July 09

July 27th

Dear all,
How are you all doing? Unbelievable how fast time flies ... you see, it's nearly the end of July, and it seems like yesterday that the long summer hols began, at least for me!
Anyway, I'm back from a lovely weekend up in the north of Spain, to be precise on a delightful holiday spot called Comillas, which most of you probably recognise by its famous university. Actually I hear it's closed for good now, and only a Fundación remains which organises some seminars now and then. Pity!
Hey, I really have to thank those of you who have written some stuff on the blog these days. You can't imagine how overjoyed I am whenever I see a new comment, whether a review on a book or film you've read or seen, or simply to say hello. It makes a hell of a lot of a difference to the look of the blog, doesn't it? It's not just a teacher rambling on about a subject, so all of a sudden the whole thing comes to life.
Talking about films, this morning I was browsing the CNN website, which I hadn't done for quite a long while, when I came across a couple of interesting videos that I'm embedding here related to the same burning issue of piracy, how it seems to be killing the industry, and how the big companies are ruthlessly trying to combat it. Being sort of a modest pirate myself (who isn't today?), I've always been interested in this debate. Is the free home download of films and music a crime that should be harshly persecuted by law on the same scale as the illegal sale on the street blankets (the so-called top manta)?
Whatever your views, perhaps you might like to see this couple of CNN videos on the matter. First, the Harry Potter cast and various actors, directors and producers talk about how hard piracy is affecting the world of movies:



However, the Hollywood industry seems to have come up with a simple way to stop the seemingly unstoppable trend: 3D films, which at least, or so they claim, cannot be camcorded on movie theatres, one of the most common ways of making recently premiered films readily available on the Net in a matter of days, even hours:



Both videos are great listening practice and I'm sure you will understand most of their content. Then you might even be tempted to express your own views on the issue ... on this blog, of course.
By the way, those of you who, unfortunately, have to sit the September exam. Are you doing enough practice of the skills you failed? Do you long for my help or advice? Please do not fail to contact me whatever your needs.
Ok, enough for today. Keep clicking now that you've started to get the hang of it! Cheerio!

July 21st

Hey guys, how's life?
For me it's back to normal after the brief stint in old Cambridge. I'm sorry I couldn't blog last night as promised, but I had the unexpected visit of my bro-in-law, his wife Bea and my nephew Pablo, and they stayed for dinner up until midnight.
Anyway, at the end of my last entry I was wondering if Carmen had given birth to the baby at last, but apparently not. Gosh Carmen, you really must be so eager to do so! But keep it cool, darling, everything will be fine.
Now, I can tell you about my slightly eventful flight back to Madrid. Or rather, what happened after we landed in Barajas at about 21:00. Believe it or not, we were dropped off at the wrong terminal, T2 (domestic flights) instead of T1 (international flights), which is a serious slip on the part of an airline, Air Europa in this case. I realised something was wrong when I saw that we hadn't walked through passport control but were led straight into the baggage reclaim area, where, to cap it all, our flight was not announced on the screens. Not until I went to an information desk nearby did the AirEurope staff become aware of their gross mistake, so we had to wait for over half an hour for a bus to take us back to T1 and follow the normal procedure. Outrageous! You can imagine how annoyed we felt. Meanwhile our suitcases were merrily going round and round the conveyor belt and many of the passengers' relatives were restlessly waiting at the arrivals hall. I thought I would surely miss my 22:00 Autores Express service back to Salamanca and have to take the normal one at 22:30, which meant arriving home nearly an hour later than expected. Fortunately I bumped into a familiar face, a former English teacher of my daughter, who had done a course in Canterbury and had flown on the same plane. Her husband was waiting outside so I had a faster (and free) taxi service directly to my house door, ha ha! As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.
But enough travel mishaps. I guess I'd rather tell you about something more cheerful, say, the West End musical I was privileged to enjoy at the Dominion Theatre in London (where else?) and the latest Harry Potter flick I watched in a Cambridge megaplex. Two completely different, visually entertaining experiences, I dare say. I mean, the Queen-based musical We Will Rock You was stunning, it really blew my mind. The stage design was brilliant, the singer actors so talented, and the supporting band nothing short of amazing, sometimes you wondered if it was Queen themselves that were playing together again. On the minus side, the story is a bit far-fetched at times, which, like in all musicals, is understandable if you think how difficult it must be to adapt Queen's discography to a single storyline. But who cares, WWRY reminded me how fabulous Freddie - how sorely he's missed! - Brian, Roger and John once were. Memories came flooding back with every song I heard. And you should have see the grand finale, everyone standing from their seats singing along Bohemian Rhapsody. Out of this world!
Was Harry Potter as memorable? Well, frankly ... no. I mean, it was kind of disappointing after all the media hype. Alright, the cinematography is accomplished, the story has got interesting moments and the cast do their jobs well, but the ending left me cold. And you cannot help feeling it's more of the same old story. Too much wizardry for me, thank you very much. However, it will surely please Harry Potter's die-hard fans. And if this latest instalment wasn't enough one more film from the final book is announced ... and split into 2 parts!
Tell you what, some of the scenes were shot in various locations of Oxford's most spectacular College, Christ Church, which I visited myself during a day trip in the renowned university. As I walked around the cloisters and quadrangles it was easy to see why.
Christ Church's Great Hall was replicated in the film studios to create Hogwart's Hall (which looks bigger than the real thing, to be honest with you) . I'd like to show you the photos I took at the college hall myself, but they're stored in my portable and I'm writing this stuff on my desktop. Sorry!
Wow, this is a huge entry, isn't it? I hope I'm not being a pain in the ass! Whatever. Seen the HP film? Would you like to give your own personal review? C'mon, don't be lazy! This blog needs you ALL, and now. By the way, Ana, Marina, Laura, thanks a lot for your comments, I really appreciate them.
That's all for now, guys. Sweet dreams.

