propositi per il nuovo anno/new year's resolutions/ buenos propósitos para el año nuevo...

PROPOSITI PER IL

NUOVO ANNO

IMPARARE

- L’INGLESE

- LO SPAGNOLO

TI ASPETTIAMO PER LA TUA ISCRIZIONE DAL 2-01-2012

ORARIO SEGRETERIA

Dal lunedì al venerdì 10:00-12:30

a Natale regala l'activity card

Con Larissa’s Languages imparare l’inglese non è mai stato così divertente. Questa card ti dà l’opportunità di partecipare ad eventi a tua scelta tra:

-          Language Exchange (scambio linguistico tra studenti madrelingua)

-          Cineforum (visione di un film in lingua originale seguita da attività didattiche e di conversazione)

-          The Reading Club (ci si riunisce davanti ad una tazza di tè per discutere di un libro letto in lingua originale – lettura graduata)

TERMINI E CONDIZIONI

-          La card ha un costo di €30,00.

-          È nominativa e non può essere usata da terzi.

-          Comprende la partecipazione a 5 eventi da gennaio 2012 a giugno 2012.

-          Non può essere sostituita in caso di smarrimento.

-          I titoli dei libri da leggere e le fotocopie del testo saranno inviate tramite e-mail.

-          La presenza alle attività deve essere confermata entro le ore 20:00 del giorno precedente. Le attività verranno svolte con l'adesione di un minimo di 4 partecipanti.

CALENDARIO ATTIVITA’

Language Exchange: ogni terzo mercoledì del mese dalle 18:30 alle 19:30.

Cineforum: ogni secondo venerdì del mese in lingua inglese dalle 18:30 alle 20:30.

The Reading Club: ogni quarto venerdì del mese dalle 18:30 alle 19:30.

LA NAVIDAD EN ESPAÑA

La Navidad en España comparte tradiciones con el resto de los países donde se practica la religión católica.
Como en otras partes del mundo, las familias se reúnen. Los adornos y elementos empleados para participar
en estas fiestas son parecidos en Europa y América, la comida, la bebida, la música, el baile y la costumbre de regalar. Pero también la Navidad española es una celebración única, con tradiciones y costumbres distintas que reflejan el verdadero carácter de España.
· 24 DE DICIEMBRE, NOCHEBUENA
Es el día en el que se celebra (según la religión católica) la víspera del nacimiento de Jesús. Durante la Nochebuena se cena con la familia y después de cenar se comen dulces típicos navideños (turrón, mazapán, polvorón..) y se cantan villancicos. Los platos típicos de esta cena especial son marisco, pescado
(besugo, dorada, lubina, merluza), cochinillo, cordero, pavo, jamón... aunque varían de unas regiones a otras. De beber se toma vino, sidra y cava (vino espumoso español elaborado por el método champanoise, parecido al champán francés). Es una ocasión para que familiares que no viven cerca se reúnan. En esa noche se celebra la tradicional “misa del gallo”, a las 12 de la noche. Era habitual que los miembros de la familia asistieran juntos a esa misa de medianoche. Según la tradición, este animal fue el primero en presenciar el nacimiento de Jesús y anunciarlo al mundo. Las familias más religiosas suelen asistir a esta misa.
· 25 DE DICIEMBRE, NAVIDAD
En este día se conmemora el Nacimiento de Jesucristo en Belén. El día de NAVIDAD se celebra con una comida similar a la cena de Nochebuena, y suele tener lugar o en la misma casa donde se celebró la Nochebuena, o en casa de otro familiar. A la comida le sigue una larga sobremesa. En Cataluña, al contrario que en otras comunidades, esta comida es más importante que la cena de Nochebuena. En este día se reciben los regalos de Papa Noel (Cataluña).
· 28 DICIEMBRE, EL DÍA DE LOS SANTOS INOCENTES
Esta fiesta tiene sus raíces en un evento muy sangriento, la matanza de niños que cometió el rey Herodes en Judea, aunque hoy en día la costumbre es gastar alguna broma a los amigos o familiares. En este día los periódicos suelen publicar noticias absurdas o increíbles y también la televisión hace lo mismo.
· 31 DICIEMBRE, NOCHEVIEJA
El último día del año se celebra la Nochevieja. Después de cenar el 31 de diciembre, según la tradición, a las 12 en punto de la noche, se toman las 12 uvas de la suerte en la Puerta del Sol de Madrid o viéndolo por la televisión. Las uvas se toman, una por una, al son de cada una de las 12 campanadas, que marcan el final del año. Después la gente se felicita el Año Nuevo besándose y brindando con cava (a veces sidra).
Según la tradición, los que comen las uvas tendrán 12 meses de prosperidad durante el año entrante (que viene). Todo el país minutos antes de medianoche, conecta su televisor para oír las campanadas de Nochevieja desde la PUERTA DEL SOL en Madrid

