Group Psychotherapy: School as a Therapeutic community

GROUP  PSYCHOTHERAPY: SCHOOL  AS  A  THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY

XXI-century education should be more about developing attitudes, procedures(such as team work) compentences and values than contents. It is vital to get to know ourselves first in the turbulent years of adolescence. My job under my present-day circumstances is more akin to a nursing/carer teacher than a traditional content-based teacher.

RATE THESE THIRTY-ODD ITEMS FROM O TO 10 :

YOUR   SINCERITY ………

   “         MATURITY………

   “         IRRITABILITY………

   “         AGGRESSIVENESS…….. 

   “         STUBBORNNESS……..

   “        ABILITY TO LISTEN……..

   “               “      “   FORGIVE……..

   “                “     “   FORGET……..

   “                “    “    OBSERVE……..

   “                “    “    FLIRT……..

   “                “   “    ADAPT YOURSELF TO NEW SITUATIONS……..

   “      SENSE OF HUMOUR……..

   “      TRUST IN YOURSELF……..

   “       CALMNESS……..

   “       HOPE IN LIFE……..

   “       GUILTY FEELINGS……..

   “       HEALTH……..

   “       WEALTH……..

   “       FAMILY………

   “       PHYSICAL APPEAL/ BEAUTY……..

   “       LIBIDO/SEX DRIVE……..

   “       ANXIETY LEVELS………

   “       NEUROSIS…….

   “       IQ/ INTELLIGENCE………

   “       EMPATHY……..

   “       OCD/ ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR……..

   “        PERSUASION POWER……..

   “       SUGGESTIBILITY……..

   “       RESILIENCE……..

   “       NEED TO FOLLOW FASHION……

   “      ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS……..

   “        OVERALL HAPPINESS……..

   “        DEPENDENCE ON MOBILE/CELL PHONES……

As part of a class sociogram we would ask our students to write :

WHO, in their opinion, IS THE MOST         x        IN CLASS?

… REBELLIOUS….

…STYLISH….

…MATERIALISTIC….

…SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS….

…FORGETFUL/ABSENT-MINDED

…RESPONSIBLE….

…DIRTIEST….

…SMELLIEST….

…INDEPENDENT….

…WORST GOSSIP….

…     “        LOSER….

…BEST MANNERS….

…COMPLAINS THE MOST….

…LEAST KNOWN….

..DO YOU TRUST THE MOST/THE LEAST…

…CARING ABOUT ANIMALS….

…would you share a SECRET WITH….

PROUST´S QUESTIONNAIRE (Adapted from Vanity Fair)

_1.__What is your idea of perfect happiness?

__2.__What is your greatest fear?

__3.__What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

__4.__What is the trait you most deplore in others?

__5.__Which living person do you most admire?

__6.__What is your greatest extravagance?

__7.__What is your current state of mind?

__8.__What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

__9.__On what occasion do you lie?

__10.__What do you most dislike about your appearance?

__11.__Which living person do you most despise?

__12.__What is the quality you most like in a man?

__13.__What is the quality you most like in a woman?

__14.__Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

__15.__What or who is the greatest love of your life?

__16.__When and where were you happiest?

__17.__Which talent would you most like to have?

__18.__If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

__19.__What do you consider your greatest achievement?

__20.__If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

__21.__Where would you most like to live?

__22.__What is your most treasured possession?

__23.__What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

__24.__What is your favorite occupation?

__25.__What is your most marked characteristic?

__26.__What do you most value in your friends?

__27.__Who are your favorite writers?

__28.__Who is your hero of fiction?

__29.__Which historical figure do you most identify with?

__30.__Who are your heroes in real life?

__31.__What are your favorite names?

__32.__What is it that you most dislike?

__33.__What is your greatest regret?

__34.__How would you like to die?

__35.__What is your motto?

WILLOUGHBY´S  PERSONALITY  TEST (Adapted from Psychosources): The following questions are  intended to indicate various emotional personality traits. There are no right or wrong answers, just rate  from 0 never to 10 always; or simply state Yes or No:

Do you get stage fright? ......

Do you worry about humiliating experiences? .....

Do you keep in the background on social occasions? .....

Do you daydream frequently? .....

Do you get discouraged easily? .....

Do you like to be alone? .....

Do you say things on the spur of the moment and then regret them? .....

Do you cry easily? .....

Do you cross the street to avoid meeting someone? .....

Do you often feel just miserable? .....

Do you hesitate to volunteer in a class discussion or debate? ......

Do you feel inferior? ........

Do you often tell lies? Do you lie to yourself or to others? .......

Do you regard yourself as a victim? ........

Do you have enemies?  ……..

Do you often feel sad?  ……..

Do you feel lonely?  ……..

Do you use your mobile phone constantly? ......

Do you have low self-esteem?  ........

Do you regularly go to a gym?  ………
Do you like to be in control?.......
Do you enjoy supporting others towards a common goal?.......
Do you prefer to avoid conflict and argument?........
Do you like to get your own way?....... 
Do you find it easy to discuss your feelings?

Are your feelings easily hurt? .....

Are you shy? .....

Are you happy and sad by turns without knowing why? .....

Are you self-conscious about your appearance? ......

Are you self-conscious in front of strangers? ......

Are you afraid of falling when you are in a high place? .....

