Some views from Oxford

The Bodleian Library :  The Bodleian Library is the main research library of the University of Oxford. It is also a copyright deposit library and its collections are used by scholars from around the world.

The Radclifte Camera :

The circular dome and drum of the Radcliffe Camera is one of the most distinctive landmarks in a city full of distinctive buildings.The camera (the word means simply "room") was built 1737-1749 with £40,000 bequeathed by Dr John Radcliffe, the royal physician.

The Radcliffe Camera was intended to house a new library.

Originally the library in the Radcliffe Camera held both scientific and general books, but those collections were gradually moved to other University libraries, so that today the Camera functions as the main reading room of the Bodleian Library. The finished building holds some 600,000 books in underground rooms beneath Radcliffe Square.

Sadly, the Radcliffe Camera is not open to the public.

Colleges, colleges, 39 colleges, parts of the famous Oxford University




                                                                                                                                All Souls' College






                                                                                                            Christ's Chrurch College :
               Where some of the most famous scenes of the two first Harry Potter's movies were filmed.

Many pubs where you can drink a pint of "blond whith a black skirt"

     The Old Bear : One of the oldest Pub in Oxford.

              A fabulous collection of ties (Hundreds !)

Ce matin le temps est meilleur. Hier soir, il y avait une fete dans une boite mais j'etais trop naze pour resortir.

Je suis chez une sexagenaire tres sympa avec un saoudien non moins sympa.

Question bouffe, ce n'est pas ce qu,il y a de meilleur ici.

Here are the web bookmarks I've found about Learning english theme :

• Grenoble IUFM Resources link

Many english sites to practice english as an ESL student

• www.ego4u.com : English grammar on line
• a4esl.org : Activities for ESL Students
• bbc.learningenglish

The British culture

• http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

(Mahatma Gandhi)

Plot summary :

This action adventure is faithfully adapted from the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller in which Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and his 300 Spartans fought to the last man against Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his massive army. Facing insurmountable odds, the Spartans’ heroism and sacrifice inspires all of Greece to unite against the Persian invaders. The story is loosely based on the Battle of Thermopylae which took place in the summer of 480 BC.

Director : Zack Znyder

Genre : action, war

Runtime : 1h57

Release date : 2006 

Actors : Gerard Bultel, Lena Headey, vincent Regan, Dominic West, David Wenham 

Critic :

Many people say that this movie is a praise of violence. I prefer to consider it as an aesthetical approch of Franck Miller graphic novel, perfectly adapted on movie.

Some said that it recalled Leni Riefenstahl aesthetic of body and some values of nazism. In fact, if you considered the spartan way of life, the education of the children, it cannot be anything else. By the way, can we watch a violent american movie whitout thinking it is a  message sending through the world for the glory of the United states ?

It is a question of culture more than a question of value. A man without culture is a prey for violence.

This is a very strange movie, half away between mystery and mysticism.

Director : Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Genre : drama

Runtime : 1h40

Release date : 1947

Actors : Deborah Kerr, Flora Robson, Jean Simmons, David Rarrar, Sabu, Kathleen Byron

Plot summary :

Five young British nuns are invited to move to a windy "palace", former house of the concubines of an old general, in the top of a mountain in Mopu, Himalaya, to raise the convent of Saint Faith Order, a school for children and girls, and an infirmary for the local dwellers. Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is assigned as the superior sister, and her liaison with civilization is the rude government agent Mr. Dean (David Farrar). The lonely and exotic place and the presence of Mr. 'Dean awake the innermost desires in the flesh of the sisters, and Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) becomes mad with the temptation.

My opinion : This is the kind of film you would remember very well several years after the first time. And many years after, you will seen it scene after scene as a magic pleasure. A special way to discovering the roof of the world.

Time : 5   hours at home

I've work on the text 2 and done grammar lesson 13 : verbal forms. and i have created this blog.

On the web, I read BBC news (particulary the English point of view about the french presidential election)

Par rapport à ce que j'avais prévu de faire: j'en ai fait autant, moins, plus ... J'ai fait autre chose. Etc. Pourquoi ?

I have made my program and also watching movies in english (with and without subtitles) (The Grifters directed by Stephen Frears)

J'ai eu des difficultés : expliquez

In the movie, many expressions were very difficult for me to understand because it's slang like "con", "sucker", ... Also, the characters talked as much as fast.

An other difficulty is to choose between reading the sutitles or listening the dialogs.

Ce qui a bien marché: expliquez

?

La prochaine fois je ferai :

The slip "Sentence structure" and beginning working on Text 3

Watching the beginning of TV serie "The Soprano" in american)

Searching informations about the the french presidential campain.

Time : 5   hours at home

I have done grammar : "formal or informal"  and my CV. Also, I made the dialog "On the phone" and started to memorize it.

On the web, I've found some news papers sites about Education (NYT Education, Hedald Tribune Education, Education Guardian). I was surching for informations about chidren database in UK.

Par rapport à ce que j'avais prévu de faire: j'en ai fait autant, moins, plus … J'ai fait autre chose. Etc. Pourquoi ?

I have made my program and also watching movies in english (with and without subtitles) (I changed the movie : We whatched "The Black Narcissus" a Michael Powell timeless film.

J'ai eu des difficultés : expliquez

Text 2 : I don't understand very well what should be done. I've started to traduce the blue lines or expressions but the questions were not the good ones. It was those about Text 1.

I'm not always very sure of grammatical forms.
 

Ce qui a bien marché: expliquez

Reading the papers about Children database. I think that when you know the subject, It seems to be easy. But sometimes, you'll have suprises ...

La prochaine fois je ferai :

• The rest of the work "On the phone" and  the end of Text 2

• Reading the news on the Net (BBC News and The Times)
• Look at a few movies in english with english subtitles
  
• Searching informations and write some texts about reading instruction.
  
• and naturally my log book
  

Reading is a complex mental process.

• Phonemic awareness

• Phonics

• Fluency

• Vocabulary

• Comprehension

• Effective practices

Read more ...

Reading is not a natural process.

In contrast to oral language development, reading does not emerge naturally from interactions with parents and other adults, even in print-rich environments. For most children, reading requires systematic and explicit instruction, although the degree of explicitness, directiveness, intensity and duration of instruction requires developing specific reading components that would vary across children.

Read more ...