Inglés / Spanish Conversacional por Skype for professional people. En English Tutors mejoramos el nivel de Conversación. Solo media hora 2 o + veces por semana. TRATO PERSONALIZADO, SIN PÉRDIDA de sesiones; HORARIO FLEXIBLE atendiendo a imprevistos. www.englishtutors.es www.facebook.com/englishtutorsbyjordipicazo
This Blog in Blogger will not be washed away, but will not receive feedings, just reminders like this. The Page is being structured and it will very soon be in good shape. But it is already up and kicking. You may want to leave your comments, I would be very glad if you did. In any language! Ever, JP
Qué preciosidad! Qué currada! Hay que dar gracias a Dios por la Mujer. Y a ella que tenga piedad del hombre. La mujer y el hombre, qué buen equipo, cuando les guia el amor del Creador, o la búsqueda de la verdad y la belleza. La unión del hombre y la mujer es de lo más hermoso que hay. Por eso el lecho matrimonial es "un altar, no un catre de mancebía" (San Josemaría). Hay que cuidar a la mujer, y ella que tenga piedad de nosotros. Es la Opera Prima de Dios. Creo que la hizo el Séptimo Día, en su día de descanso y relajación.
The next question is either “What’s Catalan?” or “Why/how did you learn Catalan?” (neither of which ever really surprise me). How I answer the first question should be obvious at this point (it’s the language spoken in Catalonia, etc) but how I answer the second has changed a bit with time.
At the root of my interest in Catalonia is something simple: football. I’m a Barça fan and the club has literally turned my life upside down. I wouldn’t have half the friends I have now, or have gone to a quarter of the events that I have in the past four years, or have taken half the classes I did last semester, or be writing this blog post if it wasn’t for Barça. (I would have saved a lot of money because I wouldn’t have dropped hundreds on jerseys, but that’s besides the point.) I was kind of a slump when I encountered the beautiful game and in a sense, Barça gave me life.
I became determined to scheme up something to give something back to Barça, to thank it for that. The scheme I originally came up with was learning Catalan (as time went by the scheme eventually snowballed into this project). When I came to Columbia and found out that not only do they offer the language but that the professor was the biggest sweetheart on the planet/Columbia’s secret gem/literally the best person on earth, I knew it was meant for me to learn the language. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. Not the part about Elsa but the second part. In my head it was as if everything fell into place and so I enrolled second semester. By that point, the answer to “why did you learn Catalan” became a motley of “because I love Barça,” “because the professor is fantastic,” “because language classes are so much fun,” “because why the hell not,” and “because I wanted to.” That’s the answer that still stands today and while I was in Barcelona I sprinkled in a little of “because I wanted to visit Barcelona and get the most out of my stay.”
The past few days, I’ve been thinking about that second question a lot. I’ve also been thinking a lot about a documentary about the Catalan language that pops up on my Twitter timeline every so often. It’s called Són bojos, aquests Catalans?! It’s about this German girl who decides to learn Catalan instead of Spanish because she’s dating a Catalan guy and is moving to Catalonia. She gets there and takes a little road trip to see exactly how useful her new language skills are. She’s riding around in this van that is reminiscent of the Mystery Machine, talking to all sorts of people and going to all sorts of places. I first watched the documentary in 2013 and thought it was interesting, gave it a thumbs up. When I took my Catalan Cultures class, again with the wonderful Elsa (TAKE ONE OF HER CLASSES COLUMBIA STUDENTS TAKE ONE OF HER CLASSES), I watched it again for a homework assignment.
To give a little more context about the purpose of the film, here’s its summation as provided by the director, David Valls:
The Catalan language is spoken by about 10 million people. This makes it the ninth most spoken language in the European Union and within the 100 most widely spoken languages in the world. It is a medium size language, comparable in number of speakers with languages such as Czech, Swedish, Bulgarian, and it has more speakers than Danish, Estonian, etc.. Despite these objective facts, what it happens to Catalan that it does not happen with these other languages? Why [is] Catalan is not in a similar situation such as other languages with a similar amount of speakers? Why [isn't] its use it isnot normalized? Why [do] we assume [its behaviors] as normal linguistic behaviors [when they] are not? Why [do] Catalan speakers often code switch to Spanish? What are the actual uses of Catalan? What difficulties are there?