July 14th

Hi mates, how are things going? Well, as for me, the weekend is over and we’re inevitable heading for the final week here in Cambridge.

Tell you something: According to the latest statistics from the Homerton College IT Department, our blog is the most hit all

across Europe. Ha ha, only wishful thinking! Now seriously, I cannot believe that except for my ever so faithful Ana, nobody else’s written a single comment on the blog. I’m feeling a bit down, you see. How can I possibly talk you into doing your small bit?!

Whatever. This past weekend I had the chance to get a deeper taste of the history and traditions of two of the most renowned unis in the world, namely Cambridge and Oxford. As you probably now Oxford was founded first, and only after some

academics fled the city because of some disputes with the townspeople was Cambridge not established a few years later, and ever since the two institutions have had a long history of competition. Oxford is bigger and more prestigious (actually the best in the UK according to the league tables), with more colleges (38 to 31 in Cambridge), more students (roughly 20,000, 18,000 in Cambridge) and, I can testify to this, more tourists visiting the town each year. You should have seen the number of Spaniards crowding the streets (and the shops) of Oxford yesterday. Thousands of them!

Some of you may wonder how much, if you’re admitted in either of them at all, which is no easy task, it costs to study in Oxford or Cambridge. Well, to give you an idea, the fees for Cambridge, tuition and accomodation included, amounts to 8,000 quid (pounds, that is) yearly. Affordable, maybe, but certainly pricey, don't you think?

But now let me tell you about yesterday's great personal experience. I happen to be friends with Bell's group manager, Bruce Milne, who I have known since 2005. Well, he invited me for dinner in his house to meet his family. And it turns out, as it were, that Bruce's wife, Jan (coincidentally her surname is Bell!) is a well-known author of English textbooks. Well, I had used some of them back in the late 90s (namely, the Longman

series called Matters), so I told her how privileged I was to meet her in person, face to face. She's a charming personality and we hit it off straight away. But the funny thing is that she's recently published this CUP course for advanced students called Face2face, and it dawned on me that I might "pilot" it next year in class, so she gave me a signed copy and told me that if I eventually decide to use it she would be delighted to get some feedback on how it works with my students. Isn't it great? You know, I have to think of the possibility but at first sight the coursebook looks fine to me.

Listen, I have to go to my lessons in half an hour so I better close now. Hey guys, I'd really like to hear from you, so why don't you write something, either on this blog or just by mail? I need to know what you're up to these days! And may I ask those of you who have some work to do in September if you're practicing English at all?

Whatever, I hope you're having great fun and everybody is keeping well. By the way, any news of Carmen's pregnancy? Is her baby already kicking around?

Besos y un fuerte abrazo from Cambridge,

Jose Luis

July 9th

Hello folks!

Well, I cannot see much “activity” on our blog, but here I go again with some more reflections from Cambridge. Please, will you write some stuff too?

Life swiftly goes on here at Homerton College. Incidentally, this is Cambridge’s Faculty of Education and it hosts the largest number of students in a single college, about six hundred last academic year, I hear.

We have a hectic timetable down here: there’s the scheduled tutorials with Ian and Lindsay (great chaps!), the workshops, the cultural talks, the plenary talks, you name it! But relatively very little time for social life before 7:30 p.m. Well, there’s the coffee break, lunch and dinner, of course, when you meet new people every day.

On Tuesday we had this guided tour of the city by a charming blue-badge guide called Ian (like one of my tutors). I spotted his lovely distinctive Scottish accent right away and asked him where he hailed from. “Glasgow”, he said, “but I’ve lived in Cambridge for over 30 years, so I’ve kind of lost my native accent”. I assure you he hasn’t, it’s still there, though by now it is dead easy to follow his knowledgeable explanations so you can imagine what it was like originally. He even told me it takes some getting used to before he understands the locals in his hometown whenever he pays a visit. Amazing! Now you can see how difficult British accents can be!

Anyway, we were so lucky to stay dry during the tour as there were downpours right before and after it. We visited the must-see buildings: Queen’s and King’s College, Trinity, the Senate House, some of the oldest churches, and a couple of pubs (see photo of my toast to your helath!) … Ian told us how cruel the university authorities are, since the students, after three, four hard years working their asses off, only know if they have eventually graduated by reading heir names (or not) displayed on the notice boards outside the Senate. Over the years he’s seen may young hopefuls crying their eyes out outside this building.

