ulian Beever's Inspired Pavement Drawings
Ken Wilson, UK
Julian Beever is an English chalk artist, who has been creating anamorphic pavement art since the mid-1990s. Anamorphic pictures are designed so that they appear to be three dimensional from certain angles. The drawings must be seen from one particular angle. If the viewer moves from the position, the illusion is lost and the drawing becomes an unrecognizable distortion.
Julian also paints murals and is famous for his replicas of well-known works of art. He has worked in the UK, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Australia. He has been called "the Pavement Picasso," because the importance of three dimensionality in his work is reminiscent of Picasso in his Cubist period.
This material was spotted by Ken Wilson, a teacher trainer and ELT materials writer, with more than 20 titles to his name. He writes both coursebook and supplementary material and his recent course material includes a Senior High course for China. He also wrote a book to accompany Channel 4 TV's first-ever ELT soap series. He was artistic director of the English Teaching Theatre until 2002
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Alan's Weekend Words 6th January
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Alan's Weekend Words. This week I decided to talk a little bit about two books I have that help know more about the English language.
The first one has become very well known and has sold many thousands of copies. It is called "Eats, Shoots and Leaves", written by Lynne Truss. It is a book about punctuation. Basically, the title shows the idea behind the book. It shows that with written English, punctuation can make a big difference to meaning. The title shows a very good example: the idea is that the sentence describes the food of a Panda. A panda eats shoots and leaves. When we apply punctuation, that is a comma it means something different. Eats, shoots and leaves would mean something like this: a person walks into a restaurant, he then eats something, then he shoots his gun at someone and then leaves the restaurant. So, he eats, shoots and leaves. Can you understand the difference? What has happened is that with the panda sentence the only verb is "eats" whereas with the comma put in, then the words eats, shoots and leaves are all verbs (action words)
This books shows more examples and was written by Lynne Truss to show the importance of punctuation with written English.
The other book I want to mention is called "Eats, Shites and Leaves"
This book is a jokey title which has copied the "Eats Shoots and Leaves" book.
Shite is another word for crap and also sounds a bit like "shoots" Basically this book is a parody of the first book - as its subtitle is "Crap English and how to use it" written by "A. Parody". Even though the idea behind this book is a joke about the seriousness of the first book - it is actually quite a useful book for understanding more about how English is sometimes used badly - and where this can lead to misunderstandings and awkward moments.
So, I recommend both books. They both have their uses when learning more about English. Next time I'll discuss some examples from the books. In the meantime, if you would like to buy or borrow them from a library (if it is possible where you live) I've put the ISBN numbers on the podcast text.
Take care and bye for now
"Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss ISBN 1-86197-612-7"Eats, Shites and Leaves" by A.Parody ISBN 1-84317-098-1
Welcome to Alan's Weekend Words. This week I decided to talk a little bit about two books I have that help know more about the English language.
The first one has become very well known and has sold many thousands of copies. It is called "Eats, Shoots and Leaves", written by Lynne Truss. It is a book about punctuation. Basically, the title shows the idea behind the book. It shows that with written English, punctuation can make a big difference to meaning. The title shows a very good example: the idea is that the sentence describes the food of a Panda. A panda eats shoots and leaves. When we apply punctuation, that is a comma it means something different. Eats, shoots and leaves would mean something like this: a person walks into a restaurant, he then eats something, then he shoots his gun at someone and then leaves the restaurant. So, he eats, shoots and leaves. Can you understand the difference? What has happened is that with the panda sentence the only verb is "eats" whereas with the comma put in, then the words eats, shoots and leaves are all verbs (action words)
This books shows more examples and was written by Lynne Truss to show the importance of punctuation with written English.
The other book I want to mention is called "Eats, Shites and Leaves"
This book is a jokey title which has copied the "Eats Shoots and Leaves" book.
Shite is another word for crap and also sounds a bit like "shoots" Basically this book is a parody of the first book - as its subtitle is "Crap English and how to use it" written by "A. Parody". Even though the idea behind this book is a joke about the seriousness of the first book - it is actually quite a useful book for understanding more about how English is sometimes used badly - and where this can lead to misunderstandings and awkward moments.
