Why I’ll always have work
It’s true… for some reason, here in Spain, people share a common trait which has guaranteed, and continues to do so… that I will always have a job.
I’ll give you a hint: Among other things, I’m an English teacher.
The common trait (you might be asking yourself)?
El sentido del ridículo
This may work against me (if you were to adhere to my words, English may commence to open doors for you instead of creating barriers… meaning that I would eventually be out of a job), but I am going to share a personal anecdote with you.
I am from the outskirts of a small city, rural Canada. For some reason I had always wanted to come to Spain. Of course, my parents said “no”. I started asking and stating my intentions when I was around 11 years old. By the time I was 13 or 14 – they were fed up with my petitions, and told me, ok… as long as you pay for it, you can go. So… I worked however I could (mostly baby-sitting and odd jobs). At 15 I started my own company – so to say. I had a lot of help, but, it still was a big deal. The youth job co-op. It worked! I came to Spain for the first time when I was 16 on a student exchange.
The story doesn’t stop there. Before I arrived – I thought to myself. “How can I decide that I want to move to Spain for the rest of my life if I haven’t seen the rest of the world?”. So – I devised a plan to study in Germany for a year. This was actually more difficult than what it seemed. One thing was to study in Spain for three months – quite another to finance a year of studies in Germany. So what did I do? I did my research – and created a scholarship. I went door to door to the local businesses, pitched my speech at the local Rotary Club – did whatever I could (at 15 – 16 years of age), created interest, and got the local club involved. Simple, right? WRONG… once they became involved, they had to do things the “right” way… so, after all of that previous work – I had to compete to get accepted into the program! UFFFFFF. What more, the decision was made at a higher level – not in my city. I had to prove that I had been studying German for three years (which I had not) – have good grades, etc. Well – in the end – I got in. Once I had been accepted, they told me, it was to go to Brasil, not Germany. Only at the last minute (a week before departure) did I find out that yes, after all, I could go to Germany.
So—all those years of saving, creating a business, creating a scholarship, etc. etc. etc. Do you know what happened?
I got to Germany – and everybody there, I mean, everybody who I encountered – wanted to practice their English with me!
I couldn’t believe it. Yah – right. My response was simple, and quite obvious: “YOU go to Canada to learn English – I’m here to learn German.”. I had gone through all of that effort to get to where I was, all those extra hours, sleepless nights, dreams and hopes – to come and help you with your English? No way was I going to let this opportunity escape.
Moral of the story:
Does this sound familiar? I mean – the way I see it – any person with a professional career – especially here in Spain (with all that we have been through over the past x years) – has put so much into their careers- Studies, overtime, personal sacrifices, family sacrifices, etc. Are you really willing to give that up because you have “un sentido del ridículo”? Now – THAT is ridiculous.
So – please – get over it. English should be an OPEN door – not a barrier. Don’t risk all of your efforts over some contagious mentality that doesn’t even fit in with what the world thinks of the Spaniards anyways. But that is a topic for a different day.
TIDBITS from me to you –
Elf on the shelf – really???
One tradition that came about while I was already living in Spain – and never fully understood.- THE ELF ON THE SHELF? Can anybody explain that to me? How in the world could that tradition even begin?? eeks.
All of a sudden I started seeing all of these pictures on my friends facebook profiles – of these little spies that they invited into their homes! The message to the kids – beware, eyes are upon you. I thought that this was just horrible… like having an official tattle tale. Well – after doing a bit of investigation, it’s not sooooo bad.
Most people use it in a fun, comical way, and now I’ve come to see it as a way of having more fun – a less commercial part of Christmas.
My question for you:
What are your thoughts on the topic? Would you use one? Do you have any elves in your house?
Some Christmas traditions – explained
Have you ever wondered why certain traditions are followed during the Christmas season? Of course, everyone probably knows the typical cultural differences (Santa and the legend behind him, for example), and the Three Wise Men. They don’t visit every country, however. There are many traditions that aren’t necessarily followed here in Spain, or at least, not to the “T” (an expression which means – not exactly the same way).
- Why we celebrate Christmas on December 25th.
- Why we bake Christmas cookies
- Why we put up a Christmas tree
- Why we put lights on the Christmas tree
- Why we build snowmen
- Why we drink eggnog
- Why we leave milk and cookies for Santa
- Why we kiss under the mistletoe
- Why we sing Christmas carols
- Why we hang stockings
Are you familiar with The Readers Digest? This in itself is a cultural difference worth noting. Any normal household (at least when and where I grew up – in Canada) would have one. It’s a small, thick magazine, with a wide variety of articles of interest – to basically anybody. I highly recommend reading any of their articles – anytime – to contribute to your language learning. It is simple, direct and natural language.
Link to original article in the Readers Digest.
My question(s) to you:
- Have you ever tried eggnog?
- Do you personally do any Christmas baking?
- Do you set out Christmas stockings?
- What is your favourite Spanish tradition?
- Can you list traditions here in Spain, not mentioned in the article?
- Can you explain how they came to be?
so – you know the deal – let’s see the comments!