As a viewer, there’s two ways to look at the film. The first: you can think of the film as illuminating the obstacles that the Catalan language still faces, as the director’s summary leads one to do. The documentary shows that Catalan isn’t used in the courts, on food or medicine labels, or in machinery user-guides. It explains that universities have different sections for classes (sections taught in Castilian and others in Catalan) and the presence of the language in radio, publishing, television and even in other regions of Spain. It’s informative and exposes truths that people like me all the way over here in America wouldn’t have known otherwise. If you look at it this way, then the film won’t (or at least shouldn’t) discourage you from learning the language. Sure it faces obstacles, but that’s okay.
The second: you can think of the film as legitimizing the lack of a need for foreigners to learn the language. Here’s an entire documentary about foreigner that takes time out of her life to learn a language, heads over the only place the language is spoken, and then realizes that she was probably better off learning Castillian because the whole Catalan thing isn’t as important as her boyfriend made seem. She lucked out because she got her story turned into a movie, but clearly, that won’t be happening to you — she covered all the bases and the world doesn’t need two movies about the same irrelevant language. Why learn a language that faces obstacles when you could stick to Castillian and survive just as well, if not better?
I didn’t realize this second way until watching the movie a second time. Please note: realizing and adopting the second way are not the same thing. I realized it but vehemently disagree with it and here’s why:
I was already a month into my Catalan course to know that the language was 1. beautiful, 2. fun, and 3. a hidden gem (much like the Catalan professor at Columbia TAKE HER CLASSES TAKE THEM). Plus, ain’t nobody gonna convince me a month into doing something that all my efforts were pointless.
There’s something, I dunno, just plain obvious about the importance of learning a nation’s language before you visit it. This point is mainly for all my monolingual Americans who plan on stamping up their passport without cracking open a book about the places they want to see. Don’t be the ignorant American who hops off the plane and forces everyone they encounter to speak English because you can’t communicate in any other way. That’s just plain disrespectful and inconsiderate. Additionally, as my coworker recently pointed out, If you’re one of those Americans who demands that those who come to America learn to speak English, you should realize that you have the same responsibility when you go abroad. No one is asking you to be completely fluent in the language, but make an effort to learn and use it. You don’t even have to learn it before you get there — you can learn it while you’re there. This, to me, is part of being a decent traveler and a huge part of respecting other people’s cultures. (Some of you may chime out with the “well, newsflash you Ivy League brat: some of us don’t have the money to take language classes!” To you I say, get to a library and use the Internet or borrow a book. If you have the money to travel abroad, you most likely have money to at least do that.
When you go Barcelona and speak Catalan, new opportunities open up.It’s a conversation starter because not many foreigners speak the language. You’ll most likely be much more intriguing and you can finally become friends with the locals and see what the real city is like. Some people may open up faster and decide to take you under their wing and show you around themselves. You’ll be able to read the menu without having to bug the waiter to translate it for you. You’ll avoid ordering things that you know you won’t like or that you’re allergic to. You’ll be able to navigate the supermarket a lot faster and understand those cute signs that line the streets asking people to keep the noise level low at night. You also open up the door to a whole world of fantastic music. (There is a small chance that speaking Catalan may run you into some trouble but I’ll explain that tomorrow and it was literally a one in a million event that ended up flattering me instead of insulting me in the long run.)
My point is if you end up watching that documentary and regarding it in the second way, think the whole thing over again. Learning Catalan is a good thing. It’s a little weird, sure, but do it. It’s worth it — it’s fun, it’s different, and ultimately, it is useful.
7-razones-7 para hacer inglés con English Tutors por Skype: 1.optimización del tiempo (30 minutos, mínimo dos veces por semana), 2. no te desplazas para ello, y puedes cambiar día y hora avisando incluso el mismo día, 3. nunca pierdes una sesión, la cambias de día, 4. en una academia dejas de ir un 20% del tiempo, 20% del coste tirado a la papelera, 5. cuando estás de viaje, te conectas con la tablet o teléfono móvil por Skype, o te llamo yo sin coste, 6. certificación documental de horas tomadas y rendimiento. 7. Profesor con 25+ años de experiencia, en Londres y España. www.englishtutors.es @ENGLISHTUTORSes
Richard Vaughan with Jordi Picazo, EnglishTutors byJordiPicazo
Dear Blog friend, tomorrow Sunday 22 June some of us will get together on Skype to chat a bit about general things or maybe even professional matters... Feel free you too, to join in at the announced times, for one of the languaages or for both.
