WELCOME!

Hello everybody! Welcome to a brand-new English learning blog! In fact, it is the result of the knowledge I am acquiring in a summer course for teachers organized by the UPF in Barcelona, so, as it is one of my first experiments on the web, I hope it is clear enough for you to understand and use.
My main purpose is to help you learn the language in a different way, more appropriate to our hi-tech world and, therefore, more naturally, and to motivate your reflection, comments and involvement in order to make you be part of the process of learning and sharing ideas.
Your contribution will consist on solving different participative tasks, although you can always suggest any topics you like for everybody to discuss them.
On the right of the page, you'll see a list of interesting links which can help you understand the texts or produce new ones, and you can also find useful stuff to add to your replies.

Image from funnyjokes4me.blogspot.com/2007/12/sardar-jok...

HERE WE GO!

To start with, I suggest you to watch the first three minutes (or more, if you like and understand...) of a video which captures a project of an American online storytelling magazine called Smith. It all started when some of its authors remembered a rumor related to a bet Hemingway had had years before. It is said that the writer was once challenged to write a full story in just six words (for which he wrote: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."), and that's what the magazine asked its readers, to "submit six-word memoirs" which have now been published as a book.


Here are your tasks:

• What is the sketch you like most? Why? Send your opinion and we'll make a list of your favourite ones.

• Would you like to write a six-word story yourself? Find a photograph and try to do it! You can try to summarize your whole life, say something about your character, or tell us an experience you had years ago, whatever you like! The most important is to show us something about yourself.
  

• If you want more information about this kind of writing, see this link to a definition of Flash Fiction.
• Or find out a bit more here.
• Or there.
  
• And if you need to see some examples, have a look at the link of the magazine (Smith) or see these.

In the end, we'll do a competiton and send the best one to the American magazine.

• What do you understand from the story Hemingway wrote? What happened to the owner of the shoes? Could it be the author himself? Would you be able to write a short tale (i. e, about 100 words) explaining what happened? Do it and we'll compare opinions!