Why is it so important to speak English?

Last Tuesday was the European Day of Languages, established by the Council of Europe. Being a teacher of English myself, you may imagine how relevant it is for me to speak foreign languages, given that you see the world in a different perspective and learn a great deal about different marvelous cultures. In fact, last year I wrote a post about the importance of learning foreign languages that you can revisit by clicking on the link. This year, though, I have decided to write a post about the importance of learning English in this multicultural world. 

From : http://valanglia.blogspot.com.es/2015/11/english-spoken-countries.html

1. English is one of the most spoken languages across the world : Who doesn't know this ? English is the third language with more native speakers in the world (360 million native speakers), only outnumbered by Chinese (1.2 billion speakers) and Spanish (with 400 million speakers). Who would have said that Spanish has more native speakers than English ? I am flabbergasted, aren't you ?

2. English may not be the top most spoken language but it is spoken everywhere : In fact, English is the authentic lingua franca in this multicultural world. It is the common language in speeches in international congresses, among politicians... Incredible though it may sound, the number of L2 speakers of English (that is, those who speak English as a second language) way outnumbers almost any other language (except Chinese). If you go to South Africa, you can speak English; if you go to Germany and you can't speak German, no problem as long as you can get by in English. 

3. If you want to read...most material is published in... guess what ?... English ! 

It is estimated that almost 80% of the world's material is published in English. English has become the ruling language if you want to be informed and up-to-date. But it goes beyond that. Most online material is published in English and that also happens with films and other publications in specialized journals. 

4. English has become an international language. If you don't speak it, you're out ! : Imagine you travel on a plane or train and there are important announcements. Don't you worry, if you can speak English you are safe and sound !  No matter where you travel, you are likely to communicate in English at some point !

From : http://valanglia.blogspot.com.es/2015/11/english-spoken-countries.html

5. English is the language of multiculturality : It is often said that Spaniards can't speak English very well. And though that may be partly true, we can't deny that our country is flooded with a vast number of English-speaking visitors. Don't believe me ? Go to Majorca or Benidorm. You will definitely need English to communicate there ! 

6. No English ? No promotion at work : This statement may be a little bit exaggerate but it is not far from the truth. To get a job, languages are important and English might be the most important one. We need English-speaking waiters or receptionists to deal with the huge mount of tourists flooding our country. In other jobs, English can imply a huge pay rise or a once-in-a-lifetime work opportunity ! 

7. English is a challenging language, with hundreds of quirks (and a twisted pronunciation) : English is really different from Spanish, French or Italian. Speaking English (or any other language) will help you to exercise your brain and be active. If you regularly read my blog, I'm sure you will agree with me that English is really interesting from a linguistic point of view. If you don't believe me, go to my section of English quirks.

8. English is a language with lots of different accents : There are countless varieties of English with a lot of quirks, changes in pronunciation and many other characteristics, but all of these varieties are valid for communication ! English varieties will enrich your knowledge in languages but they will also test your English proficiency ! 

So, what are you waiting for ? You can do it. Start practising (or resuming) your English. Think of the English language as a marvelous trip you're going to take, a trip where you'll learn a language that you 're definitely using in the future, a fascinating language that will allow you to understand the English culture in many different ways ! 

Wedding traditions II : best men and maids of honour

My body is approaching and in approximately two weeks I'll be down the aisle with my lovely bride. Some time ago I wrote a post about some parties before a wedding. This time I would like to talk about two important figures in English weddings, no other than the best men and the maids of honour. 
Let's begin with the best man. The best man is not a godparent but its role is far more important. Before the wedding the groom must select the best man among his best friends and the best man is in charge of organising the stag party with the other groom's friends.The best man has other more important duties. During the ceremony, he must stand just behind the groom, he must keep the rings in custody until the exact time, he must be one of the legal witnesses of the ceremony and sign as such and, especially, prepare and read a speech during the celebration. 