Noche Vieja en Puerta del Sol (Madrid)

CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND AND IRELAND

In English speaking countries, children don’t get their presents on Christmas Eve (24 December). Santa comes at night when everyone is asleep. Santa’s reindeer can fly and take him from house to house. They land on the roofs of the houses and then Santa climbs down the chimney to leave the presents under the Christmas tree.
In the morning of Christmas Day (25 December), children usually get up very early to unwrap their presents. Then they have plenty of time to play with their new toys.
Christmas dinner is served in the early afternoon. Most people eat turkey and sprouts and a Christmas pudding.
26 December is called Boxing Day. It hasn’t always been a holiday. People used to go back to work on that day where their bosses gave them little Christmas presents in small boxes. That’s why the day is called Boxing Day.


Ireland, like most countries, has a number of Christmas traditions that are all of its own. Many of these customs have their root in the time when the Gaelic culture and religion of the country were being supressed and it is perhaps because of that they have survived into modern times.

The Candle in the Window

The placing of a lighted candle in the window of a house on Christmas eve is still practised today. It has a number of purposes but primarily it was a symbol of welcome to Mary and Joseph as they travelled looking for shelter.
The candle also indicated a safe place for priests to perform mass as, during Penal Times this was not allowed.

The Laden Table

After evening meal on Christmas eve the kitchen table was again set and on it were placed a loaf of bread filled with caraway seeds and raisins, a pitcher of milk and a large lit candle. The door to the house was left unlatched so that Mary and Joseph, or any wandering traveller, could avail of the welcome.

The Wren Boy Procession

During Penal Times there was once a plot in a village against the local soldiers. They were surrounded and were about to be ambushed when a group of wrens pecked on their drums and awakened the soldiers. The plot failed and the wren became known as “The Devil’s bird”.
On St. Stephens Day a procession takes place where a pole with a holly bush is carried from house to house and families dress up in old clothes and with blackened faces. In olden times an actual wren would be killed and placed on top of the pole.
This custom has to a large degree disappeared but the tradition of visiting from house to house on St. Stephens Day has survived and is very much part of Christmas.

Decorations:

The placing of a ring of Holly on doors originated in Ireland as Holly was one of the main plants that flourished at Christmas time and which gave the poor ample means with which to decorate their dwellings.
All decorations are traditionally taken down on Little Christmas (January 6th.) and it is considered to be bad luck to take them down beforehand.

CINEFORUM 22-12-2012

Larissa's Languages presenta

CINEFORUM PRE-NATALIZIO

visione di film in lingua originale seguita da attività didattiche e conversazione

PROGRAMMA

giovedì 22 dicembre 2011 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

dalle ore 18:30 alle ore 20:30 

per informazioni contattami a doublelanguages@gmail.com

movie's advice: PUSS IN BOOTS

Apart from his choice of footwear, the Puss of Puss in Boots 3D seems to have no connection with his precursor of fairytale. Yet though the two felines' deeds may differ, their stories share one feature: both narratives seek to endow humanity's favourite pet with mythic status. This is a mission of long standing.

