing about your experiences. 

...Where the two shall be as one

For our next meeting, Mon Nov 17th, we are going to focus on Marriages. "To get or not to get... married, that is the question". Most young people are a bit reluctant to get married nowadays  Is it simply that they cannot afford all the expenses a "typical wedding" conveys, or is it something else; perhaps they are afraid of commitment? Let's not forget that not so long ago marriage used to be 'till death do us part', which by the way is the title of a very sentimental song by Madonna from her album Like A Prayer.
Child marriage is a very serious problem in many countries. Visit Save The Children for further information. Is there an ideal age to marry?

As usual, let's have a look at some quotations on marriage and see if you identify yourself with any of them. 

I guess we couldn't end this post without mentioning what Kalhil Gibran wrote "On Marriage" in his well-known book 'The Prophet'

And finally let me present you with a beautiful song by Peter, Paul and Mary called "The wedding song (There is love)" which I always loved and would like to share with you today. 

Blogs. How much do we know about them?

Next Monday, Nov 10th, we want to talk about Blogs and share our experience with them and how fond we are of blogs. Check vocabulary and useful questions here.
We have also uploaded a reading text describing why some people started writing their own blogs. 

Blogging has become a very popular activity over the last few years and we believe it is having a dramatic influence on journalism and on what and how people read nowadays. 
As usual, if you wish to read a bit more before the meeting, here are some links:

• Visit the wikipedia for a definition of blog. 
• Want to have a go at creating your own blog? Visit Blogger, a free weblog publishing tool from Google, for sharing text, photos and video.
• Here's a short YouTube video explaining how to start a blog using Blogger.
• If you are not yet convinced of starting your own blog, here are 15 reasons why you should do it. 
• Technicals aspects are usually a drawback. Here are some FAQ related to creating a blog or website. 

And one more week we shall be looking forward to seeing you on next Monday's meeting!! Bye. 

Friendship

For our Nov 3rd Workshop meeting we are going to talk about Friendship. One of my favourite quotes about friendship is this: "Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families." What do you think about it? If you wish to read more quotes about friendship here you have a good selection. Have a look at them and see if you have a favourite one or maybe you have a definition of your own for friendship.

See if you can answer some of the questions in this quiz about friends. We'll talk about them in our Monday meeting. Good night.

The Beatles sang a song called "I get by with a little help from my friends." Click here to hear the song with the lyrics.

Come on, don't be shy and post a comment sharing with us how important friends are for you.

PS Oh dear, How could I possibly forget "You've got a friend" by James Taylor?Don't miss it! If any problem with the lyrics, try here.

The happiest day of my life

Next Monday, Oct 27th, we are going to talk about happiness and we are going to share the happiest moments in our lives. Check vocabulary and useful questions here.
Do you think most people around you would consider themselves happy people?

Happiness is probably one of the most frequent words in our vocabulary and I'm sure if you asked people what they understand by happiness, they'd come up with very different answers? What makes a person happy?
If you wish to read a bit more before the meeting, here are some links:

• Read what a young girl wrote to describe the happiest day of her life. A man wrote something quite different. 
• "I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life. Oh, just to be with you is having the best day of my life", sings Dido in her song "Thank you". Love and happiness walk hand in hand.
• Are we putting the key to our happiness in the hands of too many people? In this blog you'll find little tips that will help you to make your life happier. 
• "Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself" This is my favourite quote on happiness. Do you have a favourite quotation?

And as usual we shall be looking forward to seeing you on next Monday's meeting!! Bye!

Homelessness

On our Workshop session # 3, on Monday Oct 20th we shall be talking about Homelessness. Here you can download an interesting article published by The Guardian and slightly adapted for school purposes. At the end of the article there are some questions if you want to check your level of reading comprehension (keys are included).

We have also posted a glossary and a series of questions that might help you to participate in our Workshop meeting.

And finally, here you have a few links with extra information related to this week's topic for discussion:

• Visit the wikipedia for a definition of 'homelessness'.
• Australian website with plenty of information on homelessness, pictures, statistics... Rebecca's Community is a community group whose staff and volunteers work with people who experience homelessness in Sydney, Australia.
• Go on and read some real stories behind people who are or were in the street.
• This famous song, Suzanne, by Leonard Cohen, has always reminded me of a homeless lady.
• “Another day in paradise” (1989) by Phil Collins. Collins sings the song from a third-person perspective, observing as a man crosses the street to ignore a homeless woman, and he implores listeners not to turn a blind eye to homelessness because, by drawing a religious allusion, "it's just another day for you and me in paradise". Collins also appeals directly to God by singing: "Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do? Oh lord, there must be something you can say!" 

