Archive for October, 2010
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Posted by Joseph D. Persico on October 30, 2010
We continue our Spanish & English theme with a gues post, by EFL teacher Joseph D. Persico, which explores the many similarities between these two languages. ________ If you’re a native English speaker, be glad if you have to study Spanish; if you’re a Spanish-speaking EFL student, be glad you have to study English. As [...]
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Posted by Macmillan Dictionary on October 29, 2010
This post contains a weekly selection of links related to language and words in the news. These can be items from the latest news, blog posts or interesting websites related to global English and language change, and language education too. Do contact us if you would like to submit a link for us to include. [...]
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Posted by Sharon Creese on October 29, 2010
Last week’s Language and words in the news highlighted how a bit of creative thinking can make the world of difference to an English lesson. I defy anyone not to be entertained by the Shaun the Sheep video (I love the cocktails and shower caps at the end!), and it’s the perfect vehicle to get [...]
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Posted by Beth Penfold on October 28, 2010
Following on from Sharon‘s piece this morning, ‘Pronunciation research’, the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 also covered the story of the British Library creating a snapshot of changing English, something I really fancy getting involved in. Today polled the public in its introduction to the item, with rather telling results. In addition, Professor John Wells was [...]
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Posted by Sharon Creese on October 28, 2010
It’s not surprising that we quite often talk about pronunciation on the Macmillan blog – see this post, for example, or this one – but it’s not something that the rest of the world is perhaps quite as interested in as we are. Today, though, it’s on the tips of the newsreaders’ tongues, as the [...]
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Posted by Joseph D. Persico on October 27, 2010
As part of Spanish English month, guest blogger Joseph D. Persico, an EFL teacher based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, returns to the thorny question of authentic Spanish and English. ________ In Mexico I lived with a man named Alberto who claimed that his Spanish should be called español, not castellano. According to him, people in [...]
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Posted by Sharon Creese on October 27, 2010
This blog on the Guardian books blog caught my eye, talking about the shared culture that comes from reading. I’d have to agree that the Harry Potter phenomenon has brought this into the world of the younger reader in a way that didn’t really exist when I was a child; there were books that girls [...]
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Posted by Beth Penfold on October 26, 2010
This month, lots of people looked up the Macmillan Dictionary definition of rave review. In fact, it was the fifth most popular search. Why though? Have you all just seen a fabulous play or an amazing pop concert? What was this incredible event and why wasn’t I invited? (Humph!) Let’s face it, a rave review [...]
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Posted by Nina Lauder on October 26, 2010
Final week of Spanish English month starts with a guest post from Seville by blogger Nina Lauder, freelance author, teacher trainer and educational consultant. ________ Needless to say, after over twenty years away from a native English speaking environment, I can definitely say that I suffer from a Language Identity Crisis. This ‘crisis’ is apparent [...]
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Posted by Sharon Creese on October 26, 2010
Now there’s an intriguing idea – teaching English through the medium of a supernatural detective series (as featured in last week’s Friday round-up post). It’ll be interesting to see what kinds of ‘functional’ lines the writers manage to weave into it in English, and what kind of language skills viewers develop as a result. I [...]
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