How about theatre?

Summertime has long been associated with performance of ancient Greek tragedies and comedies in open theatres and especially in the fabulous ancient ones of Epidaurus  or Herodion in Athens. A very interesting and informative documentary, in parts – no longer than 10 mins each, can be found on YouTube. It is of course in English and –unfortunately- there are no subtitles, but I hope that it won’t be very difficult to follow. 

Part 1: History of Theatre - From Ritual to Theatre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQOPFxuiaWQ&feature=youtu.be

Part 2: History of Theatre - Development of Classical Tragedy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBDfl9YJY4

Part 3: History of Theatre - From Satyr Play to Comedy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxqqHr0-6Lo

MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses

Have you ever thought about studying abroad, joining a course offered by a prestigious university like Harvard, MIT or Yale (just to mention a few from a really long list) but you feel too busy or too old, or simply you cannot afford it? Well, here is the answer to your problem. The latest trend in education is called MOOC. Education is just a click away!

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an online course aiming at large-scale participation and open access via the web.  In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for the students, professors, and teaching assistants. MOOCs are a recent development in distance education and often use open educational resources. 

Are you looking for a massive open online course? In this case you should have a look at the following addresses.

https://www.coursera.org/

https://www.edx.org/
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/upcoming

https://www.udacity.com/

http://www.mooc-list.com/

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/50-top-sources-of-free-elearning-courses/

Note, however, that Udacity differs from Coursera and edX in that it does not have a calendar-based schedule (asynchronous); students may start a course at any time. While some MOOCs such as Coursera or edX present lectures online, typical to those of traditional classrooms, others such as Udacity offer interactive lessons with activities, quizzes and exercises interspersed between short videos and talks.

All these organisations profess to provide world-class education to everyone, everywhere. And from my own personal experience, being an edX/Harvard student, I admit that it is worth every minute (in my case long hours) spent on it, since it is an excellent way to learn. Of course, as everything else, MOOCs have come in for a lot of criticism as well. If you feel sceptical about joining one of the courses, perhaps you could have a look at the following article from the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/opinion/sunday/grading-the-mooc-university.html?pagewanted=all

Or maybe you could benefit from Jonathan Haber’s experiment and experience of MOOC world.

http://degreeoffreedom.org/

Whatever your opinion, such courses are an excellent way to practice your language skills and communicate with people all around the world, within an academic context. What do you think? Would you give it a try?

Please, let us know about your own experience as a MOOC student.

The Phrasal Verbs Machine

The Phrasal Verbs Machine A FREE app for phrasal verbs practice Install on iPod, iPad or Android This new app helps students to discover the fun in learning phrasal verbs and improving their knowledge of English. Each verb is explained and illustrated in a memorable context, with plenty of practice. Translation in five languages will be helpful to learners with low level of English. Try it today! Check out other Cambridge apps here.

Wishing you a great summer!!!

As our English courses have been brought to a close, I feel that it is the right moment to thank you all for your participation in this trip to knowledge. For us, the teachers, it has been a worthwile experience and we are looking forward to meeting you in September.

Wishing you a beautiful and relaxing summer, we are sending our farewell along with the words of C. Cavafy.

Ithaca

As you set out for Ithaca
hope that your journey is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - do not be afraid of them:
you ‘ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare
sensation touches your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
wild Poseidon - you will not encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope that your journey is a long one.
May there be many Summer mornings
when with what pleasure, what joy -
you come into a harbour seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations,
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensuous perfumes of every kind,
as many sensuous perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn again from those who know.

Keep Ithaca always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry in the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so that you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.
Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca wouldn’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then,
what all these Ithacas mean. 

Constantine P. Cavafy

And here is a link to YouTube where Son Connery recites “Ithaca”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!!!

Best wishes for a very happy and productive New Year!!!!

All around the world people celebrate the start of the New Year on January 1 (New Year’s Day). Common traditions include attending parties, eating special New Year’s foods, making resolutions for the new year and watching fireworks displays.

You can find more information about the origins of these festivities and traditions on:

http://www.history.com/topics/new-years

21 December 2012

December 21, 2012: the end of the world?

As another year draws to an end more and more voices around the world are whispering doomsday theories predicting the end of our world, The 2012 phenomenon, as it is known,  comprises a range of eschatological beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on 21 December 2012.This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae have been proposed as pertaining to this date, though none have been accepted by mainstream scholarship.

A New Age interpretation of this transition is that the date marks the start of time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 21 December 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era. Others suggest that the date marks the end of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios suggested for the end of the world include the arrival of the next solar maximum, an interaction between Earth and the black hole at the center of the galaxy, or Earth's collision with a planet called "Nibiru".     

Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of such cataclysmic events occurring in 2012. Professional Mayanist scholars state that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the classic Maya accounts, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar "ends" in 2012 misrepresents Maya history and culture, while astronomers have rejected the various proposed doomsday scenarios as pseudoscience, stating that they conflict with simple astronomical observations.

On a special page NASA scientists explain why the world won’t end in few days. You can visit http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html

The 5th of November

    
    Remember, remember!
    The fifth of November,
    The Gunpowder treason and plot;
    I know of no reason
    Why the Gunpowder treason            
    Should ever be forgot! 
      (English folk verse)
 

Nov 5, 1605:

King James learns of gunpowder plot

Early in the morning, King James I of England learns that a plot to explode the Parliament building has been foiled, hours before he was scheduled to sit with the rest of the British government in a general parliamentary session.

At about midnight on the night of November 4-5, Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, found Guy Fawkes lurking in a cellar under the Parliament building and ordered the premises searched. Some 20 barrels of gunpowder were found, and Fawkes was taken into custody. During a torture session , Fawkes revealed that he was a participant in an English Catholic conspiracy to annihilate England's Protestant government and replace it with Catholic leadership.

What became known as the Gunpowder Plot was organized by Robert Catesby, an English Catholic whose father had been persecuted by Queen Elizabeth I for refusing to conform to the Church of England. Guy Fawkes had converted to Catholicism, and his religious zeal led him to fight in the Spanish army in the Netherlands. Catesby and the handful of other plotters rented a cellar that extended under Parliament, and Fawkes planted the gunpowder there, hiding the barrels under coal and wood.

As the November 5 meeting of Parliament approached, Catesby enlisted more English Catholics into the conspiracy, and one of these, Francis Tresham, warned his Catholic brother-in-law Lord Monteagle not to attend Parliament that day. Monteagle alerted the government, and hours before the attack was to have taken place Fawkes and the explosives were found. By torturing Fawkes, King James' government learned of the identities of his co-conspirators. During the next few weeks, English authorities killed or captured all the plotters and put the survivors on trial, along with a few innocent English Catholics. 

Guy Fawkes himself was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered in London. Moments before the start of his gruesome execution, on January 31, 1606, he jumped from a ladder while climbing to the hanging platform, breaking his neck and dying instantly.

Today, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated across Great Britain every year on November 5 in remembrance of the Gunpowder Plot. As dusk falls, villagers and city dwellers across Britain light bonfires, set off fireworks, and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, celebrating his failure to blow Parliament and James I.

From http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/