Are you selfish?/ egocentric?/...... 
Are you afraid of yourself? .....

Are you Politically Correct?......
Are you indifferent to other people´s views/?.......sufferings?.......
Are / Were you closer to your mum/ your dad?
Is your pride easily wounded?........
Is your first memory pleasant/traumatic?

Identity: 3 words to describe you

                3 words to describe your ideal partner
Are you choleric? melancholic? sanguine? Phlegmatic? balanced?
Would you consider yourself to be a "toxic" person?

Which of the five senses do you enjoy the most?

Which, if any, is your idea of God? Invisible/Man/Woman/ Spiritual energy/ driving force/Mystery/Absolute darkness/Absolute light/ Last HOPE/ last despair?

WHO ARE YOU? (there are over 100 ways of looking at and seeing yourself)

WHO ARE YOU TO THINK THAT?

WHO ARE YOU TO THINK THAT YOU CAN CHANGE THE WHOLE WORLD?
HOW DO YOU APPEAR TO OTHERS?
ARE YOU A HEALTHY WEIGHT FOR YOUR HEIGHT?
ARE YOU A NARCISSIST, MASOCHIST, SADIST, SCHIZOID?
DO YOUR EMOTIONS RULE YOU?
ARE YOU FREE or TRAPPED?
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU THINK?
DO YOU THINK WITH YOUR FEELINGS?
HOW GOOD ARE YOU AT ANALYSIS/PSYCHOANALYSIS/....?
DO YOU THINK LIKE A MALE or A FEMALE?
ARE YOU OPEN TO UNORTHODOX VIEWPOINTS?



THE TEN PERSONAL QUESTIONS GAME: (In another entry in this blog)

Do you use perfume every day?........


5 ADJECTIVES WHICH BEST DEFINE YOU:

ABSENT-MINDED
HARD-WORKING   LAZY
SUPERTITIOUS  SCEPTICAL
ORDINARY   EXTRAORDINARY
DIFFERENT   INDIFFERENT
SENSIBLE   SENSITIVE
RESPONSIBLE   CARELESS
RUDE  NOISY  NOSEY
CLUMSY  TALKATIVE  QUIET
SHY  EXTROVERT OUTGOING
FIT FAT  CREATIVE 
DEEP SUPERFICIAL
IDIOT  UNLUCKY
NEGATIVE   +
UNTIDY   DIRTY
BOSSY   WEAK
FUNNY   SERIOUS
OPTIMISTIC  PESSIMISTIC
BORING   BORED
SURPRISING SURPRISED
SELFISH  EGOCENTRIC
ALTRUISTIC GENEROUS
TRANSPARENT  DIFFICULT
UNSOCIABLE  FRIENDLY 
MEAN  CRITICAL
ARROGANT   FORGETFUL
BOORISH  CONTROVERSIAL
CONTRADICTORY  BALANCED
VICTIM PEACEFUL  CHEERFUL

FASCIN8ED with NUMB3RS

  FASCIN8ED WITH NUMBERS

We live surrounded by numbers: your house/flat number,

                                           Your car/motorbike registration number,

                                           Your date of birth,(loss)/imp. meeting

                                             your phone number,

                                              your passport nº,

                                               your identity card number,

                                              your Social Security number 

                                               school, class / number

                                          your favourite/magic number
                                           your weight /height.

                                                your allowance/savings.

                                             

WE have REAL versus IMAGINARY numbers; POSITIVE v. NEGATIVE numbers, RATIONAL v. IRRATIONAL numbers; CARDINAL and ORDINAL numbers;

Historically we have had Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Arabic number systems. Each number may even have a different slang name. For instance:

                  Number 2 is one little duck

                 Number 8 is the garden gate

                Number 22 is two little ducks

              Number 88 is two fat ladies

SEE IF YOU CAN TELL HOW MANY for each number from 1 to   x:

0 from HERO to ….    

1-track-mind; - call away;

2-a tale of ….cities;Diversity

3-  Trinity;holes in a ten-pin bowling ball; tenors. Harmony.

4-Strings on a violin, Beatles; Evangelists;Seasons; Perfection.

5-Wounds of Christ;Prevailing number in Nature and Art.Senses.

6-Strings on a Spanish guitar, Justice;…feet under.

7-capital sins, sages from Greece, spikes on the statue of Liberty´s crown; wonders of the world; musical notes;planets; dwarves...

8- Bits in a byte; legs on a spider

9- Cats have ….lives; Symphonies by Beethoven; Muses;..to 5

10- Downing Street; legs on a lobster; commandments, c.c.

11- seven-…..;ocean´s…..;11/Sept

12- tribes of Israel, Apostles, months, trees at Plaza Cavana

13-witches in a coven;

14- lines in a sonnet;

15-Decisive world battles from Marathon to Waterloo;years old(my love)

16- sweet, candles, tones; string Jack.; school-leaving age.F-16

17-SVT; Heaven……;Learning to drive

18- wheeler: a trucker; coming of age;F-18

19-days and 500 nights (J.Sabina); minutes

20- love poems and a desperate song(P. Neruda)

21- Pilots; grammes;

22- Catch….;

23- Feb.;pairs of chromosomes; first prime made up by two prime numbers

24- hours; St John

25- Silver wedding

26- Saint Anne; St. Stephen

27- Books in the New Testament; age at which famous singers died.

