On nonviolent struggle (2)

Interviewing Howard Clark – video 2
by Mujer Palabra (June 2013)

Beginning of the learning year – some tips for learning English

A two-page document I’ve written for my students

LEARNING2LEARN

Women not getting justice ever, not even in mythology! and the water problem and…

Please, watch. “Dancing for a better world” by Mallika Sarabhai. Against violence!!!

HERE IS THE ENDING:

So, why is it, that if we think that we all agree that we need a better world, we need a more just world, why is it that we are not using the one language that has consistently showed us that we can break down barriers, that we can reach people? What I need to say to the planners of the world, the governments, the strategists is, “You have treated the arts as the cherry on the cake. It needs to be the yeast.” Because, any future planning, if 2048 is when we want to get there, unless the arts are put with the scientists, with the economists, with all those who prepare for the future, badly, we’re not going to get there. And unless this is actually internalized, it won’t happen.

So, what is it that we require? What is it that we need? We need to break down our vision of what planners are, of what the correct way of a path is. And to say all these years of trying to make a better world, and we have failed. There are more people being raped. There are more wars. There are more people dying of simple things. So, something has got to give. And that is what I want. Can I have my last audio track please?

Once there was a princess who whistled beautifully. (Whistling) Her father the king said, “Don’t whistle.” Her mother the queen said, “Hai, don’t whistle.” But the princess continued whistling. (Whistling)

The years went by and the princess grew up into a beautiful young woman, who whistled even more beautifully. (Whistling) Her father the king said, “Who will marry a whistling princess?” Her mother the queen said, “Who will marry a whistling princess?”

But the king had an idea. He announced a Swayamvara. He invited all the princes to come and defeat his daughter at whistling. “Whoever defeats my daughter shall have half my kingdom and her hand in marriage!” Soon the palace filled with princes whistling. (Whistling) Some whistled badly. Some whistled well. But nobody could defeat the princess.

“Now what shall we do?” said the king. “Now what shall we do?” said the queen. But the princess said, “Father, Mother, don’t worry. I have an idea. I am going to go to each of these young men and I am going to ask them if they defeated correctly. And if somebody answers, that shall be my wish.”

So she went up to each and said, “Do you accept that I have defeated you?” And they said, “Me? Defeated by a woman? No way, that’s impossible! No no no no no! That’s not possible.” Till finally one prince said, “Princess, I accept, you have defeated me.” “Uh-huh …” she said. “Father, mother, this man shall be my wife.” (Whistling)

ORALES – A MUERTE! VAMOOOOS!

FOR MY INTERMEDIO AND AVANZADO STUDENTS:
These days, total exposure to English (listenings) and as much LISTEN & REPEAT AS YOU CAN. IT’ll help you a lot!

The most important thing: avoid making mistakes you know you can avoid making! And if you make them, yes, relax, it’s ok if you… FIX THEM! Practice Useful language for that, in case you make a mistake. “Sorry, I mean…” (corrected version)

Communicative Strategies: Useful language
audios to listen & repeat – do Part 1 Part 2 and Part 3
Listen to the audios for Interactions, too
http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/usefullanguage/langfunc/langfunc_conversation.htm

Learning to monitor your production as you speak
Watch the videos with my corrections, and repeat out loud the corrected sentence. By watching videos os this kind, you’ll learn unconsciously to fix your mistakes when you make them as you speak. Here are some audios too with corrections on the webpage:
http://www.youtube.com/user/EOIdeLeganes
http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking/oralperformances/listofperformances.htm
Here, I didn’t do the Intermedios, but I did the Básicos and Avanzados (click on their Reproduction List and watch the ones with my comments)

More, here: including a mon on bullfighting for Avanzado (by me) and some ideas for potential problems during the interaction, so you can prepare useful language to be fluent and accurate (grammatically) while doing something to fix the problem!

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking.htm

I’LL PUBLISH INTERMEDIO 2’S MARK ON THE SCHOOL’S WEBSITE ON MONDAY EVENING. I’LL DO THE SAME WITH AVANZADO’S, THE EVENING BEFORE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION ON THE SCHOOL’S BULLETIN BOARD.

This has been the first year when the Avanzado 2 Reading and Listening Tests were at the B2 level, with no C1 questions. As people did their Writing test some teachers corrected the Reading and Listening of one of my groups (because I don’t have enough days to do all the work I have this week – even though I’ll be spending this weekend checking Writing Tests), and everybody has passed those two parts (Avanzado 2 Tuesday).

