Issue 7 Autumn 2015

AROUND THE WORLDAUTUMNHALLOWEEN

T I M E S

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3. INTRODUCTION

4. VOX POP What are your plans for Halloween?

7. HALLOWEEN AND OTHER 7. AUTUMN TRADITIONS

9. TLG & LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB

CONTENTS

10. FOLK TALES

12. WHAT’S ON AT TLG?

14. TLG AROUND THE WORLD

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Dear students,

Welcome to the Autumn/Winter edition of the TLG Times! The leaves are falling and Christmas will soon be upon us - but until then, we hope that you’ll continue enjoying your studies with us.

Over the summer, we welcomed dozens of children to Myerscough College as part of our partnership with Liverpool FC.

They learned English as well as sports leadership, being taught by the same coaches who train professional footballers. You can find out more about what they got up to later on in the magazine.

You can also find out about traditional ghost stories and folk tales from cultures around the world and get an update from our Canadian campus in Toronto.

Happy reading!

Elena RoginskyTLG Managing Director

INTRODUCTION

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VOX POP“Next Halloween, I want to go to Romania and visit Dracula’s Castle”

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WHAT ARE YOUR PLANSFOR HALLOWEEN?

“This Halloween, I would like a big party where everyone must wear costumes.”

– Jorge, Colombia

“I want to go to Halloween dressed as Morticia Addams.”

– Isabella, Italy

“Next Halloween, I want to go to Romania and visit Dracula’s Castle”

– Zhassulan, Kazakhstan

“This Halloween, I would like to meet new people and go to an English pub to discuss old ghost stories.”

– Claire, France

“Nowadays, Halloween is becoming popular in Brazil where people are throwing more and more Halloween parties. This is my first time here in Canada and I want to dress up maybe as the Frankenstein monster in green make-up and go to a party with my friends!”

– Luiz, Brazil

“Halloween isn’t popular in Turkey. If you go out in October with your friends you can see some people throwing Halloween costume parties. If I go to one this year, I might go dressed as a witch or goblin. They look most scary to me.”

– Ozge, Turkey

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HALLOWEEN AND OTHER AUTUMN TRADITIONS

For Halloween in my country we wear black like ghosts. We wear paint on our faces, with eyes black like hungry dogs running after children! Halloween is very popular in my country because we have many people from around the world who like to celebrate this holiday. I sometimes wear makeup on my face with some glitter, and my shirt makes scary noises when you press a button. On my legs, I wear nothing because the weather is very hot. I like Halloween, it is very funny!

– Lin Yung

We do not celebrate Halloween in my family because of the pagan origins. We enjoy watching the celebrations here in Birmingham, the people wear very interesting clothes with really scary masks. My husband told one woman that her mask was cool but she was really angry because it wasn’t a mask, her face was just like leather! (Now, we don’t take that bus to school anymore.) The makeup takes a lot of effort and a long time so I can’t really afford to spend this time looking silly, but I understand that it is a big tradition in this country. My husband tried to give me a scare last Halloween; he told me our dog had been killed. I don’t think he really understands what Halloween is. Our dog is ok by the way.

– Amanda

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As we approach the end of the year, we are celebrating an extremely successful summer for our partnership with Liverpool Football Club, leading to the LFC Education Soccer Camps.

This summer school is designed to be as engaging and fun as possible, including a range of fun activities, project-based lessons, and one-to-one tutor support. Students were involved in interviewing footballers, writing up articles about matches, commentating, and planning training sessions.

They also took part in workshops on the theory of football, such as different skills and techniques, nutrition, and performance analysis. The coaches saw vast improvements in a number of the students, and the students themselves thoroughly enjoyed the sessions.

On top of all of this, there were extra activities like FIFA tournaments, table tennis, movie nights, and a scavenger hunt – as well as a tour of Anfield and visits to Blackpool, Preston, and Lancaster.

With young people attending from all over the world, everyone had the opportunity to interact with others and share their own cultures.

Students made excellent progress with their English Language and on the pitch, and we are all looking forward to welcoming more children to next year’s programme!

TLG & LIVERPOOLFOOTBALL CLUB

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FOLKTALES

Long, long ago, an old farmer’s wife passed away and his only family member left was his son, John, who was only 16. After Lucas’ wife passed away John was the only one who helped Lucas ‘the old farmer’. Lucas always told him: “I am very old and this farm will be yours, but you have to learn how to take care of it.”

