Friday's Poem #3

Sweden's most famous living poet, Tomas Tranströmer, has won the Nobel prize for literature. That's why, for the first time and without setting a precedent, I'm posting a translation. I must confess I hadn't heard much about him before yesterday's news but once I read about him and his life and read some of his poems I thought you too would enjoy his poetry.
Robin Robertson, one of his English translators, has written a moving little article in today's Guardian of which I'm posting an extract:

"Every October, for decades, a group of reporters and photographers have gathered in the stairwell of an apartment block in a quiet district of Stockholm, waiting to hear if the poet upstairs has finally won the Nobel prize for literature. The poet's wife, Monica, would bring them tea and biscuits while they stood around – but they would always leave, around lunchtime, as the news came in that the prize had gone to someone else. Annually, the name of Tomas Tranströmer comes up, and with every year one felt a growing sense that he would never receive this highest literary honour from his own country. The vigil is over now, with Thursday's wonderful news".

So this is my choice, enjoy!

Source of picture

The Tree and the Sky

There’s a tree walking around in the rain,
it rushes past us in the pouring grey.
It has an errand. It gathers life
out of the rain like a blackbird in an orchard.

When the rain stops so does the tree.
There it is, quiet on clear nights
waiting as we do for the moment
when the snowflakes blossom in space.

Copyright © Tomas Tranströmer, translated by Robin Fulton

Friday's Poem #2

I'm posting this time a poem whose author I don't know anything about, nor even if that's their real name. Though I've tried hard to find out who wrote this, I've had no luck. It seems there are differen versions on the internet, under different names or just by an unknown author. In any case, I think it's a good poem to post on a blog about the English language, especially if it isn't your mother tongue.

English

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough.
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, slough and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead--it's said like bed, not bead;
For goodness sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat.
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.)
A moth is not a moth in mother;
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.

And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear;
And then there's dose and rose and lose--
Just look them up--and goose and choose;
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword.
And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I've hardly made a start.

A dreadful language? Why man alive,
I learned to talk it when I was five;
And yet to write it, the more I try,
I haven't learned it at fifty-five.

~ Richard Keogh?

This poem, which I think is quite good, is about how difficult English pronunciation is. Because of this, I'm posting a lesson by LearnEnglish1,  a native British English speaker who teaches pronunciation through Youtube videos. Here he is using a slightly different version of the poem but it's just as good.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is one of the greatest, most important writers in the English language. His books are not only a source of entertainment but also a historical document of the Victorian society. You may not have read his books but surely have seen a few of the many films based on his writings, and his novels and characters are among the most iconic in English literature.
The Guardian newspaper is celebrating Dickens' 200 birthday this weekend with a series of articles and podcasts. In the build-up to the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens, they'll be exploring the writer's life and relevance through stories, videos, audio, galleries and more. His actual anniversary is in February 2012 so I'm not sure why they are celebrating so early but I don't mind so much as we get to enjoy things such as an audio tour following Oliver Twist's walking route  from Angel Islington to the courthouse of Mr Fang the magistrate in Clerkenwell, London.
For the whole series go here

Friday's Poem #1

My current mood: like Aretha, I feel so uninspired.
My Muse must be really distracted lately, either that or she has left me in search of a better writer. I really hope she hasn't as it's writers like me who need her most.
So, while I wait for my muse to return, I've decided to post a little poem every Friday.

Here's the first, Listen to the Mustn'ts by Shel Silverstein

And here's a short video of the author himself performing this poem:




Shel Silverstein  “is a magnificent poet of the spirit, and what he says in light
verse and drawing to children is of such importance, such urgency, that we
must be grateful that more than three* million [sic] copies of his books are
being read. In a world that needs a generation of imaginative thinkers, may
there be millions and millions more.”
—Myra Cohn Livingston, New York Times, March 9, 1986

THE "TEN COMMANDMENTS"

At the beginning of every school year I like to tell my students about my expectations from them. This year is no different so here they are. Yes, they are the same as last year's and this is basically a repeat post, I've just corrected a few mistakes and typos.

This is a list of what I expect from you in class :

1.- Be polite and respect everyone: teasing, bullying, put-downs and sarcasm are NOT allowed.

2.- Bring the materials you need every day and be ready and willing to use them.

3.- Trust me as your teacher: I've been doing this for a long time and I know what I'm doing (most of the time ;))

4.- Pay attention in class and listen carefully to my instructions - and follow them-  and explanations.

5.- If you don't understand something or have doubts, ask. If you still don't understand, ask again. There are no dumb questions or dumb answers. Keep asking until you understand.

6.- Pay attention to your classmates and listen to them: you'll learn from them as much as from me (if not more).

7.- This is English class so English will be the main language. Be prepared to speak and interact with me and the other students and don't be afraid: we all make mistakes.

8.- Grammar is not as important as communication: your English is good if we understand you. But grammar is important too!

9.- Work hard and do your own homework : think about how to do it and use your notes and textbook if you need to. DO NOT COPY OTHER STUDENTS' WORK, it's a waste of time and I will know.

10.- Have fun and be happy!

Source

NEW SCHOOL, NEW LIFE, OLD BLOG

New School Year by ForkySporkSpoon

As you already know if you have been following my blog, I'm starting a new life at a new school. I'm really excited and looking forward to it. I'm still just planning my lessons and have not met any students yet but I really have great expectations and so far my new colleagues have welcomed me with arms wide open. The school year looks promising and I feel happy.
Despite it being a new beginning, I'm keeping my old blog. I think it's quite impractical to start a new blog every school year and, selfishly , this way I can keep my old followers.
So this will be my long time blog: I hope it lasts. It will if you like it and send me enough feedback to keep me motivated ;)

CHANGES

I'm changing the design of my blog to get ready for the next school year. I'm "storing" last year's pages in my old blog so you can still read them if you want to. Just go to my old blog. Next I'll change the links and the students page. I'll probably delete the latter as there haven't been any updates lately.  Let me know if you would like me to keep yours.
Enjoy your summer!!