So, I recommend both books. They both have their uses when learning more about English. Next time I'll discuss some examples from the books. In the meantime, if you would like to buy or borrow them from a library (if it is possible where you live) I've put the ISBN numbers on the podcast text.
Take care and bye for now
"Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss ISBN 1-86197-612-7"Eats, Shites and Leaves" by A.Parody ISBN 1-84317-098-1
New Year Resolutions
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7162692.stm.
New Year's resolution success tip have chance to Only 25% of people succeeded in quitting smoking Most of us will make a New Year's resolution - maybe to quit smoking or lose weight - but only one in 10 of us will succeed, say researchers. But before you give up altogether, it is possible to boost your chances of success, UK psychologists report.
A year-long study of 3,000 people found men should set specific goals and women should tell the world about their resolution if they are to succeed.
And the key for everyone is not to leave the decision to New Year's Eve.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS Men should set specific goalsWomen should tell others about their resolutionChoose a new approachDo not leave the decision to New Year's Eve
Study leader Professor Richard Wiseman, who is based at the University of Hertfordshire, found more than half of those in the study believed they would be able to stick to their resolution.
But by the end of the year, just 12% had been successful.
Giving up smoking seemed to be the hardest goal to stick to, with three-quarters of people lighting up again in the New Year.
Only 28% of people succeeded in losing weight and 29% of people who vowed to improve their fitness managed to do so.
Tips
Men were 22% more likely to succeed when they set goals for themselves, such as losing a pound a week rather than just saying they wanted to lose weight.
Telling others increased women's chance of keeping resolutions by 10%.
They benefited from family and friends encouraging them to stick to their goals.
Deciding to revisit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment. Choose something new, or approach an old problem in a new way
Professor Richard Wiseman
Professor Wiseman said it was possible to increase the likelihood you will keep your resolution.
"Deciding to revisit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment.
"Choose something new, or approach an old problem in a new way.
"Think through exactly what you will do, where you will do it, and at what time."
He said those who made vague plans were more likely to fail - for example instead of planning to go running twice a week you should plan to go running at specific times every week.
He added: "Men may be more likely to adopt a macho attitude and have unrealistic expectations, and so simple goal setting helps them achieve more.
"Likewise, women might be reluctant to tell others about their resolutions, and so benefit more from the social support provided by friends and family once they have made their goals public."
New Year's resolution success tip have chance to Only 25% of people succeeded in quitting smoking Most of us will make a New Year's resolution - maybe to quit smoking or lose weight - but only one in 10 of us will succeed, say researchers. But before you give up altogether, it is possible to boost your chances of success, UK psychologists report.
A year-long study of 3,000 people found men should set specific goals and women should tell the world about their resolution if they are to succeed.
And the key for everyone is not to leave the decision to New Year's Eve.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS Men should set specific goalsWomen should tell others about their resolutionChoose a new approachDo not leave the decision to New Year's Eve
Study leader Professor Richard Wiseman, who is based at the University of Hertfordshire, found more than half of those in the study believed they would be able to stick to their resolution.
But by the end of the year, just 12% had been successful.
Giving up smoking seemed to be the hardest goal to stick to, with three-quarters of people lighting up again in the New Year.
Only 28% of people succeeded in losing weight and 29% of people who vowed to improve their fitness managed to do so.
Tips
Men were 22% more likely to succeed when they set goals for themselves, such as losing a pound a week rather than just saying they wanted to lose weight.
Telling others increased women's chance of keeping resolutions by 10%.
They benefited from family and friends encouraging them to stick to their goals.
Deciding to revisit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment. Choose something new, or approach an old problem in a new way
Professor Richard Wiseman
Professor Wiseman said it was possible to increase the likelihood you will keep your resolution.
"Deciding to revisit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment.
"Choose something new, or approach an old problem in a new way.
"Think through exactly what you will do, where you will do it, and at what time."
He said those who made vague plans were more likely to fail - for example instead of planning to go running twice a week you should plan to go running at specific times every week.
He added: "Men may be more likely to adopt a macho attitude and have unrealistic expectations, and so simple goal setting helps them achieve more.
"Likewise, women might be reluctant to tell others about their resolutions, and so benefit more from the social support provided by friends and family once they have made their goals public."