1. Puss In Boots 3D
2. Production year: 2011
3. Country: USA
4. Cert (UK): U
5. Runtime: 90 mins
6. Directors: Chris Miller
7. Cast: Amy Sedaris, Antonio Banderas, Billy Bob Thornton, Salma Hayek, Walt Dohrn, Zach Galifianakis
8. More on this film

The ancient Egyptians held cats to be sacred.Bast, a goddess with the head of a cat, was entrusted with the protection of lower Egypt and provided with one of the country's most splendid temples. Several ancient religions exalted cats as all-knowing guides for humans. The Norse god Freyja even chose them to draw her chariot. In Malaysia, people believed cats would guide their souls to paradise.

The fairytale that first brought us Puss in Boots also presented its hero as a benefactor of mankind. In the definitive version, written by retired civil servant Charles Perrault in 1695, Puss secures wealth, power and the hand of a princess for his low-born master. His DreamWorks counterpart saves a whole city from being devastated by a monstrous goose.

Unfortunately, the beast currently ripping your sofa to shreds is unlikely to harbour comparable ambitions. If the dog is a man's best friend – stout-hearted, obedient and faithful, then the cat is something else.

If he's leaving your soft furnishings alone just now, maybe it's because he's depositing something unwelcome on your pillow, or spraying in some corner that you'll never be able to reach. Alternatively, she may be out demolishing your neighbour's garden or exterminating the local wildlife. Asurvey by the Mammal Society found the nation's cats accounting for around 57m mammals, 27m birds and 5m reptiles and amphibians over a mere five-month period. And unlike other predators, cats enjoy torturing their victims before they finally dispatch them.

You can't blame them for their halitosis, caterwauling or propensity to vomit on the carpet. Doubtless they don't mean to transmit toxoplasmosisto pregnant women. Yet they do often give the impression that they're going out of their way to mistreat their human hosts.

Your cat may not intend to knock your favourite chinaware to the floor when she jumps up onto the mantelpiece. Yet if she notices that this grabs your attention, she may delight in repeating the trick. If you want to play and she doesn't, you can forget it. Your role is to minister to her requirements, and she can't be bothered to pretend otherwise. Should you actually need her cooperation, you're out of luck.

Nonetheless, people have been inviting cats into their lives for more than 9,000 years. In Britain today, over 10m of the things infest about five million homes. Unlike other domesticated animals, they didn't inveigle themselves into our households by being useful. Why then do so many people put up with them?

Of British cat owners asked their reasons in 2008, 58% cited "companionship" or "love". Presumably they must have meant their love for their pet, rather than its for them, given the typical feline disposition. Cats do indeed seem able to inspire almost limitless devotion, however unrequited this may be. Owners have been known to put out seven different bowls of food each day to give Kitty a bit of choice, to get up at 3am to cook fish because that's when Kitty wants it, or to leave the heating on all night in case Kitty gets cold even though this makes them too hot to sleep themselves.

Still, in spite of having to do so much in return for so little, these infatuates convince themselves that the relationship is working. A Swiss study in 2003 found that cats are as good as human partners at cheering up the morose. As Kipling noted, the cat walks by himself; yet he holds humanity in his thrall. How does he do it?

The answer may be presumed to lie in the bottomless cunning of felis catus. No other creature is so manipulative. A cat can cajole his owner into picking up a fallen toy simply by staring at it and tossing glances in her direction. Yet clever though he is, he isn't easy to train: you see, there's nothing in it for him.

A University of Sussex study found that to impose their will on their owners, cats deploy a particular kind of purr. It's different from the regular version, and incorporates a note with the same frequency as a baby's cry. The resulting sound is very hard for human beings to ignore.