28-days in Feb.

29-Palm trees on the Balcony of Europe

30- Average age British males get married
31-days in January, March, May, July, August, October and December

33- human teeth; Christ´s age at Crucifixion;
34- cousins you might have

36- º degrees average human body  temperature

39- Books in the Old Testament; Steps

40- Thieves; Crisis; UB-40
41-steps at this high school
42- Sex position

43- Liquor

49- the crying lot of…….

50 stars in the American flag; c.c.
52 kilometres from Málaga to Nerja; B-52

55 days in Peking
57 teachers at this high school

60 seconds/ minutes

63 dots in the Braille alphabet.

64 squares on a chessboard; When I´m………..;

65 retirement  age
66- Route

69- Position
70- steps from the basement to the tower  ; heartbeats per minute

80 Round the world in … days;

88 keys on a standard piano

90 Angle
97 kilometres from Granada to Nerja; Number I was given at boarding school

99- Steps;-rule.

100 years of solitude; pence in a pound; cents in a euro/dollar.

101 dalmatians
103 liquor
125 c.c.

168 hours in a week

180 half a circumference

199 steps
220 entries in my blog so far
250 grammes in a quarter of a kilogramme
291 kilometre at which Nerja is on the N-340
300 people killed at the Madrid bombings 11th March 2004
340 National road
350 a former citroen car

360 º radius
365 days a year( on average)
451 Fahrenheit

500 miles

501 brandy

507 box
666 the devil
700 students at our high school
707 plane
720 breaths per hour
747 another plane

1000 days in Venice / kilos in a ton/ windows at the Spanish Royal Palace

1001 nights
1024 bytes in a kilobyte
1066 Norman Conquest
1500 a seat car
1609 metres in a mile
1792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower
1880 nougat

1984 (Novel)
3000 casualties at the World Trade Center on 11th Sept 2001
3165 inhabitants in Frigiliana

6500 windows in the Empire State Building

9000 mobile phones stolen in the U.K. every month
22000 inhabitants in Nerja( four times as many in the summer)

1000000- suns; dollar baby.
55000000 olive trees in Jaén province

(my mind is growing number and number)

................................................................................

What are the following numbers?

007          016            091          062          902       111           999 
092         112      

Which words are the following?:

W8 (2 different ones) Q8    K9   6T        

Our In-depth IGNORANCE

IN-DEPTH IGNORANCE: ODD-MAN(one)-IN

Despite having the whole store of human knowledge just a mouse-click away today we are all nearly as ignorant as we were in the dark times of religious superstitions. The power of ignorance is great… (Stephen Fry)( Donald Trump´s success and Brexit are clear examples) We don´t know a millionth of one per cent about anything. (Thomas.A. Edison)
By ignorance the truth is known (Henry Suso The little book of truth) Everything you think you know may be wrong ( The book of general ignorance John Lloyd & John Mitchinson)Where ignorance is bliss ´tis folly to be wise (English proverb) Ignorance might make you happier as the more you know the more you realise how little you  actually know....

"ipse se nihil scire id unum sciat"

"I know one thing; that I know nothing" Socrates

Cuando creía que comprendía todo empecé a entender que no sabía nada, fue entonces cuando comencé realmente a comprender algo . . .

Nekovidal

A deeper knowledge of the world around us is quite necessary as our globalized world has become richer and more complex. There was a time when we simply ordered potatoes or rice and we could not care the least about the varieties of potatoes or rice being served. We have learned and are still learning to value subtlety, varieties and nuances of any given item.

See if you can guess what the following varieties of items refer to:

ADMIRAL, GOLDEN WONDER, JERSEY ROYAL, KING EDWARD, MARIS PIPER, SPUNTA

PARSON BROWN, WASHINGTON NAVEL, SEVILLE, JAFFA, TANGERINE

BACON, HASS, LAMBHASS, REES, STRONG, 

WILD, LONG/ MEDIUM /SHORT GRAIN, JASMINE, BASMATI

LAXTON´S SUPERB, ROME BEAUTY, YORK IMPERIAL,BRAMLEY, COX´S ORANGE PIPPIN, FUJI,

STARKING, GOLDEN, GRANNY SMITH.

RIESLING, ALMERIA, SYRAH, ZINFANDEL, MUSCAT

RING OF FIRE, BIRD´S EYE, SCOTCH BONNET, HUNGARIAN HOT WAX,  JALAPEÑO

BLEWITS, CHESTNUT, OYSTER, SHITAKE, WHITE CAP, AMANITA.

OX´S HEART, GREEN ZEBRA, LIBERTY BELLE, PLUM, RED ALERT, CHERRY.

WOK BROCC, BORDEAUX,CLARET, PURPLE SPROUTING, WHITE SPROUTING

BUTTERCRUNCH, LITTLE GEM,LIZZIE, SALADIN, COS, ICEBERG, CURLY.

DAMSON, GREEN GAGE,VICTORIA, CLAUDIA, LAXTON´S CROPPER,DROOPER.