Just a New Year chat cast
Hello, Text is below this time (for those who can't view my blog)
Well hello everyone and welcome to my podcasts and also to 2008! This time, uhm, for this time I thought I would just chat. Usually I try to prepare a script of sorts, a text… and then I use the text to make the podcast. But this time round I thought it might be more interesting for you to just hear me speaking. I will make a text, but I will obviously listen to what I have said and then write it down afterwards. So, at the moment, I’m just speaking , uhm, as I think about things and hopefully you will find this podcast just as interesting as the others. Uhm, I’m using a new microphone. Hopefully it will have a good sound. It’s just something I got before Christmas but I didn’t have chance to try. So, I’m trying it today and hopefully it will be clear and you will be able to listen to what I am saying without any problem.
So, 2008 is here. It’s a quiet day in England and I’m just relaxing before I go back to work. So, what will 2008 bring I think for us this year? Let’s hope it brings some good things. You know, for my part I’d like to learn more French, German and as you know, I’m learning Mandarin and I’ve just started Spanish again so, language is my hobby, my main hobby. I do play guitar as you know, you’ve heard my guitar tunes and I’ll play a few more guitar tunes I think on my podcasts. I’ve also planned to make a musical podcast in other words make some songs and record them and do a bit of singing maybe and put them on another podcast website and then you can listen to them if you want to. So, it’s a bit different for me just chatting to you, because I’ve got to think as I speak, well will you find this interesting? I think for those of you who are learning English, it will be interesting for you to listen to just a very normal “everyday” conversation, or whatever I can make that seem to be – as I’m speaking really to myself but obviously I know people will listen to it.
So I just wanted to speak a little and hopefully you’d hear when I do the pauses and when I make some corrections and when I hesitate a bit. That’s. uhm, all the things that happen when people are speaking in their native language. No one is perfect of course in their native language, I make mistakes just like other people do. So, I thought maybe a “conversational type” podcast just speaking about not so much (laughs) would be just as interesting for you as one that I prepared about a certain subject – and I don’t have any subjects today because I’ve been relaxing over Christmas. I didn’t.. prepare anything. But I thought, well I’ll still make a podcast on January 1st – New Year’s Day and say hello to everyone. I’ve had (some) quite a lot of downloads. I think I’ve had something like 1700 last week which…well not downloads…”views”… I think downloads were about 600 but even so, 600 downloads is a lot So, somewhere out I think there people are listening, hopefully getting something from my podcasts, uhm, and I do listen to other peoples’ podcasts. I find some of those interesting and some I find quite boring but it depends what subject your interested in doesn’t it?
So, anyway, Happy New Year to everyone. To all the people who have listened and who are listening and who will listen to my podcasts and for the moment and for the future and so – have a nice time. If you are still on holiday, if you are back to work or you’re busy doing other things….well you know, don’t work too hard and enjoy yourself in 2008.
And I’ll speak to you all very soon so bye for now
Well hello everyone and welcome to my podcasts and also to 2008! This time, uhm, for this time I thought I would just chat. Usually I try to prepare a script of sorts, a text… and then I use the text to make the podcast. But this time round I thought it might be more interesting for you to just hear me speaking. I will make a text, but I will obviously listen to what I have said and then write it down afterwards. So, at the moment, I’m just speaking , uhm, as I think about things and hopefully you will find this podcast just as interesting as the others. Uhm, I’m using a new microphone. Hopefully it will have a good sound. It’s just something I got before Christmas but I didn’t have chance to try. So, I’m trying it today and hopefully it will be clear and you will be able to listen to what I am saying without any problem.
So, 2008 is here. It’s a quiet day in England and I’m just relaxing before I go back to work. So, what will 2008 bring I think for us this year? Let’s hope it brings some good things. You know, for my part I’d like to learn more French, German and as you know, I’m learning Mandarin and I’ve just started Spanish again so, language is my hobby, my main hobby. I do play guitar as you know, you’ve heard my guitar tunes and I’ll play a few more guitar tunes I think on my podcasts. I’ve also planned to make a musical podcast in other words make some songs and record them and do a bit of singing maybe and put them on another podcast website and then you can listen to them if you want to. So, it’s a bit different for me just chatting to you, because I’ve got to think as I speak, well will you find this interesting? I think for those of you who are learning English, it will be interesting for you to listen to just a very normal “everyday” conversation, or whatever I can make that seem to be – as I’m speaking really to myself but obviously I know people will listen to it.
