Cultivating your English #11: Cats, bags, beans and potatoes
❤️“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”❤️ Unclear origin
Hi there geniuses!
So, I am going to “let the cat out of the bag”, I am going to “spill the beans” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/let-the-cat-out-of-the-bag https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/spill%20the%20beans
Here’s the anecdote I promised about the potatoes, a listening exercise, one of my favourite students…. and an amazing mistake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaQ_yHBM9fk Thanks for sharing Janet and for helping me to explain it!
Have you got any entertaining stories about learning or speaking English? Just press reply- I’d love to hear about them!
Thanks for the awesome feedback Rosa- she explained that she is very concerned about climate change and that the politicians seem more interested in words than actions… I couldn’t agree more!
She continued by saying the following: “Related to English as a language of problem-solving, I think it could be a solution if it could be a global language to find solutions to global problems or local problems. In bilingual or multilingual countries like Spain it wouldn’t exist a language more important than other, both speakers would have the same language to express themselves. Great idea!!!”
Thanks for your words of encouragement Rosa. Absolutely: in a country with such diverse regions and languages like Spain, a common language like English might offer the chance for people to enter into dialogue about delicate but vital issues in an unbiased and neutral way.
Imagine a Spain, in 2041, where the vast majority of the people are able to understand and use English at a B2 level at least. I think it would increase the chances of having a healthy debate about the past, present and most importantly the future of Spain and the planet.
And if it didn’t improve the quality of the dialogue? Well, I don’t see the negative side really- the present and future of almost 50 million people will be brighter as multilinguals. Here are 8 other benefits: https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/8-hidden-benefits-of-being-bilingual/
I suppose that the dubbing industry would suffer because this 20 year ludicrous dream of mine could only become a reality if people watch series and films in the original version. 🙄
A bilingual or trilingual Spain (depending on the region) would also have more empathy towards other languages and one day it might be normal for a child in Madrid or Malaga to also speak a little Catalan, Basque and Galician as well as Spanish and English. We talked about this recently in a session, it was a fascinating and animated discussion!
I think that Spain would be an even more amazing place to live in than it already is! Surely we should celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity, not criticise it?! What do you think?
Or maybe we should just forget it and follow Rajoy's example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIvqgsf1K8k Quite a mindblowing 26 secs, huh?! 😅🤯
Thanks for reading and see you in #12!
PS: Homemade joke alert!!
What type of metal can you eat? 🤔