From : https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f1/93/5e/f1935ec365c7fd53dd5d3a51c3aec49c--bridal-party-proposal-ask-bridesmaids-bridal-party-ideas-asking.jpg

From : https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b9/47/fd/b947fdf8340dae0383c5c40063162a76--superheroes-one-day.jpg

Now let's speak about  the maid of honour. The maid of honour is chosen among the bride's friends (or bridemaids) and she is the best bride's friends. There can be more than one maid of honour but there must be the same number of maid of honours and best men. The maid of maids of honour must assist the bride and help her prepare the wedding and the pre-wedding parties (including the hens party). Among the bridesmaids, there is often a junior bridesmaid under 18. The maid of honour must act as a legal witness of the ceremony and must keep the wedding rings until the last moment. 

From : http://www.weddingomania.com/the-maid-of-honor-wearing-a-different-dress-34-cool-ideas/

From : https://www.zazzle.co.uk/glitter_hold_my_dress_while_i_pee_maid_of_honour_card-256165874494833860

Well, I find these figures of best man and maid of honour totally surprising and it's a pity they are not a tradition in Spain. Anyway, I'll soon be writing a final entry on wedding vocabulary. 
See you around.

The verb 'pay': much more than using your money in English.

From : https://www.esldirectory.com/blog/learning-english/pays-off-pay-off-take-payoff-pay-off-loans-phrasal-verb-confusion/

Howdy !

We're in mid-September and the summer season is about to come to an end. Anyway, to mitigate my melancholic feelings, I've decided to write an entry about an interesting verb English : the verb 'pay', so please PAY attention.  

1. Pay = give money in exchange of goods

When we think of the verb 'pay', this is the first meaning that comes to our minds. However, we need to take into account that, unlike in Spanish, this verb needs the preposition 'for' in English. Thus you pay for a service, for electricity, for food,... Pay food.

When we include the person, the preposition is not necessary. It is only necessary when we mention the service. You can say : 'I have to pay my mother the money I owe her.' 

Do you understand ? It's not so complicated, is it ? Anyway, I'll explain it even further by showing two sentences : 

a) I have a party and I have to pay for a waiter.

b) I have to pay the waiter for the catering service. 

In a) the waiter is the service. In b), the waiter is the person, and the catering is the service. 

2. Metaphorical uses of 'pay'

The meaning of 'pay' goes beyond using money. Like in Spanish you can use it metaphorically to indicate that you are putting something important at stake. 

- Pay the price /pay the consequences of your actions

- You caused me a lot of problems and I will pay you back / I will repay you / You will pay. 

- Working as a teacher at a language school pays off (=is worth doing it)

3. Expressions with pay

However, in English the verb 'pay' is much more complex than in Spanish. Thus, you can use it in a great deal of usual expressions. You can pay with more things than money in English. 

- Pay attention / pay heed to... (formal)

- Pay a visit to someone

- Pay my respects to someone after a sudden loss.

- Pay my duties at work.

- Pay someone a call

- Pay a compliment to someone

- Pay tribute to an artist / pay homage to an important person.

4. Idioms with 'pay'

Apart from the examples in number 2, 'pay' is the main star of loads of idiomatic expressions. 

From : https://es.pinterest.com/pin/555561304010292431/?lp=true

- Pay through the nose : When you pay for an item much more than what is worth it. 

- Pay peanuts : When you pay for an item much less than what is worth it. 

- If you pay peanuts you get monkeys : That means that price is not the most important thing and when you pay incredibly low prices for something it is usually a low-quality product (=lo barato sale caro)

From : https://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/if-you-pay-peanuts-you-get-monkeys/

- Pay the piper / pay the fiddler= Accept the unpleasant consequences of one's actions. I didn't want to work in the morning, and now I have to pay the piper and work at the weekend. 

- Pay the freight = Pay for something that is not pleasant. The state has to pay the freight for cleaning the streets after the city's festivities. 