So I just wanted to speak a little and hopefully you’d hear when I do the pauses and when I make some corrections and when I hesitate a bit. That’s. uhm, all the things that happen when people are speaking in their native language. No one is perfect of course in their native language, I make mistakes just like other people do. So, I thought maybe a “conversational type” podcast just speaking about not so much (laughs) would be just as interesting for you as one that I prepared about a certain subject – and I don’t have any subjects today because I’ve been relaxing over Christmas. I didn’t.. prepare anything. But I thought, well I’ll still make a podcast on January 1st – New Year’s Day and say hello to everyone. I’ve had (some) quite a lot of downloads. I think I’ve had something like 1700 last week which…well not downloads…”views”… I think downloads were about 600 but even so, 600 downloads is a lot So, somewhere out I think there people are listening, hopefully getting something from my podcasts, uhm, and I do listen to other peoples’ podcasts. I find some of those interesting and some I find quite boring but it depends what subject your interested in doesn’t it?
So, anyway, Happy New Year to everyone. To all the people who have listened and who are listening and who will listen to my podcasts and for the moment and for the future and so – have a nice time. If you are still on holiday, if you are back to work or you’re busy doing other things….well you know, don’t work too hard and enjoy yourself in 2008.
And I’ll speak to you all very soon so bye for now
Thursday, December 27, 2007
more on asking questions
Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a nice Christmas - and to those of you who don't celebrate Christmas - I wish you well at the close of 2007.
Today I'd like to talk about using repetition and asking questions to help you speak in another language.
I believe that when we speak another language that we are learning as an adult, we tend to worry that we aren't as good at speaking as we would like to be - as we are with our mother tongue for instance. It is often the case that we then think we need to speak faster than we should do - because maybe the person (or persons) listening to us would perhaps be:
* not understand us so well as we would like them to
* be a little impatient with us as they might be busy
* frustated that we don't speak as well as a native speaker
When I speak French or German I often try to speak too fast and make it difficult for myself. I think this comes from frustration that I don't speak these languages as well as English and especially when I struggle to find the right word.
This happened to me in Germany last week. My wife wanted some paper tissues and I didn't know the word for "paper tissue" in German. I was frustrated that I had no dictionary with me, but then I thought "maybe just speak slowly and politely and then ask for tissues by saying (in German) "I would like some things please that we use for blowing noses, but I can't remember the German word!"
So, this is what I decided to do. I walked into a pharmacy and said that - very politely with a slightly apologetic smile. The shopkeeper immediately understood what I wanted - and gave me the tissues and said (in German) "please have them - f0r free". Not only did I get some tissues for my wife - but I got them for nothing! Obviously, I would have paid for them if the lady in the shop had asked me for money, but I was trying to illustrate how having a polite and pleasant attitude can help when we are speaking a different language.
This doesn't always work - I asked for a coffee at a German railway station kiosk - and then tried talking about the weather being cold - but the lady serving me was only interested in serving the coffee and getting the money - so I could only ask for a coffee in this particular situation.
Anyway, to talk a bit more about repetition. When talking in another language, repetition can help also. For instance,
"Could you tell me the way to the railway station?" you can then add " do you know where the station is please? - is it far from here?"
This way, you have asked the question twice, and kept the listener's attention whilst they think if they can tell you. The key thing then is to not say anything, but listen very carefully to their reply - and just nod your head to show that you understand. Never be afraid to say "did you say, left at the next street? or should I go right? They can then confirm what they said before. You must then thank them and hopefully you will feel that you had a successful conversation.
It is always useful to have a few questions ready in your head that basically ask the same question. For example:
"Where is the nearest post office please?"
"I've been looking for a post office for quite a while - perhaps you know where one is please?"
"I have not been able to find a post office - but maybe you know where there is one nearby please?"
"Do you know where a local post office is please?"
If they start answering after the first question, then just leave out the extra questions unless you need them.
Always stay polite - and if someone ignores you - don't be too worried - they may just be too busy to speak. Don't assume they are not interested or dislike you.
I'm only speaking about my own experiences using my second and third languages.
Have a great New Year!