Sustainable Development Goals, David Attenborough speaks out and up for Climate Change
After speaking with some of our students in the economic sector, it was brought to my attention that a topic of interest is the SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS set out by the UN. Although Number 1 is to end poverty, this week has been an interesting week for climate change, as none other than Sir David Attenborough spoke on the behalf of the people at United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland.
There is an ACT NOW bot, set up through Facebook, with active suggestions for participants on how they can help out. Find it in the link below.
Click here for the article from the UN (links to bot, video, original source).
This is quite a controversial topic in some circles. There are quite a few sceptics, official sceptics. It is an excellent source of information for language learners, as you may select levels and or topics. Follow this link to view how each of the 200 arguments is debunked.
My question for you:
- What would your answer be to any of the sceptic comments? My favourite is number 9: It hasn’t warmed since 1998. Is that even a question?
- Can individuals really do anything useful to help influence the future of our world insofar as climate change? Comment on it!
Brexit – explained
Brexit is an oncoming reality. Have you thought more as a Spanish person, or more on what that would mean to the British person? There are quite a few Spanish people working and living there, or vice-versa, British living in Spain. What does this all mean to them?
Many comments I’ve heard have to do with «whose fault it was»… thinking that it was the young vote who «brought this on».
This video:
Brexit, explained at a fast pace, including explanations of the process and exactly where they are at and what it means, and what is to be expected (so far).
I suggest that you take the time and print out the transcription, check out the interesting vocabulary, and watch the video a few times. This is a fast pace, even if English was your first language, so please, do not get frustrated.
Suggestions on how to listen:
- Lower level: Print out the trancription, underline key vocabulary. Listen to the video and detect when those words are said, underlining as you go.
- Mid – high level: Read the transcription once through, at a normal pace, not looking up vocabulary. After doing so, write down some pertinent questions. These questions can be related to the text, or about things that you are not sure if you read or not, searching for information.
- Listen to the video without the transcript, looking for this information.
- The second time around, listen with the trancript, stopping when necessary.
- High level: listen and enjoy. After having heard it once, write down some questions for yourself, and listen again. See how you do.
Transcript:
00:01
this video is brought to you by our
00:03
patreon backers help us grow and create
00:05
more content by supporting us on patreon
00:08
so it seems that after months of
00:10
negotiations the UK has finally reached
00:12
an agreement with the EU negotiators
00:14
Teresa may present the deal to her
00:16
cabinet the reaction was well let’s say
00:19
mixed the proposed deal passed through
00:21
cabinet but not without casualties
00:23
dominic Rob and Esther McVeigh resigned
00:25
from their cabinet positions as a result
00:27
of May’s deal before we get him the
00:29
contents of the deal let’s quickly cover
00:31
what will happen to the deal now it’s
00:33
been agreed to by EU and UK negotiators
00:35
which is the first step then it was
00:37
agreed to by Mae’s cabinet the second
00:39
step now it needs to be approved by the
00:41
EU summit which is set to take place on
00:43
the 25th of November then it will need
00:46
to pass through the UK’s House of
00:48
Commons likelies happen in the beginning
00:50
of December we discussed if it will pass
00:52
through the house and another one of our
00:53
videos and next week we’re set to
00:55
release a video on what will likely
00:57
happen at the EU summit so subscribe to
00:59
make sure you’re kept up-to-date when
01:00
that video comes out so what’s actually
01:03
in May’s plan what would it mean for the
01:05
UK post break set the document dives
01:08
into three key aspects of the deal the
01:10
financial settlement between the UK and
01:12
the EU the rights of UK citizens in the
01:14
EU and EU citizens in the UK and the way
01:17
that they’re going to prevent a hard
01:19
border between the Republic of Ireland
01:20
and Northern Ireland
01:21
despite the document being very lengthy
01:23
of 585 pages only 7 pages have spent
01:27
discussing the future trading
01:28
relationship between the EU and UK the
01:31
full negotiations of future trade is
01:33
still yet to come so the brevity of this
01:34
section isn’t exactly surprising let’s
01:37
start with an area probably caused the
01:38
most problems to the UK and EU
01:40
negotiators the border between Ireland
01:42
and Northern Ireland I know we’ve talked
01:44
about this in a lot of other videos but
01:46
let me just cover the background quickly
01:47
for more than 30 years there was
01:49
conflict at the border between Ireland
01:51
and Northern Ireland with unionists and
01:53
nationalists fighting for the future of
01:55
their nations nationalists wanted to see
01:57
Northern Ireland become independent from
01:59
the UK while unionists were in favour of
02:01
Northern Ireland remaining in the United
02:02
Kingdom this conflict continued until
02:05
1998 when both sides reached a
02:07
compromise
02:08
the result of the compromise is the Good
02:10
Friday Agreement
02:11
this deal meant that Northern Ireland
02:13
remained part of the UK however Northern
02:15
Irish citizens were allowed to hold both
02:17
British and Irish citizenship on top of
02:20
this the deal permitted the Northern
02:22
Irish to leave the UK and join Island in