Anyway, when people see their marks, if they have failed some part, they should come to revisión. Check the time and the date for that, and come, if you fail any part. I could be late for Revisión because I’ll be part of an Oral Examining Board the hours before, so wait for me keeping quiet if you are in the corridor.

Screenplay to work on your English!

At last!!! Finished preparing the screenplay of the movie called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel!

It’s taken me two months because I did it whenever I had some free time!

I’ve prepared this screenplay for me to use in class next year with Upper Intermediate and Advanced students. Teachers are welcome to use it, of course. And if you are a lifelong learner, you might want to use at home to work on your English.

the-best-exotic-marigold-hotel-bk13 (44 pdf pages – the two last are ideas for activities!)

In support of Turkish people. In your language!

Spread the word!

More: http://world.time.com/2013/06/08/women-on-the-front-lines-of-turkey-protests/

Speaking Tests (B2): Brainstorming on Topics and Language Functions

When you have to speak about a topic, it is generally expected you fulfill certain communicative aims and you perform certain language functions, too. Have a look at this and see what I mean: http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking/brainstormingexample.htm

You will find more ideas for working on your Speaking here: http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking.htm

But remember: listening to English is key. When you listen to English, you learn to speak, you consequently learn “grammar”, and you get used to understanding people, while developing comprehension strategies unconsciously too! http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/listening.htm

Shipping and Transport, an Intermedio 2 interactive presentation!

Thanks, Roberto, and thanks to the students in his group, for taking part!

Spanglish in Europe

Alberto sent a very interesting video: people from Gibraltar. They speak English using words in Spanish, too, so we could say that it’s the European version of Puerto Rican Spanglish! Enjoy!

A listening for Avanzado 2’s

ON self-publishing. NPR – http://www.npr.org/2013/02/04/171103053/self-publishing-now-the-first-choice-for-some-writers

Interactions (dialog, Intermedio 2). Again! But they did so well!

I’m surprised I didn’t include more “Well done!”‘s  and “Awesome”‘s!

(At the moment I’m finishing Roberto’s interactive presentation, which I hope to upload in a couple of days.)

How books can open your mind (TED Talk)

New video!: What Leads to Success?

A wonderful presentation by Juancar, who in spite of being an Intermedio 2 student (B1), shows an Upper Intermediate or B2 level in this outstanding exercise! You will learn or clarify some key concepts that lead to a good life! Come on, listen to him! And if you like it, remember to send the link to more English learners! The exercise of listening and reading corrected mistakes helps you develop the skill of listening to yourself and fixing your mistakes as you speak.Thanks, Juancar, impressive work!

Btw, I posted a note under the video, on the correction included about the phrasal.

PS: I’m not sure I’ll manage to edit the videos I videoshot in the Avanzado 2 group… 😦 But I’ll try my hardest. I’ll keep you posted, don’t worry!

Useful Language (+audios)

Some with audios to listen and repeat

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/usefullanguage/index.htm

An interaction (a friend’ll visit Madrid) with teacher’s comments!

With all my love, as usual, and hoping you’ll all enjoy it. If you find it useful for learning English, remember to share the link. In this way, people will see that it is possible to learn languages in public/state-run adult language schools! In defense of public education!

* defense or defense?

Improved version of the World Book Day video!

Please, spread the word. The more visits the video gets, the more people will want to see it, and the more we’ll be spreading good ideas for the classroom experience, linking academic learning with LiFE!! I included the pics of Cake Days!

If anyone appearing in the pics did not sign the permission, and doesn’t want to appear, I will downloaded and blur his or her face, OK? No problem!

Activities you might’ve missed! (Listening / Speaking, Reading)

Audio Listen & Repeat based on a Speaking activity – Spain on holidays (Today in Intermedio I said I hadn’t recorded this audio, but I did!! It’s the paper classroom copies I’m giving away)

Timed Scanning – Reading Comprehension Test – On London digs and transport

A video on World Book Day (Av 2&co)

Our second 5-minute video on the School’s YouTube channel!

I learned so much!!! I’ve learned to edit videos with iMovie!!!

If anyone wants any changes, I can download it and fix things, so just let me know.

Avanzado 2 Interaction: Banning pets in city centres?!!!

I’m sorry about delays publishing people’s work. I’ve decided just to jot down SOME corrections. Otherwise, it takes me many hours!!!