Bye for now
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Thankyou to all podcast listeners and blog readers
Hello everybody,
I would like to thank those people who have listened to my podcasts and read my blog over the past year. It's fantastic for me to know that people like what I have prepared and discussed. I am not a teacher - but as a language student (although quite old now...lol) I can understand the difficulties faced when learning languages and so, maybe I could consider myself a sort of friendly language guide.
Please let me know any subjects about English life, culture and language you might be interested to know more about and I'll see what I can do in 2008!
One thing I can tell you is that next year the city of Liverpool is to be the "city of culture 2008" which is exciting - and after all, this is the home of "The Beatles" - one of my favourite bands.
Next year I am planning a new podcast site for some guitar-based songs I am recording. I hope you like them.
I hope next year you can all realise your ambitions and dreams. In 2008 I would like to improve my Spanish, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese - I hope I can do this.
So to each and everyone of you, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Lancashire, England.
Vielen Dank, merci bien, gracias, obrigado, spasibo, xie xie .......
Here's a website about my region of England: www.pendle.net
Many thanks once again
Bye for now
Alan
I would like to thank those people who have listened to my podcasts and read my blog over the past year. It's fantastic for me to know that people like what I have prepared and discussed. I am not a teacher - but as a language student (although quite old now...lol) I can understand the difficulties faced when learning languages and so, maybe I could consider myself a sort of friendly language guide.
Please let me know any subjects about English life, culture and language you might be interested to know more about and I'll see what I can do in 2008!
One thing I can tell you is that next year the city of Liverpool is to be the "city of culture 2008" which is exciting - and after all, this is the home of "The Beatles" - one of my favourite bands.
Next year I am planning a new podcast site for some guitar-based songs I am recording. I hope you like them.
I hope next year you can all realise your ambitions and dreams. In 2008 I would like to improve my Spanish, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese - I hope I can do this.
So to each and everyone of you, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Lancashire, England.
Vielen Dank, merci bien, gracias, obrigado, spasibo, xie xie .......
Here's a website about my region of England: www.pendle.net
Many thanks once again
Bye for now
Alan
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Twas the Night before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore
Hello everyone, welcome to my podcast and today I'm just going to recite a poem. It's a christmas poem- very famous in England called: "t'was the night before Christmas"- and you may have heard it already.
Anyway, you can hear me saying this poem and you can read it on my blog. Also, I've put some of the more difficult words there for those of you who are learning English, with some explanations for you.
And so, as I said, it's a rather informal chat just now and then I will go and read the poem. So, thank you for those of you who have given me some feedback. It's always nice to receive it.I do enjoy reading your feedback, I'm glad you're enjoying, er, listening to my podcasts. So, here is the poem"t'was the night before Christmas" and I'll hopefully do another podcasts before Christmas- so you can listen to that when I've done it.
So, see you next time, bye.
T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there. (T'was = It was. St Nicholas = Santa Claus)
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap. (nestled all snug= comfortable, 'kerchief=handkerchief, nap = sleep)
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. (clatter = noise, flew like a flash=quickly, tore open = opened quickly, sash = type of window slide opening)
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer. (breast (here) = on the top of, lustre = appearance of the light)
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name! (coursers = (here) the reindeers)
"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!" (dash away = move away quickly)
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound. (prancing and pawing = the movement of reindeers hooves on the roof, with a bound (here) = jumped quickly out of the chimney)
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack. (peddler = old name for street trader, flung = swung onto with force)
His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow. (twinkled = sparkled/shone, droll = amusing)
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly! (stump = short end of something,encircled = all around, wreath = circular garland, jelly = geletine dessert)
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. (chubby/plump = quite fat, jolly = happy, dread= fear)
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose! (straight to = immediately, jerk = quick movement, finger aside of his nose (here)= a gesture with finger meaning that the other person should not speak, nod = tip head forward, rose= went up)
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!" (down= soft featherlike part of thistle, thistle =plant, 'ere =before)
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Alan's Weekend Words 2nd December
Hello everyone
I hope you like my new guitar tune introduction which I recorded yesterday. I wanted a new tune for 2008 – but I’m starting early by changing it now.
Today my weekend words is about Christmas traditions in England. It might be interesting for you to see what we different traditions we have here compared with where you live.
