International Working Women's Day

Did you know why International Working Women's day is celebrated on the 8th of March?
Watch this video for a short summary of the history of the movement for women's rights..

One of the main reasons why it is celebrated in March is the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in March 1911. The tragedy sparked outrage through worker activists and gave emphasis to the celebration. Unfortunately, many of the problems women faced in the early 20th century are still present today. Watch the video and learn about what they are:



You can find more information about the fire here.
Through the years, International Women's Day has become a more broad celebration that also speaks about gender equality in our private lives as well.

For example, Beyonce's celebrated music video If I were a boy is from 2008. What issues does she discuss in the video?

 

Finally, in 2018 Taylor Swift released her own take on women's rights. Do you believe attitudes have changed? Why?

 

The Cannes Festival

The Cannes Film Festival is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, but there are some very specific rules that you must follow. What are they?

What's its connection to European history?

The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement was one of the most important events in US History. During the 1950s and 60s, African-Americans fought for equal rights to voting rights, education, healthcare, justice and more.
Before we watch the video, can you think of people and events that happened during this period?



Look at the infographic. Which events on the video are mentioned in the image?

On the third Monday of January every year, the US celebrates the birth of one of the main leaders of the movement, Martin Luther King, who was born on the 15th of January.

What do you know about MLK? Watch the video and check if the facts match what you believe. Who else is in the video? Why do you think that is?




Martin Luther King was a great speech writer. His best known speech is probably the "I have a dream" speech, which he gave during the Civil Rights March on Washington in 1963. It is believed that 250.000 attended this protest.



The speech is so famous that it has been put into song by rapper Common for the soundtrack of the film Freedom Writers.

 

Another famous film about the Civil Rights Movement is the film Selma, which received an Oscar  nomination for Best Film in 2015. The main soundtrack song, Glory, received the award for Best Song on the same year.


. .

Selma deals with the difficulties the black population in the American South faced in order to register to vote and participate in elections. Here's a fragment of the film. What do you think about how the two people in the clip behave? What conclusions do you draw about the situation in the 1960s in the US?




Finally, February is Black History Month. Do you think it's still relevant to celebrate this month? Why?

The passive voice (BACHILLERATO)

Here is a presentation on how to use the passive voice, which we will be seeing in unit 6. As you can see, it's quite similar to Spanish BUT there are some peculiarities that you need to pay attention to.
(Note: I've changed the presentation a little, as it was a bit hard to read on mobile phones)

Here is further information on how to use the causative structure.

You can go to Agendaweb's section for passive voice practice here http://www.agendaweb.org/verbs/passive-exercises.html

For more on passive reporting structures, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/

For more on using the passive voice with two objects check http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/

You can see some practical examples of how the passive voice is used here:

 

There is a second part of the video. You can watch it here.

Finally, this collection of songs that use causatives and passives is also worth checking out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG_7Xlghi_c

Short films in English

Here's a way to practice your English that is less stressful than watching a long film.

In this twenty-minute story, two young astronauts fall in love. Stop at minute 8. What do you think will happen in the end?



In T.I.M., a social service robot is assigned to a problematic young man. Do you think they'll get along? How do you think the robot will help him become a better person?

 

A Brief History of the Oscars

It's Oscar time again!

Watch the video and answer this question:

Who created the Oscars? Why?









Test your memory. Do you remember:



1) When were the Oscars created? Why is that date important?

    1919 ♦ 1925 ♦  1929

2) How many guests attended the first ceremony?

    517 ♦ 217 ♦ 270

3) How many awards were given on the first ceremony?

    15 ♦ 19 ♦ 5

4) What is represented on the pedestal of the Oscar statuette?

    The 5 branches of filmaking ♦ The 5 Masters of Film ♦ The 5 continents

5) Who has the record for most Oscar wins?

         

6) When was the first TV ceremony aired?

    1963 ♦ 1953 ♦ 1948

7) How many times has Bob Hope host the Oscars?

    9 ♦ 19 ♦ 15

8) How many people watched the ceremony in 1998?

    55 million ♦ 1.6 billion ♦ 105 million


Watch the video again and check if you were right!



Who were the Oscar winners this year? Which was your favourite?

Analyzing Black Panther

Besides being a really exciting film and one of the highest grossing films in US history, MCU film Black Panther is a great film to think about African culture and the effects of the African diaspora.

Its production design is loaded with references to different African cultures. If you want to learn more about them you can read the Twitter thread quoted here:

The world of Black Panther makes reference to many important elements of African cultures. https://t.co/QRog5plint

— Elena Clemente (@Good_At_English) 10 de mayo de 2018

You can also check out production designer Hannah Beachler herself explaining how some of the scenes in the film were designed.
-What is an isicolo? What is an adinkra symbol? Why are they important in the entrance scene?
-What cultures are represented in the waterfall scene? (watch this with subtitles!)



You can also watch director Ryan Coogler's breakdown on how the casino scene in the movie was shot.

-How does feminism influence the way the scene was shot?
-What are the African references in this scene?
-What are the two contrasting concepts in it?



Here actress Laetitia Wright describes some of the science fictional and technological elements that appear in the movie.
-What's the main innovation in the new Black Panther suit?
-What are kimoyo beads? How are they used?



Finally, here's a more in-depth discussion of the symbolism of Black Panther. 
-Why are colonialism, internationalism and isolationism important for the movie? How do they relate to our own world?
-What are the main differences between T'Challa and Eric Killmonger? Why is T'Challa the better leader?
-If you have seen Infinity War, why are these ideas important in the next film? In your opinion, what would have happened on Earth if the ending of Black Panther had been different?