We may then even establish naturally some other groups and decide to meet at other times. Just add me to your Skype account, or download Skype for free and open an account for yourself. My ID on Skype is jordi.picazo, I appear as Jordi Picazo, language coach. See you tomorrow on air. Jordi
Please, feel free to sign in and click on share publicly in the Web version of this Blog, on the right-hand-side column, so that you can get all the updates automatically. By doing this you will also be a permanent guest in our free get-togethers on Skype, for those who want to join one in either Spanish or English, or both.
These get-togethers take place in weekends to be announced , in the morning of a Saturday or Sunday Eastern Time for Spanish, and in the afternoon Western Time for English. Hope to be liasing with you and foster international relationships and the sharing of our mutual expertises. Jordi Picazo
My dear friends, you may want to consider the possibility to start speaking Spanish even if you do not have any previous knowledge of the language. Spanish for professional purposes, learn to speak by speaking.
If you happen to be able to speak Spanish already to an acceptable level you may want to give it a boost or continue practicing it breaking the barrier of time and place, that is, connecting with me at some time between 6 AM and 10 PM GMT, twice or three times a week for 30 minutes, or more. We start improving your conversational skills on the language from the stand point where your level of fluency lies.You may also like to start thinking of coming to Barcelona, Europe' s Smart City. We take you around and take care of all details.Conditions aret the same for those who want to improve their English Conversational Skills. Payments may be done by Paypal or Western Union.
You may contact me by adding me on Skype with my ID jordi.picazo, or by phone +34 6368925 f you call via Skype the cost is less than US$ 0.3 for a short contact and then I return the call.
Interveción de Ana Botella y l canción promocional
No deja de ser extraño que tras la intervención de la alcaldesa de Madrid Ana Botella utilizando un inglés que algunos calificaban de horroroso, se haya creado poco menos que un mito y se vuelva a recordar esa intervención que para algunos fue penosa.
Sin embargo esto requiere un poco de reflexión pues hay que conocer el contexto. Los que juzgaban la aparición pública de Ana Botella eran en su inmensa mayoría españoles, y por tanto la inmensa mayoría de esa inmensa mayoría, que ya son unos poco menos pero todavía muchos, no hablan bien la lengua de Peter Pan. Los que la juzgaban lo hacían probablemente por las inserciones en español de las palabras "café con leche" y "Plaza Mayor" en su frase "have a cup of café con leche en la Plaza Mayor". Seguramente querían oir "have a cup of white coffee in the City Square", o "Main Square" o cualquier otra trancreación del término Plaza Mayor.
Parémonos a considerar ahora nuestra posible reacción si escucháramos a alguien hacer el mismo discurso en un país que no fuera España. Los españoles, no todos, siempre han tenido un sentimiento de inferioridad. Por ello históricamente tenemos que hablar el idioma del que nos visita, o hablamos súper despacio a cualquier extranjero. Si escucháramos un programa de la RAI nos sorprendería sin duda oír algo parecido a "have a nice cup of white coffee in Spain's Square". Tal vez no nos chocaría sin embargo oír algo parecido a "have a nice capuccino in Piazza Spagna".
Pero no, aquí los fariseos del lenguaje, que ni saben ni permiten que otros sepan, critican lo mismo que aprueban en otras latitudes. De igual modo no visitamos la plaza de Oxfordsino Oxford Circus, ni el Real Palacio de Alberto sino el Royal Albert Hall. ni el Parque Hyde o la Plaza de los Tiempos, (o delas Horas, qui lo sa) sino Hyde Park y Times Square. Tal vez lo que a muchos no les gusta es que esta señora, muy madrileña de formas, gesticulase tanto, cosa que tiene más que ver con su manera de ser. A muchos no les gusta por razones políticas o por ser del PP. O tal vez por ser la esposa del ex presidente del gobierno José María Aznar.
