A blog for the students of IB Language and Literature at the Haarlemmermeer Lyceum for v5 in 2015-2016 and v6 in 2016-2017
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Celine D's Internationalization Project
As I'm sure you all know, Celine D. went to Jamaica to do volunteer work to fulfill her Internationalization requirement. If you haven't already, have a look at the website she made and then like her Facebook page about it.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
GNE Awards
Dear students,
In years 2 and 3, you all participated in the Junior Public Speaking Contest. This contest is a junior version of the Speaking Contest portion of the GNE Awards, a competition that is not only nationwide (including non-TTO schools and International Schools), but is international in nature; the winner of the contest gets to go to London to compete in the international ESU (English Speaking Union) competition. If you are not that comfortable as a speaker, but are a good writer, you can also participate in the Young Writer Awards.
The topics you may speak or write about this year are as follows:
- These are the best of times, these are the worst of times.
- Is immigration good for a country?
- Should the Dutch armed forces take part in peace-supporting operations?
- Super food - fact or fancy?
- The only way to travel is on foot.
- ESU topic: Integrity has no need of rules.
The deadline for registration for this contest is January 23rd, 2016. If you are interested in participating, please look over the information on the website: http://www.gneawards.nl/students and contact me.
In years 2 and 3, you all participated in the Junior Public Speaking Contest. This contest is a junior version of the Speaking Contest portion of the GNE Awards, a competition that is not only nationwide (including non-TTO schools and International Schools), but is international in nature; the winner of the contest gets to go to London to compete in the international ESU (English Speaking Union) competition. If you are not that comfortable as a speaker, but are a good writer, you can also participate in the Young Writer Awards.
The topics you may speak or write about this year are as follows:
- These are the best of times, these are the worst of times.
- Is immigration good for a country?
- Should the Dutch armed forces take part in peace-supporting operations?
- Super food - fact or fancy?
- The only way to travel is on foot.
- ESU topic: Integrity has no need of rules.
The deadline for registration for this contest is January 23rd, 2016. If you are interested in participating, please look over the information on the website: http://www.gneawards.nl/students and contact me.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Heart Falls Apart or Things of Darkness?
Chinua Achebe made no bones about the fact that "Things Fall Apart" was written to present an African answer to what had, until then, been the only literature about the European colonization of Africa -- the literature written by Europeans, such as Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Furthermore, in his 1977 essay "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'", he presented his case that even in Conrad's criticism of European imperialism, European ethnocentrism and and racism was present in "Heart of Darkness". But how much is "Things Fall Apart" not just an answer to "Heart of Darkness" but a direct response, modeled on Conrad's book to present itself as an alternative view? Whether intentional or not, there are a number of parallels that can be drawn. Decide for yourself if it holds up:
Heart of Darkness
The title: 2
one-syllable words followed by 1 two-syllable word
The book is in three parts
The narrator is
telling a story to his comrades
The setting, Africa,
is a dark, mysterious place where no civilization or culture is present
One of the themes is
about imperialism’s hypocrisy in its treatment of the natives
The Europeans pay
only lip-service to religion and in practice ignore it, even as they
ostensibly try to convert the natives.
Women in the book are
powerless and naïve, although not without influence (Marlowe’s aunt)
The theme, conveyed
in the title, is about how, when man is removed from civilization, he goes
mad.
Kurz’s descent into
madness is the result of being removed from civilization and exposed to the
savagery of Africa.
Kurz’s tragic fall
is an inevitable result of the basic human condition, that it is only the
restrictions of civilization that stop us all from becoming savage.
Whereas Marlowe
portrays Kurz’s demise as noble to Kurz’s intended, to the reader it is
portrayed as ignoble.
|
Things Fall Apart
The title: 2
one-syllable words followed by 1 two-syllable word
The book is in three parts
The narration
emulates the style and tone of African story-telling
The setting, Africa,
is alive with a rich culture full of many traditions
One of the themes is
about imperialism’s hypocrisy in its treatment of the natives
The Igbo value their
religion and its traditions and obey it, until they are “corrupted” by
European influence.
Women in the book
may be powerless, but they are not naïve – and also not without
influence (Chielo)
The theme, conveyed
in the title, is about how, when a man’s civilization is destroyed, he goes
mad.
Okonkwo’s descent is
the result of having his civilization destroyed by the encroaching Europeans.
Okonkwo’s tragic
fall is an inevitable result of a tragic flaw in his own character; others
would and do not suffer the same fate under the same conditions.
Whereas Okonkwo’s
fall and suicide are viewed by the characters in the book as ignoble, to the
reader it is portrayed as noble.
|
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Friday, November 13, 2015
Monday, November 9, 2015
The White Man's Burden
On this page you will find the poem "White Man's Burden" with questions about it.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Paper 1 SL
Labels:
Commentary,
English,
Paper 1,
SL,
Standard Level
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Short Stories
For those students who want to write a short story, the key elements to be considered are set forth on the page "Short Stories".
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
How to write a Paper 1 SL
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Friday, September 4, 2015
Dialects of English
A Tongue-in-cheek look at Ebonics:
(Serious) Examples of various dialects of English are found on this page
(Serious) Examples of various dialects of English are found on this page
Introduction to Accents and Dialects
"Why can't the English learn how to speak" (My Fair Lady)
Scene from the musical, based on the play by George Bernard Shaw, illustrates differences in accent, dialect and how this can be explored in a creative manner. Scene from the beginning of the play, where we first meet Prof. Higgins and Eliza Doolittle
Scene from the middle of the play, where Eliza succeeds in overcoming her accent problems.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
History of English: The Adventure of English Part 1
A short 10-minute overview of the entire history of the English language:
Episode 1 of The Adventure of English:
The complete series (8 episodes) of The Adventure of English can be found here. This can be a useful source for a written task or an FOA on this topic.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Alphabets: Origin and history
Here are some links about alphabets
The Origins and History of the Alphabet
Evolution of the alphabet
The Alphabet
The Origins and History of the Alphabet
Evolution of the alphabet
The Alphabet
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Introduction to IB
Welcome to IB!
Watch this clip for an introduction to the course and curriculum and take notes. After the clip, ask questions about what you didn't understand.
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4
- Written Tasks
- Paper 1
- Paper 2
- IOC
- FOA
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