Firstly, the celebration of Christmas is not just a religious festival here. It has become the main winter holiday for England and most people now can take maybe up to 10 days off work to celebrate Christmas and also the New Year. In the USA for example, there are other celebrations that the whole country can take part in, such as Thanksgiving and Independence Day. In France, Bastille Day is very important. However in my country there a very few holidays where many people take a holiday at the same time. Christmas and New Year represent our biggest holiday celebration of the year where people give presents, remember family and friends with presents and cards and also take some time off work or even have a holiday in another country.
So unless you are particularly religious, for us, Christmas actually begins on the 25th December. Some people do have family parties on the evening of the 24th, but this is quite rare.
Those people who are religious would go to church on evening of the 24th. Catholics for example have "midnight mass" which is held late in the evening. For other people, the 24th or "Christmas Eve" is the time to go out to visit friends, go to pubs or clubs and enjoy the holiday late into the night.
For those with young families, it is the night when Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) visits and brings presents. When I was young, we used to hang up an old pillow case or large stocking by the fire which would have presents inside it in the morning.
Usually the day starts with presents being given to family – especially children. The most common traditional family lunch is roast turkey (or chicken) with roast potatoes and mashed potatoes, boiled or steamed brussel sprouts and carrots for vegetables, a rich meat gravy sauce and stuffing which consists of breadcrumbs and herbs baked in the oven as a soft dough. Some people prefer pork and this can be eaten with apple or cranberry sweet sauce. Of course for those people who are vegetarians, there is the choice of maybe some roast vegetables with garnish of herbs such as parsley or thyme.
The traditional dessert is "Christmas pudding" which is a steamed pudding using a mixture of dried fruits and cake mixture to bind it all together. This is eaten with a white sweet sauce to look like a snow cap. Some people don’t eat the pudding with sauce or maybe they would eat ice cream with it.
To finish off the meal, there are mince pies which are small pastries filled with dried fruit sweet sauce called "mincemeat" – which in the past was real meat, but now is fruit.
For drinks – many people like to drink whisky or brandy (and sometimes some brandy is added to the christmas pudding and set alight for a few seconds prior to serving it. This makes the flavour very strong.
The afternoon is usually the time to visit family or invite friends to come and visit. The day will be quite quiet as many people have eaten a lot by then. Even meals can be a buffet snack so that people can eat as much or as little as they prefer to.
Often the children will be tired and maybe ready for bed quite soon as they had woke up very early to see what presents "Father Christmas" had brought them.
For other people who don’t have children, or young adults – they often go out to visit people or go to a pub (public house)
So that is "Christmas Eve and Christmas Day" – I’ll tell you about the 26th of December (known as Boxing day) next time.
Take care and bye for now
I hope you like my new guitar tune introduction which I recorded yesterday. I wanted a new tune for 2008 – but I’m starting early by changing it now.
Today my weekend words is about Christmas traditions in England. It might be interesting for you to see what we different traditions we have here compared with where you live.
Firstly, the celebration of Christmas is not just a religious festival here. It has become the main winter holiday for England and most people now can take maybe up to 10 days off work to celebrate Christmas and also the New Year. In the USA for example, there are other celebrations that the whole country can take part in, such as Thanksgiving and Independence Day. In France, Bastille Day is very important. However in my country there a very few holidays where many people take a holiday at the same time. Christmas and New Year represent our biggest holiday celebration of the year where people give presents, remember family and friends with presents and cards and also take some time off work or even have a holiday in another country.
So unless you are particularly religious, for us, Christmas actually begins on the 25th December. Some people do have family parties on the evening of the 24th, but this is quite rare.
Those people who are religious would go to church on evening of the 24th. Catholics for example have "midnight mass" which is held late in the evening. For other people, the 24th or "Christmas Eve" is the time to go out to visit friends, go to pubs or clubs and enjoy the holiday late into the night.
For those with young families, it is the night when Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) visits and brings presents. When I was young, we used to hang up an old pillow case or large stocking by the fire which would have presents inside it in the morning.
Usually the day starts with presents being given to family – especially children. The most common traditional family lunch is roast turkey (or chicken) with roast potatoes and mashed potatoes, boiled or steamed brussel sprouts and carrots for vegetables, a rich meat gravy sauce and stuffing which consists of breadcrumbs and herbs baked in the oven as a soft dough. Some people prefer pork and this can be eaten with apple or cranberry sweet sauce. Of course for those people who are vegetarians, there is the choice of maybe some roast vegetables with garnish of herbs such as parsley or thyme.
