About The BFG: Roald Dahl´s gobblefunk (E2C)

Roald Dahl loved playing around with words and invented many new ones. In The BFG he gave this strange  and funny language the name of Gobblefunk. He created this new language using these strategies:

1.Wordplay. Dahl uses language to create humour, often driving us crazy with our sense of logic and order. In his invented language there are:
 *spoonerisms (transposing the initial letters or syllables of 2 or more words):  catasterous disastrophe is a "disastrous catastrophe", swigpill is "pigswill" (a disgusting food or drink),
*malapropisms (using a word in mistake for one sounding similar):  human bean instead of "human being".
*deliberate misspellings: norphan instead of "orphan".


2.Onomatopoeia (hopefully you remember from last year). A trogglehumper is a "nightmare" (try to say the word: the way it sounds indicates something really diasgreeable).

3.Similes and metaphors.

4.Alliteration or repetition of sounds (the BFG describes himself as brimful of buzzburgers).

5.Puns and nonsense words (Crunchem Hall primary school = "Crunch them all", a school were students are treated badly, "Am I right or left?"...)

Here are some words he invented with their definition (adapted from English 4 everyone), but rememeber you mustn´t learn by heart Dahl´s gobblefunk, the idea is to try and guess the meaning and basically to have fun with words: 


-SNOZZCUMBER: The BFG refuses to eat people, so he must survive on this revolting bitter vegetable. 
-FROBSCOTTLE: A delicious, fizzy and refreshing drink.
-WHIZZPOPPERS: The bubbles in frobscottle travel curiously downwards so they cause the drinker to 'break wind' instead of burp, this causes noises known as whizzpoppers.
-BLABBERSNITCH:  a creature that lives at the bottom of the sea
-CRODSCOLLOP:  A mouth-watering flavour; for example, the taste of chocolate ice cream 
-BUGGLES:  means completely crazy 
-GOGGLER:  an eye 
-OOMPA-LOOMPA:  A very small person.  A tribe of them work in Willy Wonka´s fantastic chocolate factory.
-HORNSWOGGLER:  A very dangerous creature. 
-PHIZZ-WHIZZING:  Means brilliant or really good! 
-SPLATCH-WINKLE: Splatch-winkling means rushing around; in a hurry 
-RINGBELLER:  The BFG´s word for an amazingly excellent dream; the complete opposite of a nightmare 
-SVOLLOP:  To svollop something means to destroy it. 
-TIME-TWIDDLER:  A time-twiddler is very special.  Time-twiddlers are immortal; they live forever and ever. 
-VERMICIOUS KNID:  Watch out!  These beasts are vicious killers who can fool you by changing shape. 
-WHOOPSY-SPLUNKERS:  Used to describe something absolutely marvellous.   

As The BFG says: “Words is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life.... I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around.”

Now discover some really scrumdiddlyumptious facts about Roald Dahl here. 

Sleepy Hollow (E1B)

-Watch the trailer for this film (Sleepy Hollow), describe the setting and the characters and explain some of the events in the plot.
-How is this story similar to The Canterville Ghost?

Hansel and Gretel (a very modern version) (E2C)

This is the beginning of a peculiar version of Hansel and Gretel we gave you to work with (adapted by Catherine from a story by Chloe Maclean): 

“In a large house in the middle of the city lived two children, Hansel and Gretel. Their parents were poor, due to the global financial crisis and they couldn’t afford to keep their children. They sat together and talked it over. Finally they decided to take the kids into the shopping centre and abandon them there where they would get lost, (because shopping centres are becoming so big these days.)
“Hansel, Gretel. We’re going shopping,” declared their mother.
“Go away, we’re busy!” snapped Hansel, pounding away at his Xbox controller.
“Mmmmm,” agreed Gretel, through a mouthful of chips.
The mother edited the plan.
“We’ll go to McDonalds on the way back.”
They perked up instantly.

The two bratty children were trotting beside their mother.
“I’m bored.” whined Gretel.
“I’m boreder,” moaned Hansel.
“Not a word!” snapped Gretel.
The children began to argue amongst themselves and their mother took the opportunity to leave.

Gretel’s eyes grew wide.
“Mummy?” she squeaked. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know!” Hansel said, his voice shaking.
Gretel began to cry....."

  

And this is how Daniel and Razvan finished the story: 

"They started to see a lot of people screaming, so they decided to go with that group of persons to find help. In that place, One Direction were signing books. The band saw Hansel and Gretel in the crowd. They felt so bad for them that  they went to see what was happening. Hansel and Gretel told them what was going on, so the group decided to adopt them. They were all so happy!

One night the band went to a disco with them. Hansel started singing rap and Gretel started twerking with Miley Cyrus. Miley liked them, so he decided to to take them home with her, making them twerk all day long. 

One Direction were worried about them so they started to to look for them. They finally called Miley. She answered and told them she didn´t know anything, but they could hear "save us from the twerking witch" so Niall went to save them and lived happily forever".

Little Red Riding Hood (Some Like It Hot version)

Watch this crazy version of Little Red Riding Hood by Tex Avery. Thanks to María Moreno for the link and the activities!