Here is Ainhoa, Laura and Pablo trying to tackle the card-activiy on banning things

Our first contribution to the School’s YouTube channel!

On EINSTEIN!!

Thanks, Juancar!! I hope it’s useful for you too. I corrected all the minor mistakes. There were no major mistakes. I’ll bring a copy of this AUTORIZACIÓN PARA SUBIDA DE VÍDEOS! 🙂

This post also occurred because of Juancar: how to read Einstein’s equation

Dishwashers (audio story)

Here is the other story I have on the Talking People podcast. It was part of Letters from YT (Your Teacher), a series of letters I used to send out to old students from the TP eCampus! (I’m not doing that anymore, but I might, some day!)

Dishwashers, for Sandra Pò (another activist friend of mine)

Telling a (true/fictional) story (audios, tips)

• A Night Out (audio) – for Elementary and Pre-intermediate students, and includes an intro on using pasts and thinking about presents in story-telling.
• I’m posting it here because so many people check out this post Writing/Speaking: Narrating past events (Intermediate)
• Your Own Story-telling. Avanzado & Intermedio
• Telling stories: using The Mentalist

Asking Questions in Church

An audio story, for Upper Intermediate students on.

A childhood memory to inspire people to prepare theirs?

Black Snake Blues

by Victoria Spivey

(woops, no word-meaning intended on my part! 😀 It’s just I love the atmosphere this music creates, and this kind of very powerful singing!)

Two mons. on The Internet

by Intermedio 2 students (scroll down a bit, please!)

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking/oralperformances/listofperformances.htm

5-min mon. on The Elderly

by an Avanzado 2 student, who practiced the monologue three times, avoiding the mistakes he had made previously, and who did not write it down, as I keep asking students! (because practicing Speaking is not practicing WRITING!! eek!)

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking/oralperformances/na2_elderly_mon.htm

Monologue on sb you love & admire

Mónica got this year her first job as a sports journalist, and she’s a journalist because of her grandma, she explains, so here goes an affectionate homage to this amazing woman who the people who loved her miss so much today.

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking/oralperformances/ni2monica_grandma.htm

A listening exercise from Reel Women (Canada) – C1, Advanced

Open the audio in a new tab

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/hotpot/TPlisteningactivities/l_reviews_reelwomen_scaredsacred.htm

Felicia’s mon on The Elderly

Avanzado 2. Listen to her 5-minute February Exam Practice exercise! Thanks, Felicia!

Interaction by Avanzado 2 students: Free parking space at weekends

Thanks to Sara, Alberto and Fernando!

Monica’s monolog on her grandma (Intermediate, B1)

Well, I was waiting for pics and the transcript, but Mónica found a job as a journalist!!! So I’m publishing her wonderful two-minute monologue so that you can all enjoy it! It’s inspiring!!

A little tip: if you have to say (when you’re talking to people) “continue (doING something)” say “KEEP (doING something)” — it’s more natural!

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking/oralperformances/ni2monica_grandma.htm

Resources collected by my admired colleague Rosa

Rosa and I worked at EOI San Fernando de Henares from 2004 to 2006. From her, I learned a great deal of things, and one of them was to organize the Writings with specific dates to be handed in each month. In this way, students would have  a month to learn to write a certain kind of text and then I would be able to jot down stuff for a List of Mistakes based on common mistakes in the groups. Most importantly, we would have a C-Day (Composition Day) where students would read out their work, and I would share info on Writing Strategies and for people’s LoM. Sometimes Writings were so many that we spent a few lessons doing this. And I tell you — people learned a lot. This year I haven’t followed this plan because of the teaching and learning circumstances at present. But if you’re a teacher and would like to learn a bit about that, download the Program/Syllabus I designed for Avanzado 2 when we were free to design courses — according to the Constitution we are still free, but the truth is Schools are imposing that all teachers pick the same textbook and stick to it so they can “teach the same things”!!! As if learning were that simple! http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/avanzado2/index.htm