The traditional dessert is "Christmas pudding" which is a steamed pudding using a mixture of dried fruits and cake mixture to bind it all together. This is eaten with a white sweet sauce to look like a snow cap. Some people don’t eat the pudding with sauce or maybe they would eat ice cream with it.
To finish off the meal, there are mince pies which are small pastries filled with dried fruit sweet sauce called "mincemeat" – which in the past was real meat, but now is fruit.
For drinks – many people like to drink whisky or brandy (and sometimes some brandy is added to the christmas pudding and set alight for a few seconds prior to serving it. This makes the flavour very strong.
The afternoon is usually the time to visit family or invite friends to come and visit. The day will be quite quiet as many people have eaten a lot by then. Even meals can be a buffet snack so that people can eat as much or as little as they prefer to.
Often the children will be tired and maybe ready for bed quite soon as they had woke up very early to see what presents "Father Christmas" had brought them.
For other people who don’t have children, or young adults – they often go out to visit people or go to a pub (public house)
So that is "Christmas Eve and Christmas Day" – I’ll tell you about the 26th of December (known as Boxing day) next time.
Take care and bye for now
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Alan's weekend words November 24th
How to keep motivated when learning languages
Hello again. Sorry it’s been a while since I left a podcast episode. I’ve been very busy lately.
I’ve decided for this podcast to go back to my "chatcast" idea – where I talk as a would in a conversation – as much as I can do. It’s funny, but very few people who listen to these podcasts give me feedback or comments. In fact I just realised that I rarely give feedback to other podcasters myself - and it’s quite difficult to know why. So, rather than keep mentioning this, I’ve decided to make podcast knowing that there are around 1000 views per week – so obviously people must find them interesting.
I always feel more like making a podcast at weekend – it’s not just because I may have a little more free time to make one, it’s also a time where I tend to reflect on things a bit more. You know, when I’m not at work or so busy with things.
As you know I enjoy learning languages – but just as importantly I find that it is a way of better understanding other cultures as well.
Recently I started an evening course in Mandarin Chinese. Now this language is very difficult to learn for westerners I think – at least it is for me. We have a very enthusiastic lady teacher orginally from China who speaks English very well indeed and can explain the lessons very well too.
I find that starting a new language is very much like walking through a thick fog where you can’t see very well at all. As you learn, the fog clears little by little and it then gets easier to walk along. Another analogy for language learning is like making a very large jigsaw puzzle with many thousands of individual pieces. The secret to success with jigsaw puzzles is to look for the correct pieces and then you can discover the true picture when you start to complete it.
With Mandarin – there are very few clues to find from English. The only word I’ve heard so far that sounds a little like an English word is "ka-fei" which is coffee.
What impressed me is the enthusiasm of the teacher. She tries to link words to real situations. Also, she tries to make the language and culture join together not only through the lessons themselves, but last Sunday, she organised a Chinese meal for her students at a Chinese restaurant in Manchester "China town" . I found that having some chinese food and discussing language at the same time – helped me see how language can be made to be more "real" by a good teacher who wants to keep students’ motivation high.
Motivation and time are the key to learning anything – not just language, but as languages take some time to master – then keeping motivation as high as possible – it something that we should strive for.
Personally speaking, I have moments when I lose my motivation to some extent and I devised a list of things to help to keep interest high. I have to admire my Chinese teacher who herself must have her own list on how to motivate students to keep learning well.
My list is as follows:
Realise that motivation goes up and down and that everybody can have moments when they find language learning difficult. Sometime we also feel a bit lonely and this is when language classes can help as we can then see people making similar mistakes to ourselves and also making improvements too.
One we have realised that motivation can vary – then find ways to take away the some of the reasons for low motivation. Tiredness for example – if you’re tired – don’t work too hard!
Look for interesting things about the culture or history that are reflected in the language for example why do we call the game "Rugby football"? Learning the history behind this can make us enjoy the language more.