Presentations (E1B)

(This information is for ESO 1ºB only).

-The presentations, as you know, will be on December 2.

-You must speak for at least one minute.

-You can´t read your presentation.

-Choose one of these topics:

1.“A DAY I WILL REMEMBER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE”

2.”A FANTASTIC JOURNEY I HAVE MADE”

3.”MY HERO”

4.”WHAT I AM GOOD AT”

5.”MY DREAM JOB”

6.”MY MOST FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE”

Debates (E2C)

(This information is for ESO 2ºC only)

Instructions for the debate:

-The pairs will be the same as the ones I organized for Kathryn´s speaking practice on Thursday.There will be a group of three people. If you want to work with a different person and the rest of your partners agree on the change, it´s OK for me but let me know first.

-In each group, one member will be for the statement and the other will be against. If you have the same opinion on the topic, one will have to pretend.
-The script with the debate must be handed in to the teacher by Friday 22, I´ll give them back to you, with my corrections, the next Monday.
-The debates will begin on Monday 2 (December).
-Each member in the group must speak at least 3 minutes.
-Participation of the rest of the students in the debate (questions at the end) will be rewarded.

-Evaluation: 1 point.
 

-Topics of the debate (they are suggestions, you can think of other topics but tell me first): 

1. I couldn´t live without the internet.

2. Bilingual education is great.

3. I wouldn´t mind working abroad in the future.

4. Teamwork activities are my favourite at school.

5. I would rather study in a private school.

6. Recycling is a bore.

7. Secondary school students should wear uniforms.

8. Doctors should get a higher salary than football players.

9. Mobile phones should be allowed at schools.

10. Success in life means money.

11. Parents should let us do whatever we want.

-Each group must choose a different topic. Choose the topic fast! The first to tell me their choice will get it; if you are too late you may have to choose a different one.

Hansel and Gretel (E2C)

 

Listen to the fairy tale and do the activities in the worksheet.

The hamburger

Read the following:

"My hometown, Wheaton, is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature, and for me the most interesting, is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place".


Now answer these questions about the paragraph:

*What is the topic sentence (that is, the" top bun" of the hamburger)?
*Now about the supporting sentences:
-What is the "lettuce"?
-And the "tomato"?
-And the "meat"?
*Finally, What is the concluding sentence (the "bottom bun")?

Talking about natural disasters... (E2ºC)

Blown Away by Carrie Underwood:

Halloween is nearly here!

Listen to the poem Halloween is Nearly Here by Kenn Nesbitt (click here) and answer this question: What costume will the protagonist in the poem be dressing this Halloween?

Now go to Kenn Nesbitt´s website and answer these questions about him:
1.When and where was he born?
2. When did he start writing poetry for children?
3. Nesbitt´s first poem was Scrawny Tawny Skinner, about a girl who didn´t want to eat. Read it and explain what happens to her in the end.
4. When did he decide to take up poetry in a more serious way?
5. What is the name of the book he published in 2000?

Now go to the FAQ section about the author and answer these questions:
6. What was his job before becoming a full-time poet?
7. What are his hobbies?
8. Does he have any children?

The Fox (and Ylvis)

So many fables with so many animals... Talking about animals as characters in stories, do you know this song by Norwegian group Ylvis about a very mysterious fox?

Aesop´s The Dove and the Ant (E2C)

Still another fable by Aesop:

Think of a moral for it.

The story with the mysterious objects (E1B)

The Canival Day

"It was 12 o´clock of a winter day in Edinburgh, and Albert started high school. His father had left home already to his work at the university. He was thristy and went to the university café and he bought a cup of coffee. The father sent a whatsApp message with a smile emoticon, but the mother couldn´t receive it because she was cleaning the dishes with a scourer. That afternoon Albert put on his clown nose and dressed up like a clown and went to carnival. The father went to pick up Albert from Carnival and they went to dinner to a Burger King. When they were eating a hamburger the mother surprised them dressed up like a cup of coffee". (Álvaro C., Álvaro G., Paula H., Andrea, David. E1B)

Kipling´s "How the Whale Got His Throat"

Watch the pourquoi story by Rudyard Kipling here:

Whale baleen:

A grating (like the one made by the mariner in the story):

Your pourquoi stories (E2C)

How the fox became orange (by Javier and Daniel)
"This is a story of a red fox called Anastasio that had an enormous orange orchard. the oranges were so beautiful that they reflected the sunlight.
One day the sun got fed up with the fox and his oranges, so he decided to shine more brightly so that the oranges released their colour. So then he decided to do it and the orange colour went to the fox.
The fox was so proud of being orange that all the foxes in the forest wanted to be as trendy as him, so they started to paint themselves.
                                                 ...And that´s how the fox became orange"

How the deer got his white tail (by Adelina and Inés)
"Once upon a time many years ago, when people washed their clothes by hand, there was a deer which was very active. he fell onto a puddle of mud and he wanted to clean himself and the best idea he had was to enter a fountain where people washed their clothes. Since the water had bleach and he entered the fountain backwards his tail beacme white. As he saw he was becoming white he decided to wait until it rained to clean the rest of the body.

