Argentina & World War I

Hipólito Yrigoyen  President of Argentina in two opportunities: 1916-1922  and  1928-1930

The many Europeans in South America, as well as Japanese on its west coast, were enthusiastic for their homelands at war. British, French and Japanese communities were clamoring for their new countries' support of the Allies, as were Italians after Italy entered the war, while German communities were just as enthusiastic for Kaiser and Fatherland. Many British and German immigrants returned in 1914 to fight for their homelands - especially from Argentina and Brazil.  More on Argentina & World War I in our ecaths blog.

WWI: War in the Trenches

Two views of what life in the trenches was like.One is a video by Sir Paul Mc Cartney and the other the trailer of Spielbierg`s film, War Horse. 








See this blog entry from last year related to the subject: http://lenguaycultura2isfd97.blogspot.com.ar/2011/05/world-war-i-and-art.html

The British by Benjamin Zephaniah

Poet Benjamin Zephaniah joins sixth form students from Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire to recite his poem The British in a restaurant in Spalding

http://ww.bbc.co.uk

The British

Take some Picts, Celts and Silures
And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.

Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.

Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
Vietnamese and Sudanese.

Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians
And Pakistanis,
Combine with some Guyanese
And turn up the heat.

Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,
Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some
Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese
And Palestinians
Then add to the melting pot.

Leave the ingredients to simmer.

As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish
Binding them together with English.

Allow time to be cool.

Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future,
Serve with justice
And enjoy.

Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.

Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all. 

Benjamin Zephaniah

http://www.poemhunter.com

Check ecaths blog for the instructions on the assignment you have to do.

Welcome Emma!!!

Emma Greaves is a young  University student from England. She`s    Language Assistant with the British Council  and will be working in La Plata for four months. She has visited our class  and has  introduced us to her country and the cultural diversity that means being British in the 21st century.  This is the second time a Language Assistant works in our Institute and it`s a pleasure to share knowledge, culture and friendship with them. (Alice Roughton visited us two years ago).
It is also good to remember, as Emma pointed us, that the British Council  programme for "Asistentes de Idioma" is also available for Argentinian students to work in the UK. If you want more information, click here.


Emma will be working with us for the rest of her stay and we hope that many classes benefit from her warmth, knowledge and understanding. Besides , her accent is extremely clear for all!!! Thanks, Emma!!! 


Log into our ecaths blog and find more about her class.