Yesterday we saw a film in the Auditorium titled The Freedom Writers, starring Hillary Swank. It was OK, the story of an idealistic teacher who has to do her job at a High School which is a hotbed of violence. Her performance is remarkable, but I don’t think the script would win an Oscar for originality. Besides, I’ve never been that fond of these “teacher-saves-students” stories. However, it seems the flick stirred some of the girls deeply as many of left the room in tears …

Well, what lies ahead? Day trips to Ely and Oxford, some theatre in London (I’m in two minds about seeing either a play at Shakespeare’s renowned The Globe or a musical in the West End – perhaps Queen-based We Will Rock You?), even Harry Potter’s latest film’s premiere here in Cambridge. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

As you can see, there’s plenty of excitement to come, but I don’t want to make you envious, so I better close now. Listen guys, I really need some feedback, so I beg you please to write something, won’t you?

I wish you could be here with me. Tell you what: On Saturday I’m going to meet for lunch the group manager at Bell, my friend Bruce Milne, and I might ask him about the possibility of bringing a group of students from our language school next year, either to Cambridge or further down in Kent (Bedgebury). It will be business talk! So who knows, perhaps some of you, both current students and former students, might visit this area in 2010 on a school trip … I can’t promise anything but I will try.

Besos y abrazos

Jose Luis

July 6th

Warm greetings from Cambridge everyone!

How’s life back in Salamanca? Probably the weather is hotter than here in central England, even if it’s relatively mild (about 20º)

Well, what can I say? I have just been here for barely a day but boy, am I enjoying the course! The venue is awesome, the staff are very friendly and both my tutors and classmates are a great bunch. Only trouble is that I’m the only male teacher and there are 14 other girls from different nationalities: 4 Spanish, 5 Polish, one Austrian, one Portuguese, one Bulgarian, one Vietnamese, so I’m spoiled for choice! This is definitely a female job, since only a fifth of the teachers must be men, if not less! At least one of the tutors, Ian, is a man too … but when Lindsay comes in, it feels like I’m in a harem!

Anway, it’s being good fun so far. I even had time yesterday evening for a couple of pints of real ale. Who could ask for more! The food is, well, typically British, if you know what I mean, and so is my room. A double tap and a 19^th-century shower in the bathroom and windows covered with lace curtains, so at 5 a.m, the sun shines in, which makes it difficult to sleep. Why is it that, with my long experience, I’ll never bring a sleeping mask!

Unfortunately no full English breakfast (globalization is to blame for such a disgraceful loss!), that’s something I really miss. And we’re only given a single towel (God only knows when they’ll change it!) and three coat hangers, you know, the English can be really weird …

As for my fellow country people, there are groups from Castilla y Leon, of course, but also from Andalucia, Asturias and Cataluña, so altogether we outnumber, by far, the rest of the countries. Apparently, we are the most Comenius-funded in Europe. The Polish come second and the Belgians are third.

Well, how’s things in Spain these days? I’d love you to keep me updated online, because I don’t intend to read any Spanish papers.

I’m just realising tomorrow is San Fermin and I won’t be able to see the penning of the bulls as I usually do on the TV screen, because by the time they start running I’ll be in class. No big deal, VIVA SAN FERMIN!

OK, I’m rather exhausted ny now so I’m going to bed in a minute. But before I close, if you want to have a look at the first photos I’ve taken and get a rough idea of the place I’m staying, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.es/jantigue/BellCambridgeDay1?authkey=Gv1sRgCNWnr_mf4LXAuQE&feat=directlink

OK, folks, time to stop blogging. I really look forward to your news so write something, will you?

Besos y abrazos

Jose Luis

July 4th (incidentally America's Independence Day)

Hello everyone, wherever you may be!

I couldn't possibly leave for Cambridge without, yet briefly, saying goodbye to all of you. You know, I've been a teacher for nearly 23 years, done many courses before, but I still feel the same excitement as in 1981 when I first travelled to the UK to stay with a host family. I do hope I never lose that feeling because it must be an indication of my love for this language called English and my ongoing wish to try and get better at my job each day.

Not one of your "speeches", not again, you must be thinking. Don't worry, I'll be brief. I just want you to know that I'll be thinking of you now and then, at least when I do some blogging from Silicon Fen, aka Cambridge. I mean, I intend to keep in touch either by mail or through our blog but I'd like to think you'll do your bit too, won't you? I'll also upload some photos of the city and the people I'll hopefully meet during the course. I'll send a brief account of my experiences, my classes, my teachers ... I hope you find it all an excuse to keep practicing your English online, OK?

Well, it's time to say ... so long. I wish you guys a blissful summer holiday, however long or short it may be, and will be looking forward to meeting you again soon. To those of you who have to sit the exam in September, cheer up and be confident. Do a little something everyday rather than wait until the last few days to start "preparing" the tasks you failed.

Take care. Besos y abrazos

Jose Luis