Many of those who live up in the Alpujarras do understand and speak some English. Problem is pronunciation and understanding spoken words. I intend to help them become a bit more proficient and confident with the English language they have.
I encourage you to take part and interact in class so that you’ll learn to use English more effectively and independently, both inside and outside the classroom. Given the personalised attention from me, you’ll receive the support you need to get the most out of your classes.
In the table on this page just open the hyperlinks for the class concerned to find the Text and the Song we will look at in class.
Each class (1 to 2 hours) is presented around a specific theme. At first the themes/topics are chosen by me, but in the future also to be decided by you. Present your ideas, your topics, and I will incorporate them perhaps even in your course, and I will learn for future courses. Basically, I limit myself to courses for my neighbours living in Fondón, Benecid, Fuente Victoria and Laujar.
| Topic or Theme | Matters to be discussed | A Text read, listen and understand | A Song text, close-read and listen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | Introduce yourself Who are you? Where are you from? Meet someone else – How are you? | a4 xxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxx | Who are you? Fifth Harmony |
| 2 | Living | How do you (want to) live? What is important to you? Let’s talk life circle | The Heart has its Reasons María Dueñas | The Rose Bette Midler |
| 3 | You & Me | About your work – About yourself – About your interests Let’s talk You and Me | https://poets.org/poem/romance-sonambulo | Working Day and Night Michael Jackson |
| 4 | Family | Where are you from? How about your relatives? Let’s talk family stuff | d4 | The Family Tree Venice |
| 5 | Environment | Capital, Spring or Heart of the Alpujarras Let’s talk where and how you live? | South from Granada Gerald Brenan | Where have all the flowers gone? Peter, Paul and Mary |
| 6 | Dining & Eating | When, what and how do you eat? What’s on the menu? Let’s talk gastronomy | f4 | f5 |
| 7 | Fiestas & Siestas | Local, Alpujarras and Spanish traditions. Let’s talk “time”, “money” and “work”. | https://poets.org/poem/arbole-arbole | g5 |
| 8 | Holidays | Where do you go to? What do you like/want most? Let’s talk holidays | h4 | It’s a holi holiday Boney M. |
| 9 | The Alpujarras | How about history and culture? Moros and Christianos Let’s talk al-Andalus | The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise Darío Fernández-Morera | Always look at the bright side of life – Monty Python |
| 10 | Spain | Historical perspectives Past, present and future Let’s talk politics | On the Edge (En la orilla) Rafael Chirbes | Spanish Eyes Engelbert Humperdinck |
| 11 | The EU | Pros & cons, thoughts & feelings Let’s talk Europe | k4 | Ode to Joy EU Anthem (Ludwig Beethoven) |