02:24
the future this deal was designed to
02:26
keep both sides happy with the
02:28
Nationalists being able to gain Irish
02:29
citizenship and unionists satisfied that
02:32
Northern Ireland was remaining within
02:33
the UK the result of the Good Friday
02:36
Agreement was that hard borders and
02:37
crossing points became a thing of the
02:39
past
02:39
the border became more open and people
02:41
and goods were able to pass freely
02:43
between nations without checks or
02:45
borders post brexit that could be set to
02:48
change that’s because back in January
02:50
2017 may declare that the UK would leave
02:53
both the single market and Customs Union
02:55
no longer with the Republic of Ireland
02:57
and Northern Ireland be fellow EU nation
02:59
sharing common rules and tariffs
03:01
instead the border between the two would
03:03
be an outer EU border so how does May
03:06
proposed resolving this issue well the
03:08
deal assumes a comprehensive free trade
03:10
agreement will be signed between the EU
03:12
and UK’s between March 29 2019 when the
03:15
UK actually leaves the EU and the end of
03:18
the transition phase at the end of 2020
03:20
this means that the free trade agreement
03:22
doesn’t need to come into force until
03:23
January 2021 as the transition phase is
03:26
set to continue until December 31st 2020
03:29
during the transition phase the UK will
03:32
continue to follow au rules and customs
03:34
regulations meaning that while we’re in
03:36
the transition phase the border can stay
03:38
open as the UK and EU will continue
03:41
following the same rules it’s only at
03:43
the end of the transition period when
03:45
the UK no longer has to follow EU rules
03:47
that the whole Northern Ireland border
03:49
issue comes back
03:50
therefore the EU and UK are hoping to
03:52
reach a trade agreement before March
03:54
2021 to ensure that the transition can
03:57
end and that a hard border doesn’t need
03:59
to return now this might just sound like
04:01
them kicking the problem down the road
04:02
after all they’ve had two and a half
04:04
years to reach a deal on leaving was to
04:07
say that in the 21 months after the UK
04:09
leaves the EU they’ll be able to reach a
04:10
free trade agreement because of this
04:13
exact issue the EU insisted on having a
04:15
backstop in place if there were no
04:17
backstop Ireland would still be in the
04:19
EU and Northern Ireland would leave
04:21
meaning that a hard border would likely
04:23
return
04:24
long time the EU suggested a backstop
04:26
agreement which left Northern Ireland in
04:28
the EU customs union part of the single
04:30
market and within the EU svey AC system
04:33
until a final deal is reached this would
04:35
mean that until a free trade deal is
04:37
reached between the UK and EU Northern
04:39
Ireland would remain close to the EU and
04:41
as such there wouldn’t be any need for a
04:43
hard border however May rejected this
04:45
deal as it’s only Northern Ireland who
04:47
staying close to the EU essentially
04:49
shifting the border into the Irish Sea
04:52
the concern that many Brits have is this
04:54
could potentially damage the overall
04:56
Union and could be a step towards
04:57
Northern Ireland leaving the UK
04:59
altogether the UK’s counteroffer was
05:01
that the entirety of the UK would remain
05:03
in the customs union instead of just
05:05
Northern Ireland a proposal which the EU
05:07
rejected both sides ended up reaching a
05:10
compromise in the proposed deal the EU
05:12
accepted that the entirety of the UK
05:14
would remain in the EU customs union
05:16
until the end of the transition period
05:18
and the UK accepted but they weren’t
05:20
allowed to leave until the EU said so
05:22
essentially the backstop and Mays deal
05:25
means that the whole of the UK stays in
05:27
the EU customs union unless and until
05:29
the EU agrees that the UK leaving won’t
05:31
result in a hard border
05:33
this essentially continues the
05:34
transition period indefinitely with the
05:36
deal rather ominously noting that the
05:39
Joint Committee could make a decision
05:40
extending the transition period up to
05:42
the 31st of December 20xx that’s not a
05:46
typo
05:47
they simply mean that the transition
05:48
period could be extended until the end
05:50
of the century while the UK is in this
05:52
transition period the agreement requires
05:54
that the UK observed level playing field
05:56
commitments which means that they have
05:58
to stay in alignment with the EU on
05:59
competition and state aid as well as
06:01
employment and environmental standards
06:03
tax and the rulings of the European
06:05
Court of Justice okay so you clicked on
06:08
a video about trees and Mays deal and
06:10
all I’ve done so far is bang on about
06:12
how hard it will be for May to pass a
06:13
deal backstops and there’s three of the
06:15
border surely there can’t be so little
06:17
in those 585 pages but I’m forced to pad
06:20
this much pad so much in fact that I’m
06:23
getting introspective about the fact
06:25
that I’m padding so let’s write over
06:27
some of the other key points the UK has
06:29
agreed in the proposed bill to pay the
06:31
EU a 39 billion pound divorce settlement
06:34
I discussed the reasons behind a divorce
06:36
settlement at length
06:37
in another video but essentially the
06:38
payment comes in two parts payments
06:41
towards the –use budget and outstanding
06:42
commitments in 2014 the UK agreed to pay
06:46
towards the –use budget until the end
06:48
of the current budgeting period in 2020
06:50
so some of the divorce settlement goes
06:52
towards keeping this promise the UK has
06:55
also agreed to fund a large number of EU
06:57
projects the divorce payment means that
06:59
the UK is continuing to pay what it
07:01
promised initially as long as the
07:03
project in question is completed before
07:04
2030 this means that the UK could