Enjoy yourself and... see you on Monday!! Don't miss out!
By the way, this week we'll have the visit of Ms Mary Whitefrizz, an English lady who regularly collaborates with Café y Calor, a programme run by Cáritas for homeless people in La Línea. She'll be happy to share her experience with us all and answer our questions.

Learning a new language: what a challenge!

(Workshop. Sessions # 1 and 2. Oct 6th and 14th 2014)
Here's the content suggested for our first meeting. I thought it might be a good idea to start by sharing our difficulties and achievements in the process of learning English.
Learning to speak a second or third language has become a necessity in our modern world. Everybody agrees on this, but the task proves to be difficult and many people give up somewhere along the way. 

Why is it so difficult for us Spaniards to learn a new language? It is so frustrating to confirm that after  studying a foreign language (usually English) at school for an endless number of years we are still incapable of communicating successfully in that language. Is it something universal or we Spaniards are too dumb to succeed in learning a foreign language? And perhaps the crucial issue, how long does it really take to get to fluency? 
Here are some tips to study a foreign language. Do not desperate if you are not completely happy with your accent speaking English.

Let's share our experience and the frustration or success we've had in learning English. 

Welcome to Life Through English

We are back!!

Next October we are starting a new workshop in our EOI: Life Through English or shall we call it English Through Life? The idea is to use our knowledge of English to approach relevant aspects of life or, if you want to look at it this way, use our everyday life experiences to practise and improve our English.
We are looking for a group of 15/20 enthusiastic people with fairly good knowledge of English, willing to dedicate a couple of hours every week to experiment a language immersion in English.  
The final objective of the group is to have fun and enjoy our mutual company while exercising our English, meeting new people and learning new things. 

• Participants: EOI / former EOI students or any other people with enough knowledge of English to follow and take part in the activities proposed. 

• Requirements: strong willingness and motivation to become involved in the project and actively participate in the activities programmed. 

• Suggested activities: discussions and debates, presentations, guest speakers, written production, reading and sharing what we read, group reading, roleplaying, watching films and documentaries, theatre, reading along, a bit of language analysis and reflexion, etc.

• Venue and Meetings: a weekly 2-hour meeting on Monday afternoons (16:30-18:30), beginning on October 6th, at EOI San Roque. 

• The workshop will be given by José Luis Gómez Marfil, former teacher of EOI San Roque and Algeciras.

This blog will be adapted to become a guideline for the English Language Workshop Life Through English. Every week we will post plenty of information (readings, listenings, links, etc.) related to the topic to be discussed on next week's meeting. 

For further information and inscription, contact:

Asociación de Alumnos de la EOI de San Roque

or José Luis Gómez Marfil

Time out

I'm afraid we'll have to take some time out in our weekly meetings as I've just come back from Barcelona where I've had surgery on my right hip. I'm recovering quite well but I'll need a long while to rehab and I'll be on crutches  that time. 

Sorry about that. In the mean time I offer you this beautiful poem "To an English friend in Africa", by Ben Okri, a Nigerian poet and writer. I first heard about him through my daughter, at that time studying Politics at Edimburgh University back fifiteen years ago.

To an English friend in Africa

For Daisy Waugh

Be grateful for the freedom

To see other dreams.

Bless your loneliness as much as you drank

Of your former companionships.

All that you are experiencing now

Will become moods of future joys

So bless it all.

Do not think your way superior

To another's

Do not venture to judge

But see things with fresh and open eyes

Do not condemn

But praise when you dan

And when you can't, be silent.

Time now is a gift for you

A gift of freedom

To think and to remember and understand

The ever perplexing past

And to re-create yourself anew

In order to transform time.

Happy Summer!!

The school year is now over. Lots of work lies behind and now the time has come to enjoy a well-deserved rest. It has been a great pleasure to work with you this year. We have all learnt so many things that will be of great use in our lives. Thanks for your contribution and enthusiasm. I'll be looking forward to seeing you back again in September. Till then, all the best.

I will not update this blog during the summer as often as I have done during the school year. However don't forget to pay us a visit once in a while.

Relative clauses

Here's a bit of grammar to help you understand the use of relative clauses. And here you will find more information about relative clauses and lots of exercises and tests for further practice. Good luck!