DERBY DAY, SPRING HERO, WONG BOK, TATSOI, SAVOY,

 RED JEWEL, LOMBARD,BLACK BEAUTY, LONG PURPLE, MINI FINGER, VIOLETTA DE FIRENZA,ALMAGRO, WHITE from MALLORCA

RED ACE, BOLTHARDY, CARILLON, CRIMSON GLOBE, EGYPTIAN TURNIP ROOTED,DETROIT, REDPACK,

 CROSBYDUTCH, MUNCHER, SLICE KING, PICKLING, TOKYO SLICER, BURPLESS TASTY GREEN, KIRBY.

(Cukes)

SPRING, RED BARON,  PEARL PICKLER, DOBIES ALL ROUNDER, MARSHALL´S GIANT FENGLOBE.

METEOR, HISTON MINI,  KELVEDON WONDER,  LITTLE MARVEL,  FELTHAM FIRST.

LONG RED SURREY, REGULUS IMPERIAL, AMSTERDAM FORCING, FIGARO, MORÁ(PURPLE).NOISETTE,

 BEDFORD FILLBASKET, BRILLIANT, CAMBRIDGE N.5, HALF TALL, (BRUSSELS)

MORELLO, MARASCHINO, NAPOLEON, BLACK TARTARIAN, BLACK REPUBLIC.

WHITE GEM, TENDER AND TRUE, HALF LONG GUERNSEY, GLADIATOR(Parsnips)

LISBON, MEYER, SICILIAN, ESCONDIDO, BABOON.GOLDEN BEAUTY, 

CANARY, LADY FINGER, GREEN, RED , CAVENDISH.STAR RUBY, RUBY RED, MARSH, DUNCAN, BURGUNDY.(gr……….

LEMON-FLAVOURED, ANJOU, BARTLETT, CONFERENCE, LOUISE BONNE DE JERSEYBROWN,

 DEMERARA, ICING, CASTOR, BEETROOT, CANE.

MALLARD,MUSCOVY, CRESTED, POMERANIAN, ROUEN, WELSH HARLEQUIN.

MEDJOOL,DEGLET NOUR, HALAWY, THOORY,ZAHIDI.

CANINE,DAMASCENE,GOLDEN CELEBRATION, MR.LINCOLN, DON JUAN…

BALSAMIC, MODENA, CIDER, RICE, SHERRY, WHITE/ RED

MANHATTAN, DAIQUIRI, MOJITO, BLOODY MARY, ANITA, SAN FRANCISCO.

ACORN, BUTTERNUT, BUTTERCUP, HUBBARD, SWEET DUMPLING,(varieties of p…… or s…..)

PURE, REFINED, VIRGIN, EXTRA VIRGIN.

FLORAL, CITRUS, FRUITY, GREEN, ORIENTAL , SPICY, WOODY.

STILTON, WESLEYDALE, EDAM, CAMEMBERT, GRUYERE, CHEDDAR, BRIE.

ALMOND, ROUND, DROOPY, ASIAN, HOODED.

ROMAN, GREEK, SNUB, HAWK , BROAD, NORDIC, UPTURNED, POINTED

COLONIAL, VICTORIAN, MODERN, ECLECTIC, NEO-ECLECTIC.

YAGÉ= AYAHUASCA, BURUNDANGA, ROHYPNOL,HEMP, MANDRÁGORA…

UTE, PAIUTE, SHOSHONE, PUEBLO, SIOUX, CHEYENNE,CHEROKEE,OJIBWA, SHAWNEE

STRATUS, NIMBOSTRATUS, CIRRUS, STRATOCUMULUS, CUMULONIMBUS..

SPIRULINA, WAKAME, KELP, PALMARIA, SARGASSUM, POSTELSIA,PORPHYRA,.

.EUSTACHI, VALSALVA, BARTOLINI, FALLOPIAN, GOLGI, GALVANI, FERMI. 

FRANGIPANI FLOWER, GARDENIA, PATCHOULI, MUSK, AMBER, FREESIA.

 BERGAMOT, CEDAR, SANDALWOOD, VANILLA, HONEYSUCKLE, IRIS. 

BURN, MUNSTER,POWERADE, TAURIN, RED BULL. 

 DKNY, NYC, KYLIE JENNER, LÓREAL, MAYBELINE, C H, C D,..

AMOXICILIN,STREPTOMYCIN, ERYTHROMYCIN,PENICILLIN,.,,

 STRAW, RASP, BLUE, BIL,BLEA,WHORTLE, HUCKLE, HURTLE, MYRTLE,TRACKLE, CRAN..

CHEST, WAL, PEA, BUTTER,BRAZIL, COCO, PINE, GROUND , EARTH, MANILA, MONKEY, ALMOND.

ICE, SLUSH, CRUST, SLEET, HAIL, FLAKES, POWDER. 

AURORA SUPERNOVA RED/ BLUE  /WHITE DWARF  NOVA.  

SOMERSET MAUGHAN, WINSTON CHURCHILL, ISAAC NEWTON, LEWIS CARROLL, CHARLES DARWIN.

RONALD HUBBARD, JOSEPH SMITH, MARY BAKER EDDY, ELIZABETH B. WHITE, MOTHER ANN LEE.

ELVIS PRESLEY, CHARLES CHAPLIN, GROUCHO MARX, BING CROSBY, MARC BOLAN.

JERSEY, IBERIAN, BERKSHIRE, LARGE B BLACK DEVON, WESSEX SADDLEBACK.