07:07
continue paying for projects taking
07:08
place in the EU long after leaving
07:10
however the reverse is also true with EU
07:13
nations forced to contribute what they
07:15
promised to pay towards EU projects
07:17
based in the UK the rights of EU
07:19
citizens in the UK and UK citizens in
07:21
the EU seem to be fully protected by
07:24
May’s proposed deal which isn’t
07:25
surprising considering the UK and EU
07:27
have agreed on this for months
07:29
EU citizens will be allowed to move to
07:31
the UK and until the end of the
07:32
transition currently set for 2020
07:34
they’ll be allowed to live and work in
07:36
the UK and if they stay for five
07:38
consecutive years they’ll be allowed to
07:40
stay in the UK permanently the same is
07:42
true for UK citizens living in the EU
07:45
the UK is set to continue stockpiling
07:47
medicines without a trade deal in place
07:49
the UK can’t rely on the fact they’ll be
07:51
able to continue importing medicines
07:53
from the EU post brexit so as a
07:55
precautionary measure the UK will
07:57
probably continue stockpiling drugs the
07:59
NHS also will be hit by the loss of EU
08:02
staff while EU staff in the UK can apply
08:04
to become permanent residents as we just
08:06
discussed it’s possible that many won’t
08:08
do this and will end up returning to the
08:10
EU financial services are incredibly
08:12
important to UK with a large percentage
08:15
of the UK’s GDP coming from that sector
08:17
currently UK companies are able to work
08:20
with EU clients using pass porting
08:22
rights essentially pass sporting rights
08:24
allow UK banks to operate in EU nations
08:27
without having to set up subsidiaries in
08:29
each country the proposed deal only
08:31
gives London’s financial centre basic
08:33
access to EU markets known as
08:35
equivalents falling short of the access
08:37
granted by pass porting rights
08:39
equivalents means that countries can
08:41
only do business with the EU if the
08:43
European Commission determines that
08:44
their regulations and standards of the
08:46
country are close enough to the EU
08:48
this isn’t ideal considering that the
08:51
rights of equivalents can be revoked
08:52
with just 30 days notice also there’s no
08:55
real legal agreement on what constitutes
08:57
equivalents so it’s likely that a
08:59
commission will force the UK to accept
09:01
standards it doesn’t like in order to
09:03
remain equivalent
09:04
this is especially worrying for sectors
09:06
where equivalence isn’t accepted or
09:08
recognized as a concept of EU law sex is
09:11
including the commercial banking
09:12
industry and primary insurance the
09:15
financial conduct authority said that if
09:17
the UK loses past sporting rights UK
09:19
banks could lose up to 9 billion pounds
09:22
which would have ripple effects through
09:23
the economy and employment when it comes
09:26
to travel free movement of people will
09:28
end meaning UK citizens will no longer
09:30
have the right to move or work the EU
09:32
countries without a visa the same
09:34
applies to EU citizens coming to the UK
09:36
despite this visa-free travel will allow
09:39
Brits to visit the EU without the need
09:41
for a visa and vice-versa
09:43
the deal doesn’t make clear what will
09:45
happen to UK universities after 2020
09:48
universities in the UK currently benefit
09:50
from EU research funding but this is set
09:52
to stop when the UK leaves the EU the
09:55
deal sets out no provisions related to
09:57
this so we don’t currently know what
09:59
will happen to UK university funding or
10:01
to the EU students and academics
10:03
currently at UK unis know brexit video
10:06
will be complete without talking about
10:07
farming or fish the UK says that when it
10:10
leaves the EU it will become an
10:11
independent coastal states this means
10:14
that the UK will be consulted on fishing
10:16
opportunities and invited to comment on
10:18
EU fishery policies the new plan likely
10:21
means that the UK would be allowed to
10:22
choose who has access to their waters
10:24
and as such the UK probably won’t allow
10:26
the EU to continue freely accessing its
10:28
waters however some have complained the
10:30
proposed deal lacks clarity with the
10:32
Scottish fishing industry saying that
10:34
the deal isn’t clear enough this should
10:36
be concerning to me as the 13 Scottish
10:38
Conservative MPs have said that they
10:40
vote against any bill which doesn’t meet
10:42
the needs of the Scottish fishing
10:44
industry for farming the deal sets the
10:46
UK up to leave the Common Agricultural
10:48
Policy in March 2019 the future
10:51
agricultural relationship between the UK
10:53
and EU will then be arranged during the
10:55
transition phase in Parliament on
10:58
Tuesday Theresa May said that
10:59
negotiations had not been a comfortable
11:01
process
11:02
and neither the UK or EU were totally
11:04
happy with the deal the question is if
11:06
both sides are happy enough with the
11:07
deal for it to pass to the EU summit and
11:09
on to Parliament to stay up to date with
11:11
the latest developments in brexit
11:13
subscribe to TLDR news this video was
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brought to you by our patreon backers to
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support us an independent news you can
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donate a small amount of money to tell
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Elderly couple wins big and the reaction is priceless
This is the «million dollar question»… and it’s great for level testing in English, so, I’ve heard quite a few responses. MUCH to my surprise… when I interview a group of people who happen to work in a bank… well, what do you think, are their responses similar? AS a matter of fact, they are. And I must say, quite similar to what this elderly couple has done, with a few differences.