Sometimes John didn’t want to help Lucas; not because he was lazy, but because he thought that Lucas wasn’t his real father.

John felt like this because before his mother passed away they had a fight. John didn’t want to do his work and he told her: “I don’t know why you married someone so old. I don’t even look like him, he is not my father.”

His mother just told him: “Go do your work, young boy,” without any explanation.

Since that happened, John was mad with his mother but before she passed away he promised her: “Yes mum, I will help Lucas, don’t worry.” However, John was always mad with Lucas and he never liked talking to him a lot.

One night, John was sitting outside his house when he heard his mother’s voice saying: “Remember what you promised me, don’t make me come back over there.” John was so scared that his face turned pale and he ran into the house. John changed and started helping Lucas in a better way.

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Since that night, John became a very nice person toward Lucas because he realised that Lucas had always taken care of him since he was a child, and now was the time to return the favour.

There are rumours that every time a kid gets mad with their parents, John’s mother goes into their house and makes the kid promise: “I will be a better son or daughter and I will help my parents.”

– Jose Salvador

“We have a girl ghost (in South Korea), the Virgin Spirit, that has long black hair and wears white clothes. It’s a girl that died before she could be married. At night she appears on the street and in old buildings like schools, cemeteries, or in the forest She follows any man she can find. She doesn’t want to kill them, just give them a good scare!”

– Minji

There was this little poor village in the middle of nowhere and in this village there were these two trees. One tree was strong and mighty and grew the best fruits that would make your mouth water. The other tree was short, weak and skinny and never grew any fruits but only once a year.

Everyone would go to the strong tree and pick the fruits. The little children would go to it after school and sit under its shade and tell their stories, while the small tree would stand hunched over like a little old lady, thrown whatever way the wind blew.

One day, a terrible storm came and tore down the strong tree. But, the little tree stayed. It was standing strong like an ox.

When the storm was over, people saw that the little tree was there and the big one wasn’t - they all felt down about the situation. Then, a light from the sky shone down upon the little tree and it grew twice the size of a normal tree and grew fruits that would make sure you never went hungry again.

They had never seen such a miracle as this. They sold the fruit around the world and one of the biggest nations today, known as Russia, was born.

– Mehdi Dehbi

“In Chihuahua, there is a ghost called La Pascualita. She lives in a window in a store there, but walks the streets at night. People say she is the daughter of the storeowner who died after her wedding after being bitten by a spider. Some people in my city believe that La Pascualita collects people’s souls.”

– José

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TLG LONDON’SNIGHT OUT

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TLG London has a night on the town

Our students had a great night out at the Cittie of Yorke pub in High Holborn, London.

The building itself dates back to 1924, but there are records of a pub existing on the site since 1430 – which earns it a place in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.

It is owned by Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery, and features the Henekey’s long bar, a late Georgian or Regency era stove, and Victorian-style cubicles.

Everyone had a good time enjoying themselves in one of London’s historical sites, and we are all looking forward to the next outing.

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TLG AROUND THE WORLD

Toronto

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After a long winter, the summer came on warm, sunny, and strong in Toronto and our students got involved in the city’s many activities. Students attended events including June 21’s National Aboriginal Day and a tour of the Provincial Legislative Assembly Building at Queen’s Park over the July 1 Canada Day Week.

Toronto in the summer also showcases a lot of regular festivals. TLG students made it out to the Shakespeare in the Park performance of Hamlet, and to an outdoor screening of The King’s Speech held by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) at David Pecaut Square.

The Toronto summer weather held out for a lot of fun party nights including a boat cruise of the Toronto Harbour.

Sports were also a big part of Toronto in 2015 thanks to Toronto hosting the 2015 Pan Am Games. Along with outings to the Toronto Blue Jays baseball games, we held our annual picnic in High Park. The students were treated to a variety of games and sports, with many students winning prizes for their great efforts.

It was a busy, action-packed summer in Toronto, but our students and staff managed to take it all in, have fun, and create a lot of great memories.

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©2015 The Language Gallery. All rights reserved. The Language Gallery Times, Issue 7  – Autumn 2015.

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