Perrault's fairytale acknowledged its hero's guile, even as it sought to applaud him. Though Puss advances his master's interests, he does this through trickery and deceit. In the end, his apparent altruism turns out to be a ruse to secure a life of leisure for himself.

DreamWorks, on the other hand, gives us the cat of our delusions. The 3D Puss is surrounded by cheats prone to greed and betrayal. He, however, luxuriates in courage, loyalty, honesty and compassion. Only one of his characteristics chimes with those of our sharp-clawed household delinquent. It's his prodigious love of himself.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jMYpXl0mnL8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

a Natale regala l'ACTIVITY CARD

Activity Card

Con Larissa’s Languages imparare l’inglese non è mai stato così divertente. Questa card ti dà l’opportunità di partecipare ad eventi a tua scelta tra:

-          Language Exchange (scambio linguistico tra studenti madrelingua)

-          Cineforum (visione di un film in lingua originale seguita da attività didattiche e di conversazione)

-          The Reading Club (ci si riunisce davanti ad una tazza di tè per discutere di un libro letto in lingua originale – lettura graduata)

Nome: _______________                        Cognome: ________________

Evento	Data	Firma

TERMINI E CONDIZIONI

-          La card ha un costo di €30,00.

-          È nominativa e non può essere usata da terzi.

-          Comprende la partecipazione a 5 eventi da gennaio 2012 a giugno 2012.

-          Non può essere sostituita in caso di smarrimento.

-          I titoli dei libri da leggere e le fotocopie del testo saranno inviate tramite e-mail.

-          La presenza alle attività deve essere confermata entro le ore 20:00 del giorno precedente. Le attività verranno svolte con l'adesione di un minimo di 4 partecipanti.

CALENDARIO ATTIVITA’

Language Exchange: ogni terzo mercoledì del mese dalle 18:30 alle 19:30.

Cineforum: ogni secondo venerdì del mese in lingua inglese dalle 18:30 alle 20:30.

The Reading Club: ogni quarto venerdì del mese dalle 18:30 alle 19:30.

Travelling in Great Britain

Driving in Great-Britain 

A street in an English town. A policeman stops a car. The driver is a foreigner...

Policeman : (Holding up his hand) Stop !
Driver : What's the matter ?
Policeman : Why are you driving on the right side of the road ?
Driver : Do you want me to drive on the wrong side ?
Policeman : You are driving on the wrong side !
Driver : But you said I was driving on the right side &
Policeman : That's right. But you're on the right, and that's wrong !
Driver : What a strange country ! If right is wrong, I'm right when I'm on the wrong side of the road.
So why did you stop me ?
Policeman : My dear Sir, you must keep to the left. The right side is the left !
Driver : It's like a looking glass ! I'll try to remember. Well, I want to go to Bellwood. Will you kindly tell me the way ?
Policeman : Certainly ! At the end of this road, turn left.
Driver : Now let me think & Turn left ! In England, left is right and right is wrong. Am I right ?
Policeman :You'll be right if you turn left. But if you turn right, you'll be wrong &
Driver : Thank you very much ! It's as clear as daylight !

The Reading Club

 Larissa's Languages presenta:

The Reading Club

Il club di lettura è un'attività molto praticata in Inghilterra: le persone si riuniscono periodicamente per discutere sui libri che hanno letto. Durante la mia esperienza a Londra come commessa presso la libreria Oxfam ho preso parte a qualche incontro e sono rimasta molto soddisfatta di come potesse migliorare la mia competenza linguistica e allo stesso tempo capire meglio i contenuti e i significati dei testi letti. Per questa ragione vorrei proporre anche qui un piccolo Reading Club, per avvicinare gli amanti della lingua inglese alla lettura dei classici anglo-americani. Mi rendo conto della difficoltà nel leggere un testo in lingua inglese e perciò propongo delle versioni graduate di questi testi di livello b1-b2(intermediate, upper-intermediate) in modo che un maggior numero di persone possano prenderne parte.

