WEEK 2: OUR FIRST STEPS IN C1

MEETING THE LOCALS.

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INTERVIWER:

Have you heard the latest on the man who won the national lottery? Eight million dollars he won. That’s a great amount, isn’t it? Have you ever thought of—

ALBERTO C.:

Winning that thing? Of course I do. Everybody does in fact, I think. Well I wouldn’t be in this show in first place (laughs). You know, that money lets you do a few things.

INTERVIWER:

I wouldn’t be here either (laughs). But please, tell us, what would you have done if you had won the big prize?

ALBERTO C.:

Me? Well, I wouldn’t doubt about starting the car and going to the next shopping centre. Half of the money would be spent on pretty and expensive clothes. Yes, I’m quite materialistic in that sense. Can’t avoid it. Next step would be buying some lofts; one in Madrid and another one—let’s say in New York. I really love those apartments; they are quite stylish and luminous. I suppose, once done with my little cravings, I would spent the rest of the money on travelling. Though I’m a city dweller, I’d like to visit some rural places, like Cambodia –ruins are some kind of passion in me, don’t ask me why; I don’t even know (laughs). Follow that line, I would also go to Greece, Central America, India and all those places with millenary ruins. They are the remaining memories of ancient cultures. They have always attracted me, more than the present ones.

INTERVIWER:

Wow! That’s a man with clear ideas. Would you go on that journey alone or with friends?

ALBERTO C.:

With friends of course! It wouldn’t be an adventure if I didn’t have them with me! Every adventure needs that one guy confident enough to get the rest of us in some troubles, you know. Yet –I don’t know how—that same guy will manage to get us out of the situation. There’s also the cute and carefree girl. She’ll go wherever we will, and she will laugh at everything. The churl guy would be definitely in the group as well. He might be mean sometimes, but you can count on him for everything. I have more friends and I 

would take them all with my on a journey, that’s for sure.

INTERVIWER:

That sounds awesome. But there’s a thing I’d like to ask. What “guy” would you be?

ALBERTO C.:

Me? I’m the one complaining about everything all the time! (Laughs).

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WEEK 1: PROCESS WRITING

Over five thousand years into the past, one simple event marked the difference between two eras. It was the conception of writing. This system of symbols would not only take note of history on walls and parchments, but would also create real beauty; or hurtful words, capable of causing more harming wounds than the ones inflicted by the sharpest of swords. Since that moment, writing has evolved in many ways, dividing into several systems, each one different from the rest. And yet, writing was not accessible for everyone; even those who were capable of drawing the symbols of a language –now known as letters— could not imaging the range of possibilities available for them. They needed to be taught the basis of this system and improve it as well. That is the way it has been done until our days.

At the Contemporary Age, the basic rules and contents are taught at school, high school and some degrees; letting more advanced knowledge for autonomous learning –something which I am not much in favour of. Thus, teachers and professors expect for students to learn by their own and still get high marks. And because of letting the hard work to us, we students must go in search of appropriated sources of information –mainly online; a very difficult task taking into account the large amount of invaluable information on the net. In order to help you with this little –but important—matter, I would like to exemplify in this writing those tools I mostly use.

First of all, it would be advisable to have a trustable source where you can look up for words you do not know at all. The perfect tool for this task is an old friend known as dictionary –either on paper or online. Both provide definitions; exemplify contexts in which words/collocations are used; and give phonological transcriptions. Yet online versions make easier the search and gives even more information thanks to the use of links. Even so, the use of mobile phones and computers will be forbidden in class.

If you do not feel confident enough with the information given on the dictionary, you could try, in second place, to use Ludwig (https://ludwig.guru/). This is a webpage –which also owns an desktop  app— that provide exemplifying texts of words, phrases, clauses and sentences you are interested in. These texts belongs to other websites or uploaded documents and folders. Thus it would be advisable to take a look at the origin of the text. There are many other webpages like this one, though Ludwig seems trustable enough.

For the rest of things, there is an endless variety of webpages where you can find lists of vocabulary, connectors, collocations, grammar rules, the use of prepositions and examples. You should also use your student book as well. Despite the fact that some information is wrong, or rather useless, one can always improve his writing, as you can see.