• Anyway, Rosa uploaded some unit (listening) tests for Upper Intermediate (B2) over here: http://ficus.pntic.mec.es/rgoc0026/Index_A.html
• And then she has some interesting notes on Formal and Informal language here: http://ficus.pntic.mec.es/rgoc0026/Index_A.html Just in case you can’t read it: For formal and semiformal texts, please avoid BIG (large, high, … it depends on context! A big problem = a SEVERE /sevír/ problem), HUGE (very large, considerable…), KID (child), STUFF (what do you mean?). In formal texts you should avoid MANY. Use “numerous” instead, for instance. Brainstorm on examples. Also in semiformal texts, you can also use “a great deal of” to avoid using “many” too many times!
• And Rosa has some podcast listenings here: http://ficus.pntic.mec.es/rgoc0026/Index_A.html
• I have some podcast listenings here: http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/audio/podcasts/episodesinclass.html AND my apologies for Silvia for the delay in fixing the broken the links. I’ll be doing this right now. It might take me a few hours, but hopefully they’ll be working tomorrow! 🙂

Speaking Activity – Spain on holidays – Audio

We recorded the Listen & Repeat of useful language at the Intermedio 2 group, so you can practice sentences about planning a holiday in Madrid, Spain for English-speaking people.

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/usefullanguage/speakinginteractions/spInteractions_02.htm

Phrasals – audio to L&R

Here is a listen & repeat exercise so you can learn a few phrasals in context! (language in use). This web page is located in the Useful Language section on talkingpeople.net — Sentences for your Grammar!

A warm thank you to the Intermedio 2 students who allowed us to record this lesson.

Irene, “But CAN WE USE…?” 🙂 (not “We can use…?”)

Cruelty to Animals – read, listen, speak!

Our societies are incapable of living together with other animals, of respecting animal rights. Although I am an omnivore (and do not feel guilty or ashamed for that) I believe that vegans are raising very important issues we should all consider, meditate, discuss. It’s true it’s annoying when they resort to guilt-tripping, like religious leaders did in the past to keep people obedient and quiet. Vegans shouldn’t resort to that because their reasoned points are powerful. On the other hand, I think “ordinary citizens”, this is, the majority that understands things in the exact same way, should stop insulting and making fun of vegans — they’re fighting for a world where the rest of the animals are on an equal footing with humans, they’re not fighting to abuse anyone. (I’m not linking to the most famous animal right group in the USA because in my view their campaigns do not respect women’s rights and they refuse to overcome their sexism. I would like to see the men in those groups playing the part the women in those groups play in their poster campaigns. They — the men — are animals, too.)

• The Listening activities on Animals at talkingpeople.net (from Speaking of Pets and The 60-second Naturalist podcasts)
• A monolog on Bullfighting: Art or Cruelty?

Some vocabulary:

• I’m a vegetarian: I don’t eat any kind of meat (beef, chicken, fish, seafood…, jamón serrano or Spanish ham). I have dairy products (vegetarian cheese, milk, butter), honey, this is, food coming from animals that remain alive, and then all the things a vegan eats.
• I’m a vegan /vígn/: I don’t eat anything from animals, whether dead or alive. Furthermore, I don’t use products that have been tested on animals, I don’t use clothing and footwear made from animals. I consider myself an animal, like the rest of the animals on the planet, so I don’t feel I have the right to mistreat them, exploit them, or kill them.

What do vegetarians and vegans eat?

• I’m an omnivore: I eat anything, everything. Still, I don’t agree with cruelty against animals, and our food production system is extremely cruel to animals. To make matters worse, we kill to throw away, and this is immoral towards animals and other human beings who are starving in the world. The meat industry is also a main cause of damage to the environment.
• And what’s a ‘freegan‘?!

More informed definitions: What do ‘vegetarian’ and ‘vegan’ mean?

A blog with informative articles on Animal Topics

Animal rights vegans raise important issues in society, about our relationship to (other) animals:

• Don’t kill animals for food. We can choose our diet, and we can be healthy without having to eat animals.
• The environmental consequences of human food choices
• Don’t exploit animals: vegans are against animal testing, and this relates to different areas of our lives, from cosmetics to medicine. Beauty without cruelty cosmetics. What are alternatives to animal testing?

Videos:

• Why Vegan?! – 10 minutes – you will learn to pronounce a lot of words, like speciesism
• Why Vegan Is Important – 6 minutes – Friends not Food
• Vegetarian to Vegan (Hawai) – a 1-hour lecture on the topic.

Oral tasks by students

with teacher’s feedback:

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking/oralperformances/listofperformances.htm

I’ve almost finished, just 2 recordings more by Avanzado 2 students and 1 by Lara, I think.

