A Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Dear 2nd BAC students, does the name Maya Angelou ring a bell? (tip: remember Speak) Here is a tribute to Nelson Mandela read by her.

This video has just been produced by the U.S. Department of State´s Bureau of International Information Programs

The first copy is subtitled in English - an excellent opportunity to improve your listening and reading skills.

The second video is subtitled in Spanish




Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for the links

Will You Sign This Petition?

This post has been copied and pasted from the internet

The class of Sinenjongo High School in Cape Town, South Africa wrote an open letter on Facebook requesting free access to Wikipedia on their cellphones so that they can do their homework. They don't have a library at their school, and don't have internet access at home. The only books they have are the ones they are issued at school, so they have very limited access to information. 

They were inspired to write their letter when they heard about Wikipedia Zero, an initiative of the Wikimedia Foundation (the non-profit that supports Wikipedia) to enable mobile access, free of data charges, to Wikipedia in developing countries. The objective of the program is to reduce barriers to accessing free knowledge—one of the largest barriers being cost of data usage. 

Open letter to Cell C, MTN, Vodacom and 8ta

We are learners in a Grade 11 class at Sinenjongo High School, Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton, Cape Town. We recently heard that in some other African countries like Kenya and Uganda certain cell phone providers are offering their customers free access to Wikipedia.

We think this is a wonderful idea and would really like to encourage you also to make the same offer here in South Africa. It would be totally amazing to be able to access information on our cell phones which would be affordable to us.

Our school does not have a library at all so when we need to do research we have to walk a long way to the local library. When we get there we have to wait in a queue to use the one or two computers which have the internet. At school we do have 25 computers but we struggle to get to use them because they are mainly for the learners who do CAT (Computer Application Technology) as a subject. Going to an internet cafe is also not an easy option because you have to pay per half hour.

90% of us have cell phones but it is expensive for us to buy airtime so if we could get free access to Wikipedia it would make a huge difference to us.

Normally when we do research Wikipedia is one of the best sites for us to use and so we go straight to it. The information there is clear, updated and there is information on just about every topic.

Our education system needs help and having access to Wikipedia would make a very positive difference. Just think of the boost that it will give us as students and to the whole education system of South Africa.

From
Sinombongo, Sinako, Busisiwe, Ntswaki, Bomkazi, Lindokuhle, Ntsika, Patrick, Ndumiso, Sinazo, Bathandwa, Nokuthembela, Lutho, Mandlilakhe, Zingisile, Aviwe, Nezisa, Ncumisa, Nokubonga, Pheliwe, Zama, Unathi, Malixole and Ntombozuko.

Will you sign their petition? Click here

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

A great man has died, one of the greatest, in my view.

Learn about Nelson Mandela´s life and about his fight for rights for black people in the video below. Some parts of the video are subtitled; I am sure  you will follow the content easily, despite the South African accent.

A photographic tribute to Nelson Mandela by Pulitzer Winner David Turnley: click here

Mourning Mandela around the world:




Why do I admire him? Click here

Child Soldiers

Here´s a video that will help you to understand the story Remember Atita better. In the documentary Out of the Shadow of War, three girls describe their traumatic experiences of being abducted by rebels and forced to be child soldiers in Liberia during the civil war.

The organization that helps these children is called "Plan International." It works with children and communities in fifty of the world´s poorest countries to help them realize their full potential. 

September: Summer 2012, News Review

I asked my students to write about a piece of news that had been relevant during the summer; I was surprised by the great number of them who chose to write about the financial crisis in Spain and the VAT increase. I felt so sad; when you are 16 / 17 there should be many other things in your head. In fact, I expected to read about any of the following: 

1. 2012 London Olympics

Even if you are not a sports lover, there are so many interesting things related to the Olympic Games:

• From the point of view of politics, consider this photo of Jordan Burroughs, from the USA, and Sadegh Goudarzi, from Iran. The American beat the Iranian in men’s 74kg freestyle wrestling; the photo proves the Olympic Games bring the world together like no other event.

• From a sociological point of view, the role of children in the Olympic Games should be carefully considered: click here and here to read about how China trains its children to become olympic champions

• From a sensitive point of view: this is how some Olympians´mothers see the games: 

2. Julian Assange : after two months in Ecuador´s London embassy, the Wikileaks founder was granted asylum by Ecuador.

3. A Piece of News from Spain that Went Viral: an Elderly Woman Ruins 19th Century Fresco in Restoration Attempt

By the way, did you know the woman is suing the church for royalties ?

