The Addams Family

Do you remember the show? I’m sure you do, that weird family with a hand as a butler… The Addamses are a satirical inversion of the ideal American family; an eccentric, wealthy family who delight in the macabre and are unaware that people find them bizarre or frightening.

In these 8-minute-long clips, the whole family are really worried about Pugsley’s ‘ too normal’ behaviour. I hope you enjoy it!

Find out what happens next in part 2 and part 3.

You’ve Got Mail

Do you remember that film? Of course you do, that wonderful American romantic movie in which two letter-writing lovers are completely unaware that their sweetheart is in fact the co-worker with whom they share a certain degree of animosity…

That was not so long ago and, here in Spain, e-mailing wasn’t as widespread. What about now? How often do you check your mailbox? Can you live without it? Listen to this podcast to know other people’s opinion. Check the tapescript if needed.

So, let’s do things properly. When you get down to business, I mean, when you start writing your mail,

Present simple-present continuous

As you well know, the dichotomy present simple- present continuous has been a pain in the neck for as long as you remember.  So far, we know that:

* present continuous is used when talking about actions happening now, changing/developing situations, temporary situations, plans and arrangements in the future or annoying habits with always.

* present simple is used with routines or regular actions, in time clauses with a future meaning after when, as soon as, if and until, with permanent situations, with timetables, with scientific facts, in spoken instructions, sports commentaries or jokes or with state verbs.

For years, you have been told these state verbs

My Real Family

My Real Family

I couldn’t say I grew up in a cosy little home. My earliest memories are of the nannies and governesses that instructed us on the diverse accomplishments we would need for later life.

We were always moving home too: Christmas in a cold Scottish castle, summer holidays in Norfolk, periods of imprisonment in Windsor, and lonely views from the balcony at our city centre flat, Buckingham Palace.Mum was always busy and as for dad it wasn’t until I was 7 or 8 that I could pick him out in an official photo. Not a family man really. Greek I believe. But always trying to get me to wear a kilt.

My dear brother Charles – he always preferred the company of plants and animals to that of other humans, and as I was educated at home I had limited understanding of other children. Like everyone else I adored Diana.

There is a family dress code, which you can really appreciate when we all put on our tiaras and pearls.If there is a a rotten apple in the basket that is my sister Margaret: she didn’t even made it into the photo! A black sheep. As my dad used to say: madness runs in the family.

I hope you enjoyed my honest account of life with the real family, please write one about your own real or real family using the vocabulary and structures we have learnt in this unit.

We look forward to reading about your families

Family portrait

Can you see this picture?

They seem a pretty happy big family, don’t they?

Unfortunately, all that glitters is not always gold, and not all families are happy. It is a fine balance to accommodate everyone need for independence and support. Often family reality is far from perfect and this is well portrayed in Pink´s song.

“Family Portrait” is a pop/hip-hop song written by Pink and Scott Storch within the album Missundaztood (2001). The song is about her family that was about to fall to pieces, portraying the conflict through the eyes of her as a child. It was released as the album’s fourth and final single in December 2002 .

In the music video for Family Portrait,

Philip LARKIN-This Be the Verse

Philip Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) has been called England’s greatest post-war poet, as well as being voted “the nation’s best-loved poet” by the Poetry Book Society. Philip Larkin is considered to be one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. His poem “This Be the Verse” written in 1971 continues to be well-known and many people in Britain can recite at least the first stanza.

Here you can listen to Philip Larkin itself reading it

WIFE SWAP

This is the ultimate reality show, still unknown in Spain. However, its casting has been already advertised on TV so it’ll be broadcasted soon.

Let me explain the idea for you to get the feeling:

Two wives hand over the keys to their homes and literally switch families – but not bedrooms – for two weeks on the new reality show Wife Swap, already a critically-acclaimed smash hit in its third season in the U.K.

Wife Swap is not a competition or a contest. It is a reality show unlike any other, where the battlegrounds are the kitchens and living rooms, child-rearing is a subject of intense and heated debate, and the outcome isn’t a cash prize, but a couple’s opportunity to re-discover why they love each other and decided to marry in the first place.

REALITY SHOWS

Have you realized the number of people from Alicante who are taking part in this kind of contests?

Last Sunday, October, 20, the local newspaper Información published this news: Minutos de gloria. The content of this piece of news shocked me: in as many as 5 different contests, there are 7 women and 1 man no less on TV right now.

These reality shows deal with many different topics and cover a wide range of programming formats:

Nature vs Nurture? Are we really born that way?

You got your green eyes from your mother and your freckles from your father. But where did you get your thrill-seeking personality and talent for singing? Did you learn these from your parents or was it predetermined by your genes? While it’s clear that physical characteristics are hereditary, the genetic waters get a bit murkier when it comes to an individual’s behaviour, intelligence, and personality. Ultimately, the old argument of nature vs. nurture has never really been won. We do not yet know how much of what we are is determined by our DNA and how much by our life experience. But we do know that both play a part.

Describing people

When describing people, we can either choose to say what they look like, what they are like or both. Find attached a handout with interesting vocabulary to include in your descriptions.

Now it’s your turn. Look at the activity Have you met Harry yet? and try and give as many details as possible.