BRIXTON, HOLLOWAY, SAN QUENTIN , ALCATRAZ, SPANDAU, STRANGEWAYS, DARTMOOR.

 PACELLI, RONCALLI, MONTINI,LUCIANI,WOJTYLA, RATZINGER, BERGOGLIO.

HEATH, MAJOR, THATCHER, WILSON, CALLAGHAN, CHURCHILL, CAMERON, MAY.

VESUBIUS, STROMBOLI, MAUNA LOA, TEIDE, ETNA.

Round the world in 80-odd dishy dishes

If we start in SPAIN which region/autonomous communities do these dishes come from?:

PAELLA 

LACON CON GRELOS

PULPO A FEIRA

 BIENMESABE  (Sweet or Savoury)

SALMOREJO 

REMOJÓN 

DUELOS Y QUEBRANTOS 

PISTO 

HORNAZO  (Sweet or Savoury)

 BUÑUELOS

BUTIFARRA 

MOSTACHÓN 

BORRACHOS

BORRACHUELOS

JAPUTA/ MOJAMA

GAÑOTES  

TOCINO DE CIELO 

YEMAS DEL TAJO/DE STA.TERESA

 PESTIÑOS 

BARQUILLOS  

PAN DE ACEITE 

BOLLO DE LECHE 

CUBILETE  

TORTA DE SANTIAGO/DE CHICHARRONES / DE ALGARROBO  

TORTITA DE CAMARONES

AMARGUILLO

 FABADA 

GAZPACHO 

COCIDO / PUCHERO

ARROPÍA

 MIGAS

 RESOLÍ 

SOBRASADA 

ENSAIMADA

ESPETOS

SQUID/ CALAMARI SANDWICH

 CHOCOLATE CON CHURROS / TEJERINGOS  

AJOBLANCO 

 AJOBACALAO  

GURUMELOS 

TAGARNINAS

MOJO PICÓN 

PAPAS ARRUGÁS / PAPAS A LO POBRE

A well-known dish such as COUSCOUS may come from several countries in North Africa with small variations in each particular country: Algerian, Tunisian or Moroccan.

CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE COUNTRY FROM WHICH EACH OF THE FOLLOWING MEALS ORIGINATED?:

FISH & CHIPS, ROAST BEEF & YORKSHIRE PUDDING  BANGERS&MASH

CREPES, CROISSANT, POT-AU-FEU. PATES , FONDUE,

 MOULES-FRITES

 ZONI, MISSO SOUP, SUSHI 

CURRYWURST, SAUERKRAUTEN  

BIRD´S NEST SOUP, DIM SUM,SWEET & SOUR PORK, PEKING DUCK, CHOP SUEY

 WIENER SCHNITZEL 

CHICKEN TIKKA,  CTM, BIRYANI

 BURGER& FRIES , HOT DOGS 

 IRISH STEW  

HAGGIS , SHORTBREAD

 WELSH RAREBIT  

CEVICHE , LOCRO 

FEIJOADA, RODIZIO,PICANHA 

FRÍJOLES, ROPA VIEJA, MOROS & CRISTIANOS

 ASADO(BARBECUE GRILLED MEAT) CHIMBOTE

BANDEJA PAISA, AREPA, ALMOJÁBANAS

 HUMMUS, FALAFEL (I.)

CHICKEN FEET (H.K.) 

SANCOCHO (D.R.)

 SHOWARMA, DONER KHEBAB (T, UAE)

 FUL MEDAMES (E.) 

GOULASH (H.)

 KABULI PULAO (Af) 

 BACALHAU (P.) 

KIBBEH (Leb & Sy) 

AVOCADO CONDENSED MILK SHAKE (Bu.) 

SKARA,PLAKIYA,PILAF, SIRENE, SMETANA(Bul.) 

ACKEE& SALTFISH (Jam.)

 BULGOGI (S. K.)  

BOBOTIC (S.A.)

TOM YUM , T. CHICKEN NOODLES(Th.) 

COO COO & FLYING FISH (Bar.) 

CHELO KEBAB (Ir.)

 KLEFTIKO, FASOLADA, MOUSSAKA  

BORSCHT, PIROZHKI, KOULIBIAC , PELMENI, KATLETI (R)

TAGINE  RFISA (M.)

SMORGASBORD 

POUTINE (Ca.) 

TACOS, NACHOS, JALAPEÑOS, CHILI con CARNE,

POLENTA, RISSOTTO,PASTA, CALZONE, CIABATTA, MOZZARELLA 

POOR MAN´S CAVIAR (Rom)

SVÏCKOVÄ, KNEDLO VEPRO ZELO (Cz R.)

KALLALAATIKO(Fin.) 

GOGEL-MOGEL (Ukr) 

EEL SOUP (Hol) 

 LAMINGTON, DIM SUM , MEAT PIE(Aus.) 

FÄR-I-KÄL (Nor)

WITHOUT= sin ; with = con , out= ex

WITHOUT is a Preposition usually followed by a noun which means not having, not with, lacking, free from, a- an-.
Exs: You can´t buy things without money
        Do you ever travel without a ticket?
        The rumour was without foundation
        He was working without any hope of reward
        You went out without a hat  (oaldce).