Primo incontro:

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde di Robert Louis Stevenson

venerdì 23-12-2011

dalle 18:30 alle 19:30

Per coloro che non sanno come procurarsi il libro si possono rivolgere a me.

CINEFORUM PRE-NATALIZIO

Larissa's Languages presenta

CINEFORUM PRE-NATALIZIO

visione di film in lingua originale seguita da attività didattiche e conversazione

PROGRAMMA

giovedì 22 dicembre 2011 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

dalle ore 18:30 alle ore 20:30 

per informazioni contattami a doublelanguages@gmail.com

imparare l'inglese in compagnia è più bello... 3x2 super promotion!

- corso di gruppo di lingua inglese PRE-TEENS (lunedì 16:00 - 18:00)

- corso di gruppo di lingua inglese ADULTS (mercoledì 18:30 - 20:30)

50 ore (max 6 partecipanti, test d'ingresso e materiale didattico gratuito)

Tre amici che si iscrivono ad uno di questi due corsi entro il 12-12-2011 potranno usufruire dello sconto 3x2

scrivimi per maggiori informazioni

A Natale fai un regalo intelligente: a gennaio nuovi corsi di lingua...

A partire da Gennaio 2012 verranno attivati i seguenti corsi di lingua:
- CORSO DI LINGUA INGLESE PER BEGINNERS (ADULTI)
lunedì 10:30 - 12:30 
40 ore
costo del corso: €312,00 a persona (comprende test d'ingresso, materiale didattico e certificato di frequenza se presenti al 90% delle lezioni)
min 4 max 6 partecipanti
OBIETTIVI DEL CORSO: Questo corso è rivolto a coloro che vogliono avvicinarsi alla lingua inglese pur non avendo esperienze passate. Al termine del corso lo studente sa comprendere ed usare espressioni quotidiane e frasi semplici orientate alla soddisfazione di bisogni concreti e immediati. Sa presentarsi e presentare altre persone, fare domande e rispondere su argomenti personali del tipo dove abita, che cosa possiede, chi conosce, ecc. Sa interagire in modo semplice, a condizione che l’altra persona parli lentamente e in modo chiaro e sia disposta ad aiutarlo nella comprensione.
METODOLOGIA: Le lezioni saranno principalmente ispirate all’approccio comunicativo–funzionale, così da permettere allo studente di sperimentare in classe l’uso della lingua straniera come reale strumento di comunicazione. 


- CORSO DI LINGUA SPAGNOLA PRINCIPIANTI
lunedì 19:30 - 20:30 e martedì 19:30-20:30
40 ore 
costo del corso: €312,00 a persona (comprende test d'ingresso, materiale didattico e certificato di frequenza se presenti al 90% delle lezioni)
min 4 max 6 partecipanti
OBIETTIVI:fornire gli elementi base sia grammaticali che di conversazione quotidiana della lingua spagnola. Raggiungere un livello di conoscenza della lingua parlata per le normali esigenze di conversazioni durante un viaggio e/o una permanenza temporanea nei paesi di lingua ispanica. 


METODOLOGIA: Le lezioni saranno principalmente ispirate all’approccio comunicativo–funzionale, così da permettere allo studente di sperimentare in classe l’uso della lingua straniera come reale strumento di comunicazione. 


- CORSO DI LINGUA INGLESE PER TEENAGERS
sabato 16:00 - 17:30
30 ore
costo del corso: €301,60 a persona (comprende test d'ingresso, materiale didattico e certificato di frequenza se presenti al 90% delle lezioni)
min 4 max 6 partecipanti
OBIETTIVI E METODOLOGIA: Questo volto è rivolto a coloro che hanno già una base grammaticale acquisita a scuola ma che hanno problemi a comunicare oralmente. Attraverso la lettura e l'ascolto di temi di attualità e la messa in scena di situazioni di vita quotidiana, gli alunni acquisiranno sicurezza nell'espressione orale.

