General - Page 2 of 2 - Burlington Books Spain

A LEGAL ALIEN

One question I am often asked is whether I miss England. People are often surprised to learn that I have lived more of my life outside the UK than in it!

HURLING

There is hardly a child in Ireland that hasn’t tried his or her hand at hurling at some time or other.

BACK TO SCHOOL

September, love it or hate it, is always a special time of year for students and teachers alike.

THOSE LAZY, HAZY, CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

Like many language teachers, my first class back after the summer holidays was getting my students to talk about what they did over the summer.

MARMITE – LOVE IT OR HATE IT

Marmite is a sticky brown spread used on sandwiches, toast or crackers, across the English speaking world. It is part of British heritage and it helped the nation survive two world wars.

LOST FOR WORDS

“Is that an iPhone?” A student asked me after giving a class. When I didn’t know the answer she was shocked! Then when I told her I wasn’t a mobile phone person her shock turned to confusion.

As a British child growing up in Spain in the 70’s and 80’s watching American and British films and series, dubbing was the norm. We simply didn’t know any better. When I went to university in Barcelona in the first half of the 90’s I discovered a whole new world in this respect: films in VO.

PLACE NAMES

“What’s in a name. That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet”. Shakespeare uses this line in Romeo and Juliet to argue that names are irrelevant. Well, I hate to disagree with the Bard of Avon, but names can tell us a great deal, especially when it comes to place names.