Su pronunciación tampoco era mala. Pronunciación era esa tal que seguramente pasaría un nivel de First Certificate, si se juzga solamente en base a las frases que pronunció. Nivel sea dicho de paso, que aunque es el adecuado para un chico o chica de 16 años hoy en día, es el que se pide para acabar con un aprobado una carrera universitaria. Pasar un nivel de First Certificate decía, aunque ya lo del "first certificate" lo vamos abandonando en Europa, porque ya adoptamos el Marco Europeo de Referencia de Lenguas, en este caso un B2. Ya vamos abandonando decía, muy a pesar de los británicos, un marco que era lo que queda del imperialismo inglés a través de su lengua. Lengua que ya no pertenece al antiguo imperio británico ni a su descendiente la Commonwealth of Nations, sino al planeta.
Por tanto concluiría que resulta que Ana Botella hizo bien pronunciando esas frases, como bien harían los italianos, o como nosotros hacemos cuando viajamos fuera. El First en cuanto pronunciación lo pasaría justito pero no sería su performance óbice para un Pass.Yo le daría un Grade 6 del Trinity College de Londres.
What do you think an apple core is? What's the thing we throw away?It is a ghost. If you eat your apples whole, you are a hero to this ghost. If you do not, you are barely alive. Come experience vitality.
Earlier this year, in "How to Eat Apples Like a Boss," a video by Foodbeast, the Internet was promised the gift of confidence in apple-eating. Elie Ayrouth ate an apple starting at thebottom, proceeding to up to the top, and finishing with a wink to the camera, as bosses do. Eating as such, Foodbeast said, the core "disappears."I do them one better and say that it never existed. The core is a product of society, man. There is a thin fibrous band, smaller in diameter than a pencil and not bad to the taste. If you eat your apple vertically, it is not noticeable.There are usually a couple seeds toward the top, which are easy to swallow, though it's probably a better idea to spit them because they contain a substance called amygdalin. That can release a small amount of hydrogen cyanide when digested. God/nature wants those seeds on the ground, not in our colons. You would have to eat a ton of apple seeds for it to kill you, but I'm not here to coax you guys into testing your bodies' limits in metabolizing cyanide.I also don't advocate doing anything "like a boss," much less professing it, much less actively aspiring to it by watching YouTube infotorials, but this is an imperative behavioral modification. If you want to feel like a hero by doing essentially nothing, think of it in terms of the national deficit and world hunger. By eating your apples in their entirety, you are a boss in the most endearing sense—not in that the practice confers swagger or panache, but because you are actively part of a meaningful solution.
Google image: apple core; see: waste. Don't google apple core myth. They will come for you If each of us eats an apple a day, as we all do, and we are all wasting 30 percent of our apples at $1.30 per pound, that's about $42 wasted per person per year—which is $13.2 billion annually, thrown in the trash or fed to pigs.
With that kind of money, we could rebuild the Gulf Coast after a hurricane the size of Rita or buy an entirely new Mark Zuckerberg.
As a health writer I make a point of not trying to tell people how to live their lives. Today I make an exception. This is the cause I will champion to my grave. I was a guest on MSNBC recently to talk about "chicken" nuggets, ostensibly how disturbing they are as a concept, and I endured criticism for being too ambivalent. Eat what you like, in moderation. Chicken nuggets are not my war. On this point I abandon moderation. Bring me on your television programs, and I will eat an apple in its entirety, and I will disparage anyone who does not do the same. As a nation we must redefine apple consumption, lest it define us.
CAMPAMENTOS DE VERANO en Inglaterra y otros países de habla inglesa en verano para jóvenes, CON JÓVENES DE HABLA INGLESA, plazas limitadas. Estancias en casa del profesor para PROFESIONALES individuales o en matrimonio. También cursos de verano con otros estudiantes extranjeros. Por favor, puedes contactarnos en summercamps@englishtutors.es
SPANISH SUMMER CAMPS in Spain for young people. Immersion Summer Camps with Spanish kids doig sports and cultural and learning activities. Limited availability, Please, do contact us at campamentosdeverano@englishtutors.es
Para PROFESIONALES EN CASA DEL PROFESOR, individuos o matrimonios/for professionals at the home of the teacher, both for individuals and married couples:
SonLight Music Ministry had just finished what sounded like a beautiful rendition of "Be Thou My Vision" when Father Ray Kelly again took the mic at the wedding of Chris and Leah O'Kane. But instead of closing the ceremony as planned, the priest unleashed a big surprise for the couple that's destined for the pantheon of wedding viral videos.