As a bonus, you can reward yourself with Kendrick Lamar's album inspired by the movie here:



This is the music video for the main theme song (includes subtitles):

Watching Coco

Coco is a 2017 fantasy film. It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Lee Unkrich wrote and directed the film, along with co-director Adrian Molina. It is the story of a 12-year-old boy named Miguel Rivera, who wants to be a musician but whose family hates music. After an accident during Día de los Muertos, he is sent to the land of the dead, where he will need the help of his great-great-grandfather to return to his family among the living.

The film was written by Molina and Matthew Aldrich from a story by Unkrich, Jason Katz, Aldrich and Molina, and the music was composed by Michael Giacchino and also includes some classic Mexican songs, like La Llorona.

Coco was  released in Mexico the weekend before Día de los Muertos, and in the United States on November 22, 2017. The film became immediately popular, and it won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for "Remember Me", as well as the Best Animated Film at the BAFTA Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Critic's Choice Movie Awards, and Annie Awards.

Watch the next video on the link to know why the film has become so popular and received so many awards:

Los Angeles City Councilmember Gil Cedillo declared Tuesday, Feb. 27 as "Coco Day" in LA 🙌

Here’s why the Pixar film is being celebrated: pic.twitter.com/vOfUWP1pEm

— AJ+ (@ajplus) 27 de febrero de 2018

After watching the movie, think about what would have happened if:

1. Miguel’s great grandfather hadn’t abandoned his family?
2. Miguel’s great grandmother hadn’t forbidden music in the house?
3. Miguel hadn’t discovered the secret in the photograph?
4. Miguel’s grandmother hadn’t broken his guitar?
5. Miguel hadn’t stolen Ernesto de la Cruz’s guitar?

Think of other moments in the film when the story would have changed completely if Miguel or another character had taken a completely different decision and write 3-5 more sentences in the 3rd conditional.

Finally, you can do this quiz at home.
It only takes a couple of minutes!

Which Coco Character Are You? 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/luisdelvalle/which-coco-character-are-you?utm_term=.ew5ODMzoJ

After you are done, you can reward yourself later singing the bilingual version of "Remember Me":

Before we watch Slumdog Millionaire

On Friday we will watch Slumdog Millionaire. But before that, we are going to check how much we know about the film and about India.



For the first questions, go to http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/India and answer the following questions:

a) What is the capital of India?
b) What is its population?
c) Which Indian language has the largest percentage of speakers?
d) Go to the economy section. What percentage of the population in Indian live on less than 2 dollars a day?
e) Go to the religions section. What are the two most important religions in India?
f) Search on wikipedia what Bollywood is.
g) Now go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/81st_Academy_Awards. How many nominations did Slumdog Millionaire have? How many did it win?
h) Watch the trailer. What can you tell us about the setting, the characters and the story?

Happy Halloween!

Not a lot of work this time... just enjoy the video!

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Before we watch Nightmare before Christmas

I think it would be nice that you listen to one of the songs of the film. The song on the video is a more animated version by the singer of the rock band Fall Out Boy




Here are the lyrics of the song. Remember you can look up any word you don't understand at the Wordreference dictionary.

What's this? What's this?
There's color everywhere.
What's this?
There's white things in the air.
What's this?
I can't believe my eyes.
I must be dreaming.
Wake up, Jack, this isn't fair.
What's this?

What's this? What's this?
There's something very wrong.
What's this?
There's people singing songs.

What's this?
The streets are lined with,
Little creatures laughing.
Everybody seems so happy.
Have I possibly gone daffy?
What is this?
What's this?

There's children throwing snowballs,
Instead of throwing heads.
They're busy building toys,
And absolutely no one's dead.

There's frost on every window.
Oh, I can't believe my eyes.
And in my bones I feel the warmth,
That's coming from inside.

Oh, look.
What's this?
They're hanging mistletoe, they kiss.
Why that looks so unique, inspired.
They're gathering around to hear a story.
Roasting chestnuts on a fire.
What's this?

What's this?
In here they've got a little tree, how queer.
And who would ever think?
And why?

They're covering it with tiny little things.
They've got electric lights on strings,
And there's a smile on everyone.
So, now, correct me if I'm wrong.
This looks like fun.
This looks like fun.
Oh, could it be I got my wish?
What's this?

Oh my, what now?
The children are asleep,
But look, there's nothing underneath.
No ghouls, no witches here to scream and scare them,
Or ensnare them.
Only little cozy things,
Secure them in their dreamland.
What's this?

The monsters are all missing,
And the nightmares can't be found.
And in their place there seems to be,
Good feeling all around.

Instead of screams, I swear,
I can hear music in the air.
The smell of cakes and pies,
Are absolutely everywhere.

The sights, the sounds,
They're everywhere and all around.
I've never felt this good before.
This empty place inside me has been filling up.
I simply cannot get enough.

I want it, oh, I want it.
Oh, I want it for my own.
I've got to know.
I've got to know.
What is this place that I have found?
What is this?

Fall Out Boy - What's This? (Nightmare Before Christmas Cover) Lyrics

Question: At which point in the film do you think this happens? (Leave your answer in a comment)

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Spiderman!

This is the last Spiderman trailer. What do you think the film is about? What kind of deductions can you make from the trailer?