If you did a recording in class and want to see it published on Talking People, send me an email to get the recording, then take it down as a dictation, send it back to me with the transcript and I’ll work with the transcript and publish it on the web. You see, the doctor says I have to cut down on the amount of hours I work at home! 🙂

More audios (L&R)

Learn while you’re lying on a couch or bed! 😀

In case you missed this audio!
Useful Language for Speaking Interactions

• Making and responding to Requests
• Making Suggestions/Proposals, Looking for Suggestions, Making Recommendations
• Giving Contact Information – the link on the page where the transcript is takes you to the old podcast, so I need to change it to the new podcast here.
• Saying you’re sorry / Apologizing
• Saying thank you / Thanking

Indirect Questions – audios – L&R

Listen and repeat while visualizing the grammar of these indirect questions. You will improve your fluency and accuracy with this kind of structures!

• Indirect Questions 1 (explanation)
• Indirect Questions 2 (L&R)

Oral Herstory at the British Library

http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/sisterhood/index.html?ns_campaign=What%27%27s+On+newsletter+-+April+2013&ns_mchannel=email&ns_source=newsletter&ns_linkname=sisterhood_image1&ns_fee=0

Oral & Writing Assignments by students

EOI (state-run adult language schools in Spain) students at the Intermedio 2 level take a B2 level Certificate Examination in June but use a B2 level textbook, which is crazy, yes, but that’s how things are! Similarly, EOI Avanzado 2 students take a B2 level exam but use a C1 level textbook!

Some students have kindly shared their work so anyone interested can learn from it. Throughout this evening I’ll be adding links to this post as I publish their pieces. Enjoy!

• Don’t Leave the Trail!, by Laura Plaza Casares (an article in 170 words, Intermedio 2)
• Mini-sagas by Intermedio 2 students (stories in 50 exact words! Come on, send in yours you chickens!) – I’m just writing the initials of people who send them in, but if you want your full name, please, let me know. No problem!
• Avanzado 2: an amazing 600-word review by Pablo on The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. If you have the book, or if you read /red/ it, don’t miss this review!
• Oral Performances by Students: Isabel (Intermedio 2) on Food & Eating Habits or Meals!

Thanks for the digs — good it’s useful for more people! 🙂

Prepositions of Place & Movement (C1)

This is a listening and repeat exercise recorded in class and dedicated to Pablo, who wanted to avoid consolidating fossilized mistakes. The best way to avoid this is to create a section in your notebook where you can collect phrases where prepositions are used, or even complete sentences, like in this exercise. You can fish those from your audio transcripts in the textbooks. In this way, you will also have the chance to listen and repeat or consolidate.

Path: Talking People – Useful Language – Sentences for your Grammar – Prepositions of Place & Movement (1)

A story on childhood memories and Greece and stuff

This one for Avanzado 2 students and anyone wanting to enjoy the story!

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tppodcast/2010/10/03/stories-house-of-light-shadow-by-nicholas-gage/

Listen to a bio, to practice your pasts!

It’s for Pre-intermediate students, but Intermedio 2 students might be interested:

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tppodcast/2012/02/15/useful-language-past-events-bios-elementary/

A 5-min monolog on Mainstream Medicine & Alternative Treatments

for learners taking tests at the B2 and C1 levels – Upper Intermediate and Advanced. With final comments on how to work on your speaking tasks at home.

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/skills/speaking/monologues/mainstreamalternativemedicine.htm

New episode to help Intermediate/Advanced students in conversations!

Just recorded a little episode (listen & repeat) which will be particularly useful to English learners who may have to take part in (timed or real) conversations with any of these communicative aims: Organizing Events, Helping People, and Pros & Cons on Options. I have to say I kind of improvised the collection of sentences. Any English learner out there, if you want me to record whatever, you can post your own collection! 🙂

http://www.talkingpeople.net/tppodcast/2013/04/01/useful-language-for-speaking-interactions-1-intermediate-advanced/

This episode is found on the Talking People website, too. If you ENTER and then click USEFUL LANGUAGE and then USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR CONVERSATIONS, there you’ll be!

If you have any ideas on how I can tidy up the site, they’ll be welcome, too. The site wasn’t thought out but built as my own work as an EFL teacher developed, this is, all inspired in students’ needs! Hopefully, when I move south I’ll have more free time!

BACK!!!! (bye bye spring hols! ♥)

Hiya, dear all! Just back from being locked up in nature due to non-stop rain! I couldn’t even go for a quick stroll!!!