See if you can find someone who speaks the language in your area, or find a correspondent that speaks the language you’re learning - penfriend or business contact
Read some magazine articles rather than serious books when you find books are very difficult or tedious. Reading short articles can make reading more fun and less tiring.
Keep your "eye on the ball" that is – make sure you are honest with yourself about progress – many people think that they are not learning so much and become demotivated – but if they really think about it – they are probably just not learning as quickly as they would prefer.
When a topic interests you – look up some related words/phrases: e.g. Christmas:- Yuletide, Christmastime, the season of goodwill etc.
I think that will be enough for today – I don’t want to demotivate you by making this podcast too long.
Christmas is not far away – I’m looking forward to a trip to the Christmas markets in Cologne in December – so this should motivate me to keep learning German – I’ll look at some words relating to Christmas now…
Take care
Until next time
Hello again. Sorry it’s been a while since I left a podcast episode. I’ve been very busy lately.
I’ve decided for this podcast to go back to my "chatcast" idea – where I talk as a would in a conversation – as much as I can do. It’s funny, but very few people who listen to these podcasts give me feedback or comments. In fact I just realised that I rarely give feedback to other podcasters myself - and it’s quite difficult to know why. So, rather than keep mentioning this, I’ve decided to make podcast knowing that there are around 1000 views per week – so obviously people must find them interesting.
I always feel more like making a podcast at weekend – it’s not just because I may have a little more free time to make one, it’s also a time where I tend to reflect on things a bit more. You know, when I’m not at work or so busy with things.
As you know I enjoy learning languages – but just as importantly I find that it is a way of better understanding other cultures as well.
Recently I started an evening course in Mandarin Chinese. Now this language is very difficult to learn for westerners I think – at least it is for me. We have a very enthusiastic lady teacher orginally from China who speaks English very well indeed and can explain the lessons very well too.
I find that starting a new language is very much like walking through a thick fog where you can’t see very well at all. As you learn, the fog clears little by little and it then gets easier to walk along. Another analogy for language learning is like making a very large jigsaw puzzle with many thousands of individual pieces. The secret to success with jigsaw puzzles is to look for the correct pieces and then you can discover the true picture when you start to complete it.
With Mandarin – there are very few clues to find from English. The only word I’ve heard so far that sounds a little like an English word is "ka-fei" which is coffee.
What impressed me is the enthusiasm of the teacher. She tries to link words to real situations. Also, she tries to make the language and culture join together not only through the lessons themselves, but last Sunday, she organised a Chinese meal for her students at a Chinese restaurant in Manchester "China town" . I found that having some chinese food and discussing language at the same time – helped me see how language can be made to be more "real" by a good teacher who wants to keep students’ motivation high.
Motivation and time are the key to learning anything – not just language, but as languages take some time to master – then keeping motivation as high as possible – it something that we should strive for.
Personally speaking, I have moments when I lose my motivation to some extent and I devised a list of things to help to keep interest high. I have to admire my Chinese teacher who herself must have her own list on how to motivate students to keep learning well.
My list is as follows:
Realise that motivation goes up and down and that everybody can have moments when they find language learning difficult. Sometime we also feel a bit lonely and this is when language classes can help as we can then see people making similar mistakes to ourselves and also making improvements too.
One we have realised that motivation can vary – then find ways to take away the some of the reasons for low motivation. Tiredness for example – if you’re tired – don’t work too hard!
Look for interesting things about the culture or history that are reflected in the language for example why do we call the game "Rugby football"? Learning the history behind this can make us enjoy the language more.
See if you can find someone who speaks the language in your area, or find a correspondent that speaks the language you’re learning - penfriend or business contact
Read some magazine articles rather than serious books when you find books are very difficult or tedious. Reading short articles can make reading more fun and less tiring.
Keep your "eye on the ball" that is – make sure you are honest with yourself about progress – many people think that they are not learning so much and become demotivated – but if they really think about it – they are probably just not learning as quickly as they would prefer.
When a topic interests you – look up some related words/phrases: e.g. Christmas:- Yuletide, Christmastime, the season of goodwill etc.
I think that will be enough for today – I don’t want to demotivate you by making this podcast too long.
Christmas is not far away – I’m looking forward to a trip to the Christmas markets in Cologne in December – so this should motivate me to keep learning German – I’ll look at some words relating to Christmas now…
Take care
Until next time
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