The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

Hi everyone,

Juan has found a very good website with an interlinear translation of "The wife of Bath´s" tale and prologue. It will be a lot easier to read!! Read both for Wednesday.

http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/wbt-par.htm

Thank you Juan!!
Claudia

The Canterbury Tales

Dear all,

For next session, please visit the following link http://www.librarius.com/ and read "The Wife of Bath´s Tale", which is one of the tales that makes up The Canterbury Tales.

Wednesday class will be entirely devoted to this tale, so please read it.

See you,
Claudia

Chaucer

Dear all,


In the following link you´ll find a short poem by G. Chaucer. It´s been "translated" into readable English, so you shouldn´t have any problems reading it.

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/truth-2/

Why do you think Chaucer called this poem "truth"?

What does he mean by "for greed entails hate and social climbing uncertainty? How does it apply to the present world?

What are the religious implications of this poem?

How do you feel after reading it? Does it make sense to you, to your life?

Post your answers and or comment (150 words) before Friday.


See you,
Claudia

Beowulf

Dear all,

You´ll find attached a link to the epic poem Beowulf. Read the argument, chapters I, II, III and XLIII. We´ll do a series of activites based on the reading. The class will take place in the computer lab. See you then.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20431/20431-h/20431-h.htm

Claudia

Dear all,

Welcome to the literature course. This term we are going to study English literature from the epic poem Beowulf to the 19th century novel. The first and second sessions will be devoted to discussing different definitions of literature. Next we are going to analyse how literature can be used in the EFL classroom. The benefits, and possible approaches are going to be presented and discussed.

After that, we will start reading some of the most representative pieces of English literature to understand the context of production, culture, and critical reception. References will be made to how these pieces of literature could be used in the teaching of English as a foreign language.

See you soon,

Claudia

Dear all,

This term we started a long trip, from the past to the present. We analysed and discussed key concepts such a culture, civilization, language and modernity. Not only that, we also looked into the relationship between the former and education and your understanding was put forward in the form of presentations and critical essays on your blogs.

I have to say that this was an extremely interesting teaching-learning experience to me. Most of you demonstrated great critical skills and engagement. You managed to make the connection between the course and your future as English teachers. And, most of all, you managed to grow an understanding of the importance of being reflective and critical professionals to improve. Being an English teacher in a country like Chile is a great responsibility, and I think you will do a very good job.

Before finishing, I invite all of you to write a critical assessment of the course in the form of entries on this blog.

Good luck to those who are going to the USA. Bring back all your learning and experience to share with us. Those who stay, take advantage of the summer to rest, have fun and read as much as you can....

Best wishes,

Claudia

Dear all,

Before saying goodbye, there are several things we need to. So, let´s wait until the end of the term and use the little energy we have left to do a good job, shall we?

Reminders....

1. Group 2 students have to upload the entry about the Victorian age (see previous post for instructions) the latest on Monday 10 by midnight.

2. Both group one and group two students will have to write their film review of "Modern Times" by Thursday 13th at 9 am as I will have to correct them during the day to have the marks ready for Friday 14 (same instructions as previous film review whose mark will be sent to you via webmail shortly).

3. All students will write a 700-word essay IN CLASS based on any of the topics we have discussed during the course. Group two students will write it on Monday 10 and group one on Wednesday 12. It would be wise to bring an outline of your ideas and any articles that might help you write your essay.

Possible topics:

• Relationship between civilisation, culture and language


• Crtitical thinking, British culture and EFL


• Medieval England, culture and language


• The shaping of an empire, from Elizabeth I to Modernity


• Etc.

Remember to relate your topic to teaching. You will find the marking criteria and instructions on how to write an essay in the following links

http://www.siue.edu/~deder/grrub.html

http://www.siue.edu/~deder/grstand.html

http://www.nd.edu.au/downloads/colleges/arts/res_essayguide.pdf

See you next week,

Claudia