- Hit pay dirt = Finding something incredibly useful after a long search. I couldn't find any good restaurants around until I hit pay dirt and I found and incredibly good restaurant very near ! 

Well, as you can see, English gives far more importance to 'pay' than Spanish and it is interesting to see how they commonly use this verb in tons of expressions. 

P.S. If you are interested in deeply knowing some other English verbs, click on the links provided : the verb 'get'; the verb 'have'; the verb 'go' 

The adventures of Tom Sawyer : meet the youthful pranks of a young -yet cheerful rascal

From : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virenter.books.AOUDDEISSMVJFCCU

Well, I hadn't had so much time for reading lately and thanks to the summer holiday I could resume my reading habits with one of the classics : The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by the American writer Mark Twain. 

From : http://www.palmhealth.com/events/book-club-adventures-tom-sawyer/

The novel tells the story of young Tom Sawyer, who lives with his auntie Polly and his half-brother Sid. Aunt Polly finds it difficult to educate Tom, given that he constantly runs away from home, he skips lessons at schools and he is constantly pulling prank on others to the extent that Tom is frequently grounded because of his behaviour. One day he is expected to whitewash the fence of his house and he somehow manages to persuade other kids that painting the fence is pleasurable and the other children even give him some of their stuff just to be allowed to do that pleasurable work. At the end of the day not only has Tom achieved his purpose, but he has also gathered a wide range of toys, food and other objects. What most people could think is the questionable behaviour of a spoilt child is, in the author's view, a boy who is actively using his imagination and a boy who is fully enjoying his childhood. 

This masterpiece explores the world of childhood, the problems and worries of children at a young age, including the interest in girls and the flirting mechanisms when you're a child, school and why school often poses a problem for some children, and, especially, the lovely dreams that these children want to come true, like becoming pirates or finding a hidden treasure. The author seems to know the world of childhood perfectly well, as if he were a boy himself. 

Another important topic dealt with is education from different perspectives. On the one hand, upbringing : the problems to bring a child up effectively and how to deal with it when the child is rebellious. This is what Aunt Polly experiments in her own flesh when he is incapable of exerting her authority as a maternal figure, probably because she knows and that she is not Tom's real mother. On the other hand, formal education. The book satirizes a school that fosters competition and memorization without letting children unleash their imagination or do practical things. A critique against the educational system is hinted. We're educating children not to rebel, to be quiet like mice. The only way that Tom has to unleash his imagination is to play hooky and skip lessons. Twain's visions of education are still current to this day, as many parents still have problems when raising their children and some academic institutions continue to foster memorization of contents rather than active participation. This critique also extends to religion. Families are happy that children go to Sunday school, but everything children do in Sunday school is basically learning prayers by heart. 

From : https://www.pinterest.com/pin/534450680759884373/

The novel also explores the rebellion against the established order. Tom and his pranks respond to the idea of doing something different, something the society is not used to; and at the same time, to show his individual personality. He escapes to be a pirate and lets everyone think he is dead, but deep down he has a heart of gold. Tom puts himself at risk on several occasions, dealing with criminals and fleeing from home; and this is just a way to draw the people's attention. Another rebellious figure is that of Huckleberry Finn, a beggar child, who sleeps on the street and wears nothing but ragged clothes and does not matter what other people think about him. He is somehow scorned and rejected by everyone except Tom and the children who play with him with open arms. It could even be argued that children turn out to be more open-minded than adults. In fact, the children show some adult-like behaviour : they do heroic deeds, saving a widow from dying or an inhabitant from being condemned to death and even facing thieves. 

In a nutshell, Mark Twain masterfully uses irony and parody to criticize the society of the time and conventions such as school or love, and, at the same time, pictures a perfect description of childhood playfully. When I was reading the book I couldn't help but remember my own childhood, and I felt identified with good-hearted Thomas Sawyer. As the author points out in the preface : "although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in." So, what are you waiting for ? Read the book if you're fond of your own childhood. 
P.S. If you want to see some other book reviews of mine, click on the links : my review on William Golding's The Lord of the Flies, my analysis of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, my post on Dickens's Oliver Twist, and my entry about Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea; Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo. 