Italian-English tandem

Past simple

Uses

1. Events in the past that are now finished

2. Situations in the past
3. A series of actions in the past

USE 1: Past actions that are now finished

The first use of the Past Simple to express actions that happened at a specific time in the past. The actions can be short [1] or long [2].

Examples:

• John cut his finger last week. [1]
• I went to college 3 years ago. [2]
• He ate the dinner 1 hour ago. [1]

• Garfield slept well last night. [2]

USE 2: Situation in the past

Another use of this tense is talking about situations in the past.

Examples:

• I lived in New York for 10 years (I don't live there anymore).

Before Now

USE 3: A series of actions in the past

The Past Simple can also be used with a few actions in the past happening one after another.

Example:

the grey monster was in love with the pink monster, he decided to give her some flowers but his friend hit him on his head considering him a betrayer.

Time Expressions

Common time expressions in the Past Simple are:

yesterday

the other day

last night/week/time/month/year

the day before yesterday

… ago

To be

Form regular verbs

irregular verbs

to be

	Positive sentences	Negative sentences
I	was	Was not (wasn't)
you	were	Were not (weren't)
He/she/it	was	Was not (wasn't)
we	were	Were not (weren't)
they	were	Were not (weren't)

Question form

Was I? Were you? Was he/she/it? Were we? Were they?

Regular verbs

Positive senteces

we add -ED to the base form of the verb

Ex: work → worked

look → looked

when the verbs end in y:

• if before the y there is a vowel we just add -ed. (play → played)

• if before the y there is a consonant we change y in i before adding -ed. (study → studied)

Irregular verbs

Positive sentences

we take the form from the second column of the paradigm.

Base form	Past simple	Past participle
bring	brought	brought
meet	met	met
sing	sang	sung
take	took	taken

Negative and question forms (both regular and irregular verbs)

negative form

subject + did not (didn't) + base form verb

Ex: I did not go out last night.

questions

did + subject + base form verb?

Ex: Did you work yesterday?

Present Perfect

Uses

1) Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time before now
2) Actions in the past which have an effect on the present moment
3) Actions which began in the past and continue in the present

USE 1: Indefinite time before now

Use the Present Perfect to talk about actions that happened at some point in the past. It does not matter when they happened.

Examples:

• I have passed my exam.
• He has been to England.

USE 2: Effect on the present moment

We also use this tense when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

Examples:

• He has lost his keys.
  (so he can't open the door now)
• I haven't eaten dinner yet.
  (so I'm hungry)

• He has had a car accident.
  (that's why he is in the hospital)

USE 3: Continuation in the present

We often use the Present Perfect when we want to emphasize that an event continues in the present.

For this use in Italian we don't use “passato prossimo” but “presente” so pay attention when you translate from Italian into English!

Example:

• Mary has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.
  25 years ago now

(Mary lavora come insegnante da più di 25 anni)

teacher's note: Presen Perfect can be considered the tense that expresses experiences in your life (when you are alive) without an exact time reference.

Common time expressions in the Present Perfect are:

Since and For are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect. We use For with a period of time, for example: I have lived here for 20 years. When talking about a starting point, we use Since, for example: I have lived here since 1960.

already

yet

just

never

ever

so far

Form

To form a sentence in the Present Perfect, you need:

present simple of TO HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

1. to Have

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I have	We have
Second	You have	You have
Third	He/she/it has	They have

2. The Past Participle

The past participle can be either regular or irregular.

• Regular verbs
  they are formed by adding -ed to the verb:

Verb	Past Participle
talk	talked
explain	explained

• Irregular verbs
  we take the form from the third column of the paradigm.

Base form	Past simple	Past participle
bring	brought	brought
meet	met	met
sing	sang	sung
take	took	taken

Positive form

Subject + have/has + past participle

Negative form

Subject + have not/ has not (haven't / hasn't) + past participle

Question form

have/has + subject + past participle ?