When I use this for level testing – I’m looking for your use of the conditional. This is the classic 2nd condition, which seems to be so difficult for most. The use of the past to speak about something hypothetical. hmmm.
Try using this model, and let’s see your responses. I’m not looking for honesty, I’m looking for a good laugh, or creativity, or just a good conversation.
What would you do if you won two million Euros?
If I won (past simple) to million Euros, I would go (would + infinitive without to) on a trip around the world.
NOW I’VE USED THAT ANSWER – so you can’t! Please… try and not repeat previous answers 🙂
Suggestions for more comment: comment on the Banfield’s reaction to their win. The vocab is actually quite good for practice!
Link to original article in the Mirror: Britain’s oldest lottery winners are staying put in house they bought for £2,000
Text for original article:
EXCLUSIVE Dennis Banfield, 87, and wife Shirley, 83, who scooped an £18million jackpot, have been married for 60 years and lived in the same house in Winterbourne, Glos, for most of them.
They could have bought a mansion, but Britain’s oldest lottery winners are returning to their modest home of 57 years – after spending four months living in a budget hotel.
Dennis Banfield, 87, and wife Shirley, 83, have been married for 60 years and lived in the same house for most of them.
They scooped an £18million jackpot in February, but rather than move into a plush new pad, the couple have opted to renovate their family home.
They brought up their two daughters there after buying the property in 1961 – when the average house in Winterbourne, Glos, cost just £2,000.
Speaking outside the hotel yesterday, the couple said they are looking forward to moving back into their home before Christmas.
Shirley said: “We decided to stay in the house and just have the whole of the inside of it completely redone.
“We’ve been there for 57 years now. We know the area, the house is not overlooked, it’s got a lovely big driveway.
“We’ve gone back to see it as it’s been done up.
“There’s still a bit of a way to go on it, but we’re hoping to move back in within the next fortnight – we’ll definitely be back in in time for Christmas.”
The three-bed property has a current estimated market value of £316,000.
The front garden is still full of fittings that have been torn out for the renovations and a large skip in the front garden is full of plasterboard – with a decorator’s van and a skip parked outside.
But the generous couple, who have given away a lot of their winnings to charity, revealed they are simply looking forward to moving back and spending a quiet Christmas at home with family.
That includes their daughters – with whom they split their lottery winnings.
The elderly couple also revealed they had told Tina, 55, and Karen, 52, that they always played for them, to secure their future.
The Banfields split the money three ways, Tina and Karen getting just over £6million each, with Dennis and Shirley keeping the remaining third for themselves.
Shirley said: “They have both bought new houses with their share of the money. It means a lot to us to know they are looked after.”
As to their own share, Shirley explained: “We’ve given a lot of it away in lump sums.
“We’ve been able to give to the cancer units, to the children’s hospital, as well as helping out our community in Winterbourne – and giving to the chapel and the community association.
“I wouldn’t say the money has changed us – it’s only prompted us to better other people.
“We can’t exactly go jetting off on a round-the-world adventure at our age.”
However, when the couple won the £18,139,352 jackpot in February, Dennis had to wipe away tears of joy as his family revealed it was he who had bought the ticket form his local shop.
Dennis, who worked for 40 years at South Western Electricity Board, said at the time: “All that has ever mattered to Shirley and I is that the girls are OK. To know they are, is a wonderful feeling.”
He added: “While I didn’t think I would be interested in a new car, it is rather tempting.
“Although, with my dodgy knee, I might need to get a chauffeur to go with the car.”
Meanwhile, the search for the winner of a £76million lotto prize is intensifying, with just days to go till the 5pm Sunday deadline.
The winning ticket was bought in the Boston and Skegness region of Lincolnshire for the November 2 draw.
Numeracy Skills – the basics
Is there much of a difference between generations of people you know? When I first came to Spain, I was impressed about the general skills that most anybody had concerning math, culture, language. It seemed to be like a very sound and broad education. I’m not quite sure I still think the same. Read on and lets comment!
Numeracy Skills Count
Improved numeracy skills lead to better paid jobs, greater well-being and a less stressful life.
Numeracy skills are not just for scientists, accountants and the tax man, many professions require at least a basic level of understanding when it comes to numeracy and mathematics. Take some time to develop your numeracy skills – it’s never too late to learn.
Chris Humphries, Chairman of National Numeracy, talking to the BBC said:
“It is simply inexcusable for anyone to say ‘I can’t do maths.’”