                                                   ......And that´s how the deer got his white tail".

 
Why doves are white (by Nacho and Sofía G.)
"A long time ago some doves were black and others were brown. Nowadays the doves you can see in the street are white.
A painter was painting a building white. But when a dove flew over the painter, the painter moved the bucket and the paint fell down onto the dove. From that moment all doves wanted to be white so they jumped into buckets of white paint.
                                                     .......So that´s the reason why doves are white".

Why the beaver has long teeth (by Ismael and Razvan)
"A beaver ate the food of all the animals and the animals were fed up with him.
A bear wanted to remove the teeth of the beaver so that the beaver couldn´t eat his food. The beer pulled out the teeth of the beaver but he couldn´t do it beacuse the teeth of the beaver were very strong. Anyway as he pulled very strongly, his teeth became very long.
                                                        .....And that´s why the beaver has long teeth". 

How the cat got his rough tongue (by María and Sara)
"Many years ago there was a cat who loved honey. he was always looking for more and more.
One day he saw a bee-hive with a lot inside. There were drops of honey inside. There were drops of honey on the floor. So the cat went to eat it and when he finished he wanted more, so he climbed to the top of the tree where the bee-hive was. He started to hit it. The bees flew out and the cat started to run. Finally the caught him and bit him in the tongue.
                                                         ....And that is how the cat got its rough tongue".


 

The Wolf and the Crane (E2)

Here you are another fable by Aesop. Watch it and write a short summary:

What´s the moral? 

Meet our new assistants

This course we are going to have 5 new assistants (all of them from the USA). Curious about what they are like? Here you are some information (written by them) on their studies, interests, likes and dislikes...

-Catherine Tuttle: 

My name is Catherine Tuttle and I am thrilled to be embarking on a 10-month teaching adventure in Madrid Spain for the 2013-2014 school year.  I am 22 years old and my hometown is Pittsford, New York—right outside Rochester in the upstate region of New York State.  This past May I graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine with a double major in Spanish and English and a concentration in European Studies.  With the help of a semester abroad in Argentina and travels in Uruguay and Chile, I speak fluent Spanish.  I also can speak French and Russian and have traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In my free time, I enjoy many sports such as running, swimming, sailing, tennis, skiing, and rowing.  In college I was on the ski team and the rowing team.  I play the clarinet and piano and love to cook and bake.  I care for the future of our environment and try to ride my bike whenever I can (though I couldn't bring it to Madrid).

More info with a picture here.

-Gregory Smith:

Hello! My name is Greg and I am from the United States where I live in Seattle, Washington. My favorite thing to do at home is paint and draw, which is what I got my first college degree in. My second favorite thing to do is drink coffee and read. My THIRD favorite is to teach math to students. I love helping students learn. Learning is one of the few things in life that doesn't get boring, which is why I'm trying to learn Spanish while I'm here.
So far I love it here in Madrid. I miss my family and friends, but the people I've met here so far have made it easier.
I can't wait to meet you all. I'm looking forward to helping you learn the English language. Summer is ending, but this will be a good year. I promise :)

-Kathryn Kelly :

Age: 25                                              Birthday: August 18th

From: United States                          State: Nebraska (In the middle of the U.S.)

Degree: Psychology & Spanish

What I plan to do next year: Go to Law School in the U.S.

Why I chose to Teach Abroad: To challenge and teach my English students in a creative way, to improve my Spanish and gain a cultural perspective by living as a Madrilenian.

Interests: Anything active: Running, hiking, biking, athletics etc., reading, trying new things, eating good food, traveling, people, sunshine, cooking, fashion, law, social work, language,

Favorite:

Color: Blue

Book: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (Murder Mystery)

Food: Pasta

Subject: English - of course ;)

Candy: Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Sport: Cross Country / Track & Field, Softball, Volleyball, Tennis

Music: Rock, hip-hop, or anything I can dance to

Travel destination: Minnesota

Family: I have one younger brother and one older sister.

Describe myself in 5 words:

• Positive
• Motivated
• Leader
• Fun-Loving
• Kind

-Jonathan Bruno:

I am 23 and graduated college last year with a degree in economics. I really enjoy music, I play the piano and the guitar a lot in my free time. I play all kinds of music, with the piano I usually play classical music or songs by Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen, and with guitar I like more hard rock (electric guitar), and Dave Matthews Band (acoustic). My level of Spanish is low at the moment but I have been using the Rosetta Stone programs all summer and look forward to practicing a lot more once I start living in the city. I studied French all through high school which has been helpful for learning Spanish. I also like to ski and snowboard in the winter, and for sports I like to play tennis and golf. I live in the suburbs near Boston, Massachusetts (where I grew up), so in the summer I like to go sailing/waterskiing and go to the beaches on Cape Cod. For the past 4 years I was living in Boulder, Colorado, which is where I went to school. It is beautiful there with a lot of mountains so I did a lot of hiking and skiing over the years. 

Welcome!