BUT — I’ve been reading a bit: ghost stories by women writers (I’ll bring a few copies of this one for the end-of-course goodbye raffle! because they are GREAT and the weeny presentations of the authors are like pebbles shining in crystal clear river waters! 😀 !) and about the Spanish painter and revolutionary (!) Maruja Mallo and the Avant Garde in Spain (you’ve got to get a copy of her bio by this US American woman. In Spanish it’s published by Circe but it costs about 30 euros!! It’s originally in English, yes! BUT IT COSTS 70 EUROS!!!). Then I’ve done a bit of translating for social activism: on Feminist Curiosity (bits of the intro) by Cynthia Enloe (it’ll get published on Mujer Palabra, in Activismo – Pacifismo feminista). Finally, I’ve been doing some writing (a poem on friendship lost, which turned out to be feminist as an accident, 😀 , well, when you develop a feminist intelligence it’s like when you understand something: you cannot stop using that understanding!) and a new feminist postcard (you can color it: 1 pdf page: cartel_colorear. I’ll do it in English soon-ish) which I think will help humanity to overcome all the hurt patriarchal values have done to human intelligence!).

Yes! Yes! And done a bit of work for you! I’ve written 1,000 words on Mainstream or Alternative Medicine so that Avanzado 2 people can listen to an example of a monolog on that (I need to record the audio now).  Then, I’ve prepared two special speaking activities. (Btw, remember to bring the handout with Three Proposals.) Here’s one: Next Tuesday, when we’re back to school (eek!!!!!!!!) I’ll order 50 copies of this one-page handout for a Timed Speaking Activitiy in the Avanzado 2 groups! I’ll give it to people in our first lesson together and you’ll do the looking up stuff before the lesson when you’ll actually “improvise the interaction.”

I hope you’ll enjoy it, and I also FUCKING HOPE YOU WILL FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS!!! 😀

TIMEDSPEAKINGACTIVITYFORAVANZADO2  (FIXED LINK) – traveling to Greece ♥, Iceland ♥♥ or Cyprus

Hope you all enjoy your Sunday and hope it’s not a Rainday! Next Monday I’ll try to send my feedback on the recordings I did not manage to finish working on last week!

Language is powerful! (audio)

Listen to this at Talking People Podcast episode

Here is the transcript

Language is powerful! Metaphors we live by: Argument is war

Listen to this at Talking People Podcast episode

Feminists are people who have been able to question their own conceptual system, the language they use to express it and the way they relate to their own selves and other people. We have actually noticed how our minds liberated and expanded as we realized for instance the importance of language in conditioning our understanding. On top of that, many of us have read and listened to people doing all kinds of research, more theoretical research but essential for human knowledge. Still, the value of feminist work on language is astounding. Unfortunately, most people, unaware of how their own conceptual systems are built and how language works to construct culture — mostly tradition — being unable to develop any feminist curiosity or feminist intelligence, feel entitled to despise and criticize what they are totally ignorant of.

I’m excerpting some thinking by a non-feminist around language, which offers the same rich ground of thought and action feminists offer when we analyze language. I find these ideas really interesting and they bring about the resources of feminism and nonviolent struggle, too — sources we should all be exploring to learn to build a better world.

EFL students will also find value in these ideas for improving their oral work at speaking tests and their ability to hold rational discussions. (You can read my notes on Holding Rational Discussions on the Speaking – Discussions section on talkingpeople.net). Defending a position just means explaining your reasons to say something. Not agreeing should not mean fighting and repeating the same things over and over again. Agreeing on something is not One Winning The Other Losing, but both finding some constructive joint future action. If you collaborate, if you work together in your interaction or conversation, you will all win, so to say! If you don’t, you might all lose, to keep using this kind of violent language that has made us so violent when holding discussions!

It was not violence, but collaboration that developed the best in humanity in PreThemstory!

Metaphors We Live By, by George Lakoff & Mark Johnson (The University of Chicago Press, 1980)

Concepts We Live By. Chapter 1. Pages 3, 4, 5 [With my underlinings and comments]

Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination … a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language. Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.

The concepts that govern our thought are not just matters of the intellect. They also govern our everyday functioning, down to the most mundane details. Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world, and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus plays a central role in defining our everyday realities. If we are right in suggesting that our conceptual system is largely metaphorical, then the way we think, what we experience, and what we do every day is very much a matter of metaphor.

But our conceptual system is not something we are normally aware of. In most of the little things we do every day, we simply think and act more or less automatically along certain lines. Just what these lines are is by no means obvious. One way to find out is by looking at language. Since communication is based on the same conceptual system that we use in thinking and acting, language is an important source of evidence for what the system is like.