He continued to suggest that many people cannot get jobs because they struggle to read graphs and interpret documents, while plumbers may find it difficult to do the necessary calculations to install a boiler and as a result lose income.
Careers New Zealand suggests that basic numeracy, needed for the workforce, should include:
- Counting quantities for a customer.
- The use of percentages and subtraction when giving a discount.
- Using division when calculating costs per head.
- Measuring the area of shapes.
- Calculating fuel consumption.
- Understanding tables in reports and interpreting graphs.
It may come as a surprise that almost half of the working-age population (17 million) of England have numeracy skills equivalent to those expected for an 11 year-old child.
This problem is not unique to England or the UK.
In Australia business leaders were asked how poor numeracy affected their businesses. Over three-quarters of respondents said that their businesses were affected with almost 40% reporting a moderate to high effect.
In the USA over a third of all school-age American students are scoring ‘below basic’ on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Poor numeracy is a huge problem that affects people and organisations in ways that are not immediately obvious.
Adults with poor numeracy skills are twice as likely to be unemployed than those who enjoy some competency in numeracy. Those adults with at least basic numeracy skills can expect to earn a quarter more than those who lack the necessary skills to solve basic mathematical problems.
Those with poor numeracy skills are less likely to be able to save money on day-to-day affairs, like a visit to the supermarket.
Furthermore they are less likely to be able to find or negotiate the best deals on financial products and therefore more likely to pay higher levels of interest on higher levels of debt. It is well documented that debt problems can lead to stress and/or depression. Between a third and a half of people with poor numeracy skills have a desire to improve them and less than 4% have actually attended any numeracy classes.
- We highly recommend reading the original article (it is more extense).
British Slang
Link to original video on Youtube
Both of these actresses have an excellent pronunciation. I have a feeling that many of our students would be surprised at the lack of vocabulary that both continents share.
The truth is, slang, or even everyday sayings are quite particular to specific areas. so – no – I didn’t know ANY of these expressions! Now – my question for you – did you get any of them from either the American version or the British version? HA – let’s see what you have to comment!
Below is the transcript – but if I were you, I wouldn’t look the first couple of times around.
I’m Emma Stone and I’m Rachel Weisz and
00:02
Emma’s here to teach me some British
00:04
slang yeah well I mean she’s really
00:06
gonna teach me that British thing please
00:08
tell me what is happening here
00:12
Bob’s your uncle I never really know
00:15
what this one means Bob’s your uncle
00:17
means like I thought it was gonna rain
00:18
on my wedding day and it rains it bumps
00:21
your uncle it rained it means like like
00:23
of course it did yeah of course it did
00:25
yeah whoops your uncle’s okay I don’t
00:27
get it it’s a slippery time this is
00:29
slippery turn it’s a little it’s a
00:31
fully-charged yeah throw a spanner in
00:33
the works that’s like when something
00:34
gets messed up like a throw spanner in
00:36
the word exactly okay you would say in
00:37
America a wrench a wrench in the works
00:41
winch okay yeah you would kind of you’re
00:45
British at this point thank you there’s
00:48
no idea a scouser
00:50
is somebody from Liverpool yeah a
00:53
Liverpudlian and Liverpudlian so the
00:54
beetles are scousers my husband is a
00:56
scouser
00:57
and that’s not offensive no no it’s it
00:59
weird to be sounds like it could no no
01:00
no one is discussing with great pride
01:03
okay right right yeah roll you know that
01:06
one no I don’t you know toy ways a bong
01:08
yeah yeah cuz the toilets the bog the
01:11
toilets the boggy bog world is the
01:12
toilet paper right okay great yeah we
01:15
run our book roll oh okay
01:17
lost the plot oh you know that one
01:19
that’s like you’ve you’ve kind of gone
01:21
off like I really lost the plot I have
01:22
no idea what’s going on yeah exactly
01:24
yeah yeah yeah one point dog Center oh
01:28
that great or bad I would say bad yeah I
01:32
make she made a dog’s dinner out of that
01:34
painting she was doing oh she ruined it
01:36
it’s not like really tight it’s like
01:38
joke it’s like she messed that up I made
01:40
it right ah
01:41
total dog center of the center view
01:43
thank you go up the Duff oh yeah no
01:47
rather lovely thing it means to be great
01:49
with child to get pregnant yeah she’s up
01:54
though yeah he’s up the dog yeah she’s
01:55
up the Duff her Majesty’s pleasure
01:57
making light of being in prison because
01:59
you’re in the jail’s of her majesty
02:01
so it’s a kind of ironic I guess
02:04
pleasure to lock you up
02:05
exactly horses for courses so who says
02:08
for courses would be like you say to me
02:10
I only like wearing
02:11
jeans and I say well I need like wearing
02:13
skirts and we go yeah horses for courses
02:15
it means like everyone likes different
02:16
things there’s many different courses oh
02:18
I did Oh like that or this of course