WITHOUT is followed by -ing forms:
Exs: He can´t speak English without making mistakes
        You can´t make an omelette without breaking the eggs
        Can you do it without his knowing?
        He passed without seeing me  Cfr, He passed without my seeing him
        He left without so much as saying that he was sorry!/ thank you! (OALDCE).

WITHOUT has an old use related to WITHIN, meaning OUTSIDE and INSIDE repectively

IDIOMATIC WITHOUT:

a) How many modern conveniences can you do without?
b) It goes without saying.....(It´s obvious)
c) without fail/ doubt / meaning to (inadvertently)/ reference to (regardless of)

1) STRIGHTFORWARD TRANSLATION From English into Spanish:

In the East there is intimacy without friendship;

In the West there is friendship without intimacy. 

Love without passion/dependence ; 

Virtue without praise; 

Boldness without malice; 

Duty without recognition; 

Existence without suffering:

 Cry without tears; 

Silent patience without despair; 

Studying without motivation;

 Teaching without vocation; 

Preaching without conviction;

 Power without control;

 Faith without devotion; 

Passion without knowledge, 

An earthquake without devastation; 

Mind without prejudice; 

Jokes without fun; 

Me without you; 

Loneliness without a partner;

 Determination without doubt; 

Enjoyment without payment;

 Residence without authorisation;

People without voice; 

Sex without restraint; 

Behave without style; 

Held without bail; 

Enter without paying; 

Disappear without previous warning; 

Marriage without love; 

Problems without solution; 

Sex without love  v. Love without sex?

2) TRANSLATE FROM Spanish into English:

Duelo sin tregua

Ilusiones sin esperanza

Comer sin vergüenza

Reservar sin nombre

Mentir sin rubor

Aprender sin asimilar

Hablar sin ofender

Testarudez sin paliativos

Hablar sin tapujos

Actuar sin complejos.

Pan sin gluten

Estar sin blanca
Pareja sin hijos =childless couple.

3) FALSE FRIENDS: In English CON means to Deceive 

and SIN is a fault, transgression or to trespass ; Conceived without sin means.......?

Name at least ten more false friends:Exs: Actually, Success,...

4) Write a short story on either An ideal holiday without my parents 

or A holiday without alcohol. A holiday with a "false" friend...

5) Gerund after prepositions:

 Can you yawn/sneeze without opening your mouth?

 Can you sneeze without closing your eyes?

 Do you leave a party without saying anything?

 Can you tell a lie without batting an eyelid?

 Can you spend a whole day without having a shower?

6) Finish the following sentences:

I can´t live without........ 

I can do without........... 

It goes without saying..........

If you are without an education.........

7) FILMS:

The film without a paddle was De perdidos al río in Spanish

Can you guess the original title of the following films?:

Sin novedad en el frente

Juan sin Miedo/tierra

Sin tregua

Amor sin fin

Sin noticias de Dios

Sin perdón

Con faldas y a lo loco
La leyenda de la ciudad sin nombre

8) Imagine a world without any kind of religion at all/ frontier/ crime.....

9) Infinitives  without  To : Make & Let
 Exs:.
 They made me do it
He let me drive his car
She would not let me read the letter
They make me feel uncomfortable

Make up two more sentences

10) Finish the following sentences + gerund in any way you like:

She left without............................................................
They ran the marathon without...........................................
We climbed through the window without...............................(Spanish subjunctive)
You need to work without........................................................       "           "
It´s nice to go on holiday without..............................................

11) As a suffix to form adjectives -less meaans  WITHOUT, free from. So explain by using "without" the meaning of the following adjectives:

PAINLESS
PENNILESS
CARELESS
HOMELESS
LIFELESS
COLOURLESS
HELPLESS
LOVELESS
CHILDLESS
AGELESS
PITILESS
REMORSELESS
RESTLESS
MEANINGLESS
POINTLESS
CLUELESS
NAMELESS
GLUTEN FREE

FIND OUT WHICH OF THE ABOVE ADJECTIVES CAN TAKE -FUL AS A SUFFIX TO MEAN THE EXACT OPPOSITE .For instance in English we have "beautiful" but we don´t have "beautiless"

12) Sometimes the prefixes a-, ab-,un- may mean WITHOUT.. Explain the following words by using without:

AMORAL 

UNFURNISHED 

UNACCEPTABLE 

UNAIDED 

UNALTERED 

UNBURIED 

UNCHALLENGED 

UNDISTURBED 

UNFULFILLED

 UNGRATEFUL

UNJUSTIFIABLE 

UNNEEDED 

UNPROFITABLE

UNYIELDING

13) Songs whose title includes WITHOUT  Who were they composed by?:

With or without you ( link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzeDqRhM09w)

Without you (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTDSoUI7LIE)

Without me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGAU55vLSdk)

Can´t live without you(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5X4ka1zYDw)

Without your love(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guD1xZbsNGA)

14) Explain the following proverbs:

No gain without pain
Nothing is achieved without effort, suffering or hardship.
You can´t make an omelette without breaking the eggs.
I´d rather have honour without ships than ships without honour.
No smoke without fire.
You can´t have the rainbow without the rain. 