Primarily on the basis of linguistic evidence, we have found that most of our ordinary conceptual system is metaphorical in nature. And we have found a way to begin to identify in detail just what the metaphors are that structure how we perceive, how we think, and what we do.

To give some idea of what it could mean for a concept to be metaphorical and for such a concept to structure an everyday activity, let us start with the concept ARGUMENT and the conceptual metaphor ARGUMENT IS WAR. This metaphor is reflected in our everyday language by a wide variety of expresssions:

ARGUMENT IS WAR

[Notice how language has always used the masculine. Why was that? Women were banned from thinking and education. Traditionally, they’ve been considered unfit for rational thinking. Of course, this is not true. We should all be unfit now for exerting patriarchal reasoning and we should all be finding ways to think beyond the patriarchal frame of mind, so solidly based on violence and misogyny (considering women inferior in everything). We’re developing Empathetic Rationality, reasoning which includes love or solidarity, a concern for life, and this is kinder, wiser, and better for our living together!]

Your claims are indefensible.He attacked every weak point in my argument.His  criticisms were right on target.I demolished his argument.I’ve never won an argument with him.You disagree? OK, shoot!If you use that strategy, he’ll wipe you out.He shot down all of my arguments.

It is important to see that we do not just talk about arguments in terms of war. We can actually win or lose arguments. We see the person we are arguying with as an opponent. We attack his [sic] positions and defend our own. We gain and lose ground. We plan and use strategies. If we find a position indefensible, we can abandon it and take a new line of attack. Many of the things we DO in arguying are partially structured by the concept of war. Though there is no physical battle, there is a verbal battle, and the structure of an argument — attack, defend, counterattack, etc. — reflects this. It is in this sense that the ARGUMENT IS WAR metaphor is one that we live by in this culture; it structures the actions we perform in arguying.

Try to imagine a culture were arguments are not viewed in terms of war [but in terms of collaborating in joint thinking, or to learn, to know, to solve problems], where no one wins or loses [but everybody learns a bit more about itself, people and/or the world], where there is no sense of attacking or defending, gaining or losing ground [but a sense of contributing ideas for joint analyses, and contributing experience for joint reflection]. …

Chapter 3. Page 10

… in the midst of a heated argument, when we are intent on attacking our opponent’s position and defending our own, we may lose sight of the cooperative aspects of arguing. Someone who is arguing with you can be viewed as giving you his [sic] time, a valued commodity, in an effort at mutual understanding [or joint pursuing of more knowledge and wisdom, or at problem-solving]. But when we are preoccupied with the battle aspects, we often lose sight of the cooperativeaspects [& knowledge building, problem-solving].

Well, I hope that you mull over all of these ideas, because we should really improve our way of viewing and performing discussions! In the same way we should learn to stop connecting love to obligation, for the latter degrades and distorts love!

How Art Made the World! (updated)

March 13: Laura and Juanma told us about finding the documentary on YouTube! The complete episode 1! So people, use it to learn more, and see if you can prepare a re-telling of what you learned. Also, if you missed these lessons, print the worksheet below and do it while you watch it a couple of times. Next week we’ll correct the second page. Today we only had time for correcting the first, after watching it a second time. http://youtu.be/efS9qOYNOjc

March 4, 2013: This week we’ll be have pairs and groups of three doing their oral interaction at Plenary, but in our second lesson this week, in its second half (the break will be a bit earlier, I presume), we’ll be watching the first episode of this amazing BBC documentary on Art.

How_Art_Made_the_World (2 Word pages)

The documentary is about how we humans depict the human body. This episode starts in prehistory with the venuses /vínusis/ — and it’s a pre-HIStory, yes — you’ll see why you never visualize women artists, which does not make any sense, really! Then it highlights the fact that Egyptians depicted the human body in the same way for … how many years?! And attempts to explain why. The most impressive part is when we get to Ancient Greece! So don’t miss the lesson! We’ll watch it once this week and again next week, for discussions in small groups and at plenary.

Here is a video where you can listen to Sara, an Avanzado 2 student I once had. She volunteered to do an Oral Presentation on the fourth, I think, episode, which is about how Politics has used Images to make people do and believe things! Enjoy!

Parkour

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/21061014″>EXTRAORDINARY EPISODE 1: AMY – Documentary series</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/phoebehartley”>Phoebe Hartley</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>