02:20
this is that’s like cheapest chips I did
02:24
that one you don’t know cheap as chips
02:25
no likes cheapest chips like this is not
02:28
expensive cheapest I think that’s like
02:29
an old-fashioned kind of dumb Blighty
02:35
oh isn’t that cloudy no just means
02:37
England I’ve no idea why but you just
02:39
said I’d love to go back to Blighty I
02:41
wish was in Blighty like that I thought
02:43
it meant cloudy which basically is
02:45
synonymous with England thank you guys
02:46
great yeah chock-a-block
02:51
wait I feel like I’ve heard this one
02:53
before um it just means yeah there was a
02:55
lot of traffic it was chock-a-block
02:56
well that party was there’s so many
02:58
people that was just cha like a mother
03:00
custard a wrap exactly
03:03
total right yeah yeah ours is so much
03:05
more eloquent American one a wrap or a
03:09
chocolate block okay
03:11
tickety-boo no idea everything’s
03:12
tickety-boo means everything’s wonderful
03:14
that’s so cute bagsy IG means like if
03:19
you’re a kid and there were two presents
03:21
and two kids you go you got white bags
03:23
you that one oh my cute dibs what does a
03:25
man dip is that tips yeah just like um
03:27
there’s two things right there it’s like
03:28
dibs on that one that’s why I get that
03:30
one we say oh I see that
03:31
oh okay so if a guy’s let’s try this at
03:36
home
03:36
as in Judy as in she’s great wait a
03:39
second the modern-day youth say Dench as
03:42
in Judy Dench and it means something’s
03:44
really great that is so cool that’s like
03:47
people in our country being like that’s
03:48
pretty straight we say youth youth the
03:51
youth yeah you say Dench
03:53
for you that’s Dutch budge up scoot over
03:56
I know there’s a family that one is it
03:58
confusing for a while and then when you
03:59
get used to it you just went over
04:02
cack-handed can’t caring to me is like
04:05
clumsy got it yeah okay oh that’s good
04:07
cat camp yeah cack-handed cons fall up
04:10
is that just like a dope no logical has
04:12
a loaded load of rubbish
04:13
load nonsense oh that is such a load of
04:15
codswallop I just absolutely not true
04:18
not true or false
04:19
yeah and like he made it up it was just
04:21
codswallop I’m using
04:23
we use that a lot Curtin Twitter yeah I
04:25
can’t which means like if you live in
04:26
the suburbs and you have some cartons
04:28
often made of net you might twitch or
04:30
cut-ins and have a peek out see what the
04:32
neighbors are doing it’s not a kind
04:33
thing sale she’s a real Curtin twitch of
04:35
that she’s like I mean oh yeah woman who
04:39
sits at home yeah like yeah checking out
04:41
what the neighbors do faff oh it was
04:43
such a faff to get here like it was hard
04:45
it was a struggle it was a struggle so
04:47
that was a fast it was a fact yeah has
04:49
this been a faff this has been not a
04:51
path what is this here this has been
04:53
plain sailing it’s hot a bit a dog’s
04:55
dinner no no it’s pretty dense
Inglés (generados automáticamente)
What would it take to move somewhere similar?
I came across this gem of an article yesterday. It contains a series of mini-interviews with different people who had decided at some point to move to this remote village, only accessible by boat or a rugged hike. Who would do that, and why? You may be surprised, it’s not a village full of criminals, I’ll tell you that!
Suggested work:
- Write down a mini description of who you think would just pick up and leave to take on such an endeavour.
- Describe the type of village that you actually would move to, if you had to live off the grid.
On a remote peninsula in the north-west Highlands of Scotland is the small off-grid community of Scoraig.
Accessible only by boat or a five-mile walk, the residents of Scoraig live in relative isolation, partly powering their homes and school with wind power. Among the inhabitants are crofters with cattle and sheep, a violin maker, a Russian translator, volunteers and a part-time postal worker.
Earlier this year, photographer Ed Gold lived alongside the community, documenting people’s lives and exploring what drove them to move to this remote location.
Lisa, 54
«I have been here 23 years. I don’t think it is very remote really in the sense that people think about remoteness – but it’s inaccessibility, which I think is appealing.
«It’s by no means idealistic and it has its own hardships of the wind and the rain.
«You are exposed to the elements – but that’s good also as you are aware of what the weather is doing all the time and you’re very much in touch with nature and the elements and life.
«We’re an ageing population but I guess the bulk of us are between 40 and 65.
«There are not so many people that are younger than us, apart from the kids obviously.
«I am the post-person three days a week, sub-contracted by the Royal Mail.
«I am responsible for everybody’s important post and for transporting it across the loch as dryly and as safely as possible.
«I have a sea-taxi business, which runs a regular sea-ferry service, but a lot of people have their own boat and there is also a communal boat.»
Hugh, 65
«I came here in 1975. I was brought up in Edinburgh and my background is in maths and physics.
«When I first came to live here, we didn’t have electricity in the first few years.
«Wind seemed like an obvious way to make power and was a very exciting way to produce renewable energy.
«I was active earlier than a lot of others with wind power.