4. Prince Harry : he proved that the famous slogan related to Las Vegas, What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, is not true any more; so much so that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority decided to pay for this full-page ad on 27 August 2012

5. The discovery of a new species of monkey

This monkey was apparently a pet that someone kept tied to a post. The scientists state that it was "previously undescribed," which is a more accurate way of describing it. In fact, they recommend the short-hand name “lesula,” “as it is the vernacular name used [by people who've known about it, probably for generations] over most of its known range.”  In doing so, they acknowledge the species’ relationship to a population of human beings, making them visible and significant.

6. Neil Armstrong , the first person to walk on the moon,passed away.

7. A brutal piece of news: Ruth and José Bretón disappeared in October last year but in summer 2012 his father was accused of  having murdered the two children. 

This photo shows a new initiative in the European Union called the NotFound Project is making the most of "404 -- Not Found"pages by using them to display missing child alerts from a constantly updated database. Good use of online real estate or inherently creepy.

Stereotypes

Since we have been talking about Africa ("Remember Atita") in our 1st BAC classes this week, I remembered a lovely video I posted some time ago called Alex Loves Action Films. It was done by an organization called Mama Hope, whose logo is "Stop the Pity. Unlock the Potential." Click on the link to get an idea of their work.

The video below, which is a reaction against Hollywood stereotypes of African men, is presented this way: 

After viewing Mama Hope's video, "Alex Presents Commando," Gabriel, Benard, Brian and Derrik (the Kenyan men in this video) told us they wanted to make one that pokes fun at the way African men are portrayed in Hollywood films. They said, "If people believed only what they saw in movies, they would think we are all warlords who love violence." They, like Mama Hope, are tired of the over-sensationalized, one-dimensional depictions of African men and the white savior messaging that permeates our media. They wanted to tell their own stories instead, so we handed them the mic and they made this video. 

The video is also a good opportunity to listen to English spoken with an African accent. I hope you will enjoy the video and get the irony of the message.


 

A Piece of News

Here´s a reading comprehension exercise.


I am sure you have all heard about, read or seen on TV the piece of news about the king of Spain, Juan Carlos I, and his hunting trip in Botswana. Well, here is the piece of news in English as it was published in the newspaper El País. In English. 


This is one of those articles you will understand quite well even though its vocabulary is quite literary: in this case, the information you have (in your mind) about the piece of news will help you understand it. 


There are a couple of strategies that can help you understand newspaper articles:

1.  use your knowledge (what you know about the subject) to make the most of any text.
2.  when you do not understand a word, try to find out its meaning through its Latin origin. English formal language is easier for Spaniards to understand than colloquial language because we can often deduce the meaning of words.

By the way,  when I heard that the king had gone to Africa to hunt elephants I was quite shocked, angry, embarrassed... what about you? 

A monarch’s mishap

It is time for the Royal Household to provide information on the king’s journeys abroad

15 ABR 2012 - 18:26 CET

The news concerning the accident that has befallen the king in Botswana has surprised the Spanish public. This is not only due to the nature of his injury, which will mean he is again kept out of action for a relatively long period of time, but also because of the persistent failure to officially communicate the head of state’s private journeys abroad to the government, parliament or the public at large. The king traveled to Botswana and returned for his operation in a private plane. Spain does not have an embassy in that African nation, meaning that his repatriation had to be organized by the ambassador to Namibia.

Clearly, even kings have private lives, and therefore have a right to the same legal protection of their privacy as any other citizen. But information should be given out on the journeys abroad made by Don Juan Carlos, as is the case in the majority of democratic countries, even though Spanish law has nothing to say on this matter. The critical opinion of the United Left federal coordinator with regard to the monarch’s trip to Africa may be shared or not, although the idea that the king does not have the right to a few days of rest and relaxation, however harsh the reality of Spain’s economic situation, does seem somewhat exotic.

Nevertheless, it is not the first time that the king has had an accident outside Spain while participating in a dangerous sport. And the fact that this incident should have taken place beyond Spanish frontiers without it being clear whether the country’s authorities had any prior knowledge of his travel plans is bad for both the prestige of the institution and for the normal functioning of the head of state’s professional activities.

It is therefore logical to expect that once the king has made a fast and full recovery, the policy of transparency initiated by the Royal Household with regard to its financial circumstances — in response to the Urdangarin corruption scandal — should be extended to this kind of activity, without the regrettable necessity of an accompanying medical report.

If you want to read the piece of news about the king´s apology , click here.