Javier’s English Corner

Following an interesting initiative by some brilliant colleagues of mine such as Carmen López, María Valdés and María Argente, I have decided to include a section devoted to book reviews. This way, I’ll be able to share anything I may be reading with all of you patient students of mine out there, and you will also be more than welcome to contribute your opinions about a book you have just read.

I will start by telling you something about a book called A Good Year, written by Peter Mayle. A most kind student of mine lent it to me for our Easter break and I have enjoyed reading it immensely. It is a good mellow read indeed, being an uncomplicated story about an English executive who after resigning from his firm inherits a little chateau in Provence, where incidentally most of Mayle’s novels are set.

I think the best quality of this amusing novel is that you can almost smell and feel the warm atmosphere of that beautiful French region. Besides, there is a bit of everything: humour, romance and a tiny bit of crime to spice the whole thing up. I had a great time reading it and I strongly recommend it to you.

You can now watch a short interview with Peter Mayle, author of A Good Year.

I warned you, didn’t I? So here goes another installment of our own Amy Winehouse series, which I hope you enjoy. Some of her songs are truly powerful, and I love her ballads.

Let’s learn a few more things about her career:
Winehouse’s 2003 debut album Frank did well, both commercially and critically, in her native Britain. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album Back to Black led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night and becoming the first British singer to win five Grammys, including three of the “Big Four”: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She has won the Ivor Novello Award twice, among other prestigious distinctions. (From Wikipedia).

I have chosen I Wake Up Alone for today’s post. You can print out or simply read the lyrics while you listen to the song below.

The listening comprehension exercise we will be doing today deals with the world of geishas. From a short but most interesting National Geographic videopodcast, we will learn some revealing facts about this ancient Japanese institution. You can now print the hand-out and watch the video below. If you would like to share your opinion about this short documentary, all comments will be welcome and appreciated.