15)  Give an English equivalent to the following Spanish idioms:

Sin ton ni son 
Sin pelos en la lengua 
Sin oficio ni beneficio 
Sin pena ni gloria 
Sin prisas pero sin pausas
 Sin remedio
Sin medida
Sin tapujos

16) This NINE-letter word is still a word in English when EIGHT letters are removed
       one by one. Can you tell me their meanings:

STARTLING  STARTING  STARING   STRING  STING  SING SIN  IN  I

December

December marked the tenth month in the Roman calendar; it is the twelfth month of the year nowadays and marks the end of it. As a matter of interest, just see how many of the following important people born in December can you identify?:

1st     WOODY ALLEN 1935

2nd   MARÍA CALLAS 1923

3rd   PAUL NICHOLAS 1945

 4th  THOMAS CARLYLE 1795 RAINER M. RILKE 1875

 5th  CHRISTINA ROSSETTI 1830

 6th  JOSEPH CONRAD  1857

 7th   WILLA CATHER  1873

8th   BJORNSTJERNE BJORNSON 1832

9th   JOHN MILTON  1608

10th  EMILY DICKINSON 1830

 11th ALEKSANDER SOLZHNITSYN 1918

12th  FRANK SINATRA 1915

 13th  HEINRICH HEINE 1797

 14th LEE REMICK 1935

15th  JOHN PAUL GETTY 1892

16th LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 1770 RAFAEL ALBERTI 1902

 17th JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER 1807 POPE FRANCIS 1936

18th  CHARLES WESLEY  1707

 19th  RALPH RICHARDSON 1902

 20th HARVEY S. FIRESTONE 1868

21st   FRANK ZAPPA  1940

 22nd  JEAN RACINE 1639 

23rd    JOSEPH SMITH 1805

24th    IGNATIUS LOYOLA 1491

25th    ISAAC NEWTON 1648

 26th  THOMAS GRAY  1716

 27th  LOUIS PASTEUR 1822

 28th  MAGGIE SMITH  1934

29th  W.E. GLADSTONE 1809

 30th RUDYARD KIPLING 1865 PATTY SMITH 1946

 31st B.E.MURILLO 1617; JOHN DENVER 1943

 1) Do the same with the remaining eleven months.(11 group projects)Choose your favourite month.

2) Classify the famous people above according to their professions.

3) Try to find at least two"famous"people for each single day.
4) Learn the difference between the Gregorian and the Julian calendars.
5) How many months are there in an arab/muslim/Mohammedan calendar?
6) Find out about the famous people who were born on the same day as you were born.
7) Do the same as above but mentioning the dates of the deaths of famous characters
8) What was the Revolutionary calendar? Mention some new months in that calendar
9) What were the Calends and the Greek calends? and the Ides?
10) Establish the difference between calendar year/ academic year and tax year
11) Etymological origin of the names of each month
12) Which months can also be proper nouns?Ex: April
13) Zodiac signs, horoscopes and chinese year animals. Are you skeptical or do you believe in them?
14) Local festivities and dates. When do they celebrate the fair in     x/ the 3 cultures festival/..?
15) Holidays and Holy days. Name the religious holidays in Spain: Ex: Immaculate Conception
16) Commemorative days From New year January1st to New year´s eve 31st December.List as many       as you can month by month.
17) Which feast days or name days can you remember from the calendar of saints?
18) Which festivities have moving dates? Ex: Thanksgiving, Ash Wednesday,etc..
19) Historical dates. Make up a list of important historical dates such as: 6th December 1978; 20th          November 1975,18th July 1936, 11th September 2001, etc..
20) Time metaphors: Ex: Eight days a week; a grief ago; a month of Sundays/Mondays;until 40th May,etc..
       Make up your own time metaphors.
21) Continue the sequences: ONDJFMA............  
                                               SSMTW...............
                                               FSTFFSS............
                                               ZOTTFF.............
                                               EFFNOSS..........
                                               8 5 4 9 1 7 6.......
                                                QWERTYU.........
                                                 ÑLKJHG............
                                                 CUDTCCSS.......
                                                 CDLM..............
22) Explain TIME OUT; TIME AND AGAIN; TIME AND TIDE; TIME AND ETERNITY;TIMES SQUARE; TIME AFTER TIME; TIMING
23) M_______H. Which words do you know that start with an "m" and end  with an"h"? Aim at 10.
24) Do you keep a diary? Do you have a monthly planner?
25) Establish the relationship between the pagan and the Christmas celebrations: Christmas= Winter solstice; Easter ?  St. John´s night? Autumn? Michaelmas?
26) What  the 12 days of Christmas are supposed to represent:
    1st day a partridge= Jesus
    2nd day two turtle doves= The Old and New Testament
    3rd day  three French hens= Faith, Hope and Charity
    4th day  four caling birds= Four Gospels
    5th day five gold rings= First five books of the O.T.
    6th day six geese a laying=six days of creation
    7th day seven swans= 7 sacraments
    8th day eight maids= eight beatitudes
    9th day nine ladies= nine fruits of the Holy spirit
    10th day ten lords= the ten commandments
    11th day eleven pipers= 11 faithful apostles
     12th day twelve dummers=12 points of doctrine in the Apostle´s creed.

