Word for the day

Anyone who followed my tweets yesterday won’t be at all surprised that today’s word has to be…..


Happy

heureux (heureuse) in French

feliz in Spanish


A little note about the Spanish…. There are 2 verbs ‘to be’ in Spanish, ‘ser’ and ‘estar’. The former is used for inherent characteristics, things that won’t change, whilst the latter is used to denote location or a temporary state. Here’s an example…

She is Spanish  = (Ella) es española   (using ‘ser’)
She is pregnant = (Ella) está embarazada. (using ‘estar')

So, when talking about the lyrics of Pharrell William’s song ‘ Happy', you would say “Estoy feliz. Soy de Madrid.” (I’m happy. I’m from Madrid).

I discovered so many great videos from all over the world to accompany the song.

For those who missed yesterday’s tweets, here are some links…..


First of all, here is a map with links to each of the versions from around the world. This would be a fantastic resource for locating counties where the target language is spoken.

Now, here are some examples from the French-speaking and Spanish speaking countries….


Angers, France     Paris      Madrid     Tahiti      Valencia       Sevilla 

and my absolute favourite….   Martinique

Apart from providing a wealth of cultural information, these videos are a great resource when talking about places in a town. What can the children see in the background - a bridge, river, cathedral, beach, museum…? I also rather like the idea that you don’t just get to see the major landmarks, such as the Eiffel tower, but also what ‘normal’ everyday life looks like in these places. 

For some great lesson ideas based on places in a town and role-playing being a tour guide, see Janet Lloyd’s blog.