Wedding traditions I : hens parties, stag parties and some other parties before the wedding.

September is here and want it or not it's time to go back to work, unfortunately, he he. Most of you will know that I'm getting married in October, and two weeks ago my friends organized me and my wife-to-be a really special party to somehow celebrate our last days as bachelor and bachelorette. It was a great weekend. We were made to dress as Hawaiians, but also as Leprechaun and Queen's guard (have a look).

Our friends wore green hats and bobby helmets. We did a bunch of activities including gymkhanas and paddle surfing. Anyway, to honour that weekend and our beloved friends, I think it is a pretty good idea to write a post about the parties organized for the bride and the groom prior to their wedding. Are you ready ?

In English these parties receive different names depending on the sex. :

1. Engagement party : It is a party organized and thrown by the bride's parents or by the future spouses themselves to celebrate their engagement and get the future guests of the wedding to know each other. Typically celebrated two or three months after the proposal, it involves careful organization and tons of money, of course. During this party it is customary to toast the well-being and prosperity of the future spouses. 

http://www.weddingpartyapp.com/blog/2014/07/28/7-steps-throw-engagement-party/

2. Bridal shower : This is a typical tradition in the US among other countries. Some weeks before the wedding, the bride's friends (normally females) are invited to an informal party at the bride's house, where all the guests are expected to hand their small gifts to the bride. This party is usually organized by one of the maid of honour or a close friend of the bride's. Similar to the baby shower, it is a party to celebrate the future wedding and hand in some gifts. 

From : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridal_shower

3. Stag party / stag night / bachelor's party : A party organized for the bridegroom (husband-to-be) is  This tradition receives many other names, such as stag night, stag weekend or buck's night. The male friends of the boyfriend attend a party shortly after his wedding (it usually lasts for a weekend). This party is usually organized by the bestman, usually the husband-to-be's best friend, and much like in Spain, the party includes binge alcohol, dressing up, dinners and shows, a bunch of different activities and why not some strippers. In short, the last night of freedom for the future husband. 

From : https://stagpartyljubljana.com/

4. Hens' night / hens party / bachelorette party : This is the counterpart for females. Where the English-speakers think of a hen, they do not only think of the animal, but they also think of chatty, gossipy women.  It normally includes a big dinner where the girls toast for the bride future happiness, but of course there are many other variants including strippers and naked butlers (in the UK). 

From : https://www.butlersinthebuff.com/uk/locations/east-anglia/

5. Hag party / Sten night: Hag is a blend word of the words : hen + stag. 'Sten' is the blend of stag + hen. A hag party is a modern variation of both the stag parties and hens' night, it is a joint celebration where both the bride and the bridegroom and their friends are present. This is the kind of party that my friends organized ! Since we're in the twenty-first century where there should be equality of sexes, what a better idea than to host a party for both the bride and bridegroom ? A hag party includes the same activities found in a stag party of hens' night but with males and females present. 

From : http://www.henit.ie/blog/fun-party-games-for-your-sten-night-or-hag-do

6. Bridesmaid luncheon : It is a pre-wedding ceremony hosted by the bride where she somehow thanks her future guests (normally females) for supporting her during the process of wedding planning. This party involves a girl's reunion and having some meal at a local restaurant or at the bride's home. 

From : http://www.mywedding.com/wedding-ideas/showers-parties/how-to-host-a-bridesmaid-luncheon/

Well, it seems that in the English-speaking countries like to fully enjoy themselves before the wedding ceremony, he he. If you are interested in learning more about weddings, fear not ! I'll be writing about wedding vocabulary and traditions sooner than you can imagine !