«There was a time when if you typed «wind power» into Google, my webpage was on the first page that came up – but those days are long gone.
«Through the internet, I have a large international network of design enthusiasts that follow, like and continue to use my design approach and teaching courses.
«I live here because it is very beautiful and I like the off-grid lifestyle.
«It’s not about moral superiority – it’s more to do with having more control over your own hands-on environment.
«It’s attractive to me to grow my own veg and make my own power rather than be part of a big machine.»
Luke, 36
«I grew up on the Isle of Wight and didn’t leave until I was 17.
«After my apprenticeship, I built aluminium catamarans for offshore wind farms and large blades for wind turbines – but I was after something that was more manageable that was easier to build for myself.
«A friend of mine stumbled across this place.
«He was travelling across Ireland and Scotland and came across Hugh’s name and that he was building windmills.
«So that was how I found out about here and it inspired me.
«We also used to come up to Scotland on holiday although we only moved four years ago.»
«It was good for us to move up here – no regrets really.
«The biggest downside is the high school being in Ullapool, so the kids will have to go and stay away all week and that will be difficult for us as we are a close family.
«As the children get older we want them to have the independence to build their own dwellings here.
«They might all want to move away and do their own thing – but it is a great stepping stone to have their own land and it’s a big achievement from a young age.»
Chisa, 28
«If you speak to anybody here, they will all say that they are getting away from the value system that tells you you ought to be this way or that way, to be valued by your peers or whatever it is which doesn’t resonate with everybody.
«They are trying to create their own idea of utopia.
«I’m here for more selfish reasons – I don’t want to be surrounded by other people’s judgements.
«I have now been here for five years. I came here as a couple, with our son, but we have now split up but still both live here.
«Every year, I go back to Russia and leave my son with my ex.
«I love it because I enjoy the ballet I can do there and I prefer the mentality, the toughness and resilience to change.
«Russians have an ability to withstand anything.»
Bev, 79
«I was living in rural Northants, a nine-to-five scientist working for an electronics company in a laboratory.
«My wife, Gill, and I came up here for a holiday and we got hooked on the idea of living here.
«For one thing, I’d always wanted to build my own house and Gill liked the idea as there was a good primary school here for our three children.
«It was much more difficult to get here in those days, lots of single track roads and we didn’t have reliable motors on our boats and only one telephone box and no mobile phones.
«When we had visitors, they’d write a letter to us and we’d tell them to drive on to the pier in their car and we’d look out for them with our binoculars.
«I got a job as the part time postman when we moved up here and did that for eight years, by which time I had got a reputation as a violin maker so I gave up the post.
«Most people go to a violin school – but I had a young family at the time, so I couldn’t afford that.
«I taught myself from books and other makers – I used to go to exhibitions and competitions.
«I won a national violin-making competition in 1986 that gave my career a boost.
«The census records in 1871 say there was over 380 people here, all Gaelic speakers.
«You can just see how many ruins there are around here and each one would have been supporting a large family.
«It was worrying a few years ago when the primary school population went down to two but now it is seven and a lot of babies are in the pipeline too.»
Aggie, 65
«The first time I came here, it just felt like home to me. It was November 1975.
«It worried me slightly that we moved here as I cannot swim and I had young children.
«We needed somewhere to live and it wasn’t enough to put me off as we had the option to walk in and out as well.
«I like living here because I like to know where everything comes from, to know myself what the situation is with my electricity and what to do when it goes wrong and the same goes for the water too.
«I think we were very lucky to have Hugh come here and do his windmills.
«By now, I guess, solar would have come in if wind hadn’t – and we were just relying on Tilley lamps.
«Everybody expects washing machines now here and everybody has one apart from me. I’m the last person washing by hand here.»
Natalie, 37
«I’ve had five visits here now as I’m interested in communities.
«Some sailors I met on Shetland called me a drifter and I quite liked that.
«Somebody wrote a song abut me called Natalie the Nomad. It’s what I do – I just drift along with what’s happening.
«I think it would be easier for my parents if I lived an ordinary life – they struggle and they worry. But I have never met anyone who gives me a hard time.
«People try to get me into the ordinary – it’s hard for people to understand that I don’t want a job or to pay the price for what comes with it.
«Generally, if you have a job you are part of the monetary system. I do spend money – but it’s a choice.
«I mean, when do you ever really have to spend money? You can always say no. What do I really have to do in life, except breathing?»
Dale, 47
«I was fed up with working in an office all day looking at a screen and having to pay to go to a gym to keep fit.
«I was fed up with all the people – it would take me 40 minutes to drive seven miles to get into work.
«We could have moved not so far away but I had been to Scotland a few times and fancied it.
«There is a proper sense of community here, which I think is lacking in other parts of the country.
«Everybody knows everybody and everybody helps each other out.
«It’s the environmental thing, where you can live from solar and wind power and you don’t need coal and nuclear power.
«And because you know what you are consuming, where your water comes from and your power, you are always going to be environmentally friendly.
«I used to preach about environmental stuff and then go home and put my 48in flat-screen TV on – but here, you can really live it.»