27)Find out about unusual days celebrated in the USA. For instance: Popcorn day;Hugging day; Tell a lie day; Yo Yo day; Blame someone else day; Plan your epitaph day; Kiss and make up day,etc..
28) Which foreign festivities are slowly being celebrated in our culture? Ex: Halloween; Black Friday,etc...
29) Choose a year(any year will do) and write the most relevant events which took place in that particular year.
30) Christmas is.........,......(fun, magic,boring family,etc..) Xmas legends, i.e.:Forest animals can speak in human language on christmas eve!.
31) Define: Yuletide, crackers, mince pies, poinsettia, candy cane, Santa, hamper, mulled wine,
                    fudge, stockings.

BACKRONYMANIACS

This is a tongue-in-cheek collaborative unit of work. Firstly, I explain to my students what a backronym is;i.e.: a specially constructed phrase that is supposed to be the source of a word, invented either with a serious (mnemonics) or a humorous intent. Secondly,after providing them with some examples I ask them to create a new backronym out of their own invention.

We are dealing with false etymologies. For instance:

ADIDAS: All day I dream about sports

DEAD: Definitely ends another dude

 DENIAL: Don´t even notice I am lying.

 GOLF: Gentlemen, old ladies forbidden 

FIAT: Fix it again today 

FORD: First on race day / Fix or repair daily

SLIP: Sobriety losing its priority 

COMA: Cessation of motor/mental activity. 

POSH: Port out starboard home 

MÁLAGA:Make a little army great again 

COP: Constable on patrol 

BING: But it´s not google. 

NEWS:North, east, west, south 

TIPS: To insure prompt service 

KISS: Knights in Satan´s service / Keep it simple, stupid

FOCUS: Fuck off ´cause ur stupid. 

SHIT: Ship high in transit /Staying here is torturous

SPIC: Spanish, Polish, Italian, Chinese 

FUCK: For unlawful carnal knowledge 

SWAG: Secretly we are gay, stuff we all get; singing with Ariadna Grande(Adrián L.A. 3ºA)

WAG: Wife and girlfriends 

WOG: Wily oriental gentleman; Working on Government service 

VINE: Very imbecile, nerdy exploits. 

M.B.E.: My bloody effort 

LEARN:Let´s end all racism now  

MBA: Mediocre but arrogant 

PIT: Policy Information team; Pupil incluson team; Pool of inactive teachers..

RAP: Retards attempting poetry;Really annoying people; Really awful performance

MARINE: Muscles are required, intelligence non essential 

SNAIL: Slimy nocturnal animal invading lettuce. 

WORMS: Wiggly often resembling mini snakes. 

MONEY: Millions overspent nearly every year. 

ANGEL: Always near giving ethereal loving. 

CRAP: Career review action plan. 

SHAG: Sexual Health Action Group. 

MALTED:Multimedia authority for Language tutors & Educational Development

MILF: Meals/Men I´d like to forget 

GOD: Guaranteed Overnight deliveries

 LIFE: Love ideal friends eternally / Luck Imagination Frenzied Excitement.

PARSNIPS: Politics,Alcohol, Religion, Sex, Narcotics,Isms, Pork, Spain  

(topics to avoid)

AAAAA: American association against acronym abuse.

HERE´S WHAT MY STUDENTS CAME UP WITH:

HOME: Hell of my existence (Pablo Cereto 2ºBach.A)

 MATHs: Mental abuse towards humans (Natasha O´Keefe 3º ESO A)

STUDENT: Subjected to ultimate despair endless new traumas(A.B.C.)

HISTORY: Honestly I Study Texts or Read Yours (C.G.W.)  

TEACHER: Tutor, educator, advisor, counsellor, hero(ine), experimental,reliable.

YANKEES:You are not knowledgeable, elementary educated simpletons (M.B.L.)

ENGLISH: Every new grammar linguistic item´s suspiciously horrendous(L.P.F.)

BILINGUAL:But I learned interestingly nothing greatly unusual about languages

TRUMP: 

This ruler´s unwillingly my President;

 This rascal´s unwittingly M.P. 

Tears running under my presence (L.M.H.M.)

 Torment rooster under mounting pressure;

Tyrants reunited under Moses Prophet;

 Tyrannosaurus Rex Ultimate Media Product;

 The Real Universal Messiah, Phoney!;

 Today aRe yoU More Pooped?;

 The Rightist Unknown Machista Premier; 

Truth rarely uses mean passions;

Totalitarian regime unveils mysterious priority.....

SPELLING APPLICATION: MNEMONICS:

COLOURFUL
OUTRAGEOUS
MAKING us laugh
IN the papers
CREATIVE
SUNDAY funnies
(Create other acrostics as you please)

Which words are expressed by the following spellings or numbers?:

I B B4?B9?B6?B10? C 1 2 4 8 K9? O P Q R T U Y ?

What do the following frequently used acronyms mean?

FAQ´s; NIMBY; WYSIWYG; ASAP; TARDIS

My mnemonic way of checking whether all students are present:

L A N A D I A C L A Y ( Lucy,Alvaro, Noemi, Adonais; Daniel, Irene, Andrea, Chloe,Lidia, Aynara
 y Yaitza). C L A M I D I A (Carlota, Lorenzo, Antonio, Martin, Isabel, David, Ignacio, Amelia)...
C L A N G E M J E W E L (Carlos, Luis, Angela, Nicolás, Gloria, Elizabeth, Miguel, José, Eva, Warren, Elena, León)