It's not a joke or a slip-up, but a performance of epic proportions. A backing track mysteriously begins and Father Kelly launches into a rewritten version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," customized just for the new married couple. And this priest has pipes, belting out the melody with ease and even raising the key a whole step.
By the end, the stunned bride is left in tears while members of the audience offer a standing ovation. Father Kelly's sweet and skillful gesture certainly deserved it.
and you may leave comments, or LIKE the page. You may consider improving your English or Spanish Conversational skills or start learning Spanish with me...
FutureLearn and the British Council see India as a major market for MOOCs that teach English. Photo: Nic Walker
Tim Dodd
The UK-based FutureLearn will partner with the British Council, which already provides English language education, to pioneer MOOCs that teach the English language.
It is the first time that a major MOOC provider has announced plans to offer language courses. The two organisations said there would be a portfolio of English language courses ready in 2014 which would be focused on preparing students whose native language is not English for studying higher education courses taught in English.
The announcement was made in India, which FutureLearn and the British Council see as a major market for MOOCs that teach English. The two organisations said the MOOCs would also “provide a route for learners to take International English Language Testing System (IELTS) assessments at British Council testing centres”.
The British Council is a part-owner of the IELTS test, along with Australian company IDP Education, which operates a separate network of IELTS testing centres.
FutureLearn is owned by British education institution, The Open University, and has 29 partners which are mainly UK universities but also include the British Council and the British Museum.
Monash University is one of FutureLearn’s international partners.
The British Council is a non-profit organisation set up by Royal Charter to promote British culture and education internationally.
It is pitching English teaching MOOCs as a way of channelling international students to British universities.
“It is right that India should be one of the first places where we collectively launch the FutureLearn MOOC platform and courses,” said Martin Davidson, chief executive of the British Council. “FutureLearn will provide young Indians with another means of access to the UK’s world-class education institutions.”
In other news, the world’s leading MOOC provider, US-based Coursera, has raised $US20 million ($21.8 million) more than expected in its latest capital raising.
According to All Things D , Coursera’s $US43 million capital raising announced in July this year has expanded to $US63 million.
Three unnamed universities are responsible for most of the extra investment. Coursera has now totalled $US85 million in capital from investors.
Please, feel free to sign in and click on share publicly in the Web version of this Blog, on the right-hand-side column, so that you can get all the updates automatically. 
Pero no, aquí los fariseos del lenguaje, que ni saben ni permiten que otros sepan, critican lo mismo que aprueban en otras latitudes. De igual modo no visitamos la plaza de Oxford sino Oxford Circus, ni el Real Palacio de Alberto sino el Royal Albert Hall. ni el Parque Hyde o la Plaza de los Tiempos, (o de las Horas, qui lo sa) sino Hyde Park y Times Square.
![[IMAGE DESCRIPTION]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uZKuocf3hcP-NDPltZ_1uMsZGBcEGaP3bm2XLLnPQcafaD6O3ghw4fxa2RxVSwwl3DIwFejdY8ZB1HDDspeR8X0Z74adi9NhLRRUXRe69BmyzAs2s9zTIb1Vvkgp9-z_0svaZX6293fNwg7-j3S3aYGk29=s0-d)
![[IMAGE DESCRIPTION]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vdWyDsFaI_gAFdp5wtGcAOGktwNcScvZLtsi7ap9VSwwViAeoJnOUsIhKQtE4mvORebJjPWADuTqur1Bzd6IYR0EDJbDYy7oVgAAtUWw49tYjIi1bPGIpFL8-A1Z6xLdE57AnP39G7Jvmz2sXwHUCVT1ZShvvPLCS6pVLhx2BtJNdfgbHaUhTUWlV62g=s0-d)
